To Catch Her Death (The Grim Reality Series Book 1) (17 page)

“What are they going to do? Fire you?” Lily said.

I thought about that for a second. “Good point. I don’t really know.” I shrugged. “So, are you ready?”

A heavy sigh heaved from the ghost. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“I want to warn you, my porter is a little unorthodox, but don’t be scared. He’ll get you to where you need to be.”

A mischievous gapped grin spread across her face. “Sounds interesting.”

I turned my back to the restaurant and lifted the phone to my ear, pretending to be taking a call. Still holding onto Lily, I called, “Hal Lee Lewya.”

Fletcher squawked and flapped his wings. This time I didn’t have to wait. The thin pink line of light formed and the elevator door slid open. I glanced at Lily, gaging her reaction.

Her grin rounded to an astonished O. “What in the name of God’s green Earth is that?”

I had to admit, Hal had outdone himself. Dressed in a bright red, satin pants and shirt, he glimmered in the fading sunlight. “Well, Lily, that is Hal Lee Lewya.”

“He looks more like a Las Vegas pimp.”

“Lisa.” His voice caressed me as it had at GRS, but the effect was very different. There was no urge to go to him. “I didn’t realize we had a client.”

“We didn’t, but now we do.” I took two steps forward and stopped, making sure to stay out of his range. “Lily needs to cross.” I pinned him with a glower. “You’ll will make sure she gets to where she is supposed to be, right?”

“Of course.” He held out his hand. “But what do you say to a little fun first, Lily?”

“Uh uh.” I wagged an index finger in his direction. “No deviations. Just straight to her check-in point, or whatever you call it.”

Hal’s lip rolled into a pout. “Perhaps just the first circle of Hell—”

“No.” I cut him off. “No circles.”

“Then maybe Lily would like to see the river Styx.”

Actually,
I
wouldn’t have minded seeing the river Styx. I open my mouth to reply but Lily beat me to it.

“Maybe a few detours wouldn’t be so bad.” She smiled at Hal. “I mean, it’s not like I’m on a deadline, right?”

I didn’t know if she was or not, but I wasn’t going to sway these two. “So help me, Hal, if you do anything—”

“Yes, I know, you’ll report me.” He wiggled his fingers in Lily’s direction. “She’ll be fine.”

Even if she wasn’t, what could I do? Take her to GRS and put her in Purgatory? But then they’d know I broke the message to loved ones rule. Yeah, I was completely covering my own ass.

“All right, I’m going to trust you, Hal.” Of course I didn’t. “Our relationship is new and I want to start off on the right foot.” He lifted a brow and I got the distinct impression he was more entertained than moved by my ‘go team’ speech. So I changed tactics. “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours—if you catch my meaning.”

His expression morphed into a slightly evil smile. “Perfectly, Lisa Carron.”

With nothing further to say, I released Lily’s hand. She drifted to Hal and into the elevator. “Bye, Lily.” I waved. “Have a good afterlife.”

“You can count on it.” She ran her hand down Hal’s arm. “I need a set of these fancy pajamas.”

“Your wish is my command, Miss Lily.”

With that, the elevator door closed and folded into a thin beam of light before vanishing. I lowered my phone and looked up at Fletcher. I was fairly certain the bird was my familiar and had kept Hal’s mojo and bay. “Thanks.”

The bird flapped his wings and launched into the sky. I took a deep breath and released it, hoping I hadn’t just gotten myself in a heap of trouble.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Halloween day worked
out better than I could have planned. My mother picked up the boys in the morning so they could enjoy an entire day of Halloween festivities. Bronte left for Fang’s house around two. It seemed that once she’d accepted she couldn’t go to the party, Fang and a group of girls had decided to opt out and have a sleepover instead. I will admit to feeling a bit smug in my efforts to protect our youth. The other parents could thank me later.

With the kids gone, I was free to spend the day preparing for my busy night. It took several rounds of trying on clothes before I settled on an appropriate reaping outfit. For me it was all about the clothes. Before I took up any sport or activity I had to have the appropriate attire. Otherwise, I felt like I wasn’t fully committed. Lucky for me, my wardrobe was reaper ready.

Temperatures so far had been colder than normal and I figured tonight wouldn’t be any different. After a lot of kicking, punching, and standing outside to see if the clothes were warm enough, I settled on a black turtleneck sweater and black polar fleece pants. I pilfered a black stocking cap and gloves from our winter clothes bin and pulled out my black shearling lined boots.

