“Okay. I’ll come back tomorrow.” That sounded fair, especially because I wanted to investigate the docks further. Something occurred to me and I pulled up short. “Hey!”
“What?”
“I understand why I could see the ghost — that’s my new thing, after all — but why could Aisling see the ghost?”
“That’s your new friend?”
“I wouldn’t call her a ‘friend,’ but yeah.”
“I don’t know.” Galen was legitimately bemused. “Maybe she sees ghosts, too. She could be a witch. She has the hair for it.”
“Let’s not start talking about how hot she was again, okay?”
“I only want to talk about how hot you are.” He slipped his arm around my waist. “Right now I need to talk to my guys and make sure they have everything under control. Then I’m taking you to dinner. After that, if you’re good, I’ll get you ice cream. There’s not much else we can do here, but I’ll check just to be on the safe side.”
I blew out a dramatic sigh. “I guess I can live with that.”
“Somehow I knew that.”
3
Three
I may be the witch, but Galen was much more comfortable with the paranormal community. He grew up on Moonstone Bay, after all, and was a shifter. I didn’t know that when we’d first met. In fact, I didn’t realize his true nature until he found me on the highway between Wesley’s ranch and town. I was being stalked at the time, although I had no idea by what, and he shifted to protect me.
I still wasn’t used to it, and I hadn’t seen him shift since. I’d decided to hold off on asking him to see it again. Some things I could wait for.
“Are you sure they saw him?” Galen asked as he paced in front of me.
I was back sitting on the bench because one of his deputies stopped him from leaving before we could depart for dinner, and the oppressive heat forced me to start another bottle of water.
“She looked right at him,” I replied, searching my memory. “I don’t see what else she could’ve been looking at.”
He pursed his lips. “You were talking to them. Did you notice anything odd about her?”
Was he kidding? “I talked to them for, like, five minutes. They seemed like any normal married couple ... but she was kind of persnickety. He seemed used to it and was fine.”
“What about him? Was there anything odd about him?”
“No. He was just a normal smoking hot dude.”
Galen glowered. “Is that my payback for saying she was hot? If so, I take it back. She was ugly ... like, totally homely. And you’re the prettiest woman on the island.”
Even though it was a serious situation I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “You’re way more attractive. Does that make you feel better?”
“A little.”
“He didn’t seem odd to me or anything,” I volunteered. “In fact, he seemed to be all about her. They’re on their honeymoon.”
“What makes you say that?”
“She said she didn’t take his last name.”
“How did that come up?”
“They introduced themselves and they had different names. He said he was fine with her keeping her own name but didn’t see why she couldn’t be ‘Mrs. Taylor’ for the week they’re here together. I think it’s a running joke between them. Er, at least that’s the vibe I got.
“I don’t know,” I continued, rubbing my forehead. “I didn’t pay that close attention. I don’t see why you’re so worked up about this. They clearly didn’t kill the guy.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because they were on the ship and it didn’t dock until after the body was discovered.”
“Yes, but that could’ve been a ruse. Maybe they were here the whole time, hiding, and pretended to join the disembarking passengers. In fact ... that makes sense to me. They didn’t have any luggage.”
Hmm. Now that he mentioned it, I realized that was true. “Maybe the ship is transporting their luggage for them.”
“Everyone else leaving that ship had their own luggage.”
He was getting awful huffy for a guy I was convinced was barking up the wrong suspect. “I don’t think they’re viable suspects, but if you do, go nuts. I’m betting that woman will be nothing but pleasant if you interrupt the first night of their vacation to ask if they’re murderers.”
“I’m not an idiot.” He offered me a withering look. “I’m not going to question them until I get a cause of death.”
“I’m pretty sure that huge knife sticking out of his chest was the cause of death. I mean ... I’m not a medical examiner or anything, but that would be my first guess.”
“I’m done talking to you.” He held up a hand and dug into his pocket. “We need to take a five-minute break from the conversation.”
“Knock yourself out.” I slowly got to my feet, taking time to stretch my muscles.
“Where are you going?”
“You just said you weren’t talking to me.”
“Yes, but I want to know where you’re going.” He was firm. “It’s my job, as your boyfriend, to make sure you’re safe.”
Now he was using the B-word. That was promising. Of course, given his attitude, I wanted to use another B-word when referring to him at the moment. For the record, that word was butthead.
“I’m going to wander around and see if I can see the ghost again,” I explained. Technically, I didn’t think I should be forced to tell him anything, but it was easier than getting into an argument. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes, it’s absolutely fabulous,” he drawled. “Don’t fall in the water when you’re looking for your ghost.”
“I’ll try to refrain.”
“I’ll be right here.”
“Great.”
“We’re still getting dinner … and probably ice cream. I just have to look something up first and make sure my deputies have the scene under control before we can leave.”
I didn’t want to smile — that would only encourage him, after all — but I couldn’t stop myself. “I’m getting sprinkles on mine. Ice cream, I mean. I’ll probably refrain from getting them on my dinner.”
