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choice.” It was alarming how she fell back into this old mindset. It smacked of the terrible things she'd done in Arizona. Frankly, it worried her. “Is that going to be a problem?” 
    “Well yes, there's not going to be a funeral.” Cold deliberation crossed Starr's face. “Have you ever done an exhumed body?”
    “No.” Emily held up a hand to deflect Starr's rebuttal. “And I won't.”
    Starr leaned forward, a determined expression on her broad face. “But technically you could, right? I've taken care of everything. All I need is you.”
    “I don't think so, Ms. Carter. I don't feel comfortable with this. Besides, once someone has been deceased for a while, their memories just sort of fade away. I wouldn’t be able to read them.”
    Starr's left eye developed a tic. She seemed to struggle to find a smile this time. “We could do it tomorrow night.”
    Emily and Brenda already had plans for tomorrow night. They were going to have a girl's night in and watch movies. “Sorry, no.”
    Starr's eerie smile returned. “Do you know where Memory Gardens is?”
    Of course, Emily was familiar with the cemetery. Her parents were resting there. “How exactly did you get the okay to have someone exhumed?”
    Starr laid a small stack of bills on the desk between them. She nudged it forward with a blunt fingertip. “I figured I’d have to convince you. Just meet me at the cemetery. As I said, it all will be arranged.”
    That uneasy feeling just wouldn't go away. “I can't take your money.”
    Starr ignored Emily’s refusal and plowed on. “I understand you live on a sizable plot of land in Witcher Springs? My coven would like to worship on your land. You could join us if you'd like.”
    “Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not able to help you.” And who said she wanted to join a witch's coven? She didn't know the first thing about their rituals or beliefs. 
    “I'd advise you to reconsider.”
    Scott entered the room and slipped a protective arm around Emily's shoulders. “Everything okay?”
    Starr glared at him. “This is a private matter.”
    Emily had enough. “I already gave you my answer. I'm not interested.”
    “I have big plans for my coven.” Starr leaned across the desk. Her chest, the size of two overstuffed sandbags, rested against the smooth wooden top. “I’d like your help with this. At least give me permission to use your land for worship. I'd be happy to pay you. I can get more cash if that’s the problem.”
    The fine hairs on Emily's arms rose in apprehension. Her heart hammered in her chest. “I’m sorry, Ms. Carter. I've made up my mind. I'm not interested in your coven or allowing the use of my property either.”
    “What about the reading tomorrow night? I'll double the money. It's imperative that it gets done.” She narrowed her eyes. 
    “I have better things to do than cavort through graveyards at all hours of the night.” A little voice at the back of Emily's mind reminded that she hadn't had anything better to do in quite a while.
    “I don't like being told no.”
    “You’d better get used to it.”
    A wild expression flitted across Starr's face. “Please, Miss Cross. This friend of mine is very shy. We’re searching for an old friend and the man in the graveyard can help.”
    Scott interrupted her. “I'm not going to allow Emily to get in trouble if you and your friend dig someone up. Have you even filed the proper paperwork?”
    Not just anyone could have a body unearthed. What would Starr tell the authorities? A local crazy was going to do a laying of hands on it and discover whatever mysteries it held?
    “Please, won’t you reconsider? We need your help.”
    Emily opened her mouth, ready to reject the creepy woman again.
    Starr grasped her right hand. Her thumb pressed against the base of Emily's wrist and a sensation much like twisting worms crept up her arm.
    “What are you doing?” Emily attempted to jerk her arm away, but Starr held fast.
    “I'm sure we'll do