"There's not much else, I'm afraid," Bill said. "I know that must have been a shock to you both, having a man fall dead at your feet like that. And the fact that he had a blood-stained knife in his hands must have sent you right over the edge."
"Well, Bill, to be honest, it all happened so fast. I really didn't have much time to think about anything," Hadley said. "I'm glad no one else was hurt. But I gotta admit it. It was scary. A hooded goblin chased by armed lawmen down Main Street in broad daylight is not something we see every day in our sleepy little hamlet."
"It's a mystery why the old man was running from us," Bill said. "Button Dudley is the last person I'd ever think would dress up for a Halloween festival, let alone attend one. That old coot was running like the devil was chasing after his soul."
"I know," Hadley said. "He only hit town about once or twice a year. He was always happy to stay up in the hills."
"His costume, if you could call it that," Bill said, "was just rags."
"Umm," said Hadley.
"He did have something interesting draped around his neck," Bill said.
"What was that?" Hadley said.
"A string of spices," Bill said.
"What kind of spices?" Hadley asked.
"Star anise," Bill said.
"That's something the old ones use in conjure bags," Hadley said. "They'll put a pod in the bag and wear it to ward off the evil eye."
"I know, but Button had a whole mess of them," said Bill.
"That must have been where I got mine," Hadley said. "He bumped into me. Later, I found one on my jacket."
"You're lucky that's all Button gave you," Bill said. "He just came out of nowhere. We couldn't catch him. There were too many people standing around to do anything but give chase. If he hadn't dropped dead, I think he would have run clear out of town and escaped."
"But he did drop dead," said Hadley.
"And, thankfully, no one else was injured."
Bill peered into the bag. He pulled out a big hunk of cake and began devouring it.
"Lou Edna came to see me this morning, Bill. She was all upset. I'm really worried about her."
"Lou Edna's brain is fried from sniffing all that hairspray down at the beauty salon, Hadley," said Bill. "But what is it?"
"She came busting down my door at the crack of dawn. I was up, thanks to Onus. She saw the light on. She had this wild story about going out for a night on the town, ladies' night, with Ora Lavelle at Sadie's."
"Now, that's one joint I'd just as soon as not go in," said Bill. "We get a call every once in a while when Sadie's senior citizens get too rowdy. Throwin' their false teeth at each other or shootin' stale peanuts with their trusses. You be surprised at how fast one of them rubbery peanuts can pop a glass. A truss in the right hands is a deadly weapon."
"Get outta here," said Hadley. "And thanks a million for putting that picture in my brain."
"Anytime," Bill said. "But back to Sadie's. I'm always afraid I'll pick up something I can't get rid of with a shot down at the health department."
"Not my cup of tea, either," said Hadley, "but Sadie's a nice enough woman."
"Yeah," said Bill. "She runs a pretty straight joint. If you like your beer watered down and warm and your pretzels soggy."
"Somebody's put a curse on Lou," Hadley said.
"You're joking," Bill said. "Hadley, you're a college-educated woman. You of all people should know that the sort of granny magic practiced for generations comes from a lack of available medical treatment and ignorance. I would have thought we would have moved on by now. But it's true, some things never change."
"I know the people in these mountains have not had access to a lot of things folks in the city take for granted," said Hadley. "They had to turn to plants and herbal medicine because there were no nearby doctors and hospitals. Even now, a lot of these people don't have the extra money for a hospital stay. Home remedies are all they have.
And I'm sure some of their potions are snake oil. But the people who have been 'cured' swear by them. Some of their salves and concoctions are as good as any pharmacy could make. I know that, too."
She stopped talking to watch Bill devour his food.
"Add in the power of a person's belief and, regardless of whether it's bogus or a real cure, you've got a potent medicine." said Hadley. "The same thing goes with curses. It's believing in them that makes them powerful.
If somebody believes a curse has been placed upon them, they are bound to attribute every negative thing that happens to them to that curse. Likewise, if someone has an extremely long run of good luck, they may think it's because good karma is on their side.
The old ways still have a hold over people, Bill. And I'll be the first to say that I do believe there are a lot of things in this world that are unexplainable. Is it luck, fate, or magic? I can't say."
He was really enjoying what she'd brought. She only hoped he slowed down enough not to choke.
"Why did that wild goose choose to come to my rescue in the park that day a drug-crazed fellow held a knife to my throat? Who could have predicted that an animal would have had enough sense to come between me and my attacker?
"I don't know why he intervened, but I'm awfully glad Sprat decided to flog him. He saved my life. That goose startled that guy and caused him to drop the knife," she said. "I'm here today because of something I can't explain.
It's easy to scoff at that incident, to say a goose is a dumb animal and could not possibly know a human was in need of his assistance. Did some spirit move that goose to help me? Is Sprat intelligent enough to figure out I was in trouble?
I'm sure I was emitting lots of fear scents. I was scared to death. Did that prompt that goose to act on my behalf? I can't say. But I only escaped with minor scratches and a few bruises. If it was dumb luck that saved me that day, I'll take dumb luck.
I like to think of Sprat as one of my guardian angels. He's my golden goose. I'm forever thankful he acted the way he did that day. If you think I'm silly, then call me silly. Doesn't change my way of thinking, one bit."
"I don't think you're silly," said Bill. "I've lived long enough to see a lot of unexplainable things. I know what you're saying, Hadley. I've had things happen to me that are totally baffling. If I told you, you'd never believe me. They'd be locking me up in the looney bin and assigning me to a padded round room."
"These mountains are old," Hadley said. "There's been a lot of life lived here. Cosmic energy, granny witches, good and evil. I don't know what you call it. But there are forces out there in those woods.
Somebody left Lou Edna a message. And it wasn't a good one. They are upset with her for some reason. Maybe it makes sense. Maybe it's some reason that you and I would deem ridiculous. Button Dudley's death may be connected. It may not.
But Lou Edna's really rattled.
She claims she saw Button's spirit out by Sadie's. I don't know what to think. It was dark. She'd suffered a fright. I told her that what she thought she saw was only a product of an overactive imagination.
But then she told me someone had left a chicken bone with a string around it and red powder all over her steps. It's some kind of curse, Bill. But it did its job. Lou Edna's scared to death."
"Only time and evidence will tell if there is a logical explanation that connects these things," Bill said. "But I'm glad you told me. I'll keep an eye out. Someone is using hoodoo to make her think she's been cursed.
Just the suggestion of something like that can shake a person. I've seen it happen over and over again. We think we live in a modern world, Hadley, but there is something primordial that still lives in our brains. It's just natural that we respond to our mystic side. We can't help it.
I've seen grown men reduced to nothing because they thought they'd been hexed. These men would never admit to being superstitious in any form or fashion, yet who do you think is the first to make a charm bag and stick it in their pocket as protection against a curse.
They're the first ones to cut a lock of their hair, put a stick and a nail clipping in the bag with a red string. And they're the first to worry themselves sick if they lose that little bag. Their charm's gonna be used against them, they'd say to me.
The power of suggestion is a powerful thing, Hadley. Don't underestimate it. I'll keep my eye out and run by her place every chance I get. I'm not saying I believe in that stuff or that I don't. I'm just doing my job, you understand."
"Thanks, Bill," Hadley said. "I knew I could count on you."