Chapter Seventeen

“I know James has been snooping around in my business,” Chris Tuchman said, closing the door after he entered Lily’s office. “I know why he’s doing it, but I can’t say it’s making me happy.”

“Have a seat.” Lily gestured to the visitor's chair and folded her arms on the table. “It’s been crazy here. I don’t have to tell you that. As you know two more bodies were stolen and truthfully, we have been unable to discover anything helpful on the case, which explains why James has been looking to investigate everyone. You’ve been really helpful and a great manager. But when James gets something in his head, he runs with it until the end, no matter the cost.”

She saw a preoccupied look in Chris’s eyes. He returned a small smile. “I know the minute something weird happens in here all eyes look to me and Marcia. That’s the risk we took in working here but I didn’t expect this.”

“How did you know James was looking around?”

“Stan, my roommate told me—that jerk. He’s the one making up stuff about me.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He’s mad because he thinks I stole his girl, which is not true. She never liked him in the first place.”

“Slim pickings in Manorview, huh?”

“You’re not wrong there. I’m close to finishing my undergraduate degree, then I’ll apply to business school. Maybe then, I’ll move out of this town.”

“Probably a good idea. You don’t want to get stuck here with all of your talents, although, I would hate to lose you. I’m sorry if James offended you but you’re not under investigation.”

Chris let out a breath. “That’s good to know. I hate the idea of being investigated when I did nothing wrong.”

“Understood. I assure you it’s likely a formality and not much else. Can we move past this?”

He waved his hand. “I’m already over it.”

“Great, because I have a proposition for you.”

Chris’s right eyebrow rose. “I’m listening.”

Lily returned a mischievous grin. “I’ve opened up the funeral home to weddings and I thought it would be perfect if you officiated them.” She said it before he could take another breath.

But he sat frozen for a minute. 

She continued. “I don’t expect this is an option for everyone, but weddings are expensive, and it won’t look like a funeral home after we decorate it. The coffin sales room would be closed, and people wouldn’t have access to any area that might resemble a funeral home.”

Lily waited for his reaction. She hoped he wasn’t about to quit. Trying to find a new manager on top of everything might send her to the looney bin.

“Or maybe they do want to see the coffins. That could be why they booked the wedding in the first place.”

Lily laughed, releasing the built-up tension. She knew Chris wasn’t that easy to spook. “Maybe. I guess we’ll find out sooner rather than later. Will you do it?”

“Why not? I already work in a funeral home. This actually seems more straight forward.”

“Perfect. I’ve got a couple coming over today who are interested in having their wedding here. I might have you meet them.”

He nodded. “All right.” 

“Incidentally, how did you get into the funeral home business? It doesn’t seem like the first choice for a young man.”

“Isn’t that how most people get into unexpected job choices? I needed a job and Innovations Funeral Home was hiring. As you know, I had management experience in retail. If one can handle that, they can handle a lot.”

Lily nodded. “Agreed. And I bet there wasn’t too much competition for your job at Innovations.”

“It turned out I’m pretty good at what I do.”

“Yes, you are the best.”

Chris opened his notepad and grabbed the pen from his front jacket pocket. He clicked the top of the pen. “Where is our lovely couple from?”

“Brooklyn, New York. Sandy Goodwill and Jack Wright. I know Jack works in graphics; I think Sandy’s an educator.”

He smiled as he jotted down their names. “It’s impressive that you attracted people from The City to our humble little town.”

“That seems to be the pattern around here,” she grumbled. 

“What?” 

“I was referring to our guest, Rick. He’s also from The City and a friend of James. Has he been getting in your way at all?”

Chris closed his notepad. “No, James introduced me. He seems like a charming fellow.”

“Ha! Charming for sure.” She leaned forward. “He’s dating Marcia.”

Chris’s jaw dropped. “Deer-in-headlights Marcia?”

“The same one.” Lily sat back on her chair. “I don’t like it.” 

“I’ll bet. The last thing we need is a broken-hearted make-up artist. Or who knows maybe they’ll be together forever.”

“I doubt it.” Lily sucked in a breath. “Do me a favor. Keep an eye on them for me.” 

“Fine. But this is well beyond my job description.”

“Understood. What would I do without you?”

He grinned. “That same thing you always do, Lily, succeed.”

****

Lily eyed the couple sitting across from her desk. Sandy Goodwill rocked her jet-black hairstyle with blunt-cut bangs. She wore a cobalt blue dress with black tights and Mary Jane shoes. Her fiancé, Jack Wright, had chin-length frizzy brown hair and round glasses. He wore black and white striped pants and brown shoes. Lily had wondered who her target audience would be for a funeral wedding venue, and with these two she wasn’t disappointed. And at least the body snatcher wouldn’t be interested in them since they weren’t departing with a body today.

