2. Obedient Corpses.
After much ado, Amy managed to get the name of the agent investigating the case. Lil and Tome went to the regional headquarters of the FBI, where the Division of Sub-human Control was based. DSC were responsible for investigating crimes committed by any manner of inhuman creature, from vampires and werewolves, to hobgoblins and wizards.
In theory at least. Ever since the undead rights movement, people in Chapter City were fairly understanding when it came to zombies and vampires. As long as nobody bit anyone without consent, things generally stayed peachy. The DSC mainly made sure the non-conformists and the idiots stayed out of trouble. Werewolves generally ended up being the purview of animal control. But there were a lot of other things out there. Things that had been going bump in the night before mankind had even discovered farming. For the government it was a steep learning curve, and for the most part people were still reluctant to accept the existence of things they used to believe were only nightmares and legends. At least until something like a wendigo made an appearance on Doctor Phil. That didn’t hurt.
Tome generally avoided agencies like the DSC like the plague. When he dropped out of the Academy – England’s leading elitist school for the magically inclined - a year before graduation, Tome joined up with a group of warlocks, and pulled off a whole lot of dark magic in a variety of illegal money making ventures, without ever getting caught. He was somewhat wary when he went to places of authority. He pulled the collar of his coat up and refused to make eye contact with any of the suited men and women that walked about.
“Will you stop that,” Lil asked in irritation.
“No,” Tome replied from the depths of his coat. “Do you have any idea how many of these guys would kill to get a hold of me. I'm a wanted criminal, remember.”
“Please. You're hardly the Sundance Kid.”
“I’ll have you know, in some less reputable areas there’s a price on my head.”
“I’ll bear that in mind if I ever need small change.”
They went to the front desk where a very severe looking woman eyed them suspiciously. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“We’re here to see Agent Ryan in Sub-Human Control,” said Lil giving her a warm smile that was completely ignored.
“About what?”
“A case we heard he was working on.”
“Not that we're confessing to anything,” added Tome.
“Hold on a minute while I... Oh, wait there he is now,” she pointed over Lil shoulder at a tired looking man who just entered. “Hugh!”
Special Agent Hugh Ryan looked over at the sound of his name. Then he spotted Lil, and froze. Lil knew he was contemplating fleeing. It was instinctive in Ryan. She had that effect on him.
“You,” Ryan said, almost accusingly. “What do you want?”
“What, can’t we drop by to see an old friend?”
“Sure,” Ryan replied, continuing on his way. “Tell them I said hi.”
Lil ran after him, with Tome following a safe distance back. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that.”
Ryan sighed. “Look, Lil, I've just come back from a press-conference. I’ve been out all night on a case.”
“That's what we want to talk to you about. You’re working the Vampire Slayer case right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Funny thing. So are we.”
Ryan stopped dead just in front of a row of elevators, his hand outstretched to press the button. “Say what?”
“We just got hired to find the killer. Funny story really.”
“Oh, let me guess,” Ryan turned to her. “It was Von Drais right? That blood sucking son of a bitch. He’s been breathing down my neck for weeks, now he pulls this crap. Look, I’m working the case. I’m doing everything in my power. I don’t need you snooping around getting in my way. Tell him that. Include the son of a bitch part.”
“I’m sensing a little hostility here. Are you still angry about that thing with the zombies? Because, as I’ve explained-”
“Save it. And go away.”
“Fine. Fill me in on the details and I’ll be out of your way.”
“You’re joking right?”
“Tell me everything,” Lil smiled. “And I promise, you’ll never hear from me again.”
Ryan pressed the down button on the elevator and pretended to consider her deal. “How about I have you removed from the building? Or arrested?”
“I prefer my deal.”
The doors opened and he went in. He turned back and gave Lil a cold look. “Go away, Lil. I have no time for the X-Files routine.”
Lil and Tome exchanged looks. Just before the doors closed, they dove into the elevator after him.
“Just tell me one thing,” Lil asked. “What do you think is responsible?”
Ryan sighed and pressed the button for the basement, where Sub-Human Control was located.
“Seriously,” Lil pressed. “Any clues? Any idea at all?”
“At this point, we have a fair idea. We’re just working on the evidence.”
“So, you don’t have clue, you mean?”
“Well, the victims were torn apart. How many creatures have the ability to tear three vampires apart at the same time?”
