“I’m really sorry,” the man said again.
Her shock dissipated. Whoever he was, she doubted very much that he was a rapist or carjacker. His expression was apologetic, his tone concerned.
“It’s okay,” Maria said, taking a deep breath. “You just surprised me, is all. Can I help you?”
The man lowered his hands and smiled. “Possibly, Miss…?”
“Maria Nasr. And you are?”
“You can call me Levi Stoltzfus.”
Maria thought that was odd. Not
my name is
but
you can
call me
. She chalked it up to an archaic speech mannerism. She’d heard the Amish sometimes favored those.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Stoltzfus?”
“Well, I’m sorry about this, but as I was passing by, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You seemed very…irate.”
“My boss,” she explained. “It’s a long story.”
“Would that story have anything to do with Adam Senft?”
Maria paused, keeping her poker face. She studied him closely, trying to figure out his intentions. Had he recognized her name? Remembered her byline from a previous story? Amish people read the newspapers, just like everyone else. Indeed, since they couldn’t watch television, listen to the radio, or go online, newspapers were their only source for news. Or maybe, like millions of other Americans, maybe he was just fascinated with morbid stories and had recognized Senft’s name.
“How would you know that, Mr. Stoltzfus?”
“I heard you mention him, I’m afraid.” He glanced at the hospital. “Adam Senft is a patient here, isn’t he?”
“And may I ask what your interest in this is?”
“If you tell me what your own interest in him is, then I might be able to help you.”
Maria laughed. “I really doubt that, Mr. Stoltzfus, but I appreciate your—”
“You want to speak to him, right?”
She nodded.
“So do I. And if you tell me what your involvement is with him, I can make it happen for you. May I sit in your car while we talk?”
Ken stifled a yawn and cracked his aching back.
“Long night?” Terry asked, grinning.
“Yeah.” Ken rotated his arms and stretched his shoulders. “Didn’t get to bed until well after midnight, and couldn’t fall asleep until past two.”
Terry’s grin widened. “Had a little company, did you?”
“Fuck you. You talking about Maria?”
“Hey—first-name basis now, huh? Come on, Ken. You banged her, didn’t you? Tell the truth.”
“No,” Ken protested. “Not that it’s any of your business, but we had dinner. That’s all. It was a business meeting, Terry. She interviewed me. We ate. And then I came home.”
Ken felt defensive. It seemed disrespectful to Deena’s memory to be having this conversation. But before he could explain that to his best friend, Terry continued.
“You should have banged her, man. That’s some ass on her. I bet you went home and thought about it.”
“Dipshit.”
“What? She’s cute.”
“She is. And she’s also too young. Look, I just couldn’t sleep. That’s all. Had stuff on my mind. In case you forgot, we open tomorrow night.”
“I know,” Terry said. “That’s why I got a good night’s sleep.”
“Wish I could say the same. I ended up doing a few shots of Woodford Reserve just so I’d nod off.”
They walked the trail, checking off things that were completed and making a last-minute list of what still needed to be done. Terry had taken some vacation time so that he could give Ken a hand. Both men felt overwhelmed. Most of the volunteers wouldn’t arrive until the evening. There were only a few on hand, and two who hadn’t shown up at all.
“Have you seen…” Ken snapped his fingers, trying to remember their names. “Rhonda and Sam? The kids from the school?”
Terry shook his head. “Not this morning. Maybe they had something going on at the school?”
“Maybe. I know that I shouldn’t bitch about it. I mean, they’re volunteers. It’s not like they’re getting paid. But we’ve got a lot to do yet. We could really use some extra hands.”
“We’ll get ’er done,” Terry said, doing his best impression of stand-up comedian Larry the Cable Guy. “Don’t worry, man. You’ve just got the jitters. Just like back in high school, right before a game.”
“Maybe,” Ken agreed. “I just want everything to go smooth, you know? I want this to really be a good thing.”
“It will be.”
They finished their tour and walked back to the beginning of the trail.
“Listen,” Ken said, fishing his car keys out of his pocket. “I’ve got to run to the costume store and pick up our masks. Think you can handle things while I’m gone?”
“Damn straight. What do you want us to focus on?”
Ken handed him the list. “Everything on here. You’ve got Cecil, Tom, Russ and Tina to help you this morning. I sent Jorge to pick up more lime. He should be back in an hour or so. Have him outline the trail some more. Make sure we get a good coating of lime down so people know where the trail is and don’t go wandering off into the woods tomorrow night.”
