by D E Dennis
Noah’s expression turned sheepish. “I actually did forget to mail the letter,” he admitted. “Mrs. Rowe must have known Ms. Presley hadn’t received it yet. I sent it first thing this morning though. I wanted to follow her—”
Lyle suddenly pitched forward, almost stumbling into them as he was shoved from behind.
“You’re in the way, Nick. Stop chatting and get to work,” said the curly, raven-haired charmer the Grimms had the misfortune of meeting earlier.
Monica watched her breeze past with a scowl. “What about coworkers?” she asked. “Any one of them have a grudge against Harper?”
Lyle straightened, rubbing his back with a wince. “No, not even her.” He jerked his thumb at her retreating back. “That’s Ximena Cordova. One of the paper’s top reporters. She competed with Harper for the first page along with the rest of the journalists, but she wouldn’t kill for it.”
Monica nodded. “Alright, that’s all for now, but if anything else comes to you, please call us.” She handed over their business card and they turned to go.
They made it a few steps when Monica paused. “Mr. Lyle,” she said over her shoulder. “What’s going to happen with the tribute article now that Harper is gone?”
“The boss will offer it to the other reporters, but if they have too much on their plates, they’ll probably kick it back, and honestly, they do have a lot on their plates. I don’t think it will run now.”
“Thanks again.”
They made it in the elevator before Monica spoke what was on his mind too. “Do you agree with Lyle that her death has nothing to do with the tribute article?”
“No,” Michael said gravely. “Harper said she wanted the victims to be the focus, and she probably stuck to that resolution, but if Liam heard she was sniffing around he might have gotten scared. Harper’s got a reputation in this town. Enough to have wrongdoers more than a little worried when she turns her eyes on them.”
“He was never tried for what he did to those kids,” Monica added. “Which means double jeopardy doesn’t apply. He could still be arrested and put away for his crimes, no matter that it was twenty years ago. Do you think he was worried she would find evidence the cops couldn’t?”
“I don’t know, Mo, but we were asking ourselves what she could have stumbled on that someone would go to such lengths to silence her... I think we found it.”
Chapter Three
“SO WE’RE GOING THROUGH everything, Ella,” Michael said. “We don’t know if Antarr is involved, but if he is, he’s not slithering his way out of another murder. We’ll be the ones to get justice for Harper Rowe and those kids.”
The Grimms were back in their office, throwing themselves headfirst into the case. Michael planned to spend all day and, if necessary, all night looking up everything on Liam Antarr and the twenty-year-old case of the Siren Woods Killer. He was going to read every article and track down and speak to everyone connected to the case.
“We need to confront Antarr,” Michael said to Monica when she stepped out of the kitchenette. “Find out where he was on Thursday night.”
“Slow down, brother dear,” Monica said, mug in hand. She sipped her tea before continuing. “We’re going to figure this out and we’re going to be smart about it. Harper was shot so one thing we know for sure is this killer carries a gun and they have no qualms about using it. We aren’t about to approach a soulless, gun-toting, serial killer without serious backup.”
“You know Spencer and Samira can’t partner with us,” Michael reminded her. “We have to fly solo.”
“Solo, not stupid,” she said firmly. “First, we need to find out what Harper discovered. We’ll retrace her steps and her interviews, starting with the twins, Hazel and Gregory. If anyone knows what kind of monster Liam Antarr is—”
“They sure do,” Michael agreed, nodding along.
“I’ll look up their address right now,” Ella chimed in.
“And their number, Ella,” Michael added. “Call and ask if they will meet with us today or tomorrow. Liam has been allowed to walk around free, terrorizing innocent people for too long; we’re not giving him another chance to hurt someone else.”
Ella blinked at his zeal but nodded. “I’m on it.”
Michael marched into the breakroom and pulled out the whiteboard. He was writing, underling, and circling Liam Antarr’s name when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Michael?”
He didn’t turn around. “Yes? What is it?”
“Are you okay?” Monica’s voice was laced with concern. “I know this case must be tough for you, because of what happened back then—”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” she hissed. “You’re still afraid of those woods. You hate stepping foot in there after what happened.”
Michael kept his gaze firmly on the board. “I said I’m fine, Mo. Stop worrying.”
She fell silent and Michael assumed she walked away. He lifted his hand to—
“It’s me, Michael,” she suddenly piped up, making him jump. “The silent routine is supposed to be for the suspects. You tell me the truth.”
Sighing, he turned to face her. “I am telling you the truth. This case has not and will not get to me. You have nothing to worry about.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she let it drop. “Okay, fine. What are you working on? I’ll help.”
“Suspect board.”
“Leave room for some other names,” she said, giving it a glance. “We still haven’t looked through the death threats she received or tracked down the person who sent the virus.”
“Hmm, yeah,” he replied, barely listening. His eyes were fixed on those two circled, underlined words.
MICHAEL WAVED TO KIMONA Grimm as she stepped out of the oncologist’s office. He rose from the hood of his car and opened the passenger door for her to climb in. Michael liked to be the one to close up the office, but this time he had to leave Monica and Ella to it while he picked up his mother.
