drinks it?”
I had not missed how deftly he had changed the subject, but t hat bit concerned me too. I had heard of modern day vampires who drank blood, although they did n’t get it from their victim’s throat. They used syringes to withdraw it from willing partners . “We found plenty of blood at the crime scene and at the church. Maybe that’s all of it.”
He looked unconvinced. “So what do we do now ?”
“We check on some of these vampire groups. You’re a wiz on the computer. See what you can dig up on-line. Maybe there’s a Vampires R Us.com or something. ”
“And you?”
“ I ha ve a few unanswered questions. I need to talk to Munson about some fish scales.”
He looked at me as if I had gone off the deep end, but cranked the SUV, threw it in gear and took off.
****
I found Dr. Munson in the autopsy room. He looked up at me through his clear face shield spotted with blood and set down his bloody electric bone saw. Three of the four tables were occupied – my victims. The girls were naked save for strategically placed cloths over their private parts. Munson did not always do this. He was being generous. I was grateful for his show of courtesy to the girls. They deserved dignity even in death. The lights were low and except for the body on which he was working, the room was in shadows. I was grateful for that too.
Patricia Stewart , the latest victim , still looked beautifu l in spite of the ragged sutures holding together the flaps of skin where he had removed her internal organs. Munson had bathed her body, removing the blood covering her face . She was pale, far paler than most bodies I had seen , but her freshly scrubbed face retained the beauty of her youth . She looked so innocent and childlike lying on that stainless steel table, so opposite of the vibrant young girl in the photo by her bedside. The savage wound in her neck reminded me of the wound in my back.
“Notice anything?” Munson asked , nodding at the table .
I played his game, checking the body carefully with my unpracticed eye. Then I spotted it. “No lividity.”
He smiled. “Correct.” He rolled the body over slightly to show me . “No tell-tale purplish marks where the blood settled post mortem, and do you know why?”
I took another stab. “No blood.”
“Correct again.” I could tell Munson was fascinated. His eyes sparkled with excitement . “All three girls have been bled almost dry of blood. The amount of blood discovered at the crime scenes and found at the church would not account for a third of it. What happened to the rest?”
“If I knew that, I might know where to start looking for my killer. ” I paused. “ What do you know about vampires?”
He lifted his visor and stared at me . “You mean Dracula?”
“No, I mean those Goth punks in black that file their teeth and drink human blood .”
“Well, there are loose groups of them in town, but I think you’re reaching.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh? And why is that?”
“To them, blood drinking has sexual connotations . I can’t see any of them brutally attacking women in their homes and transporting their bodies to another location , especially without leaving clues .”
“Maybe I’ve got a psycho vampire on my hands,” I countered.
“ A psycho, certainly. See this wound. ” He pulled back a flap of skin on the Stew a rt girl’s neck with a gloved finger. “ A sharp object, applied with strong force did this but not a blade like a knife. The tip was sharp but with a slightly rounded body, almost like a meat hook, but not made of metal. Possibly a chitinous substance. I found bits of chitin in the wounds. And there was no hesitation in the wound . Our killer has had lots of practice. ”
My stomach fluttered. “You remember that gray fish scale stuff?”
His eyes went wide. “Oh, yes. I examined that. In teresting . It ’s composed of skin cells, a type of chitin also , but from what creature I can’t begin to
I had not missed how deftly he had changed the subject, but t hat bit concerned me too. I had heard of modern day vampires who drank blood, although they did n’t get it from their victim’s throat. They used syringes to withdraw it from willing partners . “We found plenty of blood at the crime scene and at the church. Maybe that’s all of it.”
He looked unconvinced. “So what do we do now ?”
“We check on some of these vampire groups. You’re a wiz on the computer. See what you can dig up on-line. Maybe there’s a Vampires R Us.com or something. ”
“And you?”
“ I ha ve a few unanswered questions. I need to talk to Munson about some fish scales.”
He looked at me as if I had gone off the deep end, but cranked the SUV, threw it in gear and took off.
****
I found Dr. Munson in the autopsy room. He looked up at me through his clear face shield spotted with blood and set down his bloody electric bone saw. Three of the four tables were occupied – my victims. The girls were naked save for strategically placed cloths over their private parts. Munson did not always do this. He was being generous. I was grateful for his show of courtesy to the girls. They deserved dignity even in death. The lights were low and except for the body on which he was working, the room was in shadows. I was grateful for that too.
Patricia Stewart , the latest victim , still looked beautifu l in spite of the ragged sutures holding together the flaps of skin where he had removed her internal organs. Munson had bathed her body, removing the blood covering her face . She was pale, far paler than most bodies I had seen , but her freshly scrubbed face retained the beauty of her youth . She looked so innocent and childlike lying on that stainless steel table, so opposite of the vibrant young girl in the photo by her bedside. The savage wound in her neck reminded me of the wound in my back.
“Notice anything?” Munson asked , nodding at the table .
I played his game, checking the body carefully with my unpracticed eye. Then I spotted it. “No lividity.”
He smiled. “Correct.” He rolled the body over slightly to show me . “No tell-tale purplish marks where the blood settled post mortem, and do you know why?”
I took another stab. “No blood.”
“Correct again.” I could tell Munson was fascinated. His eyes sparkled with excitement . “All three girls have been bled almost dry of blood. The amount of blood discovered at the crime scenes and found at the church would not account for a third of it. What happened to the rest?”
“If I knew that, I might know where to start looking for my killer. ” I paused. “ What do you know about vampires?”
He lifted his visor and stared at me . “You mean Dracula?”
“No, I mean those Goth punks in black that file their teeth and drink human blood .”
“Well, there are loose groups of them in town, but I think you’re reaching.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh? And why is that?”
“To them, blood drinking has sexual connotations . I can’t see any of them brutally attacking women in their homes and transporting their bodies to another location , especially without leaving clues .”
“Maybe I’ve got a psycho vampire on my hands,” I countered.
“ A psycho, certainly. See this wound. ” He pulled back a flap of skin on the Stew a rt girl’s neck with a gloved finger. “ A sharp object, applied with strong force did this but not a blade like a knife. The tip was sharp but with a slightly rounded body, almost like a meat hook, but not made of metal. Possibly a chitinous substance. I found bits of chitin in the wounds. And there was no hesitation in the wound . Our killer has had lots of practice. ”
My stomach fluttered. “You remember that gray fish scale stuff?”
His eyes went wide. “Oh, yes. I examined that. In teresting . It ’s composed of skin cells, a type of chitin also , but from what creature I can’t begin to
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