Seattle, Washington
I was putting the finishing touches on my new apartment when the phone rang,
"What do you want?"
"Hello, Katherine, how are you?" it was Van Helsing.
"Van Helsing, how come you're calling me at home and how did you get this number? I just got it set up."
"Steven gave me the number. I need your help."
"What is it this time?"
"Actually it's vampires again."
"What?"
"I'm in London, can you join me?"
"I don't have time for this. I need to get some paying customers. I have to try and make a living as a detective. Not all of us can have cushy university jobs."
"People are dying, Katherine. Can't you make the time?" he sounded somewhat desperate.
"All right, Van Helsing, but this better not be a wild goose chase."
"Believe me, it isn't. You won't regret it. They've been finding people drained of all their blood."
I sighed and imagined my bank account dwindling by the minute, "Where are you?"
"At the Black Dove, in SoHo. That's my Inn."
"An Inn?"
"Yes."
"I'll try to get the next flight out, but you know that means I'm going to have to pay full fare."
"I'll try to get the university to pay you a consulting fee."
"That would be helpful."
Van Helsing gave me his phone number so that I could call him for a ride from the airport. I quickly stuffed things into my hiking back pack. I called the travel agent who had made arrangements for me before and booked a flight for 5:00 the next morning.
It was 8:30 and I decided to go out on the prowl. It had been a day and a half since I last fed and I didn't want to add to any vampire paranoia when I got to London. I hate to admit the fact that I pick up guys and drink their blood. Guys are amazingly easy to pick up if you're even slightly attractive. I don't sleep with them, if that's what you're thinking. I hypnotize them into thinking they've had a great time. Then they wake up in the morning feeling a little drained, but basically happy. What can I say, a girl's got to eat.
After filling up I headed back to my apartment and gave a call to the airport shuttle to pick me up at 4:00 the next morning. There are some advantages to being a mutant vampire, you don't need much sleep.
Sunnydale, California
It was winter break and Buffy was enjoying some time just vegging and watching videos at home. She patrolled every night, but things seemed quiet. No vampires around to make things interesting. Giles was leaving her alone for a while to rest and recover. Life was good. The phone rang downstairs. Her mother answered.
"Buffy, it's Giles," Joyce called up the stairs.
"I got it, mom," Buffy picked up the phone next to her bed. "Giles, what's up?"
"We have to go to London."
"What why? Have you lost your mind?"
"No. Remember Spike and Drusilla, the vampires you released?"
"What about them?"
"My friend, Robert, in London called. His trainee spotted our old friends. They've been making trouble."
"Why can't they deal with it?"
"Buffy, she is only a possible future slayer, you are the true slayer."
"O.k., o.k., but I just got back. Should we really being going off leaving things alone?"
"Faith is here and besides you've been telling me how quiet everything is."
"Fine, what am I going to tell my mom?"
"I'll explain it to her."
"Mom, Giles wants to talk to you," Buffy called down the stairs.
In a few minutes Buffy heard her mother's voice rising. She put on her walk man and started to pack. It would be cold in London this time of year so she put jeans and sweatshirts in her bag. She didn't put any stakes in because they would be hard to explain at the airport. Besides the London girl would certainly have extras she could use. She put in one formal outfit just in case she managed to convince Giles to do something fun. By the time she was done her mom came upstairs.
"Giles says you have to go to London," she said.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Buffy.
"When will you be back?"
"I'm not sure. Soon I hope."
"Is this something you can explain to me?"
"I don't think you want to know."
"Buffy, this is still hard for me to get used to."
"I know, mom, but trust me it's a long story."
"We've got all night. Your flight doesn't leave until eight."
"There's these two vampires who I let escape and they've fled to London. The slayer trainee and her watcher over there need my help."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm the one who let them go. It's my responsibility, I am the slayer you know."
"All two well," Joyce sighed. "Why did you let them escape?"
"One of them helped me, I had to keep my word."
"I don't understand, Buffy, but I'll accept that you really need to do it."
"Good, mom, I'm going to go to bed. I have to get up early in the morning."
"I'll make breakfast before I go to work."
"I love you, Mom, you don't have to make breakfast."
"I love you too, honey, and I want to."
The next morning Buffy got up early and ate breakfast with her mother. Giles showed up with a cab at 6:30. Buffy grabbed her bag and said goodbye. They were at the airport at 7:30 and on the way to England at 8:00. Buffy read a romance and watched the in-flight movie. It was Blade , a movie about a guy who was half-vampire, very weird, maybe not the best omen for the trip.
