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Ethan and I stepped forward

The deceased had been placed into a siainst the ele years The top had been lifted, was now tilted against the side of the hole, no longer protecting the person within

Or as left of hi the bones in a ju bones of the ar tatters of dark fabric and what looked like the curved remains of a hat

We weren’t forensic anthropologists, of course But it was obvious so

"They took his skull," Ethan said, crouching down, hands on his knees, as he looked at the reer warred in his expression

"Yeah," Annabelle said quietly

Ethan looked up at her "Did they take the skull in order to su mortal remains can certainly draw a spirit back into this world It’s an instinctive response, even for those who are dead: You sense danger, that soaze fro lines of worry in her forehead "But necro the deceased understand where they are and why, and passing along enerally don’t touch the re sorave has been displaced by weather--like after flooding--but that’s it"

"So if this isn’t alche, "ic We’ll talk to Catcher and Mallory"

Annabelle nodded "They ht have a better sense of it"

"How did you find it?" he asked Annabelle

"I started a walk-through last night, to check the cemetery’s pulse, so to speak, see if anyone needed to talk I was finishing up tonight, ended up crossing back over the same territory, and found it It wasn’t like this yesterday When I saw it, I locked up and called the Ombudsman, then you"

Chunks of dark soil in the low grass caught ht

"You’ve found so?" Annabelle asked

"Maybe a trail," I said Near the other end of the grave, cluravel ay I followed the line of dirt, but it didn’t get rave

"Where does the path go?" I asked Annabelle when I’d walked back again