And it was real, too. Millie Prior's cousin up in North Bay had been

possessed, and they had to bring a priest all the way from New York

City to exorcise her. If priests did it, then it must have been real.

Addie didn't see how you could argue with that. Preacher still did. Eventually, they seemed to accept that something might be

wrong with Charlie.

"If he was brought back, it would make sense that he'd be . . .

not right," Sophia said. "It's unnatural. It's not the work of G.o.d.

I know that."

"The work of the Devil," Addie said.

She could tell Sophia didn't like that idea much either. If

Addie found herself pulled toward demons and evil, Sophia

sought out angels and goodness. That's the way she was. As for

Preacher, Addie figured he didn't quite believe in angels or devils-he just knew this was wrong. The dead ought not to come

back, however much one might wish it.

"His a.s.sistant is dead, too," Addie said.

Sophia stared at her for a moment, then managed to say,

"His . . . ?"

"Rene," Preacher murmured. "Or Mr. Rene. I'm not sure if

it was a Christian name or family."

"There is no Christian in these men," Sophia muttered. "You

mean the old one, then? He was the a.s.sistant? And you say

he's . . . he's . . ." She couldn't seem to finish.

"Dead," Addie said. "I saw him at the hall. I thought he was

asleep, but his eyes were open and . . . he was dead. I'm sure

Eleazar has killed him."

"But why?" Sophia said finally. "Why bring him here, only

to kill him?"

"I'm going to find out," Preacher said, rising. "Addie? Stay

with Sophia and watch out for her. I'll return as soon as I have

answers."

PreAcher When Preacher said he was going to get answers, he didn't mean to find out why Rene had been murdered and what was "inside" Charlie Browning.The first step was confirming that what Addie said of Rene was true. Not that he suspected her of lying. She'd never do so on such a grand scale.

No, Addie believed what she said to be true. While he could not take her claims as truth, he had been a teacher long enough to know that you did not doubt a child to her face. Few things eroded her confidence more-or were more likely to turn her against you.You accepted the truth of what she said and quietly investigated on your own. As he was doing now.

When he arrived at the community hall, Doc Adams was coming out. Preacher stopped on the road, behind a cl.u.s.ter of people. Through the open door, he could catch a glimpse of Eleazar with the mayor and Dobbs.

Another meeting. He wouldn't be welcome there. He watched Doc Adams hurry away, fending off questions from those gathered outside. Of the other council members, the doctor would be most likely to speak to Preacher, but he was clearly on a mission. Preacher was too-a mission that involved finding answers, not asking for them.

Once the doctor had left, Preacher retreated two houses over and cut through to the forest. He came out behind the community hall and entered through the back door.As he walked through the kitchen, he could hear Dobbs shouting about something, but the walls were too thick to allow him to hear more than angry, unintelligible words. By the time he opened the door into the back room, the dispute was already over, the voices low again.

He slipped through the doorway and-