GIVE ME THE DAGGERS, by Adrian ColeFrom the files of Nick Nightmare
I’ve never been one for carnivals, or circuses or any of that kind of stuff. I don’t like those insane rides or the grasping carnie one-armed bandits, and you can keep the Human Crocodile and the Bearded Lady with a zillion tattoos. My world is stuffed with enough freaks and I’d rather spend my hard-earned filthy lucre on something educational, like a bunch of comics. So when I took the call on my mobile, I wasn’t thinking about carnivals.
There was no mistaking the thundering tones of Rizzie Carter, the local Police Chief. I knew from his voice that he was even more agitated than normal. I could almost smell the sweat of deep unease down the phone.
“Nick,” he bawled. “We got big problems. Weird. As weird as it gets, ev
