Snow Falls in Prague; I Won't Wait for a Heartless Man novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: The Empty Funeral

Brecken's POV

Four hundred people came to Freya's funeral, and I stood in the first pew and could not feel my hands.

The funeral home had told me not to open the casket.

I opened it anyway, in the sacristy, an hour before the service.

I wanted to see her.

There was a black plastic bag inside, sealed, and a smell I will keep for the rest of my life.

My mother put her palm flat on my back and said, "Brecken, don't."

I closed it.

The priest said Freya's name and called her a gentle soul.

I had called her a stand-in in front of a saleswoman.

At the end of the pew Bethany held my left arm in both hands.

She had worn black, and no makeup, and a small gold cross.

"You are not alone," she whispered. "I'm right here. I'll always be right here."

She had said it five years ago, after she dragged me out of the car I wrecked drunk.

I had sent Freya to pay that debt for me.

The organ started.

My stomach turned over, and I felt the metal taste at the back of my throat again.

The doctor had told me it was a bleed in my stomach lining, from stress.

He said I should be in bed.

I stayed standing.

After the service I walked out under the church portico with six men carrying a box behind me.

Someone put a hand on my sleeve.

It was a short man in a rumpled gray suit, with a county badge clipped to his belt.

"Mr. Lowry. The coroner's office. I need five minutes."

"Not today," Bethany said, stepping in front of me. "Have some respect."

"I'll take five," I said.

She looked at me and let go of my arm.

The man led me into a side hall that smelled of old hymnals.

"I'll be direct," he said. "We have not formally identified the remains. The dental records were destroyed. Miss Quarles identified her visually at the scene."

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