Grim Rising (Aisling Grimlock Book 7)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “There’s nothing to see on that video,” Griffin argued. “We were walking down the street, a man ran into Aisling and knocked her over. She punched him in the face and he was dead. Now they say he’d been dead for a month. None of it makes sense.”

  “It does if you believe in zombies,” I offered.

  Dad offered me a slit-eyed stare. “What did I tell you about zombies when you were a child?”

  “To shoot the most annoying person in our group in the leg and leave him behind for fodder as I made my escape.”

  “That was a joke.” Dad’s smile was sheepish. “What else did I tell you?”

  “That they weren’t real,” I replied, understanding that was the answer he sought. “You also told me Santa Claus was real, so you clearly can’t be trusted.”

  “Don’t push it.” Dad extended a warning finger. “You need to stop with this zombie nonsense. I’m sure there’s another explanation.”

  “And I will find out what that is.” Neil got to his feet. “I’ll be in touch, Cormack. As for you, Aisling, try to stay out of trouble. If the police bother you again make sure you call me.”

  “I’ll add you to my speed dial.” I offered up a sweet smile and watched him leave. “Now he thinks I’m crazy, too.”

  “No one thinks you’re crazy,” Dad chided.

  “I might, but I have bigger things to worry about,” Griffin said, sliding his eyes to me. “You know that car that was following you yesterday?”

  “It was the cops, wasn’t it?”

  Griffin nodded. “They didn’t come out and say it, but I asked. They evaded instead of answering. That means they were following you. The good news is they seem to have lost you in downtown Ferndale and have no idea you were in Markham’s loft.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll have to be careful.”

  “I think they might’ve been following you all day,” Griffin said. “They asked me if I was aware that you drove all over the suburbs and made multiple stops.”

  “What did you tell them?” Dad inquired, sobering.

  “That she was probably researching estate sales and I don’t really keep up with her day-to-day activities because antiques don’t whip me into a frenzy,” Griffin explained. “I’m not sure they believed me.”

  “Which means they’ll probably have someone following her today, too.” Dad rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “You know what that means, right, Aisling?”

  “I do. It means that I can’t text while driving, because they’ll know if I do.”

  “You shouldn’t do that regardless,” Dad said. “It also means you can’t go out on jobs.”

  Wait … what? “Excuse me?”

  “You can’t go out on jobs,” Dad repeated. “If you go to the wrong one and someone sees what you’re doing ̶ or worse, a wraith comes calling ̶ we’ll be in big trouble. We can’t risk it.”

  “So, you’re sidelining me?”

  “I don’t see where I have much choice.”

  I turned to Griffin for help. “They won’t follow me to jobs, will they?”

  “I think that they’re going to follow you everywhere,” Griffin replied. “I’m sorry. Until we figure this out, you’re grounded. You have to stay home and not draw attention to yourself.”

  That sounded like the worst idea ever. “But … what am I supposed to do?”

  A small smile played at the corner of Griffin’s lips. “Well, Jerry brought you a bunch of wedding magazines. Maybe you can get a jumpstart on wedding plans.”

  Dad beamed. “That sounds like a capital idea!”

  I didn’t bother to hide my disdain. “I hate you both right now.”

  “You’ll live.” Griffin patted my hand as he finished off my coffee. “Now, come on. Some of us actually have to go to work today. We can’t all lounge around and do nothing but dream about marrying the best man ever.”

  I groaned as he dragged me to a standing position. “This sucks.”

  “Yeah, and I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse.”

  “WHAT TIME IS it?”

  I paced the living room as Griffin affixed his badge to his belt and watched me go insane. “Five minutes after the last time you asked. Stop doing that. You’ll wear a path in the rug.”

  I scalded him with a withering look. “Ha, ha.”

  “Hey, this isn’t my fault.” Griffin’s voice was tinged with irritation. “I didn’t cause this situation.”

  “But I did, huh?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You’re thinking it.”

  “You have no idea what I’m thinking,” Griffin argued. “The fact of the matter is, you’re in this position for the foreseeable future and there’s absolutely nothing we can do to get you out of it until we have more information.”

  “You’re only upset because I called my father,” I grumbled, running my toe over the carpet as I stared at my feet. “You think I should’ve played nice with Detective Green, even though he thinks I’m a wacky murderer who hides bodies for a month and then disposes of them in downtown Royal Oak.”

  “I’m not happy you called your father,” Griffin conceded. “I think it was completely unnecessary and that you only did it to put Mark in his place. He pretty much said the same to me.”

  “That’s not why I did it.”

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “Because my father told me a long time ago that I had to be careful,” I replied, refusing to back down. “I’m a reaper. We do weird crap on a daily basis. If someone were to find out … what do you think that would mean for all of us?”

  “I don’t know,” Griffin sighed. “I’ve often wondered if it wouldn’t be easier for everyone concerned if you worked in the open. People should understand you have a job to do.”

  “Oh, please,” I scoffed. “If people found out they’d tracking us down and killing us because they’d think that way they could live forever.”

  Griffin stilled. “I didn’t consider that.”

