by JN Lenz
Begrudgingly I turned back to older larger lady who had finally stopped talking only because she had already opened the box and had made her selection from out of the assorted box of six muffins and had already consumed half of it
.” Sorry and I never caught your name”
I questioned the larger lady as I watched her stuff the remainder of the muffin in her mouth, being slightly embarrassed when she realized I had turned and was talking to her “Gladass” the large older lady mumbled through the mouthful of muffin along with a few small pieces of muffin that flew from her mouth as she attempted to tell me her name was Gladys. The attractive lady named Julie let out a short giggle before offering a “nice one Gladys, glad I’m holding on to my coffee” and the four of us including Gladys who had now swallowed the remaining muffin had a good laugh.
“Well isn’t this a nice break in the evening, what a nice surprise” added a lady who had just emerged from the opposite side of the front desk with another stunningly beautiful girl, but this time the girl was much younger and perhaps the same age as me
“You weren’t kidding, I thought this was going to be some dumb joke by these two, how nice is this, how sweet.”
Chirps the second of the two ladies that had just arrived at the front desk and the one I could tell I was staring right at. I couldn’t help myself the woman was gorgeous, what the hell is with this place two stunningly beautiful women both working night shift in a small town nursing home. There was never anyone that looked like this when Clyde and I had helped Fred deliver flowers here in the day time; I managed to get a quick look at young girl’s left hand before she began to speak again and no ring!
“My name is Lilly what brings you out this late in the evening bringing treats to a bunch of lonely hard working ladies” the pretty girl named Lilly asked jokingly looking back at me, I was still staring right at her I couldn’t help it, and she said “lonely girl” oh I like this girl my thoughts interrupted by the lady Lilly had arrived from the back with who introduced herself
“Hello I’m Jane, thank you again for this what a nice way to break up the night”. I was glad the lady named Jane had said something which finally allowed me to break the staring at Lilly which was about to get awkward
“My pleasure ladies I know how that can be when you can’t leave, just thought it might break up the routine for you ladies performing such good care for our elderly. Now I think I remember everyone’s name I’m getting better and better at remembering names all the time, Fred has been teaching me about remembering everyone’s name, boy he sure knows everyone’s name around town here plus who they are related too!
“So we have Jane, Julie and Joan” I rhymed the three off quickly and in succession which got me a cheap laugh from the ladies so I stopped for a second before continuing” then there is Gladys and of course Lilly”
I left Lilly’s name for last so I could take another good look at her again before I attempted to spread my gazes towards the other four ladies standing around the front counter so not to come across like some kind of creeper. I continued to talk asking the ladies more and more questions about them, Julie certainly was not hard to look at either so that helped be focus on someone else other than Lilly who would end up seconds later stating “
I thought these two up here were just playing one of their little tricks on me, I’m fairly new around here so they like to pick on me” Lilly stated playfully as she pats me on the arm as she passed in front of me to add a creamer to one of the three remaining coffee’s adding a” Thanks so much, I can use this” all the while giving me a big wide beautiful smile. Holly Christ I thought I was gonna wet myself, this beautiful thing is a bit of a piece of work too with a sense of humor, thankfully the longer she kept talking to me the more of a chance I have to check her out and she just kept getting prettier.
“Completely my pleasure, really” I quickly replied with my own big smile and I meant every word looking at her was really my pleasure. The funny thing is that burning pit that I had in my stomach the entire drive over here to the Nursing Home was now completely gone, for a moment I had completely forgotten why Clyde and I had made that surprise visit to the Nursing Home.
“So there are just five of you ladies working tonight and there are no more ladies or gentlemen working at all?” Swiveling as I continued talking asking everyone if there was anyone else working, I wanted to make sure Clyde was in the clear and free from any interruptions while he was in old lady Preston’s room. Still I could not help my eyes from continually returning to Lilly, she was stunning and even better there is no ring on either hand, that is unless she removes it while she worked which is a possibility as well. Perhaps this was a work thing, but if I pray enough maybe I can find out if she is still single.
“Just the five of us working tonight” large Wendy stated as she eyed the last remaining muffin which sat in the far corner of the box furthest from Wendy’s reach.” Well maybe I’ll have another coffee if there is one left; I sure don’t want that muffin though I just ate so who ever would like it please help yourself” I offered as I motioned my hand towards the box which contained the last of the six muffins.
“Anyone else care for this” Wendy asked as she began to motion toward the box in a sign that she had already claimed the remaining muffin as the conversation continued with the other ladies. I began to add a cream to my coffee when Lilly who had been watching me remove the lid from the remaining coffee added
“Looks like you just take cream in your coffee and no sugar just like me. I could not help myself and replied with the cheesy line of “ well you for sure are already sweet enough, but me now that is another story” which elicited another small giggle and a big smile from the lovely Lilly, sweet is right I thought to myself as the conversation among the women continued.
