Starting Over (A Linstead Story)

Chapter 18

It was day one in business for Bio-Clean Chicago. Jess's company had officially launched the previous day, and she had applied to the city for work. Her preference was to take as many Fentanyl clean-up jobs as possible. They were the hardest and most dangerous work she could get, but more importantly they paid the most money. The city always had fentanyl labs or stashes to be cleaned too, given how out of control the drug problem in Chicago, in fact the country, had gotten.

Today, however, Bio-Clean had been assigned a property clean-up after an elderly person had died. It wasn't actually a crime scene, but not every job a crime scene cleaner attended was. The saddest part of all about this one was that by the time neighbours reported a nasty smell from the house, the old man's body had been so badly decomposed that it was barely recognisable as human. For a lot of people the scene would have been too gruesome to even look at. In contrast, it was a run of the mill job for Jess and Raquel.

Due to the state of decomposition and the hazards and smells that came with it, this job required what Jess called level 2 PPE – Tyvek suit, heavy duty rubber gloves and full face respirator mask. The masks were not only useful for keeping out harmful toxins, they also kept out smells, hence their usefulness in this situation. With Chicago's summer dragging on, the worst season for crime scene cleaners, it was a hot, sweaty job in the house's bedroom where the unfortunate old timer had passed away.

The sound of Jess's phone ringing caused her to stand up. When working for the city, her phone had been something she could ignore. Now that she was running her own operation, the exact opposite was the case. It was a good time for a break anyway.

"Let's take ten minutes for some fresh air and a drink, and I'll call back whoever that is," she said to Raquel.

The two women went out to the driveway, where the Bio-Clean van was parked. They gratefully took off their masks and gloves, then unzipped their suits to let their bodies breathe.

"I'll get the towels and water," Jess's tall and muscular employee said, unlocking the van and opening the passenger door.

After Jess had towelled the sweat off her face, she took out her phone to see who had called. It turned out it had not been a business call after all. Erin Lindsay's name was on the screen. Hoping everything was okay with her and Jay, she called right back.

"Hi, Jess," Erin answered.

"Hey. Sorry I missed your call, we're on a crime scene. You gave us an excuse for a much-needed break. Everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for a drink or something later?"

Jess was pleasantly surprised by that. She had been trying to form a friendship with Erin, until now without much success, or so she had thought. Erin had seemed somewhat resistant, maybe as if she didn't trust people easily. That was somewhat understandable, especially for a cop.

If she had been totally honest, Jess would have said she would rather get home and process her first day in business, but even as someone who suffered from social anxiety and awkwardness she was well aware that this was an offer not to reject. It was an ideal friend-making opportunity. Besides, by the time she got home she wouldn't want to relax and process, she would want something else to do. Relaxing was never at the top of her priority list.

"Sure. That sounds nice. I'll let you know when I get done here and we can work out a time. Sorry I can't be more specific. We've got to finish this job today."

"No problem at all. What is it you're working on?"

Jess told her, sparing little in the way of details.

"That's... absolutely disgusting," Erin said, and they both laughed. "I'll let you get back to it, Jess. Message me later?"

"I will," Jess promised.