Grim and Bear It
Chapter Twenty-Three

Jake

Everyone had heard the violin music coming from the floor below. Poppy and I could make excuses about being able to see each other, label it as a fluke or luck or something to do with our before-death attachment. There was no way to brush this off.

"What's going on?" Magnolia asked. "Who was playing that recording? Was that our Poppy?"

Our Poppy. Once you were loved by Magnolia Robinson, you were part of the family. "It wasn't a recording," I explained, then hesitated. "Poppy's here."

My stepmom gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Where?" Dad asked.

Mina grabbed my hand and squeezed, warning me to keep quiet. "She's over by the television stand," she said.

Poppy, who was on the opposite side of the room, moved to the television stand, but kept her eyes glued to mine.

"How do you know that?" Jim asked.

Mina squeezed even harder and for a moment I worried she'd break a metacarpal bone. "Because I can see her. I recognized her from the pictures Jake and Eliza have shown me." "What are you doing?" I mouthed.

"Covering your ass," she silently returned.

Dad and Magnolia leaned into the apartment, then exchanged a look. "Why don't I see her?" Magnolia asked.

Jim was staring at his daughter. "How long?"

"Since Mom's wedding," Mina said.

Jim looked like he just took a punch in the gut. "And now we all hear her."

How could everyone hear her but not see her? What did it mean?

Mina waved her arms, pushing everyone back with an invisible force. "My place. Last thing we need is Alan to come home and wonder why we're crowding his apartment."

My family and Jim walked ahead of us while Mina stayed behind, matching my pacing as we climbed the ornate spiral staircase. "You made things more complicated," I admonished. "But thank you." "Dad won't want to put this in a report, ergo your name and 'grim reaper' won't be linked."

I paused and looked over at her, "Jim always writes reports."

"Not when his daughter may be in danger, like if she could see a reaper."

I shook my head. "I don't like it."

"You don't have to. I'm buying you time to figure this out and not lose your mentorship. You couldn't save me from myself, but I can protect you. Even if it's just this."

I stopped and pulled her into a quick hug. She squirmed away. "We've hugged twice today, this is too many emotions for me."

"There's the Mina I know and love."

We started walking again. "Quit," she begged. "Walk away from the death threats. Come work with Carma and me."

"If I quit, I can't be Daisy's mentor, and we are back in this same mess," I reminded her.

"What if this case kills you, Jake? You're already getting death threats, and judging by how slow we're climbing the stairs, I can tell your leg is killing you."

I threw her a pointed glance. "If I can't be trusted to do my duty even when it's hard, then what was the point in taking the SHAP oath twelve years ago?" She flinched. She had gone against the SHAP Code of Conduct by starting a relationship with Carma during an investigation where Carma was the target.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I tried.

The look she shot me made it clear she knew I didn't really mean the apology. "What would you have done? If Poppy had been the focus of a case?"

I was silent, my mind remembering the feel of her body against mine, the press of her lips, the way she said my name. I was a liar to say I'd do anything different than Mina. I had already kissed Poppy. If she were alive and in reach? I'd never let her go.

"So what now?" I asked, not answering her. She didn't need me to.

"I haven't heard of anyone hearing a grim reaper before. I think Dad's going to have to make some calls."

"If Jim makes calls, people will know Poppy's a reaper."

"SHAP can't hurt me like it can you, Jake. I'll take the hit on this one."

We reached the landing, and I grabbed her hand. "I want to argue with you, but I know you're right."

She squeezed my hand. "God knows you've saved my life enough to earn some payback."

"That favor has been returned multiple times."

She pointed her finger at me. "Don't you dare die on me, got it? If you can see Poppy because you're going to die soon and you don't tell me, I'll kill you myself."

I gave her a quick squeeze before she stepped back. "I promise. No dying."

She shook out her shoulders. "Okay. Time to go lie to my dad."

"Would you like to explain to me why our home was destroyed?" Sebastian asked when I trudged in the door to my condo.

The last several hours had been full of a lot of disbelieving gasps (Magnolia), vehement refusal to go into a safe house just in case (Dad), and silent conversations (Eliza and me, Mina and me, Mina and Carma, Sebastian and Reggie). Poppy had not returned to Mina's apartment, and I wished I could call her and check on her. She must be reeling, even more than me.

I hung my keys up on my key rack. I was so tired. Maybe I'd start with the glass in the kitchen first and then just deal with the rest tomorrow. I turned to the living room and froze. It was spotless.

The chairs were righted, the pillows and blankets returned to their usual position. I moved to the kitchen and saw it too had been restored. I turned to face Sebastian.

"If you inform Mina about this, I will deny it for all eternity," he warned. "And I will haunt you worse than I do now."

"All those years Mina complained you didn't help with housework. It was a lie."

He waved me off. "Stop being so overdramatic. I only do it when I need to. Unlike Reggie, I have no desire to do many human things like cleaning. I save my energy for my assignments." "So you pitied me enough to clean."

"You've had a difficult day, as indicated by the state in which I found our lodgings."

"Thank you."

He nodded once. "Did you make headway with your family?"

I moved back to the door and toed off my shoes, making sure they were aligned on the small mat. "No. They agreed to let Mina install cameras tomorrow but they refuse to go into a safe house." "How many threats have you received this week?"

Seven. "Three."

"How confident are you that you can see Poppy for some other reason than your imminent demise?"

Not at all. "One hundred percent." He studied me, and it didn't take an investigator to know all his time spent with Mina meant he could smell a lie almost as well as my mom. "I'm going to bed." He touched the brim of his hat. "Goodnight, Jake." And he disappeared.

I limped to my bedroom. Please let me wake up tomorrow.