“In this realm?” asked Tome, without looking up.
Ryan looked at him for the first time. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, that’s Mike,” Lil said dismissively, before continuing, “That isn’t really much to go on.”
“Do I know you?” Ryan asked Tome. “Because you look kind of familiar.”
Tome turned his face away and made a detailed examination of the elevator wall.
“He’s no one,” insisted Lil. “Come on, Hugh. You have no idea what’s going on do you. Admit it.”
“We’re working-”
“No, you’re stumped. You need us. Who knows more about the supernatural than us?”
“I’ve been working this job for three years, Lil. I think I know my way around by now.”
Tome laughed suddenly. “I thought this guy was smart?” he asked Lil. He turned to Ryan. “For your information there are, off the top of my head, about thirty so-called Sub-Humans that could do the damage we’re looking at. Depends on the wounding really. If we’re talking full on claw and teeth marks, then werewolf. Only one serious pack in town that would be stupid enough to attack a vampire. But then werewolves prefer to hunt in packs, and you are sure there’s only one perp, right?”
Ryan opened his mouth.
“Right,” Tome went on. “So, maybe a durghangeist then. They like to use knives and scalpel blades. Take hearts to sell on the black market. Do you know it there are any durghangeists in town?”
Ryan, who had no idea what a durghangeist was, shook his head.
“Well, find out, mate. I mean if we’re really grasping at straws, maybe the worse you’re dealing with is a case of the CBP. You know what that is right?”
“Humour me.”
“Chronic Body Part Plop. The body just falls apart unexpectedly. Usually only found in Descended Beings from the Lower Realms. But it’s possible the vamps contracted it from a demon of some sort. Any sign of conjuration or summoning at the crime scenes?”
Ryan stared at him. “Is he for real?” he asked Lil.
“Who can tell?” Lil replied. “But he does make an interesting point. You deal with all kinds of unnatural creatures. Fair enough. But there are thousands more that science still refuses to acknowledge. How can you find something you don’t even think exists?”
The doors opened. Ryan stepped out slowly into a long dim corridor.
“Alright,” he said with resignation. “Follow me.” He set off down the hall.
“Chronic body part plop,” Lil said thoughtfully. She gave Tome a look.
“What? I didn’t make that up. Serious problem in some places. You’re at a dinner party, seemingly healthy, then plop! Off comes your arm into somebody’s pudding.”
“And people
think I’m weird.”
“You’re just as weird as I am.”
They followed Ryan past offices and holding cells designed specifically for subhuman creatures. Lil, who had been in the DSC before knew where they were headed. Ryan came through a pair of thick doors marked Morgue, and pushed through. Tome stopped and groaned.
“Coming?” Lil called back.
“You said my days of dealing with dead bodies were over.”
“I lied. Come on, you big baby.”
Tome scowled, took a deep breath and followed her in.
The DSC had its own morgue newly built after attendants at the city morgue repeatedly complained of incidents with walking corpses. The corpses tended to complain about the rotten service. The DSC morgue was a long room with dark walls. Five metal autopsy tables stood in the centre. Along one wall were a large bank of storage draws for numerous bodies, which naturally were also holding cells.
Three of the five tables were in use. The contents of two were covered in plastic. A third held the body of one of the recent victims that had just been examined. Tome took one look and retreated to the furthest corner he could find.
A short man in a white coat, completely bald and wearing glasses, looked up at the visitors. He smiled.
“Welcome to my lair,” he cackled. “Liljiana, it’s been so long. You never write, you never call.”
“Hey, Poe,” Lil greeted the coroner.
“You finished?” Ryan asked.
“Agent Ryan, always in a rush. Never taking the time to enjoy the fine art of the post mortem. Amazing what the flesh can tell us.”
“That you need to get out more,” Lil noted.
Poe grinned. “Why would I go out, when all my friends are here?”
“Can we get on with this?” Ryan asked impatiently.
“Very well. Cause of death...”
“I thought that was obvious, they were ripped apart, like the others.”
“Only at first glance. But as you can see, our friend here...” Poe gestured to the body. “Is still more or less intact. With the notable exception of course...” He picked the head, which was no longer attached to the body.
“Their heads were cut off?” Lil asked.
“No. In these two the spinal column is twisted. I would say their necks were broken, the head twisted around and around like a bottle top until it came off. There is some bruising on the bodies. This one has two broken arms and a dislocated knee. I think the killer must have incapacitated them first.”
