Dark Corner (32 page)

Ruby knelt and cradled Franklin's head in her lap. She
was crying.

He grasped his wife's hand, held it tight.

"I can already feel it, the numbness spreading through
me," he said. "Give me an antibiotic, something that may
slow the infection. And phone David! I must speak to himbefore I am not myself anymore"

David and Nia had moved to the kitchen. He sat at the
dinette table, the crutches propped against a chair, while Nia
prepared dinner. King lay near the refrigerator and watched
Nia with great interest, alert for a morsel that might drop to
the floor.

David reviewed the letter for perhaps the tenth time.

Dear Mr. Hunter,

I have followed your career with great interest
since the publication of your first novel. Your formidable talent has been evident from the beginning. The
world of letters has been enriched tenfold by your
work, and will continue to reap the benefits of your
genius long after you have departed.

Now that I have generously stroked your lion s ego
and engaged your attention, shall I commence my
purpose for this correspondence?

My name is Elizabeth. I have been informed by my
associates that you seek an audience with me. I find
this discovery rather serendipitous, as for some time, I
have considered holding an audience with you as
well.

The reason for my interest? I am intrigued by the
recurring themes that I see in your literature. Need I
restate them? You know your obsessions.

There are answers, Richard. You will uncover them,
in due time. But you will require assistance.

One does not thwart Death alone.

At a later date, you will receive instructions on
how to communicate directly with me. Do not respond
to the London return address printed on the envelope.
I use a remailing service to maintain my privacy.

Until then, be comforted by my assurance that
your search will soon draw to a close.

Regards,
Elizabeth

It was the most puzzling letter David had ever read. Who
was Elizabeth? He'd read every article and interview he
could find about his father's personal life, and no one named
Elizabeth had ever been mentioned. And what did she mean
by "one does not thwart Death alone"?

It seemed to support the theory that his father's death was
a hoax. Maybe Elizabeth had helped him pull off the ruse.

But why? Where was his father now? How was any of it
connected to what was happening in Mason's Corner?

He was back to the same frustrating questions.

In between his consecutive readings of the letter, he'd
called Franklin's home. No one had answered, which probably meant that Franklin was visiting the girl at the hospital.
David wished he could've gone, too. But he was confident in
Franklin's ability to dig up the truth on his own.

"Dinner is served," Nia said. She set a plate in front of
David. "Hamburger Helper a la Nia."

"Looks delicious."

"Thank you." She put her own plate down at a spot beside
him. "There wasn't much else here I could use to make a
meal."

He smiled. "What can I say, it's the bachelor's lifestyle.
All we normally have in the fridge is leftover pizza and
beer."

She clucked her tongue.

Halfway through their meal, the telephone rang. Nia
handed the phone to David.

It was Ruby. Her voice was troubled.

"David, Franklin's here at the hospital. He wants you and
Nia to come immediately."

"Mrs. Bennett, you don't sound good. Is everything okay?"

"Please, come right away, there isn't much time. He's in
room 104. He's been admitted as a patient."

"Admitted?" David's stomach plummeted.

"Come right away," Ruby said. She hung up.

David stared at the telephone, numb.

"Is something wrong with Franklin?" Nia said.

"He wants us to come see him at the hospital. He's been
admitted."

"Oh, no! Why?"

"Ruby wouldn't tell me" He stuffed the letter in the envelope. "But we need to hurry."

Nia drove them to the hospital. A police cruiser was
parked in front of the building.

David's heart clenched.

"This doesn't look good," he said. "I wonder if that's the
chief."

Inside, a police officer-a lanky black man-stood outside Franklin's door, talking to an orderly.

"That's Deputy Dudu," Nia said. "I wonder what's happening."

"Is that really his name? Sounds like a comic book character."

"In some ways, he is a comic book character. But he tries
to be a good cop. Tries too hard, in fact" When they attempted to walk into the room, the deputy stuck out his long
arm in front of them, like a traffic guard.

"Hold on a minute, folks," he said. "I know who you are,
Miss James, but who is this fella?"

"I'm David Hunter. I live across the street from Franklin
Bennett. We're friends."

The deputy blinked, lowered his arm. "Oh, you're Mr.
Hunter's son. Chief Jackson told me you'd moved into town.
What happened to your foot?"

"I twisted my ankle when I was running," David said. He
flexed his fingers on the handles of the crutches. He saw no
purpose to lying.

