On Harrow Hill

“Kelly, Tate is dead. Struck dead in the very spot where we stand. An incestuous boy, grown into a demented man, an abettor of witchcraft. Dead as a doornail!”

Tremain’s mouth was slightly open. The uncertainty in her expression was turning into confusion. “We do have a video of Tate, a video that shows—”

Gant cut her off. “That shows a hooded figure, risen from the dead. But it was not Billy Tate! It was Satan you saw in that video! Satan who is now loose in Larchfield. It is Satan who hides and creeps in the night, slaughtering the righteous. But we will find and destroy him! We will defeat all who harbor and condone him. Armageddon is upon us. Those who give succor to Satan shall taste vengeance at the hand of the Church of the Patriarchs. This attack on godliness will not go unanswered. The battle lines are drawn. We invite all the righteous to join us. In this final hour, those who are not with us are against us.”

Tremain turned to the camera. “The Reverend Silas Gant, founder of the Church of the Patriarchs, speaking with me live here in Larchfield. Back to you, Rory.”

The scene shifted to the news desk. Kronck was leaning back in his chair, as if blown there by a gust of wind. A balding, brown-skinned man with thick glasses was sitting next to him

“Wow,” said Kronck. “Strong stuff. Now, moving along to our own RAM medical expert with a different angle on this shocking story—the strange effects of being struck by lightning. Welcome, Doctor Lou.”

“Thanks, Rory. Glad to be here.”

“We all know that being struck by lightning can cause terrible damage, including death. But I’ve heard in some cases the effects can be truly mind-boggling.”

“Absolutely right, Rory. The examples are few, but they are truly amazing. The tremendous voltages involved—one hundred, two hundred, three hundred ­kilovolts—can totally rearrange the chemistry of the brain.”

“Possibly for good? Possibly for evil?”

“Either way. Toss of the coin.”

Kronck pivoted in his chair to face the doctor. “So, is it conceivable that the brain realignment caused by a lightning strike could turn an already unbalanced person into a killer?”

“I’ll say this, Rory. Rewire the brain with a potentially fatal electrical jolt, and just about anything could happen.”

“Wow! Thanks for coming by, Doctor Lou. You never fail to give us something to think about.”

Kronck swiveled back to the camera. “In just a moment we’ll be getting another startling perspective on this remarkable case. But first, these important messages.”

“Has he lost his mind?”

Madeleine’s voice surprised Gurney. He turned from his computer screen to find her standing in the doorway. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Why are you watching this?”

“It’s related to the case I’m working on.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was.”

She came and stood behind his chair, watching in silence as a commercial pitchman explained the vital importance of a home security system—a necessity at a time when “our borders are crumbling, our police are under attack, and violent criminals are running loose in the land.” Immediate protection was just a phone call away.

“Yuck,” muttered Madeleine.

When the commercial ended, Kronck reappeared, the weight of his tone once again an awkward burden for his weak voice. “The sinister events in Larchfield have captured the attention of Karl Kasak, top investigative reporter on RAM’s Crimes Beyond Reason—the series that explores the weird, the paranormal, and the inexplicable. Karl is on his way to Larchfield as we speak. Here’s his take, recorded earlier this evening, on this developing story.”

A video came on showing a man standing next to an open car door in a parking garage. He had thick black hair brushed back from a low forehead and a gritty look of determination. A safari jacket with the sleeves rolled up created a hands-on, high-energy impression. He began speaking as the camera zoomed in.

“Karl Kasak here. I’m heading to a small rural village in upstate New York—where people claim a dead man is stalking the living—a dead man who is now the prime suspect in three ghastly killings. Can the dead come back to life? Can the dead murder the living? Those are the questions we’ll be asking. Get the shocking answers on the next edition of Crimes Beyond Reason.”

Madeleine seemed nonplussed. “This nonsense—this is your case?”

“Yep.”

“There’s actually a debate over whether the person walking around killing people is dead or alive?”

“Debates raise ratings. Especially absurd ones. Of course, the simple explanation is that the medical examiner was wrong. Nothing bizarre at all, just a major error.”

“I still don’t get it. They said your suspect broke out of a coffin? So it wasn’t just the ME’s error? The mortuary person also screwed up?”

“Apparently.”

“What about heart function, lung function, brain activity, livor mortis, rigor mortis? Wasn’t anyone paying attention to anything?”