Now & Grim: A Grimlock Family Short Read online

  “No.” Aisling’s eyes snagged with Griffin’s. “We occasionally see stuff like this, but it’s after … well, just after. We don’t arrive during the event.”

  Griffin’s expression softened. He was often a hardass when it came to work, but he doted on my sister. Her discomfort was obvious. “Okay, baby. That’s okay. I was just being grumpy. Why don’t you go stand to the side of the stage over there so you’re not in the way when the paramedics get here?”

  Aisling cast a dubious look at the man on the stage. “Don’t you need me?”

  “Always, but I think you should head over there anyway.” Griffin remained calm even as I noticed Maya’s hands slowing on the man’s chest. “Go over there, okay? Cillian will go with you.”

  I wanted to challenge the order, but Griffin’s expression was enough to tell me that he would put up a fight if I resisted. Instead I walked with Aisling to the edge of the stage and followed her down the rickety stairs. Once settled in the spot Griffin had ordered us to, I noticed he flashed a tight smile for Aisling’s benefit before focusing his full attention on his sister and the man bleeding out on the stage.

  “He’s already dead,” Aisling noted, her tone bland.

  I slid her a sidelong look. “How can you know that?”

  Aisling pointed toward a filmy countenance taking shape behind where Maya and Griffin worked on the body. “That’s his soul.”

  Crap. She wasn’t wrong. “How are we supposed to get it?” The question was out of my mouth before a litany of other concerns barreled to the forefront of my brain.

  “I think that’s the least of our worries now. Did you bring a scepter with you?” Aisling looked genuinely quizzical.

  “I didn’t,” I admitted. “It was a night out with my girlfriend and sister. I didn’t think I was going to need my magic stick of death.”

  Aisling pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. She was massively amused. “Your magic stick of death, huh?”

  I extended a warning finger. “This is not funny.”

  “No.”

  “It’s a serious situation.”

  “It totally is.”

  “People might think you’re odd if they see you smiling at a murder scene,” I hissed, lowering my voice.

  Aisling had the good sense to sober – or at least wipe the smile off her face – and her eyes were sharp as she scanned the crowd. “What happened to the dude who stabbed him?”

  That was an interesting question. I joined her in searching the panicked and ashen faces. “I don’t see him. Also, about half the guests are leaving. I don’t know if we should try to stop them so the cops can question them.”

  Aisling snorted. “Only you would fret about something like that. They obviously weren’t the culprits, so I wouldn’t worry about it.” She rubbed the back of her neck before turning a plaintive expression to me. “I knew going to a Shakespeare event would turn out bad for us.”

  I offered up an incredulous look. “Don’t even think about blaming this on me.”

  “Who else should I blame it on?”

  “Um … Griffin agreed to come,” I reminded her. “Maya cornered him before she cornered us and Griffin was the first to fold.”

  Aisling wasn’t about to let something like rational argument derail her thought process. “Yes, but Griffin is her brother. He can’t say no to his sister because that’s not how it works. Er, well, that’s not how it works in other families. You guys don’t have a problem saying no to me whenever the mood strikes. Griffin is a better brother than you guys, though.”

  I flicked Aisling’s ear, causing her to yelp. “Please. We’re half the reason you’re such an annoying adult. It wasn’t just Dad who spoiled you rotten as a kid. It was us, too.”

  Aisling didn’t appear bothered by the charge. “I was a great kid. I deserved to be spoiled.”

  “You were a monster and used the fact that you were the only girl to your advantage whenever the mood struck. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”

  “I’m fine not pretending.” Aisling folded her arms over her chest as she stared at the soul pacing the back of the stage. “We should probably call someone to get a scepter down here, don’t you think? We need to absorb that guy before he takes off.”

  “That is a legitimate concern,” I agreed, turning somber. “We have another concern, though.”

  “What?”

  “Why didn’t he show up on our pick-up list in the first place?”

  Aisling opened her mouth to answer and then snapped it shut. “Hmm.”

