Page 149 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

“But I asked him to come in. I had him sit down and watchTV. Maybe if I hadn’t done that, he’d still be outside.”

“That might not have changed anything.”

“But whoever took him was in the house!” she cried.

“And they might have seen him outside. You can’t tortureyourself over this. None of it is your fault. There is an investigation becauseof you, and it will bring us to the truth—and maybe save a lot of people.”

“I should have let them.”

“Pardon?”

“I should have left him alone in the car and let whoever isdoing this get to me. I assume I’m the one they want. That’s just it. Maybe itwould have been better if they’d gotten me. Officer Whittaker is married andhas a five-year-old and a three-year-old.”

“We will find him.”

“Dead!” she cried again.

“No. If they wanted him dead, I believe they would havekilled him right here and then gone for you. They’re holding him. And we mustfind him. We know whoever is doing all this knows who you are. I’m still notsure how, but they came to this house, and they kidnapped Officer Whittaker. Weneed to get you to a safe house. One that can’t be breached easily. One thatcan’t be breached at all if possible. And don’t worry. We’ll have a team ofagents with you. All right?”

“I just... wow. My job. I’ll probably lose my job—”

“Better than losing your life. Don’t worry. Our actingdirector, Adam Harrison, will speak with your employer. Pack up a few things.We need to start looking for Officer Whittaker. Pack your laptop, chargers,clothing—anything you’ll need. No food. Our safe house is fully stocked. And wecan also get you anything else you may need later. For right now, I only needyou to hurry.”

“Yes. Yes, of course!” Debbie stood, reached into hercloset, and grabbed an overnight bag. She quickly began throwing articles ofclothing, a few power cords, and her computer into it. Angela asked if shecould help—she imagined that Debbie was usually the type to fold each garmentcarefully—but Debbie shook her head and promised she needed no more than aminute or two.

She was true to her word and was quickly ready.

When they reached the front of the house, Angela saw thatJackson was already moving on the search for OfficerWhittaker.

Mark was there with Colleen. Ragnar, who had been partnered with Mark before Colleen came into the Krewe,was also there, along with Mark’s dog, Red.

Red was amazing. He’d once served as a police dog, trainedin bombs, drugs, cadavers, and missing persons. He’d also been certified as aservice dog and could accompany Mark and Colleen on any endeavor. Jackson hadapparently called in the group, asking for them tobring Red. The pup might well be their best chance at finding OfficerWhittaker.

“Debbie, sorry. Wait for me for just a minute, and thenwe’ll get a couple of agents to get you to the safe house.”

“Please, Angela. Please. I know you haveto work, but I will feel so much better if I can just getthere with you. I mean, is anything or anywhere reallysafe?”

“Trust me, we were seriously worried about the safety of oneof our people and had them at this safe house. It’s state of the art, walled,gated, alarmed to the nines. It’s safe. Please, just give me a minute.”

She left Debbie waiting on the doorstep and hurried to joinJackson and the others on the sidewalk in front of the house.

She greeted Red first. Theyconsidered it important for the Krewe agents to recognize their canineassistants. Dogs didn’t work for money. They worked for treats sometimes, butaffection and approval were what they seemed to crave the most. Angela greetedthe others with a nod, and Mark brought them all up tospeed.

“There was a car parked just to the east of Debbie’stownhouse here. Red followed the scent to that position. Someone put OfficerWhittaker in a car, and then drove away.”

“All right, we need to get a group of officers and agentsmoving down the block. See who might have surveillance cameras that can captureimages out into the street,” Jackson said. “And we’ll need to get traffic camfootage from all the surrounding areas. Patrick is at headquarters.”

“Before we got your call, Jackson, I brought in our articleauthor, Jefferson Moore,” Mark told them. “Megan came in to watch and listenwith Patrick, and she’s doing her best to keep him entertained now. Kat called,too. They have an ID on the Jane Doe found in the Robertson tomb. MercyCartwright. She was reported missing by her roommate approximately two monthsago. Kat was able to secure dental records.”

“She didn’t happen to work for Robertson Technologies, didshe?” Angela asked.

“No, she was a flight attendant,” Colleen told her.

“So, no connection to the Robertson family. What about ourfirst victim? Any connection to Arnold Kern, apparently the last corpse to jointhe recently murdered in the tomb?” Angela asked.

“None that we know of, but we’re pulling phone records,”Ragnar said.

“Okay, Colleen and Mark, will the two of you get DebbieNolan to the safe house? You’ve been actively workingthis, and I’ll get other agents on it. But for now—” Jackson began.