Dad stilled. “Gargoyle?”
“No way,” Braden said. “Gargoyles aren’t real.”
“They are so,” I argued. “One swooped in and helped me fight off two wraiths last night and … .” Crud. That probably wasn’t a story I wanted to tell.
“Wraiths? You were attacked by two wraiths last night and you didn’t tell me?” Dad was incensed, and now for a completely different reason.
“I was going to tell you tonight but … well … when I found out you had company I had second thoughts,” I explained.
“I didn’t realize wraiths were still in the area,” Barbara said, concern flitting across her pleasant features. “I thought you guys destroyed them all in the Olivet Mausoleum a few weeks ago.”
“I knew we didn’t destroy them all, but I had no idea there were still some lurking so close to my family,” Dad seethed. “Aisling, did the wraiths say anything?”
Now I was really in a bad place. “Um … .”
“Aisling has something to tell all of you and … no offense to you, Barbara, because you seem like a perfectly nice woman and I would love to watch an uncomfortable dinner with you and this gaggle of Grimlocks one evening … I think she would feel more comfortable doing it with just family,” Griffin supplied.
“I think she should tell me now,” Dad said. “Barbara is my … friend. I don’t have any secrets from her.”
“You really don’t want me to do this in front of an audience, Dad,” I said, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Trust me.”
“You’ve been acting strange for two weeks,” Dad argued. “At first I thought you were upset about killing Fontaine. Something else is going on, though, and you’re going to tell me what it is right now.”
“I … .” I cast a sidelong look in Griffin’s direction, silently pleading for help.
“You need to tell them,” Griffin said. “Just do it.”
I pressed my eyes shut, tugging on my fleeing courage. When I opened my eyes again, I was resigned.
“As he was dying, Fontaine told me that Mom is still alive and she is behind the attacks on me,” I announced. “I didn’t know whether I should believe him at first but … um … I think she’s alive and there’s probably a good chance she’s evil.”
Whew. It was out there. I felt so much better.
“What?” The deafening roar of five Grimlock men bellowing at me in unison told me otherwise.
“Here we go, baby,” Griffin muttered. “I’m right here.”
Twenty-Two
“Oh, dear,” Barbara said, glancing around the room.
“What did you just say?” Dad asked, leaning forward so there would be no mistaking exactly who his glare fell upon.
“I said that before he died Fontaine told me Mom was alive.” My voice was weaker the second time I said the words.
“And you believed him?” Dad snorted. “Why would you possibly believe one thing that man said to you after he tried to kill you?” The look on Dad’s face was piteous. “Aisling, you’re smarter than that. Is that what’s been bothering you?”
“You should have said something, Bug,” Jerry chided. “You’ve been torturing yourself over something that’s completely ridiculous. You poor thing.” He moved to climb over Griffin’s lap and hug me, but I leapt up from the couch to evade him.
“I didn’t tell you right away because I figured he had to be lying,” I said. “Or … maybe that’s not true. Maybe I hoped he was lying. That doesn’t change the fact that Fontaine and Sylvia were working for someone.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s your mother,” Dad said. “Aisling, I … have you been letting this eat at you? Why?”
“I think it’s true.”
“Get a grip!” Braden exploded. “Mom died in the fire.”
“No, she didn’t.” Dad and I exchanged conflicted looks. After Genevieve Toth admitted she took my mother from the fire and she didn’t die until sometime later, Dad and I agreed to keep the news between us. Mom was still dead. Telling my brothers the truth would be akin to torture. As much as I liked messing with them, even I wouldn’t find enjoyment in letting them wonder how much Mom suffered before her death.
“What are you saying?” Redmond asked.
“Genevieve Toth told me that she took Mom from the fire the night she died,” I said. “She said Mom was injured and in bad shape and she died later. She had Mom’s wedding ring. I gave it to Dad. We agreed not to tell you guys because it didn’t change anything. She was still gone and we didn’t want you to mourn her a second time.”
“Is that true?” Cillian turned accusatory eyes on Dad. “Is what she’s saying true?”
“Yes,” Dad said, gripping his chair armrests and shifting. “That part is true.”
“How could Mom survive that fire when we know the Grimponds reaped her?” Braden asked.
“I … .” Dad furrowed his brow. I could tell he was coming to an uncomfortable realization. “That’s a good question.”
“I met with Fox Grimpond a few days ago,” I admitted.
“That’s against the rules, Aisling,” Dad snapped.
“I don’t care,” I countered. “I had to know.”
“And what did he tell you?”
“He lied.”
Dad rolled his neck, the crack audible. “How do you know he lied?”
“He told me that Mom was upset to leave us but resigned to go,” I answered. “He said he didn’t reap her that night because he was on a conference call with you and that Everett was in charge.
“Well, I ran into Everett today,” I continued. “It seemed a little coincidental, but hey, I had a gargoyle in my house last night, so I pretty much figure up is down now. I asked him about that night.”
“And what did Everett have to say?” Redmond asked, wrinkling his nose.
“Well, he commented on my boobs – including the fact that his father apparently liked them – and then he said he hadn’t forgotten about what you did to him at the retreat the last year we went,” I said.
