She nodded. “I did see something I didn’t tell you about. It like to scare me to death, though. Ain’t never seen nothing like it. I thought it must be the old devil himself coming after that woman.”

I felt a chill along my spine. I could hear the terror in her voice, and I squeezed her hand again.

“What did it look like?” I asked.

She shuddered. “Horrible. I looked up those stairs when I heard that woman up there, and this shadow come up behind her. I saw it move and strike her, and I turned away and tried to hide myself so it wouldn’t come after me.”

How bizarre. “What did the shadow look like? I know it’s scary for you to think about, but if you can describe it for me, maybe I can figure out what it was.”

“All right.” She paused. “Reckon it was like a great big ole hand, ’cepting it had horns on it.”

What on earth could it be? I wondered. “How big was the hand?”

“Really big.” Azalea sketched out a shape in the air with one hand.

Even allowing for the distortion caused by light and shadow, it sounded like whatever Azalea had seen was larger than I would have expected a normal hand and arm to look like as they cast a shadow.

“That does sound really strange,” I said, “but I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for it. Don’t worry about it anymore. I promise you I’ll figure it out, but you will need to tell the sheriff about it later, when you’re feeling up to it.”

That seemed to reassure her. “Okay, Mr. Charlie. Thank you. I be all right now.”

“Good. You get some rest, and we’ll come see you tomorrow.”

I didn’t wait for any acknowledgment. I pushed the chair back as quietly as I could and slipped from the room. Kanesha and Lily waited right outside the door.

“Can I go in now?” Lily asked her niece.

“Go ahead. I’ll be with you in a minute.” Kanesha glanced at me.

Kanesha and I moved away from the door to talk. I shared with her what Azalea had told me, and Kanesha frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “Maybe she was so frightened of the dark she imagined it. It’s so bizarre.”

“Yes, it is,” I said. “But she seemed convinced of what she saw. It wasn’t the devil, obviously, but it was something with a distorted shadow. We just have to figure out what it was.”

Lily came out of the room and interrupted further conversation. “’Zalea says I should go back with you and finish up dinner.” She smiled, though her eyes were wet with tears. “She go’n’ be okay, she ordering me around like that.”

“You really don’t have to, Lily,” I said. “I’d rather you stay here with Azalea.”

Kanesha nodded. “I’ll take you home later.”

Lily shook her head. “No, ’Zalea be like to have a fit, she find out I didn’t do what she done told me to do. Besides, I be feeling better if I got something to do. You don’t worry ’bout me, ’Nesha.”