I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing at Aisling’s imitation of her husband. The voice was wrong but the tone was spot-on.
“I’ll never live this down,” Aisling groused, shaking her head. “This bites.”
“Well, maybe you’ll think about that before breaking into someone’s home next time.” Galen swaggered up the stairs and stopped next to me. “You’re in trouble, too.”
“I was trying to help.”
“I know. You’re still in trouble.”
“I guess that means I’m not getting the ice cream again today, huh?”
His lips quirked, but he managed to maintain a straight face. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” He lightly brushed his hand over my shoulder as he walked past me and glanced inside the house. The odor was growing now that the seal had been broken. Soon it would be impossible to remain on the porch.
“See, he’s dead.” Aisling moved to the spot behind Galen’s right shoulder and stared into the house. “I think he’s been dead several days.”
“Oh?” Galen hiked an eyebrow. “Are you an expert on decomposition, too?”
“You’d be surprised at the things I know.”
“Well, you can know them over there.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. “I need to call for the medical examiner. I also have to think of a reason why you two were here. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“You’re welcome.” Aisling was blasé. “Would you like me to give you a feasible reason why we were here?”
“No.” He paused. “Maybe.”
“Just put on your report that I wanted to talk to the island reaper because I was curious. Say we saw something odd through the front window and tried to go inside to offer help. It’s not that difficult.”
“You’re an expert on alibis, too, I see.”
She nodded without hesitation. “That’s one I’ll claim. I’ve been arrested a few times. I know how to handle alibis.”
“Just go over there.” He wiggled his fingers. “I can’t wait until Griffin gets here to handle you.”
“You’re still a tattletale.”
“I can live with that.”
GRIFFIN DIDN’T LOOK ANY happier at the turn of events than Galen did when he arrived. His eyes were keen as he searched the crowd — the medical examiner’s team consisted of six people and the looky-loos from the neighborhood had already turned out, so the number of bodies on the lawn had grown considerably. The moment he caught sight of Aisling sitting under a tree in the middle of the yard his expression shifted from worried to relieved, and then to furious.
“He’s here,” I told Aisling, inclining my chin toward the driveway. “He looks extremely pissed off.”
“He’ll be fine.” Aisling didn’t move her back from the tree. The heat was oppressive — even by Moonstone Bay’s standards it was a scorcher — and the only spot that offered even a modicum of comfort was in the limited shade under the leafy branches.
“What are you doing here?” Griffin led with his fury and stalked to us. “Exactly what were you thinking breaking into a dead man’s house?”
“We didn’t know he was dead when we broke in,” I offered helpfully. I was much more nervous than Aisling, even though she was in the hot seat.
“Oh, well, you didn’t know he was dead.” Griffin hunkered down so Aisling had no choice but to look directly into his eyes. “What is wrong with you? Why would you do this? We’re supposed to be on our honeymoon.”
“Oh, I knew you were going to take that tack.” She screwed her face into a pout. “Just because it’s our vacation, that doesn’t mean I can’t help Hadley search for a murderer. I’m trying to help people.”
She looked earnest when she delivered the words. I was impressed.
“Oh, that’s a load of bull,” Griffin snapped, his temper getting the best of him. “If you think I’m going to fall for that, you’re slipping. You can do way better than that.”
“Fine. Since you abandoned me to go on a boat ride, I was on my own when I realized I was dehydrated and needed a drink,” Aisling offered. “I happened to run into Hadley at a local watering hole, and she volunteered to drive me around in her very cool golf cart so I could cool down. You know how much I love a good breeze. Anyway, we just happened to be close to here when I sensed death inside and we had to check. I can’t help it that I have a giving heart and want to do right by others.”
Griffin growled. “That was weak ... and don’t blame me for taking that boat ride. You insisted that you wanted me to go so your father wouldn’t have completely wasted his money.”
“Because he’s so upset with me.” Aisling widened her lavender eyes. “I don’t want him to be upset because I’m a daddy’s girl and need his support for what’s going to happen. I don’t know how to be a mother. I need my daddy, and that was the only way I could think to make him happy.”
“Knock it off.” Griffin extended a warning finger. “None of that will work on me. I don’t even know why you’re trying to get me to fall for it.”
I had no idea why she was putting him through the paces either, but it was a masterful display. I had to give her credit, she was good at thinking up lies on the spot.
“Fine.” Aisling exhaled so heavily her black bangs fluttered. “I was bored, Hadley suggested an adventure, I found out she had a golf cart, and I was all in.”
“That’s better.” Griffin sat on the ground next to her, his hand immediately going to her red face. “You’re warm.”
“And here I always believed you thought I was hot.”
“Not funny.” He grabbed the bottle of water sitting beside her on the ground. “This is not cold. I need to get some cold water into you.” He shifted his eyes to the ambulance sitting on the driveway. “Maybe they have something.”
He didn’t wait for a response before heading in that direction. Aisling watched him go, her expression unreadable.
