Viridian Tears Read Online Free PDF Page A

pan on to heat. From the fridge she pulled out eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and a spring onion and set them all on the counter next to a chopping board. She chopped the vegetables while the oil heated in the pan and tossed everything in, then agitated it several times before the lid went on to keep the ingredients moisture-rich.
    Meanwhile the toast popped out and she buttered it and cut it into triangles, then set the kettle to boil for tea. By the time David came downstairs in his suit she had breakfast on the table ready for him with a cup of tea on the side.
    “What’s the occasion?” He set his briefcase down and sat. “Do you know something I don’t? You’re not pregnant, are you?”
    “I shouldn’t think so. I’ve been on the pill the last eight years.” She poured herself a black coffee and sat opposite him. “What’s your case today?”
    “Nothing terribly interesting. Alan Davis arrested for smuggling drugs. Police have him bang to rights. Caught him with his trousers down literally and metaphorically seeing as he’d stuffed them up his bum. Not a lot I can do for him, unfortunately, except plead for leniency. He’s got a terminally ill mother at that rest home so I might be able to swing a non-custodial sentence.”
    “Steeple Vale?”
    “That’s the one. Why?”
    “I’ve got a body coming from there this morning. One from there and one from the coroner’s office.”
    “Ugh.” David put a forkful of food in his mouth. A lump of tomato fell from it and spattered onto the plate.”
    Eden shrugged. “It depends who did the autopsy. Chambers is all right but the new chap could do with a bit of respect for the dead.”
    David chased the last of the egg around the plate. “Perhaps it’ll surprise you.”
    “Ever the optimist.”
    “I live in a cryotorium. I have to be.” He swilled the last of his tea and stood. “Right, I must go.”
    “Okay. “ She pulled her dressing gown closed and stood on tiptoe to kiss him goodbye. “Will you be late back?”
    “Shouldn’t be.” He picked up his briefcase. “Unless I get stuck with public defender duty again, but I’ll call if so.”
    “Right.” She went to swat his backside again but he stepped smartly to the left and wagged his finger as he opened the front door. She watched from the kitchen window as he went down the steps and ran to his car, his briefcase over his head to protect him from the rain.
    She put the dishes in the sink, poured herself more coffee and took it with her to the bathroom. She showered without fear of the toilet being flushed or the washing machine turning on and dressed in her casual pinstripes. She had a client booked for nine thirty.
    At a quarter-to she heard the main door being opened and went down to the cryotorium floor, pausing at the bottom of the stairs to switch on the main lights and disable the security system.
    Emily was just putting on her lab coat and she went into the scrubbing room. “Morning, Eden.”
    “Good morning, Emily. We’ve the Matthews funeral at eleven and the Peterson at two. We’ll use chapel one for both, I think. Saves heating both rooms. The Peterson is a burial so I hope the rain stops in plenty of time. Has Malcolm dug the grave yet, do you know?”
    “It’s on his list for this morning. Did you put Mrs. Pilgrim through?”
    “I ran her overnight. She should be ready for compression now.” Compression was the last stage of the cryomation process. Any bones which survived freeze-drying were crushed and added to the remains, then the whole was pressed into a single block for burial. There were a variety of shapes but without instruction to the contrary Eden generally preferred a twenty-four inch octagon for ease of storage, transportation and burial. The blocks would last indefinitely if kept dry but once buried would decompose completely within three to six months. It was elegant, from an ecological point of view.
    “I’ll see to her first, then.”
    “Thank you, Emily.”