Grim and Bear It

by Paula Lester

  Maybe he pulled an Elvis. But the bathroom was empty. And disgusting. It didn’t look like it had been cleaned in months.

  Tessa threw her hand to her mouth to cover a gag. She hurried farther down the hall for a quick scan of the bedroom. Surprise, surprise. It was messy too. Still, there was no sign of Mr. Sanborn or his soul.

  What in the world?

  Tessa gripped her phone and considered calling her mother. She had no idea what a reaper should do when their mark wasn’t where he was supposed to be. But she hesitated. The truth was, she was late to Mr. Sanborn’s death. And she wasn’t ready to admit that to Cheryl.

  Maybe Sanborn had stumbled out of the apartment. Maybe he’d fallen down the stairs. He could be in the second stairwell—the one Tessa hadn’t used when she went up.

  With that idea buoying her spirits, she headed for the door. A few paces from it, she noticed the view of the courtyard through the hallway windows across from Mr. Sanborn’s apartment.

  Tessa stopped in her tracks. There, in the middle of the closed pool, which was covered with a tarp that held a couple feet of frigid water, was a body lying face down. She didn’t know why it was such a shock. Or why she was surprised to recognize the salt-and-pepper ring of hair. She’d been looking for a body after all. But what was he doing in the pool?

  Her brow wrinkled as her thoughts raced. She thought Mr. Sanborn would be in his apartment. But really, the assignment had only said Mist River Manor, so the pool was still within that description. But why would he be in the pool? And where was his soul?

  She forced herself to get moving again. She needed to get downstairs. She needed to find Sanborn’s spirit.

  But no sooner had her foot fallen on the thin carpet of the hallway than two men emerged from the stairwell. One wore a police officer’s uniform and the other was Silas. “You said the commotion was coming from up here, sir?” the cop said, his head tilted toward Silas.

  “Yeah, I think it was from Chet Sanborn’s apartment.”

  Both men stopped in their tracks, finding Tessa in their way.

  “Tessa?” Silas questioned. “What were you doing in Mr. Sanborn’s place?”

  As though they belonged to someone else and she had no control over them, her eyes slid sideways toward the view of the pool. She dragged them back to the men as fast as she could, but it was too late. They’d both followed her gaze.

  Suddenly, the cop was moving fast, coming toward her. “Put your hands up,” he barked.

  Chapter 4

  “Come on out.” The officer outside Tessa’s dingy, depressing cell looked bored. He swung open the metal door and waved a hand to hurry her along.

  He didn’t have to tell her twice. Tessa darted out of the cell before the man could change his mind.

  The burly man wore a shirt a size too big. His name tag read Stewart. Tessa followed him to the lobby of Mist River’s tiny police station. She stopped abruptly when she recognized the back of her mother’s head.

  Cheryl was chatting with the officer at the front desk.

  Stewart almost ran over her. He deftly stepped to the side, allowing Tessa to collect herself. “Hold on a second. I’ll get your personal belongings out of the locker.”

  “Did she post my bail?”

  Stewart shook his head. “You’ve been released with no charges. Your boss just let us know you were at the victim’s apartment to do a physical exam for the life insurance company you work for.”

  “She did?”

  “Maybe next time,” he sneered, “you could mention that when you’re being arrested.”

  Or next time she could think better on her feet. Tessa was sure there’d been some instructions in the computer training about how to get in and out of a location without being seen. And she was also positive Cheryl was going to tell her exactly what those instructions were. She sighed. Active learning wasn’t Tessa’s strong suit. She learned by doing. And so far, all she’d learned was what not to do.

  Tessa watched Stewart disappear through a door and wondered about what he’d said. He’d called Chet Sanborn a victim. Does that mean he was killed? Murdered?

  He’d seemed harmless, if annoying and slightly creepy. Why would someone want to kill him?

  Then a thought flitted through her mind. Often, she’d heard a commotion going on above her in Mr. Sanborn’s apartment. And during the wee hours of the morning, she’d sometimes wake up to the sound of loud voices and feet.

  Cheryl glanced over her shoulder, noticed Tessa, and frowned momentarily before turning back to her conversation.

