Bloody Good Read online

  She fought the urge to turn and run and closed the gate behind her. Her feet did not want to walk up that graveled drive. They did it anyway, while the vampire, she was certain it had to be vampire, watched her, as fascinated as if she were walking on water, not his front drive.

  “Mr. Clarendon?” she asked, stopping a couple of yards away and seeing clearly he had no living aura.

  “I am, madam. It seems you have the advantage of me.”

  Not for long. “I’m Helen Burrows, I live in Brytewood, near Box Hill. I need your help.” Her heart was racing and her hands sweaty with anxiety, but she held out her hand.

  He took it, his grasp firm and his hand unnaturally cold. “Good morning, Mrs. Burrows. I’m on the point of leaving.” He gestured to the car.

  “I’ll be as direct and brief as I can. I came to you for help because you’re a vampire.”

  He grinned. “Madam, I’ve had some interesting approaches in my life but that’s a novel one.” Dear heavens, had she been wrong? No! As he laughed, his aura stayed solid and black, not a spark of life in it.

  “Maybe novel, but accurate. Please, I don’t have time to play games. You can help me.”

  “Why would I?”

  “Because there’s a vampire in my village injuring, killing, and terrorizing.”

  That got his attention. Maybe not a good thing considering the almost feral smile that curved his mouth. “Why make these rather preposterous claims?”

  “Because those I love are threatened.” It was not going to work. He looked downright bored. “And I’m Pixie,” she added.

  That sparked his interest. “APixie.”

  She nodded. He could surely sense the truth. Either that or he’d call the police thinking she’d escaped from one of the mental hospitals.

  “Come in, we can’t talk out here.”

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped over the threshold, heart racing and mind whirling.

  “You’re afraid of me.”

  No point in denying. “Yes, but I’m more afraid that I’ll fail.”

  His blue eyes met hers. “Don’t we all have that fear?”

  “You? You’re so strong and powerful. Why would you be afraid?”

  “I’m not indestructible and I have friends in danger. Friends I’m on my way to join…in France,” he added after a long pause.

  She understood. At least she thought she did. “Then I will not keep you longer than I have to.”

  “Have a seat, Pixie. You came for help, I’ll not turn you away if I can help.”

  “You believe me?”

  “Why not? You’re not mortal. That was obvious when you walked up the drive. No mortal could have approached after I repelled as hard as I did. I’m curious as to why you’re here. A Pixie, eh? Well, I never did believe those stories of dancing around Fairy rings on a midsummer night.”

  “That is fairies. I’m Pixie.” Better get that straight. Some misunderstandings could not be permitted to continue.

  “I beg your pardon. I must admit to being woefully ignorant of Pixies and other species.”

  “And I know little about vampires.”

  “You knew enough to find me.”

  “I was told a name, some years ago, and that you lived up here on the Downs.”

  “I should probably move then.” He sat down on a chair opposite. “But since I am here and you searched me out, what about this rogue vampire terrorizing your village?”

  “It’ll take a while, as I really have to start at the beginning, but I’ll be as brief as possible.”

  He nodded, steepling his fingers against his chin, and waited.

  She started with the vampire Alice rescued and ended with the events of the past evening. It took longer than she’d hoped but he seemed in no hurry.

  “So,” he said as she finished, “what do you want me to tell you?”

  “How to kill him. If we can.”

  He had a pleasant laugh, for a vampire. “Wouldn’t that be foolish, handing you the knowledge of my own weaknesses?”

  “I’m not proposing to kill you. This creature is different, it’s brought havoc and destruction, and has not finished, of that I’m certain.”

  “I don’t doubt you’re right, but there is a difficulty.” He raised his hand to stop her interruption. “We’re of many bloodlines, all different and with varying strengths and weaknesses. If I told you how you could extinguish me, it might not work on another of unknown lineage.”

  “So there’s no help you can give me?”

  “I didn’t say that. When did this presence make itself felt?”

  “A few days after the disappearing patient.”

  “Who you’d recognize but have never seen since?” She nodded. “Some of us can change shape, become birds or wolves or bats, but I have never heard of a vampire that changed their mortal appearance. In fact, we are immutable. I’ve looked this way for nearly two hundred years.”

  “So we’re talking about two vampires?” And she’d thought one was a big problem.

  “I believe so. That first one may have gone to earth, or be hiding somewhere else.”

  “And if there’s two, what’s to stop three or four?” It was worse than she’d realized.

  “Nothing, I’m afraid. And since I would know if another of my bloodline were here, this or these are outsiders. There’s another point. I told you I was going to France.”

  “You did. War work I imagine?”

  “Precisely. If our side is using vampires, we should no doubt assume the Germans are, too.”

  Holy smoke! “That’s it! At least I think it is. They just arrested someone in the village as a German spy.”

  “But she’s not there.”

  “No, but very recently she had this nephew arrive one evening. An evening when there were no buses.” That had to be it.

  “I wish I could stay and help you but I do have to get a plane.”

  “Thank you so much. Do you have a telephone? May I use it?” She’d better warn Alice and Peter.

  “By all means.”

