Chapter 4

I remember how cold it was that morning as we stood there, waiting for the cops to show up to question us and provide some answers. The casket was now closed in an attempt to shield everyone from its gruesome contents, but the damage had probably already been done. I’ve been around death and decay most of my life, but for the guests there that day, it must have been an unforgettable experience. The horror in their eyes testified loudly as to how they felt.

When the police finally showed up, the crowd dispersed a bit, thinning out as the police sorted through the potential witnesses. To my relief, Duncan was one of two responding officers. Duncan was married to my best friend, Tara. I had only seen Tara over the years on the rare occasions I returned home, but we’d kept in touch on Facebook and email. It was amazing how little Duncan had changed since school. He was still angular and tall, and the features of his face, including his warlike nose, just a little too sharp.

“Hi, Laurel,” Duncan said, his smile as warm and friendly as always.

“Hi,” I said, smiling back at him. It was more of a partial, forced smile, but I wanted him to know that I wasn’t letting the situation get the better of me. Being back home was stressful enough. I had to stay as strong as I could regardless of what happened around me.

“We’re going to have to secure the scene and have the coroner come down to make a ruling on the death. He’s already been called, but the faster we can clear the guests out of here, the easier his job will be,” he said, pulling out a notepad from his pocket. He turned to the other officer. “Bryan, if you could go around and interview the mourners, I’ll start questioning Laurel and the others who work here.”

Bryan nodded and then headed over to the first group of funeral goers. I watched him carefully, hoping to overhear anything that was said, but Duncan pulled my attention back to him. “I know that some of these questions might sound a bit accusatory, but it’s all routine. I promise.”

“Yes, I know,” I said, pulling at a lock of my hair and twisting it frantically. I didn’t even notice at first until he pointed it out.

“There’s no need to be nervous, but I can understand why you would be. Let’s get these questions over with, though. First, where were you this morning between about seven a.m. and ten a.m.?” His voice was stern and official all of a sudden.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, but it didn’t do much to relieve the tension building up. “Uh, I was in the funeral home, in the office, getting the paperwork and everything ready for Mrs. Forrest’s memorial service. The casket was ready. No one had touched it since last night when Janet finished up with it. I checked on the elderly woman myself and there was no other body in there with her. I’m sure of it.”

Duncan showed no signs of emotion, his pen scribbling into his pad like nothing else in the world mattered right then. After several long seconds, he looked up and smiled again. “Okay, and did you hear anything last night or this morning?”

“Not a peep,” I told him, which was the complete truth. With the house being so close to the funeral home, it made no sense that someone would sneak in, dump a body, and then disappear without being heard or seen at all. Before I could say any more, I heard an unfamiliar voice heckling someone nearby.

When Duncan spoke again, however, I forgot about it. “Interesting,” he said. “Well, the victim is a young girl by the name of Tiffany Hunter. She works, err, worked, just down the road at the café. Her boss says she went on a delivery and never returned. I can’t go into too much detail, but we have reason to believe that she came here for that delivery, and then never made it out alive. Did you see her at all today, before the funeral procession?”

Thinking back to that morning, I couldn’t quite remember it as clearly as I had hoped. “Honestly, I don’t remember seeing her at all. I do remember that Janet said she found a tray of cold coffee this morning, though.”

Duncan sighed, and looked back up from his notepad. “Can you check to see if any of your carving knives are missing?”

I shook my head. “There are no carving knives here at the funeral home. We only use butter knives and cake knives, that sort of thing. We don’t serve meals here, just finger food.”

“So the knife you saw in the victim,” Duncan said patiently, “you have no knives of that sort?”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Okay, so you and none of your workers have touched the body, correct?”

“That is correct,” I said, but just then a strange voice yelled out behind me. I turned quickly to see the face of a young woman inches from my own.

“Hello?” the girl said, walking over to Duncan and poking at him repeatedly with her finger. I had to do a double-take when I realized that he was completely oblivious to what she was doing.

“All right, well thank you for your time, Laurel,” Duncan said. “Bryan looks to be speaking with your mother now, so I’m going to help him finish that up, and then I’ll speak to some of the others.” He walked over toward my mother and his partner.

The young girl moved to follow him, but then turned back to me and scowled. “What about you? Can you see me?”

For a moment, my hands grew sweaty and my heart fell into my stomach. I swallowed hard, unsure of how else to respond.

“You can! You can see me, can’t you?” she yelled again.

The last thing I needed with the cops wandering around was to speak to someone that only I could see. Ignoring her as best I could, I made my way over to my mother to see how her questioning was going. When I stepped beside Mom, I wished I hadn’t.