  Fantastic. As though this morning hadn’t gone badly enough, now she was going to have to deal with her mother’s attitude.

  Officer Stewart returned. “You’re free to go. But we may call you in for questioning as the investigation continues.” He handed Tessa her purse. “I heard this is basically your first day. Seems like maybe the job’s not going to work out for you so well, eh?”

  Tessa rolled her eyes. “It hasn’t been the smoothest first day in the world. I’ll give you that.”

  “A bad case of wrong place, wrong time.” He snorted like it was a hilarious joke. “I guess Mr. Sanborn’s day was worse. Getting strangled and thrown in a pool like that—it’ll ruin your day fast.”

  “He was strangled?” Tessa’s mind raced.

  “Yep. Somebody wanted him dead real bad. A lot of somebodies, actually, from what I understand.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Chet Sanborn had a lot of enemies?”

  The officer glanced at the other cop talking to Cheryl. “Forget I said that, okay? Just stay out of trouble, Miss Randolph. And answer your phone if our department calls.” He spun around and stalked away.

  Taking a deep breath, Tessa gathered her courage. Chet Sanborn was the police’s problem now. She had her own, more scary, thing to deal with. Her boss.

  Sure enough, when Cheryl turned around, she shot a Level Four glare at Tessa, pressing her lips together tightly. She wore a lovely shade of light brown lipstick, and for a second, Tessa wondered if she’d let her daughter borrow it. But she quickly shrugged off that thought. Tessa had a feeling her mom wasn’t in the sharing mood, unless she counted sharing her frustrations. Cheryl surely had many of those.

  Tessa’s mother marched out the door without saying a word. Tessa shuffled reluctantly behind her.

  “Mom.” Tessa felt like a kid trying to get her mother’s attention.

  “You’re fired,” Cheryl shot back, her arms crossed as she stood next to the Audi. “Just as soon as I can find a replacement, you’re out.”

  Panic flooded Tessa’s system. She pictured Silas kicking her out when she didn’t have the rent on Friday. Her next thought was Pepper. The poor cat would be homeless. And she was a horrible mouser. She’d starve to death quickly on the streets. So would Tessa. She didn’t have what it takes to sleep one night outdoors.

  Actually, now that she thought on it, Pepper would probably just target some unsuspecting passerby with her sweet, furry feline sad-eyed expression. She’d find herself a new home by the end of the first day. Tessa wasn’t likely to be so lucky.

  She imagined herself pleading with Frank to get her waitressing job back. The panic the thought induced came through in her tone. “Please don’t do this! Mom, I’m sorry I was late this morning. It was my stupid car. The clock in it is wrong. Then it wouldn’t start.”

  Tessa held up a hand when Cheryl opened her mouth. “I know, I know. I was supposed to forward the assignments to my email, and I didn’t. But I will. I will now. I’ll do whatever I have to do. This will never, ever happen again.”

  With that, her speech stumbled to a halt. She tried to channel the look Pepper gave her when the cat wanted some canned food. It was pretty irresistible, at least when it came to getting some salmon pate.

  Cheryl’s jaw cocked as she studied her daughter.

  The silence stretched out.

  Tessa shifted her weight under the uncomfortable gaze. One of them
was going to have to give. It couldn’t be her.

  She had a flashback to the time she’d snuck out to go joy riding with her girlfriends and found her mom up waiting for her when she got home. Cheryl had given Tessa the exact same silent glare while considering what punishment to dole out.

  Tessa winced at the memory. Not only had she been grounded, but she’d also had her newly earned driving privileges revoked for a full sixty days. It had really set her back socially. In fact, it was probably why she hadn’t been crowned homecoming queen.

  Okay, that last bit wasn’t quite true. Tessa was never part of the in-crowd. And she couldn’t blame her mother’s harsh punishment for the lack of votes. But being grounded for sure cost her the debate team presidency. She’d had to miss a bunch of meets. Then Christy Morgan had gotten all cozy with Brett Smith, Tessa’s big crush. The two of them had joined forces, won the state debate championship, earned college scholarships, and eventually gotten married. Last Tessa heard, they were both lawyers in LA, living the high life.

