“It’s not,” Collin said evenly. “But it’s not my problem. I’m here to cook and hate my wife. I excel at both.”
“I need to see where the wraith entered the water. Also ... I need to make a call.”
“Sure.” Collin was blasé. “Hey, do you think you can get the wraith back and lock it in a room with my wife? I know you have to kill it, but five minutes won’t hurt anyone.”
“I’ll give it some serious thought later.”
“Great.” Collin brightened considerably. “This day is looking up.”
Ten
The wind was biting as Collin led us out of the building. I clutched my leather jacket as tightly as I could, but it did little to cut down on the chill permeating my body. For his part, Collin didn’t bother to throw on a jacket and didn’t appear bothered by the cold in the slightest.
It was interesting, to say the least.
“Why isn’t he cold?” I fell into step with Renee, who had the world’s thickest down coat zipped up to her chin and a knit cap pulled snugly over her ears. She clearly wasn’t taking any chances when it came to facing the remnants of winter.
“Collin?” Renee arched an eyebrow as we followed the man in question. “I don’t think the weather affects him much either way.”
“So ... merrow folk are impervious to the weather?”
Renee shrugged. “That would be my guess.”
I wanted to question her further but it somehow seemed rude given Collin’s proximity. Ultimately, he removed the decision from my hands and took the mermaid by the tail, so to speak.
“If you have something to ask, now would be the time to do it,” Collin noted as he carefully climbed a small roadway railing and held out a hand to help Renee. “I would be more comfortable if you came right out and asked rather than whispering. Just for the record, I have better hearing than most … and you have a voice that carries.”
Hmm. That would’ve been good to know ... five minutes ago. “Fine.” I was caught. We both knew it. The only graceful way out of this was to ask respectful and thoughtful questions. “Do you have a tail?”
Whatever he was expecting, that wasn’t it. Collin’s eyes lit with mirth as he tugged Renee over the railing. “Not exactly.”
That was a non-answer. “Do you have something other than a tail?”
“No, but my fingers and toes web in the water to make swimming easier.”
“Huh.” I rubbed my mitten-clad hand over my chin. He was making this easier than he had to, and I was grateful. “Why do the legends say you have a tail if you don’t?”
“The females have tails.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “Why don’t the males have tails?”
“You’ll have to ask the creator. I’m not sure why the females have tails and the men don’t. I’m simply grateful for it.”
“You don’t want a tail?”
“Would you want one?”
That was a fair question. “If I could make it go away when I wanted I guess I wouldn’t be averse to a tail. I mean ... mermaid tails are supposed to be pretty. What’s wrong with having a pretty tail?”
Renee made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, something between a laugh and a warning. I kept my eyes on Collin rather than risk looking at her because I was afraid I might burst out in guffaws, and that was the wrong thing to do in this particular situation.
Collin, his teal eyes lit with an emotion I couldn’t exactly identify, spent a long time looking me up and down. When he finally spoke, there was warmth in his voice ... but a touch of admonishment, too. “Merrow.”
“What?”
“Merrow,” he repeated. “We don’t like being called mermaids.”
I had to scramble to catch up. “Okay, well, I’m sorry about that. I know how annoying it is to be called something you’re not. I will try to remember the correct term.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We lapsed into uncomfortable silence for a long beat, our eyes never straying from each other. Finally, I couldn’t take another second of it. “Do you have gills?”
Collin’s lips curved as he extended a hand to help me over the frigid metal railing. “I have permeable skin that allows me to breathe under water. You would probably call the puckered skin pockets gills. I tend to refrain from calling them anything.”
The railing was so cold it literally sucked the words out of me for a full thirty seconds and I couldn’t unfreeze my tongue until I was on the other side. In an effort to give myself something to do while I waited for the cold to recede, I rubbed my hands over my thighs and searched my memory for anything I knew about merrow folk. Sadly, it wasn’t much. Everything I knew was from books and I never thought I would have the opportunity to explore the undersea world with someone who had firsthand experience.
“Is that all?” Collin asked, his eyes twinkling.
I shook my head. “What’s the deal with you and your wife?” I blurted out the question, ignoring the fact that Renee squeezed her eyes shut and made a whimpering sound to signify her distress.
Collin blinked several times in rapid succession. I was certain he was going to turn on his heel and run without saying a word, maybe even explode and tell me to mind my own business. Instead he merely sighed. “Claire is the devil.”
“I figured that out myself. Why are you still with her if you hate her?”
“I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Divorce?”
“Merrow don’t divorce.”
“How about counseling?” I was trying to help. Honestly. The man seemed so miserable I couldn’t stop myself from voicing my opinion on his predicament. “I once knew a woman who was convinced her marriage was over — her husband was cheating on her with, like, eight different women in the neighborhood — but they went to counseling and turned things around. They didn’t end up divorced.”
“Really?” Collin didn’t look impressed. “Did the husband miraculously stop cheating?”