  No reply at the house. She couldn’t call Mother Longhurst; she didn’t even have electricity, much less a telephone. The Pig and Whistle. She had to call directory enquiries first. She would be owing this nice man, vampire, a pocketful of change, but…“Hello.”

  Fred Wise wasn’t much help. “Yes, she were here with that young assistant of hers, left half an hour ago.”

  Nothing for it but to wait until she got back, which could be hours.

  “No luck?” Jude Clarendon said.

  “I couldn’t catch them. I want to warn my granddaughter. I’m afraid she’ll do something rash.”

  He reached for his coat off the hall rack. “Come on. I can give you a lift into Brytewood. It’s not much out of way.”

  Definitely faster than the bus, but vampires obviously didn’t worry too much about having a car accident. The way he took the zigzag bends down Box Hill was enough to give her a heart spasm. But he got her to Brytewood, dropping her by the bridge on the outskirts of the village.

  “Can you walk from here?”

  “I can and thank you.”

  “By the way,” he said, “the old stories of sharpened stakes are all true. Oak works best. Just don’t take it out, or he’ll heal over. And don’t ever tell anyone I told you.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Clarendon. Best of luck where you’re going.”

  “You, too. Seems we fight the war on our own doorsteps as well.”

  Unfortunately, that was proving all too true.

  Now she had to find Alice and Peter and tell them she’d identified the vampire.

  Chapter 38

  “So we have a name,” Peter said as they drove away from the Pig. “Your grandmother was spot-on about looking very hard at Miss Waite’s nephew. Seems he’s our boy. Beats me how it took us so long to work that out.”

  “Most people don’t assume that someone a bit odd is automatically a blood-sucking vampire.”

  “Tr
ue. What do we do now? Knock on his door and ask if he speaks German?”

  She had to smile at that. “Doesn’t mean a thing. Lots of perfectly patriotic English people speak German. I do.”

  That surprised him. “You do?”

  “Yes, don’t broadcast it nowadays, but between getting my Higher Certificate and starting at Barts, I spent a year in Germany. I made some good friends. Odd isn’t it? I try not to think about them, as I imagine they try hard not to think about me.” Enough of that. Better to concentrate on how to dispose of a vampire than what had happened to her friends.

  “What should we do now then?”

  “I don’t want to do anything until Gran gets back.” From wherever she’d rushed off to. That was another worry. Gran didn’t go off like that. But she had.

  “While we’re waiting, we could get engaged. How about it?”

  “This is hardly the time or the place. We’re on a vampire hunt.” And didn’t that just prove how off kilter her life was? “Peter…” What next?

  “I know.” She truly believed he did.

  “There’s so much going on I feel I’m pulled from all directions and it doesn’t help in the least that we seem to be walking around with ‘we had fantastic sex last night’ written on our faces.”

  “Doesn’t bother me.”

  That deserved a jab in the ribs but since she was driving, she settled for a scowl.

  “Does that bother you now?” He sounded so hurt.

  “Not what we did, Peter, but the whole village is talking about it does. This is my home.”

  “Fair enough. Seems your grandmother is right. The sooner we get married the better.”

  “Aren’t you jumping the gun a bit? How long have we know each other? Two weeks?”

  “How many weeks do you want?”

  One? A hundred? Twenty years? Would she feel differently? She’d never felt for anyone else what she felt for Peter. Come to that, she’d never leapt into bed with anyone quite as fast either. Was that it? Sex? Rather magnificent sex with the loveliest man she’d ever known. “I don’t know. Can we take care of this vampire problem first? Then I’ll have time to think about us.”

  At least she was seriously considering the possibility of an “us.” “Fair enough, love. Should I start avoiding you to mislead everyone?”

  “No!”

  “Where are we headed, by the way? I was supposed to help Gloria out at the mothers’ morning and then go up to the camp.”

  “Gloria can cope on her own. She has for years. We’ll run by the village hall and tell her you have to go up to the camp early. I need to go and check on those two men.”

  “And see what’s going on?”

  “That, too.”

  He wouldn’t complain at spending the morning in her company.

  “Going up there early with Alice are you?” Gloria asked with a grin that had Peter completely understanding Alice’s reservations.

  “Er…yes. Can you manage?” Silly question.

  “Of course. Although the mums who were hoping to give you the once over will be disappointed.”

  “I’m sure they’ll survive.”

  “I don’t know. Not much happens around here.” He’d disagree with that statement. “Is everything alright up there after the trouble last night?”

  News did spread fast. “That’s what Alice is going up to check.”

  Half a mile from the camp it was clear something was up. The lane was blocked by a barrier manned by soldiers, not home guard.

  “Sorry, madam, access is limited. If you keep on and take the road by Wharton Lacey you can get through.”

  “I’m Doctor Doyle.” She dug into her handbag for her identity card. “I was called up to the camp during the night to check on two injured men. I’m on my way back to make sure all’s well.”

  “And what about you, sir?” the guard asked, looking into the open window.

  “Peter Watson.” He handed over his identity card. “I run the clinic at the camp.”

