Act Five: Danger

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"Never... Again-"
Finally, the weight of the casket was hoisted down from the carriage and I took a minute to catch my breath.
The Undertaker must've been an athlete in another life though because he wasn't winded in the slightest.
The man helped me set the casket down on the sidewalk so I could take some slow breaths and gather myself again. I never needed to exercise this much back at the manor, I wasn't prepared for that at all.
"Dreadfully sorry," He teased a bit, "I would've used another way, but you aren't ready. I did request you stay behind though~"
"Don't patronize me," I inhaled before I pulled myself back up tall. I would've asked what he meant, but truly, in that moment, I didn't even care, I could hardly think, "Is she seriously the newest victim of that serial killer case though?"
"No doubt about it," The mortician traced a finger over the casket's lid as he spoke, "A single stab wound to the heart. Our last girl was twenty, a middle-class woman. This one is twenty-nine, high class. Seems our killer doesn't discriminate between social classes, hm?"

I thought back to what the prior visitors spoke about. It fit the age range too, between eighteen and thirty, right? There had to be more of a connection, didn't there? Crap, I was too tired to consider anything else.
After a minutes to catch my breath, we picked up the casket once more and brought her inside the shop to place her with the rest of the bodies,
"Luckily, this lady had a will," The Undertaker chimed in after we positioned her, "She wishes to be cremated. Because this is a murder case though, we can't do such a thing immediately until the Yard examines the corpse. So, we'll prepare for temporary preservation~"
Cremation... Like burning?
I looked across her body carefully, slightly nervous, but I had to ask,
"She's... A bit larger than most of your bodies. How will you..."
"No need to worry, of course I have the accommodations for all body types!" With a giggle, he covered his mouth with a sleeve, "Larger bodies must burn longer, so she'll be going in the morning after their examination and burn most of the day!"
Why did he sound so excited about that? I was learning new things about this line of work, but damn it-! I was learning things I didn't want to know!
Once the body was ready and placed in a temporary ice coffin, I moved back upstairs first to get out of the basement fridge.
With a sigh, I heard the door close behind me,
"An exciting day!" A hand fell on my shoulder, "But sadly, it's getting a bit late. Time to go home for you~"
"No!"
I didn't mean to yell, nor did I intend to sound so brash and quick to respond, but... Just the thought of returning home sent a shiver down my spine.
Not with them, please don't make me go back-!

The Undertaker pulled back his hand with a look of surprise, frowning ever so lightly,
"No? Working on a day off and now you don't want to leave? My, it sounds like you're rather troubled, (Y/N)."
I didn't care to explain my private details about my home life, all he needed to know was that I didn't intend to go back for a while, it wasn't anyone else's business but my own.
The mortician walked past me, his long dark robes dragging around his feet as he walked.
I found myself watching the gentle swaying of his silver hair before he stopped and turned around to face me once more,
"Well, I won't pester the little noble, not any business for someone like myself~ You don't intend to stay here though, do you?"
Damn, he... Made a good point. I wouldn't go home, sure, but where else would I go? I didn't exactly grab a pile of money for a hotel when I was sneaking out of the manor, I didn't think that far ahead when I was seeing red.
And sleeping in a funeral home?
Did I even need to say how uncomfortable that was?
I opened my mouth, ready to question Undertaker about staying at his place, but stopped myself. No way, I only knew him for a few days, a week at most, I didn't know him like that. Even if I asked, why in heavens would he agree to that?

To my silence, the mortician exhaled, hands on hips,
"You're in quite the predicament. I'd say it's unorthodox, but you may stay with me for the night."

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