The tropical sun glistened upon the Lanai Health and Fitness Resort. Laura Massie donned a bathrobe in her hotel room overlooking the sparkling beaches and swaying palms of the hotel. She gazed into her vanity while applying lipstick when someone knocked on the hotel door. “Room service,” a called muffled voice.
“Come in!” Laura called without pulling her eyes off her reflection. “You can leave the leave the cart by the door. I hope you remembered this time that I ordered a vegan breakfast. Considering how expensive this resort is, you’d think you guys would remember-”
The woman abruptly stopped talking as a figure came up behind her. “What do you think you’re doing-”
The figure clapped a hand over Laura’s mouth. No one outside the hotel room heard the woman’s muffled screams.

I heard the shout of orders for food in the kitchen mixing with the chatter of guests in the restaurant. I sighed and squeezed a mop. Grandma had suggested I work over the summer at her restaurant, and even though I had declined, I knew I would have to give into her perseverance.   My weeks working at Lanai were blurring together. I would rather have been in the city, skating with my friends or playing basketball under the light of street lamps, not waiting tables in this stuffy old restaurant. Anywhere would have been better than here! But I was not here for myself. I looked up to a wall covered in Grandma’s old records, photographs, and newspaper clippings. The collection of pictures of Papa covered a small fraction of the wall, but it was my favorite section. I gazed at photos of Papa as a kid holding up a fish he caught, Papa saluting a flag in his Navy uniform, and Papa with Mama before she died. Happy memories drew attention away from the more recent pictures. I saw balding Papa in a hospital gown, laying on a bed and forcing a smile for the camera. I turned away from the wall. I was here for Papa. His kidneys were failing, the wait for a compatible organ was long, and the hospital bills were piling up. I sighed and turned away. I was trying my best to earn money, but there was no point. The doctors said that he didn’t have much time left.
“Evan? Evan! What are you doing?” I heard someone shout. I snapped out of my stupor.
“S-Sorry. Uh. What?” I stammered. Joaquin, my burly manager lumbered over to me.
“Kid! What are you doing?! What is this? We’ve been backed up with guests for an hour, but you’re just standing here! I don’t pay your to take naps! Get it together!” he thunders.
I mumbled a quick reply, lowering my eyes from the glowering form. As I started  to wipe the floor again, I hear Joaquin start barking orders at the chefs. He is one of the reasons I despise ed this job so much. Joaquin screamed again, “Where’s Martha?!” I snapped my head up. Grandma’s name was Martha; she was gone?
“She went out at two for a smoke, but I haven’t seen her since then,” called a chef. The manager fumed,
“This is the fourth or fifth time she’s disappeared like this just this month! What is she smoking? An entire tobacco farm? She better come back before I fire her!”
I stopped. Grandma missing repeatedly? This was the same woman who lectured me for hours because I missed a single shift at the restaurant? I didn’t believe it.
I pondered where Grandma would go, but I couldn’t guess anyplace. Perhaps she went to the hospital? Remembering Papa, I turned back to my work. Even if Grandma could not be here, I could help.

Around midnight, after the diner had closed and been cleaned, I headed for the workers’ quarters of the resort. I closed my eyes and breathed in the humid night air. I wanted to swim around in the pool of the resort, but I had to help unload groceries for the diner tomorrow. I wandered around the resort, eventually finding my way to the quarters, pausing to listen in on receptionists’ gossip.
“That Laura Massie from room 202 has not come down to complain about her vegan meals in days! Do you think room service figured out her order?” one asked.
“No way. That woman would complain even if she was living in a palace. Maybe she checked out. Either way, I’m not complaining” replied the other, giggling after. Nothing interesting was happening in the hotel, so I went to my room and fell asleep.

The next morning I awoke early to haul produce for the diner. When I reached the end of the diner, I saw Grandma struggling to carry crates of vegetables.
“Grandma! Are you okay?” I called. Grandma whipped around with eyes widened in panic. I hesitantly implored further. “It’s been weeks since you asked me to help you with the grocery delivery! Are you ... sick?”
Grandma relaxed, “Nonsense! You never get sick if you keep working! It keeps bones healthy.”
“Really? I didn’t know that,” I smirked. Now was my perfect chance to ask! “So why have you been missing work in the diner so much?” I eyed her. Grandma tensed up and started shifting her eyes.
“Evan!” she said sharply. “For adult things!” I c***ed an eyebrow in disbelief. “Now shut your mouth! You just let an old lady like me carry these boxes alone? Shameful! What kind manners did I teach you? Carry them inside to fridge!” I knew she was trying to distract me, but I did what Grandma ordered. She knew I caught her anyway.
I hummed as I lugged box after box of produce from her van to the diner’s walk-in refrigerator. As I lifted the last crate, the odious odor of rotting meat hit me.
“Grandma, it seems that this meat is spoiled; I’ll open and throw it out,” I offered, but immediately Grandma tried to grab the crate from my hands.
“No! I take out bad meat! You go-”
I cut her off, “I’m old enough! Don’t worry; I can do this.” I carried the crate to a counter as Grandma looked on with a worried expression. I wondered what she had to worry about; what was so dangerous about a crate of meat? I opened the crate and saw the horrendous cause of the stench.

A corpse stuffed with newspaper lay within the box. I jumped back from the terrible package. Grandma rushed to the box and tried to close the box. I grabbed my hair and tried to process what I had witnessed.
“Wha- What?” I asked. I paused and tried again. “Grandma? What are you doing? What is this?” Grandma would not even meet my eyes. I could not conceive how she had this. “Well, are you going to answer me?”
Silence ensued. I screamed out. What was happening? Was my grandmother a murderer? Quietly, Grandma started to speak but in her native dialect.
“ He used to be such a hard worker, Evan. My son, your father. All he wanted to do was create a good life for us. He went to the military and risked his life so he could go to college and become a doctor. But his car accident in college hurt him so much. He wouldn’t show his pain or go to a doctor, but I knew that would weaken him forever.
“Do you remember when your Papa was first admitted to the hospital? The doctor said that he had kidney failure because of trauma. His accident was so bad, but he never went to hospital! I told him! He never listened,” lamented Grandma. Her eyes watered. “I called you here to get money and help pay for the transplant. But we have no money, so he’s not higher on organ recipient list. All I want is my son to have kidneys and be healthy.
I started hurting people to help him. This one,” she gestured to the box, “was Laura Massie. She was a guest at the resort. She was 25 year old girl. Crazy about health and rich, too. I took her organs out and I sold them to a man on the pier.” Grandma paused looked up at me, pleading with her eyes. “Evan. I need him to be back. Laura is not my first and will not be my last. I need you to help me.”
I exhaled heavily. My small innocent-looking grandmother turned into a killer to pay for my dad’s bills. Ah, the things that one had to do to pay to even stay alive. Slowly I let out a chuckle which escalated to a full laugh. I gasped for air. Not many other people could claim that their grandmother was serial organ harvester. After laughing, I wiped tears from my eyes. I grinned at Grandma and asked,
“So, Grandma. What do we do next? I suppose it’s time to pass on the new family legacy, no?”
Oh, I was in for a ride.