Page 155 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

“We have people sifting through missing persons reports fromall over the country. The body was in an extreme state of decomposition,strangely rotting and almost mummified at the same time. I’m afraid my medicalknowledge is sadly lacking,” Jackson said, glancing down at his phone. “I justgot a text. Kat has been working this and thinks shecan find something. Says she’s gotten the body to a point where she can maybepull a print.”

“She had to re-hydrate the corpse,” Patrick said.

“I say we head to the morgue. Jackson?” Angela suggested.“And then... would you go back to the cemetery with me, Patrick? Maybe...”

“I’m not great at reading the minds of the dead,” Patricksaid dryly.

“I know. But we made a friend—a soldier from theRevolution.”

“And he never saw anything?”

“Not that he knows. But with your degrees in the medicalfield and experience delving into the human mind... I mean, he’s dead, but hismind and soul are keen. Maybe you can help him remember something he doesn’tknow he knows.”

“I’ll head to the morgue,” Jackson said. “You and Patrickget on over to the cemetery. Daylight only lasts so long.”

“All right. Megan is reading through the article thatJefferson Moore wrote on the cemetery. Maybe she’ll get something from betweenthe lines. When Angela and I get back, Jordan and I can take over watchingDebbie at the safe house. Computers work there, and we can keep on aninformation trail,” Patrick told him.

Jackson nodded. “Good. We need to know how Mercy Cartwrightand Arnold Kern met. Understanding their social lives could give us somethingand might help us.”

“We’ll get on every site out there,” Patrick promised.

“Okay, back to the cemetery,” Angela said. “Patrick...”

“Hm?”

“I’m tired. You’re driving,” Angela told him.

Patrick laughed. “You got it.”

They all left together, heading to separate cars. Angelawaved as she slid in next to Patrick. Jackson waved in return, settled into hiscar, and headed to the morgue.

He was greeted warmly in the austere reception area. Hethought that it was kind of sad that he was known so well at the morgue. But heknew that what they did saved lives and brought justice for the dead.

He understood that the words rest in peace hadreal meaning.

The receptionist directed him to head down the hall. Thefirst John Doe’s corpse was in examination room three, and he suited up andheaded inside.

Kat grinned when he arrived. “I knew you’d show up.”

“I should have called to tell you I was on the way,” he saidand smiled at her. Kat was extraordinary. She was a petite blonde, smart as awhip, and while she maintained her medical certifications, she had excelled atthe academy. She was also a crack-shot, and an excellent agent in every way.

She laughed softly. “No problem. I was expecting you.

“Oh?”

“This was tricky. It’s almost as if the tomb allowed thebody to decompose in two different climate zones. And while I’m not sure aboutthis, I think John Doe number one here might have been dead a bit before beingbrought into the tomb. Maybe even refrigerated before he became part of thegrotesque display. At any rate, I had to—”

“Hydrate the fingers,” Jackson said.

“Right. Good call.”

He laughed. “Patrick told me.”

“Of course, he did.” She smiled. “Anyway, I was juststarting. You’re welcome to watch.”

A sheet covered John Doe’s body, but his right hand restedon a small metal table by the gurney, where it lay near a strange littlemechanism that apparently provided a slow return of moisture to it.

Kat carefully withdrew the appendage from the box, reachedfor the scalpel that lay beside it, and began a slow and meticulous removal ofthe skin.