The Grimm Society: The Grimm Society, #1

PROLOGUE

Thorns ripped at her arms and tore her clothes as she slid down the embankment, causing her to panic. She tried to slow her descent by digging her boot heel into the ground, but a protruding root snagged her ankle and sent her tumbling head over heels. She landed on her back, gasping for air as the wind was knocked out of her. Bright lights flashed across her vision before softening into the twinkling of actual stars. The tops of the evergreen trees pierced the sky like arrows, each pointing toward the moon. The encroaching clouds would soon cover its glowing face and cast her into utter darkness.

No, she breathed out. She scrambled to her feet and limped away on a quickly swelling ankle.

Why had she agreed to this rendezvous? Why didn’t she listen to her gut and return to the car when it got dark? Was it because she still had feelings for him and hoped to reconcile?

She followed the pin on her phone’s map app until she encountered an abandoned cabin. The shutters over the window were nailed closed. Immediately she knew she had made a terrible mistake.

This was not the romantic meeting she had in mind.

A loud twig snapped. She turned to see red eyes reflecting at her in the moonlight—cold, haunting eyes as if from a demon—and then a deep, guttural growl sounded.

She fled, away from the cabin into the thicket. Her terror caused the rational side of her brain to be blocked by the fight-or-flight response. The ground beneath her feet swam as she couldn’t see through the terror and her tears. The branches of the trees reached like claws for her face, and warm blood ran down her cheeks. 

She screamed and swatted at the attacking branches. Her heart raced as she mindlessly ran, then stumbled into the mud, her chin hitting the hard earth. Her soft sobs were the only thing that punctuated the quiet night. Even the crickets and owls had gone silent—as if they, too, could feel the approaching predator hunting her, staying just beyond the edge of her peripheral vision. 

The growl came again.

Go away! she screamed as tears filled her vision. Grabbing a stick, she swung out at the shadows. The clouds started to cover the moon, the light quickly fading as the frantic beat of her heart grew louder in her ears. 

A crack of a branch made her still, and she turned slightly to see the monster rush from the darkness toward her just as the clouds claimed the last of the moonlight.

CHAPTER 1

Fear raced through her as the steel handcuffs painfully bit into her wrists. She fought the panic that threatened to bubble up as the blindfold dulled her senses while highlighting the terror. The chill from the floor seeped into her body, stealing whatever warmth she had left, while the smell of must and dirt assailed her nose. Everly rocked her head until the sack that covered her face slid off. She blinked, trying to adjust to the semidarkness.

Everly took a deep breath to calm herself and focused on her immediate surroundings. Her feet were bound with duct tape, and her hands were cuffed behind her back. The room she was imprisoned in was dark with a damp smell, like a wet dog with a hint of bleach. It was a basement. Silent except for the ticking from a lime-green vintage clock on the wall, counting down the time until he promised to return.

Everly shuddered. She had little time left.

The far wall had a deep freezer big enough for a body. Her body? Why did her brain always go there? Above the freezer was a small padlocked hopper window with leaves piling up against the dirty pane. The window was big enough for her to squeeze through if she could break out of her bonds and then break the lock. To the right, stairs led to the main floor and an exit. On the left was a scratched and dented mismatched washer and dryer and a rust-stained laundry sink. Behind her was a dark corner with a water heater, an old furnace, and boxes of what looked like Christmas decorations.

By the stairs, a few metal storage shelves were stocked with old food cans—some missing their labels—stacks of bulk paper towels, laundry detergent, bleach, a rusted green toolbox, open tin cans, and dusty glass canning jars filled with odds and ends.

Everly rolled to her side and came face-to-face with a dead rat. It was mummified and stuck in the mousetrap. Its long teeth were even more prominent from decomposed remains and the hint of its skeleton. There wasn’t much left; the maggots had long ago taken care of the rat. 

