Chapter 46

"I have some good news!" Chloe said through the phone as I curled my legs under me on the couch. It was finally Friday and I had a real weekend ahead of me. Thank God. I deserved a break.

"Good news? I could use some of that." Perhaps Harvey had finally shown Chloe he was anatomically correct.

"So, I've been researching like crazy on your dad and I think I've found something."

"Found something?" I sat up straight on the couch. "What is it, Chloe?"

"Well, I got a call back about your dad's volunteer work in California," she said. "He was working in a place called Crescent City in California. Ever heard of it?"

I went through the maps in my mind, the file cabinet drawers of my brain clattering about.

"It's on the coastline I think. Not far from the Redwood Forest area maybe? Let me grab my laptop."

I Google'd the city, and sure enough, my memory served me well. It was a small area, surrounded by quite a few parks and reserves on the coast in California. Directions from Portland estimated it was six hours away.

"From what I can gather, he grew up near there. One of the guys I talked to had remembered your dad, and he recalled him going camping in the forests as a kid or something. Anyway, here's the ironic thing. Your grandma on your mom's side still lives there."

"No, that can't be. My mom said my grandparents are all dead."

"Well, I had to go through a few slightly illegal databases, but I found your grandma had changed her name sometime back in the '80s. When the same city came up as where I found your dad to hail from, it seemed like a real match."

I had a living grandmother? Oh, this was shocking. My heart jumped up in my chest as my stomach clenched.

"Any contact phone numbers or anything to reach her?"

"No, your grandma has worked hard to keep herself hidden."

"How long as she lived there?"

"Girl, I'm good at research, but I haven't found a way to tap into those kinds of databases… yet." Her smirk came through from the other side of the phone.

"But you have an address, right?"

"Well, no," she paused. "I have… coordinates."

"Coordinates?"

"Yeah, it's a remote area in the woods."

She read it off to me as I typed it in Google. It led to an area in the middle of a forest just outside of Crescent City. Were there even roads to drive in there? I zoomed in enough to make out what looked like a road… or perhaps it was a gravel path? Either way, it wasn't easily accessible.

"Six hours away," I repeated.

"I see a road trip in your future, huh?"

"Yeah, looks like it." She didn't need a direct link to my brain to figure that one out. "Chloe you are beyond amazing."

"Hey, I just do what I can. You have to let me know what you find out from her."

"Of course. Maybe she has some of my grandfather's Grimm history," I commented. "But just to be able to know about my mom and dad. Oh, wow…" I let out a breath as I smiled.

Chloe and I talked more about life, work, and romance, or as Chloe liked to put it, her lack thereof with Harvey, before we said our goodbyes.

I immediately called Monroe.

"What are you doing tomorrow morning?" I asked. I wasn't about to wait.

"Aside from Pilates and a drop off of an anniversary clock to a client, nothing," he replied with a suspicious tone. "What did you have in mind?"

"Wanna take a road trip to my grandma's house with me?"

"Is this a bad joke?" Monroe asked.

I laughed, "No joke. But it is over the river and through the woods." I told him what Chloe had found on my biological parents.

"Wow this is kinda short notice, but I suppose, I could go," he said. "But only if we can bring her a picnic basket. 'Cause you don't get this kinda irony often enough."

"Only you would say something like that," I chuckled. Oh, you silly wolf.

"So, is this the Grimm-side grandma or the human-side grandma?" Monroe asked.

"The Grimm-side."

"Hmm… I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"My grandpa was the Grimm, not my grandma," I reasoned.

"Even so, she may know the truth. Might be why she's in hiding."

"I guess I can see if Nick is free."

"No, I wanna go," Monroe replied quickly. "I just hope she's not well-versed in the family business, if you know what I mean."

"It might be a good idea if Nick comes with us, anyway, since it's Grimm related. Maybe she has my grandfather's books, or journals, or…"

"A trailer?"

I chuckled. "Maybe that, too."

"Yeah. Call and see if Nick is free."

