“But … why?” Dad sounded more helpless than frustrated as he held out his hands. “Why do you need answers? You don’t even know that man.”
“No, but I saw him die.”
“You see death all the time.”
“I see the aftermath of death,” Aisling corrected. “I don’t see people die all the time. I see what’s left after they die. There’s a difference.”
Dad was baffled. “How, kid? How is it different?”
“I don’t know.” Aisling shrugged as she clutched her water bottle to her chest. “It just is. I don’t understand why you can’t just let me ask a few questions.”
Dad looked to Griffin for help. “You need to talk to her.”
Griffin immediately started shaking his head, taking me by surprise. “No. She wants to ask questions. I’m with her if she wants to do it. What harm can possibly come of it?”
“I don’t want to be here,” Dad replied. “That’s how it’s harming me.”
“Then leave the scepter with Cillian and Aisling and take off.” Griffin directed. “No one is forcing you to stay.”
Dad didn’t look happy with the suggestion. “I’m not trying to be difficult … .”
“You don’t have to try. You’re a Grimlock.” Griffin grinned as he smoothed the back of Aisling’s hair. “She just wants to ask some questions. You don’t have to stay. If you do stay, though, I expect you to stop complaining.”
Dad wasn’t used to someone outside the family pushing back and his expression reflected incredulity. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I can’t either. But she needs to ask some questions. What harm is there in letting her do that?”
“And what’s stopping me from marching in that bathroom and collecting the soul myself?” Dad challenged.
Aisling and I snorted in unison, causing Dad’s cheeks to flush.
“What’s so funny?” Dad snapped.
“You won’t even go into a public men’s bathroom if there’s about to be a dire pooping emergency,” Aisling pointed out. “You’re not going in that one to collect a soul.”
Dad scowled. “I hate it when you say things like that. Why must you be so crass?”
Aisling shrugged. “I grew up with four brothers. Boys are gross.”
“She’s right about that.” Griffin linked his fingers with Aisling’s and lightly tugged on her arm. “If you don’t want to stay, you can go. Cillian and I will help her. But if you’re going to stay, give her a little time to work her magic. That only seems fair.”
Dad slid his eyes to me. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I wasn’t sure of anything. “I’m sure that we saw him die and that seems to bother Aisling. I think she needs to ask the questions, so that’s why I agreed to help her.”
“You agreed to help her because she’s spoiled,” Dad muttered.
And we were back to the start of the conversation. “Maybe so, but we’re wasting time arguing about it. Are you in or out?”
Dad blew out a long-suffering sigh only the father of five children close in age could muster. “I’m in. This had better not turn into an all-night event, though.”
“It won’t.” Aisling beamed. “I know exactly who we need to talk to next. Tim told me.”
“Oh, well, wonderful,” Dad groused. “Let’s do what the pervert wants us to do. That couldn’t possibly go wrong.”
Aisling patted his arm. “I’m so glad your head is in a good place for this.”
“Yes, yes.” Dad made shooing motions. “Let’s get moving. I don’t have all night.”
CINDY HARRIS STOOD on the opposite side of the food truck drinking a Diet Coke when we tracked her down. Aisling appeared to be a woman on a mission, which I didn’t understand.
“And why do we need to talk to her again?” I asked, running a hand through my straggly hair. The heat and humidity caused it to curl, and I wasn’t a big fan of the way the hair clung to my neck. What I really wanted was a shower, which made my mind wander back to my original plans of hanging out with Maya and watching a chick flick before taking a bath. Why couldn’t we have stuck with that plan?
“Where is your head?” Griffin asked, snapping his fingers in front of my face to jolt me out of my reverie.
I frowned. “That is an annoying habit.” I shoved his fingers away from my face. “Aisling does the same thing when she’s looking for attention.”
Griffin grinned. “I know. Where do you think I picked up the habit?”
“Ugh. You two spend way too much time together,” I groused. “You’re starting to act like one another. That can’t be healthy.”
Griffin cast me an unreadable look. “You don’t think you act like my sister?”
The question caught me off guard. “No. Not even a little.”
Griffin snorted. His reaction bothered me almost as much as the possibility he was right.
“We’re nothing alike,” I said. “I mean … we’re both good people and we enjoy learning, but otherwise we’re completely different.”
“No, you’re not.” Griffin’s response was mild. “You’re both academics with easygoing personalities. Maya is the calm one in my family. You’re the calm one in the Grimlock family, although that’s not saying much because there are times I think all of you need to start smoking pot to chill out.”
I didn’t want to laugh – it wasn’t funny, after all – but I couldn’t help myself. “Do you really think we’re alike?”
Griffin nodded without hesitation. “You’re not clones or anything, but you’re both easygoing people who want to help others. You’re open to new experiences. You’re not overly selfish. You put my sister’s needs before your own, which is exactly why we’re here.”
The statement caused my spine to stiffen. “I … what do you mean?”
“Oh, don’t do that.” Griffin wrinkled his forehead. “There’s no reason to lie and say you wanted to come here. I know you didn’t. Nobody but Maya wanted to come here. You came, though, which means you put her needs first. I can hardly be angry with you about that.”