Julie adding to the conversation commented on the arrangement of white roses that Clyde had set on the front counter before disappearing down the hall towards old lady Preston’s room
“I just love white roses, you don’t see them nearly as much as the red ones but I think they are the prettiest” tell me I did not get the better end of this deal I could not help but think as the conversation and my eyes followed both the beautiful Julie and the stunning Lilly as they continues to make small talk with me, I had almost completely blocked out the other three ladies by this point.
“Yes the white ones are very classy looking I think” I replied looking at Julie, Fred told us it was common practice for the funeral home to donate some of the many flowers the grieving families did not wish to take home with them. Nursing Homes and the local hospital were the two most common recipients of the donated flowers; it did make more sense than simply throwing them in the garbage following the funeral service. That was part of the beauty In Clyde’s plan since the past practice of Fred making frequent visits to the local Nursing Homes to deliver flowers meant we drew absolutely no suspicion to ourselves by arriving unannounced at the Nursing Home plus the sight of one of us walking the halls went completely unquestioned as the entire staff was familiar with the Funeral Homes flower donations.
While I spent my time enjoying the sights and company at the front desk Clyde had made his way to Old lady Preston’s room which was at the end of the secondary hall and close to the main common Lounge where Clyde had already placed the second and larger of the two flower arrangements we arrived with. Checking both directions after placing the mixed arrangement of Orchids and what looked like an assortment of wild flowers, (none of which I would know the name of) on the large center coffee table on the far side of the room.
Turning and exiting the Nursing Home Lounge, Clyde turned right after taking a look to the left to see an empty hallway. Walking quietly the short distance to the third door on the right hand side of the hall, he paused just short of old lady Preston’s door. Removing the thin pair of Latex gloves from his pocket, Clyde would slip the gloves on fully before entering the room.
The Funeral Home and its cars al
ways had an ample supply of Latex gloves; one never knew when you would be required to extract a cadaver, in particular when some of the bodies would be in a slightly more decomposed state than would be desired when performing this kind of work. While taking a long deep breath quietly beside the closed door, the mole on Clyde’s neck would send a sharp fast shot of pain into the back of his spine.
He would immediately push down ever so carefully on the stainless L shaped handle set on the left hand side of the metal door. The commercial grade hardware and door handle opened the solid wood door silently and smoothly, nice no creaky door thought Clyde as he pushed the door slowly open. Pushing his body flat against the door as it silently opened initially only displaying the room wall to Clyde before opening wide enough to reveal a full size mirror almost directly across from old lady Preston’s bed. Stopping the doors movement just inside the room enough to view the edge of the mirror and it’s reflection to the full sized hospital bed that resided on the opposite side of the room.
The old lady would also have a view of the opening door if she had been sitting up and still awake, Clyde would be able to clearly see the old lady asleep, her eyes firmly her body covered with a set of the clinical white sheets stretched tightly across the bed. Clyde has had the ability to move into an area quietly in an almost human stealth kind of way, I can’t remember how many times that prick had scared the shit out of me in the past, sneaking up and freak me out after catching me by surprise.
Clyde would later tell me he already thought while he watched the sleeping Ms. Preston that everything so far was going precisely to plan with no surprises. He would quietly and easily completely enter old lady Preston’s room totally undetected by the Nursing Home staffs that were currently standing at the front desk. With all the night shift employees’ currently holding residence at the front desk and the Homes residents themselves sealed into their rooms for the night all with the doors tightly closed. It was already half past ten so the last regular round and check of the residents had been completed for the evening some time ago. As the door fully opened it would reveal a modest sized room that was sparsely furnished with the exception of a couple of its contents.
The primary furnishing being her medical bed which was one of the most elaborate and expensive Clyde had ever seen, in the corner next to the bed stood a tall maple dresser with ornate rope edging surrounding the intricate mill work on each of the pieces six drawers, a single black and white photograph of a couple dating back to maybe the nineteen thirties was most likely old lady Preston’s parents. The only other item on the tall Maple dresser was a stunning gold and blue colored Faberge egg.
Although Clyde knew very little about such things as Faberge eggs other than maybe seeing a few pictures of them but after studying the old ladies file several times which included requests for a number of top quality items to be used for her Service following her death including a custom designed and finished casket. This and the fact that she was still one of Largo’s richest residents precluded that chances were the gem filled masterpiece was an authentic Faberge. Other than those few items considering her high net worth there were few other signs in the room she would die in to reveal the depths of her wealth.
The only other item on display in the last room this woman would ever see was an impressive looking painting on the right hand wall, a French impressionist piece Clyde thought looking at it for a moment but like the egg his knowledge of fine art was next to nothing, maybe it was a real Monet, that’s what artist Clyde thought may have painted the garden mural full of blues and greens, not like she couldn’t afford a real Monet. Other than the dresser with the Faberge egg, the painting and the bed there was only a small desk in the opposite corner which held a reading lamp, and a small TV .That and a soft leather wing back chair that sat against the near wall being all that resided in her room.
By the time Clyde had taken a quick look around the room old lady Preston was still lying there in the bed in a half elevated position just she was when he had first looked at her but now her eyes were wide open.
