"Why the hell would I kill her son?"

Annabelle looked confident, because Tyree had told them what Stone had figured out. "Because he was close to Debby. She saw whoever killed Peterson because she was working at the bakery across the street from his office. Your goons killed Peterson and Debby and made her death look like a suicide. But Willie never believed she killed herself. He was making a lot of noise. You were probably afraid Debby might have called him back and told him something about what she saw before she was killed. You tried once to get him and failed. The second time it worked."

Tyree slumped down in a chair.

She counted off on her fingers. "So let's see, that's at least half a dozen murders in addition to the federal drug charges. And on top of that we have reason to believe that you're holding two federal agents here against their will."

"What?" Tyree snapped.

"Right, I forgot to tell you that part. Where are they? One answers to the name Joe Knox, the other John Carr."

Annabelle studied him closely. The man was a good poker player, but she saw the truth simply in how his blinking kicked up a notch and his fingers quivered just a hair.

"These accusations are ridiculous. And where's your proof?"

"Our proof will be when we search this place and find our two agents. And the rest of the puzzle is coming together quite nicely. And when we nab the judge we'll have our key witness against you."

"You can't search this place without a warrant."

"Oh, we'll have a warrant. By the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. And just in case you get a hankering to travel anywhere, we have a roadblock set up. So don't even think of trying to slip them out that way. And leave the chopper grounded. Because we've got two of our own waiting to lift off the moment yours does."

Annabelle leaned down close into the man's sweating face. "By the way, we're well aware of your rep as being an asshole to every con that's ever walked through these doors. You like dishing out the pain, little man? Well, after your conviction, our strong recommendation to the correctional folks will be that wherever you go you're to be placed in the general prison population. Might save the Commonwealth the cost of an execution. Get my drift?"

"How dare you!" Tyree suddenly moved to strike Annabelle, but a massive hand was placed on his arm by Reuben.

"I would not advise that," the big man said. "Because then they'll have to shoot you."

Tyree looked around to see Harry and Alex pointing pistols at his head.

Annabelle said, "We'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, Howie. Oh, and if I were you, I'd definitely get my affairs in order."

CHAPTER 78

"THEY'RE COMING," Stone said.

He and Knox stood and backed against the wall as the pounding of the approaching boots echoed down the hall.

"I hope you're right about what you saw," Knox said nervously.

"Cuff slot!" a voice barked.

Stone started forward but Knox stopped him.

"This one's mine. They tend to kick the crap out of the first guy. Guess they run out of energy."

"Joe, you don't have to do that."

"Why should you have all the fun?"

Knox backed to the door and put his hands through the slot. Someone grabbed them and pulled hard, causing Knox's head to slam back against the door.

As he shook the pain away, he said, "You'll have to do a lot better than that, jerk-offs."

That got him another slam, but he'd braced himself against the door so the damage was negligible. Knox smiled at this small victory even as his headache grew worse.

The two guards didn't bother to search them this time, and they weren't shackled. And it was George, the crotch-grabber. Manson was apparently still in the infirmary.

Or with any luck, dead, thought Stone.

"Where are your uniforms?" Stone asked George.

"Changing occupations?" Knox added. "I'm not sure that's the drug dealer look you want."

"Shut up!" roared the man.

They were hustled downstairs and through more corridors and then down a sloping, winding passageway until Stone could smell the pungent odor of wet dirt and slimy rock.

Up ahead they saw a light. When they approached the man came into view. Howard Tyree was dressed all in black and didn't look nearly so smug as usual.

Stone looked down at him. "I see the visit today triggered some things."

"How did you-" Tyree began, but Knox cut him off.

"Macklin Hayes has been under internal investigation for a year for basically being a deranged asshole. They were following him. He led them right to us. And you. You moron."

"Shit!" blurted out Tyree.

Stone said, "So you might just want to surrender, Warden. It's over."

Tyree smiled, a dangerous look on his face. "They might be the feds but they're not from around here. Don't know our ways or our land." He gave Stone a hard shove in the back. "Now move!"

They walked, the ground sloping down more with each step. Mold clung to the walls, and the heavy smell of damp gripped just as fiercely to their lungs. They finally came to a heavy steel door. George unlocked it. They all stepped through, navigated another short passage and came to yet another massive door. This was unlocked and they stepped into what had to be a mineshaft. Stone and Knox were told to wait as the other man headed off down a side corridor.

Stone looked around at the long tunnel and brace posts in the dirt floor and beams and thick wire across the ceiling holding back the rock. It reminded him of the place with the snakes. And there were rattlers with him tonight too, just of the human variety. Low ceiling, dirt and rock, massive beams holding back the mountain along with the tonnage of the prison. It was claustrophobic, all of it. Stone didn't know which was worse, the cell or the mine.

Maybe, in a way, they are the same.

His philosophizing stopped when he saw the guard coming back and leading another person with him.

"Abby!" As she grew closer, Stone's rage swelled. In the beams of the flashlights carried by Tyree and her guard Abby's face clearly showed the beating she'd endured.

Stone lunged at Tyree, but with his hands behind his back, he was easily subdued.

"I will kill you," he said quietly to Tyree.

"I see it the other way around," the warden replied calmly.

They walked on, Abby next to him while Knox shot curious glances at them.

"Abby, what happened?" Stone whispered to her.

"They came to the house and got me. Maybe killed the man Tyree had guarding me, I don't know for sure."

"Why would they want you?"

"Something to do with Danny."

"So he is mixed up in this?"

A sob slipped from Abby's mouth. She just nodded mutely.

Stone was going to say something else, but a billy club hit him in the back.

"No more talking," the warden snapped.

Stone lost track of time. Minutes or hours, he couldn't tell down here in the black of a mountain's bowels. He couldn't imagine spending his life down here on his hands and knees digging out rock. Digging his own grave.

Knox, Stone and Abby were suddenly grabbed and told to stay still. The two guards ran ahead and Stone could hear scraping sounds, large things being moved and the grunts and curses of the men doing that heavy moving.

Up ahead the darkness suddenly turned a bit lighter.

Tyree pushed them forward. Stone and Knox exchanged a glance. Neither knew exactly what was going to happen in the next few seconds. Stone kept as close to Abby as he could. If need be he would shield her with his body. He strained against the cuffs, trying to free himself. They probably only had a few seconds left.

They ducked down and came out into a moonlit night. Freedom at last from Dead Rock. Except for the cuffs and the men with guns surrounding them. And except for the fact that their lives were about to end. Stone could hardly believe that what many men with special skills had tried to do and failed, a pudgy warden from a backwater hole-in-the-wall was going to succeed in doing. Kill him. And yet as he glanced over at Abby, he felt far worse for her. The truth was he should have been dead long ago. He had done things that he deserved to die for. But not Abby. It shouldn't end this way for her. And he told himself he would do everything in his power to prevent the woman's life from ending violently here on this high rock.