Page 88 of Coven of Corpses

“You want us to expand our search criteria?” Clarabell said. “Now?”

“Hey, I’m just coming into this research party,” Cody said. “If Demmy and I had been included before this week, we could have helped find these descendants before the two-minute warning.”

“We kept you out of it because you never liked being in it,” Clarabell said. “That’s all we heard.”

“Wait.” Demmy got to his feet, grunting and pausing to stretch afterward.

“It’s not easy, is it?” Cody said, looking his body up and down, knowing exactly where Demmy was feeling it.

“It’s really not.” Demmy smiled briefly before looking at Tracey and Clarabell. “This could actually help us. What if…” He looked back at Cody. “Just go with me here. What if Jugs and his family have lived in Harriettville all their lives? Could he maybe be a descendant?”

Cody nodded. “It would make things a lot easier. He already knows what’s going on.”

“Is there a way to check lineages from Harriettville?” Demmy said.

“Let me see.” Clarabell turned away from the photocopied papers she had been reading and opened her binder. She flipped a few pages, then a few more. “What’s Jugs’s name?”

“Darnell Perramon,” Cody said.

“Huh,” Clarabell said, then she squinted and leaned in a bit as she adjusted the light from her phone.

“What?” Tracey said. “What did you find?”

“His family might trace back to Abigail Brewster.” Clarabell looked up. “Call him. See if he knows much about his family history.”

Cody looked at Demmy. “You need to do it. He knows about the witch and demon, but not about the swap.”

Demmy made a face, but nodded. “Yeah, I know.” He pulled out Cody’s phone and looked at the contact list. After scrolling for a moment, he gave Cody a look. “You’ve got a lot of ex-girlfriends in here still.”

“Really?” Cody said, crossing his arms and giving him a look in return. “Now?”

“Fine.” Demmy huffed and tried to hide a small smile as he tapped the screen. He put the call on speaker, and they all listened to it ring.

“Bonker, I can’t talk right now,” Jugs said.

“What’s going on?” Demmy said. “You okay?”

“Not sure, to be honest. Some weird dude is standing out on the sidewalk just staring at our house. I’m about to go out and tell him to fuck off.”

“Is Agatha with you?” Demmy asked.

“No, she’s at work. Just me and Enid Helen are here.”

“Can you get out the back door?”

“What the hell is going on?” Jugs drew in a breath and his voice dropped even lower. “Is this some more monster shit?”

Cody leaned in. “Just get your ass over to the old office and we’ll explain. And make sure you’re not followed.”

“Damn, Demetrius,” Jugs said. “You’ve been living with Bonker way too long. You’re starting to sound like him.”

The call ended.

“Think he’ll be okay?” Demmy asked as he stuck Cody’s phone back into his pocket.

“He’s pretty resourceful,” Cody said. “He’ll be all right.” He looked at Clarabell. “Who else can we check out?”

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