1 Broken Hearted Ghoul

by Joyce Lavene; Jim Lavene

  “Yeah.” I tried to remember my sensitivity training from years as a police officer. “No one should die alone.”

  “Is he supposed to look like this?” Debbie whispered as she walked around the sofa to the other side.

  “No.” Zombies weren’t supposed to be dead when we got them. They definitely weren’t supposed to have a huge hole in their chests where their hearts had been. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, but sometimes things that weren’t supposed happen, did.

  His chest was open, heart gone—there was no blood.

  Mr. Welk didn’t look like he wasn’t much over fifty. His face was contorted in fear and pain. His clothes appeared new, as though he’d been dressed up for something. He was also in full rigor so he’d been dead awhile.

  There was a wine bottle on a table that had been made from a crate. Two glasses were on the floor.

  “What do we do now?” Debbie muttered, staying clear of the body. “Is this what happens when they don’t get back in time?”

  Good question. If so, I understood why Abe was eager to get his zombies back to the mortuary right away.

  “We get the body. Just focus on that for now.”

  We opened the body bag, and got it ready for the corpse. All we had to do was lift him carefully, and get him to the floor without dropping him.

  “Ready?” I stared intently at my partner.

  Debbie took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready.”

  Together, we managed to inch him from the sofa. It was a little more difficult to maneuver him into the body bag. His hands and feet didn’t want to cooperate—they kept slipping out as we tried to get the rest of him in.

  Finally, he was inside, and I zipped the bag.

  “Good job,” Martin said. “Looks like you haven’t forgotten your training.”

  We started out the door with the body.

  “Hold on there a minute.” He called us back.

  Setting the man on the floor, we retraced our steps back to the sofa.

  “Something wrong?” I asked.

  “I just saw this ring.” He put on a glove, and picked up the plain gold wedding band. “Wonder how he lost this?”

  Debbie shrugged. “Maybe he took it off when he wasn’t feeling good. I hate having any jewelry on when I’m sick.”

  “You’re probably right.” Martin handed the ring to her. “Let’s put it back on his finger—in case he wanted to be buried with it. I want to be buried with my wedding band, even though my wife passed years ago.”

  I glanced at Debbie. “I guess that’s okay.” At this point, I wasn’t sure it mattered. What was Abe going to make of this? Maybe Debbie was right and he’d seen it before. I hoped so. And I hoped it wasn’t my fault for being a few hours late.

  “Out here in the field,” Martin said, “not everything that’s right is protocol. You get me?”

  Debbie nodded. “I think that may be a more reverent way to look at this man’s death.”

  “Skye knows what I’m talkin’ about.”

  I agreed. “I know. It’s been a while since I was out here, but I guess it never changes.”

  We re-opened the black bag. Martin couldn’t find a white circle on the dead man’s finger where the ring had been. I put the ring on anyway. It wasn’t easy. The ring was almost too small for him.

  “He’s a trifle bloated probably.” Martin shrugged. “It will pass. In the meantime, they’ll put this with his belongings. He might have next of kin who will want it, or want him to be laid to rest with it.”

  When that was over, and the bag was closed again, we took the stretcher to the back of the van. Martin opened the back door, and we pushed it inside.

  “Thanks for your help.” I took off my gloves and shook his hand.

  “I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other before, Skye. It’s a small place. Probably that old rascal, Abe, putting his pieces on the chess board where he wants them.” He chuckled as he glanced at Debbie. “You live around here too?”

  “I live near Skye. My husband is a Highway Patrol officer. Terry Hernandez.”

  “Oh yeah.” Martin nodded. “He got shot a few months back, right? How’s he doing?”

  “He’s been better,” she admitted. “At least he’s home now. I hope he’ll be back on his feet early next year.”

  He rotated his right shoulder. “I got shot once. It still gives me some pain even years later.”

  “I know it’s going to be a long recovery.”

  “Good luck to you.” He clasped her hand with both of his. “You two take care.”

  I closed and locked the back door to the van. Debbie got inside to log the day and time of pickup in the book. It was something normal that I thought might reassure her. She looked more than a little uneasy when we first started.

  Martin put his hand on my shoulder when we were alone. “I know what happened to you, Skye. It happened to me too—only it was cancer instead of a wreck.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “The blue tattoo on my heel would tell the story, but I’m not taking off my boot to show you.”

  “Cancer, huh?” I peered into his eyes. “But Abe let you stay with the sheriff’s department. I wanted to keep working with the police department too. He said he needed a pickup person for his taxi for the dead.”

  Martin laughed. “Taxi for the dead, huh? I get it. Yeah. Abe left me here. I knew as soon as I found Mr. Welk that something bad was wrong. We aren’t supposed to die that way. The paramedics were already here. I had to play along, like you did.”

  I glanced at the van. “Did Abe call you?”

  “Nope. I called him. He said he’ll meet you at the mortuary.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I shook his hand again. “Funny us meeting like this. Good to see you, Martin.”

  “You too, Skye. Take care.”

  I got in the van, started it up, and followed Martin across the bridge.

  “Abe isn’t going to blame us for this, is he?” Debbie nervously twisted her wedding ring on her finger.