“You’re good in a crisis,” I noted. “I tend to babble when I get into trouble like that.”
She merely shrugged. “He’s going to let me get away with pretty much everything right now, no matter how annoyed he is.”
“Because you’re carrying his baby?”
“That and because I had to kill my mother less than two weeks ago. He’ll give me all sorts of wiggle room.”
“And you’re going to take advantage of his giving heart?”
“Of course I am. There’s a reason I always get what I want.” Aisling offered Griffin a wan smile as he returned with a cold bottle of water. “Thank you. You’re the best husband ever.”
“I know you think you’re putting one over on me, but you’re not,” Griffin countered. “Once I get you in some air conditioning we’re going to have a big fight. Don’t think you’ve slithered your way out of it. I’m simply not going to risk it when you’re dehydrated and baking in hundred-degree weather.”
Aisling’s smile slipped. “It’s my honeymoon. I don’t want to fight.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you broke into a murder victim’s house. By the way, where is your lock pick?”
She feigned ignorance. “What lock pick?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Fine. I’ll simply frisk you when we get back to the hotel.”
“Now that is talk for a honeymoon.”
GRIFFIN SEPARATED FROM AISLING long enough to converse with Galen in the shadows at the front of the house. They had their heads bent together and looked serious. I was uncomfortable watching, but Aisling seemed amused.
“Griffin looks like a little kid standing next to Galen,” she mused. “I mean ... he’s not a small guy. He’s tall and strong. Galen is huge, though. Seriously, aren’t you ever afraid he’ll crush you?”
“It’s never come up,” I said dryly. “I think I’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, well, look at them.” Aisling’s lips curved as she shook her head. �
�They think they look all manly as they talk dead bodies and tiki masks, but they’re totally whipped. Neither one of them yelled about what happened. They did a little smoldering, but that’s easy to ignore.”
For my part, I was under no delusions that Galen wouldn’t resort to yelling later. He was simply waiting until we didn’t have an audience. “I don’t think they’re done.”
“Oh, they’re done.”
“Griffin says he’s going to yell at you when you get back to the hotel.”
“I’m not afraid of him. He’s a big pussycat. I’ll just call my dad and tell him Griffin is yelling at me and let them take out their frustrations on each other. Then they’ll both forget they’re angry with me.”
“I don’t think your father is angry with you.” I’d never met him, so I couldn’t say that with any degree of certainty, but I recognized what she was projecting. She was letting fear of being a mother take over. She was clearly fast on her feet, but baby talk seemed to be paralyzing her. “You’ll be fine. Besides, I think you’re right about Griffin. He won’t yell long. Just remind him you’re carrying his child every time he opens his mouth and he’ll back off quickly.”
“That’s actually a good idea.” She brightened. “Speaking of good ideas, I need to head over there and talk to those guys. Can you help me up? I think my butt is numb.”
I grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. “Why are you going over there? I don’t think it’s a good idea. That’ll just remind them that they’re angry.”
“As much as I’d only like to worry about myself, I have a certain duty ... and I definitely need to talk to them.” Aisling scuffed her feet against the ground as she closed the distance. Griffin sensed her before Galen bothered to look, but neither man appeared happy to see her.
“Sit in the shade, Aisling,” Griffin ordered. “I’ll be there in a few minutes and we’ll head back to the hotel. Stay out of the sun.”
She ignored the order and focused on Galen. “So, I don’t know if you’ve thought about it or not, but you have bigger problems than a dead reaper.”
Galen blinked several times before speaking. When he finally opened his mouth, his voice was rough. “Really? What are you an expert on now?”
“Being a reaper,” Aisling replied without hesitation. “You said you only have one on this island. He’s in there dead.” She jerked her thumb toward the house. “I think he’s been dead for a few days, but you don’t have to tell me I’m right.”
“Thanks for giving me permission to keep the specifics of my investigation under wraps,” he drawled. “Was there anything else?”
Aisling bobbed her head. “You have one reaper and he’s dead. That means you have no one collecting your souls. You might not realize it, and you don’t have a lot of deaths so it probably won’t become a problem right away, but the longer you go without a reaper the more souls you’ll have running around willy-nilly.”
Galen opened his mouth to say something that I was certain would be nasty, but he snapped it shut, flicking his eyes to Griffin as he shifted from one foot to the other. “I didn’t think of that. I don’t even know what to do under these circumstances.”
“I can contact my father and make sure he knows,” Aisling offered. “He’s with the reaper council. They should be able to get someone here relatively quickly. That doesn’t change the fact that we know one soul is running free and there might be more joining him. You need to find his scepter.”
“Why?”
“Because I can use it to absorb Jacob if we can find him again. You don’t want his soul running free for too long. It will cause problems.”
“And what does his scepter look like?”
Aisling described the device for him, and when Galen disappeared inside the house a second time it was with a huff. He was gone a full ten minutes, and when he returned he looked even unhappier than before – if that was even possible.