“So,” noted Ryan drily. “No sign of the body plop then?”
“CBP? Heavens no. Everyone knows CBP isn't fatal.”
Something occurred to Lil. “Hang on,” she said. “You said these two had their necks broken? The third was different?”
Poe lead them to the second table. He lifted back the plastic cover to reveal a young female vampire.
“As you can see,” he explained. “This young lady is far less damaged. Neck broken, head wasn’t removed. There are signs of defensive wounds, and some bruising, but none of the violence seen in the others. She was simply killed.”
He moved to the third table, and dramatically pulled off the cover. Lil drew back. The body was in pieces. Its arms, legs, and head had been ripped off. They now lay on the table in relatively the right position. Tome looked over, gagged, and turned back away.
“This one is different,” Poe said. “His limbs were twisted off, no doubt while he was still alive. There is extensive trauma to his upper torso, where his chest cavity was crushed inwards. His heart was punctured by his own ribs as they shattered.”
“That killed him?”
“No, I am certain he was still alive when the killer finally pulled off his head.”
“Nice.”
“Okay, Lil,” Ryan said impatiently, turning at her. “Dazzle me.”
Lil thought carefully. “Well, have you run any blood tests yet?”
“Yes, but we already know they’re vamps, so why...”
“Let me hazard a guess,” Lil went on. “This guy,” she pointed at the dismembered corpse, “is a full blooded vamp. Probably older, possibly infected the traditional way by drinking infected blood. Hard to tell with all the damage, but he doesn’t look to have any scars. Any recent wounds, like those made from being fed on, heal quick and clean when you drink vampire blood.”
“Okay. But...”
“And these two,” she pointed at the other bodies. “I'll think you find are recently infected. I'd say infection from being bitten at least a year ago, but only drinking blood two, maybe three months. What were the other victims?”
“As near as we can probably tell, full bloods, not randomly infected victims from bites,” replied Ryan.
“Tome?” Lil called to her partner.
“Yep,” Tome answered without turning. “The pureblood was the target. The other two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“How could you possibly know that?” asked Ryan dubiously.
“Oh, come on, Hughbert,” Tome said irritably. He turned and cautiously approached the others. “It’s obvious. Look at the time and effort this guy took dismembering the pureblood. He had three vampires at his mercy. He killed the other two because they got in his way. Then worked over the last slowly. Were there any signs of the killer? Hair or skin would be nice.”
“No skin under the nails,” asid Poe. “Which is odd considering how much they struggled. However, a few hair fibres were found at the scene, possibly not the victims’. Still waiting for the lab to get back to us, but so far they look to have come from a human.”
“Just because it looks human, doesn’t mean it is.”
Lil looked at Tome. “You have any ideas?”
Tome looked reluctant. Then sighed. “I need to see the crime scene.”
“Hell no,” Ryan said quickly. “I’m not letting a pair of civilians walk all over any evidence-”
“Oh, please. As if any worthwhile evidence is going to be found by you lot. I doubt you could spot a bloodstain if it was leaking out of your ar-”
“Mike,” Lil warned.
“Sorry, sorry,” Tome replied. “I get uncomfortable around corpses. Point is, I going to spot a lot more that any of your CSI wannabes. Trust me.” He grinned. Tome didn’t have a particularly reassuring grin. It hinted of dark depths and possible mental instability.
“Come on, Hugh,” Lil tried. “You know we’re telling the truth. Tell you what, we take a look around, and if we don't spot anything you missed, we’ll never bother you again. Ever.”
Ryan considered this. “Ever? I seem to recall hearing this before...”
“This time I mean it. Seriously. Would I lie to you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I might have in the past. But this time, I can honestly say I’m telling you the complete and utter truth. No goods, and I will never again grace you with my presence.”
As she expected, Ryan gave in. It was too good an opportunity for him. “Alright. I’ll give you and the demon slayer over there five minutes. But I swear if you mess things up, Lil...”
“Okay, okay,” Lil said defensively. “I’ll be on my best behaviour.”
“Can we go now?” Tome whined. “This place is starting to creep me out.”
“Oh, fine, you big baby. Poe,” she turned to the medical examiner. “A pleasure as always.”
“The pleasure was all mine, my dear,” Poe said with a smile. “And if you’re ever in Slab City, feel free to drop by any time.”