“Our parents don’t approve but we think the grounds and space are amazing for a wedding. From the website I could tell you keep everything so well maintained,” Sandy said. “The willow trees along the sides of the house are so beautiful.”

“They are, especially in the springtime. Would you be interested in a spring wedding?” 

The couple smiled at each other. “That sounds perfect.”

“I can assure you it will not feel like a funeral home on the day of your wedding. The main viewing room will be where the reception will be held. It will be decorated with the flowers of your choice, which I understand from your application to be orange-colored roses with white linen tables and a live band.”

Sandy reached over to give Jack’s hand a squeeze. “Yes.”

“The coffin sales room will be converted into an open space for the cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres and your choice of beverages.”

As she explained the layout, Lily’s eyes flickered to her silent ringing phone. Zachary was calling. She ignored it. “Of course the coffins will be removed.”

The couple smiled in relief. 

“It will not resemble a funeral home at all; I know your parents will be pleased. We have to iron out the catering options for the reception but other than a few more details we are on track for a spring wedding. The calendar is filling up so I’m glad you reached out to us when you did.”

A second call came in from Zachary. His persistence probably had something to do with their last argument. 

“I’m glad we reached out, too,” Sandy said. “It all sounds great and well-organized.”

Jack glanced at Sandy. “We hate to bring this up, but we’d heard about some strange activity here and we wanted some clarification before committing to having our wedding here. If you don’t mind.”

Lily’s head pounded. “Strange activity?”

“We’ve heard some of your…clients have gone missing? Normally, we wouldn’t listen to rumors but if there’s an ongoing investigation, we don’t want that to have an effect on our day.”

Lily nodded, unsure of how to proceed. “In the interests of full disclosure, we have had a couple of incidents where our clients have been taken. We know who the culprit is and will be handing him over to authorities soon. In my mind the case is closed. Incidentally, who told you this information?”

“My aunt Milly lives in Manorview.” Sandy interjected. “She brought it up, but we weren’t sure what to make of the rumor.”

Aunt Milly? Sounds like the rumors are coming from the local knitting crowd. Her staff had been warned not to talk about business issues with their families, but she realized that was an unrealistic expectation.

Jack remained expressionless. “What happens if the authorities decide to close down your business while it's under investigation? If that happens, we’d have to find a whole new venue in a short period of time.”

“I understand your concern. Luckily, I work very closely with the investigators, and I know for a fact they are not going to shut my business down.”

Jack and Sandy smiled in unison. It was the truth. They can shut her business down over her dead body. 

“That’s reassuring.”

“Wonderful, let me give you a copy of your contract to read over and we can go from there.”

Lily made her way to the printer. Reynolds Royal Weddings had its first client—hopefully—and she couldn’t be more thrilled. Was she spreading herself a bit thin? Yes, but she wanted to pursue new opportunities as they appeared. And who knows, maybe the wedding business outperforms the funeral business? Her parents would roll over in their graves. Or maybe they would applaud her business savvy. Either way she would try as hard as possible to make it all work.

“Here you go.” She handed the couple a copy of the contract. “Let’s schedule a food tasting in the meantime. The Modern Kitchen has the best options for weddings. They can make delicious filet mignon or brown butter ravioli if you don’t want meat.”

“It’s good to have a veggie option,” Sandy said.

“Very true. And Modern Kitchen does have exceptional quality in all their food options.” Lily looked at the calendar on her computer screen. “Let’s set up the tasting for three weeks from now as a placeholder while you review the contract.”

“Perfect. We are so thrilled this worked out.”

“I am, too.” Lily smiled at them. Boy, did she have to make this an amazing experience for them, and get Rick out of her life before he really screwed things up. She was up for the challenge. 

After the excited couple left, Lily went to the embalming room to look for Shanna.

“Have you seen Zachary?” she asked as she put on a surgical mask.

Shanna, gowned up and also wearing a mask, poured embalming fluid into the machine used to pump the fluid into their clients arteries. “He’s in the kitchen.” She looked up from her task. “Feeling a little guilty about the other day?”

Lily sighed. “I need him to realize what is going on here. There are no playdates with strangers. This is serious.”

“Oh, stop being so mean.”

“He’ll understand, right?”

“That he’ll need to give up his only male role model and friend because his big sister thinks that same role model is a criminal?” She put her hand on her chest. “I certainly would understand but I’m not him.”

“Ha! Very funny. I just got done meeting with our first wedding couple.”