  Suffice to say, just the thought of a punishment as severe as that being doled sent Tessa spiraling down a dark path.

  But what was the new job’s equivalent to being grounded for a month? Anything was better than being fired.

  “Mom, please,” she finally squeaked.

  “Fine,” Cheryl snapped. “I’ll give you one more chance. But just one.” She opened the car door. “I suppose you need a ride.”

  With a sigh of relief, Tessa darted around the car and hopped into the passenger seat before Cheryl could change her mind. When her mother climbed in, Tessa said, “Thank you. I won’t be late again. I promise.”

  “I certainly hope not.” Cheryl didn’t sound convinced and Tessa tried not to take offense at the sub-par confidence level. “We’ll talk about what’s next for Chet Sanborn first thing in the morning.” Cheryl glanced over her shoulder to back out of the parking spot. “And I mean first thing. Don’t you dare be late. You know, I think you may need a new car.”

  Tessa knew that was true. “I won’t be late,” she promised.

  But something wasn’t sitting right. Every time Tessa thought about her apartment, a sinking feeling whooshed down to the pit of her stomach.

  “Um, Mom? I have a favor to ask you.”

  “I thought I just did you a favor.”

  Tessa winced. She didn’t want to say the next words but couldn’t think of an alternative. “Can I stay at your place tonight?”

  Cheryl glanced over, but Tessa couldn’t read her expression through the dark glasses she’d donned. “Why?”

  “I can’t stay at my place,” Tessa whined. “There’s a killer on the loose.”

  Her mother’s cackle surprised Tessa. It made her jump toward the window. “We have bigger problems than a killer on the loose, Theresa Randolph.” Her mom slapped her palm against the steering wheel. “We’ve got a soul on the loose. And your apartment complex is as good a place as any to start looking for it.”

  Chapter 5

  Luckily, Tessa wasn’t the only one creeped out about the murder at the apartment complex. Shortly after her return, there was a knock at the door. The familiar “Shave and a Haircut” of her neighbor.

  “I come bearing a gift,” Abi said through the door.

  Tessa opened it wide to see her friend standing on the front mat with two pints of ice cream—one in each hand. She was already in her PJs—plaid pants a size too big with the drawstring cinched at the waist and an oversize Foo Fighters T-shirt from a concert they’d both attended a few years before. Abi’s red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her glasses obscured her green eyes.

  “Chunky Monkey or Half Baked?” She held them both for Tessa to see.

  “Am I terrible for wanting both?”

  Abi shook her head. “I’m game as long as you have clean bowls.”

  Tessa smiled. “I guess Half Baked will have to do.”

  They folded onto either side of the couch, and Tessa turned on Netflix to the last episode of the Gilmore Girls they’d watched together. It was a lot easier than picking out something new. And the TV would just be drowned out by conversation anyway.

  “I’m guessing you heard.” Tessa allowed a bite of ice cream to melt in her mouth.

  “Honestly, I’m surprised it took you this long to off him. That man was a creeper. I just can’t believe you were dumb enough to get arrested.”

  “You know I didn’t do it.”

  “But if you did, I could help you. Do you know how many true crime docs I’ve watched?”

  “We share a Netflix account, so yes. I do. Who told you I was arrested?”

  “Mrs. Cross. She told anyone who went by her doorway. She just crouched there or something, waiting to spring out. Not the best thing to do to people when there’s a killer on the loose.”

  “Ah, but she didn’t think the killer was still on the loose.”

  “Oh, she knows you didn’t kill him,” Abi scoffed. “She just needed people to talk to today. I mean, I can’t blame her. Death is so creepy. One minute you’re here, checking out every woman with a pulse and the next . . .”

  “Yeah, it is weird.” Tessa sighed. She couldn’t really talk about her new job anyway, but Abi’s stance on the matter made it even more difficult. How was she going to keep being a reaper a secret from her best friend? Her only friend aside from Pepper—and she wasn’t sure the cat counted.

  “Did Mrs. Cross have any idea who really did it?” Tessa asked. After a hurried search of the building, she’d resigned herself to the fact that Chet Sanborn’s spirit was nowhere to be found. She kind of hoped he was off haunting whoever did this to him rather than using his powers as a Peeping Tom. The thought made her shudder.

