Page 59 of Grave Danger

“You sure?” Demetrius asked. “I was thinking of going up for a minute.”

Cody blew out a breath then pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Not feeling it today.”

Demetrius figured he was resisting because the last funeral they’d attended had been the mayor’s, and that hadn’t turned out very well for any of them, the mayor included.

“I’ll go up with you,” Jugs said. “It’ll be good for me. After that man came at me, I’m freaking a bit being at a funeral.” He laughed, but it was hard and brittle, with no humor. “I keep expecting to see the Widow sit up and grab for someone.” Jugs blew out a breath then looked at Agatha. “Did you want to go?”

She made a face and shook her head. “Uh uh. Keeping my distance.”

Jugs gave her a steady look. “You were the one telling me to face my fears and come to this.”

Agatha nodded. “Yep. And here you are, planning to go right on up there and look into the casket and face your fears.” She put a hand to her chest. “I, on the other hand, do not have those same fears, so I have nothing to overcome.”

“That’s cold,” Jugs said.

“Come on,” Demetrius said to Jugs. “You’re stalling. We’re going up there before they bury her.”

They threaded their way to the front of the room, pausing now and then to look at framed photographs of the Widow throughout her very long life. Jugs’s eyes were wide, and sweat beaded his forehead. When they reached the front, they stood by the foot of the rose gold casket to provide space for a group of people gazing down at the Widow and talking quietly. Demetrius turned to say something to Jugs, but stopped when he noticed two lines of sweat running down the side of his face.

“Hey, you feeling all right?”

“What?” Jugs jerked his eyes away from the casket and blinked at him. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You sure? You’re sweating a lot. Like, a lot a lot.”

“I’m nervous about this. I mean, some man out in the woods tried to eat me. That’s crazy, right?” He shook his head, but before Demetrius could respond, Jugs continued. “It’s warm in here. Does it feel warm to you?”

“A little, I guess.” Demetrius watched Jugs rub a hand up and down his left forearm a few times, then do the same to the right. “How do the scratches feel today?”

“Itching like crazy. My gramma used to say that meant something was healing.”

The people ahead of them moved off. Demetrius tipped his head toward the casket.

“You ready?”

Jugs inhaled and slowly exhaled, then nodded. “Let’s do this.”

They approached the casket, Jugs hanging back a bit. As Demetrius looked into the casket, he found it weird to see the Widow lying so still. In life, she’d been in constant motion, and her face had been creased into what looked to be a permanent scowl. The funeral home had made her look good, but they’d fixed her mouth into a gentle smile that completely changed her appearance. And there was no way to capture the energy she’d always had. They’d dressed her in a dark blue dress, and her nails had been painted the same shade of rose gold as her casket. Her hair had been styled in its usual updo, and Demetrius smiled when he noticed how low she’d been placed in the casket to make room for it.

Jugs edged closer and stood just over Demetrius’s shoulder. He’d obviously noticed the same thing, because he leaned in and whispered, “Good thing she was short, or they wouldn’t have been able to get her hair inside.”

Demetrius fought back a laugh and turned away from the casket as the funeral director approached.

“We’re going to get her ready for the service,” the man said in a deep, calm voice that made Demetrius think of a meditation app he’d downloaded to his phone and used a few times but never went back to. Maybe it was time to give it another try.

“Thank you,” Demetrius said, though he wasn’t sure why or for what exactly he was thanking the man. Jugs had already retreated, and Demetrius headed back toward their group. He came up short, however, when Lucia stepped in front of him. She was out of uniform, dressed in an off the rack black pantsuit and a light blue blouse. Zenona Baldwin, a doctor at the hospital and another of Cody’s ex-girlfriends, stood just over Lucia’s left shoulder.

“Demetrius,” Lucia said.

“Hi.” He smiled and nodded to Zenona, then looked back at Lucia. “How’s Dottie holding up?”

“Not sure at the moment,” Lucia said. “The little scamp got away from me.”

Demetrius fought the urge to crouch down and look underneath the casket. “Oh. Well, if I see her, I’ll send her your way.”

“We’re going to give her a ride to the cemetery,” Zenona said, looking around. “She was here with us up until a few minutes ago.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the funeral director said, his deep voice carrying perfectly to each corner of the room. “We are going to prepare Mrs. Monroe for the trip to the cemetery. If you would like to come by and say a final farewell, please do so at this time. Those of you wishing to be part of the procession to the cemetery, please find our associate, Connor, outside, and he will provide you with a flag for your car and get you in line in the proper order.”