Only the Devout

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Oh, geez,” Griffin muttered as he stared at his phone screen, all traces of amusement fleeing. “This is not good.”

  “I read it,” Aisling acknowledged, ignoring the dirty look her husband shot her. “Oh, don’t give me grief. You know I’m a busybody. I’m genetically predisposed to snooping. You can’t get angry when I can’t help myself.”

  “Uh-huh.” Griffin shook his head, though a small smile played at the corners of his lips. “That sounds like a convenient excuse.”

  “It’s the truth.” Aisling was solemn. “I suppose this means you’ll have to get an early start on the day.”

  “I will,” Griffin agreed, pushing himself to a standing position. His hand was gentle as he ran it over his wife’s snarled hair. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the sleep you needed.”

  “I was just about to say the same to you.” She grinned at him. “It’s okay. If I feel the need for a nap, I’ll dump Lily on Dad later. Maybe she can puke on my grandparents and make everybody happy.”

  Griffin snickered and gave her a kiss. It was so sweet, so intimate, I felt out of place and stared at a blank portion of the wall to keep from infringing on the moment.

  “You’ll want to come with me,” Griffin said a few seconds later. When I didn’t immediately respond, he moved in front of me and caught my gaze. “I’m talking to you.”

  “Me?” My eyebrows flew up my forehead. “Why would you want me to go with you?”

  “A body was found.” He was serious now. “And it was found in front of the aquarium on Belle Isle.”

  My heart plummeted to my stomach. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, I’m serious.” He was grim. “We have to head out there, and since you’re in charge it’s best if you come with me.”

  My mind was racing. “Is it one of the cult members?”

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

  I SHOWERED QUICKLY, WHIPPING MY wet hair back in a ponytail before meeting Griffin in the driveway in front of the house. Even though we were both going to the island, we agreed to take separate vehicles.

  Braden was still asleep when I left, so I put a note on the pillow next to his head. Part of me felt bad because I knew he would’ve willingly volunteered to go with me. Heck, he would consider that his job as my boyfriend. But there was nothing he could do. Waking him was unnecessary, so I left him to sleep and focused on what might be waiting for me on the island.

  I parked at the far end of the lot, making sure to give the responding police officers and paramedics plenty of room. One of the uniformed officers made to stop me when I moved to cross the police tape, but Griffin called him off. He’d beaten me to the scene by at least a few minutes and was already kneeling next to the body.

  The lighting was dim in this section of the lot, but I could make out the shape of a body as I approached. It was a woman, long blond hair obscuring her face. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but it was the wavy hair that caused my breath to clog in my throat.

  “Andrea,” I rasped, my stomach churning.

  Griffin lifted his chin, surprise lighting his eyes. “Do you know her?”

  “I met her this afternoon. She was with those cult people I told you about. She said her parents were Titus Weaver devotees. She didn’t seem happy about it. I ... she was a nice girl in a bad situation.” Tears burned the back of my eyes as I stared down at her. “I don’t understand how this happened. Do you know how she died?”

  Griffin watched me as he responded. “She was strangled. The medical examiner’s team already confirmed that.” He hesitated a moment and then pushed forward. “They also confirmed something else.” He wore gloves so he could touch the body without contaminating the evidence. When he raised the young woman’s left arm, I was confused by the marks I saw in the crook of her elbow. “Are you sure this is the girl you met?”

  I took a tentative step closer to study the marks. “Are those track marks?”

  He nodded. “She was a user.”

  I tried to picture the girl I’d met hours before shooting up. From the looks of the arm, this individual had been abusing intravenous drugs for a long time. There was a sickly pall to her skin that had very little to do with death. I had no idea how I was supposed to respond.

  “One of the local officers recognized her,” Griffin said softly, glancing around to see who was listening. Several of his men were close, though they seemed to understand it was best to give us space. “She’s a familiar face on the street. The girl you told me about wasn’t from here, right?”

  Now I was really confused. “Maybe ... .” I stared at the hair, willing myself to remain calm as I looked past the superficial. After a few moments, I sucked in a breath. “This girl’s hair isn’t as well maintained. It’s all split ends and bad highlights. The other girl had salon hair.”

  Griffin nodded, grimacing. “The name we have on this girl is Caitlin Lorry. She’s been arrested several times.”

  “That doesn’t mean she deserved to end up like this,” I snapped.

  Griffin, ever patient, merely stared.

  “I’m sorry,” I offered almost immediately, raising my hands up. “I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t fair.”

  “I understand the compunction to lash out.” His tone was pointed. “We need to figure this out, though. Have you ever seen this girl?”

  “I can’t see her face.”

  Griffin’s fingers were gentle as he brushed the hair from the girl’s placid features. She looked as if she was sleeping. That made the scene all the worse, because it was hard to miss the angry marks around her neck.

  “I don’t recognize her,” I said finally.

  “Are you sure?” He looked disappointed.

  I nodded. “If she spends time around here, it’s somewhere away from the main buildings. I’ve never seen her before.”

  “Then why was she here?” Griffin murmured, more to himself. “You said there were a bunch of people in the lot walking in a circle when you left.”

