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He hung up and ensterns want us to come to their house tomorrow for lunch," he said "They’ve had a lot of people bringing food by, they can’t eat it all, and they’re feeling guilty that we’re stuck in Memphis because of them There’ll be other people there," he assured me when he saw ood That would have crossed a line, after the flowers There’s such a thing as overdoing the gratitude After all, it was an accident And we’re getting the reward Joel said so You should have asked me before you said yes I really don’t want to do that"

"But you see that we prettynot to sound resentful I thought that ain

Tolliver nodded, a sharp gesture to close the subject I wasn’t quite sure I was through whining, but he was right No point in discussing it any longer "You ready to go back to the cemetery?" he asked

"Yes How cold is it?" I stood up, experi Better

"The te"

When ere all bundled up, I called downstairs to have our car brought around A few aret’s The weekday nighttioing on at the Pyramid, and Ellis Auditoriuh depressed areas, shopping areas, and old residential areas until we got to the streets around Binghae The few people on foot were bundled up like urban nize a few land before This tie, as we had previously Tolliver drove around the cae property It had those white barriers that you pull back across the entrance, and yesterday they’d been pulled shut but unlocked, he’d noticed

The saht Rick Goldham their security had a few holes in it

We passed between the open barriers The crunch of gravel under our tires sounded especially loud After a short stretch of landscaped lawn all around us, we entered the wooded corner of the cah the city lay all around us, it felt like ere h the trees surrounding the old site, our headlights catching on the branches and trunks as we passed Nothingof the church and its yard In the s lot, we drove up to the low posts connected ire that kept cars froh pole at the rear of the church, and one on the far side They provided just enough light tofence obscure the graveyard

"If this was a horror oner," I commented

Tolliver didn’t respond, but he wasn’t looking any too happy "I thought the lighting would be better than this," he said We loves on, flashlights ready Tolliver loaded some extra batteries into his pockets, and I did, too

There was not even a night-light on in the old church

When we shut the car doors behind us, the slaht on the wire so I could step over it, and I returned the favor Then we opened the gate, which creaked loudly in approved horror-reat," Tolliver round, which had seeht At least, it was for ht leg But I didn’t ask Tolliver for help I could ate, we needed to work our way southeast to reach the secluded corner where I’d found Tabitha in Josiah Poundstone’s grave Of course, that was the darkest place in the whole ceht," Tolliver said His voice was just one step up fro I almost asked him why Then I realized I didn’t want to talk out loud, either As we neared the open grave, I wondered if they’d dug up poor Josiah, too--and if so, what they’d done with hian to sound louder and louder in ht?" I asked, trying to shake off the uneasy, prickling feeling that was riding my shoulders There was no definite reason for me to feel anxious In fact, I usually felt alive, alert, and happy in graveyards

Certainly, no one else was around The cemetery was surrounded on two sides by thick stands of trees, on the third side by the parking area (beyond which were more trees), and on the fourth by the old church It wasn’t too far off a busy, modern street, but I’d noticed on our previous visit how isolated the graveyard felt Bugs and birds had sense enough to keep silent and lay low

"There was that ti at rave," Tolliver said insince I’d spoken, I had to recall the question I’d asked

I was immediately sorry to be reet, to stuff that night into the closet where I kept horrors Just to add to the weirdness of the couple and their request, they’d requested Halloween night Plus, they’d invited about thirty best friends I guess they’d figured if they were going to pay us that e out of the event They’d been h I’d never tried to ht out there, in front of all their friends, I’d blurted out what had really happened to the child I shuddered, re Then I ht, this dead girl, this grave, I told myself I took a deep breath, let it out Then another

"I know the body is gone," I said, almost in a whisper "The body’s always been ot froraveyard in the dark," Tolliver own, and at least we’re together And believe ed"

I almost smiled Usually, I felt ht I stu, especially the older ones So many of the new ones have the flat headstones But in the older ones, there are broken headstones in the grass, which is often uneven and tufted eeds Inoften leave trash on top of the dead--broken liquor bottles and crushed beer cans, condoms, food wrappers, all kinds of stuff I can’t count the times I’ve found underpants suitable to both sexes, and once I found a top hat set jauntily upright on a stone

St Margaret’s graveyard was free from debris of that sort It had been rass was fairly low Our flashlights bobbed through the darkness like playful fireflies, so away

The still air was cold, a cold that bit through loves and made me shiver I had on a knit cap and scarf, but my nose felt especially chilled Tolliver, some steps ahead of ht dance as he rubbed his hands together

The night had a thick, waiting quality that made the hair on the back of my neck prickle I tried to identify the swoosh of the traffic on the road off through the trees, but there was an absolute silence I felt a stab of alarhts of those cars, even through the trees? I slowed down, feeling suddenly disoriented The flashlight beaht spot, but so of the bodies aroundfor such old corpses I started to say my brother’s narippedme to a complete standstill "Look at your feet," he said in a very strange voice I shone the light directly doard

In one od That was close Thank you Do you hear anything?" I whispered One hand slid down toodd about the feel of that bony hand

And then I realized Tolliver’s flashlight was shining atit

My heart pounded so fast I thought the vibrations ht tear my chest apart I sank down to my knees on the soft, freshly turned earth