The ghosts living here fled because they feared the cruelty of humans.
...Rashōmon
Orvieto was not far from Rome. Harvey should have arrived by now.
Joseph wandered around with his BlackBerry looking for a signal, but after searching the entire monastery, he found that the reception was only somewhat better near the greenhouse. There, he unexpectedly ran into Father Stein, a former exorcist.
Father Stein was collecting eggs from the chicken coop beside the greenhouse. When he saw Joseph, he gave him a perfunctory greeting, then carried on with his work as if Joseph did not exist.
"I've heard of you," Joseph said stiffly, pursing his lips.
"I've heard of you too," Stein said without looking back as he collected eggs. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Not bad," Joseph said against his true feelings. In reality, he had slept terribly, and faint shadows lingered beneath his eyes.
"You didn't notice anything unusual?"
"What sort of unusual?"
"I kept feeling as if someone was pacing back and forth in the corridor. On my first night here, I opened my door three times."
Joseph remained silent.
"I could only tell them that my bladder gets especially nervous in unfamiliar places. You know, when you get old, it's perfectly normal to go to the toilet several times at night."
"I got up twice. There was no one outside either time," Joseph said heavily. "I thought someone was using the bathroom."
Father Stein stared at Joseph, as though trying to determine whether he was telling the truth.
"In 1987, there was a German girl named Anna. She had been caring for her seriously ill father. One day, after she had finished tending to him and was in a daze from exhaustion, she thought she saw a black snake crawl across his bed, about