Grave Intent (9 page)

“Yeah, we’re all set!” Ellie clapped.

Janet sighed. “Don’t get too excited, honey.
Even if we can get the extra help, I’ve still got to talk to Dad
and see what he thinks.”

“Daddy’ll want us to go for sure!” Ellie
proclaimed. “And me and Heather’ll be really good for—”

“I know I promised to do this, Ms. Janet,”
Laura Trahan announced, storming into the workroom, “but I can’t go
back to the funeral home.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she
dropped the van keys on the worktable. “All those weird people over
there, it freaks me out.”

Stunned at the outburst, Janet fumbled with
her shears. “What happened? Did someone do something to you?”

“N-no.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Bertha Lynn asked.
“They’re only people for heaven’s sake. Just because there’s a lot
of ‘em don’t mean nothing.”

“Yeah, but it’s not just that,” Laura said.
She chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds, then added, “When I
went inside the funeral home the last time—I don’t know—I got the
creeps bad, like there was a ghost hiding in there or something. I
just can’t go back, Ms. Janet. I can’t.”

Janet stared at the eighteen-year-old’s long,
pale face and felt her shoulders droop.

“Child, that’s nonsense,” Bertha Lynn said,
trimming the bottom of a lemon leaf. Sweat dripped down the sides
of her chubby face. “There’s no such a thing as ghosts.”

“Casper’s a ghost,” Ellie said, reaching for
another block of Styrofoam. She stuck a eucalyptus branch into
it.

“But he’s only make believe, sugar,” Bertha
Lynn said.

While Ellie chattered away about Casper’s
ability to hide in vacuum cleaners, which, in Ellie’s opinion,
certified him as an authentic ghost because make believe spirits
wore sheets that would have clogged up vacuums, Janet took a deep
breath, worrying about what to do next. Another van-load of wreaths
and plants sat waiting near the front of the workroom, and the long
worktable, at which they sat, was covered with materials for more
orders. Carnations, day lilies, roses, chrysanthemums, lemon, and
huckleberry leaves, gerbera, daisies, baby’s breath, all in color
ranges so vast it boggled the mind. How could she possibly finish
the orders they had now
and
deliver them?

“Can you at least make one more run?” Janet
asked. “I could call the funeral home and see if Chad’s available
to help unload the van. I’m sure he’d carry the orders inside so
you wouldn’t have to go in.”

Laura shook her head adamantly. “I’ll watch
Ellie like always, Ms. Janet, if you want to make the deliveries
yourself. But I don’t wanna go back there. I’m too scared.”

“Lord, child, you’re being silly with this
ghost stuff. You need to stop that nonsense before it puts ideas in
that baby’s head that she’ll start believin’,” Bertha Lynn said,
indicating Ellie.

“But I already know there’s a ghost over
there,” Ellie said. “I saw her.” She placed a pink carnation
alongside the eucalyptus branch and smiled at her artwork.

Janet’s fingertips grew cold as she recalled
all too vividly the trepidation she’d felt while walking through
the funeral home yesterday.

“See?” Laura said.

Bertha Lynn scowled at Laura. “Stop
that.”

“What did you see, honey,” Janet asked
Ellie.

“The ghost.” Ellie placed her Styrofoam
masterpiece on the table, then grabbed a piece of yellow ribbon,
which she draped around the eucalyptus. “This morning when we was
passing in front of where Daddy works, I saw her walking around and
around outside in a pretty white dress.” Ellie clasped her hands
together, then threw them apart. “Then she went poof, like that,
right in the wall, just like Casper does. I guess she wanted to go
inside but the door was locked.”

With her heart knocking painfully against her
rib cage, Janet glanced over at Bertha Lynn and noticed the rose
stem in the woman’s hand trembling slightly. As far-fetched as
Ellie’s story sounded, her words held an eerie ring of innocence
and truth.

“Please, Miss Janet,” Laura begged. “Just let
me stay here.”

Bertha Lynn shook her head as though to clear
the thoughts conjuring inside. “This is plum silly,” she said.
“Now, Ellie, why don’t you go up front and ask Miss Pauline to give
you my purse. It’s in the cabinet behind the front counter, and I
think there’s a stick of Juicy Fruit in it callin’ your name.”

