Chapter 3

"Like a concentration camp?" Meredith asked.

"Yes...and no. It's difficult to explain." From the pained look on George's face, it was apparent he wasn't merely referring to the complexity of the story. It was literally hard for him to talk about what had happened. "There were prisoners, but it was more like a science lab. None of the doctors or scientists who ran the place put up much of a fight when we burst in. Very few of them spoke English, not that you needed to speak the same language to understand that we carried guns. Weaponry has a universal language of its own."

The tone of George's voice became clinical and matter-of-fact. Meredith didn't judge him for his detachment; it was probably the only way he could speak openly about what had occurred.

"The prisoners we found were used for a very specific purpose," he continued. "All of them were either twins or in some cases triplets."

"All of them?" she echoed in disbelief. "Why?"

"One was the control and the other was the test subject," George explained. "They were there for medical experimentation. Human lab rats. The goddamn Nazi's were so obsessed with creating their 'pure race'. It went far beyond wanting to simply create an Aryan race though. They thought they could play God, fix the 'flaws' our creator gave us. Make humans faster, stronger, smarter, live longer…None of the 'weaknesses' inherent with mortality."

Downing his drink in one swift gulp, George gazed into the bottom of the empty glass as though the past resided there. "Some of the subjects we found were healthy, normal…others were bare remnants of human beings. We found a six year old boy who lived in a tank of water, complete with gills and webbed feet." Her grandfather's friend barely managed to suppress a shudder.

Meredith wasn't entirely sure what to say, so she remained quiet; it wasn't as though she were ordinarily verbose anyway. Not many people would have believed the grandiose things George was saying. Most would have accused him of being nothing more than a highly imaginative fraudster. Yet Meredith didn't think that of him at all. In all her years spent trying to discern answers to her family's dark secrets from her father and grandmother, she'd learned to observe people closely. A smile to try and disguise despair, hands clasped to prevent wringing them from anxiety, a downward shift of the eyes; people were a fascinating study in deception. George Watkins gave none of the usual signs he was being dishonest.

To her own surprise she realized she believed him completely.

"Even after we translated their work, your grandfather was the only one who figured out what they were doing. As horrible as it was, the Nazi's were decades ahead in genetic research. John was fascinated by all the information we were gathering. The only one more obsessed with it was Kane. Like me, he didn't understand any of the genetic formulas, but he was enthralled with the notion of manipulating DNA."

"Granddad was a geneticist?" Meredith asked, surprised and bemused. "Dad only ever mentioned that he was an insurance salesman."

"That's the job he took up when he moved back to America," George confirmed with a nod. "Before the war started, though, John's true love was science. Genetics was the area he chose to specialize in. Finding that lab was what drew John and Kane close together. While the rest of us were horrified by what we'd found, they were like kids in a candy store."

Suddenly realizing who he was talking to, he quickly added, "Not to say that your grandfather was by any means heartless. He was disgusted by how the prisoners had been treated. It was just that he'd never seen a lot of the theories he'd read about in books put in practice."

"It's okay," Meredith reassured him. "I think I understand. He'd never expected to find any live test subjects. Most of the experiments the Nazi's were doing had probably been deemed too immoral by the rest of the scientific world."

"Yes, that was exactly it," George said, relieved that Meredith didn't think her grandfather a monster. "After the war was over, John took the findings with him to Cambridge where he'd been accepted for school. The professors there mocked him and told him they were all inconclusive, not to mention depraved. That didn't stop your grandfather, though. After graduating, he went to work for Kane—who apparently had a fortune he'd never mentioned—to spend on the budding science of genetics and DNA research."

"What happened after that?"

"Years passed with very little contact. Then one night I got this call from John, asking me to make arrangements for him and your grandmother to move back to the States. I tried to ask him what was going on, but he was evasive and vague with his answers. When I told him I thought he must be in some kind of trouble, he assured me he was perfectly fine. With a smile and a wink, that was your grandfather," George said grimly.

"Once the arrangements had been made and he moved back here, we began to talk again. It was as though our friendship had never stopped for many years. I was devastated when your father called to tell me about his stroke…"

Meredith nodded. A stroke is what they'd told people had happened when her grandfather went mad. Not everyone in Fell's Church had always believed that, of course. Even with the Hadsforth Institute well outside of town, someone from there must have talked or someone local had figured out that something didn't quite add up with her family's story. Either way, rumors had started to spread. Meredith had done her best to ignore them, but it hadn't always been easy.

