the open refrigerator drawers. “Can’t we just incinerate them?”
Kellen shakes his head. “We can’t have them go missing. They’re human, and they have families. Someone will look for them.”
“They’ll look for a killer, too,” I point out. “Don’t you think Victor Hesse will have set something up to lead that back to us?”
“The cleaners I called are better than the ones from the storage facility. No traces will be left behind.” He rakes a hand through his fiery locks. “Dammit. I need to make more calls, find a replacement to cover the scheduled services…”
“I can wait for the cleaner, if you need to go to the office.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to leave you alone.
“Go. The faster you sort things out, the sooner we can leave.” I wave him away. “If something happens, I’ll hyper-speed to you.”
“If you’re sure.” He edges toward the door. “Don’t leave the mortuary.”
I smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you here alone.”
He laughs as he walks backward. “I’m not worried about myself, Miss Scared-of-Dead-People.”
That earns him a glare. I never should have admitted that to him. “I’m not scared of them. Zombies aren’t a real thing. I just find it disturbing that they’re in a refrigerator.”
Arms lifting in front of him, Kellen’s gait turning stiff as he moans, “Brains.”
I point at the door. “Just go.”
He pushes the door open. “The office is right down the hall. If anything hinky happens, you get out of here. Don’t worry about me.”
Unwilling to make that promise, I cross my arms under my breasts and wait for him to disappear.
The door swings shut, leaving me alone with the bodies, and I hug myself once more. Eerie silence fills the brightly lit room, and I eye the wall of metal lockers. Is there a body in each of them? Do that many humans die in this town, to fill so many refrigerators? I know humans die quickly, but this place just makes it so clinical. There’s no ceremony, no tradition, just cold sterility.
Forcing myself to relax, I let my arms drop, and my knuckles knock against the cellphone in the pocket of my hoodie. It reminds me I need to call the bakery to let them know I’ll be back later than expected. I’d only planned to pop out to see Tobias and Emil, then come right back.
Hopefully, Sophia and Jesse haven’t killed each other. I consider calling Tally to go in and check, but she deserves the night off after everything she’s done for me.
I dial the kitchen line and tap my foot as I wait for someone to answer.
When they do—on the fifth ring—loud chitters sound in the background.
Iris’s breathy voice fills the line as if she ran to pick up the phone. “Boo’s Boutique Bakery, where one bite is never enough. How may I help you?”
Worry instantly snaps my spine straight. “Iris, it’s Adie, is everything okay?”
“Oh, Master,” she sighs happily. “Yes, everything’s fine.”
Her assurance does nothing to settle my worry. Iris’s version of fine and my version of fine don’t always align. “What’s the commotion in the background?”
“That new worker—”
“Sophia?”
“Yes, that one.” Displeasure fills her voice, which is unexpected from my usually laid-back imp.
“Has she hurt Jesse?” I demand, wings pushing for release, demanding I hyper-speed back to my bakery.
Iris’s hum holds evil delight. “She is… vexed at the moment. But we are handling it.”
“What are you doing to her?” I’m not worried so much for Sophia—she’s more than capable of taking care of herself—I’m concerned about her retaliation against whatever tricks they’re playing on her.
“She is old, yes?” Iris asks, but doesn’t wait for my response. “Old enough to know not to wear such shiny things around imps.”
My shoulders relax, and I bite back a laugh. Sophia had come into work today covered in shiny, with bedazzled leggings and matching hairnet. These kinds of pranks won’t push her to eat one of them. “Just make sure she still meets food code for working in the kitchen.”
“We’ve shown her where the standard-issue hairnets are.” Glee fills her voice at the prospect of forcing my cousin to wear our dull, standard-issue attire. “When will you return, Master?”
“I’m going to be a bit longer.” I pace away from the wall and open the door to the hallway, peeking toward the back. “Something came up, but I’ll be back before midnight.”
“Master is safe?” Now it’s Iris’s turn to sound worried.
“Yes, I’m safe, just delayed.” I glance back at the open refrigerators and shudder. “Please save me a