“What about during the day?” Charlie asked.
“Is Heather still dangerous when the sun is up?”
Andy considered the question before slowly shaking his head.
His fear did not disappear, but some of the tension left his shoulders.
“Daylight is safer.
She doesn’t walk through town the way she does at night, but something still feels wrong.
You can sense her even when you can’t see her.”
He stared into his drink.
“Most families with enough money have already left Green Township.
The rest of us can’t afford to abandon our homes or jobs, so we stay inside after dark and hope she passes us by.”
Charlie glanced toward the front windows.
The afternoon sunlight made Andy’s warning sound almost unbelievable, yet everything they had experienced proved the danger was real.
“Did anyone try returning the arm?”
“We tried.”
Andy explained that after the grave robbers vanished with the original Golden Arm, the remaining residents collected money and commissioned a replacement.
It was not made from solid gold, but the craftsman copied the design as closely as possible.
The townspeople believed Heather might accept the substitute and return to her grave.
“When we opened the burial site, her body was gone,” Andy said.
His fingers tightened around the glass.
“The coffin was empty.
We were terrified, but we still left the replacement arm inside and sealed the grave again.”
Andy finished the rest of his drink before continuing.
“The footsteps returned that same night.
So did the screaming.”
The following morning, several residents returned to the grave.
Heather had not accepted their offering.
The artificial arm had been broken into pieces and scattered across the open coffin.
“She only wants the real one,” Andy said.
“Nothing else will satisfy her.”
Charlie felt the weight of the backpack beside his chair.
The genuine Golden Arm rested inside, hidden beneath his supplies.
“So Heather’s original body has remained missing since the robbery?”
“Yes.”
“Even during the day?”
“As far as anyone knows.”
Andy’s expression darkened.
“She killed her husband with an ax when he stole the arm from her grave.
This time, she won’t rest until she gets it back.”
Charlie asked several more questions about Heather’s history.
Andy gave him directions to the family grave, the abandoned house where she had lived with her husband, and several places she had frequently visited before the logging accident.
Once Charlie had enough information, he rose from the stool.
“We’ll handle it.”
Andy looked at him with desperate hope.
“End this before someone else disappears.”
Charlie gave him a final nod and returned to Madison.
She had remained close enough to watch the conversation without appearing involved.
“The curse belongs to Heather,” Charlie said after they moved away from the bar.
“She has a physical corpse, but it seems to disappear during daylight.”
Madison crossed her arms as she considered the information.
“Spirits usually remain connected to places that mattered to them in life.
Her grave and former home are the most likely locations.”
“We should find her before sunset.”
“Night makes her stronger, and the curse already marks both of us.
Waiting would give her every advantage.”
Madison nodded.
“If she isn’t at the grave or the house, we can check the other places Andy mentioned.”
Charlie patted the backpack.
“We also have something she wants.”
A faint smile appeared on Madison’s face.
“If Heather knows we brought back her precious arm, I’m sure she’ll come out to thank us personally.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
Madison glanced around the unimpressive bar with open dislike.
“Then let’s finish this quickly.
The drinks are terrible, the decorations are depressing, and the people here have no sense of style.”
Charlie agreed, and they left before Mike or his friends could begin another drunken argument.
They had almost reached the rental car when a sheriff’s deputy approached from across the parking lot.
He wore a tan Alpena County uniform and a broad-brimmed campaign hat, while one hand rested casually near his duty belt.
“You two aren’t from around here,” he said.
“Are you passing through?”
Alpena County had a small population, which made unfamiliar visitors easy to notice.
The recent disappearances had probably made local law enforcement even more suspicious of strangers.
Charlie allowed Madison to answer.
Her charm would draw far less scrutiny than his fake federal badge.
“We heard the scenery around Alpena was beautiful,” Madison said with a warm smile.
“My boyfriend and I wanted to spend a few days exploring the area.”
The deputy’s cautious expression softened almost immediately.
“There are some wonderful places along Lake Huron.
