Chapter 39
Sanda paced back and forth in front of the church when Leo and Igor returned, smoke rising from her cigarette to join the lingering mist. The village was still and deserted except for the three of them and the mama dog. A cardboard box sat on the church steps.
"What kept you?" Sanda said, watching Leo. "Will I be going alone after all?"
"I’m going," Leo said. He wished for a hit of what had to be pălincă to slow his raging thoughts. "Why are we here?"
"We must make sure she can never return to this body," Sanda said, jerking her chin toward the graves. "Or if she is forced to, that she will be unable to leave."
Igor opened the gate and picked up the box, and Leo followed Sanda into the cemetery. The dog sat on the grass just inside the fence.
"How could she come back to th
