There was another viewing tonight. I offered to go along with Grandma Mazur to check out the new funeral home. I know, don't volunteer. Well, Andy needs a break and I'm not going to throw Ranger in with all those crazy, old ladies. I have to find out who is kidnapping dead bodies.

I came home after dropping Jerome Baker off. He was such an ass. About half way to the police station, he forgot his lesson and started kicking the seat and trying to open the back door with his hands cuffed behind his back, all while shouting at me. I calmly reached back and zapped his ass. Yeah, yeah, I know. Turning over a new, non-violent, kick ass leaf. Well, he's an ass and I need to work on my calm skills. I'm not Ranger here. Besides, as I zapped him, I thought about what this cretin did on a regular basis to the woman he had vowed to protect and cherish for the rest of his life. I don't like bullies, okay?

I showered and pulled on my "nice and normal" look. A pair of black pants and a white, button up the front blouse. I may not be 'burg and my Grandmother may not care, but I am not wearing a miniskirt to a funeral home. I put on the minimum amount of make up and fixed my hair a little. It was a curly mess. I have accepted this, but that doesn't stop me from trying to fix it every chance I get. I gave up and figured what the hell? It's a just a showing.

Ranger was in the kitchen, when I finally got out of the bathroom. I kissed him quickly as I walked past him to the fridge. I grabbed a couple of grapes for Rex and a beer for me.

"Drinking this early?" He sounded amused.

"I have to deal with Grandma Mazur and half the crazy old women of the 'burg for the next couple of hours all while trying to solve the mystery of who's stealing dead bodies. Trust me, I need this." He tilted his head back and laughed. I think I could happily spend the rest of my life making him laugh like that and I would feel like the most successful woman on the planet.

He locked on me with his dark eyes. He moved closer as if he was stalking his prey, tilting my head back and touched my neck with his amazing lips. Just when it was about to get interesting, my cell phone buzzed. I groaned and he chuckled as he moved away. He took the grapes from my hand and went to bond with Rex while I scrambled to find my phone.

"Hello?" I spoke slightly breathlessly.

"Hey, you're improving with that!" Marcus's slightly flat voice came after a slight pause. I laughed and slid up on the kitchen counter.

"Well, it's a lot of work but I do it just for you."

"Aw, how sweet of you! Listen, I know this is probably going to sound incredibly needy of me, but I'm bored out of my mind. You doing anything tonight?" I laughed slightly.

"Just a funeral home showing."

"Uh, a what?"

"You know, the funeral home displays the dead person before burial for the family and friends."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"What? Oh, no, I didn't know them."

"And you going?"

"My Grandmother loves these things. There are kind of the social event for the older 'burg people."

"Quaint. Mind if I go?"

"What are you crazy?"

"No, just really tired of staring at the same four walls."

"I'll pick you up in about a half an hour."

"Great. Uh, what do I wear to one of these things?" I laughed and helped him figured something out.

"Men," I said laughing as I hung up. "They get lost in the closet." Ranger quirked an eyebrow at me. I had told Andy to drop by earlier to eat with us so we could catch up. He knocked and walked in just after I got off the phone with Marcus.

"So, are you up for an evening of mayhem and Mazur?" Andy came in and kissed me and handed Ranger a box of takeout from Maggio's. Maggio's was the new family owned restaurant in the 'burg. It opened about six months ago and nearly didn't get off the ground. With a little help from Connie and the rest of us, they threw a party for the 'burg police officers and it was so successful that the family became 'burg over night.

I groaned, but tried to pull on a stiff upper lip. "I think I have to be. Now, Marcus is going with us."

"Marcus?" Andy had the strangest look on his face as he dug through our silverware drawer.

"Yeah, you met him yesterday. Marcus Wright, good looking guy, about Ranger's height, deaf?" Andy tossed me a glare and went and sat down at the table, waiting for Ranger and me to join him.

"I remember him, I just can't figure out why you would be going out with him." I looked between Ranger and Andy, trying to figure out what I missed. Ranger was watching Andy with a blank face and Andy was staring at me, a little bit of color on his cheeks. Why was he getting so worked up?

"What's wrong with Marcus?" I asked softly. Andy rolled his eyes, still not realizing that we were both focused on him.

"He's a pompous playboy with an attitude. I just don't think he is good for you to be around." I was about to argue with his unfair statement when Ranger stuffed a breadstick in my mouth and asked Andy how his day had been. After that, Andy calmed down and told us a few stories about his interesting clientele and how the mayor was dragging his feet on approving a youth center off Stark Street. The three of us chatted easily for a while until I had to leave. I kissed Ranger and waved to Andy, heading for the car.

XxXxXxX

I picked up Grandma Mazur first and told her who would be joining us.

"Oh, good! Is he single?" She had a sly grin on her face.

"Um, I'm not sure. We haven't really discussed that, yet." But I'm pretty sure she would not be his type. Marcus was waiting for us again, just finishing a cigarette.