Monroe and I settled on leaving around noon so he could deliver his clock. Too bad we couldn't leave in the morning. The more daylight the better, in my opinion. Regardless, I was excited and nervous at the same time. I was going to meet a blood relative. A pit formed in the bottom of my stomach as the nerves won out.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"Burkhardt," Nick said into the phone.

"Do you work on Saturdays?" I asked.

"I'm always working," he replied. "Why?"

"Would you be able to get off work to go on a Grimm adventure?"

There was a moment of silence. "Let me call you back."

I sighed as he hung up. He must have been at his desk. I waited a few moments until Dire Straits played on my phone.

"Okay, so what do you mean by a Grimm adventure exactly?"

I told him the details. "So, would you be able to leave with short notice?"

"Renée, this job isn't like yours where I can just call in a vacation day," he replied. "But I really think I should go with you two." The gears were turning in his little head, I just knew it. He was conflicted.

"Well, we're leaving around noon tomorrow to give Monroe time to make a delivery, and then we'll probably just stay the night at a hotel, and be back before dark on Sunday."

"So, you're talking thirty-six hours, give or take?"

"Yeah. Give or take." Most people would just say a day and a half.

"I'll talk it over with Hank. But if I go, and I mean if… I'm keeping my cell on. If anything comes though, we have to leave. No questions asked."

"You really don't have to go if it's going to be a problem," I said. Working off Nick's schedule? No, thank you.

"Maybe if we try to go in a few weeks…"

"No, I'm not waiting to go."

"Why not?"

"I just found out I have a living blood relative, Nick. If you just found out that a relative who might know about this 'other world' was actually alive when you thought they were dead, wouldn't you want to see them as soon as possible?"

Nick was silent a moment. "Let me just talk to Hank. I'll call you back."

I shook my head. Why did I suggest Nick come along? Oh, this wasn't going to be good.

A few hours later Nick called again.

"I have clearance to leave for forty-eight hours, but if there is a homicide, I've got to return. So, if I get a call, I have to go back to Portland."

"Just homicides?" I asked.

"Yeah. Hank says that he can take care of the rest, and I told him it would probably be less time than I was estimating."

"And they're aware if they make the call, it's going to take you at least six hours to return?"

"Yes, Renée," he scowled slightly. "I gave them the details."

"What did you tell them you were going to be doing, exactly?"

"Well, I may have mentioned it was a relative close to me and my Aunt Marie, and that this relative might not make it. I may have played the sympathy card since they know it hasn't been all that long since my aunt died."

"Wow, you went through all that just to come along?" That was kind of a surprise.

"I told you I don't want you two going alone, so it had to be something convincing. Even the captain patted my shoulder after I told him. He wished my relative well and told me to be safe on the road."

"Lying to the police captain. That's good." I held back my smirk.

"It's not a lie exactly. Your grandma would be a relation to me by marriage. Even if it was many branches apart."

"Sure, because that's not stretching the truth at all." I laughed this time. "So what tall tale will you give Juliette?"

"I'll figure something out. I'll pick you guys up around eleven-thirty so we can be on the road by noon."

"Umm, I'm driving."

"Well, what if I get a call?"

"Then I'll drive you back to Portland."

"No. That won't work," Nick said adamantly.

"Were you going to drive a cop car, so you could turn the lights on?"

"No. I was going to drive the Toyota."

"Okay, then. How about I drive, and if you get a call, then you can drive my car back to Portland. Is that all right?"

Nick was silently mulling it over. He couldn't refute my offer. There was no way I was going to let him drive, but he didn't need to know that.

"Fine, you drive. But, Renée, I swear if I get a call, then you're handing over the keys, so we can get back as soon as possible."

"Fair enough. I'll pick you up at eleven-thirty. Make sure you pack tonight, it makes it easier when you pack the night before."

Hopefully the citizens of Portland could refrain from killing one another for the next two days.

A/N: Monroe, Nick and Renée are going on a road trip. That should be fun, right? LOL!

Okay so I'm going out of my comfort zone again, with these next ten chapters. Stay with me on the twists and turns, and I'd love to hear your comments as we go along.

Posting the first five chapters now and the other five tonight. Enjoy!