I pursed my lips. “Well, no,” I hedged. “He just got better at hiding it, and my friend developed a drinking problem because it made ignoring the obvious easier. They didn’t get divorced, though.”
“That sounds like a lovely idea,” Collin drawled. “I’ll give it serious thought the next time my wife hurls a frying pan at my head.”
I decided to change the subject. “Okay.” I forced a smile. “Where did you see the wraith enter the water?”
“Right down here.” Collin moved ahead of Renee and me so he could lead us to the water’s edge.
When I pulled even with Renee I realized she was shaking her head as she stared. I knew what she was thinking — er, well, I had a good idea what she was thinking — so I wisely refrained from saying something that would make me look even dumber than he already suspected.
“Look here,” Collin instructed, drawing my attention to the small beach area. “You can see the footprints.”
I abandoned Renee to her staring and moved to Collin’s side to study the ground he indicated. He was right. Footprints were clear. So was an odd yellow substance that stood out against the stark rocks and sand. “What is that?”
Collin shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t know it was down here. I wasn’t much interested in chasing the wraith.”
“Right.” I rolled my neck as I lifted my chin and stared at the Detroit skyline. “How far do you think that is?”
“To the city?” Collin worked his jaw as he computed. “I guess about two miles or so, if you’re going at that specific angle.”
“Do you think a wraith could swim that?”
“I didn’t know wraiths could swim at all.”
That made two of us. “Could you swim that?”
“Yes.”
“Even though the water is frigid?”
“I don’t feel the cold,” Collin replied. “I would guess wraiths don’t either, but I have no way of proving that. I’ve never heard of a wraith going into the
water.”
“This one was super-powered,” Renee pointed out, moving in behind us. “Whatever that wraith did beyond the gate made it stronger. Maybe that’s why it could swim.”
It was as good a hypothesis as any. “I think we need to test this slimy stuff.”
“The water, too,” Collin said. “You probably can’t smell it, but there’s something foul tainting the area right here. It’s so foul I wouldn’t get in the water on this side of the island.”
“What about the other side?”
“I haven’t checked the other side.”
“Well, check it.” I dug into my pocket for my cell phone and debated what to do. I finally went to my contact list and found the entry I’d made the previous night. It would link me directly with Cormack Grimlock. “I’m going to get some help. I don’t know what to do, and we need direction.”
INSTEAD OF COMING HIMSELF, Cormack sent one of his offspring. I expected that, so when Braden parked on the side of the street and headed in our direction all I could do was offer a lame wave.
“Oh, that was kind of cute,” Renee drawled, smirking as I worked overtime to ignore her curving lips. “He even waved back. I’m extremely jealous.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “Why would you be jealous?”
“Because you guys like each other.”
That was the most ludicrous thing I’d ever heard. “We most certainly don’t like each other.”
“No?” Renee didn’t look convinced. “My mistake.”
“We don’t like each other,” I repeated, keeping my voice low. “I barely know him.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t like him.”
“Oh, whatever.” I left Renee to smirk at my back and crossed to intercept Braden. “Thank you for coming ... I was sort of expecting your father.”
“My father is busy serving as Aisling’s keeper for the day,” Braden supplied. “Griffin wants her kept under wraps, and no one else has the power to control her.”
I searched my memory of the previous evening. “Your father can control her? That’s not exactly what I remember.”
“He has powers of persuasion,” Braden said grimly, his eyes moving to the rather obvious yellow ooze on the beach. “What is that?”
“I have no idea. That’s why I called.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Braden crouched and gathered a small twig from behind him to poke at the substance. “It’s kind of gross, huh?”
It was a struggle, but I managed to swallow my smile. “Is that your scientific opinion?”
“Pretty much. I was never much for science.” He made a face as he lifted the stick and scented the substance. “It smells like ... something.”
“What?”
Braden shrugged. “I don’t know. Something bad.”
“Rancid pickles,” Collin answered, moving in from the west. I’d forgotten he was even with us until he showed his face again. He was the quiet sort, and managed to disappear without making a sound. “I found something I think you’ll be interested in … who are you?” He narrowed his eyes as Braden stood. Collin wasn’t overly tall; Braden had a good four inches on him. That didn’t mean Collin was about to stand down. “Are you from the home office?”
Braden nodded as he scanned the merrow’s face. “Braden Grimlock.” He extended his hand for Collin to shake. “Who are you?”
“Collin O’Reilly.”
“He works in the restaurant,” I offered lamely. “He saw the wraith flee into the water. I didn’t know anyone saw anything until he told me over lunch.”
“And it entered the water here?”
Collin nodded. “I avoided it for obvious reasons. It left a trail of evil behind.”
“I don’t know what that means.” Braden looked to me for help. “I don’t see a trail.”
I opened my mouth to explain that Collin was a merrow, but I thought better of it. If Collin wanted to spread his secret, that was up to him. It wasn’t my place to do it for him ... especially when he was standing near enough to hear. Gossip is a lot easier to share when the person being gossiped about isn’t present.