She scooted farther from the carcass, hoping that was the only dead thing she would encounter down here. Pulling her knees up, Everly rolled and pressed her face into the floor, the cement crushing into her cheek. With a grunt, she pushed herself backward onto her knees and then struggled to stand. The duct tape was pinching into her ankles. She hopped over to the metal storage shelf, scanning the contents. She could knock the toolbox off the shelf, but the loud crash would alert others to her escape attempt. It could also provide a weapon to fight off her captor. Or it could be empty, and it was all for naught. No. Using the things in sight would be better, or searching the smaller containers. The glass jars were filled with thick nails and screws. No use. The screws were again too thick and not pliable enough.

Sweat trickled down her back as the clock drew closer to six. The cans. Using her chin, she gently knocked over the first tin can, and a bunch of bolts rolled out. One fell off the shelf and hit the floor, rolling under the freezer. She froze. She observed the stairs, listening for any creak in the floorboards above her.

On to the next can. This one was light and rolled toward the back of the shelf, stopping against the brick wall and turning to reveal the interior. Empty.

The third can fell over, and her eyes lit up when a clink of items tumbled out. More nails, lug nuts, the nub of a pencil, a half-used eraser, and hope in the shape of a paper clip.

The minute hand moved closer to the twelve.

Quickly, with ever-increasing numbing fingers, Everly took the paper clip in her lips and balanced it on the edge of the shelf. Turning back, she opened her palms and bumped the frame with her hip, knocking the paper clip into her open hands.

Her fingers tingled as she straightened the clip and felt along the cuff to orient herself, placing the wire into the top flag portion of the keyhole. She shoved it in and bent it at a forty-five-degree angle. Moving the locking bar on the handcuff, she rocked it toward her wrist until she felt it release. 

From above, dust fell from the ceiling between the floorboards as footsteps moved across the floor, heading toward the basement door.

She quickly worked the second lock and left the cuffs on the floor. She shoved her hands between her knees and broke the duct tape around her ankles using her upper body strength. She was free.

Just as the basement door swung open, light illuminated the hidden staircase in the darkened corner.

Everly spun, her heart pounding. Black heavy boots descended the stairs one at a time. Slow, methodical, the pace meant to instill fear. 

It was working. She ducked behind the water heater and waited.

The man came to the bottom step of the stairs, surveying the empty floor where she had lain tied up only minutes before. 

His voice was low, even, showing little emotion. You escaped the cuffs and duct tape but failed to escape my clutches. You lose. 

Everly’s heart dropped.

He moved to the middle of the room and yanked the pull chain on the bulb light, illuminating the dreary interior. The man stood over six feet, and his dark gray overcoat almost reached the floor. A flat cap covered his reddish-brown hair, the silhouette accenting his intimidating build. He leaned down and picked up the duct tape, studying it, before turning over and grabbing the black cloth bag used to cover her face. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a silver pocket watch, flipping it open to gauge the time. 

Too late. You can come out now, Everly. You failed. 

Everly stepped out from behind the water heater. Her eyes flashed in anger. I didn’t fail. You never said I had to escape the basement, she argued.

Didn’t I? I said you had six minutes to escape. I assumed you knew the endgame was to escape the house. Not just the binds. He held up his old-fashioned pocket watch to show her.

Dad, this is messed up. Everly flung her hands in the air. No one can do that in six minutes. Ten minutes maybe, but six?

Duct tape is child’s play, her father said. I gave you the easy way out.

Everly regarded her father, Everick Hart, homicide detective for Misty Creek Police Department. He was in his early forties but still handsome, with an angled chin and strong jaw. His hair had just begun to turn gray at the temples. The deep circles under his eyes attested to his latest case keeping him up at night and away from home most days. 

Even though their town was beautiful, tucked against the mountains, it was always covered in fog and rain for most of the winter months, lending to its name, Misty Creek.

Misty Creek was the epicenter for all things weird and brought in plenty of tourists hoping to catch a peek of Bigfoot or search the caves for ghosts and lost souls. Not to mention the rumor of buried treasure. But it led to one of the highest rates of lost and missing people. It kept the police department and the park rangers always busy.

Everly rarely ever saw her dad anymore, and when she did, he always insisted on these training games, as he called them. Though really, they were survival techniques. She knew it was his way to fight the demons of the past, the unsolved cases, the culprits that got away. He would ensure one less victim if he couldn’t arrest them.

