Fran Rizer - Callie Parrish 05 - Mother Hubbard Has a Corpse in the Cupboard by Fran Rizer Page A

said. I touched one pair of the taupe shoes. “And she’s to wear these shoes tonight?” I asked.
    “Now what do you think?” I had obviously annoyed the woman. “Nina’s to wear beige this evening with the pearl earrings and necklace. She wouldn’t wear the pink shoes with that.” She patted one of the ziplock bags. “Tomorrow, Nina’s to wear pink with the diamond earrings and pendant.” She lifted the plastic bag and held it toward me. “Do be very careful with these because they are real pearls and the diamonds aren’t CZ. They’re genuine, too. I’ve put a picture in here that shows how I want her hair done for each occasion.”
    “So, you’re saying that her hair will be different tonight and tomorrow?”
    “You can do that, can’t you?”
    “Certainly, but you might want to check with the Middletons. There may be an extra charge for a second hair style.”
    “That’s between the men and me. This is lady-talk. Until a few years ago, Nina and I dressed alike and always looked the same. A while back, she got the idea we needed to express our individualism. That’s when we started putting those ridiculous rinses on our hair and buying clothes of different colors. I want us to go out of this world the way we came in—identical.”
    “Yes, ma’am. I understand that.”
    “How can you understand? You don’t have a twin. I understand you’re the only girl in Bill’s family.” A sweet lady, but she seemed easy to irritate. But then, her sister had died. Not just a sister, but an identical twin.
    “Yes, ma’am. I meant I understand your wishes, not that I have a twin.”
    “Now, here’s the important part. I’m of an age where a lot of my friends are dying. Some of them have been buried by Middleton’s and some by other funeral homes. It looks to me like some of those places just paint everyone’s face to look the same. I haven’t noticed that when I’ve been here. You seem to make bodies look nice and natural.”
    I beamed. “Thank you, Miss Gorman. I take my work very seriously and do the best I can for every family.”
    “I need to know if you’re licensed to work on living people also or just dead ones.”
    “My South Carolina Cosmetology License authorizes me to perform services for both.”
    “Good! I’ll be back here at four this afternoon. You’re to have my sister ready for tonight, so that you’ll have time to do my hair and makeup exactly like hers. I’ll come in tomorrow morning between ten and eleven for you to do the same thing before the service.”
    She smiled. I sat, too stunned to speak.
    “Do you understand?” she asked.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “You look confused. Can you do this?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “And you understand that the duplicate clothes are for me to put on after you do my hair and makeup?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with you? You’re not challenged, are you?”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “Thank the Lord you can say something besides ‘yes, ma’am.’” She stood. “Now, you take good care of those bags. The jewelry is valuable and so are the photographs.” She paused. “I put Nina’s undergarments in the bottom of the garment bag.” She glanced at it. “I saw Mr. Odell Middleton yesterday and Mr. Otis Middleton this morning. I’d heard they’re identical twins, but that must be some mistake. They don’t look alike.”
    I explained about the differences in their habits.
    “So the difference is because of their life styles,” Miss Gorman said. “That’s one reason it never bothered me that neither Nina nor I ever wed. If one of us had married, had children, or lived somewhere else, it would probably have changed one of us, but not both. I always liked that we lived together our whole lives and stayed together like the Good Lord intended.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” I acknowledged.
    After I walked Nila Gorman to the door and closed it behind her to the tune of “Rock of Ages,” I called Otis to