Ellie looked at her mother hopefully, and
when Janet nodded her approval, she hopped from her stool and
skipped off for the front of the shop.

As soon as Ellie disappeared from the
workroom, Bertha Lynn said to Laura, “You see what happens when you
feed that baby such nonsense? Her imagination done took off, and
it’s only making yours worse!”

“But it wasn’t my imagination, Miss Bertha
Lynn,” Laura said with a snivel. “You heard what Ellie said. I
swear I felt—”

“Child, I don’t want to hear no more rubbish
about that!”

“Arguing about this isn’t going to solve our
problem,” Janet said, getting up from her stool. “If Laura won’t go
back, I’ll have to make the deliveries myself—somehow.” She carried
the finished rose arrangement to the front of the workroom, placed
it beside the other completed orders, and eyed the growing pile.
White geraniums—ghosts in white—white-hot dread bubbling in the
center of Janet’s chest. What
had
Ellie seen? And what
was
going on at the funeral home?

“Seth’s in from offshore, and I can ask him
to come over,” Laura offered. “He’s helping Dad clean out the
garage this morning, but I know he won’t mind delivering when he’s
done. He’d probably even use his one-ton and covered trailer. That
way he can haul more in a load. At least you wouldn’t have to worry
about him wigging out on you or anything because nothing freaks my
brother out.”

“Good. Call him then,” Bertha Lynn said, then
turned to Janet. “I’ll phone my girlfriends and get them over.
Laura can keep Ellie company while you make a delivery or two, then
Seth can take over deliverin’ when he gets here. That way
everything’s covered and you and the girls can go like we talked
about. Sound good?”

Janet hoisted two sympathy wreaths up by
their stands, intending to load them in the van. “I guess so,” she
said hesitantly. Although there were a lot of maybes associated
with gathering the extra help, Janet felt confident Bertha Lynn
would pull it off. What she wasn’t so confident about, however, was
going back to the funeral home. Seth might not have issues with
‘wigging’ out, but she might.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Anna allowed Antony to help her from the
car. He cupped her elbow gently, tending to her as one would
something fragile, something bound to be broken.
You’re too
late,
she thought, wishing she had the strength to say it out
loud. Her legs moved mechanically as he steered her closer to the
building. She looked down at her shuffling feet, wondering when
she’d changed her shoes.

A crowd of people parted as they neared the
entrance. Some cried, others whispered. Anna wanted them all to go
away.

Antony stopped moving, and she peered up and
saw Ephraim holding one of the large, wooden doors open, waiting
for her. Once again, Antony tugged gently on her arm, but this time
Anna held fast to where she stood. If she walked through those
doors and stepped onto that wine-colored carpet, forever would
begin. She would see the face of her beautiful Thalia for the last
time.

Ephraim signaled for someone to hold the door
open and went to Anna.

“You will enter,” he whispered, taking
Antony’s place at her elbow. “Out of respect, our people wait for
you. You will be strong and enter.”

Anna tried to remove her arm from his grasp,
but he held tighter.
I don’t have to be strong!
she longed
to scream at him.
I don’t have to be anything anymore. Don’t you
understand? There’s nothing that means anything anymore. Not you,
not me, not anything!
But all that came out of her mouth was a
soft moan. She hated the world and its nerve to exist while she
felt such pain. She hated that people still smiled and talked and
thought about tomorrow. The world should stop. It should all
stop.

“Come,” Ephraim said, his voice a bit
gentler. “I will be by your side.” He pressed a hand to the small
of her back and urged her forward. “Come.”

Forever begins.
Anna dropped her head
and allowed the momentum of Ephraim’s body to carry her.
Forever
begins.

Cool air enveloped her as they entered the
building, and Anna shivered until her teeth chattered. A tall,
wide-shouldered man in a dark suit greeted them. She studied the
ruler-straight part in his thick, blond hair.

“Mrs. Stevenson, my name is Michael Savoy,”
he said, and extended a hand. When she didn’t take it, he lowered
his hand to his side. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Please let us
know if there’s anything we can do for you while you’re here.”

Anna looked into his blue-green eyes and saw
compassion. She said nothing.

