4: GO
Dr. Barrow has been making himself at home, in one way. His room in the Golden Gate Park shared... lair now has an ironing board and trouser press.
Arthur looks over it and shakes his head. “You monster.”
“Well, I’m not actually sleeping here...”
--
Down the manhole, two turns to the left, he has found a storage closet.
And further along, downhill... a fatberg.
He takes photos. Adjusts a running light to shine on it and through some of the thinner areas. Takes more.
--
Henry calls Jones.
“There’s someone at that house you found. It’s... a human.”
“I see...”
--
Pavel takes over surveillance. Coffee and donuts for the sake of appearances.
He also asks Valia who the Kindred know in the police.
“There’s the coroner, of course... the best person to ask is Leonetti.”
“Detective?”
“Alvarez’s... man on the inside.”
Leonetti looks like he was a detective in life, and hasn’t quite stopped.
“I could find you someone to watch the place during the day. Who’s in there?”
“We don’t know yet. But it might be someone else from back home. Who hasn’t introduced himself.”
“That’s not very neighbourly.”
They pause as a woman looks out. Pavel moves closer, and takes a photo.
“Anyone you know?”
“Not from home.”
“I’ll run her face through ID. Get a print off the door handle once she goes out, maybe...”
--
The result comes back as Diane Kelman, 26, local resident with priors for minor possession. No clear way she could afford a place like this.
--
The next evening, Pavel meets Arthur, Henry and Dr. Barrow.
“We have one suspect, in a situation where we can secure her and ask her what we need to know. Dr. Barrow, you can get closest, go around the back. Arthur, cover this side, Henry the other, I’ll... ring the doorbell.”
They are aware that between them they still only have one gun. Pavel has it so he takes the front door.
No answer to the bell. He clutches the handle, pushes some stolen blood into his muscles, and forces it open.
Silence inside.
Arthur covers the back and one side, Henry the front and other side, and Dr. Barrow follows Pavel in.
He finds a scent soon enough, follows it to a bedroom door... where...
“It stops in the doorway.”
Pavel looks at the doorway. “But... where...?”
Arthur joins them inside, looking at the door. “Ghosts?”
“Ghosts?” Dr. Barrow scoffs.
“You’re a vampire.”
“... Hm.”
“We should get out.”
“Do ghosts have a smell?”
“I suppose they can...”
Pavel puts a hand through the doorway. Nothing unusual happens.
Arthur bites his thumb and flicks blood through it.
Nothing unusual happens.
--
Valia nods. “Ghosts? Yeah, I know someone who can tell you a bit more about them.”
“Great. And...” Pavel pauses.
“We got to get a door repaired.”
“Should I ask?”
“Following a lead. Didn’t pan out. Technically trespassing. A human disappeared.”
“Tell me you didn’t make them disappear.”
“No. One minute on the house, the next... not.”
“You mean actually disappeared. In a puff of smoke?”
“We didn’t see it. But there weren’t any secret doors or anything.”
She takes the picture of the girl, and goes to make a Missing poster.
--
Jones receives an email from another escapee, now in Reno.
--
Dr. Barrow looks up the Stanford laboratory for blood diseases. His ID from his human life might get him inside... or his ability to move without being unseen might.
After twenty minutes looking around the facility, and checking the whole blood refrigerator to find it sadly lacking, he senses another vampire. A rather weary man whose ID says Professor Rothman.
“Dr. Barrow, is it? I believe you’re related to one of my colleagues.”
“Ah... a former colleague, sadly.”
“So I gather. Same thing as Las Cruces. And possibly Odessa, Texas...”
Barrow looks... concerned.
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