“Yes, yes, yes “the old lady croaked as she stared straight out across the room as she simultaneously raised her hand in Clyde’s direction gesturing for Clyde him to come closer. Clyde walked toward the old lady as he pointed to her pillows asking her in a soft quiet voice if she would like them “puffed up a bit.”
”Yes, yes” old lady Preston replied still staring off with her head facing straight ahead. Clyde would reach down and pull the pillow from the lower shelf of the night table which also housed an alarm clock/radio combination, a black rotary phone and a bronze table lamp with a multi colored stained glass shade which was presently turned on all three items resided on the top shelf of the night table. The soft glow from the colorful glass of the lamp shade would cast it’s kaleidoscope of colors on the white pillow as Clyde pulled it up from the shelf past the lamp.
Securing each of his hands on both ends of the puffy down filled pillow Clyde raised it up and in front of old lady Preston’s head and with one swift movement pushed the pillow hard into the face of the old lady her eyes still wide open as the pillow closed in on her face.
Clyde would continue pushing forcefully against the face of the old lady for several minutes, methodically counting the time off in his head as the seconds turned into minutes. Old lady Preston must have been in dazed or imaginary world at the time of her death, either that or she had been happy for the visit of her personal grim reaper for the wealthy heiress who would never marry for Clyde this was the nights first surprise as there would be no struggle by the old lady during her suffocation. As Clyde counted to a full three hundred and sixty seconds, he was amazed how the old lady could control her bodies involuntary reaction to having its oxygen supply completely cut. Throughout the suffocation, her arms and legs remained completely still under fully covered tightly pulled white sheets.
Clyde would methodically count to the full three hundred and sixty seconds before he released the pressure from his arms on old lady Preston’s face. This despite the fact that she had not made a move at all after the one hundred and sixty second mark, following the pillow’s point of contact with old lady Preston’s face.
Pulling the pillow back from her face revealed the eyes which were still wide open, along with old lady Preston’s mouth which was also an open gap, fully revealing her lack of teeth. Clyde would fluff the pillow out before carefully placing it back precisely on the shelf with the open end of the pillow case facing toward the back of the night table, exactly as it was before he had removed it. Looking back over at old lady Preston, Clyde would reach across her face and push her open eye lids closed.
With her mouth still open from its search of air to pull into her empty lungs, Clyde inserted a cough mint he had retrieved from his left coat pocket and inserted it partially down old lady Preston’s throat. He wedged it solidly into the old ladies trachea using a clamp from the funeral home embalming room which had also been in one of the pockets in the light bomber jacket Clyde was wearing.
After replacing the clamp in his left coat pocket Clyde removed an opened packet of identical mints and placed them in one of the storage pockets which lined both sides of the elaborate motorized hospital bed. Following that Clyde had one last quick look around the motionless body, even the sheets remained pulled tightly around the old ladies body a result of the absence of any real defense during her suffocation.
The room and bed looked precisely as it had when he entered the room only minutes earlier; Clyde turned and walked towards the hall pulling the Latex gloves from his left hand and slipped it into his coat pocket. After opening the closed door of old lady Preston’s room Clyde would peek up and down each hall from the partially opened door to ensure the hall remained empty, after checking both directions and seeing nothing but two empty halls Clyde stepped back out into the hall where he immediately pulled the second glove off his right hand after releasing the door handle and pushed it into his front jean pocket.
Once out into the empty hall Clyde retraced his steps back out to the main front desk of the Nursing Home where Julie who had heard him walking as he approached the front desk turned and commented to Clyde.” Facing in the opposite direction of Julie I had been watching as Clyde approached from down the hall after he had appeared from around the corner, I noticed he was checking out Julie’s ass as he approached.
” Well here is the partner in kindness, thank you so much for the great little surprise”. Looking up as Julie pivoted to greet him Clyde responded with a smile
“I’m so glad you liked it”
After which he gave me a quick glance and a slight nod up and down with his head. He had done it, I thought as the four ladies began to thank Clyde for the unexpected treats. The conversation with the ladies switched over to Clyde, beyond the unmistakable nod, the manner in which he was responding to the ladies confirmed Clyde had succeeded with the murder.
I heard the lady that had come out from the back with Lilly also thanking Clyde as I retracted his steps in my mind as he had returned to the front desk looking confident and a cheerful look on his face coupled with his warm responses had to mean only one thing and that everything had gone according to plan, I was already certain of it even before hearing the words from Clyde in confirmation.
I would catch a “Our pleasure ladies” or a “a group of hard working ladies like you can use a break I’m sure” as my mind raced between what had just happened in the room of old lady Preston and thoughts of beautiful Lilly, I wanted to ask her out there and then but I was not prepared to do that in front of everyone.
“ We better head back to the funeral home still a bit more work to accomplish before the end of the night” Clyde would tell the ladies who had all fully finished their coffee and muffins, his voice remained calm but still cheerful.