Page 16 of Haunted Horror on Halloween

He was unarmed. She glanced at Jackson and holstered her own weapon before walking toward the man and hunkering before him and saying gently, “You’re not a failure—that wretched man who talked you into—or threatened you into—doing this is a failure. He thinks he has great plans, but . . . well, if we hadn’t stumbled upon you, those officers would have. But listen to me. We’re going to see that you get to the closest police station so you can get something to eat and drink. We’ll have both cops and agents there, and you can help us, help us bring down a horrible monster. Allow us to help you. And then we will need a great deal of help back from you. First, please . . . are the women still alive?”

For a long moment, the man just stared at Angela.

“My soul . . .”

“Darrell Manderley isn’t a god, a fallen angel, or Satan himself,” Angela assured the man. “He’s just your run of the mill human monster who preys on the weak. Please, you’re not going to be consumed by hellhounds, no one is going to hurt you—they will, in fact, protect you. Are the women alive?” she asked softly again.

Jackson heard the man whisper, “Yes, just drugged, no idea, can barely walk . . . but alive. He wanted them alive.”

“I’m Angela, Angela Hawkins Crow,” she told the man. “Who are you?”

“Willie Jenkins. William Jenkins. And these days . . . I’m no one.”

“No, sir, every life is valuable; and you are a valuable human being who has fallen on some hard times. You will not be consumed by hellhounds, and no demons are coming after you. We’re going to see that you get some help.”

Jackson shouted out, identifying himself as he moved back along the trail.

Police were coming with their dogs.

He wanted to get back to them quickly and have one or two officers come and escort the man they had found trying to erase Darrell Manderley’s trail into Krewe headquarters.

They obviously couldn’t just leave him, though sweeping the ground with a coat wasn’t a legal offense, despite his admission of what he’d been doing. He still might know something that could help, and then there was another danger.

If by strange chance Darrell Manderley was anywhere near, he would find and kill the man who had failed him by getting caught at his task.

Of course, they needed any information Angela could pry from him, so he stopped the cops, got permission to pet the dogs, and gave them his request. They would continue with the dogs to see if Darrell Manderley had made any other excursions through the forest, but they would see to it that one of their team by the coffee shop would be right out—and protect their witness with their own lives if necessary, Jackson was assured.

And the feds were lead on this case; they would see that he was taken into Krewe headquarters.

He returned to the tiny clearing with the police right behind him.

“No, no, hellhounds!” the man cried.

One of the officers nodded at Angela who had been looking at him.

“Not hellhounds! Sweethearts!” Angela assured the man.

And with the officer’s permission, she snuggled the great German shepherd scent dog and managed to get the man to pet him, too.

“See? No hellhound! Just a big sweetie who does an unbelievable job at finding people when they need to be found. He’s fine; you’ve been duped, but you see the truth now, right?” Angela asked him.

He nodded and looked at her desperately.

“I’m just so hungry!” the man said.

“Willie, we’ll fix that,” Angela told him. “Now, what kind of car was out here and which way did Darrell Manderley go when he got the women into the car.”

Willie looked at her. “Uh . . . dark car, but I think it was a wagon or a . . . no, they call them SUVs, but not a huge one. I . . . I don’t know exactly. The back seat was down so that the old lady and the young lady could be laid out in the back.”

“Beat up? A new car?”

“No, older. I think.”

The officers were standing by; one on the phone already with his headquarters so that the car—most likely one of those recently stolen—would immediately be on their radar.

“Sir, this officer behind me and his partner are going to get you to our offices, and we’re going to get you some food!” the officer promised.

“And then you tell them everything, too,” Angela said. “And anything else you might think of as you get comfortable, get some food into your belly! You’re all right, right? They’re going to take you now!”