  “No. We didn’t have anything to do with it. Mr. Welk died a long time before Abe sent us after him. That’s why Martin was here first. This is something else. We don’t have to figure it out.”

  I knew what I told her was true, but it was part of my nature to want resolution to problems. I always thought that had made me a better police officer. It didn’t really make me a better taxi driver.

  Abe wouldn’t thank me for trying to figure out his problems. Even if I had some thoughts on the matter, I planned to try to keep them to myself. Abe had been doing this for more than two-hundred years. He had to know what he was doing, right?

  Chapter Eight

  The sun had melted away all the ice from last night as we rolled into Nashville. Cars whizzed by on the city streets. Everything was normal. The sun glinted off the spires of the newer buildings as they thrust into the blue sky. A young man was bundled up on the side of the street, playing his guitar, with a cowboy hat on the sidewalk for tips.

  To keep my mind off Mr. Welk and his mangled corpse—I thought about Debbie and Abe. Would Abe make his move on her at the mortuary today? How would she take it? She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would simply fall into another man’s arms. On the other hand, she was very grateful for Abe’s help.

  Debbie was singing along to a song on the radio. She seemed more naive than I’d ever been. Maybe it was part of how I’d been raised. It had been hard to learn to trust Jacob. If we hadn’t been partners, I wasn’t sure I would have.

  It bothered me that Abe had lied to Debbie about Terry—or at least hadn’t told her the whole truth. Not that I thought he was a fount of truth and righteousness. I knew no one like Abe got where he was without a few dark lies, and other things I’d rather not think about.

  Still, I had a contract with him too. Had he lied to me about some fine detail that would have me facing an early pickup by some other zombie with a van? The situations were different since I actu
ally had the contract with him. Maybe Debbie had been too gullible and desperate to ask the right questions.

  All of us, at the moment of our deaths, weren’t too worried about being cheated by a man who promised us more time. We were willing to overlook the details.

  We parked in the back of the mortuary again. This time Brandon was on his toes. He and Abe met us, and took Mr. Welk’s body inside.

  “You should have gone to fetch him when I first gave you the assignment, Skye.”

  Abe was angry. I could tell by the tight muscle that moved in his cheek. His lips were stretched thin too. I didn’t think he was really angry at me—it was more that the death had happened this way.

  His voice never rose above his usual muted tone, even when he was scolding. “When I give you something to do, it should be done as quickly as possible. I expected you back hours ago.”

  Since when is there a time limit?

  “It wouldn’t have mattered. Mr. Welk had been dead for a long time.” I defended my actions, keeping the cause of my late arrival—Lucas—to myself. Abe was never interested in the details, just the results.

  “You wouldn’t have been able to change what happened to Howard,” Abe amended. “But you could have prevented his death from being officially logged with the county.”

  “Sorry. I did the best I could.”

  Brandon and Abe put the body bag containing Mr. Welk on the empty slab.

  “You can make amends by finding out who reported his death. Someone called it in. I want to know who that was.”

  “What would you like me to do, Abe?” Debbie’s soft voice was laced with trepidation.

  Brandon and I exchanged glances behind Abe’s back. Brandon waggled his almost invisible blond brows.

  Abe put his hand on Debbie’s shoulder. “You should accompany Skye on her task. I’m sure this can be a learning experience for you. All right?”

  She nodded. “Thank you again for sparing my husband.”

  “You are so welcome, my dear.” Abe graciously inclined his head.

  Brandon mouthed something to me silently that I didn’t understand—no doubt proclaiming that he’d pegged that relationship correctly.

  “I’ll find out what happened,” I promised.

  Abe’s face swiveled toward me, his sunglasses intact over his dead eyes. “See that you do, Skye. And be careful. There may be more to this than it seems.”

  “What happened to him?” I asked, even though I’d sworn that I wouldn’t. Well, maybe I didn’t swear it so much as think I wouldn’t if I was smart. “I’ve picked up a lot of zombies. They never look like this.”

  Brandon shook his head as he prepared to help Abe with the body bag.

  “I know what he looks like.” Abe rolled up his sleeves, his huge arm muscles bulging. “You’ve done your job. Thank you. Please finish the task I’ve assigned you.”

  I started to try to pin him down on it, but Debbie was looking green, as the body bag was re-opened. She swayed, and I dragged her out of the room.

  Outside, she vomited in the parking lot. “I’m so sorry. You’re so strong and capable, Skye. I know I must be a terrible burden on you.”

  She took a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her eyes and mouth.

  I stood there with my hands in my pockets, staring at the old buildings around us. I could hear two men arguing close by, and the sound of scuffling in the street. It wasn’t unusual to hear gunfire in this part of town. As places went to stay off the radar, it was good.

  “We both do what Abe wants,” I finally told her. “You’re not a burden. Let’s go check this out. I’ll give Martin a call.”

  We got back in the van, and I tried calling Martin. He was either not available, or still in an area with no signal. I knew where the county EMS was located. I thought I might be able to bluff my way into the information there.

  “Abe is such a wonderful person, isn’t he?” Debbie asked in a dreamy voice.

