The Cool Room by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 20

The next day brought the usual workload as two clients were brought in from the medical examiner’s office. Both were elderly and found by their assigned nurses in the nursing home attached to the local hospital. There were two nursing homes in the county and provided a steady stream of clients, affording Frank an adequate income. Then there was the hospital and another outside the next town, and with Albany an hour away, the area seemed to provide what Frank needed to keep his business afloat. This gave Emily and Jonathan plenty of work and stable jobs. But with the town’s population in slow decline, it was only a matter of time before Frank’s services would no longer be needed. In spite of the fact that Frank had seen this coming for the last twenty years, he hoped the imminent collapse of the town he had been born and raised in would be a long time coming. Perhaps he would pass before the town met its eventual demise.

The morning began with the new clients, one at a time, being slid out of the refrigerator and on to the steel table. A block was put under the head and the process soon began. Jonathan allowed Emily to take charge of the first client and examining the remains found no signs of external trauma. As she read the accompanying paperwork, she noticed the medical examiner had determined the cause of death as natural causes. At such an advanced age, it didn’t seem to matter what the client actually died from. In Emily’s mind, it was probably a blessing. The nursing notes also arrived with the body and recorded that the client was found unresponsive early in the morning just after change of shift. “Looks like she died in her sleep,” Emily said. “Probably the best way to go.”

Quickly putting the topic aside, Emily began what would be a standard preparation. However, considering how long the body laid in the bed of the nursing home, she found it difficult to message out the rigor. Knowing there was only one alternative, she looked at Jonathan with a questioning expression.

“Yeah,” he said. “This one’s going to be tough.” Reaching back, he retrieved a small length of two-by-four and handed it to her.

“Let’s see how strong you are.”

She knew that flexing the joints was sometimes necessary but never thought she would actually have to do it as she had always relied on massaging the muscles.

Lifting the arm, she found the shoulder stiff, but after raising and lowering it a few times felt the muscles becoming flaccid. This may not be so difficult after all. The elbow was next and placing the block of wood beneath it used her weight to bend it into a straight position allowing it to later be placed in the appropriate place for the service. All was going well until placing too much weight on the joint caused it to break creating a snapping sound. Releasing the limb, Emily looked up at Jonathan with wide eyes knowing that she had just broken the client’s elbow.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It happens once in a while.”

Walking around to her side of the table, he examined the arm, feeling for where the fracture was.

“It’s just the elbow,” he said. “It’ll be fine.” Emily wasn’t so sure and wanting to make sure the break wouldn’t be obvious, she examined it for herself.

“You’re right,” she said. “Thank God for that. But I still have to get the muscles to loosen up.” She continued both flexing the joints and massaging the muscles until finally achieving the desired results. Unless the knees and hips were bent in an awkward position, relieving any rigor would be unnecessary. In this case, it was only the arms, neck and back. After an hour, Emily had successfully relieved the rigor and was able to correctly position the body. The rest of the process was textbook, and by day’s end the job was done. The next morning, the viewing room would be set up and the body placed in a casket picked out by the family. While Frank and Jonathan were conducting the service, Emily was left to prepare the second client. Ordinarily, she would not be left to prepare a body without Jonathan’s supervision, but because of the straightforward nature of the job he trusted her to deal with the client herself.

As with the previous client, preparation went smoothly and with less rigor, Emily was able to spend less time getting the job done. After the service, Jonathan walked back to check on how she was doing and was surprised to find the internal organs were close to being fully embalmed while the body had been prepared, dressed and ready for tomorrow’s scheduled service. There was only thing that stood out. The family provided a picture as reference. They always do. But the woman in the picture bore a heavily wrinkled face. What lay on the table displayed a smoothness that was not at all similar to the picture.

“Did you notice this?” he asked.

Of course, she noticed, but Emily also knew the reason for the dramatic change. In life, wrinkles are created when small muscles in the face lose their tone while others maintain it. After the body ceases to function, all the facial muscles relax, resulting in the skin smoothing itself into something nearly unrecognizable – even by those whose best knew the deceased. It was a change that not be corrected. “Yes,” Emily replied. “I know.”

Now, Jonathan decided to test her, knowing that the disappearance of wrinkles could not be reversed. “What are you going to do about this?” he asked. Emily didn’t spend a lot of time on the question, and answered promptly answered. “There’s nothing you can do about,” she replied. “That’s just what happens when the muscles relax.” Jonathan grinned slightly as he nodded his head. “You’re quick, aren’t you?” he asked. Emily wasn’t one for receiving a lot of attention as it made her feel self-conscious, but she was willing to take a pat on the back whenever she could get it. “It’s pretty basic, really,” she replied.

Looking down at the body, Jonathan straightened the skirt slightly when he realized that Emily had dressed the body by herself. Normally, such a task required two people. This left him somewhat perplexed as to how she could have accomplished this herself.

“You dressed the client by yourself?” he asked. “Maybe you should have waited until after the service and I could have helped you.” The body was thin and frail, making it easy for one person to dress it.

“It’s not that big a deal,” Emily said. “I mean, look how tiny she is.”

Although she made her point, Jonathan kindly asked that he be allowed to assist her next time to ensure there were no accidents. One slip and the body could roll off the table and onto the floor, creating a set of problems that would require immediate repair. Emily agreed.