"Merciful Father, we are here today for Emily. Sister Arsen prayed, and he had finished his journey on earth and was picked up by the Lord. We are convinced that because of the great work of the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, all who believe in the Lord, accept the Lord, and walk in the Lord's true way will have a redeemed soul and rest in the heavenly house......"

During the priest's prayer, Emily lies quietly in a coffin dressed in black, with her hands folded and several white roses with dew on her body.

I have to say that Henry's makeup skills are still good. Emily's frightened eyes had been closed, and her mouth had returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened, except that she suddenly felt a little sleepy in the late autumn afternoon, and fell asleep.

There were more than a dozen people standing around, all dressed in black clothes or black skirts, with solemn expressions.

Behind Jamie stood a woman about his age, slender and tall, with a delicate and cold face that could be seen despite her black gauze face.

The woman's name was Ella, and she was Jamie's stepmother and his father's third wife, whom he had only seen for the first time when he had returned home the other day.

Because his father suffered a stroke shortly after his marriage, his wife had to attend the funeral on his behalf.

……

"Comfort us, and comfort his family, so that they may be strengthened in their hearts and better for the journey ahead. All this is sought in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ”

Edward was in another small cemetery not far away, listening to the priest's prayers with a shovel, and chanting them in a low voice.

Well, even though he smoked, drank, sloppy, and arbitrary, he was still a good Christian.

In fact, there are still some well-wishers in the town. Instead of throwing a straw mat into a mass grave when Xiao died, a new plot of land was carved out next to the town's public cemetery dedicated to her and her doll, separated by a row of tall conifers.

Edward looked at the dense array of tombstones in front of him, the largest of which read "Mary Shaw, 1879-1941", and the rest were engraved with the names of puppets such as Nomi and Pompoms. After searching for a long time, I finally found Little Billy's grave, and there was nothing to hesitate about, anyway, I rolled up my sleeves and did it.

Perhaps because the puppet was not buried very deep, Edward dug up less than half a meter and touched the coffin with a shovel.

The coffin is also small, with a brass nameplate engraved with Billy's name on it.

When the lid of the coffin was lifted, it was empty.

Edward's expression did not change, and after watching in silence for a long time, he began to dig the grave next to him again.

Nomi, empty.

Small pompoms, empty.

Jack the Clown, empty.

Marie. Shaw, empty.

Edward dug up a total of thirteen puppets, as well as Marie. Xiao's grave is all coffins, and the body and puppets are gone.

As he sat on the stone steps gasping for breath, the funeral next to him had already been held, and the attendees came to Jamie's side and whispered a few words of consolation.

Old Henry, dressed in black, stood at the junction of the two cemeteries, half of his body leaning against the old tree, his eyes fixed on the more than ten large and small holes dug by Edward, with an incredible expression on his face, and muttered to himself: "Impossible, obviously there is only Billy...... How could it be gone......"

……

Stepmother Ella stayed at the end, and when the rest of the group was gone, she came to Jamie's side.

"Your father couldn't come to the funeral because of his health. He asked me to apologize to you. "Ella's voice is nice, but unfortunately the tone doesn't fluctuate much.

Jamie was still not comfortable being the young girl's stepson, tilted his head to avoid her gaze, and whispered, "It's okay, Emily doesn't know him anyway." ”

Jamie hasn't been home for many years, including when he got married, but he only gave a notice and didn't invite his father to attend.

"I heard you live in a motel? Actually, it's not necessary, we can always pack a room for you to come out, you should go home and stay longer. ”

"No need, I'll leave here in a few days when I find out if Emily's death has anything to do with this town." Jamie looked around at the grassy cemetery, "Next time, I guess it's my father's funeral." ”

"Jamie!" Ella's voice was raised a little, but the expression on her face was still indifferent, "After all, he is your father, and now although he has been paralyzed by a stroke, in general, all the indicators of his body are still stable and normal." ”

Jamie finally looked up, looked into Ella's eyes, and said slowly, "Ella, trust me, it's definitely a good thing if he can die before you." ”

"He's actually changed a lot, and he's not what you think he is." Ella was still bitterly persuading, "He's just a lonely and paralyzed old man now." ”

"After you moved into that cold mansion, did you notice a few portraits hanging next to the stairs between the first and second floors?"

"Well, each one has a picture of your father, Arnold." Without hesitation, Ella replied, "After I married him, he also hired a painter to paint a copy of us, and it is now hanging at the end of that row." ”

"I don't know if you've seen it carefully, but in the first picture, my father and a child are standing on either side of the chair."

"That kid must be you, right? Jamie. ”

"Yes, the boy standing by the chair and smiling is me, and on the empty chair, my mother is sitting." Jamie smiled wryly and said slowly, "My mother was in that painting until he drove my mother to suicide!" ”

"And in the second painting?"

"In the second painting, I've grown up a little bit, sitting at one end of the long sofa, and I don't have any expression, but the artist has painted me with a smile on my own. On the other side of the couch sat his second wife...... Of course, only half of the sofa is left in the painting. ”

Ella opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

Jamie accentuated his tone and said, "That's why I said it would be a good thing if he died." That way, no one will ask a painter to paint you off. ”

"Okay...... Please mourn, I'll go back first. Ella was ready to say goodbye and leave.

Jamie hesitated and confessed: "Please tell my father when you get home, I'll go back to him later, I have some things to ask him about." ”

"Aren't you coming back with me now?" Ella asked, pausing in her tracks.

Jamie turned his head to look at the small cemetery on the other side of the trees, where Edward was still sitting smoking and gasping for breath.

"I'm suspicious now, and I have to wait for the guy who digs the puppet's grave."