Grim Reaper 01 - Embrace the Grim Reaper

the room.
    “Lillian?” Rosemary bustled after her.
    Eric rolled his head so he was looking at Casey. “This makes me feel like puking, too.”
    “Oh, me, too.”
    Casey blinked, and somehow refrained from exhaling with disgust at the sight of Death, one hip perched on the back of Eric’s chair, eating a chicken leg.
    “It gives me motion sickness, you know,” Death said, waving the drumstick. “Watching TV. I really can’t take it.”
    Casey closed her eyes.
    Eric leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I wish I knew what she was trying to tell me…”
    Casey wanted to go comfort him, but couldn’t make herself move closer with Death looking over his shoulder. Besides, if what Lonnie said about Eric’s feelings was true she really needed to—
    “So what now?” Death took a bite of chicken, using a sleeve to wipe barbecue sauce from where it had dripped onto the chair.
    Casey could feel her stomach turning.
    “Eric.”
    Death was gone, and Lillian hesitated in the doorway, a box in her hands. Rosemary stepped up beside her, her hand on Lillian’s shoulder. “This…” Lillian came closer. “This was from Ellen. She’d given it to me to keep for…for your birthday. With everything that’s happened, I just…I forgot about it.”
    Eric’s eyes locked onto the package, a small box with shiny red paper and a gold bow. “What is it?”
    Lillian shook her head, her eyes bright with tears. “I don’t know, sweetheart.” She held it out, but he didn’t reach for it.
    “Oh, come on ,” Death said in Casey’s ear. “Take it already.”
    Casey made a shushing motion toward the empty air around her, which she turned into a stretch when she noticed Rosemary watching her.
    Slowly Eric reached out and took the package, turning it over in his hands. “It hardly weighs anything. Are you sure there’s something in it?”
    Lillian’s mouth twitched. “She said you were sure to like it. In fact, she said it would probably be the best birthday gift you ever got.”
    Rosemary huffed. “Then she didn’t know about that birthday trip to see the Harlem Globetrotters when you were ten.”
    Eric gave her a sad smile. “I guess I should open it, then, if it’s that special.”
    Rosemary nodded. “No need to save the paper.”
    Eric ripped the shiny wrapper from the container, which wasn’t a jewelry box, but about that size. He stared at it for a moment before gently lifting the lid. He looked down at the contents, then up at the women, his face a picture of confusion.
    He held the box out to Casey, and she gazed down at a perfect, silver key.

Chapter Thirty-two
    “It’s not a car key,” Rosemary said.
    Lillian shook her head. “Or a house key.” She’d recovered from her earlier malaise, and stood by the end table, holding the key up to the light. “It’s too small. And thin.”
    “A safety deposit box?” Eric asked. “At the bank? That would fit with the footage of Todd.”
    “No,” Casey said. “Those are heavy. Thick.”
    “Yeah. I knew that.”
    “Bike lock?” Rosemary said.
    Casey laughed. “Who locks their bikes? You folks don’t even lock your cars.”
    “Or a lock for a locker room.”
    Casey considered that. “Like at a gym, to protect her purse while she worked out. Was she a member somewhere?”
    “No gym membership.” Eric was certain. “She didn’t have the money.”
    “But it could be a portable lock she used somewhere else.”
    “It almost looks like a diary key,” Lillian said. “Like little girls have, to write down who they have a crush on, and how horrible their hair was that day.”
    Casey looked at Eric. “Did Ellen’s daughter have a diary?”
    “I don’t know. If she did, she’d have it with her at her grandparents, I would think. I really don’t want to go back to Ellen’s house to check.”
    “Call her,” Rosemary said.
    “Now?”
    “Why not?”
    “It’s the middle of the night, that’s why not. I’ll call in the morning. If it’s waited this long, it can wait a few more hours.”
    Casey felt suddenly tired, and looked at the clock. “It is almost two. I need to go to bed.”
    Lillian seemed not to hear her, but Rosemary sketched a small wave. “Me, too, darling. I’m about done in. Eric, why don’t you just stay here tonight. We’ve certainly got the room. Eric?”
    “Huh?” He blinked. “Oh, sorry. I’m zoning out.”
    “That’s settled then. The lighthouse room for you.”
    “Oh, good.” He yawned. “I like