“Do you think we should do a reconstruction to find out who Crystal’s killer was?” Octavia offered.

I thought it over. I tried to imagine staging an ectoplasmic reconstruction in the parking lot of Merlotte’s. We’d have to find at least one more witch, I thought, because that was a large area, and I wasn’t sure Octavia and Amelia could handle it by themselves. They’d probably think they could, though.

“I’m afraid we’d be seen,” I said finally. “And that would be bad for you and Amelia. Besides, we don’t know where the actual death took place. And you have to have that, right? The death site?”

Octavia said, “Yes. If she didn’t die there in the parking lot, it wouldn’t do a bit of good.” She sounded a bit relieved.

“I guess we won’t know until the autopsy if she died there or before they put up the cross.” I didn’t think I could stand to witness another ectoplasmic reconstruction, anyway. I’d seen two. Watching the dead—in a watery but recognizable form—reenact the last minutes of their lives was an indescribably eerie and depressing experience.

Octavia went back to her ironing, and I wandered into the kitchen and heated up some soup. I had to eat something, and opening a can was about as much effort as I could expend.

The dragging hours were absolutely negative. I didn’t hear from Sam. I didn’t hear from the police about opening Mer lotte’s. The FBI agents didn’t return to ask me more questions. Finally I decided to drive to Shreveport. Amelia had returned from work, and she and Octavia were cooking supper together when I left the house. It was a homey scene; I was simply too restless to join in.

For the second time in as many days, I found myself on the way to Fangtasia. I didn’t let myself think. I listened to a black gospel station all the way over, and the preaching helped me feel better about the awful events of the day.