They got into Heathrow late and took another cab straight to a hotel. The man at the reception desk looked at them a little strangely. Buffy saw him raise his eyebrows when Giles asked for two rooms. Great, this guy thinks Giles is a dirty old man, Buffy thought.
"I'll meet you in the lobby at 8:00," said Giles. "We're to meet Robert and Elizabeth for breakfast."
"Right, I'll set my alarm," said Buffy.
She hadn't been able to sleep on the plane so she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. It seemed too short a time to sleep when the alarm sounded. She threw the extra pillow at it and turned over.
London, England
Take 1
The plane arrived at Heathrow on time and Van Helsing was there waiting for me at the gate. Since I'd brought just my backpack and laptop, we skipped the baggage area. We hopped in a cab and headed for his Inn.
As we headed in to get me a room, I asked, "So what's the plan?"
"Do you feel up to visiting the morgue?" he asked.
"Sure, I don't do jet lag. It's a vampire thing."
"Katherine, you have the strangest sense of humor."
"I thank you. I would like to get my bag put away before we go."
"Of course. Here's your room key. You're just next door to me. I'll wait for you right here."
"I'll be down in a minute."
I hurried to room 303 and dropped my bag on the bed. I ran my fingers through my hair and went back down to join Van Helsing. He led the way to a cab and in short time we were at Scotland Yard. A tall man with dark hair met us at the front desk.
"Lieutenant Baker this is my associate, Katherine Drummond. She's a private detective in the United States," Van Helsing introduced me. "She is also a former member of the Seattle Police Department."
"Might I ask why you're not with them anymore?" Baker asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," I smiled sweetly.
Lieutenant Baker didn't press me. We followed him down to the morgue.
"I hope you aren't squeamish, Dr. Van Helsing, Miss Drummond. These bodies look bloody awful," he said as we walked.
"I'm sure I've seen worse. I have a strong stomach," I said.
"I will not get sick either," said Van Helsing.
Morgues seem to be the same all over the world. The smell of death and disinfectant filled the room. Baker walked over to the storage area and pulled out three different drawers. The bodies inside were pale. All three were young people in their twenties, two women and one man. All three had been decapitated. I took a closer look at the man while Baker and Van Helsing looked at one of the women. I could sense that his blood was almost entirely drained. The only wounds on the body were two small holes in the neck. It didn't look like some nut had cut their throats to drain the blood. They looked like the kind of wounds I would make.
I checked and found that the women were the same. Baker watched me like he was wondering if I was going to faint. I didn't give him any satisfaction.
"What do you think?" he asked. "Serial killer?"
"Van Helsing?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Definitely," said Van Helsing. "I would have to agree."
"Agree with what?" asked Baker.
"Vampires," said Van Helsing.
"What? Are you looney?"
"Not real vampires, of course, they don't exist. I believe what we're dealing with is a person or persons who believe that they are vampires."
"We've both seen it before," I said.
"It's a surprisingly common psychosis," said Van Helsing.
"Where were these bodies found?"
"In the Underground," Baker was still looking at both of us doubtfully.
"Makes sense. They would need somewhere dark to stay during the day."
"You two are saying some crazies are hanging around the Underground pretending to be vampires and murdering people?"
"Stranger things have happened," I said. "Do you have someone who can guide us down there?"
"I've got just the person, follow me."
We followed Baker upstairs through a maze of offices to a large room filled with desks. He went straight to where a young black woman was sitting typing on an antique IBM clone. She looked up as we got near her desk. She looked questioningly at Van Helsing and me.
"Are you busy White?" Baker asked.
"Nothing that I wouldn't gladly throw into the Thames. Just paperwork from the Rajaisa case," said the woman.
"Was that the green grocer whose place was broken into by those teenagers?"
"Yes, I interviewed the owner and his son. They've had trouble with the same boys before, but they're afraid if they identify them they'll get into trouble with the other thugs in the neighborhood. What have you got?"
"How would you like to guide these two in the underground?"
"The murders? You'd let me investigate the murders?" she looked ready to bound out of her chair and give Baker a hug.
"Don't get too excited, White. Let me introduce you to our guests. This is Dr Jacob Van Helsing and his friend Katherine Drummond. Dr. Van Helsing is an expert on unexplained phenomena. They think the murders are being done by vampires."
"Really?" White sounded very uncertain of our sanity.