“Thank you, baby,” she said with a kiss and a pat on the cheek. “How was your day?”
Michael swung around to the other side and climbed in before answering. “My day was fine, Mom. What did your doctor say?”
“I’m still in remission and I’m doing quite well, but I want to hear about you. Monica said you have a new case and it’s connected to that awful man, Liam Antarr. Why didn’t you tell me about this?” she said with a hint of reproach.
I didn’t have to, Michael thought wryly as he pulled out of the parking space. Monica was sure to have that covered.
“I only got the case a few days ago and I found out Antarr was involved this morning.”
“That’s no excuse,” she said sternly. “Michael, I don’t like this. He’s a very dangerous man. I think you should let the police handle this one.”
“I can’t do that, Mom. We were hired and I gave Harper’s mother and husband my word that I would solve this case.”
“What good is your word if you end up... e-end up—” She choked up, hand flying to her mouth.
Michael took his hand off the wheel and closed it over his mother’s. “Everything is going to be okay, Mom. I promise.”
“It’s your darn promises that got you in this mess in the first place.” She sniffled. “You don’t have to save everyone, Michael.”
“Is wanting to help people a bad trait now?” he said with a touch of teasing, but his mother wasn’t having it.
“It is when it puts my babies in danger.”
Michael sighed. “I’ll be careful. Monica will make sure of that, and she’ll make sure you’re informed of our every step and twitch. She hasn’t learned yet that she doesn’t have to tell you everything.”
Her hand slipped out of his and smacked him upside the head. “That’s something you never should have learned,” she said. Michael could tell she was fighting a laugh. “You should tell me everything too. Like how good of a time you had with your father last night
.”
“Who told you that?”
“Glenmore, of course.” She lifted her chin slightly. “We discussed it over lunch today.”
He took his eyes off the road to gawp at her. “Lunch? What do you mean lunch? Why are you having lunch?”
“Come now, Michael. I have to eat. Your father has to eat. Today we decided to do it at the same table.”
“Are you getting back together?” he asked bluntly.
She sniffed, folding her arms. “It’s too soon to say.”
“But you’re thinking about it?”
“We’ve been separated for twenty-three years. You can be sure I’ve thought about my relationship with your father many times during that period. I don’t know what the future will bring, but I do know we had an enjoyable lunch and it warms my heart to see you both getting close. That’s enough for me right now.”
He grumbled under his breath but let the matter drop.
“What do you want for dinner?” he asked a few minutes later. “I can pick up something, so you don’t have to cook.”
“I like cooking, love,” she replied. “A trait I passed on to you. If you’re staying for dinner, we can make something.”
“Alright.”
“And tell Monica to drop by after work and join us. Maybe I’ll be able to convince my other child to drop this case.”
Michael groaned. He should have known his mother wouldn’t let it go. She never dropped anything. She still blamed him for the twenty-four hours of labor she endured to bring him and his oversized head into the world.
“We have each other’s back,” he said soothingly. “Nothing is going to happen to us.”
“Liam Antarr ripped this community apart. He destroyed his own family and other families and the shadow of his actions still hangs over us to this day. The best and the brightest of the police force couldn’t get him on murder charges. What if you can’t either?”
“The best and brightest of the police force weren’t us, Michael and Monica Grimm. We’re going to get him this time. I won’t give up until I do.”
Michael could feel her eyes on him. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispered.
He didn’t respond.
FEET POUNDING THE FOREST floor, he ran and ran until his lungs cried out, then he ran some more.
“Mom? Mom!”
His eyes filled with tears, obscuring his vision to the point he didn’t see the snarled tree root until it was too late. The tree hooked him and brought him down with a shout.
He curled up in the dirt. Giving into the pain and fear, he sobbed.
The sun drifted toward the horizon taking the scant amount of light with it. Soon he would not be able to see anything. He had no clue where he was. Where he entered. Or even if he was going the right way. The only thing he knew for sure... was that people who got lost in Siren Woods were never seen again.
Michael woke with a jolt, adrenaline pumping through his veins. It took him a minute to recognize where he was but when he did, he sank back into his sweat-soaked sheets and breathed deeply, in and out.
When he was calmer, he checked the clock. Four a.m. Kicking off the covers, he stood and headed for the shower. There would be no question of him going back to sleep tonight.
“I’M JUST SAYING YOU didn’t have to sell me out.”
“Sell you out? What are you talking about? Is the case some big secret?”
The siblings had been arguing since Monica joined them for dinner last night. They hit pause when they left to go home, but they picked it up the second she walked into the office.
“It’s not a secret,” Michael said as he banged around the kitchen. “But you knew Mom would freak when she found out this case is connected to Antarr.”
“Why shouldn’t she know? She worries about you too, Michael. We all do. We’re your family.”
He spun on her. “Have you ever thought this might be why I don’t tell you everything?”
Her eyes went round. “Are you serious? That’s why!” She advanced on him, hand at the ready. “Things like what?”