“Will do.”
“Everybody else will be here this afternoon, after they get off work and stuff. We’ll do a final walk-through and then have a staff meeting out here in the field, so that everybody knows what they’re doing tomorrow night.”
“No worries.” Terry took the list and looked it over.
They said good-bye and Ken climbed into his truck and shut the door. He started it up. Johnny Cash’s rendition of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage” filled the cab’s interior.
“No,” Ken muttered as he drove away. “No worries at all. Nothing’s gonna go wrong.”
CHAPTER TEN
“So what do you want him for?”
“No fair,” Levi said. “I asked you first.”
They were still in the parking lot, sitting in Maria’s car. She’d hesitated at first when he had suggested it, but finally relented. He was definitely Amish—no way that beard was a disguise. She decided he didn’t pose a threat. Even so, she made a point of keeping the canister of pepper spray within reach, and letting him know that she had it.
“Okay,” Maria said, “but I’m warning you. If this is some kind of trick…”
“I assure you that it’s not, Miss Nasr. My interest in Adam Senft most likely parallels your own. In any case, it’s really important.”
“You can call me Maria if you like. Nobody’s called me ‘Miss Nasr’ since I got out of college.”
“Very well. It is nice to make your acquaintance, Maria.”
“Yours, too.” She paused. “Um, not to be rude, but what do I call you, anyway? Brother Stoltzfus or something?”
He appeared confused. “No, I’m not a clergyman. You can just call me Levi if you like.”
“Okay.” Maria relaxed. “I wasn’t sure. I’ve never actually talked to an Amish person before. I took one of those tours in Lancaster when I first moved here, but that’s all. I didn’t know if you guys referred to each other as Brother and Sister or not.”
“Oh, I’m not Amish. At least, not anymore.”
“I see.” She frowned. “I’m sorry. I just assumed, what with your clothing and the buggy and all. Are you Mennonite, then?”
“No. It’s a long story. I was once a part of the Amish faith, but sadly, I left the community many years ago. Now, I’m just…well, I don’t really
know
what I am. Certainly not Amish or Mennonite. Or even Protestant or Catholic. I guess I’m just trying to live my life right and do God’s work, the way that feels right to me. What would you call that?”
“Noble?”
“I like that.” He smiled. “I would call it nondenominational.”
“That would work, too.”
Levi’s stomach rumbled loudly. He smiled, embarrassed. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten today. I’m fasting.”
Maria nodded. Although she didn’t ask, she wondered what the reason for the fast was. Was it religious or medical?
“So, I’ve got to ask. If you’re not Amish anymore, then why the clothes and the beard? What’s up with the hat?”
“I’m single. I thought that women might be attracted to the beard. And as for the hat, it’s to keep the sun out of my eyes.”
Maria tried to suppress her laughter, but failed. She snorted once, twice, and then laughed out loud, jumping up and down in the seat. Tears streamed from her eyes.
“What?” Levi asked, seemingly puzzled. “What’s so funny? You don’t like my beard?”
“I…” Gasping for breath, Maria wiped the tears from her eyes. “I think it’s great. It’s unique, you know? A lot of guys these days just go with a goatee. You’ve got a very retro vibe going on. It works for you.”
“Excellent.” He sounded pleased.
She stifled another burst of laughter and smiled. When she felt she had control again, Maria explained her assignment—the feature article on the Ghost Walk and how it had inspired the book idea. She told him about her research into LeHorn’s Hollow, powwow magic, and, ultimately, Adam Senft’s involvement. Levi stayed silent throughout. He absentmindedly stroked his beard and listened. His face was expressionless.
“I guess it must all sound pretty bizarre to you,” she finished. “But there are people who still believe in this stuff, even today.”
“Oh, there’s no doubt. I’m one of them.”
Maria was stunned. “W-what?”
“My father worked powwow, as did my grandfather. It’s sort of a family tradition.”
“Wait a second,” Maria said. “Stoltzfus. Your father was Amos Stoltzfus?”
Levi cocked his head. “You’ve heard of him?”
“He was mentioned in some of the articles I read when I was researching. Sort of a famous guy, right?”
Levi shrugged. “He helped a lot of people.”
“So then you already knew all about Nelson LeHorn and the murders and all the legends about that area?”