"Oh, I think it's so sexy when a man smokes." I looked at Grandma trying to figure out what was going on in her head. "Don't you, Stephanie?" She asked as Marcus climbed in.

"It's not a deal breaker." I answered and turned around to Marcus, introducing him to Grandma Mazur. She followed my example and turned around in her seat to talk to him all the way to Johnson's Funeral Parlor. Sounds so innocent, huh? I winced as she asked him all about his sex life and then, about his, uh hem, male parts. He asked her to repeat some things because he hadn't understood the first time and gamely went along. He answered most of her questions and danced around the ones that were too intrusive.

"Have you ever had sex with another man?" Grandma asked, gleeful that someone would satisfy her every curiosity.

"Um…no, but I'm not closed to the possibility."

"Have you ever…"

"Grandma, we're here."

"Oh, darn. It was just getting good." She pouted and got out of the car. She was already intent on her new mission. She leaned back in and faced Marcus. "We'll continue this later." He just nodded seriously and I dropped my head to the steering wheel. Oh, god. Marcus rubbed my back and pulled Star out, waiting for me on the outside.

I got out of the car unwillingly and led Marcus into Johnson's Funeral Parlor. It was a very nice building, with warm wood floors and cream walls decorated by landscapes. We found Grandma Mazur standing by the cookies, chatting with Elda Carmine, a woman that lived about a block over from us. As we were walking closer to Grandma, Marcus was stopped by a very unusual looking man. He was a little on the short side, about half a head shorter than me, and his back was just slightly hunched. He had a rather plain face and a nervous twitch in his cheek.

"Excuse me?" He said to Marcus as we passed him. Marcus hadn't seen him and kept walking. I stopped him and pointed out the young man. "Hello, I haven't seen you around here before." He continued. My jaw almost dropped, he was hitting on Marcus. Right in the middle of the funeral home, he was hitting on a man that could very well be straight. Jeesh.

Marcus hadn't picked up his words but he must have understood from body language. Instead of saying something to the poor boy and embarrassing him, he turned to me and started signing rapid fire. I have no idea what he was saying but his face told me to play along.

"Um, he says that he is here to see his Great-grandmother buried and that it was just such a shock to lose her. He is so grateful to the staff of the parlor for making this as painless as it has been." Marcus stopped and nodded to the shocked man. "We had probably better get into the showing." I noticed Grandma moving toward the doors without us. We nodded to the young man and followed her without another word.

It was crowded inside. I left Marcus at the back and caught up with Grandma Mazur as she headed to the closed casket to pay her last respects to Birdie What's-her-name. "I don't know why it would be a closed casket. She died peacefully in her bed." Grandma mused as we edged closer. "Maybe, we should take a look to make sure she's still in there."

"Grandma, I'm sure Birdie is still in her casket."

"But what if she isn't?"

"It was the family's wish to have her casket closed." Grandma huffed at this. When we came to the casket, she laid her hand on the half that had the head and made a big show about saying goodbye to her "dear friend". Oh, god. She's trying to open the casket. I looked around and tried to shield her from view. The next thing I know, Grandma is shrieking and the casket is tilting off its stand. Oh, God, I am definitely going to hell or at least never getting dessert again. A body spilled out onto the floor and it was not Birdie.

A man with a knife in the center of his chest came to rest at my feet. I bent down to make sure he wasn't still alive with a knife in his heart, got to make sure, people, and read the writing on his jumpsuit.

Morningside Mental Institution.

Uh oh, I think we just found Jack Finney.

XxXxXxX

I sat in Mia Brookline's office sipping on coffee. She had let me take Grandma and Marcus home before coming back in to be questioned.

"How do you always manage to fall into these things?" Her tired voice came from behind me as she led another detective into the room. "This is Detective Donahue. He's homicide and we're working on this together. I'm handling the stolen bodies and he's got the murdered ones." Donahue looked me up and down with a dirty look on his face.

He asked me a few questions then left with a parting leer for both Mia and I.

"That man would make a pass at a corpse if it stood still long enough." Mia shook her head and asked if I was okay.

"Yeah, just wasn't expecting that to happen." Mia leveled a look at me.

"With your life, how can that surprise you?"

"Can you tell me anything about the case?" I looked at her hopefully.

"How about that you stay away from it?"

"C'mon, Mia, Grandma asked me to look into it for her." Mia sighed.

"I shouldn't tell you anything." I begged her with my eyes. "But, something that wasn't released to the press was they hadn't found whole bodies when they search Jack Finney's house. They found pieces missing off of each body."

"Like, cannibalism?"

"No, like a foot here and an arm there. Remind you of a book we read in high school?"

"Oh, god, Frankenstein?" Mia nodded.

"The police haven't found the rest of the body parts, but the ones that were taken were all selected for a reason."

"Eww, that's just wrong."