  “He should’ve appeared on a list,” I offered. “Even if what happened was an impulse kill, we should’ve received word before it happened.”

  “I don’t see how it could be an impulse kill,” Aisling said after a beat. “They were supposed to have prop weapons. At some point one of those props was switched out with a real weapon. That couldn’t have been an accident.”

  “I hadn’t even thought of that.” I ran my hand through my shoulder-length hair. “None of this makes sense.”

  “Nope. Not even a little.”

  MAYA AND GRIFFIN CALLED time on the actor five minutes later. They worked tirelessly, but it was obvious he was dead from almost the moment he’d hit the stage. Aisling kept an eye on the soul – who leered at her and occasionally grinned when he realized she was looking in his direction – while I watched the paramedics take over for Maya and Griffin.

  I held out a hand for Maya as she descended the steps. “You couldn’t have done anything else.”

  “I know.” Maya looked weary. Even though she worked crazy shifts and sometimes only got a couple hours of sleep a night, she rarely looked tired. It made me want to take care of her because the circles under her eyes caused her to appear weak. “I still wanted to save him.”

  “You can only do what you can do.” I opened my arms and offered her a hug, pursing my lips as Griffin focused on Aisling. “What’s wrong?”

  “I was just going to ask you that,” Griffin replied, never moving his gaze from my sister. “What are you looking at, Aisling?”

  “What?” Aisling wrenched her gaze away from the soul. “Um … the dead guy.”

  “Do you mean he’s still here?” Griffin glanced over his shoulder and focused on the stage. “Can you talk to him and ask what happened?”

  Aisling made her opinion of the situation obvious by blowing a sloppy raspberry. “Why would I want to do that? Also, we saw what happened. He was stabbed with a sword he thought was a prop.”

  “We did see what happened,” Griffin conceded. “We need to know if it was on purpose or an accident.”

  “Are you wondering if the guy who stabbed him realized he was going to kill him?” I asked.

  Griffin nodded. “It would be a bold move, but I can’t ignore the possibility.”

  “I doubt that’s the case.” I pointed toward a shaded area under a tree where a costumed man hysterically cried as two women in period dresses tried to console him. “He seems pretty much manic.”

  Griffin stared in that direction. “He does seem realistically upset, doesn’t he? Maybe I should talk to him.”

  Aisling grabbed his arm before he could walk off. “This isn’t your case.”

  Griffin was blasé. “So?”

  “It’s not your case, so you can’t solve it.” Aisling was firm. “You’re a Detroit police detective. This is a Royal Oak crime.”

  Griffin looked as if he was going to argue, but ultimately he stroked his hand down the back of Aisling’s head. It looked to be a soothing gesture … for both of them. “You’re right. This isn’t my case.” He shifted his eyes to a pair of men cutting their way through the crowd, their eyes lasered on the paramedics working on the stage. “It’s their case. I’ll need to talk to them pretty quickly before we go.”

  Maya balked. “Go? We just got here.”

  Griffin was flustered. “Yes, but … someone died.”

  “And that’s terrible and I’ll remember it for the res
t of my life. That doesn’t mean the night is over.” Maya gestured toward the stage. “There are two other shows.”

  “But … .” Griffin looked to me for help. I happened to agree with his assessment and was ready to call it a night. Maya obviously thought otherwise, and I was enough of a wuss that I didn’t want to risk arguing with her.

  “We can see one of the other plays,” I offered, forcing a smile.

  Maya beamed back at me. “Good. I’m glad you don’t want to go.” The look she shot Griffin was right out of “Little Sister’s Guide to Manipulating Her Older Brother” and caused Griffin to swallow hard. “If you want to go … .”

  “We don’t want to go.” Griffin’s response was instinctive and I had to bite back a smile. “We want to stay and have a good time.”

  Aisling’s response was nowhere near as smooth as her boyfriend’s. “Are you crazy?”

  Griffin shot her a warning look. “We want to stay and have a good time. I need to talk to the cops for a few minutes first. Then I’ll be back and we’ll move to one of the other stages.”

