Eye of the Beholder

He smiled and handed her some papers. “I think you’ll find that Judge Crosby disagrees with you.”

He could actually hear Mancinelli’s teeth grinding together.

“I’ll also be representing Mr. Grimm.” Nik handed her another set of papers. “Please see to it that he’s brought to me.” Nik turned his back on the detective with a sniff. “We’ll have you out of here momentarily.”

She handed Val’s bail papers to a hovering officer and waved him down the hall. “We have reason to believe your client killed a man.”

Nik turned back and just stared down at Mancinelli, those cold eyes of his sending chills down Travis’s spine.

“Nice to know a real shark is representing him.”

Nik glared. Mancinelli smirked. Travis was impressed. It took a lot to get a rise out of Nik these days, but somehow the good detective seemed to do it without even trying.

“I didn’t kill Oliver Grimm. How many times do I have to say it? I didn’t kill him. ”

“Then how do you explain your hair and carpet fibers at a scene where someone had obviously cleaned up a large amount of the man’s blood?”

“First off, how do you know it was his blood? You had his DNA on file?” Nik folded his arms across his chest.

“Mrs. Grimm was able to supply us with a sample. It matched that recovered from the floor of that fucking fun house.”

Nik nodded. “I’ve seen the timeline you have for the murder. How do you account for the fact that Val Grimm was seen at the hospital, admitting Ms. Grimm, who’d been tortured right around the supposed time of death?”

Mancinelli blinked. “We believe the time of death was some time before Ms. Grimm was admitted.”

“How do you account for the technician’s report that Val Grimm was at the hospital at the exact time Mr. Grimm was allegedly killed?”

“My partner and I believe he was incorrect. We’re in the process of verifying that now. Besides, his partner, Mr. Rudiger, was not at the hospital making sure his sweet fiancee was all right, was he?”

“Ah. Tell me, did you find Ms. Grimm’s blood there?”

“Yes.”

“did you ever speak to Ms. Grimm about her ordeal?” His statement made it clear he already knew the answer.

“I’ve read the report.”

“Do you know what Mr. Oliver Grimm is accused of?”

“I’m well aware of it. Are you saying your defense will be that Oliver Grimm staged his own death?”

“Not at all.”

“Because no one could lose that amount of blood and live.”

“Of course not.”

“Evidence was found at the scene that points directly at Mr. Rudiger and Mr. Grimm.”

“But Mr. Grimm worked there as head of security, so how can you prove that his fibers weren’t there long before the crime was committed? There was a long-standing association between Guardian Investigations and Grimm and Sons. Three of Oliver Grimm’s grandchildren work for Mr. Yardley-

Rudiger.”

“It also means that, as head of security, Val Grimm was probably well aware of the fun house. With their hair and fiber all over the place? Mr. Rudiger must have known too.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “Frankly, if someone had done that to my niece I might have done far worse than stab him multiple times. I know why he felt he had to do it. But I believe he needs to stand up and take responsibility for murdering his own father.”

“Oh, believe me. The man who murdered Oliver Grimm will pay.”

Her expression blanked. “Do tell.”

Nik merely smiled and leaned down. He whispered something in Mancinelli’s ear that had her eyes going wide.

“You’re freakin’ kidding me, right?”

Nik shook his head.

“You better not be pulling my leg.”

Nik looked at something over her shoulder as he replied, “Trust me, it will be worth it.”

Travis saw the male detective, Solberg, leading Val toward their group. He looked terribly angry.

“How could they have made bail this quickly? They haven’t even been in the fucking jail yet.”

Mancinelli waved at Nik. “Ask him.”

Solberg paled when he saw Nik, then turned back to Mancinelli. “All the paperwork is in order?”

“Yup.” Unspoken was unfortunately. They could all hear it in her voice.

Nik took hold of Travis’s arm. “Are you two ready to leave?”

“More than,” Val growled.

Mancinelli put a hand on Travis’s arm as he tried to move past her. “You’re still under arrest.” She let go. “And I’m watching.”

They followed Nik out of the police building, but Travis knew it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

Grimm watched as Heimdall took Tyr and Vali out of the police station. He could barely contain his fury at the sight.

Beside him, Mancinelli shivered. “Is something wrong with the air conditioner?”

How could it have gone so wrong? Who could have expected Nik to show up and take custody of Tyr and Vali? “I have to go.”

Mancinelli turned back to him. “We have to figure out how they managed to get Judge Crosby to post bail. There wasn’t a hearing or anything.”

He barely heard her. He was practically trembling with rage. Frost began to coat everything around him. “I have to go, Mancinelli.”

She gasped, and he wondered what had made her do that. Not that it mattered anymore. He’d soon be back, erasing this incident in the minds of all those who’d witnessed it.

Since he couldn’t erase his partner’s mind, he’d erase her life.

Grimm strode out of the building, his mind whirling. As he climbed into Solberg’s car, he knew what he had to do.

There was only one way to get Tyr and Vali out in the open now. And he would take great delight in implementing it.

Chapter Ten

“He will kill them. Don’t you get that?” Jamie paced back and forth, trying to get through to her brothers-in-law. “We have to save them!”

“I agree with Jamie. We need to move.” Jeff had his arms crossed, watching her pace back and forth.

“Let me go get my stack of dynamite and we’ll be all set.”

Jamie flipped him the bird.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun. Just like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.”

Jamie rolled her eyes and did her best to ignore Jeff. “Are you sure that Nik will get them out of jail?”

Kir shrugged absently, his expression intent as he stared at his laptop. “He said he would, and so far Nik has never failed at what he set his mind to. If anyone other than Logan can do it, it would be Nik.”

“I’m going to change the lab reports so that the evidence points elsewhere.” Logan ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m just not sure who to point the finger at.”