"I was surprised when I arose the next evening to find Professor Romney waiting for me." Amos said
-0-
Beverly is in a coma." Romney said starkly.
"Do you blame me?"
"No. I know the deal she made with you – blood in exchange for information. But she does other riskier things. I think that this is what she wanted to talk to me about when that problem with Adam happened."
"And why come to me?"
"Because I need your help. I need you to vouch for me so I can be admitted into the Benchley mansion and look into her papers, because I think she kept records of what she is doing. If we find out enough, we may be able to help her."
"It might be easier if I go in myself. Dinah would not let you rummage in her room, no matter how politely you word it. I might force her to do it, but it will damage my relationship with her. Just tell me what to look for."
-0-
"Did Romney accept that?"
"Now willingly because he wanted to do the looking himself, but he let me do. And I flew there, entered unnoticed in her room and found this notebook which had enough day-by-day entries that mentioned dosages and then dates at the end of the eighteenth century."
"And it was?"
"Yes. Romney took a look and sat down to read."
-0-
"This was easy." Amos said "Maybe I should do more of this."
"Become a spy?" Romney shook his head. "As long as you remember that you are helpless between dawn and dusk. And if you get into this, you'll be dealing with people who would be quite willing to kill you and only need to know how…. They are not the villagers here, who have no reason to fixate on you, and have no plans that you could thwart… Vampire does not mean invulnerable."
"So…."
"The taste you got today gave you the feeling that you could do ANYTHING. That's what can get you killed. Just be grateful that you can have a quiet existence here – well, relatively quiet. Now I got to study this. And I think that you need to feed."
-0-
Beverly lied on the hospital bed, immobile, being fed intravenously. She made strangled noises. Amos stood by her side, having entranced the nurse.
"Wake up, Beverly. Hear my voice. I command you to rise."
"I thought so." Romney said, entering the room. "Here you are, thinking that because you are what you are you can do anything. You will not wake her up this way. But you can do serious damage. You do not know the first thing about psychological trauma so you barge in like a bull in a China shop. IT DOES NOT WORK THIS WAY."
"I want to help."
"I know you do. But that is no excuse. I have been reading her notes. And I have figured out what happened."
"What did happen?"
"She projected her mind into the past. She had these pills that allowed her to enter a deeper trance state. She tried to get into the past here… She thought that she would be a spectator…. And well most of the time she would be. Except that if you project yourself into an earlier incarnation, you are no longer a spectator. She relived her past life. And she came upon a very traumatic moment. She is caught there.'
"And what can we do?"
"I want to pinpoint the time and the place. And also, who she was then. I might use that to bring her back."
"How will you do it?"
"I will send my mind back and watch her and figure out the key to get her to remind herself that she is Beverly, not whoever she was."
"If I send myself back in time, to the body I had then I might be able to rescue her from that traumatic event."
"If she is within your reach. If it happens at a time when you were around. If she is in New York or in France there is little you can do. Or if she is in 1920 when you were locked up. Thanks for offering, but the odds are against you being able to do anything."
"I can help you look at the notes."
-0-
The next day, while Amos was sleeping Romney went to see Danny and Heather. "Someone gave her those pills. I want to get my hands on them. I got a name: Arnold Potter. I want to talk to him. But I have no leads."
"I can track him. Where did he and Beverly meet? I will ask around."
"You want those pills?'
"Yes. I want to know what they are made of. And you can help me."
"Analyze them?"
"Yes"
Heather's eyes sparkled. I will need a lab. Can you get me one?'
"I certainly can."
-0-
It did not take Danny too long to track Arnold Potter. He found him at the bar, nursing his drink.
"Herb Whitby! So, you are Beverly's pusher?"
"Hush…"
"You killed Doc Lawson."
"It was not me…"
"Yeah, Midler pulled the trigger. And now you are back. What do you think Amos will do to you if he finds you? He is still mourning the doc. I almost wish that he would catch you. But I do not want to see it. I do not want to deal with the bloody mess. So, I advise you to get out of town quickly. And let me have the pills."
"Which pills?"
"The ones you sold Beverly. Where you got them?"
"Dr. Midler…"
"Yeah, one of Midler's experiments. Well, you give us a few so that we can figure out what's in them, and then disappear."
Whitby gulped. He reached for his gun.
"I would not do that. There are people here who can describe you. And more than one can tell Amos… you see Amos feeds on a lot of people and they can be his eyes and ears… You do NOT want Amos to come after you.
"Okay, you win." He handed a small bottle to Danny. "I was going to sell these to Beverly today."
"Good. There are a few hours before dusk. Give you plenty of time to be out of here."
-0-
Dusk fell and Amos rose again, to be welcomed by a cheerful Romney.
"You might get to do your trip to the past. Beverly past incarnation lived in this town. At the time when you were up and about. And her name was Ellie Patterson."