Page 97 of The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

To continue earning their blessings, there must be a Payne bound to the horseman and there must be sacrifices to keep the ranks of the nekkers full because, with the exception of the horseman, they will eventually rot under the waves.

A sacrifice every fifth year is enough. Look for those who travel—trappers and hunters and fishermen and laborerspassing through. Take their lives with the ritual detailed in this book and then leave them by the water’s edge for the nekkers to claim. Do this every fifth year, and your fortune will remain strong. This fortune will also extend to anyone who aids you in this, such as a trusted servant. It is advisable to cultivate such a person, who can do the deed in return for the reward, and who could also be given to the authorities if the need arises.

The book continues from there, but I have to take a break, rubbing my eyes and struggling to process what I’ve read.

Finally, I look over at Ben, who’s been helping me through.

“You wanted me to read this for myself,” I say. “So there’s no question that you’re misinterpreting.”

“Yeah.”

“How the hell would you misinterpret, Ben? This isn’t in code. It’s not even vague. It clearly spells out a ritual that explains the horsemanandthe drowned deadandthe missing people.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was making it up. Better if you read it for yourself.”

I push back my chair. “So you found this book back when you were trying to fix the wall.”

“Yeah.”

“And?” I tap the book. “You read it and shoved it back into that compartment? Forgot about it?”

“Nah. I decided to tell Sheriff Smits that the Paynes murdered my brother as part of a ritual where they’re creating lake zombies to bless them with good fortune. Because that’s a thing that happens in the real world.”

He shakes his head. “What wouldyouhave thought, Sam? If you read this after hearing hoofbeats and seeing lights under the water? Would you have jumped on this as the explanation?”

I lean back. “Fine. You’re right. I would have thought I’d overheard a family story that was making me hallucinate hoofbeats and lights. Or, at most, my ancestors were delusional murderers, killing strangers because they believed it brought them luck.”

We go quiet again. On the surface, this seems to answer all our questions. But even if it does—and I’m not completely sure of that—it doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t bring my aunt back. It only means…

I’m not even sure of what it means. I do know one thing, though.

“I want to tell Josie,” I say.

Ben doesn’t answer. Just taps his fingers on the table.

“You disagree?” I say.

“No, I’m just…” He stretches his legs under the table. “I don’t know.”

“If you don’t trust her—”

“It isn’t that. It’s that I’m not sure what she can do with this. Not sure what any of us can do with it.”

“That’s why I want to tell her. Get an outside view. Someone who didn’t see what we did and can look at this”—I tap the book—“from that perspective.”

He nods slowly.

Twenty-Nine

When Josie returns, Ben takes his cigarettes onto the deck without a word. I figure he just needs to smoke one, so I eat lunch with Josie. I didn’t think I was hungry until I took a bite, and then my body remembered that it hadn’t eaten since yesterday. I might not be in the mood for food, but my brain needs the nourishment.

We finish, and Ben is still on the deck.

I excuse myself and slip out to find he isn’t even smoking. The unopened pack is on his knee as he stares out at the lake.

“Ben?” I say gently.

He yanks his gaze from the water. “Yeah?”