going to be pretty hard
tearing Tyrone away from Deborah Koll. He’s really stuck on her—hey,
maybe Dr. Alpert can get the Kolls to leave, too.”
“Maybe she can. That would mean a few less children to worry
about,” Mrs. Flowers said, taking Matt’s cup to peer into it.
“I’ll do it.” It was weird, Matt thought. He had three allies now in
Fell’s Church and they were all women over sixty. One was Mrs.
Flowers, still vigorous enough to be up every morning taking a walk and
doing her gardening; one was Obaasan—confined to bed, tiny and
doll-like, with her black hair held up in a bun—who was always ready
with advice from the years she had spent as a shrine maiden; and the last
was Dr. Alpert, Fell’s Church’s local doctor, who had iron gray hair,
burnished dark brown skin, and an absolutely pragmatic attitude about
everything, including magic. Unlike the police, she refused to deny what
was happening in front of her, and did her best to help alleviate the fears
of the children as well as to advise the terrified parents.
A witch, a priestess, and a doctor. Matt figured that he had all his
bases covered, especially since he also knew Caroline, the original
patient in this case—whether it was possession by foxes or wolves or
both, plus something else.
“I’ll go to the meeting tonight,” he said firmly. “The kids have