  “That’s on top of the rich ones who’d think they could buy their way out of death,” I said. “This house would be under siege from people who want to save a dead loved one from passing over, as if that somehow means they’re doing a good thing by ending us.”

  Griffin held up his hand to stop me before I went off on a tangent. “Okay. You have a point. That still doesn’t mean we needed your father to send his high-priced lawyer down to save us. Mark has nothing on us.”

  “You keep saying that, and I know you believe that means something because you’re a good cop and always look for the truth, but Detective Green is obviously looking hard at me even though I have no motive and he has video of the first altercation,” I said. “I love that you believe in the system, because that means you’re good at your job. You take pride in it, and I take pride in being with you every single day.”

  Griffin’s expression softened. “Aisling … .”

  “I’m not finished.” I turned so my shoulders were squared as I faced him. “Not all cops are like you. Detective Green isn’t going to stop until he manages to pin this on me. That means we have to figure out what’s going on ourselves.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know yet. Apparently I have the whole day to give it some thought.”

  “Well, let me know what you come up with.” Griffin moved toward the door, causing my heart to flutter when I realized he wasn’t going to kiss me goodbye. He was putting on a good show of not being angry, but I knew that temper lurked under his handsome and amiable features. He wanted to explode. “I’m sorry this is so hard for you. I’ll pick up dinner on my way home and we’ll talk when I get back.”

  I stared at him for a long moment. “Right. Have a good day at work.”

  “Have a good day looking at the magazines. Why don’t you mark anything you like and we’ll look at them together when I get back.” It was an olive branch. He was doing his best to keep things from imploding in spectacular fashion.

  “Sure.” I swall
owed hard. “One thing before you go.”

  Griffin stilled near the door, his fingers on the handle. “I’m going to be late.”

  “This will just take a second.” I hated the distance between us. I hated it that it appeared so quickly, forming a chasm that wasn’t there mere hours before. “Did Detective Green tell you who called in the body in the backyard?”

  “No.”

  “Did he give you a name?”

  “He doesn’t have an identity yet.”

  Hmm. That was interesting. “Do you think you can find out who called it in?”

  “Why?” Griffin clearly wasn’t in the mood for me to play amateur sleuth, and his expression said exactly that. “You’re not to stick your nose into this situation until we have a talk tonight and come up with a plan. Do you understand?”

  “I love when you boss me around.”

  Griffin ignored my tone. “Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” I hissed, crossing my arms over my chest. “I get it. You don’t have to talk to me as if I’m two.”

  “That’s not my intention. I just … need you to be safe.” Griffin opened the door and stepped over the threshold, stopping long enough to give me one more look. “I love you. I’m sorry about all of this. Be safe and … I’ll bring a nice dinner home.”

  I pursed my lips and nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

  The second Griffin shut the door I reached for my cell phone. I’d be waiting when he got home, but if he thought I was hanging out in this townhouse all day knowing the cops were outside watching my every move he had another think coming.

  My brother picked up on the first ring.

  “Redmond, I need you to come pick me up. The thing is … I need you to park two blocks away in that alley by the market so the cops don’t see us. We have a situation.”

  There was a reason I called Redmond instead of anyone else. He didn’t even hesitate when responding. “Cool. I love messing with the cops.”

  That made two of us.

  13

  THIRTEEN

  Redmond had the heat blasting and a cup of coffee waiting for me when I hopped into his Ford Expedition.

  “Where are the cops?”

  “In the parking lot.” I removed my gloves and wrapped my hands around the coffee. “They’re not even attempting to hide themselves. I think they’re trying to unnerve me.”

  “They must not realize what a hard case you are.” Redmond offered up a saucy wink. “Where’s Griffin?”

  “Work.” I averted my gaze and stared out the window. “You should exit this alley from the opposite direction, just to be on the safe side.”

  “Okay.” Redmond didn’t put up an argument, waiting until we were on the road and heading away from the townhouse to speak again. “Where are we going?”

  “Woodward Crossing.”

  He furrowed his brow. “We’re going shopping? You called me to spring you from the ever-watchful gaze of the cops to go shopping?”

  “No, we’re going to question Madame Dauphine,” I corrected.

  “Who is Madame Dauphine?”

  “She’s a voodoo queen who does this Marie Laveau shtick that’s right out of a bad horror movie,” I explained. “I met her the day before yesterday.”

  “Would that be the same day you had a guy die after hitting him in the face?”

  I should’ve known my father would fill in my brothers. Ah, well. It made things easier. “Yes.”

  “Dad didn’t have much time to tell us about all of that,” Redmond said. “He picked up your jobs for the day, by the way. Do you want to expand for those of us not in the loop?”

  “Not if you’re going to make fun of me.”

  “Why would I make fun of you?”

  “I know Dad told you about my zombie theory.”

  “Oh, that.” Redmond chuckled. “Yeah, that’s a little crazy, Aisling. Zombies aren’t real.”

  “Most people would say that about reapers.”

  “We’re not most people. We know how the paranormal world works, what’s real and what isn’t, and zombies are most definitely not real.”

