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The closest I could get to Clyde Nunley’s corpse without clied evidence--was to hang over the edge with led forward Tolliver held on to ed to touch the shirt on Dr Nunley’s back
His death was so recent it was like a continuous droning inot a sense of his passing "Hit on the head," I ht up in the sheer astonishment he’d felt "On the back of the head So surprised" The shock of it was still lingering around him He absolutely had not expected the attack
"Here?"
"Yes," I said, straining to extract the pictures of the end of his life He was so fresh, so recently translated into this lump of flesh that could neither act nor reason I saw the darkness around hi like it was now: the cold, the rough ground, the upturned earth "Oh, it hurts! Oh, it hurts! My head!" And the hole co at rayness blackness
I was close to that blackness ainst him
"Here, open your mouth," he said, and then he repeated it "Open!"
I parted my lips, and he pushed a piece of pepperar," he said, and his voice was sharp and coht We’d found that out, by trial and error I made myself suck on the candy, and in a few minutes I felt better Next came a butterscotch
"It’s never been this bad," I said, uess it’s because he’s so new" I orried I couldn’t make it across the cemetery back to our car without a lot of help froht? That who stopped you--wasn’t him? I did think I saw a beard"
Every now and then, we’d found a soul attached to a body That was rare, and until this night I had thought that would be the eeriest thing we could find Noe knew there was one," I said, not willing to coathered ot to get out of here"
I paused, halfway tohim by himself"
"He’s been by hi he didn’t understand "He’ll have to be by hiot coest conversation we’ve ever had?"
"I think so"
"I couldn’t have anyone else but you here, no one else would understand," I said "I’lad you saw hiht? You’ve neverlike that"
"Never I’ve knohen souls were still attached to the body, and I’ve wondered if those would be ghosts if they didn’t detach I’ve alondered if I would see a ghost sometime I’ve always been a little disappointed that I haven’t, in a way Oh rave on top of the corpse The first tihost, and he saved me"
"Were you scared?"
"Not that he would hurt me But I was afraid because it was spooky and I didn’t knohat to do for hio on, I don’t kno he experiences tione, I guess No one could visit hi maudlin
They all want to be found, you know That’s all they want Not vengeance, or forgiveness They want to be found At least, that’s what I’d always thought
But Josiah Poundstone--I was sure he was the ghost--had been firmly located since the moment of his death Someone had erected the "Beloved Brother" headstone And someone had murdered him, if that was part of his awareness When I’d stood on his grave in the daylight, I’d felt only the faintest flutter fro from the one for good Apparently, I’d been wrong
Chapter nine
WEour time I had to hold on to Tolliver here and there, and I don’t think he was sorry to hold onto me We dusted dirt off my jacket, and stomped our feet to reency rooo there," he said, unlocking the car
"I’ve never left a body unreported," I said, re how proud I’d been of that fact only a day before "Never" I shuddered "I wish I could put ive my nervous systeusting," Tolliver said
He was right, but that didn’t stopsome way to soothe my emotional self I took a deep breath and tried to put the frivolous thoughts on the back burner
We still had decisions to et anything fro?" Tolliver asked
"Yeah," I said "Yeah, Dr Nunley was really taken by surprise I don’t knohy he was out there, but he never expected the person with him had any evil intent"
"Do ordinary people expect to be attacked, ever?" Tolliver asked reasonably
I gave hiusted look "No, they don’t, smart aleck, and that’s not what I er He ith souy wished hiuy’ for the ease of it?"
"Right"
"We can’t tell the police"
"Sure we can, but they won’t believe us I don’t knohat else we can do And I absolutely don’t think we should tell theued back and forth all the way to the hotel--and with tiument ere alone in the elevator
When we stepped out, ere struck speechless to see Agent Seth Koenig waiting outside our roolances at us on our way through the lobby, we’d been too engrossed in our own probleht ruefully /// ever claim to be one, strike me dead We were completely taken by surprise As one, we stopped in our tracks and stared at hi depart one on us
"What have you two been up to?" he asked
"I don’t believe we need to talk to you," Tolliver said "My sister tellsof interest to you"
"Where have you been?" Koenig asked, as though ould be compelled to tell him