Page 14

Lance stood beside Angus and Franks as they listened to a priest pray over Scott Mayburn's grave. Around fifty people had turned out to say their goodbyes. Scott wandered around the group, listening to conversations as people shared memories of him and their time spent at his hotel. From what Lance could hear, there was very little talk about Scott's mother's murder or the fact that Scott had kept the secret for so many years. Most were focused on Scott's contribution to the city of Fairway and how much they would miss him.

"Funny how they will miss him, but Jared was the only one to drop by and visit him the last few years of his life," Angus whispered.

Lance nodded as he looked across the group to where Jared and his little brother stood. He met Jason for the first time today. The kid was tall for his fifteen years. Nearly as tall as his brother. If one didn't know, they'd guess them much closer in age. The young man looked uncomfortable, and Lance wondered if this was bringing back memories of his mother's funeral not too long ago.

Farther in the distance, Isaac, Jeremy, and several other ghosts stood near a large headstone talking. Lance didn't know any of the other ghosts, but the senator seemed to know most of them. In the past few days, it seemed Isaac and Scott had become good friends. Both hung around the morgue a lot talking over the old days, and would disappear in the evening, going out to hang with others. They offered to let Jeremy tag along, but Jeremy usually refused, opting to stay and watch Mack work in the morgue.

It had been a busy week. It was the little things that kept them running. For Lance it was an onslaught of unattended deaths. Usually with the elderly, a doctor would sign off and avoid the need for an autopsy, but lately, it was younger people dying suddenly at home. Young enough not to be under a doctor's care thus leaving it up to Lance to figure out what killed them. Usually blood clot or heart attacks which seemed to be hitting a much younger generation than they usually saw.

"Will you have time for lunch after this?" Angus whispered as the priest finished.

"Maybe a quick one. Fast food." Lance needed to eat, but the funeral had already taken more than his usual lunch break. While Sam was understanding and wouldn't complain, Lance had a job to do and families waiting for him to do it so they could bury their loved ones. He wouldn't slack off .

They watched as people said their goodbyes at the grave. Lance wondered if people would change what they said if they knew that Scott was standing right there, listening to every word. The only ones who seemed genuinely upset about Scott's death were Jared and Jason. Lance wished he had words for the grieving boys, but remembering back to his own losses over the years, he was aware that there really weren't words. Besides, he hadn't met the young men. He only knew them from Scott and Angus talking about them so often.

Angus gently touched Lance's shoulder. "I want to say something to Jared, then we can go."

"Take your time." Lance took a step back, letting Angus do whatever he needed to.

"Is Scott moving on now?" Franks asked softly.

Lance shook his head, surprised Angus hadn't filled Franks in on their plans to have the ghost track the local drug dealers. "No, he's going to stick around with Isaac."

"Who?" Franks looked confused.

"Senator Gifford," Lance whispered back.

Franks' eyes widened.

Lance laughed. "You need to tell Angus to fill you in on everything that's going on." He would do it himself, but they were hardly in a place to have any type of conversation concerning ghosts.

They had plans to meet at his place on Friday so Captain Marshall could meet Angus's mother and have a long overdue conversation about ghosts. Lance had decided he would let the captain in on his ability as well. Not only would it be hard to hide if they were going to let the ghosts be informants, but having the truth out there would hopefully make things easier for Angus. He wouldn't have to lie about things any longer and wouldn't have to drag his mother in on things he didn't want to just because he needed to act like she was the one with the information from the ghosts.

Lance wondered why Angus hadn't told Franks about Isaac's request. The two of them usually shared everything. He was sure Franks had been invited to the dinner on Friday. Maybe Angus was waiting to tell him then, so he didn't have to tell the story twice.

Five minutes later, Angus walked back to them and smiled. "We can go."

"Jared okay?" Lance linked his hand with Angus.

"He will be. He's going to start cleaning out Scott's home tomorrow after work. It will take time, but he hopes to get it up for sale in a month or two," Angus told them. "Let's go get lunch. I'll tell you more as we eat. I know you need to get back."

They slowly made their way to Franks' car, then had to wait a bit for the traffic to ease before they could pull out of the cemetery.

"Sorry I can't do more than a quick burger." Lance sat alone in the back seat.

