Free Raising the Dead by Mara Purnhagen Page B

attack.
    “Noah thinks the guy who hurt William might come back tonight,” I told Avery as she drove us out of town.
    “I thought about that, too. The police will be busy with Halloween.” She turned down the country road that led to William’s house. “And this place is in the middle of nowhere.”
    “I wonder what he wants.”
    “The attacker? Who knows.”
    It all came back to the coffins. It had to. “This guy showed up after the storm, right? So maybe he knew what was hidden in the caskets. Maybe he’s been waiting for the right time to steal everything.”
    “Makes sense.” Avery slowed down as we approached a dip in the road. “But how did this guy know anything was inside those coffins? Besides bodies, I mean? No one knew.”
    That was true. I cringed at the thought that it was the actual bodies he was after. A modern-day ghoul roaming around town was a disgusting thought. A ghoul on Halloween was worse. Dad had thoroughly questioned me the night before about my belief in the creatures, concerned that I was taking them too seriously. I assured him I wasn’t, which led to a speech about how I shouldn’t dwell on the events in Charleston.
    “I’ll figure this out and you’ll see,” he promised. “There’s a natural explanation.”
    “Sure,” I said. But I knew Dad’s theories would never be strong enough to change my mind. I had glimpsed the paranormal.
    We arrived at William’s house. Mom led us inside to the kitchen, where I was surprised to see Noah. “Hi,” I sputtered, suddenly overcome by a flutter of happy nervousness.
    “William’s napping right now,” Mom explained. “We’re making him lunch.”
    “Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” Noah said. He smiled at Avery. “You here to help?”
    Avery walked over to the stove and picked up a spatula. “Grilled cheese is my specialty.”
    “I know how to stir soup,” I offered. Seeing Noah making lunch was oddly unsettling. I hadn’t expected him to already be here.
    “We’ve got it covered. Maybe you could find some plates and bowls?”
    I dug through the cabinets until I located the plates and bowls. They looked dusty, so I took them to the sink for a quick wash. Avery and Noah chatted about school and Mom went outside. As I washed the dishes, I looked out the little window over the sink. I could see the hill and a few gravestones. I also saw people.
    “Who’s out there?”
    Noah came up behind me. “Oh yeah. The museum people. They’ve been here for hours.”
    “Really?” I craned my neck to get a better look, but the hill blocked most of the action. “How long have you been here?”
    “Mom and Shane dropped me off an hour ago. William was asking for you.”
    I turned around. “He was?”
    “Yeah. He really wanted to see you.”
    “Huh.” I wondered if he had remembered something about the attack. I looked out the window again. This time, I saw Mom walking away from the cemetery. A minute later, she walked in through the kitchen door, her cell phone pressed against her ear.
    “I can meet you in twenty minutes,” she said. “Right. Sounds good. See you then.” She shut her phone. “Good news and bad.”
    The good news was that the museum team was open to allowing our family into the morgue, but only for a few hours. The bad news was that she had to go now. Dad, Shane and Trisha would meet her there.
    “I hate to leave like this,” she said.
    “We’ll be fine,” I assured her. “We can sit with William and give him lunch and everything.” Noah and Avery agreed.
    “Okay, well, I’ll try to be back before dinner. And Shane said he’d spend the night tonight.”
    I was glad to hear it. Mom left, and I saw a few more cars follow. Avery and Noah finished making lunch just as William woke up.
    “Why don’t you take it to him?” Noah said. “It’ll give you a chance to talk.”
    Avery ladled the soup into a bowl and arranged triangles of grilled cheese on a plate. “And Noah said he’d go out to the