“I think that’s a great idea. I happen to like you even more when you’re hopped up on sugar.”
“You’re only saying that because I want to kiss you when I’m sugared up.”
“You want to kiss me regardless. I’m just that good-looking.”
I made a face. “Now I’m done talking to you for the next five minutes.”
“Well look at that, a meeting of the minds.”
GALEN WAS STILL BUSY ON his phone when I returned ten minutes later. He looked more curious than conflicted.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
He held out his hand so I would take it as I sat. “Yeah. I think you were right about the couple. I ran their names, and I doubt they’re murderers. They were definitely on the ship.”
I knit my eyebrows. “How do you know their names? I didn’t tell you their names.”
“I heard them introduce themselves to you.”
“From across the dock?”
“I have good hearing.”
“That must be that wolf thing you’ve got going. Is that like a super power or something?”
His smile was flirty. “I have many super powers.”
“Oh, well ... .” My cheeks burned. “Um ... what were we talking about again?”
He turned serious. “Griffin Taylor and Aisling Grimlock. He’s a detective in Detroit, with a solid work record and several commendations. He seems to be exactly what you’d expect – a guy on his honeymoon.”
I didn’t miss the fact that he’d mentioned only Griffin. “And her?”
“She’s a reaper.”
For a moment, I thought I’d heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, but a reaper? Like a grim reaper?”
“That’s exactly what she is.” He nodded. “She’s the only girl in a family full of reapers. Cormack
Grimlock, her father, is the head of the region. He’s high in the Michigan reaper council.”
I craned to look at the phone in his hand. “Did you manage to Google that information? I must be using the wrong search engine.”
He chuckled. “There’s a paranormal database that certain law enforcement representatives can access. I happen to be one of those representatives. Griffin Taylor and Aisling Grimlock were married several days ago.”
“And she’s a reaper?” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. “Does that mean she goes around killing people?” I thought about the dead man on the docks. Wait ... that didn’t make any sense. If she killed people for a living, she probably didn’t leave masks around when she did it. That would become expensive over the long haul.
“Reapers don’t kill people,” Galen explained. “They don’t interfere. They simply absorb the souls of the dead after they expire. The reason she could see the ghost is because that’s part of the job.”
“Oh.” I was mildly placated by the information. “That actually makes me feel better. I was worried she was another witch, and since my meeting with the last one didn’t go well I didn’t want to risk another potential near-death experience.”
He wasn’t exactly over the last two times I almost died — more like five times, if I was actually keeping count — so Galen didn’t find the statement funny. “Let’s not dwell on that.”
“Of course.” I held up my hands in mock surrender. “I’m being good. I told you I wouldn’t find trouble for at least two weeks and I’m holding up my end of the bargain.”
“That’s good.” He turned his attention back to his phone screen. “There’s a lot of information about her. The guy is essentially completely clean, although she shows up in his files a few times.”
“Maybe they met on the job.”
“I’m guessing that’s true. The first mention of her in his files — and, yes, I ran a search — is almost two years ago. He found her at a crime scene with her brother and thought it was weird that she was there.”
“He obviously didn’t know she was a reaper.”
“No, and she probably didn’t tell him right away.”
“Do you think he knows now?”
Galen shrugged. “I don’t think you can have a true relationship if you don’t know the important things, so I’m guessing yes. Besides, she pops up in his files a few more times. He was rather vague on all those cases, which makes me believe he was protecting her.”
“That’s kind of romantic.”
He rolled his eyes. “I think she sounds like a real pain in the behind. His record was easy to track down because there’s very little there. Her record is all over the place. And she has multiple arrests on file.”
That didn’t sound out of the ordinary. “She’s probably been caught at several crime scenes because she was there to do her job.”
“No. Most of the things she’s been arrested for are auto theft, drunken disorderly and bar fights. And apparently there’s some woman named Angelina Davenport she threatens with great bodily harm on a weekly basis.”
“Maybe this Angelina woman deserves it.”
“Or maybe your new friend is a whack job.”
“She’s hardly my friend.”
“Well, that’s good,” Galen said. “I don’t think they have anything to do with our case. The only reason the woman stopped is because she saw the soul. At least I can mark her off my list.”
“But you haven’t solved the case of their missing luggage yet,” I teased.
“Yes, I have. Her father is loaded. He arranged for them to have a stateroom on the ship. That’s the best room available, and the ship is delivering their luggage. I checked.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from crowing. Galen didn’t look at me, but I imagined he understood it took everything I had to keep from laughing at him.
“Keep it up,” he warned. “I’ll see you don’t get sprinkles on that ice cream if you’re not careful.”
“I didn’t say a word.”
“Yeah, well ... .” He finally dragged his eyes from the phone, but he didn’t plant them on me. Instead he focused on the end of the dock, frowning when a blonde with a huge belly came into view. “Oh, man.”