  I hid my smile as I pulled out of the mortuary parking lot. “Oh yeah. He’s a peach.”

  Did she really not understand what this was all about? Or was she truly that naïve?

  “What he’s done for me and Terry and the kids—he should be nominated for sainthood.”

  That was a little too much for me.

  I chuckled. “He’s getting your twenty years of service in return for twenty years of your husband’s life. I think that’s a fair trade.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that something was wrong with that agreement. I was too worried about my own situation to risk it for her.

  “What about you, Skye? He’s helping you stay with your daughter until she’s grown. I’d think you’d be a little grateful for that.”

  “I am grateful. Don’t get me wrong, Debbie. But I know there’s more to Abe than we’re seeing. He isn’t a saint. You’re gonna have to toughen up a little.”

  She looked angry. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be as tough as you since I don’t have your life experiences. But I know a good deal when I see one. I know Abe probably isn’t as generous with everyone as he has been with me.”

  “Don’t you wonder why that is?”

  “No. I don’t. I’m not going to abuse Abe’s trust that way.” She folded her arms across her ample breasts, and ignored me. Her full lips were set in a mutinous line.

  “That’s fine.” I turned toward the EMS parking area. “We all have choices to make.”

  I parked the van, and we went inside the busy hub of the EMS station. Two ambulances were headed out as we were going in. I saw the paramedics who’d been at the scene earlier with Mr. Welk. They were re-stocking their supplies, and getting ready for the next run.

  “Let’s go talk to them. I’m going to lie—probably a lot. Don’t say anything.” Debbie seemed to feel she had to tell the truth about everything. Except to her husband, of course. I guess she’d learned to keep that to herself.

  “You explained to me already. I won’t say a thing.”

  I could tell she was still angry. Maybe that was a good thing, and she’d think about what might be coming her way. I wasn’t sure why I cared. I probably would have done the same thing in her position if Abe had wanted to keep Jacob alive.

  We approached the pair of emergency responders as they were finishing up with their preparations.

  I nodded to the one I’d spoken to at the house. “Hey, I was hoping you could help us out of a jam. We were supposed to write down the name of the caller who let you know about Mr. Welk’s death. Could we get that from you now?”

  The two men exchanged humorous glances.

  “Bad luck, huh?” The lead responder sounded less than sympathetic. “Wish we could help you out, but those records are sealed after we get back.”

  I’d been relying on the man wanting to help out a fellow worker. That didn’t look like it was going to happen. “Look, we just forgot with this being our first day and everything. I don’t want to lose my job. Can you give us that info?”

  Again, the really funny exchange between the two men.

  “Why don’t you and your friend step into the back of the ambulance? We could discuss it there.” There was more teenage-type snickering between the two.

  I’d seen this too many times before. Debbie shrugged and stepped up into the ambulance. Was she a moron, or didn’t she have any experience at all with men?

  “What about you, baby?” The paramedic put his hand on my breast and squeezed. “I know it looks a little small in there, but the four of us could have a big party.”

  I knocked his hand away. “Get your hand off of me, or you’ll be partying without it.”

  “Okay.” He took a step back. “I thought since you were asking for a favor, you might want to give one in return.”

  At that moment, we both heard a resounding slap from inside the ambulance. Debbie huffed as she got out of the vehicle. She threw me a furious glance, and stalked off toward the van.

  “I don’t think she’s in the part
ying mood either,” I told him. “You can give us that information anyway. I don’t want to report you for sexual harassment.”

  “Fine.” The lead paramedic called to his partner. “Look up that information, Bill. Let’s get these chicks out of here.”

  Bill gave me the name of the person who’d called in Mr. Welk’s death.

  “Mary Gable. Thanks.” I put the name into my phone and sent it to Abe. “Is there an address?”

  “None listed.”

  “Thanks, boys. Better watch those hands. I’d hate to see you lose one of them.” I smiled and waved as I left them.

  An ambulance was coming in as another was going out. I walked into the parking lot. I hoped Abe was happy with the information. I looked at my watch. There was still plenty of time to get Kate at school.

  Debbie was crying in the van as I got in. She wasn’t going to handle Abe well at all. If Brandon and I were right, she was getting in way over her head.

  “I can’t believe that man thought I was the kind of woman who would do that kind of thing. I told him I was married, and that I had children. He had no respect at all.”

  “It happens.” I started the engine. “We got the info anyway. Let’s get out of here.”

  She sniffed. “Can we go home now?”

  “I don’t see why not—unless we hear from Abe.”

  My phone rang. Wouldn’t you know it was him?

  “I need you back at the mortuary at once.”

  “Do you have another pickup already?” There was no reply. The phone call was over. “I guess we can’t go home yet.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Where did you get that name?”

  I’d thought Abe was upset before when we’d taken Mr. Welk’s body to the mortuary. Now he was beyond upset. His face was drawn up tight and hard. It was probably good that I couldn’t see his blank eyes behind the dark glasses.

  “I told you—we got it from the paramedics who took the call.” I didn’t know what he was looking for. It seemed that the name alone, Mary Gable, was enough to make him crazy.