“He’s a merrow,” Renee volunteered, taking me by surprise. She obviously wasn’t worried about spreading Collin’s secret. “He can see and smell things we can’t.”
“A merrow?” Braden’s expression was straight out of a sitcom ... or Supernatural. Hmm. Now that I gave it some thought, he was handsome enough to be a Winchester brother. That was a scary thought because the Winchesters made me go goofy sometimes when I was in the mood to watch television for nothing but testosterone.
“Merfolk,” Collin supplied.
“Mermaids?”
Uh-oh. I smoothly stepped forward and raised my hands when I saw the flash of annoyance cross Collin’s face. “The correct term is merrow. Mermaids is a derogatory term, like using the N-word or the W-word.”
“Or the T-word,” Renee offered helpfully.
“What’s the T-word?” Braden asked after a beat.
“Troll.”
“Do you see many trolls in this neck of the woods?”
“No, but I wasn’t always from around here.”
Renee’s answer was quick and without reproach, but I filed the tidbit away for later. Clearly Renee knew more than I’d initially realized.
“We need to figure out where that wraith went,” I noted. “If it’s out running around it could be doing a lot of damage.”
“Don’t you think we would’ve heard about that?” Renee challenged. “I mean, if it was killing people we would’ve heard about it on the news.”
“Not necessarily,” Braden countered. “The city is full of abandoned buildings and warehouses. The homeless take refuge there, especially when it’s this cold. If no one reports them missing there’s a decent chance the police don’t know what’s going on.”
“So ... what do we do?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Braden studied the embankment. “The wraith ran from the aquarium to here. Did you walk the entire stretch between when you headed this way?”
I shook my head. “No. We were in a golf cart.”
“And what’s over there?” Braden pointed toward an open field. “What is that?”
“It’s a park of sorts,” Renee answered. “It’s small, some picnic tables and swings for the kids. There’s nothing else over there.”
“I want to take a look anyway.” Braden started in that direction, leaving me to scramble to keep up.
“Wait.”
When Braden turned he found Collin helping Renee over the railing. “Oh, sorry.” He hurried to me and extended a hand. “I didn’t think about how steep that embankment was.”
I wanted to slap away his helping hand on principle, but I wasn’t sure I could get over the railing without aid. “It’s fine.” I gripped his hand and fought to keep from groaning when I shifted my body over the cold metal a second time. “I could’ve done it myself, but thank you anyway.”
Instead of being annoyed, Braden’s eyes lit with amusement. “You remind me of my sister.”
“I’ve seen you interact with your sister. That’s not a compliment.”
“You might be surprised.” Braden gave me a moment to collect my breath before turning back to the field. This time he picked a slower pace. “My sister calls herself an acquired taste. She says that only the strongest can put up with her.”
“And what do you think?”
“She’s a pain in the butt.”
“Ah.”
“I also think she’s not as bad as I convinced myself she was when we were younger,” Braden added. “She’s simply Aisling. She doesn’t fit in a box.”
That was an interesting way to put it. “She definitely doesn’t. How was she feeling when you last saw her? I mean ... are her feet okay?”
“Her feet are ten times better,” Braden acknowledged. “She actually walked up the stairs herself last night when it was time for bed.”
“I thought she lived so
meplace else.”
“A townhouse in Royal Oak,” Braden said. “She’s so close to her due date now that she’s staying at Grimlock Manor.”
The fact that Braden grew up in a house that had a name amused me. “I see. Why?”
“Because Aisling is terrified of going into labor when no one is around to get her to the hospital. Someone is always around at the manor, so my father suggested she and Griffin move in until she gives birth. Everyone seems more comfortable with that because we were spending half our days driving past her townhouse to make sure she was okay.”
“You know, women have been giving birth for a very long time,” I reminded him. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure she will, too. But she’s our sister and we can’t stop ourselves from trying to protect her. This makes it easier on Griffin. He wants to work as long as he can so he can take his leave when he can help with the baby.”
“I guess that makes sense.” I narrowed my eyes as we crested the small hill that led to the park. “What is that?”
“What?” Braden was distracted as he scanned the small play landscape.
“That.” I jabbed my finger toward the swings. “It looks as if there’s something on the ground over there.”
“There is,” Collin confirmed, pulling even with us. His expression was hard to read, but the way his aura shifted told me something very bad was about to happen. “It’s a body.”
“A body?” My voice turned squeaky. That couldn’t possibly be right. “What is a body doing out here?”
“I have no idea,” Braden replied, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone. “I’m betting whatever reason we come up with won’t be good.”
He wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “Who are you calling?”
“Griffin.”
“Why?”
“Because we have a dead body and we need the police. I would much rather he respond than someone who isn’t in on the big secret.”
“Good point.”
Eleven
“He’s definitely dead.”
Only The Lonely (A Death Gate Grim Reapers Thriller Book 1) Page 10