Page 14 of Whispers at Dusk
“Sure.”
“I think it’s all a con. I don’t think this bastard believes he’s doing anything for anyone. He has some kind of an endgame. He’s seeking all the would-be vampires out there. Which is as scary as he is—we don’t need anyone else picking up on his game.”
“Right, but... Mason, this guy must have had dental work to sharpen his canine teeth enough to allow him to puncture his victims’ arteries.”
“Yes. And our intelligence agencies and others have been seeking information from dentists. Semi-crazy people have been known to do such things before, but never that I’m aware of with this kind of—as you eloquently put it—sick. Trust me, there are people out there who think they are vampires. There are cults where they share blood.”
“I know that—but they shareeach other’sblood.”
He nodded. “As far as those we know about—who admit to it—yes, they do. And there are those who claim to be psychologicalvampireswho feed off the spirits of others, seeking only to give and take goodness.” He shook his head. “This killer doesn’t fit into any of those categories.”
“What are you thinking?” Della asked.
“I’m thinking this personisn’tcrazy.”
It was Della’s turn to frown. “But if he’s walking around with vampire fangs, I would think he’s a little crazy. He probably doesn’t have a lot of rational or normal friends. Or family.”
“Ah, but define friends and family. Otherwise, if he’s walking around with vampire fangs, I keep thinking someone would notice eventually.”
“But...” Della began. She paused, shaking her head. “I’m not sure what you’re saying. The MEs in all cases have said the teeth that made the puncture wounds were human. And they left DNA. How would you do that—and not have the teeth attached to a human body?”
“I’m not sure. I do have an idea. He does have human teeth, and he gets human saliva on them, but they aren’t his teeth.”
“Ah, now there’s a theory.”
“And this killer is organized. He obviously moves easily throughout Europe—through countries that are and aren’t in the European Union. Norway is part of NATO, but not part of the European Union. He needs good ID to be doing what he’s doing, real or false. And hopping that many flights—with what social media is today—someone would have noted something about a man walking around with vampire fangs.”
“So, he somehow hides the teeth—or slips them over something? That is a better idea than trying to figure out how he does his globe-trotting while keeping his mouth shut.”
Mason shrugged, gazing out the window. He shook his head. “I don’t want to make any assumptions yet. Maybe I will make just one—and we agree on that one—he is organized. I believe he’s also intelligent—”
“I’m not sure how organized and intelligent yet. And I don’t get it. Why the DNA left behind?”
“It’s done on purpose. It’s DNA that doesn’t connect in any system or with a suspect since we don’t have one. He’s gotten away with several bizarre murders, obviously committed by the same man or, at least, the same method. Look at history. The Golden State Killer got away with rape and murder for decades before he was caught—”
“Ah, but DNA did him in. Now, we have DNA. But this DNA—”
“As I said, DNA is only good when you have a suspect with whom to compare it. So, we need to hit the ground running and find suspects. We are better equipped today than in the past, but I don’t know. Something about the teeth is really bothering me. I told you my theory—which means this guy could be getting the saliva or DNA to put on the teeth. When you have no prints and DNA that’s part of his game, there’s little to go on. And finding this guy could be ridiculously difficult because it seems as if he’s watched too many crime documentaries. Depends on how he’s playing all his globe-trotting. The BTK murderer had a family—and got away with heinous crimes for a very long time. Thisvampirehas given himself his own name, much like several who came before him. Something about it just... I don’t know. Something isn’t right. This killer plans on getting away with his crimes while creating a media sensation. The notes on the embankment...the whole thing with the teeth...he wants to taunt law enforcement and he is outrageously confident.”
“I don’t care how confident he is. We can’t let him get away with this!”
“I’m just saying he might be someone walking around as rationally and normally as anyone else. Don’t forget, Ted Bundy was considered charming.”
Della nodded thoughtfully. “Charming. And he was under arrest in Salt Lake City, escaped, and committed three more murders.”
“You weren’t even born when he was executed,” Mason said, watching her. “Ah,” he murmured, “you studied serial killers.”
“Right. I wasn’t born. So? What were you then? Five?” she asked him.
He grimaced. “Yeah, well, something like that. Yes. We’ve both studied the past. Something important to do.” He grinned. “I’m a big believer in the philosopher George Santayana. ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’”
She nodded. “Of course. We both went to academy. But I’m also from Florida. My mother... Well, I guess even those who were against the death penalty wanted to see him gone. There’s a song called ‘Windy’ by a group, The Association. People in the state were singing it with changed lyrics. ‘And Windy has stormy eyes’ was changed to ‘Ted Bundy, you’re going to die.’ There was also a line in the changed lyrics that went ‘who’s gonna fry like microwave pizza, everyone knows it’s Bundy!’”
Mason looked out the window again. Della surprised even herself when she leaned across the space that separated them, setting a hand on his knee. He looked at her, startled, but she was surprised by the emotion she felt as she told him, “I talked to Gideon. I know you’re feeling badly about—about killing people. But sometimes, there’s no choice. I don’t mean to be beating a dead horse here, but...this is a truly monstrous killer. You wanted to get the Midnight Slasher to surrender. He didn’t. You had no choice. And if he had eluded us, he would have killed again. And this killer...you know he will kill again, and again, and again. And it’s truly frightening he might have followers.”
“Right. I know. And...”
“What?”
