Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet Read Free Page B

“She has passed.”
    Cookie finally grasped the entire concept. Not just a little corner of it. She threw
     a hand over her mouth. A weak squeak slipped through her fingers. “Not Aunt Lil.”
     She doubled over and let sobs rack her shoulders.
    Subtle.
    “I didn’t think she’d take it this hard,” Aunt Lil said.
    “Neither did I.” I looked on in horror as Cookie acted out that scene from The Godfather. It was even more eerie from this close proximity. “It’s okay,” I said, patting her
     head. Really hard. She glared through her fingers. “Aunt Lil is with us incorporeally.
     She sends her love.”
    “Oh, yes,” Aunt Lil said with a delirious nod. “Send her my love.”
    “Aunt Lil,” Cookie said, straightening and looking beside me. Only on the wrong side.
    I nodded in Aunt Lil’s direction again, and Cookie corrected her line of sight.
    “Aunt Lil, I’m so sorry. We’ll miss you so much.”
    “Aw, isn’t she the sweetest thing? I always liked her.”
    With a smile, I took Aunt Lil’s hand into mine. “I always liked her, too. Until about
     fifteen minutes ago.”
    *   *   *
    I decided a shower was not out of the question and hopped in as Cookie took inventory
     and Aunt Lil decided to see what Africa looked like from her new perspective. I wondered
     if she’d ever figure out how long she’d been dead. I certainly wasn’t going to tell
     her.
    Hot water was one of the best therapies in the world. It washed away stress and soothed
     nerves. But Rottweilers were even better. Ever since a gorgeous Rottie by the name
     of Artemis had died and become my guardian—against what, I had no idea—I found my
     showers more challenging than usual. Mostly because Artemis loved showers, too. She
     didn’t come around that often, but the minute I turned on the water, there she was.
    “Hey, precious,” I said as she tried to catch a stream of water in her mouth.
    She barked playfully, the loud yelp echoing off the walls of the tub. I reached down
     and rubbed her ears. The water ran straight through her, so she was dry to the touch,
     but she tried so hard to catch the thick droplets on her tongue.
    “I know how you feel, girl. Sometimes the things we want most seem completely out
     of our reach.”
    When she jumped up on me, her stubby tail wagging with delight, her weight sent me
     crashing against the tile wall. I clutched on to the showerhead to keep my balance,
     then let her lick my neck before another stream of water captured her attention. She
     dived for it, almost knocking my feet out from under me. I totally needed a shower
     mat. And shaving my legs with a Rottweiler chasing every splash of water known to
     man was like taking my life into my own hands, but it had to be done.
    After semi-successfully shaving my legs with minimal blood loss, I turned off the
     water and nuzzled her to me. She licked my left ear, her front teeth scraping the
     lobe and causing goose bumps to spread over my skin, and I laughed out loud. “Oh,
     thank you. I needed that ear cleaned. Thank you so much.”
    With another yelp, she realized fun time was over. The wonderful world of waterworks
     had stopped, so she dived through the exterior wall and disappeared. I wondered if
     it was wrong that I took showers with a dog.
    I dried my hair and pulled it into something that resembled a ponytail, dressed in
     jeans and a white pullover with a zippered collar, then inspected myself in the mirror.
     No idea why. I’d only change back into my pajamas in a couple of hours anyway. Why
     did I get dressed? Why did I bother? Why did I shower, for that matter?
    I pumped a dollop of lotion onto my palm and rubbed my hands together as I examined
     the nasty scar on my cheek. It was almost gone. On anyone else, it would have remained
     a constant reminder of events better left forgotten. But being the grim reaper had
     its benefits. Namely, quick healing and minimal scarring. Nary a shred of visible
     evidence to support