When Macy tried to intercept, Janice pulled out a pistol. The two of them struggled and fell to the ground with the gun still in Janice’s hand. Apparently, her arm jarred on the floor, causing the weapon to accidentally discharge. Unfortunately for Janice, the .357 magnum was pointed upward. The bullet penetrated through her chin and obliterated her face. She died instantly.

After helping Dan out of the casket, Macy found that Janice had spoken the truth. Her sister, Stacy, was dead. Not long afterwards, she gave the police a statement and was told Dan would also need to give one later. Because of his mild concussion, Dan was in the hospital for treatment. By the time she finished her story, Dan had forgotten his food, amazed at the woman’s bravery.

The next day, Macy drove Dan home from the hospital. Because the two of them shared the loss of a loved one, they spent hours together grieving. Each shared the pain of the other. Neither was quite sure how mournful tears of sadness turned to sudden, passionate lovemaking later that evening.

Six months later, Dan and Macy were engaged. During the courtship, Macy was cleared of any wrongdoing in Janice’s death. The insurance policy covering McMann Mortuary compensated the family of “Tiny” Tim Overton quite nicely. Other than a brief obituary in the Indianapolis Star, the incident stayed out of the media.

The two were happily married for nearly a year before Dan discovered that Macy had somehow acquired Stacy’s morality. Like her departed sister, Macy wasn’t content with only one lover. She believed that variety was the spice of life. Unfortunately for her, discretion wasn’t as important as the thrilling pursuit of sexual partners.

Sitting alone at his desk, in the mortuary office, Dan opened a plain brown package left by a well-paid private investigator. Inside was a detailed report, complete with photographic evidence, documenting Macy’s many indiscretions over the past few months. The report went on to say that, even now as he sat reading, Macy was currently home, in bed, with yet another partner. Tears of pain flowed down his face as rage of Macy’s betrayal overwhelmed him. He wished there was someway to hurt her as badly as she had hurt him.

Dan opened his bottom desk drawer, hoping to find some distraction to momentarily forget the pain. His eyes fell on the gun recovered from Janice’s murder attempt. The .357 magnum was partly hidden beneath some old folders. He noticed that the files inside the folders concerned the unclaimed, oversized casket still in the storage room, the one originally ordered for “Tiny” Tim Overton. He realized that, because Tim had been cremated, his unused cemetery plot was abandoned as well.

Dan smiled as an idea came to him.