by Ann Simas
She went back to the obituary. Clearly, Sherry and Vaughn were still married. He was listed as her husband in the article. She drummed her fingers against the desk, trying to get her thoughts organized, but her brain couldn’t seem to latch on to single cohesive thought.
She got up and retrieved the journal from her purse. At the same time, her phone rang. “Hello, Father Riley.”
“Hi, Andi. I just received a call from Phil and he asked if we could postpone our meeting until eight-thirty. He just discovered that the incorrect time for the viewing was listed in the newspaper and he doesn’t want to be turning people away because of it.”
“No problem,” Andi said. “I’m doing some—”
“Oh, sorry, Andi. I’m getting another call I must take. See you soon.”
Andi disconnected without telling him that the voice had identified herself.
Back at the computer, she sat down and opened a new document in Word, the journal open beside her. She proceeded to make a list of everything Sherry had “said.”
Andi stared at the screen, reading and rereading the one-sided conversations. Even though Vaughn had sold his company, she still didn’t get why Sherry and her husband had moved back to Edgerton. Perhaps it had something to do with them wanting to raise their kids in a slower-paced, less metropolitan environment, or to be closer to family.
Andi got up and retrieved the phone book from a kitchen drawer. Under Spence, she found Edgar and Sally. Sherry’s parents still lived in Edgerton. She wrote down their phone number and noted they were still at the same address. She went back to the computer and sat down, again drumming her fingers against the desk. She glanced at the wall clock. Over two hours remained before she had to meet Father Riley.
Should she call the Spences, or drop by unannounced to offer belated condolences?
They were nice people. They had always treated her well and welcomed her into their home on the occasions Sherry had hosted a social event at her house. She’d even been to a number of slumber parties there, the kind where all the girls stayed awake until the wee hours giggling, listening to music, eating. Sometimes they had talked to boys on the phone, and if the weather was nice, they’d watched for falling stars on back-yard sleepouts. Sherry was the Spences only daughter, and even though they also had three sons, her loss must weigh heavily on them.
Andi made her decision. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. On her way to the Spences, she stopped at a nearby nursery and purchased a star topiary for their yard. She hoped having something that reminded them of happy times with their daughter would help give them solace. She also picked up a sympathy card and wrote a note inside.
Five minutes later, she pulled up in front of the Spence house. Not much had changed over the years. The paint was a different color and shutters had been added to the windows. The landscape was interesting and well-kept, and the swing she’d sat in as a girl still hung on the front porch. With something akin to dread, Andi got out of her car, retrieved the topiary from the back seat, and went up to the door.
The Spences had an old-fashion screen door, but the main door was open. Andy knocked and within moments, Edgar Spence lumbered into the entryway. He squinted at her, then said, “Glory be! Is that you, Andi?” He unlatched the screen and opened the door wide. “Come in, come in! Sally, it’s Andi Comstock, come for a visit!” he called over his shoulder.
“Hello, Mr. Spence. I didn’t know if you’d recognize me.”
“Young lady, a man never forgets a pretty girl, even when he gets old and doddery.”
“Andi! My goodness, it’s been years. How nice to see you!” Sally Spence sidled up next to her husband. “Edgar, take the plant so we can give the girl a proper welcome.”
Edgar did as he was told and put the topiary on a table near the front door. Andi hugged each of them back and said, “I just learned about Sherry, and I wanted to convey my condolences in person.”
In unison, their eyes teared. “That’s so thoughtful, Andi,” Sally said.
“Indeed,” agreed Edgar.
Sally’s glance shot to the topiary. “Thank you for the beautiful plant,” she said, her voice choked with emotion.
“You’re so welcome,” Andi said, her own voice a little warbly. “I thought of Sherry the moment I saw it.”
“She did love looking at the stars, didn’t she?”
Edgar nodded, a single tear coursing down his rough cheek. “Can you stay for a bit, maybe relive some memories of our girl with us?”
