It made me wonder a little bit if it was Cass leaving me these tapes. But how would she have copies of my uncle’s sermons? That didn’t make any sense. I had told her I’d be coming back to the tree to check for things, and she’d left me a note, that was all. I slid the tape and the note into my front overalls pocket and was about to head back to the house when George Urquhart stepped out of the woods. I tried to pretend like he hadn’t scared me.

“This is your favorite spot to spy on me, huh?” I said.

“Shit,” he said. “I seen you come out here, looking like you were on a mission. You pulled a tape out of that tree. Never seen somebody do something like that before.”

I clutched the pocket where the tape was hidden, pressed it close to my heart. He wasn’t getting this thing from me without a fight.

“Whoa there, boss,” said George. “I ain’t after your tapes now. I come to fetch you. Granny wants to see you. Don’t worry now, she won’t kill you or nothing. She just wants to talk.”

I wasn’t sure what to do. What did Jeremiah want me to do?

I felt a stirring in my heart then, just a little whisper. Go ahead. After all, you are a prophet of the Spirit. What can they do to you?

“Promise,” he said. “You’ll be safe. She’s only an old woman with some questions.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll come.”

And I followed George down the path that led off of my grandma’s land to where the Urquharts lived.

It took a while, the trail overgrown and winding, the trees thick and gnarled in this part of the woods. I realized for the first time just how massive the Farm really was, how deep the old western woods went. Eventually the trees broke and we came to a clearing with a gravel drive leading past it. Busted toys were tossed about the yard, and a rusty Ford pickup sat out front, flies buzzing around its open window. A row of ratty lawn chairs stuck up from a yard full of kudzu and weeds. A grill lay tumped over on its side, spent charcoal scattered on the grass. And in the midst of all that chaos, the Urquhart house rose like a tumor on the lot.