“That’s sweet, we will,” Tome interjected. He stood by the doors, hopping about impatiently. “Let’s go, already.”
Lil shook her head as she followed him out. “Seriously, Mike. What is it with you and dead bodies?”
“Too many have come back to life and remembered I owed them money.” He shuddered.
“Thoughts?”
Tome shrugged. “Meh. I'll leave it until I see the crime scene.”
The murdered vampir
es had made their den in an old abandoned apartment block in one of Chapter City’s less wealthy areas. The building was scheduled for demolition, and was surrounded by a chain link fence that had more than a few gaping holes cut into it by locals looking for any useful scrap left behind.
Lil and Tome stood with Agent Ryan before the building, regarding the graffiti covered walls and boarded up windows ominously. Lil allowed her gaze to wander upwards, to where one of the higher window was broken inwards.
“Place has a nice serial killer vibe to it,” she noted. “How exactly were the bodies found?”
“Someone heard screams and called the police,” Ryan replied. “Come on.” He climbed the stairs and ducked under the yellow police tape that crossed the doors. The other two followed him.
The interior of the building was filthy, and smelled of rot and human waste. They followed Ryan up the stairs, carefully avoiding any dubious stains and puddles they came across. Besides their footsteps, the whole place was deathly silent. It gave Lil the chills.
“Just out of curiosity,” Tome asked. “Were there any other bodies found?”
“What, besides the three? No. We searched the whole building.”
“Not even dead rats?”
Ryan gave him a look. “Do I look like animal control to you?”
“No, but you do look like a little fer-”
“Easy there, boys,” Lil put in before someone got hurt. “He’s just saying, the FBI look for more important things than dead vermin.”
“Of course,” said Tome. “Always on the look out for important clues. If it’s not a bloody great candle stick covered in blood, illuminated under a giant neon sign flashing “murder weapon”, the FBI isn’t interested. Honestly, Hughbert, how did you become a field agent? Did you send in three tokens from your breakfast cereal and get free a badge?” Before Ryan could answer, Tome shook his head and walked ahead of them.
“What’s this guy’s problem?” Ryan asked Lil in irritation.
“Mike doesn't work well with authority figures,” Lil replied. “Or, you know, people in general.”
“He makes you look normal.”
“Yeah. That’s one of the reasons I keep him around.”
They caught up with Tome just as he came to the entrance of an apartment that was again covered with yellow tape. He tore the police barrier aside without a second thought and barged in.
“Hey!” Ryan yelled at him. “That’s a federal crime scene, you can’t just go in like that.”
Tome popped his head out. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you put up the pretty streamers? Well, when we get in, I’ll give you some crayons so you can draw whilst us grown ups work.” He disappeared back inside.
“I swear I’m going to shoot him.”
“Oh, please,” Lil replied. “I’ve heard that so often, it’s started to lose all meaning.”
She went into the apartment, and found herself in a small living room. The paint was peeling from the walls, and the floors were bare, the carpets having long since been torn up. Every surface was splattered with blood. Markers were left on the floor to show where the bodies, and bits and pieces of the bodies, were found.
Tome stood by the window, where the glass was shattered. Shards of glass, painted black Lil noticed, were strewn across the floor. The boards were smashed to rubble. Something strong had taken out the window. From the outside, seven floors above the ground.
“This is how the guy entered,” Tome whistled, impressed. He poked his head outside, and called back, “Not much of a ledge.”
“Yeah,” said Ryan. “Doesn’t seem likely that-”
“Hush!” Tome silenced him.
Ryan opened his mouth to retort, but Lil nudged him in the ribs and he held his tongue.
“Look, can you just get this over with-” he said.
“You can’t rush a genius, now shut up.”
Tome moved to the middle of the room. He reached into his coat and pulled out a pendulum, which he started swinging. The small crystal on the end of the string twinkled in the dim light of the room. Twirling it about, Tome began to make his way slowly about the room, his expression blank with concentration.
Ryan stared in disbelief. “Oh, come on.”
“Shh,” Lil shushed him. “Let him work.”
“Work? What’s he doing? Communing with Elvis?”
“Mike’s a scryer,” Lil whispered. “He sees things that most people tend to... overlook.”
“Such as?”