Levi nodded. “I did.”
“Then why didn’t you interrupt me?”
“I needed to see what you knew. My reasons for speaking with Senft are related to your research into LeHorn’s Hollow. In fact, I was just there last night.”
“When? I was there, too. Are you helping with the Ghost Walk?”
He frowned. “No. But tell me more about this Ghost Walk. Your article sounds interesting.”
“Well,” Maria said, “it’s a Halloween trail that Ken Ripple is building for charity. It’s located in the same forest as LeHorn’s Hollow—or, at least where LeHorn’s Hollow used to be, before it burned down. My article about it runs this afternoon.”
“I see.”
“You must have noticed them working on it when you were there.”
“No,” Levi said. “I was preoccupied with something else. What is it, exactly?”
Maria shrugged. “People dress up in scary costumes and hide in the woods. Then other people pay money to walk through the woods and be scared.”
“Hmmm.” Levi’s frown deepened. “A lot of people probably attend an event like that.”
“Sure,” Maria agreed. “At least, that’s what the organizers are hoping. The proceeds go to help fight women’s cancer.”
“When does it open?”
“Tomorrow night. The trail opens at seven and stays open until midnight, followed by a party with live bands and stuff. You know, to celebrate the start of Halloween, since the holiday begins at midnight. I know a lot of people don’t really celebrate until the next night, but technically, the holiday starts at midnight.”
Levi’s face grew pale. He looked startled—or maybe sick. He sank into the seat, shoulders slumped, head hung low. He closed his eyes and sighed.
Maria leaned forward, concerned. “Are you okay? You look like you’re going to throw up.”
Levi didn’t answer her right away, and when he did, his voice was panicked. He covered his mouth with one trembling hand.
“Tomorrow night. Of course…The walls will be at their thinnest then, just after midnight. If it breaches with all those people in the area…My Lord! There’s no time…”
“What are you talking about?” Alarmed by his reaction, Maria inched her hand toward the pepper spray.
Levi bolted upright, reached out, and snatched her wrist. He squeezed—gently, but firm. Alarmed, Maria tried to pull away.
“Hey!” she shouted. “Let go of me or I’ll fucking scream.”
She hated that. Hated the threat of screaming, like that was the only thing a woman was capable of.
If you don’t stop, the
widdle girly will scweam
. It sounded pathetic. There were other ways to defend herself. Her fear dissipated, replaced with anger. She was furious that he’d made her feel this way.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Levi said. “Please calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” She tried to get free again. “Let go of me, you son of a bitch.”
Maria raised her free hand and slapped at him. To her dismay, she missed. Levi blinked as the blow whizzed by. Her hand glanced off the seat. It seemed impossible to her. This close, there was no way she could have missed.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he repeated, his voice patient. “Please. I just need you to listen to me and I don’t want to be hit. Okay?”
Breathing hard, Maria nodded.
“Okay.” He released her wrist and folded his hands in his lap. “I’m sorry if I upset you. That wasn’t my intention. I’m just scared, is all.”
“What you are,” Maria said, “is lucky. Lucky I didn’t knock your head off.”
He smiled slightly. “Even if you’d wanted to, you couldn’t have.”
“Oh, believe me—I wanted to. You gonna tell me you’re an expert at Amish karate or something?”
“No, not at all. It’s just that I carry something on my person that prevents attacks like that. Your aim was true. It just wasn’t effective.”
Maria started to protest, but Levi held up his hand.
“Please, let me continue. I’m sorry for upsetting you. I shouldn’t have touched you and I know it was wrong. But we have a very serious situation here and not a lot of time to deal with it. I can’t do this alone. I need help, starting with Adam Senft.”
“Is this some kind of powwow thing?”
“No. The powers that I’ll be calling on and the methods I’ll be using have nothing to do with powwow. They are a much older and much more dangerous form of magic.”
“I think I’ve heard enough,” Maria said. She reached for the pepper spray again. “I’d like you to leave. Now.”
“Listen to me,” Levi pleaded. “You don’t understand what’s going on. If I could just—”
“I want you to get out of my car
right now
.”
“Please…”
“Let’s see if powwow has a cure for pepper spray to the fucking face!”
She raised the canister and pointed the nozzle at him. Her thumb was on the button.