  “Zombies like we see in movies and television aren’t real,” I corrected. “That doesn’t mean the idea of someone using dead bodies as weapons doesn’t have merit.”

  “Okay.” Redmond stretched out the word as he regrouped. “And you think this Madame Dauphine has something to do with it?”

  “I think that Jerry and I ran into Angelina the other day and she was acting squirrelly. I couldn’t even land a good insult. I thought I was off my game, but maybe something else was going on.”

  “Like?”

  “Well, we saw Angelina go into a voodoo shop, so we followed her.”

  “And that’s where you met Madame Dauphine? What? Don’t look at me that way. You’re terrible when it comes to telling a story. You get that from Dad. He takes hours to tell one story, and then the end isn’t even worth the ride.”

  “I’m telling him you said that.”

  “Hey, I pushed off my jobs on Cillian, Braden and Aidan so I could spend the day with you,” Redmond said. “I think you owe me.”

  “Fine.” I blew out a sigh. “When we entered the shop, I sensed right away there was something different about this woman.”

  “You sensed?”

  “It’s a girl thing,” I explained. “She seemed … keyed in to me, if that makes any sense. She knew I was different. She wouldn’t stop staring. Jerry was the one buying everything, but she was much more interested in me.”

  “No offense, kid, but you seem to have that effect on everyone,” Redmond pointed out. “People are fascinated by you because you say whatever comes to your mind and you don’t care about making a scene.”

  “I wasn’t making a scene in the voodoo shop,” I argued. “I went in because I wanted to see what Angelina was doing. I didn’t care about Madame Dauphine or her potions.”

  “What was Angelina doing?”

  “I don’t know. She was gone by the time we got there. She went out a side door.”

  “That’s kind of suspicious, huh?”

  “Exactly! I’ve been thinking about this.” I shifted in my seat so I faced Redmond. “What if Angelina has been going to the voodoo lady to get spells to mess with me? That would explain why my insults were so lame.”

  “Yes, because messing with your insult ability is the same as killing a man.”

  “That’s the thing. What if she didn’t kill anyone?” I challenged. “What if she merely used a spell or potion on a body that was already dead?”

  Redmond arched a dubious eyebrow. “How does that work?”

  “How should I know? I’m not a voodoo queen. That’s why we’re going to talk to a voodoo queen.”

  “Okay, I guess I can get behind that.” Redmond said the words, but he didn’t look convinced. “Just out of curiosity, what does Griffin think about this?”

  “He doesn’t believe me.” I sat back in the seat, deflating. “He thinks I’m crazy. He’s also angry because I called Dad, and Neil showed up while I was at the police station.”

  “That’s the smartest thing you could’ve done,” Redmond said. “As for the voodoo stuff … I don’t know. The timing is interesting, and I think it’s worth a shot to question this Madame Dauphine. Why do you think she’s trying to emulate Marie Laveau?”

  “It’s just this feeling I got when I was in her shop. She has a way of carrying herself. You’ll have to see for yourself to understand, but it’s weird. She knew what I was. I’m almost certain of that. She said I dealt in death.”

  “Technically Angelina knows what we are,” Redmond pointed out. “She had an idea after that wraith attack a couple months back. She knows Mom came back from the dead. Even though we told her that lame story about how it happened, she doesn’t seem to believe the lies we’re spinning. Then, of course, she was attacked by the mirror man and survived all of that mess. She might not know everything about us, but she knows enough to ma
ke our lives miserable. She could’ve told Madame Dauphine about us.”

  “That’s possible.” I’d considered that, but something didn’t feel right about the scenario. “I don’t think Angelina saw us following her, though. How did Madame Dauphine know who I was if Angelina didn’t tell her about me?”

  “Huh. A woman with black hair streaked through with white and purple eyes. I have no idea how she figured it out. It’s a mystery.”

  “Knock it off.” I poked Redmond’s side. “I honestly think there’s something going on in that shop. I can’t explain it, but I feel it.”

  “Well, I have faith in you, so we’ll check it out,” Redmond said. “What did Griffin say when you told him you were doing this?”

  “Oh, I didn’t tell him. He’s mad at me. Besides, he’d be totally ticked off to know that I crawled through a window to sneak out of the townhouse and then climbed a fence to get into an alley. He doesn’t find playing games with cops nearly as much fun as we do.”

  “So that means he’s going to be ticked off when he finds out, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you ready for that? You guys haven’t done much fighting of late. It’s been quiet.”

  I tilted my head to the side, considering. “I think we need to have a fight, if that makes sense.”

  “Not in the least.”

  “I know that he was upset when I got hurt … .”

  “Wrecked,” Redmond interjected. “He was wrecked when you got hurt. He didn’t leave your side, kid. He even cried a few times, and he didn’t care who saw.”

  The statement caused my stomach to flip. “I don’t want to hurt him. It’s the last thing I want. He can’t cushion me in bubble wrap and protect me forever. He needs to lose his temper so he realizes he can do it without the world coming to an end.”

  “And you’re going to help him strictly out of the goodness of your heart, right?” Redmond’s tone was teasing.

  “I’m going to help him for the good of us all.”

  “You’ve always been altruistic.”