“That’s the old version of the story.”
One of Mike’s friends interrupted loudly, clearly unhappy that Madison was giving Mike so much attention.
Once she turned toward him, he leaned across the table and eagerly continued.
“The neighbors found the husband and Heather together the next morning.
They buried them again with the Golden Arm between them, and everything stayed quiet for years.”
His expression became more serious.
“Then a group of grave robbers came through a few months ago.
They broke into the tomb and stole the arm, which is when people started hearing Heather wandering outside at night.”
The others quickly joined in.
“People hear heavy footsteps after dark.”
“Farm dogs and livestock have been found torn open.
Something ate their organs.”
“A few people went outside to investigate and never came back.”
“Someone even brought in a priest, but whatever he tried didn’t work.”
The subject frightened them, but fear had never completely erased human curiosity.
After enough alcohol and encouragement from an attractive stranger, their earlier caution disappeared.
Mike noticed that Madison’s attention had shifted toward the others and became desperate to regain it.
He slammed his glass onto the table and raised his voice.
“It’s a ghost story.
Only scared old people believe Heather is walking around.”
He pointed toward the door with drunken confidence.
“If a demon appeared in front of me, one bullet would put it down.”
Charlie watched from across the bar as Mike’s companions cheered.
The alcohol had already convinced them that they were braver and stronger than they truly were.
“Who’s coming with me tonight?” Mike asked.
“We’ll expose the whole thing as a lie.
If the ghost is real, we’ll catch it and become legends around here.”
“Let’s do it!”
“Anyone who stays behind is a coward.”
“We’re the toughest men in Alpena County.”
One of them laughed and wondered aloud whether Heather’s corpse still looked beautiful.
Madison immediately moved farther away from him.
Without anyone stopping them, the group would likely wander into the darkness and die one by one like the reckless college students in a cheap horror movie.
Madison had no interest in saving them from their own stupidity, but she still needed one final piece of information.
“Where is Heather buried?”
A young man near the end of the table answered before Mike could.
“Green Township.
Her husband owned land out there.”
Another man pointed unsteadily toward a solitary figure seated near the bar.
“That’s Andy.
He used to work for Heather’s husband.
He probably knows more than anyone.”
“Thanks.”
Madison stood and walked away from the table.
Mike immediately followed.
“Don’t leave yet.
The day’s still young.”
He stepped into her path and reached for her arm.
“I can prove I’m not some inexperienced kid.”
Madison moved two fingers without looking at him.
Mike’s foot caught against an invisible force.
He fell forward before he could regain his balance, and his face struck the hardwood floor with a sickening thud.
Blood began running from his nose.
His companions hurried to pull him upright while Madison calmly adjusted her dress.
“One last question.”
She looked back at the table.
“You said Heather was the most beautiful woman in the county.
Was she prettier than me?”
An older member of the group stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.
“No.”
Madison smiled.
She returned to Charlie in a noticeably better mood and repeated everything she had learned.
Charlie listened while studying the middle-aged man drinking alone near the end of the bar.
Andy appeared to be in his late fifties.
His work boots and rough hands suggested years of physical labor, while the wedding ring on his left hand indicated that he had a family waiting somewhere outside the bar.
“Let’s confirm the story with him,” Charlie said.
“If he worked for Heather’s husband, he may know where the grave is.”
Madison glanced toward the man.
“How are you planning to make him talk?”
Charlie reached into his pocket and touched the souvenir badge given to him by the Hotel Monteleone.
It displayed the hotel’s crest and looked official enough if shown too quickly.
“I have an idea.”
He crossed the bar and took the seat beside Andy.
“Mr.
Andy?”
The man looked over suspiciously.
Charlie removed the badge and flashed it before Andy had time to examine the writing.
“Agent Smith.
Department of Defense Special Threat Assessment Unit.
We operate through the Pentagon.”
He returned the badge to his pocket immediately.
No such unit existed, but the title sounded sufficiently official.
Andy had no reason to recognize every federal badge or secret division that might operate beneath the Department of Defense.
Madison sat on Charlie’s other side and hid her amused smile behind her hand.
Andy studied Charlie’s young face.
“What does the Pentagon want with me?”
“I need to ask you about a local incident.”
The man returned his attention to his drink.