“I can’t find a scepter,” he announced. “In addition to that, it looks like he had a computer that’s been taken. There’s no tablet or anything else around. I’m betting that means his equipment was stolen.”
“So what do we do?” I asked, my stomach clenching. “What happens if we get overrun by ghosts? Will they become dangerous?”
Aisling didn’t immediately answer as Griffin absently rubbed her shoulders, instead pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I think I need to call my father to get some advice.”
“Then do it,” Galen prodded.
“He won’t be happy.”
“He’ll be fine,” Griffin soothed. “It’s not as if this is the worst thing you’ve ever done. Heck, it’s not even the worst thing in the last thirty days.”
“True enough. I guess I shouldn’t wait. We definitely need direction.”
9
Nine
Aisling insisted on searching the house herself, which annoyed Galen to no end. When I pointed out she would be better at recognizing things, he responded with an agitated growl but let her inside. She stopped by the body long enough to give it a long look and then proceeded into the bowels of the house. After twenty minutes, she declared the scepter nowhere to be found.
“I believe that’s what I already told you,” Galen pointed out once we were back on the front lawn.
“Yes, but now we can say it with authority.”
He slid his eyes to Griffin. “How do you live with her?”
Griffin shrugged. “I think she’s kind of cute.” He cast Aisling a fond look. “She’s also in big trouble. We’re heading back to the hotel so she can call her father and we can discuss the proper way to enjoy a honeymoon.”
Aisling’s scowl was pronounced. “I know how to enjoy a honeymoon. You get naked and eat a lot of ice cream.”
“Then we’ll try that.” Griffin slipped his arm around her back and prodded her forward. “We’ll be in touch once we hear something from Cormack. I don’t know enough about the inner workings of reapers to say how he’ll react, but I’m pretty sure Aisling is right about this. You don’t want a bunch of souls running around your island ... it might turn off the tourists.”
“We’ll meet for dinner,” Galen said. “I know a nice place that won’t be overrun. It has good food. I need a few hours to deal with this.”
“Understood.” Griffin offered up a half-salute before dragging Aisling out of the yard.
I watched them go, amused at the way they interacted. He said something she didn’t like, causing her to groan, but her smile returned when he poked her side and leaned his head close and whispered something to her.
“They’re kind of sweet, huh?” I shifted my eyes to Galen and found him frowning at me. “Or ... she could be the Devil. I think it’s entirely possible.”
“She’s definitely the Devil,” he agreed. “You and I need to talk later. I don’t have time now because I have my second dead body in as many days, but as soon as we both have a free moment there are things we should probably discuss.”
My shoulders slumped. “Are you waiting for air conditioning to yell, too?”
“No. I said we’re going to have a discussion. I don’t foresee yelling.”
I didn’t believe him. “Have I ever told you how handsome I find you?”
He shook his head. “We’re going to talk. That’s all there is to it.” He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss. “I think you’ll survive.”
“I guess.” I leaned in and gave him another kiss. “I really am sorry. I didn’t know she was going to break in until she already had the door open. She has fast hands.”
“And a mouth that doesn’t quit.”
“I kind of admire that about her.”
“I’m definitely limiting your time with her.” He stroked his hand down the back of my head. “What are you doing the rest of the afternoon?”
“The plan was to research the tiki masks. I guess that’s still the plan. I’m going to have to think of another way to approach it, though.”
“Just be car
eful. Don’t go looking for trouble. We have a murderer on this island, and because we don’t know what’s triggering the kills everyone is a potential victim.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good.” One more kiss and he sent me on my way with a wave. “I’ll be in touch about dinner. We’ll work in our conversation around that.”
“I can’t wait.”
INSTEAD OF HEADING BACK TO the lighthouse, where I was certain Wesley and May were up to their usual hijinks, I headed for the beach. While out and about with Aisling earlier, I’d noticed a familiar van parked next to one of the tiki bars, and I was certain I would find the area jack-of-all-trades hanging there.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Booker (no last name that I’d been able to ascertain) was sitting at a table drinking an iced tea when I walked through the door. He had his toolbox on the floor next to his feet, and his eyebrows hopped when he saw me.
“Well, well, well,” he drawled, a sly smile splitting his handsome features. “If it isn’t my favorite witch.”
“If it isn’t my favorite cupid,” I shot back, enjoying the way his cheeks flooded with color as he slipped lower in his seat.
“Don’t say that so loud,” he admonished, glancing around to see if we’d drawn attention. “You know I don’t like talking about ... it.”
The “it” he was referring to was the fact that he was a cupid, something I’d only learned about a few weeks before. He’d rather begrudgingly admitted it when my questions about his nature became too invasive. After dropping the hammer — and helping me out with a murderous witch — he’d taken to lurking in the shadows for a bit. I understood why he was embarrassed and wanted to keep to himself. Most females threw themselves at him because they couldn’t help it, his pheromones apparently too great to resist, but I was seemingly immune. Still, I liked him. We’d built up a solid friendship. I had no intention of letting him hide forever.
Freaky Deaky Tiki Page 8