"It's okay. We've got stuff to do as well. They finally arrested the second shooter in Amy's case. There's a ton of paperwork on this one, but thanks to our fantastic medical examiner's office, there won't be any way he can try to blame the death on the other shooter. They're both going down for this." Franks grinned at Lance in the rearview mirror. "The idiot was still carrying the same gun he'd used in the shooting."

"I'm glad she caught him. Gretta said she'd hardly seen Amy since she got into town. Maybe now Amy can finally spend some time with her sister and catch up on things," Lance said.

"Has she found a condo or apartment yet?" Franks asked.

"She's looked around, but I get the feeling she wants to wait a bit. I don't blame her. It's good to take the time to get to know the area before deciding where you want to live." Lance handed his credit card to Angus as Franks pulled into a drive-thru. "This one is on me."

"Thanks." Angus took the card.

"So tell me more about Senator Gifford." Franks glanced back after placing the orders.

"His daughter is Jackson's old girlfriend. She came to me after he died and wanted me to find out if her father was still around. He was. I gave them a chance to talk to each other. He's going to be sticking around, waiting for his wife. He's been hanging around with Scott Mayburn the last week or so. The two seem to have sparked up a good friendship. Scott isn't sure how long he's going to stay but seems to be connecting to old friends and is happy to hang around a bit longer." Lance wasn't going to say anything about Isaac's plans to track his son. If Angus wanted Franks to know about that, he'd tell him .

"I never met the man, but I liked his politics. Who will replace him?" Franks asked.

"I haven't heard. Not that I've kept up with political news lately. If it's not on the radio as I drive into work, I don't usually hear about it." Lance sighed. "I should do better about keeping up with what's going on around here."

"Who has the time?" Angus said as Franks started passing bags of food over to them.

"Want to hit the park or just park and eat?" Franks asked.

Lance glanced at the time. "We can go to the park if we're quick. Sam will call if I'm needed."

As they were pulling out of the parking lot, Angus's phone rang. He exchanged a look with Franks and answered it. "This is Detective Young."

Franks pulled into a parking space instead of pulling on the road. He glanced back at Lance and softly said, "Sorry."

Lance shrugged. He was aware of Angus's ringtones and knew this one meant work was calling. He quickly sorted the food into bags and kept his by his side while passing the other up to Franks. He didn't start to eat, pretty sure that Angus and Franks were being called out.

When Angus ended the call, he sighed. "We've got a body found off the side of the road. A couple teenagers walking with their dog found it." He turned back to look at Lance. "Sorry."

"No, don't be. Drop me off and get going. I'm not upset. I'll eat at my desk. It's best I get back if we're about to be called out to pick up the body." He gathered his things to make a quick exit once they were at his office. "Sam and Kyle are probably already leaving."

It was less than a mile to the M.E.'s office, and as soon as they pulled up in front of the building, Lance jumped out.

"Love you," Angus said.

"Love you too." Lance slammed the back door shut and stepped away with his food and drink in his hands. He watched them drive off, then turned to go inside.

"How was the funeral?" Gretta asked.

"It was a nice farewell. More showed up than I thought would." Lance made his way back after Gretta buzzed him in.

"Sam and Kyle just left to do a pick up. Brayden and Carrie are still out for lunch, but should be back anytime," Gretta told him.

"Yeah, Angus just got called to a scene. Betting it's the same one Sam's headed to. I've got a ton of paperwork. Tell Carrie and Brayden to let me know when they're back. I think we've still got five bodies waiting for autopsy."

"Seven with the one they just went to get," Gretta corrected him. "If it stays this busy, you're going to need to hire more help. Sam's spending most of his time on calls lately."

"If only the budget allowed it. Most M.E.'s have a death investigator or two who do nothing but handle calls and picking up bodies. Sam and I should be here focusing on the autopsies. It wasn't so bad in the past, but the city is growing. I agree we need more help. Maybe you can make friends with our mayor or city council and see if they'll give us a budget increase."

Gretta laughed. "My sister has already warned me about the mayor. I'll keep my distance, thanks. I've been here less than a month and already know how I'll vote next time she's up for election."

"Don't get me started on elections." Lance shook his head. "There's a reason I choose to spend most my time with the dead." He grinned at how true his words were now that he saw ghosts and had two living with him. "I'm going to eat." He lifted his drink in a goodbye and headed down the hallway to his office. If he was lucky, he'd have enough time to eat and finish a report or two before he had to do his next autopsy. It was going to be a long afternoon.