Page 104 of The Last One to Let You Down

Despite everything going on, he was happy. He had Cypress, really and truly, and no matter what happened, he didn’t have to do this alone.

Any of it—not the murder, not the burglaries, nor the headache over the formaldehyde that had started it all.

He did his best to wipe the dopey smile off his face when he walked into the office, finding Earl on the phone as usual and Mr. Crosby hovering over him.

“Seventy-five dollars?” Earl was shouting angrily. “For seventy-five dollars it had better trip me and suck me before I hit the damn floor.” He stewed silently for a few moments, grumbling in reply, “Yes, I understand that kind of language is not appropriate, but this is ridiculous. Look, sir, you wanna fuck me like this, the least you could do is buy me dinner. I’d even take a pack of nabs with the way you’re going.”

Mr. Crosby noticed Tom entering, and he smiled brightly. “Ah! Tom!” He walked over to shake his hand. “I trust you’re feeling better? Earl said you’d be late today.”

“I’m okay,” Tom replied, hoping he looked pitiful enough to pass Mr. Crosby’s scrutiny. “Uh, is everything okay?”

“Oh, fine. Bubba and Scott are out on a call. Mr. Wayne is trying to renegotiate his cellular phone contract, I believe.” Mr. Crosby seemed pretty calm for a man whose funeral home was all over the news. “We don’t have any preps that I’m aware of.”

“Good. Where’s everybody else at?”

“Mr. Frakes is late again. I’m really gonna have to do something about him. Gerald went out, some errand for little Junior.” Mr. Crosby’s forehead wrinkled. “Not sure what’s going on with that boy. He has such a weak constitution, bless his heart. Always getting sick.”

From snorting crap up his nose.

“Okay, cool. So, uh, Mr. Crosby…”

Tom didn’t want to take advantage of Mr. Crosby’s questionable mental state, but he was still technically his boss, and he had a much higher chance for success talking to him instead of Gerald.

“What is it, Tom?” Mr. Crosby asked, smiling brightly.

“Well, sir…”

“Back in my day?” Earl raged. “Oh, yeah, sure. It was so much easier because we just had cans with string, right? But now you wanna charge me for overages because your little bleep-bloop computer told you to.”

“I need to take some time off,” Tom said quickly, having to speak up so Mr. Crosby could hear him over Earl’s shouting. “Like, maybe a few days? I’m still, eh, not feeling so great.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Mr. Crosby looked concerned. “Why don’t you finish up your lunch and go on home?”

Tom was not going to correct him about what time it was, saying instead, “Thank you so much, sir. I’m gonna finish Mr. Lundy, and then I’ll go.”

“Go on and take the rest of the week,” Mr. Crosby said with a somber nod. “I need you to come back in tip-top shape.”

“Wow! Okay!” Tom grinned. “Thank you.”

“Go easy on that leg. You’re not as young as you used to be.” Mr. Crosby chuckled, patting Tom’s shoulder.

Tom had no idea what he was talking about but decided to run with it. He excused himself from the office, leaving Mr. Crosby to bask in Earl’s rage against the phone company. He knew he had plenty of time to get Mr. Lundy ready but being in the funeral home was making him anxious.

He didn’t feel safe here.

With gloves and tools and a tub of wax in hand, he scooted his stool over to the table where Mr. Lundy was so he could get to work. He applied the wax over the little sutures on Mr. Lundy’s forehead, using his finger to smooth it out. He then used a small spatula to smooth it even more, removing any excess wax.

He used the heel of his gloved hand to lightly press into the wax to give it a faint texture. If it was too smooth, it wouldn’t look like skin, and the damage beneath would be more obvious. Luckily, most of what Tom had to repair was already hidden in Mr. Lundy’s hair, and he was done with the wax in only half an hour.

Now it was time for makeup.

There were special mortuary cosmetics made for deceased cases, but they were very thick and best suited for severe discolorations. Tom had known other embalmers and directors who could use them well and achieve a very natural look, but he preferred liquid tints and over-the-counter makeup from the drugstore.

He started sponging a light foundation over Mr. Lundy’s face, following it with a darker brown to contour around his hairline and down his nose. He used a third shade to blend it all together, trying to create a natural-looking color without it turning into a mask.

One solid color over a person’s face could look cartoonish, especially on a man, so he made sure to use several different shades. He ended up with six in all, not including the tint for Mr. Lundy’s lips.

He heard the beeping of the prep room door, and he smiled when he saw it was Aaron. “Hey! How’s your day going?”