I glanced over my shoulder to see Dr. Randall had returned. “Yes, uh, we were discussing baseball, weren’t we, Dr. Randall?” I give him a slight nod, hoping he’d play along.
“S-S-Sure. Anyway, let’s get this show on the road. I want to say goodbye to my family and check out the other side. I hope I don’t run into crazies like that one.” He pointed toward the walk-in.
Dash stared at me, but I shrugged. “I’m guessing there’s a little disorientation in the process of moving from one realm to another. Any word from Jo? Did you and Jonas get the bed from Amelie?” Changing the subject was a good idea.
“Yeah. We put it together and put it in the… What happened to the end corner of the casket?” He was pointing to the gouge the scalpel had made in the box. I should have known Dash’s eagle eyes would catch it.
“Just a little accident. I’ll knock some money off for his family.” I finished buttoning the shirt and tucking it into Dr. Randall’s slacks.
“Accident? She was trying to kill you. If she’d hit her mark, you’d be on this side with me.” I wanted to throttle Dr. Randall, though I had truly enjoyed my time with him.
“Who’s she?” Dash stepped closer, studying me. He knew when I was lying. The very fiber of our souls seemed to have meshed. We couldn’t lie to each other, so I exhaled.
“It’s nothing, really. It’s that woman, Lorraine, who wreaked havoc at The Mystical Palm. She showed up here.” I was stalling to see how much I could keep from him.
Dash, however, would get his own answers. He went to the walk-in and opened the door. After disappearing inside for a moment, he walked back out, scowling.
“I smell sulfur. Who is this Lorraine? We need to find out more.”
“I agree, but first, we need to get Dr. Randall upstairs. Is Amelie in yet?” The man deserved a dignified, heartfelt sendoff, and my personal problems weren’t going to prevent it.
“Beautiful service, Reverend Brown. Thank you, Mr. Dearly.” Brenda Randall was Dr. Randall’s daughter-in-law. She was a nice woman, and the service had been lovely.
We were standing beside the hearse that would take Dr. Randall to the airport to be flown to Toledo, Ohio, for burial next to his parents. He and his wife had divorced years ago, and she was buried with her second husband.
Dr. Randall’s final wish was to be buried in the family plot. I’d contacted a funeral home in Toledo, and the funeral director had agreed to meet the plane and assist with the internment.
“Anything else, Keir?”
Adonis was doing us the favor of driving Dr. Randall to the airport so Dash and I could get on the road to Lake Shasta as soon as we heard from Jo regarding Lake and Jamie’s whereabouts.
“No, Adon. Thank you for doing us this favor. I’ll call your mother to see if she’ll come over. If Jo brings Lake and Jamie here, I need someone I can rely upon to watch over them. We’ll probably still be here when you return from checking on Dr. Carl.”
Adonis nodded before stepping into the hearse, slowly driving down the driveway. I turned to Brenda Randall. “When are you and Dana flying to Toledo?”
“In the morning. I spoke to the funeral director there, who you kindly enlisted to assist us, and they have an opening on Thursday morning. Again, thank you, Mr. Dearly.”
Brenda hurried to where Dana stood with some of Dr. Randall’s admirers from the assisted living facility. They were all talking adamantly with smiles, which was good to see.
“Reverend Brown, thank you for officiating. It was a nice service.” The man nodded at my comments before he left. When the minister arrived, Dash had whispered that his aura was white, which was a relief.
After everyone left, I returned to the funeral home, locking the front door behind me. Amelie and Dash were cleaning up the chapel, which was a great surprise. “Thanks, guys. Amelie, are you squared away to handle things while we’re gone?”
Amelie was holding down the fort while we were in Lakehead, not that I’d scheduled anything for the two days we would be gone. We were closing Dearly & Son on Friday for Amelie’s wedding and reopening on Monday. Hopefully, by then, Jo would have Lake and Jamie safely under our roof.
“I have everything under control. Trent has committed to helping me if anything comes up, and Adonis and Vale will be here. No worries, bossman.”
Dash returned to the chapel with the vacuum and stopped by me. “Everything go okay?”
My husband had helped me place the casket in the chapel prior to the service. He was trying to get in touch with Jo, but based on his stern expression, he’d had no success.
“Went off fine. Dr. Randall was happy to hear all the lovely things people said about him. He left before the pallbearers took his casket out to the hearse. Adon is taking his body to the airport for the flight to Toledo. I’m guessing you didn’t have luck getting in touch with Jo?”
Dash sighed. “Nope. She’s not answering any of the calls I’ve put out. I’m going to try Beelz. He helped Jo take Lake into hiding, and he and Jo have worked together on our behalf in the past.”
The door from the stairwell leading to the mortuary opened, and I hurried toward it, feeling Dash’s strong hand around my bicep before I could get away. The low growl in my ear slid satisfyingly down my backbone. “You know none of us were down there, and the garage door to the receiving bay hasn’t opened, so keep your ass here and let me check.” After a quick kiss to my lips, he left.
If he thought that would deter me, he was delusional. I followed him to see Scotty and Jay standing in the hallway having a heated discussion.