  “Of course not.” Abi dipped a spoon into the Chunky Monkey. “But we know they didn’t live here.”

  “Yeah? How do we know that?”

  “Because everyone here has reverence for the pool. It’s the one amenity we all agree on.”

  Tessa nodded, conceding Abi’s point. She wondered who would kill Sanborn in such an open space and why. But she was thankful it wasn’t her job to find out.

  CHERYL MADE IT CLEAR she was irritated about having to stop by Mist River Manor the next morning. Tessa got back in the Audi, greeted by the long-suffering expression on her mother’s face. “Are you ready to work now?”

  With a bright smile, Tessa said, “Yep! I’m completely ready to grim reaper my way through Wednesday. I didn’t see any assignments in my email yet, though.”

  Cheryl glanced in the rearview mirror and narrowed her eyes. “Your assignments are on hold until we find your last mark’s spirit. Honestly, why do people have to tailgate?” She tapped the brakes. “I’m here. And this is a forty-five mile-per-hour zone. Jerk.”

  “Okay.” Tessa brushed aside her mother’s bad driving. “So, I have to find Mr. Sanborn’s spirit. That shouldn’t take long. Should it?”

  “It had better not take more than a few days.” Cheryl’s tone was sharp. “Otherwise, the repercussions will be severe.”

  “Rep . . . repercussions? You mean, like, I’ll get fired?”

  Cheryl chuckled, but it wasn’t a cheerful sound. “Not having a job will be the least of your worries if you don’t fix this. The business of escorting souls across the veil is serious. Losing someone’s spirit so it’s free to wander loose on this plane instead of crossing over—well, it’s the worst thing a reaper can let happen. It may cause a chasm to open between our world and the nether.” Her tone was ominous, like the announcer on a wildlife show talking about the imminent extinction of a species.

  “Chasm?” Tessa asked. “You mean, like demons coming through to feast on humans? Or like the undead? Zombies?”

  Cheryl rolled her eyes. She pulled into the agency’s parking lot. She shut off the car and turned toward Tessa. “How would you like it if you were home from the grocery store and, suddenly, you took a step that landed you in a different place? And not just from t
he store to your house or the beach. Not this plane at all but the next one. Just like that—your spirit ripped through to the other side before its time. And then think about that happening to thousands of people on our side, while thousands more who have already crossed suddenly find themselves on the side of the living. Of course, they don’t have bodies anymore, so they’re all riled up and ready to find a human form to inhabit.”

  “I said zombies.” For the first time, Tessa noticed her mother’s coloring wasn’t normal. She was pale. The usually unflappable woman was afraid—actually afraid. A chill ran down Tessa’s spine. She shuddered. “Okay. That does sound . . . bad.”

  Cheryl set her jaw. “As reapers, we are the first line of defense against the chaos that would ensue if the living and the dead could co-mingle. Losing Chet Sanborn’s spirit could trigger a dark time like this world has never known.”

  She got out of the car and slammed the door, leaving her words to reverberate through the enclosed space like a threatening echo.

  Tessa contemplated what it all meant. Had she been aware of the consequences—of what this job really entailed—she probably would’ve stuck to waitressing. Serving a hamburger never triggered an apocalypse. But she’d already gotten herself mixed up with it. There was no turning back now.

  She got out of the car and trudged after her mother. When she finally got inside, Cheryl was talking to someone in the lobby. It was the lovely, ebony-skinned woman Tessa had seen in the agency’s parking lot the day before. The one who’d heard Tessa swear when she damaged her nails on Linda’s door handle. This woman was the epitome of grace, with a straight spine, long neck, and gentle movements. She glanced Tessa’s direction, revealing makeup that looked like it had been applied by a professional—subtle yet stunning. It enhanced the almond shape of her eyes and full lips.

  Feeling awkward, Tessa started toward the closet-sized space she’d been assigned. But her mother’s sharp voice stopped her. “Tessa. I think you should go on Gloria’s next assignment with her. You won’t be given another one until the Sanborn situation is resolved, which I have a conference call about this morning with the higher-ups. I don’t need you sitting around doing nothing. You may as well learn something.”