Everick Hart went to examine the cuffs Everly discarded.

Paper clip. Good. Why not the nail? Everick began the interrogation.

Too strong. I could have maybe been able to bend a finishing nail, but there weren’t any in there.

Did you check the toolbox? he asked.

It was too much of a risk. Everly shifted her feet, keeping her arms behind her back.

Why? he pressed.

It would have made too much noise if I knocked it off the shelf, alerting my captor. I would have gone for it after being free, but I ran out of time.

Everick moved to the shelf and opened the toolbox, dust sliding off the top to reveal it was empty. That was a good assessment. The paper clip was the way to go, but you failed to notice the other weapon.

You mean this one? Everly pulled the crowbar from behind her leg. I found it tucked behind the water heater. My escape plan would have been to stand on the freezer to reach the window and break the lock with the crowbar.

Excellent! Her father nodded, and the rare smile lit up his face. 

Everly felt a moment of pride and wanted to stay in the moment. Hold onto it for a little longer. Maybe she played these morbid games because she wanted to prove to her father that she could care for herself. He wouldn’t have to worry about her when the time came.

Everick started to cough, a deep, painful hack that attacked his lungs. He pulled a handkerchief out of his coat. Covering his mouth, folding the cloth, and tucking it away, he tried to hide the blood he had coughed up.

A sour feeling settled into the pit of Everly’s stomach. She knew he was sick and would deny her allegations, just as he did all the other times. He was teaching her to be observant, but only on what he felt mattered. His health was not one of them.

Rope would have been more of a challenge. Especially the constrictor or the double constrictor knot, Everly said, pretending ignorance as her father turned away. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to hide the evidence of his sickness.

Some families paid for escape experiences with generic puzzles, but her father set up real scenarios based on past cases, giving her a real-life look at life-or-death situations. A sixty-minute escape room had nothing on her father’s challenges.

Everick nodded. His face was a little paler than before. He was looking at his watch. He frowned, gesturing to the stairs. It’s time.

He pulled the string on the light, plunging the basement back into near darkness. 

She followed him up the stairs into their kitchen. It was cozy with high off-white cabinets, an island, a giant retro stove, and an eat-in kitchen nook with two bench seats and two chairs. Beyond the kitchen was a solarium filled to the brim with plants, herbs, and white wicker furniture, all tended to by the eccentric Granny Hart, who everyone called Birdie. She was obsessed with all things plants, especially their medicinal uses. Everly was sure not all Birdie’s plants were pretty flowers; she could have sworn she saw nightshade growing.

So after dinner, we get to celebrate—

Mr. Plum, in the study, with what? Everick loudly announced as he opened the cabinet and pulled out a glass.

What? Everly asked, heading to search the back of the fridge for a rogue Diet Coke and lime. They tended to get pushed behind the leftover containers.

Mr. Plum, Everick repeated slowly. In the study, with the… what? He pulled out a glass for her drink.

Another round? Everly asked suspiciously.

Most girls’ nightly discussions included sports, drama clubs, and boys, while Everly’s frequently centered around cold cases, mortality rates, and murder games. It made her realize why Holland never wanted to spend the night at her house.

Of course. Everick grinned. Let’s play a round of ‘guess how they died.’

And I’m sure it was just as morbid then. Everly shook her head, popped the can, and poured it into her glass. Can’t we play a normal game like Monopoly?

Monopoly? a high-pitched voice cried out in mock disgust. Monopoly has been destroying families since 1935, Birdie interjected as she floated into the kitchen, dressed in a light blue shirt dress and pink slip-ons. Her once beautiful red-blonde hair had faded to a soft golden white and was pinned up in curls.

Well then, how about Scrabble? Everly tried to interject.

Can you spell B-O-R-I-N-G?  Everick shook his head. Just humor me. One round of ‘guess how he died.’

I always loved the ‘guess how he died’ game, Birdie crooned as she played with the locket around her neck. My George would have won in a heartbeat.