“Yes, it is a shame, Bryan, but at least Miss Hunter is now in a better place. She’s in heaven with God, right where we all belong. I have the assurance of that as she always attended our church. Now, I haven’t seen you in church lately. Will I be seeing you there this Sunday?”

“Hey, you! Stop ignoring me! I can tell that you can hear what I’m saying,” the voice said, whispering in my ear.

I turned toward the girl, who looked beautiful and young, but right away I knew that was all just an illusion. Now she was ageless, a ghost, just like Ernie before her. “Yes, I can see you,” I whispered, shielding my mouth with one hand so my mother couldn’t overhear, and pretending I was stifling a sneeze, “but we can’t talk here.”

“Wait, what do you mean? And why can’t anyone else seem to hear or see me?” the girl asked, clearly unconcerned that I did not want to talk to her. “Is this all some sort of joke against me? And why are the police here? I saw a commotion over near the casket, but there were too many heads in my way to see exactly what was going on. What happened?”

It was becoming obvious that she was not going to let up until she got some answers, but how could I explain to her that she was dead without earning awkward stares from my mother and everyone else, including the cops? It certainly wouldn’t be an easy task.

“Laurel, what are you doing standing around uselessly like that, you lazy girl? I’m sure there are more important things that you’re needed for right now,” my mother said, glaring at me the same way she always did when she was disappointed.

“That’s okay, Mrs. Bay, I actually have a few more questions for Laurel before we wrap up our investigation. The coroner just arrived, so you folks should be able to get back to business soon enough,” Duncan said, offering me a reprieve.

“Oh no, what does he want now?” Tiffany said, combing through her hair with her fingers. I looked at her curiously, but it seemed to offend her more than anything else. “What? I just like to make sure I look decent, that’s all. Can’t blame a girl for caring about her appearance, can you?”

If only she knew that her hair mattered very little now that she was in the afterlife. “Tree, up the hill,” I whispered to Tiffany and again pretended I was sneezing. There was a large, shady tree just up the hill near the funeral home. I figured we’d be alone there long enough to talk privately.

“Laurel, could I have that word with you now?” Duncan said.

“Of course,” I replied. Tiffany stood beside me, sighing loudly as he approached us.

“I’m sorry to bother you again, but after comparing notes with Bryan and talking to your mother and a couple others, I just had to ask a few more questions.”

“That’s fine. I want to help in any way I can,” I said.

“You still haven’t told me what the investigation is about! Did someone die?” Tiffany asked, her presence beginning to grate on my nerves. The last thing I wanted was for Duncan to suspect that I was communicating with an “imaginary friend”, so I did my best to ignore her, but it grew more difficult as time passed.

“Janet mentioned that you signed off on the preparation and checked the casket yourself last night,” he said. “That corroborates your story, but it’s difficult to believe that nobody saw Tiffany this morning. I’m not placing blame on anyone as such, but there’s got to be something that we’re missing.”

Before I had a chance to think, Tiffany flew into a panic. Her words made little sense, but it was clear that she was finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together. “I’m dead?” she yelled, standing right in front of me as Duncan continued his speech.

She put her hands to her head and then ran around the room aimlessly. I couldn’t blame her, but Duncan’s voice was completely drowned out by hers. After the initial shock seemed to wear off, Tiffany grew quiet and then vanished. I looked around the best I could without making it obvious to Duncan, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Duncan was still speaking. “Well, when the coroner puts in the official determination and we get our notes in order, I’ll probably stop by sometime to update you on the case. Again, we can’t go into any details, but since it happened here, I’ll keep you guys updated the best I can.”

I smiled and nodded, thanking him for not making things even harder than they already were. As I watched him walk off toward his partner, my mind drifted back to Tiffany. I hoped she’d gone out to the tree.

When I approached the lonely tree that stood like a sentinel over the funeral home, I saw that Tiffany was there. “Hey, got room for one more?” I asked, sitting next to her.

Tiffany’s face looked blank as she stared off into the distance. It was like everything that she had known had been taken from her. She slowly turned to me, her lips barely parting. “Did someone kill me? Is that why nobody else would talk to me? Am I… dead?” Her voice broke.

Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Yes, someone did, and that’s why the police are here.” I tried to pat her on the shoulder, but my hand went right through her.

There was no reaction from her, so I pushed on. “Do you have any idea who did it? Did you see anyone?”

Tiffany shook her head and closed her eyes. After what seemed an age, she leaned back against the tree and spoke softly. “Why would someone kill me?”