Page 178 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

“It’s all right. You have to tellus about the man. We need to find Angela.”

“I don’t know... I don’t know what he’s done with her. Andhe’s probably gone, anyway. He’s probably run away, and... I’m so scared. Ican’t believe all this horrible stuff is happening to me!”

“Come down, we’re here. We’ll protect and help you,” hecalled.

He heard shuffling. A minute later, Debbie dropped to one ofthe lowest branches and then to the ground. She had tears in her eyes and apathetic expression on her face as she looked at him.

“Mark, would you be so kind as to arrest Miss JenniferTanner?”

The young woman’s expression changed immediately and sheturned to run.

“Red, Hugo, go for her!” Jackson said.

Barking, the dogs ran off obediently. Red threw himself ontothe woman and plopped his weight down on her back while Hugo stood nearby onalert, watching for any attempt to escape.

The woman screamed with rage. Mark secured her and put herhands in cuffs, dragging her to her feet.

“Where’s Angela?” Jackson demanded.

“You’ll never find her. I’ll die before I tell you. You canlet the dogs chew me to bits, and I still won’t tell you. She’s going to die.That bitch is going to die. Who the hell finds someonein a tree? She’s a witch and a bitch, and she made myfather die—”

“Your father died,” Brodie said, “because he was trying toshank another prisoner, and someone jumped on him instead. Not to mention thenumber of people he killed with his drugs, right?”

“You’ve brought it up a step, though. Killing youraccomplices and clients with fentanyl if they stopped obeying or reneged on themoney,” Jackson said. “Where. Is. Angela?” Jacksonsaid again.

“Slice me to ribbons. Oh, wait, you can’t. You’re cops,”Angela said.

“We are agents,” Jackson said. “But you’re right. Of course,the dogs don’t really know they’re law enforcement.Patrick, these guys never swore an oath, did they?”

“I don’t care. I’ll never tell you where she is. She isgoing to die. You’ll never find her!”

“Well,” a strong, feminine voice said suddenly.

It was Angela’s voice.

And she walked into the small clearing by the tree, filthyand ragged but standing straight and apparently unharmed. She smiled atJackson, seemed to stop herself from running to him, and addressed the woman henow knew to be Jennifer Tanner instead.

“They’re not going to have to find me because I’m not lostanymore.”

“But you will be dead!” another voice suddenly raged.

Jackson swung around, at the ready. He’d known. He’d knownbecause the man had said he was coming to the tomb and hadn’t. He’d been busy.

Helping Debbie do whatever it was they’d done with Angela. She’d needed help. Just as she would have needed helpgetting the bodies into and hung in the crypt.

Jefferson Moore had a gun. And he raised it, ready to fire.

But Jackson had been in law enforcement for the majority of his adult life.

And he was faster. He didn’t even have to kill the man, justshoot the gun out of his hand.

Screaming and wailing, the man fell to the ground. Heedlessof the dogs and the cuffs now binding her wrists, Jennifer Tanner crawled herway to him, sobbing, thanking God that he was alive, promising him they wouldget off and everything would be all right.

“Well, go figure,” Patrick said. “I do believe we owe Mr.Robertson an apology. But in the weeks to come, we’ll have a lot of digging todo.”

“We’ll get these guys out of here,” Mark told Jackson andAngela. He smiled at Angela and told her, “You need a bath.”

“I do. And in the next few days, we’ll get on clearing outthe tunnels. But tomorrow is Halloween. Trick-or-treat. Though I think MissTanner gets the trick this year. We get the treat.” She turned, and Jackson sawthat the ghost of Colonel George Clayborn was with her. “Thanks to a littlehelp from our good friend, Colonel Clayborn.”