Page 4 of Dearly & Lovesick Lorraine (Dearly and The Departed #6)

Chapter Three

Keir

On Tuesday morning, I was in the mortuary, dressing Dr. Randall. The previous evening had been a fucking disaster dealing with Jo and the possible danger to Lake, Jamie, and our baby.

I wouldn’t rest until Lake and Jamie were with us where Dash and I could keep them from harm. Dash had already contacted Jonas to go with him to get a queen-sized bed from the apartment Amelie’s would be giving up since the wedding was this weekend. Trent already had a king-sized bed, and he’d turned his second bedroom into a home office, so they wouldn’t need another bed anytime soon.

“Uh, Mr. Dearly?” I was buttoning Dr. Randall’s white shirt. He was a small man—about five foot three. It was much like dressing a child, which I’d sadly done on more than one occasion.

“Yes, Dr. Randall.” I glanced toward his spirit.

He pointed at the walk-in. “You, uh, you’ve got company.”

It was Lorraine, the crazy spirit from The Mystical Palm. She stood by the cooler in her floor-length dull-gray dress with a white cap on her head, studying me carefully.

Damn!

“Lorraine, what do you want? I told you yesterday I’m not Claude.”

She strolled around the mortuary, taking in the sights of the room before stopping at the table where I kept my tools and picking up a scalpel—not all spirits could move objects in the Human Realm. She turned toward me and threw the damn thing like a marksman.

It came at me in slow motion, or so it seemed, so I quickly ducked behind the table where I was dressing Dr. Randall. When it registered that the scalpel didn’t hit me, I glanced around the floor for it, even though I hadn’t heard the clatter of it meeting the tile.

I popped up to see the razor-sharp instrument had lodged in Dr. Randall’s fiberglass casket. If I’d stayed standing where I’d been—though I was no physicist—it probably would have lodged in my neck right at the carotid artery. Being there was no one with me in the mortuary, I believed Lorraine was intending for me to have bled out.

I turned to her, indignant. “You’re trying to kill me? For what earthly reason?”

“I’m lonely, Claude. I want you to be with me. We loved each other, and every time I find you, you get away from me. Why don’t you want to be with me? We were supposed to be together for eternity.”

“How’d you find the portal?” Was there a damn sign on the other side that directed spirits to Dearly & Son? I was sure my father wouldn’t have sent her, knowing she was unstable. Or would he send her to find me for another purpose?

“Lorraine, I’ll tell you again like I told you at The Mystical Palm—I’m not Claude. My name is Keir Dearly. I’m the Gatekeeper between Heaven and Hell.”

It was a simplistic explanation, but I feared giving away too much information. I had no idea how intellectual she was or if she’d understand what I was supposed to do as far as Nyx was concerned. Hell, maybe Nyx sent her?

“You must be Claude. You look just like him. I have been searching for you for a very long time. Are you telling me I don’t remember what my one true love looks like?”

I pulled the scalpel from the casket, pressing the finish into the slit so it wouldn’t be noticeable. I could put flowers or something there to keep from having to explain it to the family. I could also knock money off the price of the box since I didn’t have another one on hand to swap it out.

“Perhaps we resemble each other, but I’m not Claude. What was his last name?” It was like talking to a door.

“Claude Bonfils. You might not remember our deep love because you’ve been reborn many times over, but you are my Claude.”

“Dearly?” It was Dash at the top of the stairs.

“Who is that?” Lorraine got an evil look in her eyes, and I was worried that if Dash came into the mortuary, she’d harm him. She had shown me she wasn’t above murdering me or anyone else.

“It’s my friend. Go! We’ll sort this out later.” Thankfully, she listened and returned from where she came. Though if she was in Limbo awaiting judgment, was there a chance she knew who Lake was and would try to hurt her?

My mind was going in ten directions, so I shook off my harried thoughts and went to the bottom of the stairs. “Down here dressing Dr. Randall.”

Hopefully, Dash hadn’t been clued into my thoughts while Lorraine was here. He had enough to worry about without me piling on a lovesick spirit.

“Who were you talking…? Oh, hello, Dr. Randall.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Dr. Randall had returned. “Yes, uh, we were discussing baseball, weren’t we, Dr. Randall?” I give him a slight nod, hoping he’d play along.

“S-S-Sure. Anyway, let’s get this show on the road. I want to say goodbye to my family and check out the other side. I hope I don’t run into crazies like that one.” He pointed toward the walk-in.

Dash stared at me, but I shrugged. “I’m guessing there’s a little disorientation in the process of moving from one realm to another. Any word from Jo? Did you and Jonas get the bed from Amelie?” Changing the subject was a good idea.

“Yeah. We put it together and put it in the… What happened to the end corner of the casket?” He was pointing to the gouge the scalpel had made in the box. I should have known Dash’s eagle eyes would catch it.

“Just a little accident. I’ll knock some money off for his family.” I finished buttoning the shirt and tucking it into Dr. Randall’s slacks.

“Accident? She was trying to kill you. If she’d hit her mark, you’d be on this side with me.” I wanted to throttle Dr. Randall, though I had truly enjoyed my time with him.

“Who’s she?” Dash stepped closer, studying me. He knew when I was lying. The very fiber of our souls seemed to have meshed. We couldn’t lie to each other, so I exhaled.

“It’s nothing, really. It’s that woman, Lorraine, who wreaked havoc at The Mystical Palm. She showed up here.” I was stalling to see how much I could keep from him.

Dash, however, would get his own answers. He went to the walk-in and opened the door. After disappearing inside for a moment, he walked back out, scowling.

“I smell sulfur. Who is this Lorraine? We need to find out more.”