  “That’s right, sir. We have your name on the list. Let me check yours, Doctor.”

  With the window still open and several people within earshot, Alice kept the questions boiling inside to herself. What was going on? She’d find out soon. Unless they decided a doctor was persona non grata.

  They didn’t.

  “We called through to the next post. They’re expecting you.” He handed back both their identity cards. “Just show them these and you’ll be through.”

  Waved through the next barrier, they headed for the camp gates. Which were wide open with several army trucks parked outside and clusters of uniformed soldiers along the cleared swath of open ground that surrounded the camp.

  “What is going on?” Peter said.

  “Andrew Barron will tell us. Let’s stop by his office first.”

  “Let me open up my clinic. Might as well do what I’m paid for. Might learn something listening to chatter.”

  Good point. “Your cycle’s still in the back. Better take it with you. I’ll come by before I leave, but I should get on with my house calls.

  “Just house calls, right? No dropping in on this Oak chap.”

  “What if he calls in injured?”

  “He won’t, if he’s the vampire we suspect he is.”

  “I have that knife.”

  “No, you don’t. It’s in my pocket.”

  “Damn you, Peter! Now, don’t you start any heroics.”

  “I’m not doing anything without a plan but I do think we need to stick together.”

  “What sort of plan?”

  “Find out what brought the Army out here. Find some way of confirming this Oak chap is your vampire and then decide how to serve up his chips.”

  It sounded so easy.

  It wasn’t.

  “Let’s find out what’s going on first.”

  “Land mines. Strung together but never detonated. Seems our sabotage chap was disturbed. Most likely by the wildlife chorus that woke up the whole camp.” Andrew Barron shook his head. “Seems we all owe our survival to a bunch of foxes. Think I’ll campaign to stop fox hunting once the war’s over.

  “Someone was really out to destroy the place.”

  “And the lot of us with it. Seems what they’ve defused isn’t that powerful, but add what we have here and we’d have had our own blitz.” He shuddered.

  She would, too, at such a close call. “No bad news about those two guards?”

  “Other than the poor chaps were hauled out of their beds after a couple of hours’ sleep and yanked in for questioning. They seem to be prime suspects. If you could put in a word it might help. The Army won’t take my word for it that they were out cold for the better part of an hour.”

  “I’ll talk to whomever I have to.” And find out more if she could.

  “So that’s your medical opinion?”

  “Yes,” Alice replied. A bit tartly, she admitted, but this young major rather got on her wick.

  “A bit unscientific, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I can only report what I observe. It was thirty, forty minutes after they were found that I arrived. One was just regaining consciousness, the other did fifteen or so minutes later. They showed signs of extreme shock, even terror.” How many times did she have to say it?

  “Think they were victims of some sort of gas?”

  Good question. “Can’t say, having very limited experience with poison gas inhalation. In training, I saw patients from the last war but I’ve never seen victims of a recent attack. But they didn’t have any breathing trouble.”

  He finally accepted that.

  “They’re here right now, I understand. I’d like to see them. Just to make sure all’s well.” And maybe get a few answers.

  The latter she had little chance of. The major agreed to her seeing them, but he and a sergeant stayed in the room and flatly refused to leave.

  She ascertained they were fine. Other than being put out at getting dragged up here on their d
ay off after a couple of hours’ sleep.

  She sympathized, but other than recommending they have a chance to sleep, there wasn’t a lot she could do.

  But she knew the vampire had tried to destroy the camp. It was war. No doubt about it.

  Heading for the clinic, she saw Jeff Williams standing outside a long hut. He appeared to be going on about something to a cluster of young women in drab overalls and turban-tied head scarves. They were all eyeing Williams with distinct dislike.

  “Mr. Williams?” she called, getting his attention and that of the entire group. “A word, if I may?”

  “I’m busy, Doctor.”

  So was she. “Just wanted a quick word about your burn victim friend.”

  That got his attention. “You lot stay right there,” he told the group of women and strode toward Alice. “Wasn’t a problem and how did you know about him?”

  “Mr. Williams, any time a large quantity of medicine is issued, we have to follow up.” A lie, but was he likely to know? “I understand Mr. Oak had some serious burns.” Bingo, it was him. His mean little face showed it as clear as speaking.

  “He’s fine now. Wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought at first.”

  “Sure? Burns can get infected easily. Why not ask him to drop by the surgery on Monday. Let me have a look.”

  The idea did not appeal. “No need. Wasn’t really serious at all. He’s healed now.”

  How thoroughly interesting. “Then we’ll count on you returning any unopened ointment to the clinic.”

  Very petty, but satisfying. Especially when a hooter sounded and the knot of women all trooped back into the hut.

  “Break’s over, Mr. Williams,” one of the called. “Time to get back to work.”

  The look he gave Alice suggested he blamed her for interrupting his tirade. Good. Nasty was not the word for him. Small wonder he kept company with a vampire. Mind you, the man didn’t look well.

  Was his new lodger snacking off him? That thought made her stomach twist.

  She waited while Peter finished with his last couple of patients. “We’re going to find a quiet spot and talk strategy,” she said as he packed up.