"From there, John's mental health deteriorated quickly. There became fewer and fewer moments after…" He gestured helplessly.

"After he tried to kill me and my grandmother," Meredith supplied for him. She refrained from telling him about the attack since she wasn't entirely sure if George knew of Klaus' involvement in that.

"Right," George said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "After that, there were fewer and fewer moments where he was actually lucid. Before his mental health deteriorated too far, he once again gave me a late night call. That was when he asked me to set up his will and the trust for you."

There's more he's not telling me, Meredith thought with conviction.

"I need to know what Granddad was doing in Europe. What exactly was he doing for Kane?" Even though her head was already spinning with newfound information, she felt an urge to learn more. Secrets of the past finally unveiled.

"Although John began to get worse, I still continued to visit him. I felt a sense of loyalty and friendship towards him even though he'd chosen to segregate himself from me after he began working for Kane. During my visits, he spoke often of Kane and something called the 'Dark Veritas'."

"What is the Dark Veritas?" Thinking quickly, Meredith suddenly put two and two together. "Is that why they wore those rings?"

"You have to understand that I'm piecing together random bits of information I picked up, but I believe they were…a cult. The more I think about the past, about things I ignored that I shouldn't have, the more I'm convinced that's the truth. If I'm right, they were a group of very wealthy and powerful…vampires." On the last word, George's voice dropped to a hushed whisper.

"Of course, I don't believe in such things," he added, waving a hand dismissively. Meredith refrained from commenting, although the fear in George's blue eyes made her think he felt quite the opposite. It made her wonder what he would say if she told him she was a strong believer. "In my years as trial lawyer, though, I learned that there are people who are crazy enough to believe they are vampires. Usually such people are in jail or mental institutions. The Dark Veritas were different from the typical insane cult, however."

"How so?"

"They had money, power, and influence. Not everyone knew about the Dark Veritas and that was the way they preferred to keep it. I spent almost a decade in Europe, but never heard of them until John mentioned them. From what he told me, though, it wasn't wise to cross them. Once you were in, you were privy to a world of luxury and comfort, but at a cost. There was never any way to get 'out', for example. When you belonged to the Dark Veritas you were theirs for life."

"Why would Granddad join them then?" Meredith's brow furrowed in thought, her obsidian eyes speculative. "Didn't he realize what he was getting himself into?"

"I suspect—not that I was able to confirm this as fact—that Kane was the leader. He had a power, a certain way of swaying people to his way of thinking. I believe he lured John with the promise of a job where he could work on his genetics experiments whenever he pleased. From there, there were even greater perks. Money, lavish parties, women…"

"I'm guessing all good things eventually came to an end," Meredith commented wryly.

George gave a helpless shrug. "John would never tell me exactly what happened. When he called to ask me to make arrangements for him to come back to the States, he wasn't very forthcoming with any details. From his tone and sense of urgency, however, I could tell that something terrible had happened."

In the pale afternoon light streaming through the blinds George's face was drawn. The wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead that initially made him appear sophisticated now simply made him look old and tired. Meredith couldn't help feeling bad for him. It was obvious dredging up the past wasn't easy for him.

Even though she was fairly certain there was more her grandfather's friend wasn't disclosing, Meredith decided they'd covered enough for the day. There was plenty for her to mull over and contemplate. Maybe in a few days she would be able to return and hear the rest.

"Thank you for telling me these things," Meredith said sincerely. "My family has never been very chatty about Granddad. Most of what I figured out came from conversations I overheard. So I appreciate this more than you could ever know."

"I'm glad I told you then," he said after a pause. "There's nothing worse than being kept in the dark about someone you love."

Placing the picture back in her purse, Meredith rose from her chair. "I've taken up enough of your time. If I had to, though…would it be alright if I came back?"

"Of course," he replied. "Anytime you'd like. Would you like me to show you out?"

"I should be okay. Thank you again." Meredith extended a hand and managed a smile as she shook George's hand.

Meredith went to release her grip, but he maintained his as he gave her a long, steady look. "Be careful, Meredith. This isn't something I would recommend pursuing any further. The Dark Veritas aren't a group you want to try and interfere with. Please keep what I've told you to yourself. It could be dangerous for both of us if it gets out."

"I will," she promised solemnly. He released her hand and Meredith left with the words of his warning echoing bleakly in her ears.