“You didn’t tell me his dad commented on your boobs, too,” Griffin said.
“Hey, they’re fantastic,” Jerry said. “Everyone should comment on them.”
“I know they’re fantastic,” Griffin said. “You shouldn’t know that, though. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Everyone shut up about … that,” Dad snapped. “What else did Everett say?”
I wasn’t sure whether he believed me. He was certainly more interested in the conversation. “He said that he reaped Mom outside the building because the police and fire departments were already there,” I replied. “He also said no one could get in the building because it was chained shut – from the outside.”
“But … .” Cillian leaned forward, his face ashen. “How could Mom get in the building if the door was chained?”
“See, that proves that Everett was lying,” Braden said. “I hate to say it, Ais, but I think someone is playing an elaborate hoax on you and you had the misfortune of falling for it.”
“I pulled the file on the fire today,” Griffin interjected. “The door was chained from the outside.”
“You pulled the file?” Dad asked. “Why?”
“I asked him to,” I said.
“You asked your boyfriend to get involved with our private business?” Dad was incensed. He couldn’t focus his fury on the people he really wanted to kill, so he took it out on Griffin.
“Don’t even go there,” I replied. “He’s been amazing the past two weeks. He’s stood by me every step of the way. He’s all I’ve had and without him … .”
“It’s okay,” Griffin said. “He has a right to be angry.”
“With me,” I corrected. “He has a right to be angry with me. You didn’t do anything.”
“Why would you go to him instead of me?” Dad asked.
“Because I didn’t want to uproot our lives if I wasn’t sure.”
“And you’re sure now?”
“I … I’m pre
tty sure.”
Dad swore as he climbed to his feet and began pacing. Griffin kept a steady eye on him, but remained seated. I think he worried Dad would go after me. No matter how angry he was, I knew Dad would never hurt me. Not physically, at least.
“What did the fire report say?” Dad asked, his voice strained. “I want to know exactly what it said.”
Griffin cleared his throat. “The initial emergency call came in from a neighbor shortly before ten,” he said. “My understanding of the evening is that Mrs. Grimlock would’ve already been inside the building by the time the call was placed.”
Dad nodded.
“Three people got out of the building through windows that night,” Griffin continued. “One person died at the scene and another was declared dead at the hospital. There’s no record of Mrs. Grimlock being in the fire.”
“That was by design,” Dad explained. “When we found out there was nothing left to bury, we knew there was no reason to come up with an explanation for her presence inside. We weren’t sure until the news reports said only two people died.”
“Did you ever try to get a copy of the report?” Griffin asked.
“There was no need,” Dad said. “Fox filed an internal report. I … how incredibly stupid.”
“The fire did burn hot,” Griffin said. “The fire inspector found that an overloaded outlet was the source of the blaze. That was on your report, and it appears to be true. No one knows how the doors were chained, and technically it’s still an open investigation.”
Griffin glanced at me, his face unreadable. “After our lunch this afternoon, I decided to track down the original file,” he said. “Parts of it are missing.”
“What does that mean?” Cillian asked.
“It means that someone could have lost the original documents,” Griffin replied. “It also means someone could have purposely removed them.”
“I don’t understand,” Braden said. “Why would someone purposely remove them?”
“Because they didn’t want us looking into your mother’s death,” Dad said, running a hand through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”
“Hey, two minutes ago you thought I was crazy,” I said.
“I’ve thought you were crazy since you hit puberty,” Dad shot back. “Don’t kid yourself. Why didn’t you come to me with this?”
“Because I didn’t want to be wrong.”
“Well, you were wrong,” Dad said. “You … dammit, Aisling! You should have told me this from the start.”
“Don’t yell at her,” Griffin said, pushing himself up from the couch and moving to my side. “She’s been making herself sick about this for weeks. She didn’t tell you because she loves you. It’s the same reason you’re angry with her right now. Try to keep some perspective.”
“You shut your mouth,” Dad threatened, wagging his finger in Griffin’s face. “You’re the reason she didn’t come to us. She didn’t need to because she decided to go to you instead.”
“Oh, you can’t blame Griffin for this,” I snapped. “He’s been telling me how important it was to admit everything to you since it happened. I was the one who couldn’t tell you. I made the decision to keep it to myself until we knew more.”
“And how long have you known?” Dad asked, his violet eyes flashing as they met Griffin’s unflinching stare.
“She told me at the hospital when we were waiting to hear whether Redmond would be okay after the fight,” Griffin replied, his tone even. “She was shaking … and crying … and lost. I did what I thought was right and stood with her.”
“You mean you helped her betray us,” Aidan said. It was the first time he’d spoken in what felt like ages. “You slept under the same roof I did for two straight weeks and helped her lie to me. You two did that together. Congratulations.”
“I slept in her bed and was loyal to her,” Griffin corrected. “If you don’t believe she’s been struggling … then you’re an idiot.”
“Struggling? Struggling?” Redmond hopped to his feet. “She’s been struggling? We’ve all been trying to figure out what’s wrong with her and you’ve known all along. You isolated her from us on purpose.”
“Don’t turn this around on Griffin,” I growled. “We wanted more information before we came to you. He’s been on your side this entire time. I did it. Be angry with me.”