That’s because Grandpa was the county medical examiner, and you were his medical assistant. You two knew how everyone died. Everly stuck her thumb toward the white brick outbuilding near the alley attached to their property. You could see Grandpa Hart’s old medical office through the glass sunroom, which her father used as his active case layout room. Why he wanted to work there with a senior medical table and trays with creepy drains in the floor was beyond her. But Everick spent many nights studying cases, working on missing person reports, and always locking them up before coming back inside.

Birdie’s blue eyes zeroed in on Everick and his glass covered with condensation heading for the wood table.

Quickly, she pulled out a doily coaster before his glass touched the wood tabletop. Really, Everick, use a coaster.

Everick chuckled and leaned over to kiss her head before reaching into the cookie jar and taking a few cookies.

Grandma Birdie was the heart of the home, and no one dared to argue with her… ever. She loved plants, being outside, and was obsessed with doilies, and she would cut you if you ever dared to remove one of those precious ornamental lace mats from the chair’s armrests. Along with Birdie’s preference for vintage was her disdain for paper plates and all things disposable.

Get this, Everick continued with his game. The victim’s name was Mr. Plum. Like in the board game. The first officer on the scene called it an accidental death. He grinned before taking a bite; crumbs started to fall, and Birdie brought out another plate and put it under his cookie. What with the knocked-over ladder and the broken tub of Christmas lights he was trying to put away in the garage. But after the autopsy, there was apparent significant blunt-force trauma to the back of the head. What do you think happened?

I know. Everly raised her hand. He died from an overdose of Christmas cheer, she said sarcastically. 

Use that beautiful brain of yours! Everick tapped Everly on her forehead, and she blinked.  

Do you know that the average brain weighs six pounds? Birdie called out over her shoulder. She had also taken a plate and a few chocolate chip cookies. And a woman’s brain shrinks when she’s pregnant.

Stop, Everly laughed. No more random facts. If I play your stupid ‘guess how he died’ game, can we please have a normal night?

Everick leaned back, pushed his spectacles up his nose, and crossed his arms. Only if you win.

What are the stakes, Birdie announced. She reached into the cabinet, pulled out a rose-colored teacup, and set the kettle on the stove.

Stakes? Everly laughed.

No, no gambling. Everick waved his hands.

Birdie looked at her son in surprise. Without stakes, there’s no reason to play.

All right. Everick cracked his knuckles and looked between his mother and daughter. Loser has to do the dishes for the week.

I already do the dishes, Everly stated.

Fine. Then loser buys ice cream at Duke’s after dinner.

Fine. You’re going down, and I’m getting the double-high monster strawberry sundae with extra strawberry sauce. Everly put her drink away and focused on her father. The gauntlet had been thrown. Paint me a picture. What’s in the garage? Where was the deceased found?

Everick always had a flair for the dramatic. He leaned forward and began to rattle off information. Storage shelf with plastic bins full of seasonal decorations. One wall was filled with garden equipment, a red toolbox with tools, a blue barrel full of sporting equipment, a mini fridge, and a snack cupboard.

What’s in the fridge? Everly asked.

Seltzer water and grape soda.

Cupboard?

Animal crackers and peanuts. Everick held back a pinched smile.

Any decor on the wall? she asked.

"Cirque du Soleil poster, monthly Sports Illustrated calendar, St. Louis Cardinals poster, vintage neon Coca-Cola sign." 

Vehicles in the garage?

One 2019 BMW with black leather seats, two bicycles, a lawn mower, and a unicycle.

Unicycle? What are you doing? Seltzer water, animal crackers, peanuts, and a unicycle. Are we investigating a clown?

Everick shrugged, trying to hold back his laugh. Humor me.

I’m not falling for the clown stuff. That’s all red herrings. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to picture the scene. What was around the body?

Besides the overturned stepladder? Nothing.

Castoff? Everly asked.

Oh, good question. Did you know the first hit is considered a freebie and usually has no blood trail? Birdie chimed in again as the whistle on her kettle went off.

Yes, Grandpa taught me that too. Everly held back a smile.

Oh, well. Birdie shrugged, added the tea bag into her cup, and poured hot water over it. An earthly, floral, and somewhat sweet scent filled the air, signifying Birdie was brewing a black tea over her favorite green tea’s lighter grassy and lemon aroma.

