Page 137 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

The Krewe members were law enforcement; they were not judge and jury.

“Wait up!” Angela called. Jackson was tall, an imposing manand striking with the ink-dark hair of his father’s people and his mother’sdeep blue eyes. He could also move like the wind.

Angela was shorter and slimmer, but fast as a whip herselfwhen she chose to be. She almost crashed into his back as they reached thedoors.

Her phone rang before Jackson had a chance to grasp thebrass handles and pull open the giant, carved metal door.

“Hang on. It’s Kat,” she said, answering the call.

Kat and Will were among the original six members of theKrewe of Hunters. Before joining, Kat had been a medical examiner. She wasstill their on-call person when they encountered mysteries concerning a death.

“This is absurd!” Kat said. “Will and I have been all overthis place. I’ve seen ghosts, ghouls, witches, bats, black cats, werewolves,slasher demons, you name it. Still, we dug a bit where we noticed somedisturbed earth. Referring to the map we were given, all those plots receivedrecent burials. We checked mausoleums and crypts, and all were securely locked.Which may not mean anything. Still, I hate to say it, but I might have to agreewith the local police on this one. The young lady so sure she saw a murderermight have been the victim of a prank—or her imagination. I just spoke withColleen and Mark. They are turning up nothing. Anything your way?”

“Not sure,” Angela told her. “We’re at the Robertsonmausoleum. You must be near us. We’re almost dead-centerof the triangle. The doors here weren’t locked. We were about to go in to checkand see—”

Angela broke off. Jackson had thrown open the double metaldoors, which allowed her to see within the crypt.

The odor that emerged from the tomb was the first warning.

Daylight was truly dying. Shades of the comingnight—weakening golds, mauves, and grays—fell over the contents of the crypt.

One fine mahogany coffin was in the center on a dais. Bronze lettering honored Ethan Robertson, theRevolutionary hero for whom the crypt had first been constructed. One of thetwo coffins set just off-center commemorated the most recent death, that of theman’s descendant, Joseph Robertson.

Catacomb-like shelves on either side of the room containedcountless bodies—some in coffins, others in shrouds.

The natural contents of a tomb built over two hundred yearsago.

But three scarecrow-like figures hung from the catacombshelving to the right of the tomb. Figures strung up with heavy wire, all withjackets stuffed with straw and wearing strange hats.

But faces peered out from beneath the head coverings.

Features on bodies in various stages of decomposition.

Fresh corpses that were real—one with open eyes that seemedto stare at Angela with tearful and desperate appeal.

Too late.

As the scent of death and rot continued to assail her,Angela knew the scarecrows in the tomb were anything but Halloween decorations.

“Angela. Angela, are you there?” Kat’s voice came to herover the phone.

“I’m here,” she whispered but then took a breath and foundher voice. “And we need you here, too. Along with your medical expertise.”

“Um... it’s a cemetery.”

“No, Kat. We’ve got some newly dead.”

* * * *

Kat was one of the best medical examiners Jackson hadever known, and she now used her knowledge as an agent of the Krewe. She wasthe only member of their number who had first been amedical examiner. While Philip Law also had a medical degree, his was in psychiatry. His knowledge of the human mind,along with his extra talents, often helped in dealing with the criminalelement.

But even with Kat at the cemetery to give them her bestpreliminary findings, Jackson immediately called in the city and county lawenforcement and then briefed Adam.

Night fell as FBI forensic teams arrived, along with asecond and third medical examiner. As they turned the site over to those withthe forensic skills, Jackson and Angela headed into headquarters. It was timefor his wife to perform her research magic. Kat naturally stayed behind, andWill, Mark, and Colleen would also stay until the forensic teams had finishedfor the evening.

“In Kat’s estimation, John Doe number one has been in thetomb for approximately three months. Jane Doe has been there one month, andJohn Doe two was most likely killed last night. Kat believes the cause of deathwas exsanguination, while the method was a knife,” Angela said. “No ID on thevictims, and no clothing to trace. The corpses were wearing strange scarecrowcostumes.”

“When was the last interment in the mausoleum?” Jacksonasked. “I know about the article in which Benjamin Robertson talked aboutdecorating the cemetery for the holidays, but I don’t recall seeing the exactdate that his father was interred.”