Hearse Available - Condition Excellent

     McVeil trudged through the grey sludge the morning snow had become.  He kicked at the chunks of ice in it and cursed at it as he crossed the parking lot of McVeil's Funeral Services.  A sudden gust of cold wind careening through the night air caused him to pull the collar of his tan overcoat tighter and puff harder on his blazing cigar.  McVeil hated winter's early nights.
     McVeil noted that the new hearse was in a different position then when he had departed for dinner.  Green must have moved it - but why?  There could be no reason to.  Green was reliable, not smart, but reliable. 
     Taking two steps at a time, McVeil launched up the small porch to the funeral parlor's door. 
     "Green, have you been in that hearse!" McVeil roared, his booming voice preceding him to the small office where a thin young man with short brown hair and glasses sat at a desk opposite a taller man whose black garb faded into the room's shadows. 
     "Yes sir.  This gentleman was interested in acquiring its services," Green meekly replied.  "And wished to examine it."
     McVeil turned to the seated stranger who leaned forward to reveal a pale, bald head and dark eyes.
     "Oh, you're here on business then," McVeil said in a quieter tone as he motioned to Green to depart the desk.
     "Indeed.  My name is Hintz," the stranger commented.  "And I am very pleased at the condition of your hearse - a most suitable means of transportation.  Very comfy."
     "I am sure it will be suitable for your loved one's final ride," McVeil softly said as he settled down behind the desk. 
     "It is not for a loved one.  It is for myself."
     "You're not...well?  Wisely planning ahead?" McVeil asked.
     "Oh, it will be a round trip - up the coast to Twin Sun and back the first weekend of next month. You see I have a reunion of sorts and I don't want to arrive in anything too shabby."
     "He was most impressed by the state of the hearse," Green submitted from where he stood in the corner of the room.  "And at how smoothly it ran as we drove around the block."
     "Once tucked in my coffin I'm sure I'll sleep like a babe the whole trip."
     "Then you have your own coffin..."
     "I never travel without it," Hintz answered.
     "You'll require the hearse for the whole weekend?" McVeil asked as he took a cigar from the box on his desk and offered it to Hintz. 
     Hintz nodded as he took the cigar, and as he placed it in his mouth McVeil noted the stranger had some very long pointed teeth. 
     "And a driver?"
     Hintz nodded.
     "I volunteer," Green said.
     "I'm sure he'll do nicely," Hintz commented with a puff of smoke.
     "I'm sure he will," McVeil mumbled, as he thought to himself that this might not work out too badly. 
     It was even a chance for repeat business for a change.

 copyright  ©  2015 W. P. Rigler
    
Hearse Available - Condition Excellent is the first W. P. Rigler story of 2015.
Previous fiction can be found at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/wrigler