“Ask.”
“Your full name first.”
“Andy Miller.”
“Mr.
Miller, I’m investigating the Golden Arm.”
The glass slipped from Andy’s hand.
It struck the floor and shattered beside his stool, but he did not appear to notice.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Charlie as fear drained the color from his face.
“Don’t say that name.”
Charlie maintained a calm expression.
“We’re here to end what’s happening.”
Andy looked from Charlie to Madison.
“You?”
“Yes.
Local law enforcement received reports they were not equipped to investigate.
The matter was transferred to people with experience handling unusual threats.”
Charlie had invented most of the explanation as he spoke, but his confident tone gave the story credibility.
Andy remained unconvinced.
“You’re barely older than my son.
A priest came here and couldn’t do anything.
What makes you think you can?”
“Priests provide spiritual guidance and perform religious rites.
That doesn’t make every member of the clergy an expert in hostile manifestations.”
Charlie leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“Madison and I have already encountered Heather twice.
We know she isn’t an ordinary corpse.”
Andy’s expression changed.
Charlie noticed him instinctively touching his wedding ring and decided to press the advantage.
“You have a wife and children, don’t you?”
Andy slowly nodded.
“Then you understand why this needs to end.
Heather is already killing animals and people who leave their homes after dark.
Eventually, hiding indoors won’t be enough.”
“We believe what you saw.
We aren’t here to laugh at your town or dismiss the deaths as superstition.
Help us find the source, and we may be able to protect your family.”
Andy remained silent while struggling with the decision.
Fear urged him to walk away, but the thought of the curse reaching his home finally overcame his reluctance.
He clenched his jaw.
“What do you need to know?”
Charlie relaxed slightly.
“Everything.”
Andy ordered another drink before beginning his story.
The first part matched what Madison had already learned, though he provided names, dates, and details the young men had forgotten.
Heather had been beautiful, demanding, and obsessed with her appearance.
Her husband had nearly ruined himself paying for the Golden Arm after the logging accident, but he never regretted the expense until her death left him alone with the debts.
After he stole the arm from her grave, Heather returned and killed him.
The neighbors buried them together and sealed the Golden Arm inside the coffin.
For decades, no one disturbed the site.
“We all knew what was beneath that ground,” Andy said.
“People around here understood how much the arm meant to Heather.”
The fear in his voice gradually turned into anger.
“That thing was worth more money than most families in the township would see in a lifetime, but none of us touched it.
We knew better.”
Charlie glanced at the backpack resting near his feet.
“Then outsiders found out.”
Andy nodded.
“Grave robbers.
No one knows where they came from or who told them about the arm.
They broke into the burial site and took it.”
His fingers tightened around the new glass.
“If those thieves had left Heather alone, none of this would be happening.”
“What changed after the robbery?” Charlie asked.
“Everything.”
Andy looked toward the bar’s front windows as though expecting darkness to gather outside despite the afternoon sunlight.
“People started hearing footsteps around Green Township after midnight.
Something walked between the houses while calling for the Golden Arm.”
He swallowed before continuing.
“At first, most of us thought someone was playing a cruel joke.
A few younger men grabbed rifles and went searching.”
Madison leaned forward.
“What happened to them?”
“They never came home.”
Andy’s voice dropped almost to a whisper.
“Search parties found blood, torn clothing, and pieces of their equipment.
They never recovered enough remains to bury.”
Charlie’s expression grew serious.
“The corpse has also been killing animals?”
“Dogs, chickens, deer, anything it catches outside.
Their bodies are ripped open, and the organs are gone.”
Andy looked directly at Charlie.
“Every night, Heather rises and wanders through the township.
It doesn’t matter how many times someone shoots her or how many prayers the priest says.”
His hands began trembling.
“She always returns.”
Charlie and Madison exchanged a glance.
The story matched Fiona’s explanation of the curse and confirmed that destroying the manifestations would never solve the problem.
Andy grabbed Charlie’s wrist before he could ask another question.
“Listen to me.”
His grip tightened with desperate strength.
“Do not go outside after dark.
Lock every door, cover every window, and ignore anything you hear.”
Andy’s terrified eyes moved toward the backpack containing the Golden Arm.
“Whatever calls your name, do not answer it.”