“Hey, you’re the reason I agreed to come in the first place,” I pointed out. “I was trying to talk her into a quiet night at home – you know, a chick flick and bath – but she sprung this Shakespeare thing on me and added that you were already on board. I could hardly say no after that.”
Griffin’s expression shifted. “She convinced you to go by saying I was already interested in going?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
“Because she suckered me into going by saying that you had already agreed and were talking it up in front of Aisling,” Griffin replied. “She said Aisling acted interested, but didn’t think I would agree, and you were already geeked to go.”
I pursed my lips. “Does that sound like me at all?”
“You read books all the time.”
“So, that doesn’t mean I go to plays all the time. I don’t even like plays. I only went because she said you’d already agreed. In fact, I could tell Aisling wanted to argue until Maya mentioned you. Then she kind of shrugged and nodded. Hmm.”
“Hmm, what?”
“She played us.” I rubbed my chin as I ran the sequence of events through my head. “She wanted to come and she knew I’d argue, so she forced my hand with you and Aisling. To get Aisling to agree, she brought you into the mix and made it sound as if it was something you really wanted to do. Aisling would’ve felt guilty going against that.”
“Your sister rarely feels guilty about going against anything,” Griffin argued.
“That’s true in some respects,” I confirmed. “She wants to do right by you, though. No, it’s true. I’ve been surprised at the ways you’ve softened her up. I wasn’t sure she was really a girl and not some weird genetic mutation until I watched you two together.”
Griffin was taken aback. “You guys don’t give her enough credit, and it bothers me. You expect her to act a certain way and you make it so she can’t wi
n. If she does what you want, you say she acts like a boy and then make fun of her for being only half a girl.
“If she doesn’t do what you want, then you call her an emotional female and make her feel bad for different reasons,” he continued. “It’s no wonder she’s such a spoiled mess sometimes. You guys made her that way.”
I balked. “Hey! I always sat and listened to her girl crap. After Mom died, Aidan and I were the only ones who would talk to her about … you know, girl stuff.”
“And what girl stuff is that?”
“You know.” I felt uncomfortable with the question. “I listened to her feelings and stuff. What? That’s totally girl stuff.”
Griffin rolled his eyes so hard I thought he might topple to the left. “You people are unbelievable sometimes. I often wonder how Aisling turned out the way she did. After spending several months hanging out with you guys, I can’t help but wonder why she’s not weirder than she already is.”
I was fairly certain he didn’t mean that as a compliment. “Hey, my sister isn’t the one who manipulated everyone into attending a Shakespeare play. That’s your sister.”
“I know, and it makes me wonder why she did it.” Griffin sobered. “She clearly wanted to come and realized the only way she was going to get what she wanted was to manipulate us. I feel a little bad that she was forced to resort to those tactics. I expect that stuff from Aisling because you guys have taught her that’s normal. Maya has always been straightforward, though.”
Something about the way he phrased it caused my stomach to clench. “I’ll talk to her about it. I don’t like that she felt she had to do it either. I think maybe I focus a little too much on my family at times. I need to give her more of my attention.”
“Maybe we both do.” Griffin rolled his neck. “We’ll figure it out. First we need to appease Aisling and help her find the answers she’s looking for. When that’s done we’ll focus on Maya.”
“Yeah, what’s up with Aisling and the soul? Why is she so determined on this one?”
Griffin shrugged. “I don’t know. She’ll never come right out and say what she’s feeling. I have to trick her to answer most times.”
“I suppose you’re going to blame us for that, too.”
Griffin nodded without hesitation. “Yup. You made her who she is. Now I get to deal with the consequences. Thankfully for you, the good far outweighs the bad, and I love every quirky and contrary inch of her.”
The admission made the leading edge of my agitation ease. “I’m glad you two found each other … even if I know you’re constantly doing dirty things with my sister.”
“And I’m glad you and Maya found each other,” Griffin said. “I simply pretend the dirty stuff isn’t happening.”
“Hey. Whatever works.”
Griffin grinned.
“Come on,” I gestured with my hand to get him to follow. “Aisling is already over there questioning that Cindy woman, and my father looks as if he’s going to blow a gasket. Let’s see what they’ve found out.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Yeah. The faster we get this done, the faster I can focus on Maya. I have a feeling this isn’t how she saw our night going.”
“I have a feeling you’re right.
8
Eight
Cindy Harris was the talkative sort and had no problems sharing her dislike for Tim Graham. In fact, that was the only thing she wanted to talk about.
“He was a jerk, and I’m not sad at all that he’s dead.”
Aisling, a master at keeping her face impassive when she wanted to get information out of people, nodded and made sympathetic clucking noises. “Believe it or not, we’ve heard that from several people.”
We’d heard that from two people and they were mildly reticent to share information. Still, I opted to let Aisling lead the questioning because she was the one determined to find answers.
“Well, that’s because Tim was a special sort of douche,” Cindy supplied. “He was a groper … and a starer … and one of those guys who accidentally brushes up against you with his crotch.”
Aisling made a face. “I’m well aware of the type. I have a run-in with one of those guys at least once a month.”
