Page 33 of The Millionaire Mortician
I nodded slowly. “Say less.”
We spoke about business for a good while, mapping out some things. Once we were finished, we made our way back downstairs to the morgue.
Walking into the room, five bags had been lined up like new arrivals in a holding cell. Parys had done exactly what I told him.
Each body had paperwork lying on top of it. Since we couldn’t unload with all the staff still around, I got a head start and checked the paperwork, ensuring everything was in order. I reviewed the documents, cross-checking names, weights, and origins to ensure accuracy. Everything matched the way it was supposed to. Still, Mav and I don’t trust words on paper alone.
With the door closed, I went and unzipped one of the bodies while Mav stood back watching from a distance. The woman had seemed to be still intact. That’s when I flipped her over onher side and saw a long incision neatly sewn along her back. I checked the other four bodies, and it was the same thing.
“Aight, it seems to be in there. I just have to wait and confirm a little later,” I told Mav.
For the time being, we just had to be patient, which was something I mastered in both lines of business.
I exhaled slowly and looked at Mav. He just stared at the bags with a blank facial expression.
“Long night ahead,” he muttered.
“Always,” I replied.
And we left it at that.
By the timeeleven o’clock rolled around, my hands felt heavier than the weight I’d been moving. Sweat rolled down my back even though the morgue air conditioning stayed on blast. I’d just finished unloading, sewing, and zipping back up all the bodies like nothing ever touched them.
Mav had dipped out earlier, leaving me to do the dirty work, but he slid back in when it was time to clean up and count the product. I didn’t complain. I was in my element, and it was the norm for us. My brother usually kept his hands light on that part of the process, but tonight, he surprised me when he rolled up his sleeves, helped wash the bricks, lined them, and counted them out. Work definitely moved faster, with both of us in sync.
Once we stacked everything the way it was supposed to be, I got to work placing them back into local bodies. I got in my surgical bag and got the job done. That was the art of it for me — nobody ever suspects the dead carrying weight. By the time wezipped the last bag, my shoulders loosened up for the first time all week.
The first shipment was a success, thankfully. I wasn’t gonna lie. It had me on edge the entire time. Don Rafael wasn’t someone to play with. The shipment was only a test, and I wasn’t about to let Mav and me fail it. Aside from that, I had Frost in the back of my head, and Daija on the other end, waiting for time that I hadn’t been able to give. All of that had been pulling at me. However, with the shipment tucked neatly in place, I felt a little more air in my chest.
The drive home was quiet and calm. I didn’t even turn on the radio. Sometimes silence would tell you more than words.
When I got home and walked into the house, the place was dark except for the light from the stairs. Walking up, I reached the bedroom and went inside to see Daija was still up, cheesing ear to ear at her phone. Her eyes lit up in a way I haven’t seen in a minute.
I leaned against the doorway. “Is the joke that sweet?” I asked in an even tone.
She looked up quickly, brushing it off with a laugh. “Group chat,” she casually replied, then dropped her eyes back to the screen like whatever had her smiling wasn’t worth explaining further.
I didn’t press it, though. My body was screaming for the shower, so I stripped out of my clothes, stepped into the shower, and let the hot water run over me. I needed to wash off the smell of embalming fluid and cocaine dust.
While bathing, my mind kept circling back on things. The shipment was good, business was straight, but something about Daija’s grin stuck with me.
When I came back out of the bathroom with my towel slung around my waist, she was still glued to her phone. She had that same grin on her face, only that time it wasn’t a girls’ group chatsmile. I knew her smiles, and that one had a different curve and a different shine.
I observed everything discreetly but decided not to push anything. It wasn’t the right time. I was too tired, plus I didn’t want to quickly jump to conclusions. My plan was to just sit back and observe.
Dropping my towel, I pulled on some shorts and sat on the edge of the bed to apply some lotion to my skin.
“Mav and I gotta head to Trinidad,” I blurted out with no buildup. “I gotta go deal with some family things and business. It’ll only be a few days. I’ll be right back.”
With my back turned, I felt her sit up in the bed. “Okay,” she simply stated without a fuss or trying to invite herself on the trip. That usually wasn’t Daija, which in itself told me something.
The energy between us felt off, the same way it had been feeling for the past week. She was right there next to me yet felt far away. It was like her world was shifting somewhere else, and without me.
I stretched out beside her with my back to the ceiling. Neither of us attempted to cuddle or talk. I just let her have her time with whomever was on the phone, and I closed my eyes to get some rest. Whatever was done in the dark would eventually come to the light.
Ihad my feet kicked up on the little gold ottoman under my desk when Fabian’s dimples took over my phone screen. He was in his car, grinning like trouble.
“So what you doin’ lookin’ that fine at work?” he asked in a teasing tone. “Ain’t that against OSHA regulations or somethin’?”