“I can stay for a while,” Andi said, using a tissue to wipe her own tears, “but I have an appointment at eight-thirty that, unfortunately, I can’t miss.”
“We understand,” Sally said, grasping Andi’s hand. “Let’s go into the kitchen, shall we? I made an apple pie this afternoon. Does that sound good with some vanilla ice cream on top?”
“It sounds fantastic,” said Andi, who had not yet had dinner. “Thank you. I was afraid I’d be interrupting your supper.”
“No, no,” Edgar said. “We eat early these days.”
While they ate and sipped at their coffees, the three of them remembered Sherry as she had been as a young girl and then a young woman. After that, the Spences filled Andi in on the missing years and ultimately arrived at the day of Sherry’s death.
“We had the kids that day,” Edgar said. “We are so fortunate that they live close by now, so we can see them regularly. Sherry was spending a couple of days in Bellevue, going over business matters, and Vaughn had flown off for a weekend golfing at Pebble Beach with his friends. We volunteered to take the kids, as we always love to do.”
“Sherry arrived home late,” Sally said, picking up the story, “so she called and asked if it would be okay if the kids stayed another night, so she wouldn’t have to wake them to take them home.”
“She said she had another horrible headache and also had been experiencing some gastrointestinal distress,” Edgar contributed. “The Norovirus is going around and she thought she must have caught it. It’s highly contagious, you know.”
Andi nodded. She’d read about it and had morphed into a female Howard Hughes, making sure her hands were washed with soapy water after she had to touch a public surface.
Sally nodded and continued. “The next morning, she never came to pick up the children, and she didn’t answer either her landline or her cell phone, so Eddie went over to see if everything was okay.” Her hands shook so badly, she had to set down her cup.
“Of course, everything was not okay. Our girl was still in her bed, looking like she was sleeping, Eddie said, “but cold as stone. When the emergency people got there, they said she’d died in her sleep.”
At this, Sally lifted her apron to wipe her eyes. “Sherry rarely got sick, Andi. She had all the regular childhood illnesses, but she just never got sick otherwise. Healthy as a horse, her doctor always said.”
“I read in the obituary today that the ME is awaiting toxicology results to determine the cause of …of her death.”
Sally hung her head, sobbing quietly. “I can’t bear that they had to do an autopsy on my beautiful daughter.”
Edgar, sitting next to her, put his arm around her shoulders, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Andi felt terrible for causing them more grief. “I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean….” Her own voice choked with more tears.
Sally Spence lifted her head, again using her apron to wipe her face. “Please, Andi, don’t apologize.” She reached across the table and grasped Andi’s hand. “We need to talk about Sherry with people who knew her. That’s what will keep her memory alive for us. That and the beautiful grandchildren she left us.”
“They must be devastated,” Andi said.
“They are and so is Vaughn. He’s only come out of his house once since the funeral, and that was to attend a memorial service in Bellevue, for people who knew her there.”
“Does he have help with the children?” Andi asked. Caring for two-year-old twins and ano
ther set who were almost five would be a challenge under any circumstances.
“They have a live-in nanny,” Sally said. “You might remember her—Dotty Tobias? She had twin boys herself, but they’ve grown up and moved away and neither has married. She lived next door to us and her husband passed about four years ago. She was looking for something to do and when Sherry and her family moved back, she asked how Dotty felt about being a live-in nanny. Of course, Dotty loves children, so she said yes, and when Sherry had to travel and be gone more than one night, we’d take the children and Dotty could go and visit her sons. One lives in Denver and the other in Phoenix.”
“Vaughn is doing pretty well with the kids,” Edgar said. “They keep asking where their mommy is, and we all try to explain that she’s in Heaven with God. They seem to accept the explanation, but then they ask again, ‘When is Mommy coming home?’”
