Instead of meeting at the precinct, Taima and Pilar met Chief Jenkins at the funeral home and immediately, Pilar had her hands full of an apoplectic Myron, running around like a headless chicken, his be-ringed fingers clamped to the sides of his head as he wailed.
“Pilar, thank God you’re here! They’re been here since six a.m. and they nearly ruined Mrs. Mascotte’s first viewing!”
“Calm down, My. I’m sure that everything’s all right.”
“It’s most assuredly
not
all right! This could ruin our business!”
Chief Jenkins came up behind them, clapping a hand on Taima’s shoulder. “Glad you got here.”
“What do we have?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Pilar piped up, her arm around her distressed brother. “No clues?”
“Not one. Looks like whomever stole the body did so by using a key. There were no signs of a break-in. The only thing we’ve found is that one of your hearses is missing.”
“Which one, sir?”
Pilar watched as Jenkins leafed through his notes. “The midnight blue one.”
Myron Petersen’s eyes rolled back and he crumbled to a heap on the floor, everyone looking on in horror.
“It was his favorite.” Pilar supplied.
Jenkins helped her place Myron on a cot in the back office, then sent the rest of the officers and crew away. “We put out a BOLO for the hearse and I don’t think we’ll have to wait very long before someone spots it. It’s not going to ‘blend in’ anywhere.”
Pilar nodded. “Thanks, Chief Jenkins.”
“No problem, but now we have to move on to the other more serious problem. First, Benny Rhodes is taken from Sheltering Elms and now, Mrs. Gonzales from your funeral parlor. Whomever is abducting these bodies … has access to either your business, the cemetery prep room or both.”
“That’s so sick! How could someone defile a body like that?”
“Because they don’t think of it as a
body
.” Pilar said, placing a cold cloth on Myron’s forehead. The man stirred, moaning lightly. “They don’t have the same reverence that you and I do. To them, it’s just a cold lump of flesh. To me, it’s a shell, true, but that shell was someone’s mother or father or sister or brother. There was love and care there.” She caught Taima’s eyes and gave a weak laugh. “Sorry, I got a little carried away. It’s just that I care for these people every day.”
Taima smiled, touching Pilar’s hand. Myron moaned again and the two laughed, sobering quickly when his eyes opened. “My car. My beautiful car.”
“It’ll be all right, My. They’ll find the Batmobile.” Taima snickered, drawing an agonized look from Myron.
“What about Julianne Bennett?” Taima turned to Jenkins. “Any info on her?”
“Not a thing. The only thing I’ve been able to find out is that she was ugly. Messed up teeth, zits, the works. None of the guys really talked to her because of that.”
“Oh and I found out something interesting about the gardener, Whitley.”
While Taima filled Jenkins in on the financials, Pilar helped Myron sit up. “You all right, My?”
Myron shook his head. “Why would someone want to do this to us?”
“I don’t know, My, but I know that Chief Jenkins and Taima will find out.”
“You like her, don’t you?” Pilar colored, looking away with a shy smile. “I thought so. She seems nice.”
“She’s very nice. She’s the one, My.”
Myron’s eyes grew large. “Really?” He glanced toward the officer, then back to his sister. “That’s great!” His shoulders sagged. “Are you going to leave?”
“No, My. I won’t be going anywhere. We’ll probably get a place together but we won’t be going anywhere.”
“Good.”