  “Okay. That sounds like a plan.” Maya beamed at her brother as Aisling scowled. “I’ll grab the blanket.”

  “And I’ll throw away the food,” Aisling said. “You’ll have to buy me fresh if you expect me to stay here. The stuff we ordered before is cold and bugs could’ve walked over it when we weren’t looking.”

  “What is it with you and bugs?” Griffin asked, stilling before he moved to intercept the approaching police officers. “You’ve complained about bugs three times today that I know of.”

  “You weren’t even there when I did it one time,” Aisling argued.

  “Yes, but Braden texted me to make sure I knew you were being a pain,” Griffin said dryly.

  “I’m going to totally kick him in the rear end when he’s not looking,” Aisling groused. “As for bugs … nobody likes bugs. That’s hardly a new thing.”

  Griffin held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. I don’t have time for this. I would have thought that since Jerry calls you ‘Bug’ and you’re famous for saving bugs that you would at least tolerate them. It appears I’m wrong. I’ll talk to you more about the bugs when I’m done. Until then, sit tight. I won’t be gone long.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Aisling rolled her eyes until they landed on me. “You don’t think staying for a second show is really a good idea, do you?”

  The way Maya’s shoulders stiffened told me things wouldn’t end well if I didn’t answer a certain way. Aisling was my sister, and my father trained us at a young age to always take her side – even when there was a chance she was batshit crazy – but Maya was my girlfriend and in charge of my … um … emotional happiness. I had to take her side. Aisling was on her own.

  “I want to see the play with Maya.” I hoped my expression came off as truthful and earnest. I wasn’t as good as other family members at playing two sides against the middle. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

  The look Aisling shot me was full of understanding. “You’re really looking forward to getting some,” she muttered under her breath. “Well, as much as I hate to admit it, we can’t leave even if we wanted to.” She dug in her small purse, which she’d left on the blanket when we raced to the stage, and came up with her cell phone. “We have a rogue soul on our turf and we have no idea why it’s wandering around without anyone coming to collect it.”

  “Maybe one of the other teams is supposed to collect him,” I suggested. The Grimlocks were hardly the only reaper team. In fact, there were three that worked the same area and we all took separate shifts. Thanks to Dad’s position in the reaper hierarchy we claimed the day shift (with the occasional weekend and night duty) and left the other two teams to argue it out over the less-desirable shifts. “Maybe something happened and they’re simply late.”

  Aisling took a moment to survey the park. No one stood out, and the soul remained where he was, watching the paramedics with impassioned eyes as they moved his body to a gurney and prepared to transport him to the medical examiner’s office.

  “Someone should’ve shown up by now,” Aisling argued. “He’s been dead a good ten minutes. If there was an emergency, the reaper assigned to our dead guy would’ve called for backup by now. Heck, given how close Aidan lives, he would’ve made the most sense to call.”

  “Except he’s out with Jerry,” I pointed out. “They were going to some bar where people use glow-in-the-dark paint on one another. It’s supposed to be the ‘in’ place to go.”

  Aisling sneered. “Yeah, Jerry is going to hate that place. He’s excited now – before the fact – but the second some dude paints on him he’ll melt down. You know how he feels about being dirty.”

  “Yes, I believe he used to force you to take baths when you were kids because he couldn’t take it when you had mud on your face,” I said dryly. “They’re still out. They’re not on call.”

  “Someone should still be here,” Aisling pressed. “I think something is going on … and we need help.”

  I wanted to argue the point – mostly because Maya didn’t look happy with Aisling’s change of attitude – but I couldn’t shirk my duties. “Who are you going to call? We need a scepter.”

  Aisling’s smile was grim. “Who is the only member of our family guaranteed to be around on a Friday night?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “You can’t be serious.”

  “If I thought there was another way I wouldn’t even consider it,” Aisling said. “I don’t see where we have a lot of options.”

  Sadly, I knew she was right. I heaved out a sigh as I dragged a hand through my hair. “Call him. Be prepared to hear a lecture, though.”