“Who is that?” I was obviously curious. The woman’s pregnant stomach gave me pause. “She’s not, like, your ex-girlfriend or anything, is she?”
He spared me a dark glare. “Really? Do you think I would keep something like that from you?”
I held my hands palms out and shrugged. “I don’t know you that well, especially with you playing it cool and not putting the moves on me. I was just wondering. There’s no reason to get your tail in a wad.”
“I’m going to put the moves on you,” he muttered as he got to his feet. “I’m going to spank you until you cry for mercy.”
“Who told you I’m into that?”
For once, instead of my cheeks turning crimson, his did. “You need to control yourself. That’s Casey Dorsey. She’s Jacob’s wife.”
I felt like a real jerk. “Oh. Well, then strike that comment about her being your ex-girlfriend. It was mean ... and completely inappropriate.”
“Half the things that come out of your mouth are inappropriate. That’s why I like you.” He gave me a small wink before focusing his full attention on Casey. She was trying to hurry, but she could barely manage a waddle as she closed the distance.
“Where is he?” Her face was so red I worried she would topple over from heat exhaustion. “Someone said Jacob was here. I want to see him right now!”
Galen hooked his thumbs into his utility belt, clearly bracing himself for the emotional onslaught to come. Me? I tried to make myself small because I felt like something of a heel for my earlier comments.
“You need to sit down, Casey,” Galen instructed, gesturing toward the bench.
I hopped up to make sure she had room. “You should definitely sit down,” I agreed.
Casey barely managed a cursory glance for me before glaring at Galen. “I don’t want to sit down. I’m looking for my husband. I know he’s down here. Someone at Lilac’s tiki bar said I should come here when I stopped there looking for him.”
Galen dragged a hand through his onyx hair as he fought to control himself. “Here’s the thing, Casey: He was here. He’s gone now.”
“Where is he? Do you know he didn’t come home last night? I mean ... can you believe that? I’m, like, days away from giving birth to his baby and he didn’t bother to come home. Do you think he was out running around on me? Oh, wait ... did you catch him with a woman?” Her eyes went to narrow green slits. “If you did, I’ll rip his penis off and feed it to him. That will teach him to cheat on me.”
I couldn’t help agreeing with the sentiment. If someone cheated on me, that’s the first thing I’d do. In fact, I needed to find a sly way to work that into a conversation so Galen wouldn’t think I was overtly threatening him.
“He wasn’t cheating on you, Casey.” Galen’s voice was gentle. “Well, I guess I can’t be certain if he was. That wasn’t what he was doing last night, though.”
“Oh.” She straightened, which only made her stomach look bigger. Seriously, it almost looked as if she was smuggling a beach ball under her shirt. “If he wasn’t cheating, that means he was drinking. He promised to clean up his act.
“Let me guess,” she continued, working up a full head of steam. “The guys on the construction team talked him into going to the bar and he got so drunk he passed out on the dock. That’s just like him. He did that once when we were in high school.”
Galen licked his lips and I could see the resignation settling on his shoulders. His job was hard. I didn’t envy him what was to come.
“Casey, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Jacob is dead.”
He said it just like that, as if ripping off a bandage. I knew he couldn’t say it any other way, but I still felt for her.
The shock of the words rippled across her f
ace. The first emotion that was clear was disbelief, then unmitigated fury. There was no sadness there. Instead, she exploded.
“What kind of joke is that? Do you think that’s funny? That’s not even remotely funny. If he put you up to that, I’ll rip his balls off and feed them to him!”
She clearly had a fascination with ripping appendages off and feeding them to people.
“It’s not a joke.” Galen reached out to her, but she jerked away. “He was found here a few hours ago, right before the ship came in. We delayed the arrival until we could get a handle on the scene.”
“The scene?” Casey’s skin went blotchy. “I don’t understand. Are you saying that he was murdered?” She seemed disconnected, as if she was about to travel outside of her body. In fact, that’s exactly the feeling I was getting, and I jumped forward at the right moment so I could catch her as she began to list.
Galen stepped closer to help, swinging her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing as her eyes rolled back in her head and she lost consciousness.
“Wow,” I muttered, dumbfounded. “She fainted.”
He cast me a sidelong look. “Do you blame her?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone faint. It was ... .” I remembered where I was and what we were dealing with and shook the unimportant thoughts out of my head. “What should we do?”
“We’re taking her to the clinic and calling her parents so they can take care of her. Then we’re going to dinner.”
“You want to eat after this?”
“We need to, and I can’t do anything until I have more information. Casey clearly isn’t up to answering questions, so that will probably have to wait until tomorrow. I’m not sure when I’m going to get the medical examiner’s report.”
“So ... dinner.” It seemed as good an option as any. “Can we still get ice cream later?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Okay.” I fell into step with him as he carried the unconscious woman. “Your job sucks, by the way. You did your best to tell her without traumatizing her.”
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