Just be careful if you’re heading into the woods, especially near sunset.”
“We will.”
The officer handed Madison a business card.
“Call the department if you have any trouble.”
Madison thanked him sweetly and waited until his patrol vehicle left the parking lot.
She then dropped the card onto the pavement and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Let’s go.”
Charlie started the engine.
The tires rolled over the deputy’s card as they drove toward Green Township.
The area appeared peaceful from a distance.
Sugar maples, red oaks, and stretches of farmland surrounded quiet roads that might normally attract campers, hunters, and families seeking a weekend away from the city.
The township itself told a different story.
Many homes stood dark despite the afternoon hour.
Curtains covered the windows, abandoned vehicles sat in driveways, and several properties displayed signs announcing hurried sales.
The few residents Charlie saw moved quickly.
They kept their heads down and paid no attention to the unfamiliar rental car passing through town.
Andy’s description had not captured the full effect of the curse.
Green Township looked less like a community and more like a place waiting for nightfall.
Fear had settled over every road and building, driving away anyone who could afford to leave.
Charlie and Madison did not stop to question the residents.
They already possessed clear directions, and drawing attention to the Golden Arm could create unnecessary problems.
Their first destination was Heather’s grave.
The small local cemetery stood beyond a line of trees near the edge of the township.
Rows of traditional headstones stretched across the grass, and the absence of visitors gave the place an oppressive silence.
Charlie secured the Glock beneath his shirt and checked that the crucifix and holy water remained inside his bag.
Madison’s earlier confidence also disappeared as she prepared herself for a genuine confrontation.
Fiona had taught her the spell needed to sever the curse, but neither of them knew how powerful Heather would be near the source of her obsession.
They followed Andy’s directions to a disturbed grave near the rear of the cemetery.
The soil behind the headstone had been torn open.
A weathered coffin remained visible inside the pit, and the damaged lid showed where the grave robbers had forced their way inside.
Heather’s body was gone.
Charlie stopped near the edge.
“Can you sense anything?”
Madison closed her eyes and focused on the air around the grave.
She did not possess Nan’s telepathy or a medium’s ability to see spirits, but her witch blood allowed her to recognize traces of supernatural power.
“It feels like the corpses that attacked us,” she said.
“Only much stronger.”
She opened her eyes and scanned the surrounding tombstones.
“She isn’t here.”
Charlie had hoped to resolve the curse before searching farther into the township.
With sunset approaching, he did not want to waste time waiting for Heather to return.
He removed the Golden Arm from the backpack and raised it above the open grave.
“Heather!”
His voice carried across the cemetery.
“I brought your Golden Arm back.
Come and take it!”
A cold wind swept through the trees.
Fallen leaves spun across the grass while Madison prepared to use her telekinesis.
Several minutes passed.
Nothing emerged from the grave, and the Book of Containment gave no warning.
Charlie lowered the arm.
“I expected her to appear right in front of us.”
“She’s weaker during the day,” Madison explained.
“If she’s still somewhere inside the township, distance may limit how quickly she can respond.”
Charlie returned the Golden Arm to the backpack.
“Then we’ll try her house.”
They left the cemetery and followed the directions Andy had provided.
A short drive brought them to an isolated property surrounded by overgrown grass and dying trees.
Heather’s former home stood at the end of a dirt driveway.
Dust covered the windows, boards had begun rotting along the porch, and weeds pushed through cracks in the front steps.
No one had lived there since Heather’s husband was found dead beside her corpse.
The residents had refused to purchase or enter the property.
Decades of neglect had left the house frozen around the memory of the murder.
Charlie shut off the engine.
He and Madison approached the porch together.
The front door resisted at first, then opened beneath Charlie’s shoulder with a long groan.
Stale air and dust greeted them as they entered.
Charlie had barely taken two steps when the temperature dropped.
He reached for the backpack, intending to draw out the Golden Arm and repeat his challenge.
Before his fingers touched the zipper, a familiar voice whispered from somewhere inside the dark house.
“My… Golden Arm…”
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