The Ford pulled up in front of the cabin and stopped. Rachel watched a frail old woman get out of the car holding two ornate candlesticks. The woman clutched the candlesticks to her and stood by the car looking around, waiting. She was obviously terrified and Rachel, feeling a stab of guilt, looked away. “She’s here,” Rachel said.

Catch said, “Tell her to come in.”

Effrom looked up from the bed, but he could not rise enough to see out the window. “What are you going to do to the wife?” he demanded.

“Nothing at all,” Rachel said. “She has something I need. When I get it, you can both go home.”

Rachel went to the door and threw it open as if she were welcoming home a long-lost relative. Amanda stood by the car, thirty feet away. “Mrs. Elliot, you’ll need to bring the candlesticks in so we can inspect them.”

“No.” Amanda stood firm. “Not until I know that Effrom is safe.”

Rachel turned to Effrom. “Say something to your wife, Mr. Elliot.”

“Nope,” Effrom said. “I’m not speaking to her. This is all her fault.”

“Please cooperate, Mr. Elliot, so we can let you go home.” To Amanda, Rachel said, “He doesn’t want to talk, Mrs. Elliot. Why don’t you bring the candlesticks in? I assure you that neither one of you will be harmed.” Rachel couldn’t believe that she was saying these things. She felt as if she were reading the script from a bad gangster movie.

Amanda stood clutching the candlesticks, uncertain of what she should do. Rachel watched the old woman take a tentative step toward the cabin, then, suddenly, the candlesticks were ripped from her grasp and Amanda was thrown to the ground as if she’d been hit by a shotgun blast.

“No!” Rachel screamed.

The candlesticks seemed to float in the air as Catch carried them to her. She ignored them and ran to where Amanda lay on the ground. She cradled the old woman’s head in her arms. Amanda opened her eyes and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you all right, Mrs. Elliot? I’m so sorry.”

“Leave her,” Catch said. “I’ll take care of both of them in a second.”

Rachel turned toward Catch’s voice. The candlesticks were shaking in the air. She still found it unsettling to talk to a disembodied voice.

“I don’t want these people hurt, do you understand?”

“But now that we have the invocation, they are insignificant.” The candlesticks turned in the air as Catch examined them. “Come now, I think there’s a seam on one of these, but I can’t grip it. Come open it.”

“In a minute,” Rachel said. She helped Amanda get to her feet. “Let’s go in the house, Mrs. Elliot. It’s all over. You can go home as soon as you feel up to it.”