Coste's corpse moved. Arthur was absolutely certain of it, because not only had he seen it, but that instinct deep in his soul had surfaced again.
Burn them! Burn them!
Burn both corpses!
Without the slightest hesitation, Arthur opened the Medium's Case, took out the kerosene, and splashed it over both corpses.
Maltz hadn't seen Coste's corpse move, but he trusted that Arthur had a reason for doing this.
Without hesitation, the newly appointed chief of the Shire District reached out to help. He picked up the other bottle of kerosene in the Medium's Case and began pouring it over the corpses.
Just then, a clamor reached them-
Under the orange lights of the police station's office area, a crowd dressed in black obscured the brown floorboards.
The patrol officers looked up in surprise from their desks on either side of the hall, watching the crowd stride down the central aisle.
Their quick steps gave them an aggressive air.
The two young men leading them wore arrogant expressions. The gilded canes in their hands radiated wealth under the station's orange-red lights.
Behind them followed young men, some wearing flat caps, others with their hands shoved into their pockets.
Their clothes differed, but every one of them was powerfully built, with defiance in his eyes.
Faced with this group, none of the surrounding patrol officers dared make a real attempt to stop them.
But when Patrol Officer Dico saw them heading straight for Maltz's office, he rushed out to block their path.
"Stop! What do you think you're doing?"
Dico shouted for them to halt.
The crowd ignored him completely.
The two young men at the front did nothing, and those behind them didn't use their hands, either. Instead, they shoved forward with their chests. Clearly, they knew how to avoid