The Cool Room by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 55

The hospital made the usual phone calls to surrounding funeral home, but upon describing the condition of the deceased, many refused to provide their services. They were either overwhelmed with work or unable to offer what the deceased needed. All of them refused, but one. Consulting with Jonathan and Emily, Frank had the courage to say yes. He knew there would be no service as the man had never been identified, but Frank believed he deserved the dignity of proper funerary preparation. They would at least try, and if all attempts failed they would resort to cremation and hand off the urn to the state.

Within the hour, Jonathan and Emily were on their way to Albany, where they would pick up their new client. Jonathan had never seen Albany, but Emily had attended college there and saw it as her old stomping ground. Although life was quiet in the small town she now resided in, Albany presented an excitement that only the big city could offer. And yes, she did miss it. But there were more pressing matters to attend to and putting aside her nostalgia, pulled into the rear parking lot parking at the loading dock. As with all new client transportation, they were directed to the morgue, shortly after checking in. With security already waiting, the morgue door was unlocked and as it was opened a cold breeze escaped, caressing the faces of all who stood in the doorway.

“I’m never going to get used to how cold these rooms are,” Emily said.

Jonathan was surprised, given her previous experience.

“You worked in the city morgue for a semester, and you’re still not used to this?” Jonathan asked. “That’s a bit hard to believe.”

Rolling the gurney in, they asked the security officer which body they were here to pick up. Looking at the paperwork on his clipboard, the officer directed them to the stretcher sitting against the far wall.

“Thanks,” Emily said.

As they prepared to move the body, Emily briefly continued their conversation.

“You know, I did wear a sweater most of the time.” The security officer was unaccustomed to being in the morgue and, in spite of it being part of his duties, he quietly backed into the hallway as Jonathan and Emily moved the body.

Having transferred the burned remains into one of the funeral homes’ red body bags, they wheeled the gurney out of the morgue. But as Jonathan signed the body out, he noticed the officer leaning one hand against the wall while the other was placed on his stomach. His face was oddly white and sweat poured down his face. Emily walked up to the man and putting a hand on his back tried to console him. “You’re not really into this, are you?” she asked. The officer, being at a loss for words, had only the strength to nod his head. Emily attempted to further calm him and began coaching him on a breathing technique.

“Now,” she began. “Just breathe. In – hold it. Now, let it out.”

It seemed to work for a few moments until the security officer bent down and placed the other hand against the wall. Emily took this as a warning and stepped back so as not to become a target of what she knew was on the way. Jonathan had taken notice and anticipating the sudden rise of stomach contents pulled Emily back.

“I don’t think you want to be in the way of this,” he said.

Angling the gurney down the hallway, Jonathan went to a phone mounted in the wall directly across from them. A woman’s voice answered and informing her of his location requested that help be sent down to assist the ailing security officer. But just before hanging up, he saw the officer drop to his knees while suddenly vomiting. Sometimes, in the absence of anything noxious, one can cause their own illness by allowing their mind to play the cruelest of tricks. Unfortunately, the security officer had become the victim of a mental state whose reaction hinged on a fear of death.

Help arrived soon as Emily stepped back to the officer and continued her attempt to comfort him. Obviously, it was too late to prevent his illness, but she felt it necessary to help calm him down, hoping it might speed his recovery. Seeing what happened, the arriving officer radioed for the housekeeping department. Now, standing with his ill-struck associate, informed Jonathan and Emily that the matter would be handled. Acknowledging the officer’s veiled request, Jonathan began pulling the gurney down the hall but was stopped by Emily. “Hang on a second,” she said.

Ever the kind-hearted, Emily walked over to the security officer, who now sat on the floor holding his knotted stomach.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked. Beginning to recover, the officer could finally bring himself to speak and managed a brief reply. “Yeah,” he said. “Thanks.”

Returning to Jonathan, she grabbed the back of the gurney.

“We should get going,” she said.

Jonathan nodded but looking back at the security guard who had momentarily arrived he extended a bit of advice.

“You know,” he said. “You should probably have someone else come down here from now on.” Looking away from his sickened co-worker, he nodded in agreement.

“I know,” he said. “But we’re short-staffed.” No sooner did the conversation come to a close than a member of housekeeping arrived and seeing what work laid before her made a comment of her own. “Jesus Christ,” she began. “Not again. Why can’t they have someone else come down here for this?” As she prepared to clean the area, the security guard helped his co-worker to his feet. This signaled an end to an incident that had apparently occurred too often, leaving Jonathan and Emily to go on their way. Jonathan had already skimmed the medical report, but neither were truly aware of what they would find when their new client was exposed for examination.