Griffin slid her a sidelong look. “Where are you running into guys who grope you?”
“You’d be surprised at the places I hang out on a work day.”
“Well, then I guess it’s good I’m going to take a vacation and spend a week going to work with you,” Griffin said. “I’ll nip that problem in the bud right away.”
Cindy giggled as she made doe eyes at Griffin. “He’s adorable. Is he yours?”
Aisling nodded. “Yup. I kind of like him.”
“I can see why.” Cindy swished her hips, making me wonder if there was a reason Tim thought she might be interested. I instantly chastised myself for the thought. It didn’t matter if Cindy walked into rehearsals naked; there was no reason to grope a woman without consent. In fact, that became an official Grimlock rule when we were teenagers and Redmond got in trouble for snapping a girl’s bra strap. Dad was furious … and Redmond was grounded for a full month. We all learned that lesson with him.
“What about you?” Cindy asked, her full focus landing on me. “Are you spoken for?”
I nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
“Too bad.”
I didn’t happen to agree, but I kept my smile in place all the same. “Now someone else will have the benefit of winning your heart.”
Cindy beamed. “That’s very poetic!”
“That was smooth,” Griffin muttered under his breath when Cindy turned back to Aisling. “She’s creepy, and yet you pretended otherwise. Well done.”
I merely smiled.
“So how do you think Tim ended up dead?” Aisling asked. She was never one to beat around the bush and apparently questioning someone about murder wasn’t going to make her change her ways. “I mean … the props are kept in a specific location, right? That means someone needed access to switch them out.”
Cindy shrugged. “I don’t know a lot about the weapons. I think Gerald handled them.”
“Who is Gerald?” Dad asked, speaking for the first time.
“He’s kind of our helper,” Cindy replied. “We call him our ‘Gerald of all trades.’ It’s kind of a joke because he’s like a Jack of all trades, but his name isn’t Jack.”
“I get it,” Dad said dryly. “This Gerald was in charge of all the props?”
Cindy bobbed her head. “He handled the props and the costumes. I’m not saying he made the costumes or anything, but he did drop them off when they needed to be mended.”
“And why does he do that?” I was honestly curious. “I thought everyone who joined the troupe wanted to act.”
“Oh, Gerald wanted to act when he first joined, too,” Cindy said, twirling a strand of her frizzing blond hair around her finger. I didn’t miss the lingering look she gave Dad before continuing. That promised to be interesting. “He tried out for, like, eight different parts when he first joined, but he was never right for any of them.”
“Why?” Griffin asked, leaning against the back of the food truck. “Was he a bad actor?”
“It wasn’t that he was bad as much as he was … well, horrible,” Cindy said. “He didn’t understand which words you should emphasize and he was really clumsy in costume. Finally someone – I think it was Tim, in fact – had a talk with him and explained he wasn’t going to work out on stage.”
“Who came up with the idea of him helping behind the scenes?” Aisling asked.
“I don’t remember.” Cindy screwed up her face in concentration. She clearly liked being the center of attention and didn’t even question why we were digging so deep into the troupe’s inner workings. “I think it might have been me.”
“You, huh?” Aisling’s face remained calm, but I could practically read her mind from five feet away. She was wondering how Cindy had any thoughts, let alone any dec
ent ones. “How did that come up?”
“Well, the props and costumes were always an issue, and a lot of the time people were taking home the costumes and never returning them,” Cindy replied. “That got to be expensive. We don’t really make any money, so it was starting to become a thing.”
I was surprised. “You don’t get paid for this?”
“Well, kind of,” Cindy hedged. “We get a flat fee of two-hundred bucks for every performance. The money doesn’t go to us, though. It goes to the group so we can keep up on the costumes and props.”
“So you’re basically doing this for free,” Aisling mused. “I have to ask … why?”
Cindy’s face was blank. “What do you mean?”
“Why do you do this if you don’t get paid?” Aisling pressed. “That seems like a lot of work for little reward.”
“I was born to be an actress.”
Cindy’s response was so earnest I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
“Well, I guess if you have a calling.” Aisling shifted from one foot to the other as she regrouped and refocused. “I know you disliked Tim because he was a complete and total pervert … .”
“Who wouldn’t?” Cindy’s eyes filled with fire. “I mean … sometimes you just want to go to the bathroom by yourself without worrying that some dude is going to follow you inside. Peeing is a private thing.”
“There’s a lot of truth to that,” Aisling noted. “I’m thinking of having a shirt made up to say that.”
Griffin snickered. “I don’t think you have to worry about most people not following that rule.”
“You’d be surprised at how many people get off on that sort of thing,” Cindy argued. “They even have forums for it and stuff on the internet. I think the biggest one is called Golden Shower Power.”
My mouth inadvertently dropped open. “What?”
“Don’t!” Griffin held up his hand to cut off whatever Cindy was about to say. “We don’t need to veer off course and end up in unchartered waters. Wait … I think ‘waters’ was the wrong word to choose.”
“I definitely agree with that,” Dad said. “If someone mentions the words ‘golden’ and ‘shower’ together in my presence, they’re definitely being cut out of the will.”
Now & Grim: A Grimlock Family Short Page 7