“They’re too young to understand,” Andi said sympathetically. “I remember Mrs. Tobias. Her boys were freshmen when we were seniors. They were cute, but boy did they love to tease. The oldest one had a big crush on Sherry.”
That drew a chuckle from Edgar. “Older by four minutes and he never lets his brother forget it to this day. He was here last fall and the poor boy was still drooling over Sherry. Vaughn even noticed and couldn’t resist giving the kid a good-natured reminder that his wife was already spoken for.”
“Puppy love,” Sally said, shaking her head fondly.
“Sherry and Vaughn both had their share of people pursuing them, even though they are—I mean were—happily married,” Edgar said.
Her curiosity piqued, Andi asked, “How so?”
Sally said, “Edgar, maybe you shouldn’t….”
“Nonsense! Both Sherry and Vaughn laughed about it, teased each other that they’d both made such a magnificent choice in a mate that others were envious. And they were, too. Sherry and Vaughn both have extraordinary good looks, both are financially successful in their own right, both smart, both personable.” Tears welled again in his eyes. “Both so in love with the other it almost hurt to watch them together sometimes.”
His wife nodded in agreement. “The best we hoped for each of our children was that they would find a soul mate that they would love and live their lives with, like Eddie and I have,” Sally said. She gazed with such adoration into her husband’s eyes, Andi looked away for fear of intruding on their private moment. The Spences reminded her of her own parents, who still looked at each other in the same way. Andi hoped that someday she’d find a man who would exchange such a look of love with her.
“Who else besides the eldest Tobias twin pursued her?” Andi asked.
Sally named off some business associates and friends of both Sherry and Vaughn.
“You mean Vaughn’s own friends openly flirted with his wife?” Andi asked, amazed.
“Yes, but never in full pursuit,” Edgar said. “Vaughn is a big man and no one messes with him. I think they did it more to get a rise out of him, than in any seriousness.”
Sally sniffed. “The women who pursue Vaughn, on the other hand, are not so subtle. That dentist Sherry goes…went to does…did nothing but talk about Vaughn the whole time Sherry was in the chair.”
“That must have been awkward,” Andi said. “Who was Sherry’s dentist?”
“Dawna Stimack,” Edgar said. “Do you remember her? She was two years ahead of you, used to be Dawna Rogers?”
Andi did remember Dawna, and she also remembered that Dawna had given Sherry somewhat of a hard time all through high school, including competing for boys Sherry liked. Apparently, that had never changed. “Sherry probably didn’t like that.”
Sally frowned. “At first, she thought it was amusing. Said Dawna would laugh and giggle, like they were having a school-girl-crush conversation or something. ’Course Sherry couldn’t say much with her mouth open while she was getting the two fillings. After the second visit, Dawna began to make gushy, sly comments about Vaughn and started trying to ‘cozy up,’ as Sherry called it, like she wanted to be Sherry’s best friend.”
Curious, Andy asked, “How so?”
“Sherry had admired Dawna’s complexion, so the dentist gave her some face cream, which she said she used liberally every night. She advised Sherry to do the same, as if Sherry’s beautiful face needed any help that way.”
Sally started to tear up again. Andi sensed her mind was back on the autopsy. She didn’t have much time left before she had to leave for the mortuary, but she couldn’t just get up and walk out on Edgar and Sally Spence, leaving them on a low note. She quickly changed the subject. “Do you have pictures of your grandkids? I’d love to see them.”
CHAPTER 7
Andi pulled up in front of the mortuary at 8:15 p.m. The scent of smoke immediately filled her car. She turned off the ignition and released her seat belt, waiting. Sherry Spence Hemmer did not disappoint.
This is not the way it’s supposed to happen, Andi. I have four beautiful children. I’m married to a smart, successful, incredibly sexy man who loves me as much as I love him. I was happy and now I’m dead. How can that be?
