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“At least they spelled the rest of it right.”
“Blind damn luck, I’m sure,” he said and plopped down at the table. “Alrighty, Angle, how ’bout you go ahead and cut us some pieces.”
Laughing, I obliged, then took a big bite. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I was trying to get through a weirdly crunchy icing-rose.
I grabbed a napkin and spat the mess out. “It’s Allen. Probably about my shift tomorrow.” Allen Prejean was the Chief Investigator at the St. Edwards Parish Coroner’s Office, and my boss. Though he knew the truth about my medical leave, the official-but-fake reason was mono. Funny how “mononucleosis” looked better on paperwork than “dismembered and rotted.”
“Hey, Allen!”
“Hi, Angel. Don’t sound so happy to hear from me. It’s unnatural.”
“It’s the new me,” I said cheerfully.
“Well, cut it out,” he grumbled. “Look, I know you weren’t due to be back at work until tomorrow, but can you come in today? Jerry broke a tooth and has to go to the dentist, and we’re a bit overwhelmed.”
“What time do you need me?”
“I hate to say it, but as soon as you can be here. I’m heading out to pick up a body even now. Sorry about the short notice, but—”
“No, it’s okay. Hang on a sec.” I covered the phone with my hand and looked over at my dad, but he was already nodding and giving me a “go on” hand waggle. “I can be there in about forty-five minutes.” It was a twenty-minute drive to Tucker Point, plus I needed to find my work uniforms—and hope like hell they hadn’t been moldering in a pile of dirty laundry for the past three weeks.
“Perfect. I owe you one. See you in forty-five.”
I disconnected. “Sorry about that, Dad.”
“It’s no biggie, baby,” he said with a fond smile. “I know I ain’t the only one happy to see you up and about again.”
“You’re the best.” I kissed the top of his head. “I don’t suppose you did laundry while I was gone?”
“Nah,” he said to my dismay, but then his eyes twinkled. “Gina did, though.”
I stopped. Blinked. “Who the fuck is Gina?” Oh god, not another trashy girlfriend. And yes, I was fully aware of the irony of me thinking that. But my dad’s girlfriends took trashy to a whole new level.
He snickered at the look on my face. “You’ll like her. Don’t you worry. Your uniforms are all hangin’ in your closet.”
Hanging? Hell, that was more than I ever did. Still, I leveled a cool glare at him. “Are you dating her?”
He stuffed a forkful of cake into his mouth and grinned around it. Rolling my eyes, I continued on to my bedroom, only now realizing that the house was clean. Like, spotless. A peek into the bathroom showed that the tub was sparkling, and the yucky ring in the toilet had vanished. And my bed was made—with fresh sheets.
I could get to like Gina.
Chapter 2
Dressed in my ironed fatigue pants and uniform shirt, and with the scent of Springtime Fresh fabric softener wafting around me, I stepped through the back door of the Coroner’s Office building thirty-eight minutes after Allen’s call.
I drew a slow breath—formalin and bleach along with a hint of death no cleaning could ever erase—then let it out in a happy sigh. An aroma as welcoming to me as fresh baked cookies.
A deep and resona
nt baritone hum I easily recognized drifted from the cutting room. I stopped in the doorway and smiled in delight. Derrel Cusimano, protective gear stark white against his dark skin, deftly sewed up the Y-incision on a mottled corpse. A former linebacker for LSU, he was the first death investigator I’d ever been partnered with. And, one of the nicest people in the world.
“Yo,” I said.
Derrel lifted his head, and a huge smile spread across his face. He made a final stitch, then shucked gloves, apron, and smock, and stuffed them into a medical waste can.
“One sec,” he said with a wink. Once he’d scrubbed and dried his hands, he swept me off my feet and into The Hug to Rule All Hugs. “I missed you!”
“My . . . doze,” I managed. Laughing, he released me. I made a show of making sure my nose hadn’t been permanently flattened. “Missed you too, big guy. Are you my partner today?”