Shanna looked up from her task. “And?”

“They are super interested. But they did hear rumors about our body count situation.”

“Oh, boy. I bet you weren’t pleased.”

Lily shook her head. “No, I was not happy. They were worried the funeral home would get shut down by an investigation.”

“Ha! Over your dead body.”

“That’s what I said but I need to get this case solved before it ruins all my plans.”

Shanna nodded. 

“I’m going to find Zachary.” Lily turned to leave. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck!” Shanna announced as she went back to filling the embalming machine. 

Lily made her way toward the kitchen and found her brother eating mac and cheese out of a microwave container. “You called me?”

“I did. I wanted to talk to you about Rick,” Zach said as he shoveled another spoonful of mac and cheese in his mouth. 

Lily’s insides burned. She pulled a chair out and sat across from him. She needed to be more delicate this time—for his sake and for hers as well. He might know something about Rick that he’s been holding back.

“I’m listening.”

He swallowed. “First of all, I had nothing to do with the missing bodies. For you to even think—”

She put up her hand. “Don’t even worry about that. I never thought you did anything.”

“Really? You seemed to insinuate—”

“I was wrong to make you feel that way. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry.”

Zachary’s shoulders relaxed as if relinquishing whatever fight he had been prepared to undertake. “I’m glad you don’t think I’m involved but you do think Rick has something to do with the missing bodies.”

Lily nodded. “I’m pretty convinced he is involved but you can’t tell him about this conversation.”

Zachary got quiet. 

She knew this was hard for him. He’d formed a relationship with Rick—albeit a false one. But her brother believed the man was being genuine. 

“Rick is not who you think he is. He’s infiltrated our family and has clearly gotten to you. I get that you like him. He’s filling a hole in your life. We lost Dad when we were young; Rick has filled that role for you. But I assure you it’s not real. It’s an act to get you on his side.”

Zachary scrunched up his face. “Why? What does he want?”

“I think he’s involved in a body snatching scheme.”

“But why? Why is he doing it?”

“I don’t know. Crooked cop issues? Money? I want you to know what’s going on and stay away from him. He’s dangerous.”

Zachary's blue eyes stared at the ground like he’d lost a puppy. “Is there any chance you could be wrong on this one?” 

Lily sighed. “For your sake, I wish I was wrong. He’s even got Marcia in the mix. She’s convinced he’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to her, not unlike yourself. That’s how manipulative he is. I’ve tried to talk sense into her too, but she refuses to stop seeing him. You, on the other hand, should be hanging around James more often. You could do a boys’ night with him and Abrams.”

Zachary frowned. “Now you’re the crazy one. Abrams is like a hundred years old. What do I have in common with him?”

Lily laughed. “He might be one hundred years old but I’m sure you could learn something from him.”

“Like what? How to play vinyl records? If anything I would be teaching him how technology works these days.”

“Well, that’s something. He might like that. And there’s nothing wrong with having a vinyl collection. He also has a samurai sword collection. You might find that history interesting.”

Zachary’s eyes glazed over. 

“In any case, I’m sorry I yelled at you. This is a stressful case, and I wasn’t expecting the enemy to be so close.”

“It’s cool. I trust your opinion, although I’m not totally sure about your theory. You’re accusing someone I consider a friend.”

“I know I’m making serious accusations, but I know I’m right. If you keep hanging out with Rick, I’m not sure I can protect you from him. I'm trying to get to you before it’s too late.”

Zachary breathed in. He seemed slightly annoyed but taking it all in. “I’ll consider it. It’s so hard to believe. You know he helped me get back together with Julie.”

“What? You’re back with Julie?”

“Yeah, him and I were hanging at Old Town Bar when I told him how we’d broken up. He took a chance and called her, and it paid off. She came out to meet us.”

“I’m not that surprised he did that. He took a gamble and it worked out, but you do see how he’s trying to get you to love him, don’t you? That’s his MO.”

He sighed again as if his soul was being torn off into pieces bit by bit. “I have the worst luck.”

“No, you don’t. You got Julie back and my warning makes you extremely lucky. Zachary, we have a criminal on our hands and he’s jeopardizing our future here. So let’s get real and save ourselves from disaster.”

“Fine.” He sat up and cleared his throat. “What do you need me to do?”

“Keep your eyes peeled, stay out of trouble, and tell me if you see something funny.”

“Roger that.” He saluted. “And Lily, don’t worry, I’m not that damaged. Although, I think you might be.”

Lily chuckled. Better to laugh than cry. “I think you might be right.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Be patient. I’ve got a plan.”