“Well... Look, don’t you ever walk into a crime scene and feel a sense of unease?”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“It’s like empathy,” Lil explained. “Human emotions can affect the environment, the atmosphere of a place. In a really violent crime, sometimes the victims get... imprinted.”
“He’s... trying to talk to the victims?”
“No, of course not. His trying to find their last moments.”
A look of intense concentration passed over Ryan's face momentarily as he tried to digest that. He gave up. “I wish you could have just said he was talking to Elvis.”
“Me too. I love the King. Tome?” she called her partner.
“I don’t think they knew the killer,” Tome replied. He stood in one corner, his pendulum began to swing with more force. “They were sitting here. Getting high, as one does on a Friday night. Then something surprised them.”
“The window exploding?” suggested Lil.
“Probably.”
“Can you sense the killer.”
“Kind of. It’s there, but... blank.” Tome took a slow step forwards, letting the pendulum guide him. “It went for the big vamp first. He goes down here.” Tome stopped by the space formally occupied by one of the bodies. “The vamp was scared. The others tried to help. One’s killed. The woman’s scared. She's killed.” A shudder passed over his body. “It’s just the vamp and the killer... Bloody hell that's messy...”
“What?”
“Don't ask. For something so obviously pissed, the killer is really controlled. He hasn’t left anything behind.”
“He left a few strands of hair on one of the victims,” Ryan pointed out.
“I meant, he didn’t leave anything useful. Hair. Please.” Tome said scathingly. Suddenly the pendulum started spinning wildly, making him jump. It slowed down again. As he approached one of the walls, it sped up again. “Hmm,” he said thoughtfully.
“What?” Lil asked, coming to stand next to him.
“There’s something here,” Tome said. He stared at a spot in the wall intently. Then he began to squint, and move his head from side to side, trying to spot the invisible thing on the wall.
“What the hell is that?” he said finally.
“What?” Ryan asked impatiently.
“Can you show us?” Lil asked.
Tome started rummaging about his pockets. His tench coat seemed to have more than was normal, and they were all filled with every manner of junk possible. He pulled out an apple core from one, orange peel from another, a notebook, a leaking pen, a badge saying “Vote Thatcher”, a set of matching cocktail umbrellas, a matchbook, a yo-yo, and what appeared to be a small, desiccated mouse. He handed this all to Lil, who waited impatiently.
“You did bring it, didn't you?” she asked.
“Of course I did,” Tome replied, pulling out a screwdriver and giving it to her already full hands. “I think... Probably... Ah ha! Got it.”
From his back pocket, Tome produced a small, brown, pull-string bag. He displayed it proudly, before pulling it open.
Ryan peeked over his shoulder in resigned curiosity. The bag was filled with a white powder that seemed to sparkle slightly. His first thought was that it was drugs.
“And that is?” he asked.
“It's Alcrona... Alcronaki... Well, I can never pronounce the bloody name. Regardless, this is Revelation Powder, and comes at half the price of the leading brands. Useful, and money saving.”
Ryan stared at him.
“This is supposed to be magic powder?”
“Magic?” Tome laughed. “Not for $3.99.”
“This is it?” Ryan turned to Lil. “Your great secret? This is what you’ve been wasting my time with?”
Lil rolled her eyes as she handed back all of Tome's dubious belongings. “Oh, ye have little faith. Mike, if you’d be so kind.”
Tome took a handful of the powder, and blew it onto the wall. Most of it filled the air, but some of it clung to blood splattered wall, and illuminated the unseen object there. The silvery dust formed a strange design on the wall. Three circles, one inside the other, the largest a metre wide. Running their circumference was a strange flowing script that looked to Ryan like something Arabic. Strange symbols crossed the circles, and a large design dominated the centre.
Ryan gaped. “Okay. How’d you do that?”
“Usual method,” Tome said with a shrug. “You just blow. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of practice at that.”
Lil grinned at Ryan’s expression. When she turned back to the design on the wall her amusement disappeared.
“You ever see anything like this?” she asked Tome.
Tome shook his head. “I thought I recognised the writing, but let’s face it. Your bog standard mystical scripts all look alike.”
“How could we have missed this?” Ryan shook his head. “We went over this entire room. This whole god damn building...”
“He should have called us,” Tome noted.
“You could have spent days looking,” Lil said gently. “No one would have noticed it. It was meant to be hidden.”
“By what? What the hell is this supposed to be? Some kind of satanic ritual?” Ryan asked.
