The Mysterious Disappearance of Marsha Boden - Chapter 37

Not knowing whether Marsha would suddenly walk back into their lives at Boden’s again or not, was very unsettling for Ann

Sitting at her desk sifting through a pile of unpaid invoices, Ann knew how it all worked.  If the deceased had enough money in their bank account, the bank would settle Boden’s bill.  If not, then it was down to the family to stump up the money.  Not so easy if Probate was being applied for, which could take forever to sort out, and, as she knew only too well, the death of a loved one brought out the worst in people.  Why should one sibling pay over the other?  Why not split the bill? One sibling can’t scrape the cash together so another one pays their share with the promise of reimbursement once the estate is settled.  That’s when the arguments begin.  She knew too that the funeral debt was just the beginning.  After that, the wake had to be paid for, then the stone mason’s, and more often than not, the Local Authority stuck their hand out for a fee to secure a plot in the cemetery too.  It all added up.

Dying could get very expensive and that was why she had advocated the partnership with Golden Leaves Funeral Plans.  The idea was that mailshots of leaflets and glossy brochures were delivered in the area through a third party and when somebody signed up to the plan, Boden’s were the nominated Funeral Directors.  People paid into the plan weekly or monthly and eventually, a tidy sum was accumulated – enough to pay their funeral costs.  It was a win-win situation for all concerned and Guy had praised Ann’s forward thinking. 

Marsha had never taken an interest in the business and even though she was a bookkeeper by trade, had refused to get involved on the basis that she lived with Guy and couldn’t work with him too.  In the beginning, when Guy had first set up the business, he had found this a bitter pill to swallow as he struggled along, but as time went on and the business prospered, he accepted Marsha’s decision and employed Ann to lighten the load, which freed up some of his time to do the things that he enjoyed. 

Fishing was one of his hobbies.  He loved to sit on the riverbank with his rod, a packed lunch, and nature for company.  It took him away from the sadness that inevitably clouded most of his working days even though he was helping the bereaved in their hour of need.