Free Beauty and the Beast by Laurel Cain Haws Page B

stop over it while you climb down, Father.”
    Dr. Marx pulled up the trap door in the bottom of the van and then reached down and pulled open the manhole cover. He helped Father to start climbing down and handed him his medical bag. “Tony, you should come with me,” Father said.
    Dr. Marx grabbed Tony before he could start down. “Actually, I’ve got ajob for him here. Hell make an excellent hot water bottle to send Catherine through the refrigerated unit with,” and he smiled at Tony.
    Father called up, “I should have thought of that! Ill see Tony and Catherine in a little while then.” He disappeared down into the tunnel.
    Dr. Marx called forward to Chuck, “When we stop, I’ve got a New York City Morgue jacket for you to put on, so you can help me take Cathy through the hospital to the morgue in the basement. We have so many turnovers of employees no one will give you a second look. Tony, I guess you don’t get claustrophobic do you?” The boy looked puzzled. “You aren’t afraid of tight places that are dark are you?”
    Tony laughed, “Are you kidding? Those are the best kind of places to hide in! They don’t scare me.”
    Dr. Marx chuckled as he looked at the van’s supply cabinet where Tony had stowed away and nodded, “That’s good, because I need for you to climb into this bag with
    Catherine and stay very still. We are supposed to be wheeling one dead body through the hospital, not a bag full of living ones. Do you understand? I need for you to keep her warm but be very quiet and still.”
    Tony was sober, “Just put me in there, Doc. Ill take good care of her.” He climbed into the bag with Catherine, put his arm over her, and Dr. Marx zipped it up.
    By that time Chuck had backed up to the emergency room door. He put on the jacket Dr. Marx had laid on the passenger seat and got out to go around back and help Dr. Marx get the gurney out of the van. He left Dr. Marx with Tony and Catherine on the sidewalk and quickly parked the van. Then he ran back to them, and they began wheeling their “corpse” through the hospital. When they finally reached the morgue in the basement, Dr. Marx looked around to be sure no one else was there. His assistants hadn’t made it back yet, and he knew he was going to have some explaining to do when they did.
    He said to Chuck, “No one is here yet, so let’s hurry!” They quickly wheeled the gurney to the back of the morgue and into the room with the refrigerated body compartments and then went to the very last one in the corner. Dr. Marx pounded three times on the door and then opened it.
    Peter was looking through at him. “We are all ready on this end. Send them through!” Dr. Marx and Chuck lifted Tony and Catherine carefully and slid them through to Peter and Father, who had another gurney equipped
    with the I.V. waiting.
    Before they closed their respective doors Dr. Marx told them, “I’m going to test her blood to be sure it was morphine right now, and 111 call you with the results. Ill talk to your Helper at the Pine Hill Funeral Home, Marcus Brenner, and see if he can figure out a way to set up a funeral without a body. I know her family is dead, so I don’t know who is going to want to claim her body and make those arrangements. She is wealthy, though, so I know someone will.”
    Father stuck his head in the opening. “I really appreciate everything you are doing here, David. Thank you so much for saving her life!” Dr. Marx nodded, and then they shut their doors.
    Peter unzipped the bag, and Tony started to climb out, but Father stopped him. “No, Tony, these tunnels are quite cool. It would be better for Cathy if you just stayed where you are.” Tony smiled and stayed put.
    Then Peter and Father quickly started the I.V. Peter had kept it warm, in a small cooler with an hot water bottle in it under the gurney, while he was waiting for them to arrive. They hurried wordlessly up the tunnel to the access doorway into Peter’s basement of his