“ You ’ re saying you want me to go to this woman to ask her to raise the dead ?”
“ No ,” the old man answered . “ I want you to go to that woman because I don ’ t want you messin ’ with no more corpses during my shift …”
The idea might have seemed crazier to a man in less need of sleep . But Will had no time to weigh the sanity of it because if anyone missed the dead girl , if maybe she were expected somewhere , it would not take long for them to trace her to Room 111-B . He climbed into his old Plymouth and followed Interstate 65 thirty miles to the Wellington exit like Gus had told him . The address belonged to an old brownstone in a section of Wellington he had expected would be much grittier because it was not exactly among the town ' s finer neighborhoods . Yet the two story residence seemed anything but foreboding and even bordered on pleasant . Hardly the place for a witch to reside , Will thought as he started up the stoop .
And just what had Gus ’ late mother asked of this Naiome anyway ? My brother Fred was run over by a truck last week . Here ’ s twenty dollars and a fistful of innards . Can I talk to him now ? During the last few hours Will had embraced a corpse , risked the only job he had by doing it , and now he was checking out sorceresses . If he kept this up he knew he would be getting measured for a straitjacket before dinner .
Even before he knocked , the front door opened a crack . He strained to see the woman standing behind it . “ Hello . My name is William Cotter . Are you Naiome ? I--I don ’ t know your last name . Look , I ’ m sorry . This is a mistake . I really shouldn ’ t be —”
“ I know why you are here ,” she said and slowly opened the door . Will considered double clutching his Plymouth back to I-65 . Instead he stepped inside . He had expected a much older woman . After all , Gus ’ own mother had visited this place many years ago , and Gus was pushing seventy . Yet this woman ’ s face contained hardly a wrinkle , and her hair was dark . She wore a faded gray smock , the kind someone about to paint the house might wear , with a red scarf tied around her forehead like a sweat band . For some reason Will had expected her to be black , but her skin was as white as milk . She seemed the kind of woman you would pass in a shopping mall without looking at twice .
The house beyond the door told a different story than the house seen from the street . The foyer was dark and its hardwood floor boards had buckled badly . In the drawing room into which the woman led Will the drapes were a deep purple and pulled so tightly over the windows that no daylight shone through . A single floor lamp was covered by a battered shade that looked more like a paper bag with tassels , and it provided barely enough brightness to see . Tiny glass figurines covered the coffee table , book shelves , even the floor . They were all birds with outstretched wings , and they seemed to be everywhere .
As the woman turned to sit on the divan near the dim light from the lamp , he noticed that she was slightly hump-backed . She motioned for him to sit beside her , and the old divan ’ s cushion sank beneath his weight . Staring at him , she said nothing .
“ My friend told me that you —” he started , but she seemed uninterested in formalities . “ Are you familiar with something in the Bible about King Saul going to En-dor , something about necro- ”
“— Saul was a liar !” she interrupted so suddenly that Will flinched . “ He came to the woman of En-dor wearing a disguise because he himself had cast out from Israel all those who communicated with the dead . But the woman of En-dor knew she had been deceived because she knew what was true . She knew about the disguises we all wear !” She leaned forward and placed her hands on his , moving her thumbs along his wrists as if she were exploring them . “ Just as I know what disguise you wear . Do you seek my help ?”
Yes ,” Will said , realizing that the woman was now talking business . He reached into his
pocket and pulled out several small bills . “ I have only twenty - no thirty - dollars , but I don ’ t know if —”
She opened her palm . The gesture was quick and efficient , and Will handed her the money . “ There ’ s this girl ,” he began . “ A young , beautiful girl , who is — who is dead . I know nothing about her , not even her name , not even who she —” Quick , efficient , he thought . “ I don ’ t want her to remain dead ,” he said , and told his story quickly to her . She remained silent for a few moments after he finished .
“ The dead do not enjoy being disturbed ,” she responded .
“ She wouldn ’ t want to remain dead ,” Will said .
“ Not now .” “ I see .” That seemed to cover all the explanation the woman required .
She reached for a large figurine from the coffee table , and Will noticed this one was not a bird . It had a woman ’ s head and body , with long , thin membranous wings like those of a bat , and sharp talons jutting from its fingertips . The old woman held the glass figure tightly in both hands , clasping it close to her as one would hold an instrument of prayer . Will had a sudden disquieting thought .
“ My friend says you work with — with human entrails , when you perform your —”
“— Your friend does not know Naoime ,” she interrupted , and for the first time she revealed a faint smile . “ Incantations work as effectively . Besides , a man ’ s viscera must be given willingly to be truly effective . Do you know of such a man who might be so disposed as to offer ?”
William thought the woman had made a joke , but she no longer smiled . She handed him the figurine . “ You will learn a brief ‘ kasap ’, an incantation that I will write down for you . It will involve the ‘ habar ’, the tying of the knot that will bind you to the dead girl . Tonight at twelve you will place this figurine beside her as you recite the words I tell you . You will hold her closely — very , very closely — while you do this …”
***
Standing at the closed door to the Pathology Department , Will caught the fragments of Dr . Carliner ’ s conversation with his assistant .
“… no persons reported missing fitting her description … be a shame to put someone so young in The