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I jumped as a fist pounded on the bathroom doo
r. “Angel!”
“Jesus! I’m taking a leak!” Damn it. I flushed the toilet then washed my hands, stalling in the hopes that my parasite would get a fucking clue and pull my face together.
Nope. Face still gross, but hands squeaky clean.
I dried my hands and stepped out of the bathroom. Across the hall, Allen stood in the doorway of the morgue tech office. “Sorry,” I said with a totally relaxed and chill smile. “I had a lot of coffee this morning.”
Allen slipped his phone into his pocket and didn’t return my smile. “Let’s talk,” he said then turned and moved behind the desk.
I hung by the door. “What’s up?”
He snatched a paper lunch bag from a drawer, then dropped it to the desk with a heavy plop. “You tell me.”
“You bought me brunch?” My attempt at a laugh came out weak and strained.
His lips thinned. “Are you trying to incite an investigation?”
“What do you mean?”
He stabbed a finger at the bag. “Open it.”
Wary, I moved to the desk and unrolled the top of the bag. A plastic sandwich baggie held odd lumps—
“Pig brains, Angel?” The words cracked out. “Pig brains?”
Ice spread through every muscle in my body. There was no lying my way out of this nightmare. “I guess I’m fired?” My voice sounded tinny and distant.
He slammed the flat of his hand on the desk. “No brains in the organ bags is one thing. Pig brains takes it to a different fucking level.”
No brains. So he did know brains had been missing before. That’s why he called me in on Friday. “Look, I’ll go. You’ll never have to deal with me again.” My voice shook, but my thoughts were surprisingly clear. “No more loser Angel in your department.”
Allen folded his arms over his chest and leveled a stern look at me. “If you leave now, it will only make your situation worse. I suggest you sit down.”
“Sit down and wait so the cops can scoop me up? Sorry, but no.” I took a step toward the door then hesitated as it all started to sink in. I was about to walk out of this life forever, leave a job I loved, where I wasn’t a loser. It sucked. “Allen, this isn’t what it looks like. I . . .” Shit. What could I possibly say? A girl’s got to eat? “I’m so sorry,” I gasped then fled toward the exit.
“Angel! Stop!” Allen shouted after me. “I haven’t called the cops.”
I slid to a stop with the exit in sight, turned and frowned at Allen where he stood in the office doorway. “Why not? What are you waiting for?”
He exhaled. “I’d like you to answer a question for me. You owe me that much.”
I wavered between staying and fleeing. “You won’t call the cops?”
“Not unless you give me a reason to.”
A bigger reason than replacing human brains with pig brains? Absurd hope flickered that something could be salvaged from this mess. “Ask away.”
“In private.”
We were alone in the morgue, but maybe he figured there was a chance another employee would pop in. I returned to the tech office but made sure Allen wasn’t between me and the door.
He dropped into the chair on the far side of the room. “You’re really grey,” he stated. “And the rot on your face looks bad.”
I tossed off a shrug. “Half the population of Tucker Point is grey or green or rotten. What’s your question?”
He leaned back, eyes on me. “I want to know what’s been going on with you these past few months. Pig brains. Careless raids on the cooler. Reckless behavior, like jumping into floodwater for that gurney. You were solid before. What changed?”