"Not real vampires, of course," Van Helsing assured her. "I have read many case studies of people who believed themselves to be vampires. And although, I've met patients who thought they were vampires, I have not, so far, met a real vampire. The killer or killers in this case have stuck to the classic vampire legend. They only strike at night, the only wounds on the body are two small punctures in the neck, and the bodies have been decapitated. This would be to keep the victim from becoming a vampire themselves."
"Very considerate, I'm sure," White still looked a bit bemused.
"Do you know anything about the Underground?" I asked.
"I worked down there in security before I got my job here at the yard. We'd also have access to maps. I'll do it, Baker, but don't think you can keep pushing off the make work assignments on me."
Baker nodded and left us to discuss things among ourselves. White led us to the Yard's library where we found some plans for the Underground. I suppose they had to have them in case of emergencies where the police would get involved. We also spoke to Detective Hersh who had been at all three recent murder sites. He marked the places on our map and we went back to White's desk.
"Do you see any sort of pattern?" I asked Van Helsing. "Since we only know of these three murders it is hard to say yet. The sites are all within 10 kilometers of each other and they're all on smaller lines," Van Helsing said.
"Less busy," said White. "So what are your credentials, Miss Drummond?"
"Call me Katherine. I was in law enforcement in the States, but I'm retired. Now I own my own detective agency, Miss White" I tried to look reassuring.
"Call me Beatrice."
"If you two ladies are finished shouldn't we go before it gets dark?" asked Van Helsing.
"Afraid of the dark, are you, Doctor?" asked Beatrice.
"No, I'm not, besides its always the same time in the Underground. I simply didn't think you wanted to work overtime with us. I have the feeling that Baker will want you to do all your regular tasks as well as helping us."
"You're probably spot on there. I'll got get my car, you two meet me out front."
"See you there," I said.
Beatrice grabbed her coat and was out the back door to the parking lot. We went the other way to the front door. She pulled up in one of those new VW bugs. Van Helsing got in the back to be polite. I'm about 4 inches shorter then him so I promised myself I'd let him have the front on the way back.
Beatrice drove like a maniac. It was an hour and a half drive to the nearest murder site and my teeth were clenched the entire way. It wasn't dark yet, so I would die if we crashed, not my preferred way of ending things.
We made it safely after all and parked a block away from the underground station. When Van Helsing got out he did a couple of leg stretches and sighed. There were people waiting at all. I wondered if that was normal for this time of the afternoon or if the murder had effected people's traveling habits. The tabloids in England are famous for their alarmist tactics. I wouldn't be surprised if they had made a big deal out of "vampire" murders. It turned out the body had been found in a storage closet up the tracks from the station. Beatrice assured us that she had checked the schedule and there were no trains due for over an hour so we went ahead and checked it out.
The smell of old blood assaulted my senses the moment we stepped in the room. I could see a tell tale dark stain on the floor. Beatrice flipped the switch and light flooded the room. The room had a desk and chair in one corner, mops and brooms to one side, and shelves filled with miscellaneous supplies. As Van Helsing and Beatrice searched for clues I stepped into the darkest corner and put out a call for a witness. Any subway has rats and one came almost at once. I asked if it had seen anything. It remembered blood and three humans. Two females and one male. One female and the male had made the other female bleed until she stopped moving. I gave the rat some saltines I happened to have in my pocket and then joined the other two.
"Did you find anything back there?" Beatrice asked.
"No, just dust. What about you?" I asked.
"The killer or killers didn't leave much evidence behind. It happened at about three in the morning when no one was about. The theory is that the victim was forced down here from the street above. The victim who was killed here was Theresa Watkins 22. It doesn't appear that she put up any type of struggle. Her nails didn't have any tissue from the killer, no grit, she had no bruising on her body, nothing to show she fought."
"Perhaps she was too scared to fight."
"That's hard to believe. Dying by blood loss is a long process. It would have taken almost an hour for her to die. She would have known the whole time that she was dying. How could she not fight at all? I know I would go down screaming and kicking."
I could guess why she didn't fight. If the killer really was a vampire they could hypnotize the girl into submission. I have hypnotized a few people in my own time in order to drink their blood, of course never to the death. I only take a little, less then if the person were giving blood.
"Why do you think the victim was decapitated after she died?" Beatrice asked Van Helsing.
"All I can tell you is what I told Detective Baker. If the one who did this thinks he/she is a vampire, they are being very careful. They have decapitated the corpses so that no new vampires will be spawned," said Van Helsing.
"Are there really people that bonkers?"
"Bonkers isn't exactly a medical term, but yes there are."
"I don't think we're going to find anything else here," I said. "Why don't we go?"
