Free Stopping the Dead by Cy Gunther Page A

he said.  “Her name was Helen.”
    Lee blinked.  “Where is she?”
    “Edgewood Cemetery,” Ernst answered.  He walked to the hope-chest and opened it.  The sweet smell of cedar slipped into the room, competing with the powerful scent of incense.
    “How long ago?”
    “Twenty years this past May,” Ernst said.  He stepped away from hope-chest.  “You’re about the same size as she was, maybe a little smaller.  I never had the heart to empty the chest, so there are jeans and shirts, summer stuff that she hadn’t had time to pull out.  A few sweaters that never made it to winter.”
    Ernst sighed, shaking his head.  “Sorry, I usually don’t talk about her.  No one else even knows that I was married.”
    “You miss her still.”
    “Of course,” Ernst said, “every day.  But life moved on.  I have, for the most part, but you’re right, this room is me.  My family,” he motioned towards the pictures, “my wife.  My faith.”
    Lee nodded.  “And you’re okay with me wearing her stuff?”
    “Yes,” he smiled.  “You’re the first woman who’s been in my room…hell, the first woman I’ve talked to, really, since Helen died.”
    “Can I ask how?”
    “Lung cancer,” Ernst answered, looking at the picture of Helen in her wedding dress.  “Her parents smoked, and she died from it.  Her father killed himself.  Her mother joined a convent.  Helen’s death pretty much did for all of us.”
    Lee shook her head.
    “Anyway,” Ernst said , “I’ll go start looking through the food while you pick out some clothes, then you can shower and we’ll get that gear cleaned up for you.  We’ll have to start making a list of things to salvage.  We’ll need regular civilian clothes and stuff.”
    “Especially for the kids,” Lee agreed, stepping over to the chest.  “Okay, get out of yourself, Ernst,” she grinned, “and let me figure out what to wear out there.”
    “Got it,” Ernst said, and walked out into the store room, closing the door behind him.
    Strange, Ernst thought as he paused, glancing back at the door.  So strange to have someone in there, let alone a woman.
    He shook his head and stepped away from the door.  Und das ist alles fur heute, he thought in German, and smiled at himself.  He walked towards the vacuum sealed foods, which he had – not surprisingly – alphabetized after the successful sale of his third A.A. Archer book.  Strange way to celebrate, but it beat getting drunk like he used to.
    He wandered down the aisle, looking at the names, finally finding the ‘B’ section and scanning the shelves until he found the cases of beef stroganoff.  He had just finished opening a box and digging out a pair of meals when he heard the door to the room open.  He turned and his breath caught for a moment – just like one of his female protagonists in an Archer book – when he caught sight of Lee.
    She had pulled her BDU pants back on, but the bottoms weren’t bloused, and her boots were untied.  Her BDU top was draped over a shoulder, and she carried several pairs of jeans and a few shirts.  She wore a black compression sports bra, and her muscle-tone was amazing, each highly defined.  She also had half-sleeves of classic Japanese tattoos, coy fish and storm clouds, tsunami waves and demons.  Her dog tags swayed slightly as she walked towards him, and Ernst had to literally shake his head to get his thoughts together.
    She frowned as she approached, asking, “What is it?”
    “You ,” he chuckled, “you look fantastic.  I don’t think that I’ve ever seen anyone that can pull off the look that you have going right now.”
    She laughed.  “And what look is that?”
    “Total bad ass, inked up zombie-killer chick.”
    “I like it,” she grinned, winking at him.  “Did you get the food?”
    He held up the packages.  “Yup.  Mission accomplished.  Do you want to eat first, or shower first?”
    “Shower.  I’m not that hungry