The outfit was perfect, but when I stood in front of the mirror assessing myself, I realized I wanted an even bigger change. I was a reaper now, not just a mom who fell into the position. I’d embraced it, well—kind of, and despite Nate’s skepticism, I’d passed all the tests. I’d even reaped Lily without any help.

After pulling out my phone, I dialed Vella.

“Vella’s Star Power Salon, how may I help you?”

“I’m ready,” I said.

Silence stretched on the other end of the phone, until she finally said, “Platinum and sassy?”

“Bring it on!” I clicked off the phone and set it on the dresser. If I knew my friend, she’d close up shop and be at my house in fifteen minutes. She’d been chomping at the bit to get ahold of my hair for years. Telling her to bring it on was like waving crack in front of an addict. And I had to admit, for the first time I wasn’t afraid of change. I wanted different. I needed to let go of the old me and embrace my reaper. I knew Vella was the gal for the task.

By the time Nate picked me up that evening, I’d found my reaper mojo. My hair was short and spikey, except for the two thin pieces she’d left at the sides, and my new platinum color glimmered like a pearl in the bathroom light. I hated to wear a hat but necessity demanded it. Besides, the little sprigs of blond peeking out looked kind of hot. I felt like a character in a spy movie.

One look from Nate told me I’d made the right choice. “You look…great.”

“Thanks.” I climbed into the passenger side of the Suburban. “I really needed a change.”

He stared at me a few seconds and then shifted into reverse. “You ready for tonight?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I clicked my seatbelt. “Where are we going?”

“Out to one of the lakes in Wasilla.” He pushed the gear into drive. “Did you get the assignment on your phone?”

“Yeah, a Nuk Fulsom? But I didn’t see any details on how he’s going to die.”

“There’s a details tab in the corner. It will drop down and give you more information.”

I didn’t feel like digging my phone out of my pocket and trying to read as we drove. “So what are the details?”

“Headless Horseman,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

He smirked. “Or, I should say Headless snow machiner.”

People in the lower forty-eight call them snowmobiles. Up here we call them snow machines. I always figured it was a location thing, like pop versus soda. I scowled at Nate. “That sounds gross.”

“Not as bad as it sounds. Some guys are trying to cross thin ice with pumpkins on their heads.”

My brows lifted. “That is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.”

“Yep.” He glanced at me and then back to the road. “Those are your clients.”

The little bit of ego boost I’d gained from reaping Lily evaporated. I had a feeling the Lily-like reaps would be few and pumpkin-wearing ignoramuses would be numerous. Thankfully, Nate didn’t jab with anymore verbal barbs.

The drive took an hour. A veil of snow lay in a white sheet across the ground and the full moon made it sparkle like blue diamonds. Nate pulled onto the narrow road and shut off the lights. With only the moon to see by, he inched down the road until reaching the end. Four other cars were parked there, and he pulled alongside the last one on the left and shut off the engine.

From where we sat we had a perfect view of the men on the lake. The whine of the snow machine pierced the night as one of the guys took off across the ice, pumpkin firmly resting over his head. I unhooked my seatbelt and sat forward. The breath stuck in my throat as I watch him shoot across the lake. Would this be the guy I’d have to reap?

Until now I never thought much about seeing the death take place. I only concentrated on getting the soul. “How did you say this guy dies?”

“The ice breaks.”

My head snapped in Nate’s direction. “Then how am I supposed to get to him?”

“His soul will be on the ice, watching his friends.”

My gaze swung back to the group of guys. “How can you be sure?”

“They always linger. Either because they don’t know they’re dead or they want to make sure somebody finds their body.”

“I hope you’re right.”

We watched the antics for another fifteen minutes. A lot of heavy stuff was rolling through me. As a mother, I wanted to march out there and tell them what idiots they were and to stop it before somebody got killed. As a reaper, I wanted to get the job over with and go home. As a human it was uncanny to watch an individual’s life count down, while they had no idea. The knowledge was a gift and a curse. It made me feel powerful, and yet insignificant against death’s force. I’d fallen into this job, and had accepted it begrudgingly. Realizing the scope of my obligations humbled me.

The steady whine of the snow machine motor broke, drawing my attention back to the lake. Just like Nate said, the ice cracked, giving way. One second Nuk Fulsom was there and the next he was gone. Even though I knew it was coming, having it actually happen was still a shock. I gasped and slapped my hands over my mouth. After few seconds I covered my eyes, trying not to cry.

“You okay, Carron?”

I nodded but didn’t reply, not trusting my voice. Screams from the other guys filtered through our closed windows. My stomach roiled and threatened to revolt. It took several deep breaths to calm my nausea. Finally I looked up again.

“It’s about time.” Nate paused. “You ready?”