No castoff, Everick answered.

Right, because if there were castoff, the first person on scene would have called it a homicide, Everly answered.

Now, you’re thinking. Everick clapped his hands.

Everly grinned. She was good at this when she wanted to be. Describe the deceased.

Man, late thirties, athletic.

Describe the injury, Everly said.

Took you long enough to get to this part. Blunt-force trauma to the head. The skull fracture. Everick leaned back and crossed his arms. She could tell from his body language that she was getting close.

Any trace in the wound? she asked.

His eyes twinkled. One splinter. Wood. Maple.

Everly closed her eyes and tried to picture the scene again; car, tools, a barrel of sporting equipment.

What was the size of the fracture in the skull?

It had a diameter of two and three-quarter inches. Everick’s eyes narrowed. She was getting very close.

Everly chewed on her lip as her brain returned to the wall poster—baseball—and the tub of sporting equipment almost every family owned.

Baseball bat.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Everick twirled his finger in the air. You are correct.

I’m also getting double sprinkles. Everly grinned.

I knew that, Birdie said, but her voice had gotten serious, and she was staring out the window toward the backyard and the path that headed to the mountains. It sounded a lot like how Mr. Samuel Plum died in 2011 when the Cardinals won the World Series.

Everly couldn’t understand her grandmother. She was the smartest while also the ditsiest person she knew. Her mind was a steel trap of nostalgia, and while she would almost always win at Trivial Pursuit, she couldn’t find her glasses on her head.

That’s exactly the case I was referring to, Everick said.

Birdie headed into her sunroom and, a few minutes later, came out with some fresh cuttings. I’ll be out the rest of the night. Heading over to Elenore’s for some late-night tea and gossip. She winked at the both of them.

Everly watched her grandma grab her shawl and head out the side door, crossing the yard to take the worn walking path into the woods. She forgot.

Yep, Everick mumbled.

That’s okay. I like having you to myself tonight. Her eyes followed her grandma’s colorful scarf as she paused and seemed fixated on talking to a tree. An everyday occurrence in their house. She’s not going to Elenore’s, is she? Everly asked suspiciously.

Everick watched his mother go and shrugged. I’ve learned long ago not to question her, but you noticed she cut out right when the dishes needed to be washed.

I noticed. Everly stood, took her glass and Birdie’s teacup and saucer, and put them in the sink, running the water to wash them. Their kitchen was far too old and small for an actual dishwasher. When the few dishes they used were washed and put away, Everick went to the hall closet and grabbed his jacket.

You ready for dinner? he asked.

Of course, she said enthusiastically. I’m starving.  Everly rarely got to see her father anymore, he was so busy with cases, and tonight was a special night. She wanted to cherish any time he had a night off, which was rare.

Everly’s phone buzzed with a text message. It was her best friend, Holland Abernathy.

Can you come over? I’m bored.

How could Holland be bored? She lived on the other side of town and had a thousand amenities at her fingertips.

Can’t. I’m with my dad.

Is he making you play detective again?

Maybe. I don’t mind. We’re about to get dinner to celebrate my—

Just then, her father’s phone rang. He pulled his phone out of his jacket and moved into the sunroom for added privacy.

Hello? Yes, Captain. I understand. But tonight’s not a good night; I have my daughter. I see—victim. Female? Yes. I can be there shortly. Just let me take care of a few things.

Everly’s heart dropped. She knew pizza night was about to be canceled. She picked up her phone.

Change of plans. Be over in 20. Can I stay over?

Of course. Stay forever. C U Soon. 

Hey, Everly. Her dad looked solemn. Something came up. I need to cancel pizza night.

What is it? Everly asked. She could see that this wasn’t a regular call out for him to be this worried. Anything I should be worried about?

That missing hiker from Cedarville. He brushed his hand across his face. They found her— He didn’t finish and didn’t need to. She knew.

Where? Everly’s heart sank.

Near Mirkwood Falls trail.

Everly worried on her bottom lip. Is she…?

Everick sighed. "Yeah, forest rangers think a wild animal