I was putting the finishing touches on my new apartment when the phone rang,
"What do you want?"
"Hello, Katherine, how are you?" it was Van Helsing.
"Van Helsing, how come you're calling me at home and how did you get this number? I just got it set up."
"Steven gave me the number. I need your help."
"What is it this time?"
"Actually it's vampires again."
"What?"
"I'm in London, can you join me?"
"I don't have time for this. I need to get some paying customers. I have to try and make a living as a detective. Not all of us can have cushy university jobs."
"People are dying, Katherine. Can't you make the time?" he sounded somewhat desperate.
"All right, Van Helsing, but this better not be a wild goose chase."
"Believe me, it isn't. You won't regret it. They've been finding people drained of all their blood."
I sighed and imagined my bank account dwindling by the minute, "Where are you?"
"At the Black Dove, in SoHo. That's my Inn."
"An Inn?"
"Yes."
"I'll try to get the next flight out, but you know that means I'm going to have to pay full fare."
"I'll try to get the university to pay you a consulting fee."
"That would be helpful."
Van Helsing gave me his phone number so that I could call him for a ride from the airport. I quickly stuffed things into my hiking back pack. I called the travel agent who had made arrangements for me before and booked a flight for 5:00 the next morning.
It was 8:30 and I decided to go out on the prowl. It had been a day and a half since I last fed and I didn't want to add to any vampire paranoia when I got to London. I hate to admit the fact that I pick up guys and drink their blood. Guys are amazingly easy to pick up if you're even slightly attractive. I don't sleep with them, if that's what you're thinking. I hypnotize them into thinking they've had a great time. Then they wake up in the morning feeling a little drained, but basically happy. What can I say, a girl's got to eat.
After filling up I headed back to my apartment and gave a call to the airport shuttle to pick me up at 4:00 the next morning. There are some advantages to being a mutant vampire, you don't need much sleep.
Sunnydale, California
It was winter break and Buffy was enjoying some time just vegging and watching videos at home. She patrolled every night, but things seemed quiet. No vampires around to make things interesting. Giles was leaving her alone for a while to rest and recover. Life was good. The phone rang downstairs. Her mother answered.
"Buffy, it's Giles," Joyce called up the stairs.
"I got it, mom," Buffy picked up the phone next to her bed. "Giles, what's up?"
"We have to go to London."
"What why? Have you lost your mind?"
"No. Remember Spike and Drusilla, the vampires you released?"
"What about them?"
"My friend, Robert, in London called. His trainee spotted our old friends. They've been making trouble."
"Why can't they deal with it?"
"Buffy, she is only a possible future slayer, you are the true slayer."
"O.k., o.k., but I just got back. Should we really being going off leaving things alone?"
"Faith is here and besides you've been telling me how quiet everything is."
"Fine, what am I going to tell my mom?"
"I'll explain it to her."
"Mom, Giles wants to talk to you," Buffy called down the stairs.
In a few minutes Buffy heard her mother's voice rising. She put on her walk man and started to pack. It would be cold in London this time of year so she put jeans and sweatshirts in her bag. She didn't put any stakes in because they would be hard to explain at the airport. Besides the London girl would certainly have extras she could use. She put in one formal outfit just in case she managed to convince Giles to do something fun. By the time she was done her mom came upstairs.
"Giles says you have to go to London," she said.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Buffy.
"When will you be back?"
"I'm not sure. Soon I hope."
"Is this something you can explain to me?"
"I don't think you want to know."
"Buffy, this is still hard for me to get used to."
"I know, mom, but trust me it's a long story."
"We've got all night. Your flight doesn't leave until eight."
"There's these two vampires who I let escape and they've fled to London. The slayer trainee and her watcher over there need my help."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm the one who let them go. It's my responsibility, I am the slayer you know."
"All two well," Joyce sighed. "Why did you let them escape?"
"One of them helped me, I had to keep my word."
"I don't understand, Buffy, but I'll accept that you really need to do it."
"Good, mom, I'm going to go to bed. I have to get up early in the morning."
"I'll make breakfast before I go to work."
"I love you, Mom, you don't have to make breakfast."
"I love you too, honey, and I want to."
The next morning Buffy got up early and ate breakfast with her mother. Giles showed up with a cab at 6:30. Buffy grabbed her bag and said goodbye. They were at the airport at 7:30 and on the way to England at 8:00. Buffy read a romance and watched the in-flight movie. It was Blade , a movie about a guy who was half-vampire, very weird, maybe not the best omen for the trip.
