Nick jumped. The witch was standing right behind him with her three-legged dog by her side. She was dressed no differently than she was earlier, except that she now wore three bandannas tied around her neck, each with a different color and pattern. Her long black hair still draped like a curtain in front of her face, and she peered out from behind it at Nick. He looked over her shoulder at the parking lot and saw an old red pickup with a white camper shell.

“You sure know how to walk quietly,” Nick said.

“I heard you stomping through my woods a mile away,” she replied. “I didn’t need a dog to find you.”

“That’s what my girlfriend used to say.”

The witch just looked at him.

“It’s a joke,” Nick said. “Don’t witches like jokes?”

“Funny ones.”

Nick glanced down at the dog; the animal looked about as impressed as her master. “What’s your dog’s name?” he asked.

She glared at him. “Why do you want to know that?”

“I just thought—”

“No one knows her name but me, okay?”

Nick shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“Are we going to do this or not?”

“Sure,” he said, pointing to the area around them. “We think the graves are probably—”

“Just give me a general search perimeter.”

Nick raised one eyebrow. “Search perimeter—is that witch talk?”

“Are you going to make wisecracks all night?”

“Probably—but I’ll be happy to get out of your way and let you get to work.”

“Good. The sooner we get started, the sooner I can go home.”

“Where do you want me?”

“Just stay out of our way.”

“Should I stay downwind or something?”

She looked at him impatiently.

Nick nodded. “Out of the way—got it. This is the search area here; any unexcavated ground is a possible location for a grave.” He moved off to the side and watched.

The witch and the dog moved to the approximate center of the unexcavated area. She walked without any sound at all. No wonder, Nick thought, she’s still barefoot. She pointed at the ground a few yards away from her, and the dog immediately trotted to that spot, turned, and sat down. The witch stood motionless for a moment, then lifted her face to the moon. She slowly raised both arms in front of her with her palms facing up as though she were carrying an invisible load of firewood, then moved her arms up and down a little as if she were testing its weight.

Now she began to walk in circles, making the same lifting motion as she went. It looked silly to Nick—like an outfielder waiting for a pop fly to drop out of the air. After a minute or two she stopped and looked at each arm, turning it back and forth as though she were admiring a new bracelet. She shook them a little and looked at them again.