Page 148 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

It was Debbie Nolan. He glanced at Angela and held up thephone so she could see. She nodded with a frown, and he answered the phonequickly.

“Jackson Crow.”

“Help! Oh, my God, help!” Debbie cried.

Chapter 4

Jackson had suggested to Angela that she could stayand interview Jefferson Moore, but she had said that would have to wait. Shefelt that she might be the calming factor for Debbie Nolan.

While they arrived as quickly as possible at the youngwoman’s home, they weren’t the first on the scene. Although he’d had somedifficulty understanding Debbie on the phone since she had been so hysterical,Jackson had ascertained that Officer Whittaker had disappeared.

They knew Owen Whittaker. They often worked with localpolice on problem situations. There was no way the man would be derelict in hisduty, which meant that someone had forced him to leave. But that also meant hemight still be alive. If so, he was most probably in danger. Someone needed toget there fast. Jackson had seen to it that the closest police presence wascalled in, and they arrived on the scene almost instantly.

He and Angela met an Officer Channing as they reached theyard. The man was grim, seemed concerned, and had been searching in front ofthe house, thrashing through the bushes, when they arrived. But he knewthem—many of the local officers knew the Krewe members.

“Miss Nolan is in the house, still tearing it apart, room toroom,” he told them. “My partner and I haven’t been able to calm her down, butwe’ve checked out his car. He’s not in it. We even forced the trunk, but hewasn’t stuffed into that either. Someone pulled the wiring on the securitysystem. It wasn’t a great one to begin with, but Miss Nolan was smart enough tohave a camera covering the front at the very least. No alarm was triggered, andthe door wasn’t forced. Whoever came and whisked Officer Whittaker away had tobe someone he knew or expected.”

The man had spoken all of that in a rush. Then he winced andadded, “I’m worried, Special Agent Crow. I’ve worked with Whittaker for years.He’s as solid and ethical a man as you can get. He didn’t just walk off thejob.”

“We know, Officer Channing. No one thinks he shirked hisduties. We will get to the bottom of what happened,” Angela promised. “Excuseme. I’ll try to calm Debbie down and find out if she can tell us anything.”

“Miss Nolan said she was in her bedroom folding clothes,felt hungry, and came out to the living room to ask if Officer Whittaker wantedsomething to eat. He had been on the sofa when she went to see to her laundry.She’d suggested that he watch a game on television—I guess they had talked, andshe knew that he loved sports. Anyway, he wasn’t there. The television wasblaring, but she hadn’t paid any attention to it. She looked through the houseand then panicked, thinking that someone was still inside after doing somethingto her protector, and worried they’d be after her next.”

“That must be when she called us,” Jackson said. “As Angelasaid, we know Whittaker. He’s a fine man. We need to find him pronto.”

Channing nodded. “Right. Yes, thank you. We cleared thehouse and the yard. No one’s here.”

“We’re going to need a crime scene unit,” Jackson said.

“I’ll see to Debbie,” Angela saidagain. “If you’ll excuse me. Oh, and, OfficerChanning? Thank you.”

He nodded, his eyes a little damp with misery. But she knewthat he appreciated her words. Jackson nodded to her, too. They both knew theimportance of everyone believing in the humanity ofany situation.

They had to find Whittaker. That was their priority rightnow. He was one of theirs.

Angela went into the house.

Debbie Nolan kept a neat and pleasant home. The living roomin her little townhouse had soft beige walls, an entertainment center, and acomfortable seating area with a sofa and several upholstered chairs that facedthe television. Angela could imagine Owen Whittaker relaxed on the couch,watching a beloved game in comfort, close to the woman he had been sent toguard.

She walked through a large archway to the dining room andfrom there to the kitchen, where again, everything was nicely kept inmiddle-class comfort, tidiness, and appeal. Debbie was nowhere to be found—andneither was the second police officer.

“Debbie?”

A stairway led to two bedrooms on either side of the smalllanding. Debbie was seated on the bed, her head in her hands. The officerleaned against a bureau, looking exhausted.

He stood straight when he saw Angela and indicated to Debbiewhere she sat on the bed, sunk low in despair.

Angela nodded to the officer, and he fled the room asquickly as he could.

Angela sat by the woman and put an arm around her shoulders.Debbie looked up with tear-stained eyes. “They got him! I don’t know how, butthey got him. I was just up here... doing laundry, you know. I liked him somuch. He was so nice. He didn’t mind that I was scared and wanted him in thehouse. He was happy, watching the game, but he wasn’t stupid or careless.”

She sniffed. “I don’t know who or how but when I didn’t seehim, couldn’t find him, I was terrified and called you. I heard sirens almostimmediately. I was so afraid someone was still here, but they must have gottenscared away and... oh, God. Dear God. I’m so scared. And I’m so scared forOfficer Whittaker.”

“Of course, Debbie. But we’re here now, and the localofficers came right away.”

“It’s all my fault.”

“Debbie, someone doing criminal things is not your fault,”Angela said firmly.