dog for a week. She'd suffered some of the strangest dreams too, filled with handsome, silver-eyed corpses that sat up on gurneys and spoke to her. But those had stopped as she started to feel better, and for the first time since she'd got the job on the hospital morgue night shift, Rachel was glad to be coming to work.
Well, mostly glad. She was a morning person and genuinely hated working nights. She liked daylight. Working all night then sleeping all day was annoying and made her moody, and she couldn't seem to sleep in the evening. It was only after her shift, when Rachel dragged her exhausted self home, that she was able to sleep, and then it was interrupted slumber, up and down, waking then falling back to sleep.
"I hear you were pretty sick. This isn't much of a welcome back. Sorry," Dale said as Rachel grabbed a table and wheeled it over next to the stretcher.
"What is it?" she asked curiously.
"Crispy critter." Fred tugged the sheet free to reveal the charred remains of a burn victim.
"House fire?" Rachel asked with a grimace.
"Car explosion. He was caught in the blast," Dale answered.
"Yeah." Fred stared at the body, then shook his head. "Strange thing was, we thought there was a heartbeat. We got him in the ambulance, no beat. Then, halfway here, there's another beat. Then no beat again. The guy couldn't decide if he was dead or not, I guess. The doc pronounced him dead when we got here."
Rachel glanced curiously at the corpse, then took the clipboard Dale held out.
"Where's Tony?" the EMT asked as he watched her sign the necessary papers.
"He's off. Sick."
"Caught your flu bug, did he?" Fred chuckled.
"Not from me. From his nurse friend." Rachel watched them shift the body to the steel table, then she returned the clipboard.
"So, I hear we're not going to have your smiling face around here at night anymore," Dale said. "Congratulations."
"Congratulations?" Rachel stared at him blankly.
"On getting the assistant coroner job. Tony told us about it last time we were here."
Rachel's jaw dropped. "What?"
Fred and Dale exchanged glances, but it was Fred who finally said, "Er... Tony said Bob was going to tell you as soon as you got back to work. Bob told you, right?"
Rachel just stared. Bob was Robert Clayton, the coroner. He worked the day shift but often dropped in to give instructions and get reports at the beginning of the night. He hadn't done so tonight. "Jenny told me he called in sick today too. I guess it's his turn to have the flu," she said.
"Oh, shoot, we ruined the surprise."
Rachel continued to stare, but she found herself grinning. She had gotten the assistant coroner's job. She would be off the night shift soon. She'd got it! "Guys!" Rachel began excitedly, then hesitated and asked, "This isn't a joke, right? You aren't pulling my leg?"
Both men shook their heads but looked apologetic. "Nope. You got the job. Just try to act surprised when Bob tells you. I don't want to get Tony in trouble."
Dale grunted as she launched herself at his chest. Catching him in a hug, she squeezed as tight as she could and laughed happily. "I got the job! Thank you, thank you, for telling me. Man! This is great news. No more nights. No more trying to sleep through buddy next door mowing his lawn. No more not being able to go out with friends 'cause I have to work. This is brilliant!"
"I take it you're happy, then?" Fred laughed as she released Dale and turned to hug him.
"Oh, you'll never know," Rachel said blissfully. "I absolutely, positively hate the night shift."
"Well, we'll miss your smiling face," Dale said. "But we're glad you're happy."
"Yup. Just remember to act surprised when Bob tells you," Fred said, patting her shoulder. He glanced at Dale. "We should get back to work."
Rachel stood, smiling as they left, then turned to the gurney and surveyed her guest. She would have to remove his belongings if there was anything left intact, then strip him, tag him, and move him to one of the freezer drawers. She couldn't do it by herself; she'd need help moving the body.
A glance at her watch showed it was nearly midnight. Beth should be arriving soon, a part-timer who filled in when someone was ill. The woman was really getting the hours lately. Normally Beth was the most dependable of workers too, arriving early and willing to work late, but today she'd