  Aisling shrugged. “That’s the story of my life.”

  4

  Four

  Aisling downed three beers in rapid succession while we waited for Dad to arrive. Griffin didn’t say much until she moved to order a fourth. He stopped her with a firm headshake and a dark look.

  “You’re done.”

  “Dad is coming,” Aisling protested. “I need to be drunk to deal with Dad.”

  “Since when?” I challenged.

  “I believe the first time I realized it I was sixteen. It’s stuck with me ever since.”

  I sighed. Aisling has a special ability when it comes to irritating people, especially her brothers. “You need to get your head in the game. Dad will want explanations when he gets here. He won’t be happy that you’re doing … whatever it is that you’re doing.”

  Aisling wasn’t about to be guilted. “I’m his favorite. I can do whatever I want.”

  “You won’t be his favorite tonight.”

  “Do you want to bet?”

  “Sure. Twenty bucks says I’m his favorite tonight.”

  “I can’t believe you’re betting on this,” Griffin grumbled. “Only Grimlocks would pick the middle of a murder to bet on which one of them will be their father’s favorite when he arrives to help them track an errant soul.”

  I glanced around, nervous, and scanned the nearby faces to see if anyone heard the statement. Thankfully, no one appeared to be listening. “You might want to keep your voice down,” I prodded.

  Griffin straightened his shoulders, but looked sheepish. “Sorry. That came out a little louder than I meant. The sentiment remains, though.”

  Aisling drained the rest of her beer and stared at her empty cup. “It’s all gone.”

  “I’ll buy you another Bud Light on our way home,” Griffin said dryly.

  “Okay.” Aisling leaned her head against Griffin’s shoulder and I couldn’t help but smile when Griffin absently pressed a kiss to her forehead. They were a good match. He made her happy and she drove him crazy. They seemed to fit together, though, and I knew Griffin wasn’t the type to walk away from our family … no matter how nutty things got over the long haul.

  “Did Dad say when he was getting here?” I asked, changing the subject. “We need a little direction. I feel as if we’re
floundering.”

  “We’re not the only ones.” Griffin inclined his chin in Maya’s direction. Despite her determination to catch one of the other shows, she’d spent the last twenty minutes trying to soothe the frazzled actors who witnessed their friend’s untimely death. “Maya seems to have found her calling for the evening.”

  Aisling turned her eyes in that direction. “She’s such a goody-goody.”

  I bristled. “Hey! Just because she used the past twenty minutes to help people rather than down as many beers as possible doesn’t mean she’s a goody-goody.”

  “Ignore her.” Griffin waved off my annoyance. “She doesn’t mean anything by it. She’s halfway to drunk and all the way to upset because she saw that guy die. Cut her some slack.”

  I licked my lips, debating how far I should push things. “Why do you take up for Aisling over your own sister?”

  Griffin shrugged. “Because I know both of them pretty well, and your sister is covering for being upset.”

  “I’m not upset,” Aisling scoffed. “I’ve seen dead bodies before.”

  “Yes, but you don’t often see them die right in front of you,” Griffin pointed out. “You don’t have to put on a brave face in front of me.”

  Instead of being thankful or relieved, Aisling made a face. “I’m not upset!”

  “Fine. You’re not upset.” Griffin clearly wasn’t in the mood to argue.

  “I’m not,” Aisling repeated. “I’m not a girl.”

  Griffin shot her a sympathetic look. “Actually, you are a girl. I’m thankful for that. You think you have to act a certain way because of your brothers, but you’re allowed to feel what you feel. Don’t let the fact that Cillian is here force you to be a jerk. If you want to be upset, be upset. You’re done with the beer, though.”

  Aisling grumbled something under her breath that I couldn’t quite make out. I was almost positive I heard the words “not” and “girl” a second time, but I recognized now wasn’t the time to press her. She was clearly more shaken than I initially realized, although I couldn’t identify why. She’d seen death since she was a kid. This was hardly a new occurrence.