CHAPTER 8
"Good morning. I'm Michael Osterhouse, may I help you?" The tall man behind the desk at the Osterhouse Pet Cemetery and Crematorium stood and shook hands with Matt and CJ.
"Yes, I believe you can. We're interested in pre-planning a service for our cat. He's getting older and not in the best of health lately." Matt felt creepy just shaking the man's hand.
"How responsible of you. We prefer that our clients pre-plan for the event, as it makes things so much easier on everyone in the end." Mr. Osterhouse stepped around the desk. "Are you interested in the traditional burial, cremation, or cremation burial?" He walked over to a display of urns and memorial stones.
"Well Hoyt, that's our cat, is traditional I guess you could say, so maybe the traditional burial would be best?" Matt looked at CJ.
"Yes, I think that would be best." As Osterhouse turned toward another display, CJ stifled a small giggle. She whispered in Matt's ear, "Hoyt? Are you kidding me?" Matt just shrugged his shoulders and followed Osterhouse to the far side of the room.
CJ followed and they listened as the man made his sales pitch. When Matt finally got the chance to speak, he asked about flowers. "Do folks generally have flowers at these services or is that a people-only kind of thing?" Not the most graceful way to ask the question, Mattlock! he thought to himself, but Osterhouse didn't seem to find it at all unusual.
"Some of our clients choose to have flowers at the services, but not many." He moved over to a catalog that showed different types of funeral arrangements.
"So you mean folks actually get arrangements, say one made out of roses, for their pets?" Matt was watching Osterhouse out of the corner of his eye. He noticed the man's expression change to one of slight discomfort.
"Some, yes. But as I say, most do not." Osterhouse then changed the subject to caskets and memorial stones.
"Mr. Osterhouse, we appreciate your help. I believe we need to discuss this matter further at home. We wouldn't want to rush into anything. Hoyt is very meticulous and we would want his service to reflect that." Matt wanted so badly to run out of the building, but managed to control the urge and calmly escort CJ out of the door and to his truck. As they drove away, he looked at her and said, "I have the most uncomfortable feeling about this guy. We need to do some more digging on him."
"I believe you're right." CJ started to giggle again. "So are we going to tell Hoyt about this?"
Matt just grinned. "I don't think I'm ready for the traditional burial service just yet, so maybe we better keep mum on it."