Cut Back by Todd Strasser

Author:Todd Strasser
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Twenty-five

Kai went around to the passenger side of the hearse and got in. “Where’re we going?”

“Belle Harbor.”

Belle Harbor was the next town east of Sun Haven. Where to the west Fairport was mostly middle-class residential houses, and Sun Haven was trying to be an upscale, fancy, family resort town, Belle Harbor was known for being a place where only really rich people lived.

“Why are we going there?” Kai asked.

“I’m going there because I got a stiff to deliver,” Bean said, making a screeching illegal U-turn in the middle of Main Street. “You’re going there because five minutes ago that was the direction a certain red Jeep was going.”

“Being driven by a guy with yellow dreads?” Kai guessed.

“You got it.”

They got out of Sun Haven. Main Street became Seaside Drive again. Bean had blues playing on the sound system.

“Who’s that?” Kai asked.

“Buddy Guy”

“Sounds good”

“Of course.”

Kai glanced into the back of the hearse. The shiny dark brown casket had fancy-looking brass handles. “There really a dead body in there?”

“Indeed,” Bean answered.

“How come you’re taking it to Belle Harbor?”

“People have this strange way of dying unexpectedly” Bean said. “Sometimes one funeral home has more stiffs than it knows what to do with, while the funeral home in the next town is pretty quiet. So the busy one’ll farm a few bodies out. Belle Harbor got busy this week so they asked us if we could dress this guy for them.”

“Dress?”

“Drain ’em, embalm ’em, make ’em up, dress ’em up in their Sunday best.”

Kai was suddenly glad he hadn’t had much for breakfast. “How’d this one die?”

Bean shrugged. “You got me. All I know is, whenever it gets really hot out, the old ones start dropping like flies. Happens every summer. And Belle Harbors got plenty of old ones.”

“Weird.”

“Not really. Just life.”

“You mean, death.”

“Death is part of life,” Bean said. “Only its one of the parts no one likes to think about.”

“So how do you know Goldilocks was going to Belle Harbor?” Kai asked.

“I don’t,” answered Bean. “But there ain’t much after Belle Harbor so I figure it’s worth a look. In fact, speak of the devil …”

Bean slowed the hearse down. Kai instantly saw why. Up ahead, the red Jeep was pulling out of the parking lot of a big barnlike club called 88s that advertised live music nightly.

“Am I good?” Bean asked. “I mean, am I good or what?”

“You’re great,” Kai said without enthusiasm.

“What’s wrong?” Bean asked. “I thought you’d be totally stoked to find this guy.”

“I am, Bean, really. I appreciate this. Only now that we’ve found him, what are we gonna do?”

“Follow him.”

“In a hearse?”

Bean turned to Kai and blinked. “You mean, you think he might notice?”

Kai rolled his eyes toward the hearses ceiling. “Yeah, Bean, I mean, I think most people tend to notice when a hearse is following them.”

Bean started to slow down. “Then I’ll back off. We can follow from a couple of cars behind. Its not like we’re gonna lose him in traffic around here.”

Some cars passed the hearse and then Bean accelerated back up to the speed limit.

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