Page 1 of Crown of Death

Chapter 1

Random muscle spasmscan happen up to twelve hours afterdeath.

I should have remembered that. This is what I do for a living, afterall.

But I work on the body, in the basement of the funeral home, in thedark.

So when something suddenly pops me in the side as I take the dead man’s socks off, a loud scream rips through my lips, echoing off thewalls.

I whip around to see recently-deceased Paul Saundusky has smacked me in the ribcage as his muscles contracted one finaltime.

Skin and muscle tissue can continue to live for hours after death. And Mr. Paul has been dead for four ofthem.

“That wasn’t nice, Mr. Paul,” I say as my heart rate slowly relaxes toward a healthy rate. I shake my head as I return to his other sock, removing it. “Scaring a poor girl like that, all alone at work. It’s late. You’re the one who went and died, calling me into work after hours. You didn’t have to be rude and go and freak me out,too.”

I move on to his pants, slowly stripping the old mandown.

“I bet you loved a good scare, didn’t you?” I continue talking to the dead Mr. Paul over the sound of a new song playing from my speakers. “I bet you were always jumping out from around the corner at your poor wife. Or making ghostly sounds at your grandkids. You were a prankster, weren’tyou?”

Mr. Paul doesn’t answer. None of them ever do, despite me talking to them, asking about their lives, telling them aboutmine.

They’redead.

Every one ofthem.

But somehow I enjoy theircompany.

“I know your type,” I say as I finish undressing him. I move on to bathing and disinfecting his body. “My mom’s dad was a little like you before he died. He was always teasing me and my little brother. He teased everyone. Especially girls, which let’s face it, he probably shouldn’t have been doing. He thought he was hilarious. Most of the time he was, but that man.” I shake my head, wiping Mr. Paul’s body down. “He could get a littlesexist.”

I bathe the dead man in water and chemicals. Killing off the germs that will only speed up the decomposingprocess.

On and on I talk, asking him about his wife. His kids. Hisgrandkids.

I say he has five kids. Three girls, two boys. He only has four grandkids so far, because his youngest three kids are being stubborn about growing up and moving on with theirlives.

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out soon,” I say as I wheel Mr. Paul over to the refrigerator and transfer him. “The traditional route isn’t for all ofus.”

With a well wish goodnight, I slide Mr. Paul into the dark and close thedoor.

I sigh, looking over at the clock on thewall.

It’s eleven o’clock. I officially got off work at three today, only Emmanuel, my boss and owner of Sykes Funeral Home, called me and told me we had a pick up. He’d gotten the body here with my help, then left to go enjoy the night with his wife and twokids.

Leaving me to start the gruntwork.

I guess I am his apprentice, after all. If anyone around here is supposed to be the dead body grunt, it’sme.

I lock up and step out into the fresh, non-formaldehyde-scented world. The late-June Colorado air is still warm. I climb into my car, start the engine, and head in the direction ofhome.

Greendale, a suburb outside of Denver, has been my home for the past two years. The community college was the only one in the area that had the program I wanted—Mortuary Science. I finished my associates just two months ago. I’ve been in apprenticeship at Sykes Funeral Home for a year, and have two more before I can take my licensing exam and strike out on myown.

The night is fairly quiet already as I drive just a few blocks to my apartment building. It’s a run-down building, the kind where you don’t look your neighbor in the eye for more than two seconds, and definitely the kind where you don’t listen too hard to the conversations you hear through the too-thinwalls.

But it’s cheap, and the only two-bedroom place Amelia and I were able toafford.

All that’s about to change,though.

I lock my car as I head up the stairs to the upper floor. I’ve read all those advice articles, the ones on how to protect yourself against predators. I already had my keys out and ready, so I immediately unlock the door and walkin.