Page 26 of Dead Serious: Case 3 Mr Bruce Reyes
“Sorry about that,” I mumble. “Jacob Marley is…” I shrug, not sure how to complete that statement. I let out a breath and shift my brain back to the problem at hand. “I don’t really know what you want me to do, Death. I mean, what’s all this about bloodlines? Am I supposed to research Bruce’s family tree? How’s that going to help?”
“Mortals.” Death rolls his eyes. “Always expecting to have the answers handed to them. I cannot tell you what you want to know, bound as I am by my own rules and restrictions. Rules which, yes, I may be bending to help you, but there are limits. You must figure the rest out for yourselves.”
“Figure what out?” My voice rises with my level of frustration.
“Discover the secret of the portal and you’ll discover why it has to be Bruce.”
“But–” I try to protest but before I can get another word out, he’s disappeared again, leaving us all sitting in the kitchen in varying states of confusion.
“Well, that was weird,” Chan mutters.
I stare at the now empty chair. My stomach gives a loud growl and my head throbs. I can feel a tide of confusion mixed with frustration and sprinkled with a dash of utter helplessness rise inside me. It’s like a colossal ball ofwhat the fuckis barrelling down a giant hill toward me and I know it’s about to flatten me.
“Tris.” Danny reaches for my hand.
“This isn’t fair,” I blurt out. Everyone’s eyes shift toward me, which makes me feel ten times worse. I’m on the verge of a massive meltdown and hate being the centre of attention.
“Tris, it’s going to be okay.” Danny squeezes my hand reassuringly, and how he can be so calm after having all this bizarre shit thrown at us is a mystery.
“How is this possibly going to be okay?” I find myself yelling. So we’re going for angry word-vomit, good to know.
“Tris.”
“No.” Panic at the unfairness of it all begins to well in my chest. “This is such fucking bollocks. I didn’t sign up for any of this. I didn’t ask to be able to see dead people, but I went with it because what choice did I have, really? But this? This is completely different. This isn’t having some random spirit follow me home and helping them solve their unfinished business so they can move on. I can’t do this. I don’t know anything about cold cases and magic doorways. I already feel like crap and my head is pounding. You’ve broken your leg, we haven’t even started packing up the flat yet or found somewhere new to live, and we’ve got to be out of here in a matter of weeks. Now on top of all that, I’m supposed to figure out how and why Bruce is supposed to guard some dumb doorway. And my cat hates me.”
I finish in spectacular fashion by bursting into tears.
“And I’m hungry,” I add miserably.
“Okay, that’s a lot to unpack.” Danny reaches out and rubs my back. “Chan, can you grab Tristan a glass of water and some paracetamol? That should sort out the headache.”
I look up as Dusty scoots the box of tissues on the table closer to me. “Thank you,” I mutter, plucking a tissue from the box.
“Have you got a menu around here for the Chinese takeaway you mentioned earlier?” Sam gives me a sweet smile. “I’ll go and grab some dinner for everyone.”
I sniff loudly before blowing my nose. “In the drawer next to you.” Jacob Marley, clearly feeling somewhat guilty for the face slap earlier, has now shifted from Danny back into my lap and is rubbing his head against my chest as he purrs loudly. With a sigh, I lift my hand and stroke his head.
“See?” Danny huffs a quiet laugh. “He doesn’t hate you. He just likes to be a dick. It’s his personality.”
“Okay, that’s three things ticked off your panic list.” Chan sets a glass of water in front of me and hands me a box of painkillers. “Headache, food, cat. What’s next?”
“Bruce’s cold case,” Danny interjects. “If those are Bruce’s bones, and it’s looking pretty certain they are, you don’t need to worry. I may be officially on leave while my leg and ribs heal, but you have me and Sam, and this is literally what we do. We’ll figure out what happened to Bruce.”
“Danny’s right.” Sam turns back to me with the takeaway menu in one hand. “You don’t have to do this on your own. We’ll help.”
“So will I,” Chan adds as she looks over to Harrison expectantly. “And so will Prickles, won’t you?” She winks.
“Oh my god, will everyone please stop calling me Prickles.”
“We do it because we like you.” Chan blows him a kiss.
“But you don’t know me.” He frowns.
“Well then, maybe you should let us get to know you,” she answers.
Harrison takes a moment to study her as if trying to gauge her true intentions. His lips purse in thought as his gaze wanders over to me. “Fine,” he says. “I’ll help.”
I open the box and pop a couple of pills out of the blister pack, then swallow them down with the water.