A white-haired woman dressed in black
appeared by Michael’s side, and he said, “This is Sally Mouton, our
hostess. She’ll be glad to attend to whatever needs you might
have.”

Sally pointed to a wide desk in the north
corner of the reception area. “I’ll be right over there. Just let
me know if you need anything.” Anna sensed more nervousness than
sympathy in the thin woman.

“If you’re ready . . .” Michael motioned with
a hand to a large set of accordion doors ahead.

“No,” Anna pulled away from Ephraim. She
wasn’t ready for forever yet. “Water,” she said. “I would like
water please.”

“Now is not the time for this, Anna,” Ephraim
said sternly. “There is much food and drink to come. First, we are
to see our daughter.”

Anna ignored him and looked at Michael. “I
would like water please,” she repeated.

“Anna—”

“I can get some for her,” Sally said quickly,
then turned to walk away.

“No,” Anna said. “I would like to get my own
water, please. Where do I find it?”

Sally peered up at Ephraim, then at
Michael.

“We have coffee and bottled water in the
lounge,” Michael said. “Or if you’d prefer, there’s cold water in
the fountain down the next hall.”

A telephone on the desk rang, and Sally said
quietly, “Excuse me,” then hurried away to answer it.

“Yes, cold water in the fountain, please,”
Anna said.

Michael smiled. “I’ll show you where it
is.”

Anna ignored Ephraim’s scowl and followed
Michael.

He led her through the reception area, then
down the hall past the accordion doors and into another corridor
filled with flowers. Anna walked slowly, surveying the different
pictures on the walls. Churches, landscapes, old people in old
clothes. She spotted a young man in a black suit hurrying toward
them with a potted plant in each hand.

“Mrs. Stevenson,” Michael said as the young
man approached. “This is Chad Thibodeaux, my apprentice. He will be
available to you while you’re here, as well.”

Chad grinned. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Anna gave Chad a slight nod, then noticed the
drinking fountain a few feet ahead. She turned to Michael. “I see
the cold water from here. Please, I would like to go alone.”

“Of course.”

Anna waited until Michael and Chad had turned
the corner of the intersecting hallway before going to the drinking
fountain. She pressed the metal bar along the front of the
fountain, and a narrow stream of water arched from the spout. Anna
lowered her head to drinking level but instead of allowing the
stream into her mouth, she watched it, wishing she could disappear
with the water into the multi-holed drain. She didn’t want to be
here. Not in this place. Not on this earth.

The sound of a door clanking shut caught
Anna’s attention. She glanced over to her right and saw a slim,
dark-haired woman in a blue summer dress, standing just inside a
doorway. She held floral wreaths in each hand and a surprised look
on her face.

Anna released the metal bar.

“Hello,” the woman said. “I’m . . .I’m here
with a delivery.”

Anna stared at her.

Worry lines creased the woman’s brow for a
moment, then she quickly followed the lineup of flowers to a nest
of wreaths farther down the hall. She placed the ones she carried
amongst the group, then hesitantly turned back around. A look of
determination crossed her face, and she headed directly for
Anna.

The woman extended her hand when she reached
her. “My name’s Janet Savoy,” she said.

For reasons Anna didn’t understand, she
immediately clasped the woman’s hand. “I am Anna Stevenson,” she
said, her voice sounding like a bare whisper to her ears. She held
onto Janet’s hand, shaking it gently, feeling the warmth of her
palm—and something else.

“You have a loved one here?” Janet asked
quietly.

Anna’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.
“My . . .my daughter.”

Janet’s hand squeezed harder around Anna’s,
and her face crumpled with sorrow. “Oh—I can’t—you must—oh, I’m so
sorry.” She touched Anna’s shoulder with her free hand.

Brushing her tears away, Anna nodded and
stared into Janet’s large hazel eyes. Although she’d never met the
woman before, Anna felt a strange connection to her. To something
inside her.

“You have a daughter, no? One that is very
young?” Anna asked.

Looking perplexed, Janet took a small step
back. “Yes . . . but how did you know?”

Suddenly feeling a rush of emotion akin to
panic, Anna quickly covered Janet’s hand with both of hers. “Watch
over her closely. Your—”

“Anna.”

Ephraim’s loud voice startled Anna, and she
quickly released Janet’s hand. She turned to face her husband.