The answer is inside that building, Andi. In the mortuary. I know it. When you talked to Mom and Dad a while ago, it rang a bell for me. It has to do with my teeth, Andi. They hurt all the time after Dawna did that work. And then I started getting sick to my stomach and I thought I was pregnant but I never got a chance to do a stick test. Then I started having diarrhea and I’d down Imodium like it was candy. I had an appointment to see a neurologist about the headaches, but I died before….
This is not the way it’s supposed to happen, Andi. You’ve got to find out why it happened. I don’t want to be caught in this limbo eternally. I need to move on, where others are waiting for me, where I can wait for the ones I love in peace. Please, Andi…help me. Help me….
Tears rolled down Andi’s cheeks. Several minutes later, she was startled by a knock on her window. When she turned, Father Riley was there. The moment he saw her face, he opened the door.
“Andi, what is it?”
Andi stared at him, feeling helpless, grieving deeply for a young life lost.
Andi, please help me!
Her silent tears escalated to heart-rending sobs. Father Riley knelt beside her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, waiting her out.
Somehow, some way, she had to help Sherry.
Once she had herself under control, Andi scavenged for the small tissue box she had in the console. Still sitting in her car, she invited Father Riley to take the passenger seat. He climbed in and she began her story. “Her name is Sherry Spence, and I knew her.” From there, she explained the research she’d done and told him about the visit to Sherry’s parents.
The priest listened in silence. When she was done, he said, “I’m at a loss for words.”
They sat, not talking, until Andi noticed her car clock said 8:29. “We should go in and talk to Mr. Nelson. We can discuss more about this afterward.”
“You’re right.” He put a hand on her arm as she moved to exit the vehicle. “Are you okay, Andi?”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what I am right now, Father.”
He nodded, as if he understood.
Together, they climbed the entry steps to the mortuary and went inside. Phil Nelson, a pleasant-looking man whose age was closer to Andi’s than Father Riley’s, waited near the doorway and greeted them. Father Riley made introductions and the mortician asked her to call him Phil as he led them back to his office.
“I have to admit,” he said, closing the door behind them, “that I am intrigued by your calendar of dots, Andi.”
“I’m pretty intrigued by it, too,” she admitted, taking one of the two chairs facing Phil’s desk.
“Before we talk about those, let me give you a little background on cremation.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Father Riley said.
Andi nodded her agreement. Though she had already researched it pretty thor
oughly on the ’net, there was nothing like getting first-hand information.
Phil Nelson began. “First, you have to know that all cremations are regulated by the state. A person may be cremated in a regular casket or a box comprised of wood, cardboard, or fiberboard. Cremation generally follows a funeral or memorial service almost immediately, unless the service occurs on a weekend, in which case, it occurs on the following Monday. Our crematorium is fired by natural gas and is computerized.
“The body and the container in which it’s housed enter the retort—which is the small room where the cremation occurs—via a motorized conveyor. This keeps heat from escaping. While the burning process occurs, another flame is fired up in a secondary chamber, which burns off any particles or dust in the air that might escape the retort. This reduces emissions, smoke, and odors to the outside.”
“You have a chimney,” Father Riley said.
Phil nodded. “Yes, but it’s no longer functional, just left over from non-automated years.”
“Are you saying there is never a smoke smell outside?” Andi asked.
“Yes. To my knowledge, there is no external smell. We utilize a water mist in our retort in the emissions stack so that escaping particles become trapped.”
Andi and Father Riley exchanged a look.
Phil studied each of them then went on. “After the body is burned, and after the retort is allowed to cool, the cremated remains are collected into a tray with a long-handled instrument that resembles a hoe. At that point, the person operating the crematorium uses an extremely powerful magnet to pick up any metal parts before the remains proceed to the cremulator.”
“What’s that?” Andi asked.
“It’s a grinder. It works sort of like a blender to pulverize the remains before they go into a secure container.”
Andi’s brain went back to another tidbit. “What kinds of metal parts?”
“Fillings, pins or other surgical implants, casket parts.”