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He turned and fell to his knees

It was Betty

His heart thundered as he carefully exaroaned and looked up at him "Sheriff!"

"Betty, what the hell happened?"

"There was so I knew, so inet an ambulance out here"

Betty sat up "No, no, I’m fine Goafter him Whoever it wastook Brian He took Brian"

"Betty, who the hell was it?"

"Idon’t know"

"How can you not know?"

"He--I can’t even say if it was a man or a woman--was dressed up Dressed like alike a Plains Indianlike an Apache in buckskinwith a dark wig and makeup and a black mask I don’t knoho it wasbut--"

He’d reached for his phone She set her hand on his "No, Sloan I’et to the theater!"

"Betty, you’re injured--"

"I’m fine! I’ll call for help Go"

He didn’t trust her Betty--who’d been his right hand since he’d returned to Lily

He rose, suddenly very afraid--for ain and pretended to ht of hand was successful

"All right, Betty," he said, and rose

Shethe truth

But he didn’t know

Cops would be crawling all over the theater any et there himself

"Go!" Betty insisted

He did He ran As he raced through the streets, he looked for people he knew He didn’t see anyone He paused just long enough to pull out his phone and call Logan "Found Betty on the road I left her there I’m at the theater"

"You see Kelsey? The ambulance?"

"No"

"I’ve called for backup Was Betty shot? Dead, alive?"

"Alive I don’t trust her, Logan I don’t trust anything right now"

"I’ll be there in a fewin Maybe you should wait for backup"

Maybe he should

"I can’t," he said

He burst in through the slatted doors of the theater

Jane scraed to fire a shot at the clown, but then the cloas gone She jumped to her feet and moved carefully to the door--just in tiht Ever wary that a bullet could coot off a shot when the clown passed ahead of her in the bar area, but he threw open the door to the basement and tore down the stairs She walked to the doorway, deteruard the one entry until someone could come

Then she realized that soun went off just as she was sla down the stairs, she heard soht not have killed her attacker, but at least she’d injured hiood She landed in the baserip on the Glock

She lifted her gun The clown dived to the floor, knocking the wig stand on top of her She struggled to free herself frohtless eyes

Footsteps were heading her way down the stairs The clown, too, was trying to get free froain; the clown rolled across the floor and into thedown the stairs--and swearing in fury Janeinto the rows of mannequins

Once she was there, she went as still as she couldand she listened So into the room

In the near-darkness, Victorianwith Mr Hyde A vaht seemed real

Why not? The cloas real

And then she heard a voice she’d coent Everett, you’re harder to kill than I’d thought! But you should just give it up Those bullets won’t last forever, and quite frankly, you’re outnumbered Give it up!"

She didn’t move, didn’t breathe When she felt asp and a screa