They got into Heathrow late and took another cab straight to a hotel. The man at the reception desk looked at them a little strangely. Buffy saw him raise his eyebrows when Giles asked for two rooms. Great, this guy thinks Giles is a dirty old man, Buffy thought.
"I'll meet you in the lobby at 8:00," said Giles. "We're to meet Robert and Elizabeth for breakfast."
"Right, I'll set my alarm," said Buffy.
She hadn't been able to sleep on the plane so she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. It seemed too short a time to sleep when the alarm sounded. She threw the extra pillow at it and turned over.
London, England
Take 1
The plane arrived at Heathrow on time and Van Helsing was there waiting for me at the gate. Since I'd brought just my backpack and laptop, we skipped the baggage area. We hopped in a cab and headed for his Inn.
As we headed in to get me a room, I asked, "So what's the plan?"
"Do you feel up to visiting the morgue?" he asked.
"Sure, I don't do jet lag. It's a vampire thing."
"Katherine, you have the strangest sense of humor."
"I thank you. I would like to get my bag put away before we go."
"Of course. Here's your room key. You're just next door to me. I'll wait for you right here."
"I'll be down in a minute."
I hurried to room 303 and dropped my bag on the bed. I ran my fingers through my hair and went back down to join Van Helsing. He led the way to a cab and in short time we were at Scotland Yard. A tall man with dark hair met us at the front desk.
"Lieutenant Baker this is my associate, Katherine Drummond. She's a private detective in the United States," Van Helsing introduced me. "She is also a former member of the Seattle Police Department."
"Might I ask why you're not with them anymore?" Baker asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," I smiled sweetly.
Lieutenant Baker didn't press me. We followed him down to the morgue.
"I hope you aren't squeamish, Dr. Van Helsing, Miss Drummond. These bodies look bloody awful," he said as we walked.
"I'm sure I've seen worse. I have a strong stomach," I said.
"I will not get sick either," said Van Helsing.
Morgues seem to be the same all over the world. The smell of death and disinfectant filled the room. Baker walked over to the storage area and pulled out three different drawers. The bodies inside were pale. All three were young people in their twenties, two women and one man. All three had been decapitated. I took a closer look at the man while Baker and Van Helsing looked at one of the women. I could sense that his blood was almost entirely drained. The only wounds on the body were two small holes in the neck. It didn't look like some nut had cut their throats to drain the blood. They looked like the kind of wounds I would make.
I checked and found that the women were the same. Baker watched me like he was wondering if I was going to faint. I didn't give him any satisfaction.
"What do you think?" he asked. "Serial killer?"
"Van Helsing?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Definitely," said Van Helsing. "I would have to agree."
"Agree with what?" asked Baker.
"Vampires," said Van Helsing.
"What? Are you looney?"
"Not real vampires, of course, they don't exist. I believe what we're dealing with is a person or persons who believe that they are vampires."
"We've both seen it before," I said.
"It's a surprisingly common psychosis," said Van Helsing.
"Where were these bodies found?"
"In the Underground," Baker was still looking at both of us doubtfully.
"Makes sense. They would need somewhere dark to stay during the day."
"You two are saying some crazies are hanging around the Underground pretending to be vampires and murdering people?"
"Stranger things have happened," I said. "Do you have someone who can guide us down there?"
"I've got just the person, follow me."
We followed Baker upstairs through a maze of offices to a large room filled with desks. He went straight to where a young black woman was sitting typing on an antique IBM clone. She looked up as we got near her desk. She looked questioningly at Van Helsing and me.
"Are you busy White?" Baker asked.
"Nothing that I wouldn't gladly throw into the Thames. Just paperwork from the Rajaisa case," said the woman.
"Was that the green grocer whose place was broken into by those teenagers?"
"Yes, I interviewed the owner and his son. They've had trouble with the same boys before, but they're afraid if they identify them they'll get into trouble with the other thugs in the neighborhood. What have you got?"
"How would you like to guide these two in the underground?"
"The murders? You'd let me investigate the murders?" she looked ready to bound out of her chair and give Baker a hug.
"Don't get too excited, White. Let me introduce you to our guests. This is Dr Jacob Van Helsing and his friend Katherine Drummond. Dr. Van Helsing is an expert on unexplained phenomena. They think the murders are being done by vampires."
"Really?" White sounded very uncertain of our sanity.
