coat. I must have fallen asleep at some point between three and three-thirty. I saw Betsey Cavalierre in my dream, then my partner and friend Patsy Hampton. Finally, I saw Jamilla. Oh Christ, not Jam. I couldn't stand that. I was aware of someone nearby, standing right over me. I opened my eyes. It was Kyle. Time to go in,' he said. Time to get some answers.'
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The ranch was four to five hundred yards away. The terrain in between was too open for us to sneak up on the complex. Was this where Jamilla had been murdered? Kyle whispered/She might still be alive.'It was as if he was reading my thoughts. What else did he know? What was he hiding from me? 'I've been thinking about the brothers. They never had to be careful before, so they weren't. The magicians were the careful ones. They committed murders for almost a dozen years. Never got caught. There's no record that they were even suspected of any of the murders.' 'You think the new Sire set up Daniel and Charles?' 'That's part of it, I'll bet. The brothers committed murders in towns where the magicians toured. The Sire wanted us to catch up with Daniel and Charles. It was a trap.' 'Why kill them in New Orleans?' 'Maybe because the brothers are psychopaths. Maybe they had orders to do what they did. We'll have to ask the Sire.' 'They don't think anyone can stop them. Well, they're wrong about that,' Kyle said. "They're going to be stopped.' Which was when we got a surprise. The front door of the ranch house opened. Several men in dark clothes hurried outside. The two brothers weren't among them. The men hurried to a grassy area where pickup trucks and vans were parked in a ragged line. They started the vehicles, then drove them toward the front of the house. Kyle was on his Handie-Talkie. He alerted the snipers waiting in ---------------- 236 --------------
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the trees and rocks behind us. 'Stand ready.' 'Kyle, don't forget Jamilla.' He didn't answer me. The front door opened again. Shadowy figures began to move out of the house. They were clothed in hooded black gowns and they came in pairs. One person in each pair held a handgun to the head of the other. 'Oh shit/I whispered.'They know we're here.' There was no way to tell who anybody was, or if any of the robed figures were actually hostages. I tried to pick out Jamilla's shape, her walk. Was she among them? Was she alive? My heart felt heavy in my chest. I couldn't spot her from way up here. 'Everybody move. Now/'Kyle spoke into his radio.'Go. Go/' The black-robed figures continued to move toward the waiting trucks and vans. One of the hostages suddenly dropped to the ground - only one. 'That's her,'I called out. 'Take out the one over her!'Kyle ordered. A shot rang out from one of the snipers. A hooded figure slumped over in a heap. Blood was spattered all over his hood. We charged forward, running down the steep hill toward the ranch. Some of the hooded figures fired shots at us. No one was hit. The FBI agents didn't return fire. Then gunfire rang out from the hills. Some of the robed figures dropped to the ground, dead or wounded. A few put their hands above their heads in surrender. I kept my eyes fixed on one robed figure. She was up again, stumbling, almost falling. The hood was pulled back and I could clearly tell it was Jamilla. She stared up into the hills. She put her hands up high. I started to sprint. I was looking for the brothers. And the Sire. I moved toward Jamilla. She was massaging her wrist. She was also shivering and I gave her my jacket. 'You okay?' 'Not sure. They hung me from a beam, Alex. What an unbelievable scene. You can't imagine. I thought I was dead.'There were tears in her eyes.
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'Where's the Sire?'! asked. 'Maybe still inside. I think there's another way out of there.' 'Stay right here. I'll take a look.' She shook her head. 'No, not on your life. This is payback. I'm coming with you.'
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Chapter Eighty-Eight
Jamilla and I searched the main ranch house, then we checked a large, unattached bunkhouse. We didn't find anyone there, not a straggler, not William or Michael Alexander. And not the mysterious Sire. Jamilla was still shivering some, but she refused to turn back. 'You're sure the brothers aren't out front with the others?' she asked. 'Two blonds? Ponytails?' 'If they are, Kyle has them by now. I don't think so. Let's check the smaller shack. You know what's in there?' She shook her head. 'I didn't get the grand tour when I arrived. Just straight to the dungeon. Then they left me hanging, so to speak.' I threw open the door of the shack and saw heaters and a water pump. The room smelled strongly of urine. A mouse scooted into a hole in the wall. I winced and shook my head at what I saw next. Three bodies lay sprawled and spread-eagled against the far wall. They were teenagers. Two were males, both naked except for a few face and chest rings. I bent over them and took a closer look. 'Seem like street kids to me. The blood's been drained from the bodies.' There were bite marks - not just on the necks, but on the faces and limbs. The skin of both males was as pale as alabaster. The third body was female - a teenager of about fifteen. She matched the description of the girl who had gone missing in New Orleans. I felt deeply saddened to have found her here. I looked away from the clouded eyes that stared up at me. There was nothing we could do for them now. I noticed a reddish-brown ---------------- 239 --------------
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hatch cover among the dusty machines that provided water, heat, and probably air-conditioning to the ranch. I moved across the room, bent down low to get a better look. The cover was loose, so I was able to pull it off. Darkness. Silence. What else was down there? Who else? I looked at Jamilla, then I shined a flashlight into the hole. It was wide enough for someone to get down inside. I saw metal stairs. A tunnel. Then I saw footprints in the dirt below. Several pairs. 'Go, tell Kyle/1 turned to her.'Get some help.' Jamilla was already heading out the door. She started to run. I stared down into the abyss and wondered if anybody was looking back at me.
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I waited as long as I could, then lowered myself slowly into the black hole. I fitted easily, and started to climb down the sturdy metal ladder. There were several steps, steep and precarious. I swept the flashlight around. I could make out a dirt floor, corrugated tin walls. The ceiling bulbs had been broken. A narrow tunnel stretched out before me. I didn't hear any sounds up ahead, so I began to make my way down the tunnel. I moved slowly and carefully. I had the flashlight in one hand, my Clock in the other. I kept looking back for Kyle and Jamilla. Where were they? I saw a discarded carcass a short way down the tunnel. I took a breath, shined my light on it. A single eye stared back. What I was looking at had been a small deer. Only the head and shoulders remained. I remembered reading that tigers eat their prey starting at the rump. They consume bone and all. There were more smudged footprints in the dirt. It looked like two pairs, but I couldn't tell for sure in the dim light. There were smaller animal tracks that might be the cat's. Oh, Jesus. I kept moving, trying to adjust my eyes to the semidarkness. There were shards of glass all over the dirt. Someone had purposely smashed the overhead light bulbs. I heard a roar, and almost dropped the flashlight! It wasn't the smoothest move of my life, but I'd never been in a closed-off area -------------- 241 --------------
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