“Doesn’t look demonic,” noted Tome. “Looks kind of like a summoning circle, except...”
“Except a summoning circle would be on the floor,” Lil finished the thought. “Look at this though.” She pointed at the design. Below the central symbol, written in the same neat handwriting, were words in English.
Anton Philips, it read.
“I bet you your next pay cheque,” she said to Tome, “that this is the name of that vamp. The one it came for.”
“What are you talking about?” Ryan asked.
“I think this could be be some kind of signal,” Lil explained. “A marker, to tell the killer where to come, and who to kill. It’s like a summoning circle, except its not actually summoning anything from another realm.”
“It’s calling to something already here,” said Tome.
“O-kay,” Ryan said slowly. He thought he now had an idea of what going crazy felt like. “And this would be?”
They exchanged looks.
“Don’t know,” said Lil.
“Beats the hell outta me,” said Tome. “I mean I’ve done my fair share of summonings. Saturdays at my place, you couldn’t move for all the dark eldritch beings strewn over the floor. And let me tell you, some of those stains never wash out. But I’ve never seen this before.”
“But it was big,” said Lil.
“And powerful.”
“And capable of accessing a window seven stories up.” Lil paused. “And that’s just the killer. What you’re dealing with here could be two completely different individuals. Sure someone or something with some serious issues breaks in and purees three vampires, but from the looks of things, someone else has to be calling it. Sending it out to kill specific people. Have you figured out if there’s a connection between the victims?”
Ryan shook his head. “As far as we can tell, they were chosen at random. We haven’t even managed to ID the first victim yet.”
“Well, there’s a way to kill two birds with one stone there, Hughbert,” Tome said cheerfully. “I need to see the other crime scenes.”
Before Ryan could refuse - since it was inbred survival instinct to refuse Michael Tome everything - Lil put in, “Mike could go a long way into helping your investigation. If we can find the same symbols in the other two scenes, then we know this was a premeditated murder. And, you’ll know the name of the victims.”
Ryan couldn’t refute that, as much as he would have preferred to. “Fine. Just one thing, Harry Potter,” he turned to Tome. “What is the big deal with rats?”
“Easy,” said Tome. “If these vamps have been living here for a while, chances are, they would have cleaned out the population of rats and squatters. And since street vamps aren’t the cleanest of eaters, they would have left the corpses lying about.”
“So...”
“Well, it does give you a time frame,” Lil explain. “Think about it...”
“Something that may be difficult for you, Hughbert, but give it a shot,” put in Tome.
“Whoever drew this circle would have needed access to this den,” Lil went on quickly. “You don’t just stroll into a vamp den and graffiti tag the place. Not unless you have the self preservation of a lemming. The guy would have to watch, and wait for the opportunity. And from the looks of things, your vamps haven’t been here long so...” She shrugged. “Well, it’s worth bearing in mind.”
“Something you can do,” said Tome, “while you take me to the other crime scenes.”
Having noted all that they could from the room, the three left. It was just past midday, the sky was cloudy, and Lil was starting to get hungry. She decided to put off lunch until she had concluded the next bit of dirty business.
“Hugh, do you mind driving Mike to the other scenes?” she asked.
“Yes I mind,” he answered quickly. “Aren’t you coming?”
“There’s some other things I want to check on.”
Tome grinned evilly at Ryan. “Guess it’s just you and me, Hughbert old man. Nice car.” Uninvited he went to Ryan’s black sedan, and jumped into the passenger seat, putting his feet onto the dashboard and reclining comfortably. “Hey, does this thing get AM radio?”
Ryan cast Lil a cold look.
“Hey, just remember,” Lil said. “If you have to shoot him, try to do it some place he doesn’t use. Like his head.”
Ryan shook his head, and got in his car. As they drove past Lil, heavy metal music began screaming from the stereo system, almost drowning out the sounds of two men arguing.
With a grin, Lil climbed into her own car, a beat up old Mini Cooper she shared with Tome. First thing she did was check the glove compartment, ensuring the presence of a flash-light, a crucifix, a wooden stake, a loaded .38 revolver, and a large supply of anti-vampirism drugs. These were chewable children’s tablets, shaped like little bats, that would prevent the spread of the vampirism if they were taken after being bitten.
Hopefully she would not need any of the stuff, but with vampires, you could never tell.