Home > Only the Buried (Death Gate Grim Reapers #6)(7)

Only the Buried (Death Gate Grim Reapers #6)(7)
Author: Amanda M. Lee

“That’s a magic lasso,” Griffin barked. “She was pretending to be Wonder Woman.”

I wasn’t convinced. “If that’s your story.”

“That’s neither here nor there.” Griffin extended a warning finger toward Chris. “If I hear that story repeated, I’ll know where it came from.”

“Oh, I’m repeating the story.” Chris didn’t look worried in the least. “As for this guy, I see no obvious signs of violence, but I won’t really know until we get him in the lab. Water does things to a body.”

Griffin grimaced and nodded. “Just keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

Griffin looked to me. “Where are these furry people hanging out?”

“The casino mostly,” I replied, struggling to keep a straight face. “Would you like me to take you there?”

“No, but I don’t see that I have much choice.”

“It’ll be quicker if we take the cart.”

He was quiet as he fell into step with me. “She really was dressing up as Wonder Woman.”

“Hey, what you do on your own time is no business of mine ... but that might explain why you were so determined to get back home.”

“I’m never going to hear the end of this.” Griffin was rarely petulant. “I’ll make Aisling pay for this.”

“That’s also your own business.”

“Oh, shut up. This is all your fault.”

 

 

Three

 

 

Griffin was professional to the point of rigidity when on the job, but he looked nervous when we arrived at the casino.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say about this whole fuzzy thing,” he admitted as we walked into the building.

“Furry,” I corrected. “I’m not sure you have to say anything about it.”

“It’s not like I can ignore it.”

“Why not? It’s not as if Grayson Thorpe was in a furry costume when he died.”

“It’s still ... weird.”

“People might say that about your relationship with Aisling.”

“Our relationship is definitely weird, but it’s not dress-up-like-bison-and-go-at-it weird.”

That he selected bison intrigued me. “Do you like bison in a special way?”

“What? No. Why would you ask that?”

“No reason.” I smirked as we entered the lobby, my eyes automatically drifting to Brett. I knew that he and Oliver had been extremely fond of me when I was a child, thanks to stories I heard later. My parents trusted me with them implicitly — and they found me after my parents were killed and ensured I was safe. But I could only recall shadow memories where they were concerned. Still, I was attached to both of them.

“There’s my favorite girl.” Brett beamed as he dropped a kiss on my cheek. “Notice I can say that and it’s not creepy at all despite the fact that I’ve been with the same man for centuries.”

“Not creepy at all,” I agreed. “You remember Griffin Taylor? He’s here investigating a death.”

Brett sobered instantly. “Who died?”

“Grayson Thorpe.”

“You’re kidding.” Brett looked surprised more than upset. “How?”

“He was found floating in the water off the yacht club. We don’t yet know how he died. We need to talk to the other organizers.”

Pensive, Brett blew out a sigh. “They’re in one of the meeting rooms on the second floor. They seem extremely excited about everything. I’ll take you to them.”

Griffin reached out and touched Brett’s arm. “They’re not wearing costumes, are they?”

The question from anyone else would’ve made me laugh, but Griffin was deadly serious.

Brett chuckled. “No, they’re dressed normally. Why?”

“Just checking.” Griffin flicked his eyes to me and it was obvious he was defensive. “What? I don’t care what consenting adults do in their own bedrooms. I would just rather not interview someone wearing a stripper bunny outfit.”

Okay, even I couldn’t contain my laughter at that. “I don’t think you fully understand the furry lifestyle,” I said when I’d finished laughing. “They’re not dressing up in Victoria’s Secret lingerie and walking around wiggling bunny tails.”

“They’re not?”

“It’s more like full zip-up costumes.”

Griffin didn’t look placated by my explanation. “Like mascots?”

“Kind of.”

“Well, that’s even weirder.”

“You might want to keep that opinion to yourself,” I offered. “I don’t think they’ll take kindly to it.”

“Probably not.”

Brett led us to the second floor. There, in a conference room, a woman and man sat across from each other at a table, stacks of papers between them. They seemed animated, in good moods, and that didn’t change when we entered.

“Oh, Brett, there you are,” the woman said. “We were hoping we could add some theme drinks if it’s not too much trouble.”

Brett smiled at her. “We have two master mixologists on staff. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Great.” The woman’s smile didn’t diminish as she turned her gaze to Griffin and me. “Are these members of your staff?”

“Not exactly.” Brett was a professional and he’d been around a long time. He knew about delivering bad news. “This is Izzy Sage. She’s something of a manager for all the island hotspots. This is Griffin Taylor. He’s a detective with the Detroit Police Department. Izzy and Griffin, this is Blair Crawford and Ben Potter.”

The woman’s formerly sunny disposition disappeared in an instant. “We’re not doing anything against the law,” she said.

Griffin nodded. “Last time I checked, sitting in a room and planning a convention was legal. You’re safe there.”

Blair’s frown only grew more pronounced. “Then what do you want?”

Griffin didn’t pussyfoot around. “I need to inform you that about thirty minutes ago a body was discovered in the water off the yacht club. We believe it’s Grayson Thorpe.”

Blair’s gasp appeared to come from genuine shock. “What?” She looked to Ben. “But ... .”

Ben looked confused. His face drained of color and he shook his head. “That can’t be right. Are you sure that Grayson’s wallet wasn’t simply stolen?”

“The photo on the license in the wallet matched the victim we pulled from the water,” Griffin said. “If you would like to see the body to confirm the identity, we can arrange for you to visit the morgue.”

Blair’s mouth dropped open. “I ... don’t ... ,” she sputtered.

“Right now, we don’t have a cause of death,” Griffin continued. “There were no visible wounds. We won’t have a cause of death until the medical examiner conducts an autopsy.”

“But ... do you think he drowned?” Ben looked perplexed. “You found him in the water?”

“Drowning is a possibility,” Griffin confirmed. “I will be able to provide more information when it’s available. I do need some information from you, though.”

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