“Something comes, to be sure,” Michael says, glancing over his shoulder.
Headlights, starting up the driveway.
“Who is that?” Mary asks as she came up behind us, pointing at Michael.
“A friend,” Cal snaps. He is getting riled up, and I can tell it has more to do with the oncoming car than the archangel standing in front of us.
“Who is this?” Michael asks with a frown. “I do not have eyes in this little place. The threads. I can’t see them.”
“What threads is he talking about?” Christie asks. “Why is everyone standing in the doorway? Move! I want to see!”
Cal begins to growl, and I know who it is even before I see the decal on the side, the lights on top of the car.
Griggs.
old bones
“A welcoming party?” Griggs asks with a sardonic nod of his head as he
steps out of the cruiser. “How wonderful.”
“Sheriff?” Christie asks, her voice going cold. “What are you doing here? None
of us called you out here.”
He shrugs easily, averting his eyes. “Thought I’d stop by and check things out
for myself.”
“Check what out, George?” my mother asks.
Griggs ignores her and looks up at Michael. “Haven’t seen you around before,
friend.”
“I don’t suppose you have,” Michael says slowly. “I’m not exactly from around
here.”
“Could tell by your clothes. Pretty fancy.”
“How kind of you, Sheriff.”
“Got a name?”
“I do.”
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
Griggs’s mouth stretches to a thin line. “What is your name, friend?” “Michael.”
“Got a last name, Michael?”
“Oh, I’m sure I do, but none I feel at this very moment needs to be shared with
you.” He pauses, considering. “Friend.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrow. “You friends with Cal Blue here?”
They glance at each other. “You could say that,” Michael allows. “More like…
business associates.”
“Oh? And what line of business would that be?”
“Security.” No hesitation. It would have been funny had it not been between a
high-ranking angel and a man I’m pretty sure is a sadist.
Griggs arches an eyebrow. “Security? And what are you supposed to be
guarding?”
Michael laughs. “Now that’s an amusing question.”
“Wasn’t meant to be funny,” Griggs says with a frown.
“It was,” Michael assures him.
“Cal Blue?”
“Yes?” Cal says. His lips are almost twisted into a sneer.
“There’s no one in the state of California named Calliel Blue. Trust me on that; I
looked.”
“That doesn’t mean a thing, Sheriff,” Abe says. “You should know that better
than anyone. I assume that to be elected into your position you have at least some
knowledge of the law. Well, not that I voted for you, anyway.”
“I wasn’t talking to you, old-timer,” Griggs says coldly. “You’ll know if I am.
You can trust me on that.”
I am angry. “You got a problem, Sheriff? Ever since Cal came to town, you’ve
had a bug up your ass about him. What the fuck do you want?”
“Benji!” my mother snaps.
Griggs smiles but it never reaches his eyes. “What do I want?” he asks. “What I
want is to know why your little boyfriend here is lying about who he is. I want to
know how he came to be in Roseland out of the blue. My problem, Benji, is I want to
know who the fuck he is.”
“I don’t see how that concerns you,” Michael says, cocking his head. He seems
curious about the sheriff.
“That’s because it doesn’t,” I say, unsure if I should be agreeing with him. “Cal
hasn’t done a damn thing wrong. As a matter of fact, he’s probably done more right
for this town than you ever have.”
“Might be a good idea for you to shut your mouth, kid,” the sheriff growls. I take a step toward him. “And why is that, Griggs?” I say, keeping my voice
hushed so the others on the porch can’t hear me. “Am I going to have an accident?
End up in the river? Get a bullet in the back of my head?” He’s good. He doesn’t
even flinch. “I know what you’ve done. And one way or another, I swear on all that I
have that I will make you suffer.”
His eyes glitter as he twitches his lips. “Boy, you have no idea the unholy mess
you are walking into.”
“I think I know plenty,” I tell him. “You will pay and everyone will know what
you’ve done.”
He laughs loudly, raising his voice. “Threatening an officer of the law? Benji, I
expected you to be smarter than that. But then, the apple never did fall far from the
tree, now did it?” Cal grabs my arm before I can launch myself at the bastard who
dared to insult my father. I want to tear him to pieces and split his bones while he