Page 153 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

“You obviously love music,” Angela said, pointing at hisshirt. “’Life is what happens while we’re busy making plans,’” she said.“There’s some argument over who first came up with the quote or exactly how itshould be worded, but I hand it to John Lennon. I first heard it came from him.You have our most sincere apologies, and we beg your indulgence for just a fewmore minutes.”

He grinned. “Sure. Another music lover. I can give you aboutten.”

“That would be great. Let’s head back to a conference room,”Jackson said. “Better than standing around in a garage.”

“Ten minutes, one way or another,” Moore said with a shrug.

They walked in. Megan had already fled. She’d apparentlytalked all she could to the man. When they had used up their ten minutes, andJefferson Moore was gone, they could find out if Megan had gained any insightsfrom him.

Once they were seated, Angela smiled at Jefferson. “I readyour article. It was so intriguing. And while small and not as well-known asothers, Gordon Town Cemetery is amazing. Your research, though,was wonderfully complex.”

“Thanks. To be honest, I was most intrigued by thedecorations. I mean, the Christmas stuff, the Easter bunniesand eggs, all that seems so nice. So much better than flowers—in my mind atleast. But then I heard about the Halloween stuff. Quite honestly, it seemscreepy. When I was a kid, I went to grade, middle, and high school in the area.We learned all about Ethan Robertson. The man was amazing. They sent him on allkinds of guerilla missions that he handled with ease. He almost single-handedlyheld back a horde of men at the beginning of the Battle of Yorktown. The ideaof anything other than respectful decorations being at his resting place...well, it just seemed strange.”

He shrugged and continued. “Then again, it’s been over twohundred years since he died, and the tomb is now filled with other Robertsonsand close friends or relations. In my article, I tried to make sure I expressedthat history is something living. It teaches us what went wrong before. Ifwe’re lucky, we can use it to stop horrible things from happening again. Iadmit, I went to that funeral hoping to get a look inside the tomb. I’d triedto get through to Benjamin Robertson before, and his people just kept puttingme off. But I was still fascinated. Wanted to see inside. Some old bones innothing but shrouds, coffins... the passage of every decade can be seen in thattomb.”

“The history is incredible,” Angela saidquietly. “And with your knowledge and fascination regarding the tomb, we’rehoping you might have seen something. Or that—”

“You’re not accusing me of having anything to do with themurders, are you?” Moore said, horrified.

“No, of course not,” Angela assured, shaking her head as ifin confusion. “No, no. We were just hoping you could maybe tell us somethingthat might help with the investigation.”

“All right,” he said and leaned forward. “Yes. I can tellyou something.”

Chapter 5

Jackson frowned, waiting for Jefferson Moore tocontinue.

“Okay, thank you,” Angela said. “Please, what can you tellus?”

“Something’s going on there.” He chuckled ruefully. “I mean,of course, you know that something was going on there—you found the bodies ofmurder victims in the tomb.”

“Right,” Jackson said. “But what did you see before thebodies were found? What do you know?”

“Know?” Moore asked, sitting back. “Well, I don’t knowanything. I should have said that. I don’t know. The day I went tofind Benjamin Robertson at his father’s funeral... I don’t know how to explainit. I just had a horrifically strange feeling. As if things were going on.”

“Why is that?” Angela asked. “Was it something Robertsonsaid to you?”

“No. Robertson was as good as I’d hoped, and it was a toughoccasion for him. I knew that. But once I introduced myself, apologized forbothering him, and told him I hadn’t been able to get through to him, he seemedalmost happy and relieved to talk about something other than the service thatday. He let me into the crypt and promised to meet me later at a localpub—which he did.”

“So, what makes you think something was going on?” Angelaasked.

Moore shrugged. “I know this sounds crazy, but I had astrange feeling around the tomb. Like a dark feeling. Something that made methink...”

“You thought the place was haunted?” Angela asked.

Moore shook his head. “It wasn’t like a feeling of beinghaunted. I mean, I’ve never seen a ghost, but I’ve felt the presence ofhistory, I guess you could say. The feeling of loss and sadness when you’restanding on the battlefield at Gettysburg, that kind of thing. Well, at least Ifeel it.”

“Many people do,” Angela assured him.

“I’m sure this sounds crazy, but I just felt something...dark. Right.” He sighed. “I mean, how much darker can you get than abattlefield? But war is one thing. Horrible, of course, and still man killingman. But in a war, few soldiers want to go out and kill and be killed. But theyare fighting for their nations. Maybe violent death is violent death. But thereis something especially heinous about cold-blooded murder,” Moore said.

“But you didn’t see anything in the tomb?” Jackson asked.

“Well, rotting Robertson dead,” he told them. “But no... uh,no victims hanging or lying anywhere. No fresh kills. I still feltuncomfortable in the place. Had a strange feeling something ugly was under itall. I wasn’t surprised when I heard what you‘dfound.”

“But the first victim we found, at least according to theME’s educated estimation, arrived right at the same time—or just after—thatfuneral,” Jackson said.

“Do places have a foreboding of what is to come?” Moorewondered aloud. “I don’t know. And maybe it was silly and ridiculous. But, hey,I served my stint in the service. I’ve seen some ugly stuff, and I’m noteasily—”