I saw Nuk’s glimmering spirit standing beside his friends. “How do we do this?”

“I’ll divert the guys and help them retrieve Nuk’s body. You get ahold of his spirit and lead it off the thin ice.”

“Be careful.” Fear for Nate’s safety coursed through me. “You’re not one of my reaps tonight are you?”

“No.” He shook his head and smiled. “But thanks for worrying.”

“Okay.” I held up my gloves. “Can I wear these?”

“Yep. Clothing doesn’t interfere.”

I nodded and slipped them on. When I was finished I pulled on the door handle. “I’m ready.”

We exited the Suburban and made our way down the slope to the lake. Nate headed for the guys and I cut a path to Nuk. He continued to stare at his friends, not noticing me. “Nuk.”

He didn’t move.

“Nuk,” I said again.

Still the guy didn’t respond.

“Nuk!”

“What?”

It wasn’t the ghost who answered. I spun to face a very wet, very much alive man. “You’re Nuk?”

He sniffed and wiped his arm across his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Who broke through?” I was completely confused since the dead guy was still alive and now I didn’t have any idea who I was supposed to reap.

“Eddie, my friend.” Nuk glanced back at the open water.

“Did you—” I scrambled for something to say. “Did you call 911?”

“Yeah, they’re on their way.” He moved toward the group.

I turned to the ghost. “Eddie?”

“Yeah.” He sidled up beside me, his hands shoved in his coat pocket. “Am I dead?”

“Uh, yes—yes you are. Sorry.”

He shrugged. “At least I died awesomely.”

I grunted. “Seriously? You think falling through thin ice with a pumpkin on your head constitutes an awesome death?”

“Hell yeah.” He grinned at me. “You know what would have been really cool?” He didn’t wait for my reply. “If we would have lit the pumpkins on fire like the real Headless Horseman.”

Okay, I wasn’t going to impart any afterlife-changing pearls of wisdom, so I pushed forward with the agenda. “Eddie, you need to cross over and I need to get home to hand out Halloween candy.” I took a step toward him. “Would that be all right?”

His brow furrowed. “Are you telling me you’re the grim reaper?”

I held out my arms. “In the flesh.”

“You’re hot.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised by his compliment.

“Hell yeah. I would have done this a lot sooner if I’d known hot babes were angels of death.”

Idiot.
“Thanks.” I took him by the arm and led him to the lake’s edge. “I like you, Eddie.”

He edge closer to me, pressing his cold ghostly body into mine, literally. I jumped back. “Not like that.” A shiver ran the entire length of my spine. “Now stay.” I grabbed his arm again. “I’m going to pass you off to my porter and I promise he’ll show you a good time. Okay?”

Eddie nodded, a stupid grin plastered on his face. “Awesome.”

“Yes, it’s awesomely awesome.” I tilted my chin up. “Hal.”

Instantly the thin line of light appeared. One thing about Hal, he was prompt. The door slid open and he stood in a floor-length, white fur coat.

“Whoa,” Eddie said.

“Indeed,” I replied. “Now that’s awesome, right?”

“Dude, I love the threads.”

“A man of taste,” Hal said. His yellow gaze skated to me. “Lisa, you bring me the most entertaining clients.”

“I trust Lily got where she needed to be?” I asked.

“Delivered to the Pearly Gates early this morning.” His gold tooth winked at me. “That is after a turn around the first circle of Hell.”

“I said no tours.”

“She asked to go, and loved it.” He waved a silver cane at me. “The first circle is nothing more than a bunch of whining pagans. Now the third circle—” Hal looked at Eddie. “I think you’d enjoy that. Sex twenty-four-seven.”

Eddie looked at me. “Thanks for setting this up. It’s even better than I imagined.”

“I didn’t arrange this.” I glared at Hal. “What do you get, a cut on how many souls you lure into Hell?”

“Lisa, when will you learn I simply want to have fun?” He waved Eddie to him. “And this young man not only likes my clothing, but seems ready for a little excitement too.”

I glared at both of them and finally let go of the ghost’s arm. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me if you get in trouble—either of you.”

“Let your conscience be clear, sweet Lisa.”

“And don’t call me that.”

Eddie moved into the elevator and turned to face me. As the doors closed he grinned and waved. “See you on the other side.”

“I certainly hope not.”

As the portal disappeared, my phone erupted in my pocket. I fumbled with the zipper and finally pulled it free. It was my mother.

“Hi, Mom, is everything all right?” Icy wind whipped around me but weren’t as chilling as my mother’s words.

“Bronte’s been in a car accident.”