Michael immediately backed down. His mother wasn’t the only Grimm woman who popped him over the head. “Nothing, I was just kidding,” he said quickly.
She sniffed, hands moving to her hips. “I don’t want to worry Mom any more than you do, but she asked me what case we were working on, and I didn’t want to lie. She’s going to worry, but she doesn’t have to.” Monica reached out and grasped his shoulders. “Because we have each other’s backs and we always will. Antarr made a big mistake taking on Grimm Investigations.”
Michael grinned. “That’s exactly right.”
Just like that, the siblings were good again. Michael had no trouble saying his sister was his best friend. Sure, there were people he hung out with from cooking class and he caught the occasional game with his neighbors, but Monica had been with him through everything. Well, except for those six years when she didn’t yet exist, but after she was born, it had always been the two of them. There wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other. Whether it was signing on for a harebrained scheme to open a private detective agency, or uprooting their entire lives and giving up the woman they loved.
Shaking the morose thoughts away, Michael threw his arm around Monica’s shoulder and they walked back into the main room.
Ella looked up at them with a smile. “Everything worked out?”
Monica laughed. “All good now.”
“Wonderful.” Ella got to her feet, a slip of paper in her hand. “I tracked down Hazel Antarr’s phone number and just got off the phone with her. She says you can stop by any time today. Both she and her brother will be home. This is their address.”
Michael accepted the slip. “We can go right now. There’s no time to waste on this one.”
Monica nodded. “Good work, Ella. You keep digging.”
She gave her a salute and strode back to her desk.
Michael and Monica quickly gathered their stuff and headed to the car. Michael hopped in the passenger seat while his sister took the wheel.
“Do they live on our side?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, reading the address. “But on the outskirts. I think their place is near the end of my route. By Siren Woods.”
He handed it over and she plugged it into the GPS. As they got closer, and Siren Woods came into view, Michael saw that he was right. Their home was one street over from where he ran his long route.
Monica parked on the road and they paused before getting out. “Usually, I know exactly what to say. I just run through all the standard investigative questions, but where do we start with this one? ‘Hey, would you mind sharing an incredibly traumatic childhood experience about your own father abandoning you in the woods?’ ‘What do you think about him being a serial killer?’ ‘Do you think he added a successful reporter to his list of murders?’”
“I’m going to suggest not going with any of that.”
Monica popped him one and he chuckled. “Seriously, Mo. How about we put the script aside on this one? We’ll just talk to them and find out what they know about Harper and their father.”
She sighed, but nodded. “Okay, no script. Just talking.”
They stepped out and approached the modest bungalow. Climbing the porch steps, Michael smiled at the bright pink front door.
Monica knocked while he glanced around the porch. Large plants resting in a variety of pots in different colors, shapes, and sizes decorated the space.
Someone here has a colorful—
The door swung open.
—personality.
Michael blinked at the woman standing in front of them. Her hair was tucked under a bright red scarf, but wisps of blonde escaped its hold. She had on an off-the-shoulder dress with a rainbow skirt that flared at the waist and went just to her knees, affording Michael a look at the fishnet tights that adorned her slim legs.
Michael traveled back up to her face and landed on her smirk. He had been
caught staring. Warming with embarrassment, he tore his eyes away.
“Hello, I’m Monica Grimm and this is my partner, Michael.”
“Ah yes, you must be those private detectives. Your assistant said you would be stopping by. Please, come in.”
They accepted the invitation and strolled inside.
“Greg, the detectives are here,” Hazel shouted at a closed door before turning back to them. “You both can sit. Can I get you anything?”
“No, we’re fine.”
Michael took a seat on an aquamarine loveseat while his sister took the purple armchair. This was quite a place. Small, cozy, but full of color from the blue throw rug beneath his feet to the multicolored, swirly wallpaper. Michael zeroed in on two mannequins stashed in the corner, staring back at him with still, plastic eyes.
“Sorry for the mess,” Hazel said. “We moved in a few months ago, and we’re still getting organized.” By mess, she must have meant the two cardboard boxes pushed against the opposite wall and the one scrap of fabric lying on the couch. The place was otherwise spotless. She picked up the cloth and placed it on the coffee table. “I’m a clothes designer,” she explained. “I make it all right here at home and sell my clothes online.”
The door Hazel yelled at suddenly opened and Gregory stepped out. This guy was the opposite of his twin in appearance. He sported a full blond beard, a healthy set of muscles, and plain, bordering on drab, clothes, but despite that, he gave them the same warm smile as he joined them in the living room.
“Hello, I’m Gregory.” He captured his hand in a strong grip. Michael was proud of himself for not wincing. Monica received a kiss on the knuckles. “What can we do for you?”
“Actually,” Monica said, getting to her feet. “Do you mind if I use the bathroom?”
“Of course, it’s right through there.” Hazel pointed down the hall and Monica took off.
The three of them made small talk while they waited.
When Monica returned, the Grimm siblings shared a look, before Monica launched into the reason for their visit. “I guess we should start from the beginning,” Monica said. “A woman was found in the woods last Friday. She was murdered. Her name was Harper Rowe.”