  I nodded. “The cult. There were more than fifty of them.”

  “So, where did they go?”

  I chewed my bottom lip as I straightened and scanned the area. There was no sign of any of them. “Maybe they lost interest.”

  “After a few hours?” Griffin seemed dubious. “There are cameras here, right? Maybe we should watch the footage.”

  That was an idea. I had another. “Or we could just call Oliver. I asked him to keep an eye on our visitors. He acted as if they didn’t bother him, but I know better. If they’re still on the island, he’ll know where.”

  “Then give him a call,” Griffin said. “I can’t help thinking they’re our best bet of figuring out what went down here. Someone had to see something.”

  That sounded like wishful thinking, but I made the call. Oliver picked up on the second ring.

  “It’s the middle of the night,” he complained by way of greeting.

  “You’re not supposed to sleep through the night,” I reminded him pointedly, although I refused to utter the word “vampire.”

  “I can’t be stereotyped.”

  He sounded so cross it almost made me smile. Given the fact that I was standing over a body, that was a bad idea. “We have a situation,” I supplied. “There’s a dead girl in the aquarium lot. I need to find those cult members, and I need to find them now.”

  I couldn’t see him, but I had no doubt he was completely alert on the other end of the call. “I’m on my way. Give me five minutes.”

  Six

  Even though over the phone Oliver sounded as if I’d woken him, he was completely put together when he arrived. Griffin motioned at the uniformed officers so they knew to let him join us. Oliver appeared perplexed when he saw the body on the pavement.

  “How did this happen?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Griffin replied. “We’re looking for the cult members who were here earlier. Do you know where they went?”r />
  Oliver nodded. There was pity in his eyes and it was obvious he was bothered by the turn of events.

  “Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” I prodded. “We need to figure out who did this.”

  “They’re in the park,” Oliver replied. “They set up camp there.”

  “Set up camp??”

  “They’re camping under the stars. They got a permit from the city. I checked.”

  Well, I wasn’t expecting that. “How awesome.” I turned to Griffin. “I guess that means we’re heading over there.”

  “You don’t have to come,” Griffin said. “This isn’t your job. I can take it from here. I wouldn’t mind the company — especially since you’ve already met these people — but I don’t expect you to go.”

  “I only met a handful of the people,” I corrected. “I want to go.” I thought of Andrea, how I assumed she was the dead girl on the pavement. “There’s someone I want to check on.”

  Griffin nodded in understanding. “Okay ... .” He broke off at the sound of voices, lifting his chin and frowning as a new figure broke through the darkness to join the fray.

  “Braden,” I muttered.

  Braden’s eyes searched the faces, stopping when he found mine. It wasn’t happiness I saw reflected there. “Are you going to let me through?” he asked Griffin after a few moments of silence.

  “Let him through,” Griffin instructed with a sigh. The day had barely begun and he was already weary.

  “Hey.” I greeted him with a quick kiss, though it felt weird putting my emotions on display in front of Griffin’s men. “What are you doing here?”

  “What do you think?” Braden’s eyes fired with annoyance. “I woke up, expecting you to be beside me, and instead I found a note referring to a body at the aquarium. It’s not as if I could ignore that.”

  “Or perhaps you were simply looking for an excuse to avoid your grandparents,” Oliver suggested.

  Braden scalded him with a harsh look. “I don’t need an excuse.”

  “And we all want to spend as little time as possible with those people,” Griffin added. “They’re ... unpleasant.”

  “That’s a diplomatic way of putting it,” Braden drawled, his fingers brushing over my damp hair. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  I shrugged. “It didn’t seem necessary. I mean, what are you going to do here?”

  “Support you.”

  “Don’t you have charges to take care of?”

  “Yeah, but I pushed my morning jobs off on Redmond. Believe it or not, he was happy to take them because he doesn’t want to spend any more time with Emmet and Mary than absolutely necessary. Everybody was looking for reasons to escape from the house despite the omelet bar Dad tried to entice us with.”

  The Grimlock children were easily bribed with food. Each and every one of them had a price, and Cormack knew exactly what buttons to push to get what he wanted. “You gave up an omelet bar to check on me?”

  Even though he was obviously fighting the effort, Braden’s lips curved. “You might be surprised at what I would give up for you.”

  “Pie?”

  “Let’s not go crazy.” His hand was warm when he squeezed my fingers. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” His eyes drifted toward the body. “Do we know who that is?”

  Griffin brought him up to speed quickly.

  “I take it that means we’re going to the park to talk to the cultists,” Braden mused. “That’s not exactly how I saw my morning going, but I guess there are worse things.”

  “Like your grandparents?” Oliver asked.

  “That would be an example of the worst of the worst,” Braden confirmed. “Let’s check out the cult. After that, I’ll buy you breakfast.” His eyes were back on me. “Then we’ll have a long discussion about leaving notes when a crisis pops up.”

  I held back a sigh. “That sounds delightful.”

  FOUR GROUP MEMBERS WERE UP AND watching the perimeter. It was obvious they saw the police lights flashing in the distance and seemed on edge as they greeted us.

  “I’m Gary Burton,” one of the men offered by way of introduction, though he didn’t extend his hand. “How can I help you?”

