Karl undoubtedly has the most incredible money policies of anyone that we know, and we know at least two people – Trevor the Cable Guy and Martina the Flower Girl. That’s all we know about them though, their name and title. But now for the real business.
Michael has thoughts to share on the matter.
“I know I’m a zombie farmer, but that’s besides the point. If I wanted Karl to manage this morgue, I’d expect him to do it better than he is. I left over one-hundred grand in his possession, and what does he do with it? Splurge it! Give it away to feed the rich!”
Karl said, in an aside, “We received tax exemptions from the government for our benefit. Employee retention credit if I remember correctly.”
Employees questioned the memory of Karl often. It was nearly everyday he would step through a doorway and ask, “What was I doing? Does anyone know?” to which Dolly would exclaim, “Buddy, you ain’t told us anything. What we supposed to tell you?”
Arlo, as his assistant, could reveal many instances of Karl’s forgetfulness, but so as to not undermine Karl’s reputation, he has opted out.
“I care about the way our morgue looks. I want patients to have the best service they can get, even if that means putting on all the staff that we have.”
A topic previously discussed, “More staffing means better service.” Only in the mind of Karl. But this is an unbiased report on the North Country Morgue. So really, just ignore what you just read.
Beverly the accountant had many comments about Karl’s behavior, which she ardently expressed behind a closed office door.
“That man has no concern for his employees!”
In front of her was a chessboard with pawns that had the name of each staff member on one.
“See this?” She pointed at the king with Karl’s name on it, then she motioned toward the pawns, which, in her depiction, failed to exclude Arlo. She then swiped all the pawns off the board, letting them all fall prey to the ashy floor that hadn’t been swept in months.
“That’s what we are to him. Dogs. Nobodies. We DON’T matter to him, and he just does not care. Even if doesn’t hurt him, it ain’t his problem. Arlo serves me much better justice than Karl does, and Arlo is a diligent young man who does his job properly and cares about the people. Whether he knows it or not, Karl is just running this place to the ground.
“All that to say, we’ve hardly got any funds in the bank account. I’ve balanced all the statements, and we’re just short of where we were before we got those credits.”
Beverly threw up her arms in disgust. “Before we know it, we’re gonna have to start selling equipment and letting go of our precious staff. Unlike him, I happen to like some of them. Arlo, I’ve already talked about him. Such a sweet guy to a grouch like me. Haslia, she’s got the best intentions and is such a wonderful sandwich artist.”
Outside the office, Karl, standing to next to one of the patients, said, “I’ve got bills to pay, patients to support, and employees to pay on time.”
Turning away from the patient, he said, “Oh, the money issue? Equipment breaks down, so we’ve got to replace it. You know what I mean?”
In the back, Haslia reported, “It would literally cost ten percent of the total amount to buy a new proofer as it would to just get the dumb thing fixed. But you know what he did? He bought a new proofer!”
She put her hands on her forehead, stretching it as her palms moved upward. “Oh, he so frustrates me, and I don’t want to care. So why do I? What’s holding me back from not giving a crap about this place that makes me oh, so miserable?”
Karl, next to Arlo, said, “Yes, money’s running short again, so we’ve got to cut back on our spending. You know what I mean?”
“Okay,” Arlo responded, but there was a certain vein in his forehead that was aching to say otherwise…
North Country Morgue 
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