I finally saw Kyle waiting under a spreading shade tree, and I walked toward him. The morning was warm, but there was a breeze off the ocean that smelled of salt and fish. Kyle had on his usual attire: gray suit, white shirt, and nondescript blue tie. He looked like the playwright and actor Sam Shepard, even more so today than usual. Kyle looked gaunt, tired, almost as haunted as I felt. The murders were getting to him too. Something was.
"It must have been like this yesterday morning, though it was earlier when they struck the couple," I said as I came up to Kyle. "No one saw anything? No witnesses in an area like this? That's what I read in the police briefs."
Kyle sighed. "We actually have a witness who saw two men hurrying out of the park. Man in his mid-eighties. He said he thought he saw blood on the shirts of the men, and he felt he was mistaken. Then he found the bodies."
I quickly surveyed the scene at Colonial Lake again. The sun was shining brightly, and I was forced to shade my eyes. Birds were twittering in several of the trees. The park was so open to scrutiny. "They were out in broad daylight. Some vampires," I muttered.
Kyle eyed me. "You're not starting to believe in vampires?"
"I believe that there are people who practice a vampire lifestyle," I told him. "I know some of them believe they're vampires. Even some of the role-players sport very sharp teeth. Fangs. They can be violent. I haven't seen any shape-changers yet. Otherwise our witness might have seen a couple of furry bats winging it out of here instead of two men. That's supposed to be funny, Kyle. What else did our witness say about the men he saw?"
"Not a lot. He thought they were young, Alex. Twenties or thirties, which covers a hell of a lot of territory. They were walking quickly but didn't seem alarmed that he saw them. He's eighty-six, Alex. He seems, shall we say, distracted by all the attention he's getting."
"Whoever the killers are, they're certainly bold. Or stupid. I wonder if these are the same bastards we chased through California and Nevada."
Kyle lit up a little. He had something to tell me. "My people in Quantico were up half the night. Again. Alex, they've come up with a dozen East Coast cities with unsolved murders that could be connected to the others."
"What's the time frame of the murders?" I asked.
"That's the really interesting part. This may have been going on for a long time. Nobody seems to have put these cases together before we came along. The time frame is at least eleven years."
Chapter 43
That night, Kyle and I had dinner with a good friend in Charleston. Actually, Kyle made the arrangements, including reservations at the Grille on North Tyron.
Kate McTiernan hadn't changed much since we had been thrown together during the Casanova murder spree in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When the murderer Casanova had kidnapped Kate in her house outside Chapel Hill, he'd believed she was the most beautiful woman in the South.
Not only that, Kate was extremely smart. She was a doctor now, a pediatrician, but she was thinking about becoming a surgeon.
When Kate arrived at our table, Kyle and I were deep in conversation. Actually, we were arguing about possible next steps in the investigation.
"Hi, guys." Lustrous brown hair framed Kate's face. She was wearing her hair longer these days. Her eyes were dark blue with a nice sparkle. She was still in terrific shape, but I knew she was a softie deep inside.
"Give it up," Kate said. "You boys are working way too hard. We're going to have some fun tonight."
Seeing her there got us both up out of our chairs, grinning like idiots. We'd gone through a lot together and survived to be together again for this unlikely dinner in Charleston.
"This is a great coincidence. I was at a medical conference just outside town," Kate said as she sat down with us.
"Alex doesn't believe there are coincidences," Kyle said.
"Well, fine. So here we are again, brought together by divine intervention or whatever, praise the Lord," Kate said, and grinned.
"You seem in excellent spirits, Kate," Kyle said. He was actually pretty buoyant himself.
"Well, Kyle, this is just such a nice, unexpected treat, why wouldn't I? I get to see the two of you. Plus, I amin excellent spirits. I'm getting married next year in the spring. My Thomas proposed two nights ago."
Kyle fumbled out a congratulation, and I called over our waiter and ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate. For the next few minutes, Kate told us all about her Thomas, who owned and ran a small, nicely snooty bookstore in North Carolina. He was also a landscape painter, and Kate said he was exceptional at both his jobs.
"Of course, I'm hugely biased, but I'm also a picky little bitch, and he really is good. He's a fine person too. How are Nana and the kids? How's Louise, Kyle?" she asked. "C'mon, tell me everything. I've missed you two."
By the end of dinner, we were all in good spirits. The champagne and the company did the trick. I had noticed before how Kate could raise up everyone around her — even Kyle, who usually isn't the most social person. All through dinner he rarely took his eyes off of her.
The three of us hugged outside the restaurant at around eleven.
"You two are coming to my wedding," Kate said, and stamped her foot. "Kyle will bring Louise, and Alex, you'll bring the new love of your life. Promise?"
We promised Kate. She left us no choice. We then watched her walk away toward her car, an old blue Volvo that she made house calls in.
"I like her a lot." I couldn't help stating the obvious.
"Yes, I like her too," said Kyle, who didn't stop watching until Kate's car was gone from sight. "She's a very special girl."
Chapter 44
We were connecting some of the dots now. Finally. I hoped we would be able to put together the whole vampire puzzle soon. By the following afternoon, the FBI had identified twelve eastern cities where murders involving vampire-like bites had occurred as early as 1989. I put the names on one of my index cards. Then I stared at the list long and hard. What could possibly link these cities?
Atlanta
Birmingham
Charleston
Charlotte
Charlottesville
Gainesville
Jacksonville
New Orleans
Orlando
Richmond
Savannah
Washington, D.C.
The breadth of the list was a problem. Scarier and more mystifying was the fact that the murders might have been going on for over a decade.
Next I made an even longer list of cities where nonlethal attacks by supposed vampires had been reported and investigated. I stared at the list and got a little depressed. This was starting to look like an impossible conspiracy.
New York City
Boston
Philadelphia Pittsburgh
Virginia Beach
White Plains Newburgh
Trenton
Atlanta
Newark
Atlantic City
Tom's River