“I agree, but first, we need to get Dr. Randall upstairs. Is Amelie in yet?” The man deserved a dignified, heartfelt sendoff, and my personal problems weren’t going to prevent it.

“Beautiful service, Reverend Brown. Thank you, Mr. Dearly.” Brenda Randall was Dr. Randall’s daughter-in-law. She was a nice woman, and the service had been lovely.

We were standing beside the hearse that would take Dr. Randall to the airport to be flown to Toledo, Ohio, for burial next to his parents. He and his wife had divorced years ago, and she was buried with her second husband.

Dr. Randall’s final wish was to be buried in the family plot. I’d contacted a funeral home in Toledo, and the funeral director had agreed to meet the plane and assist with the internment.

“Anything else, Keir?”

Adonis was doing us the favor of driving Dr. Randall to the airport so Dash and I could get on the road to Lake Shasta as soon as we heard from Jo regarding Lake and Jamie’s whereabouts.

“No, Adon. Thank you for doing us this favor. I’ll call your mother to see if she’ll come over. If Jo brings Lake and Jamie here, I need someone I can rely upon to watch over them. We’ll probably still be here when you return from checking on Dr. Carl.”

Adonis nodded before stepping into the hearse, slowly driving down the driveway. I turned to Brenda Randall. “When are you and Dana flying to Toledo?”

“In the morning. I spoke to the funeral director there, who you kindly enlisted to assist us, and they have an opening on Thursday morning. Again, thank you, Mr. Dearly.”

Brenda hurried to where Dana stood with some of Dr. Randall’s admirers from the assisted living facility. They were all talking adamantly with smiles, which was good to see.

“Reverend Brown, thank you for officiating. It was a nice service.” The man nodded at my comments before he left. When the minister arrived, Dash had whispered that his aura was white, which was a relief.

After everyone left, I returned to the funeral home, locking the front door behind me. Amelie and Dash were cleaning up the chapel, which was a great surprise. “Thanks, guys. Amelie, are you squared away to handle things while we’re gone?”

Amelie was holding down the fort while we were in Lakehead, not that I’d scheduled anything for the two days we would be gone. We were closing Dearly & Son on Friday for Amelie’s wedding and reopening on Monday. Hopefully, by then, Jo would have Lake and Jamie safely under our roof.

“I have everything under control. Trent has committed to helping me if anything comes up, and Adonis and Vale will be here. No worries, bossman.”

Dash returned to the chapel with the vacuum and stopped by me. “Everything go okay?”

My husband had helped me place the casket in the chapel prior to the service. He was trying to get in touch with Jo, but based on his stern expression, he’d had no success.

“Went off fine. Dr. Randall was happy to hear all the lovely things people said about him. He left before the pallbearers took his casket out to the hearse. Adon is taking his body to the airport for the flight to Toledo. I’m guessing you didn’t have luck getting in touch with Jo?”

Dash sighed. “Nope. She’s not answering any of the calls I’ve put out. I’m going to try Beelz. He helped Jo take Lake into hiding, and he and Jo have worked together on our behalf in the past.”

The door from the stairwell leading to the mortuary opened, and I hurried toward it, feeling Dash’s strong hand around my bicep before I could get away. The low growl in my ear slid satisfyingly down my backbone. “You know none of us were down there, and the garage door to the receiving bay hasn’t opened, so keep your ass here and let me check.” After a quick kiss to my lips, he left.

If he thought that would deter me, he was delusional. I followed him to see Scotty and Jay standing in the hallway having a heated discussion.

“What’s wrong?” I stopped next to Dash, who was frowning.

“Jo, Lake, and Jamie have left Limbo. We tracked them to the gate outside Reardon but lost their trail. Have you talked to Jo?” Scotty’s frown told me there was more to their inquiry.

“And?”

I stared between him and Jay until Jay finally cracked. “Beelz asked us to keep an eye on the condo where Jo was hiding Lake and Jamie. We’ve been checking on them this whole time, though we didn’t interfere with the illusion that they were in Monterey.”

“Was it one of you who knocked on the door when Lake opened it?” Dash’s voice was controlled, but I could hear the tension.

“What? No. We’d never approach them that way. Jay assigned his guard to sit across from the building and watch who came and went. When did someone knock on the door? Was it one of the neighbors?” Scotty glared at Jay, who began whistling as he stared at the ceiling.

“Jameson, do you have something to tell me?” Scotty arched an eyebrow at his partner.

“It was Bobby Miller, your old lover, looking for Asmodeus. Apparently, he didn’t get the memo that Dear Old Dad had done away with Asmo, and I’m now the epitome of lust.” Jay’s smug expression cracked Dash up. He was the epitome of something, all right.

Dash’s phone rang, so he stepped away. “Any idea where they might go? Have your people been keeping tabs on Nyx and her followers?”

I was ready to rage over the lack of assistance from the underworld. It was their damn problem in the first place. Shouldn’t they be more interested in what’s going on?

“Yeah. They’re working their way across Russia, looking for portals. Nyx and Erebus have no idea the portals have been closed. They’ll have to get here on their own, no short cuts. You’ve got about a week, I figure,” Jay stated.

Dash returned to where we still stood in the hallway of the funeral home. “That was Quinn. Lilith’s gone. Left him a message that she’s helping us with something and she’ll be gone a few days. He’s not happy.”

I turned to Scotty. “Can you check in with Jo? Dash has been trying, but she’s not answering.”

Scotty gave a curt nod before he went through the front door of the funeral home, taking off his shirt as he went. Jay chuckled. “He’s going where I can’t go. Anyway, when are you Boy Scouts leaving on your little camping trip?”

“Want a beer?” Dash asked as he led us to the stairway to our apartment. The cleaning could wait. I wanted to hear more about this Bobby Miller person and how he fit with Scotty.