Le Petit Corpse: Part 3 of 4

But like many light-hearted tales of joy and success, this one has a dark side. The Rameau mini-corpses worked as voodoo dolls. Nobody quite knows why, and there is no hard science behind voodoo anyhow.

Ordinarily, this would not be a problem. The doll prototype is dead and cremated anyhow. But the case of the Fratinni twins was different, and you can guess why. The Fratinni boys were forty or so, identical twins, and were what you would call dandies. Pretty more than handsome. Isaac was single and openly gay, but his twin brother Olaf, even though he wore white shoes a lot, was married. When Isaac went down with AIDS, Olaf went to Rameau’s for the full treatment. The Isaac-doll was beautiful. Olaf bought it, casket and all, and took it home after the services.

But soon afterwards, Olaf’s health began to fail. One day he would have to leave work with shooting pains in his side, and the next he might show up with an ugly scratch on his neck. In a week, these things would clear up but he would be walking with a limp. He suspected what his wife was doing, but she denied everything and claimed the mini-Isaac had been stolen for the art market. Olaf went to the police, but they just laughed at his twisted tale. Within three months, it didn’t matter anyhow. Olaf was dead.