"Not real vampires, of course," Van Helsing assured her. "I have read many case studies of people who believed themselves to be vampires. And although, I've met patients who thought they were vampires, I have not, so far, met a real vampire. The killer or killers in this case have stuck to the classic vampire legend. They only strike at night, the only wounds on the body are two small punctures in the neck, and the bodies have been decapitated. This would be to keep the victim from becoming a vampire themselves."
"Very considerate, I'm sure," White still looked a bit bemused.
"Do you know anything about the Underground?" I asked.
"I worked down there in security before I got my job here at the yard. We'd also have access to maps. I'll do it, Baker, but don't think you can keep pushing off the make work assignments on me."
Baker nodded and left us to discuss things among ourselves. White led us to the Yard's library where we found some plans for the Underground. I suppose they had to have them in case of emergencies where the police would get involved. We also spoke to Detective Hersh who had been at all three recent murder sites. He marked the places on our map and we went back to White's desk.
"Do you see any sort of pattern?" I asked Van Helsing. "Since we only know of these three murders it is hard to say yet. The sites are all within 10 kilometers of each other and they're all on smaller lines," Van Helsing said.
"Less busy," said White. "So what are your credentials, Miss Drummond?"
"Call me Katherine. I was in law enforcement in the States, but I'm retired. Now I own my own detective agency, Miss White" I tried to look reassuring.
"Call me Beatrice."
"If you two ladies are finished shouldn't we go before it gets dark?" asked Van Helsing.
"Afraid of the dark, are you, Doctor?" asked Beatrice.
"No, I'm not, besides its always the same time in the Underground. I simply didn't think you wanted to work overtime with us. I have the feeling that Baker will want you to do all your regular tasks as well as helping us."
"You're probably spot on there. I'll got get my car, you two meet me out front."
"See you there," I said.
Beatrice grabbed her coat and was out the back door to the parking lot. We went the other way to the front door. She pulled up in one of those new VW bugs. Van Helsing got in the back to be polite. I'm about 4 inches shorter then him so I promised myself I'd let him have the front on the way back.
Beatrice drove like a maniac. It was an hour and a half drive to the nearest murder site and my teeth were clenched the entire way. It wasn't dark yet, so I would die if we crashed, not my preferred way of ending things.
We made it safely after all and parked a block away from the underground station. When Van Helsing got out he did a couple of leg stretches and sighed. There were people waiting at all. I wondered if that was normal for this time of the afternoon or if the murder had effected people's traveling habits. The tabloids in England are famous for their alarmist tactics. I wouldn't be surprised if they had made a big deal out of "vampire" murders. It turned out the body had been found in a storage closet up the tracks from the station. Beatrice assured us that she had checked the schedule and there were no trains due for over an hour so we went ahead and checked it out.
The smell of old blood assaulted my senses the moment we stepped in the room. I could see a tell tale dark stain on the floor. Beatrice flipped the switch and light flooded the room. The room had a desk and chair in one corner, mops and brooms to one side, and shelves filled with miscellaneous supplies. As Van Helsing and Beatrice searched for clues I stepped into the darkest corner and put out a call for a witness. Any subway has rats and one came almost at once. I asked if it had seen anything. It remembered blood and three humans. Two females and one male. One female and the male had made the other female bleed until she stopped moving. I gave the rat some saltines I happened to have in my pocket and then joined the other two.
"Did you find anything back there?" Beatrice asked.
"No, just dust. What about you?" I asked.
"The killer or killers didn't leave much evidence behind. It happened at about three in the morning when no one was about. The theory is that the victim was forced down here from the street above. The victim who was killed here was Theresa Watkins 22. It doesn't appear that she put up any type of struggle. Her nails didn't have any tissue from the killer, no grit, she had no bruising on her body, nothing to show she fought."
"Perhaps she was too scared to fight."
"That's hard to believe. Dying by blood loss is a long process. It would have taken almost an hour for her to die. She would have known the whole time that she was dying. How could she not fight at all? I know I would go down screaming and kicking."
I could guess why she didn't fight. If the killer really was a vampire they could hypnotize the girl into submission. I have hypnotized a few people in my own time in order to drink their blood, of course never to the death. I only take a little, less then if the person were giving blood.
"Why do you think the victim was decapitated after she died?" Beatrice asked Van Helsing.
"All I can tell you is what I told Detective Baker. If the one who did this thinks he/she is a vampire, they are being very careful. They have decapitated the corpses so that no new vampires will be spawned," said Van Helsing.
"Are there really people that bonkers?"
"Bonkers isn't exactly a medical term, but yes there are."
"I don't think we're going to find anything else here," I said. "Why don't we go?"