“When you were eight years old,” Levi said quickly, “you had a pet turtle named Lucky. You called him that because your father found him in the middle of the Garden State Parkway, crossing several lanes of traffic. He was lucky to be alive.”
“What—” She lowered the pepper spray and stared at him, gaping.
“One day,” Levi continued, “you came home from school and took Lucky out into the backyard. You had a small, plastic wading pool with green and pink fish painted on the sides. You used to let Lucky splash around in it. On that day, Pete Nincetti, the bully from next door, came into the yard and stole Lucky from you. Your parents weren’t home yet, and you were scared of Pete because he was older than you were. You tried to get Lucky back but Pete shoved you down. You started crying. Then he tossed Lucky into the air and hit him with his baseball bat. He did this four more times, cracking the shell and finally knocking Lucky down into a sewer drain.”
Tears streamed down Maria’s shocked face. “Stop it. How do you—”
“You told your parents when they came home. Your father hollered at Mr. Nincetti, but nothing ever happened. The police did nothing. His parents did nothing. Pete wasn’t punished.”
“I…I never told anyone.”
“Wrong. You told Clarissa Thomas, your roommate during your freshman year in college. But what you never told anyone was that three months later, it was you who wrapped the rat poison up in a piece of bologna and fed it to Pete’s dog.”
“Shut up,” Maria sobbed. “Just stop it.”
“The dog vomited blood and died. Pete cried. So did you.”
“Are you some kind of stalker or something? Have you been following me?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know this? Tell me!”
“
I just know
.”
She buried her face in her hands. “You son of a bitch.”
“I’m sorry that I had to do this,” Levi said, “but I needed to get your attention. I had to show you proof that this isn’t just the ramblings of a crazy man. I need you to listen to me, Maria. More importantly, I need you to believe what I’m saying.”
“But you just—”
“If it’s any consolation, you might like to know that, years later, Pete was shot in the head by two men named Tony Genova and Vincent Napoli, after he ran afoul of the mob. Despite the severity of the wound, it took him a long time to die. He suffered. His body is buried in an unmarked grave near Manalapan.”
Maria opened the console between them and pulled out a tissue. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, then tossed the crumpled tissue on the floor.
“How the hell do you know all this?”
“The methods don’t matter,” Levi said. “What matters is that you’ve seen incontrovertible proof that I can do things like that. Things that you don’t believe in. Except that now you’ve got no choice but to believe in them. This was no parlor trick. It’s real. Do you believe?”
She hesitated. “Yes.”
“Good. Because I’ve got a lot more to tell you, and if you’re going to help me, then you can’t have any doubts.”
“Help you? I’m not involved in anything, Levi. I’m just researching a book.”
“No,” he said. “You’re involved. Whether you realize it or not. It feels…right, to me. You’re a part of this. Not by your own hand, but because that’s what God wants of you.”
“I may believe you’re some kind of mind reader, but I definitely don’t believe in God. I was raised to believe in Allah, but I’m not even sure about that anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter. God. Allah. Yahweh. These are all just different names for the same being.”
“Whatever. I’ve heard that before, too. Still doesn’t mean I believe in any of them.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.”
Maria smirked. “Is this the part where you tell me that’s okay because God believes in me? If so, save the clichés for somebody else. I’ve heard that one before.”
“No.” Levi shook his head. “I’m not going to tell you that. Because by tomorrow night, if we don’t stop what’s about to occur, you’ll have your disbelief resolved whether you like it or not.”
“How?”
“All souls, whether they believe in Him or not, stand before God after they die. And unless we act soon, there are going to be a lot of people dying—us included.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The end of the world.”
“Okay,” Maria agreed. “You’ve got my attention, at least. Let’s hear what you have to say. Should we go somewhere more secluded or are you comfortable here?”
Levi glanced out the window and checked the parking lot. While his attention was diverted, Maria reached down and quickly turned on her digital voice recorder, which was sitting in the console’s cup-holder. She sat back up and smiled as Levi turned back to her.
“We should be okay here,” he said. “I’m sure it will put you more at ease.”
“Whatever you prefer.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Much of what the human race thinks it knows is actually wrong. The history of our planet—of our past—is full of inaccuracies. This is especially true of our religions. The primary texts of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Shinto, Satanism, Wicca, and all of the others are fundamentally flawed. They’ve been tampered with and rewritten by man so much over the years that much of them are now filled with falsehoods. It takes many years of study and searching to learn the real truths.”