  “We have a permit to be here,” one of the other men interjected. He was younger than the other three, his aura red and jumpy. I took that to mean he was ready for a fight should it come to it.

  “We’re not here to roust you,” Griffin reassured them, flashing his badge. “My name is Griffin Taylor. I’m a detective with the Detroit Police Department. There’s been an incident at the aquarium.”

  Gary’s eyes flashed with intrigue. “Is it the death door? Has it opened? Are the dead returning to reunite with their loved ones?”

  Griffin was well aware of the paranormal aspects of our world. He didn’t as much as blink at the questions. “I know nothing about a death door. There is a body in the parking lot. I guess she could’ve walked through a door to get there, but since my men recognize her as a regular in some of the Detroit parks, I think it’s far more likely that she hitched a ride out here.”

  Gary’s expression darkened. “You’re making fun of our beliefs.”

  “I don’t care about your beliefs,” Griffin fired back. “I care about a dead girl.”

  “Maybe she killed herself,” one of the other men suggested. He was blond, broad shouldered and dressed in a flannel shirt to ward off the chill. It was early summer in Detroit. That didn’t mean the nights couldn’t dip into chilly territory. “That’s the way with street kids, right?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “How could you know that she was a regular on the street?”

  He looked taken aback by the question. “I ... .”

  “She’s trying to rattle you, Jim,” Gary admonished. “Don’t let her.” He folded his arms across his chest. “We’re well aware of our rights. You can’t question us without legal representation. You might think our beliefs are ridiculous, but we’re not stupid.”

  “No one is suggesting anything of the sort,” Griffin countered. “I’m not here to cast aspersions on your beliefs or accuse you of anything. The fact of the matter is we have a dead girl. It’s my job to find out what happened to her.”

  “Perhaps you should talk to the drug dealers,” the youngest man sneered. He had a wholly unpleasant demeanor and I wanted to wipe the pinched expression off his face. “We saw quite a few of them on the street corners that way.” He gestured toward the bridge that led to the city. “They’re more likely to have the answers you’re looking for. We don’t hang out with trash.”

  “How do you know she was trash?” I challenged, my anger getting the better of me. “We haven’t told you a single thing about her.”

  “That’s the sort of people who live in this area — trash.”

  I clenched my hands into fists at my sides and debated if I could get past Griffin fast enough to attack the man. That’s when a new voice joined the fray.

  “That will be enough, Parker,” Titus admonished, shaking his head as he moved through the group of men. I had no idea where he’d come from, but I was impressed with the fluid way he wove through the shadows without alerting us to his presence. He was either very good or we were off our game.

  “This is Titus Weaver,” I said to Griffin, inclining my head. “He’s in charge of the group.”

  “I figured.” Griffin flashed a flat smile. “I’m Detective Taylor.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Titus shook his extended hand. “I wish it were under better circumstances.” His gaze drifted toward the flashing lights. Dawn was still a good twenty minutes away. It was difficult to ignore the quick flashes of blue and red. “I take it I missed something.”

  “They’re trying to blame us for a junkie’s death,” Parker said. “It’s just like you said it would be.”

  My temper, which had momentarily waned at Titus’s appearance, was back with a vengeance. “How do you know she was a junkie?”

  “I already told yo
u. This whole area is full of junkies.”

  “Stop,” Titus ordered, shaking his head as he held up a hand to quell Parker. “You’re making things worse and it’s really not necessary.”

  “They’re here to frame us for murder,” Parker hissed.

  “They’re doing nothing of the sort.” Titus lifted his arms over his head, stretching in a lackadaisical manner that I guessed was meant to suggest he didn’t have a care in the world. It seemed a bit too pointed for me, but I kept quiet. “You must forgive my young friend. He’s sees injustice at every turn.”

  Griffin was a master at keeping his facial expressions bland. “I really don’t care about his feelings. I care about the young girl who was strangled right over there.” He pointed. “My understanding is that you were walking the parking lot where she was killed a few hours ago. I need to know what you saw.”

  “See!” Parker’s eyes flashed with hatred. “He’s trying to pin it on us!”

  “I’ve had just about enough of you,” Titus said firmly, shifting his gaze to Gary. “Please take him to his parents. He’s clearly overwrought from lack of sleep. He should rest, regroup. Meditation couldn’t possibly hurt.”

  Gary nodded without hesitation. “I’m on it.” He grabbed Parker’s arm before the young man could put up much of a fuss and jerked him away from our group. “Can’t you just behave yourself for five minutes? You embarrassed Titus. Is that what you want?”

  Parker immediately stopped resisting Gary’s grip. “That’s not what I was trying to do.”

  “Well, that’s what you did. Now ... shut up.”

  I stared at Parker with unveiled interest as he was led away. It was hard to be certain, but I was almost positive I recognized a small flash of fear in the depths of his eyes before I lost sight of him. That was ... interesting.

  Titus cleared his throat, drawing my attention. The smile he offered was friendly enough, but he looked more quizzical than welcoming. “You’re the woman we met in front of the aquarium yesterday. What part do you play in this matter?”