Page 23 of Grave Danger

“And saving your life?”

“Oh, right, that too.”

Ollie got out of the truck, and Cody looked at his phone, pretending to scroll through an app as he waited. When Ollie didn’t start his car, Cody looked up to see him leaning against the front, arms crossed as he watched him.

“Goddamn smart ass,” Cody grumbled, then got out of his truck.

“Would you like me to show you where I started walking along the creek?”

“As long as you realize it’s not a romantic walk.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Your brother does enough romantic stuff to satisfy me.”

Cody closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “Jesus Christ.”

“And my day is now complete.” Ollie started off through the headstones. “Come on, tall, dark, and surly.”

Cody followed as Ollie led him up a slight rise over the crest to the downward side. Some graves were placed on this gentle slope, and a dozen feet down, the Davenport Creek babbled over and around rocks, tree roots, and fallen branches.

“Nice here, isn’t it?” Ollie said.

Looking left and right, Cody grunted. “Looks like someone didn’t like the view.”

“What?” Ollie followed his gaze and visibly started. “Oh my God. Is that a grave?”

They approached the mounded dark earth and cautiously peered into the hole. Ollie tapped his phone to activate his flashlight app and shone the beam down, revealing dirt inside what looked to be an empty coffin.

“What the actual fuck?” Ollie looked at the headstone. “Belinda Hirsch.” He turned to Cody. “You think that’s who we met up with out in the woods?”

Cody looked back and forth along the lawn. “I don’t see any other disturbed graves, so I’m guessing that’s who it was.”

“But how? Why?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Cody blew out a breath. “Come on. Let’s get the fuck out of here. I need to talk to Demmy.”

“Yeah, I need to get home, too.”

Cody put a hand on Ollie’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “Don’t tell anyone but Dave about this, okay? We need to keep this quiet for now or people are going to start freaking out.”

“I’m already freaking out,” Ollie said quietly.

“I am, too, and that’s my point. We can’t be spreading the news about this. Lucia and the city council needs to do that. Remember the werewolves?”

“You mean that clusterfuck of a town meeting at the football field?”

“Fine, point taken. But let’s keep this quiet for now. I’ll call Lucia and tell her about the grave, but that’s it. We can’t tell anyone else.”

“Yeah, I get it. And I agree.” Ollie looked into the grave again. “But what the fuck is going on?”

CHAPTER SIX

Demetrius’s stomach rumbled impatiently. He dropped to his knees and wiped sweat off his forehead, then adjusted his safety glasses. The lenses had steamed up from the heat of his cramped work area and the sweat of his body. He tried to wipe them on the sleeve of his coveralls, but only smeared dirt across them. Perfect.

Attics were never easy, and this one was pretty much top of the no-fun list. It was tucked under the steeply angled roof of the house, with boxes stacked along the interior wall taking up precious space and forcing him to bend at the waist to keep from bumping his head on the rafters. Dust drifted through the beam of his headlamp, and cobwebs hung in heavy strands like gossamer draperies. At least there was no dressmaker’s dummy standing off in the shadows ready to startle him like in pretty much every horror movie.

His stomach rumbled again. It was time to get back to work and finish this job. He put his safety glasses back on and got to his feet, hunching over to avoid knocking himself out and groaning at the twinge in his lower back. For a simple possum extraction, this job was taking him much longer than he’d anticipated. Setting a trap for the mole in Amelia’s garden had definitely been a cake walk compared to this. As he shuffled forward, he decided it was a good thing Cody had opted not to accompany him. This roof would have forced him to crawl, and he would have griped about it the whole time. That or he would have just stood guard outside the door to keep any rogue possums from gaining access into the main living space, and called in ‘helpful’ instructions the entire time.

God, Demetrius loved that big, frustrating, funny, loud, sexy goofball.