Free 2 Bodies for the Price of 1 by Stephanie Bond Page A

passenger seat of the plain white van that Coop typically used when retrieving bodies for the morgue; he saved the hearse for more ceremonial pickups. “Hey man, been waiting long?”
    “Just a few minutes. How was your probation meeting?”
    “Fine.” Coop seemed to know a lot about the probation system. Wesley wondered if the man would ever give him details about how he’d gone from being the coroner to retrieving bodies for the morgue and running his uncle’s funeral home. “What’s on the schedule today?”
    Cooper gave him a wry look. “For you, a shave.” He gestured to the glove box. “There’s an electric razor in there. Use it. And where’s your tie?”
    Wesley pulled a tie out of the pocket of his jacket, then rummaged for the razor. “Where are we going?”
    “Grady Memorial Hospital first, then Crawford Long, then St. Joe. Then a couple of nursing homes and a delivery back to the funeral home. A full day.”
    Wesley nodded, flipping on the razor. He noticed that Coop looked more pensive than normal, that a muscle ticked in his jaw beneath his neat sideburns. “You okay? Sorry I kept you waiting.”
    “No, you’re good.” Coop looked a little sheepish. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about what you said.”
    “What was that?”
    “That if I wanted to get your sister’s attention, I needed to do something bold.”
    Wesley grinned. “What did you have in mind?”
    “I don’t know. Does she like flowers?”
    “No offense, dude, but getting flowers from a funeral director seems a little morbid, don’t you think?”
    “I wasn’t going to send her a damn wreath.”
    “Whatever. Besides, some guy sent her, like, two dozen red roses Monday.”
    “Oh. Who was that?”
    “Peter Ashford, I guess. She didn’t want to talk about it. She’s been acting strange the last couple of days, moping around. I’m kind of worried about her.”
    “She’s been through a lot lately.”
    “Yeah, I guess.” But Wesley remembered the glazed look on Carlotta’s face the night before last when she had walked away from him. She looked as if she were ready to unplug herself from the world. And the only evidence that she’d left her bedroom yesterday was the empty cookie jar.
    “So do you think I should ask her to dinner?”
    Wesley shrugged. “Dude, you’re asking the wrong person. I bought a new TV for the living room and instead of being happy about it, she yelled at me.”
    One corner of Coop’s mouth went up. “How big?”
    “Sixty inch, high-def ready, plasma monitor.”
    “Sweet. That must have set you back a load of cash.”
    Wesley shifted in his seat. “I sold my motorcycle.”
    “Still.”
    He decided to keep quiet.
    “You playing cards again?”
    Anger sparked in his belly. “What if I am?”
    “Then you’re being stupid,” Coop said casually. “Probation is another word for second chance. Don’t give your sister something else to worry about, capisce? ”
    “Yeah,” Wesley mumbled. “Hey, Carlotta said that you hired Hannah to help you move bodies?”
    Coop snorted. “Hired? More like surrendered. The woman is a steamroller. I told her I would call her if I needed her, but I warned her that wasn’t likely to happen.”
    “According to Carlotta, Hannah didn’t hear the last part and is pissed that you haven’t called.”
    “Christ, is she going to cast a spell on me?”
    “Don’t push it, man—with Hannah you never know. Besides, I’m supposed to start my community service soon, so unless you have someone else to fill in, you might have to bite the bullet and call her.”
    “Maybe she can give me some insight into your sister.”
    Wesley shook his head. “Good luck with that. I’ve lived with Carlotta for nineteen years and haven’t figured her out.”
    Coop laughed. “That’s the fun part about being with a woman, when she keeps you on your toes.”
    Wesley glanced sideways at his boss who seemed downright…giddy. He knew because it was the way he felt when he