“Oh, we’re angry with you,” Cillian said, scowling. “We’ve gone out of our way to protect you your entire life and you paid us back with lies. Our mother is out there somewhere!”
“Did you miss the part where she’s probably trying to kill me?” I exploded.
Griffin moved to grab my hand and then wisely thought better of it. “I can understand why you’re all angry. I really can,” he said. “I knew this would get ugly. We’re not done telling you everything, though, so you might want to rein in those tempers until we’ve laid it all out for you.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this,” Braden grumbled.
“Saturday night a man approached me outside of a bar in Ferndale,” I said. “I saw him watching me in the bar and I followed him outside.”
“You’re such an idiot,” Redmond seethed.
I ignored the comment. “He was with a wraith, and they wanted me to go with them,” I continued. “When I refused, they told me they were going to take me. That’s when Griffin came looking for me and killed the wraith.
“Before all of that, though, I asked the man – who I believe was probably another rogue reaper – whether he worked for Mom,” I said. “He denied it, but … he was lying. Whether he was lying about that or something else, I don’t know. He seemed keen on answers about what happened to Fontaine and Sylvia, though. He honestly didn’t know what happened that day at the mausoleum.”
“Where is he now?” Braden asked.
“He left. We were in public and it’s not as if we could chase him without causing a scene.”
“Well, great,” Redmond said, his eyebrows lifting. “That’s a big load of nothing for us to follow up.”
“When I got home last night, two wraiths were waiting for me in front of the townhouse,” I said. “A gargoyle – his name is Bub and I’m not making him up – swooped in and helped me fight.
“I killed them both with one of Jerry’s solar lights and had a little talk with Bub,” I said. “He claims that someone is amassing an army of wraiths and gargoyles to go after me. He claims I’m some sort of … key … and someone wants to use me. He claims he has no idea why they want me.”
“Do you believe him?” Cillian asked.
“No. He’s clearly hiding something.”
Braden held up his hands. “Wait … are we just falling for this gargoyle nonsense because she says it’s true? She’s been lying to us for two weeks. Why should we believe her now?”
“You’re unbelievable,” Griffin said. “Why would she make that up?”
“Why did she lie to us?”
“I saw the gargoyle,” Aidan said. “Aisling let it into the townhouse to talk. It looked like a little, rubbery … .”
“Dog-owl,” I supplied.
“It kind of did look like a dog-owl,” Jerry interjected. “It also had a really big tail that looked like a penis.”
“Thank you, Jerry,” Dad said, rolling his eyes.
“I was trying to be helpful.”
“Well, you weren’t,” Braden snapped.
“Don’t yell at him,” Aidan said. “You’re angry with Aisling. Yell at her. She lied to everyone in this room, including her supposed best friend. I’m guessing you didn’t tell Jerry about this either. Wait … she didn’t tell you, did she?”
Jerry patted Aidan’s hand. “She didn’t tell me. Don’t worry, I haven’t been lying to you like she has.”
“Thanks,” I said, rubbing the tender spot between my eyebrows.
“I’m sorry, Bug,” Jerry said. “I … now I know why you forgot the Miss America Pageant. The good news for you is that I’m not angr
y with you about that anymore.”
“That’s great.”
“I am really ticked you didn’t tell me your mother was alive, though,” Jerry said, his tone serious. “I’m your best friend. You should’ve trusted me with your secret.”
“I didn’t tell you because I knew you would tell Aidan,” I shot back.
“You don’t know that,” Jerry argued.
Aidan scorched Jerry with a look.
“Of course I would’ve told Aidan,” Jerry corrected, although he appeared conflicted. That whole dating-your-best-friend’s brother thing was finally coming back to bite him in the ass. “I would’ve told you, sweetie.”
Aidan shook his head. “Are you happy? You’ve upset Jerry.”
“Oh, stuff it,” Griffin said. “You’re the one making things worse with Jerry.”
“All of you stuff it,” Dad said. “Is that it, Aisling? Is that everything you have to tell me?”
Was it? I’d lost track. “I think so.”
“Not quite,” Griffin said. “We’ve been talking, and no matter how this shakes out – whether Mrs. Grimlock is alive or dead – the Grimponds lied the night of her supposed death. They didn’t reap her. There has to be a reason for them to lie.”
“Maybe they should ask Aisling why she lied and steal her reason,” Braden suggested.
“I don’t have to take this,” I said, glaring at Braden. “I lied. I did. I probably should have told you what Fontaine said the night of the mausoleum fire. I was … confused. I’m sorry. I can’t go back in time and fix it, though, so you guys have to suck it up if we want to figure this out.”
“Excuse me?” Braden was furious. “You don’t get to come in here and dictate terms after what you’ve done!”
“I’m not dictating terms,” I argued. “I’m trying to … get us back on task.”
“Dad, tell her that she’s done playing mistress of the house,” Braden ordered.
“Dad, tell him that he’s a jerkwad,” I countered.
“Dad, tell them both to shut up because they’re giving me a headache,” Aidan interjected.
“He’s right,” Dad said hollowly.
“Who is right?”
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