"Why are you here, Deputy?" Nia said. "What's going on?"

"A young lady who was a patient here went into a frenzy,
attacked her mother, Dr. Dejean, and Doc Bennett, too. She
bit Doc Bennett"

Nia put her hand to her mouth, shocked.

"She bit him?" David said.

"Sure did. She's on the loose, somewhere" The deputy
looked around warily, his hand on the butt of his revolver, as
though he might find her lurking in the shadows of the corridor. "Orderlies couldn't contain her; she's escaped the hospital and is at large. Extremely dangerous, I'd say, judging by
the damage she caused here. You be careful and be sure to
alert law enforcement authorities if you happen to see her."

"We will," David said.

Ruby came to the doorway. "I'm so glad you're here.
Hurry, come in."

As David walked away from the deputy, he thought he
heard the cop mumble something about aliens invading the
town. Odd. The guy was probably talking about a TV show.

Franklin looked older than usual. He lay in bed, the sheets
pulled up to his frizzy gray beard, his thin arms resting atop
the covers. His face was drawn, and his lips were pale. He
appeared to be asleep.

Ruby went to her husband and tapped his shoulder.
"Sugar, they're here"

David and Nia settled in chairs beside the bed.

Franklin's eyes fluttered open. He was not wearing his
glasses, and he squinted at them. Ruby slid his glasses over
his face, and Franklin scooted up a few inches, exposing the
bandage across the side of his neck.

What in the hell?

"I see the consternation on your faces," Franklin said. He
coughed. "I come here to visit a young lady and I wind up as
a patient myself."

"Tell us what happened," David said. "Tell us everything."

Franklin cleared his throat. Ruby helped him sip water
through a straw.

Then he started talking.

"That is what happened," Franklin said, concluding his
tale. "Now I will ask you: do you believe me?"

David and Nia looked at each other. She was frightened,
he could see, just as he was, too. But he could also tell that
she believed. And so did he.

Vampires, for God's sake.

"Yes, we believe you," David said. "There's too much evidence to deny. We don't have time to waste running around
like skeptical fools in horror movies who always get killed
by the monster they won't believe in. We believe enough to
take action."

"Exactly," Nia said. "Until it's been proven otherwise, it's
smart, and safe, for us to believe that vampires really exist."

"Good," Franklin said. "My friends, if anyone had told
me that a time would come when I would accept the existence of vampires, well, let me say that I would have given
that individual a sound tongue lashing."

"This guy we saw earlier, Kyle, is a vampire, but not the
head vampire," David said. The words sounded strange coming out of his mouth, but he continued. "Diallo, the one who
was buried in the cave, he's the big dog"

"Indeed," Franklin said. "We have not encountered him,
yet, and I believe that we've been fortunate. He has a history
of bloodshed."

"And Kyle, the kid, wants to set him loose," David said.
"He came here, probably from France, to find his father, a
monster."

The meaning of what he'd said struck him. Kyle had
come to this town seeking his father. Hadn't he, in essence,
done the same thing? He came to Mason's Corner to learn
more about Richard Hunter, to demystify the enigma, to discover the connections that he and his father shared. In a way,
he and Kyle were alike.

"I didn't know vampires could have children," Nia said.

"And if there's a father," David said, "there might be a
mother, too"

"What do we know, definitively, about these creatures?"
Franklin asked. "All of our beliefs are based on novels, films, and myth. Fiction, in other words-not fact. All of our
assumptions could be incorrect. These creatures could possess talents that we cannot imagine."

They were quiet as the truth of his words sank in. David
happened to glance outside the window, at the setting sun.
Night was coming soon. The day had ushered in frightening
revelations. He was afraid to think of what this night would
bring.

"I see what you mean," Nia said. "The dogs are a good
example."

"Precisely," Franklin said. "The young lady told me, `the
dogs are the master's servants.' The manipulation of canines
is not commonly associated with vampires."

"You know what scares me?" David said. "The girl who
you said was a vampire, she was bitten by a dog. Not a vampire."

Nia said, "Which means a person can be turned, I guess
you could call it, by being bitten by one of those mutts that
serves the vampires. Like the dogs we saw outside the cave"

Franklin nodded somberly. "If a number of hounds fall
under Diallo's influence, these vampires could spread through
town like a brushfire. Dogs tend to travel in packs and could
rapidly overwhelm the townsfolk. Infection likely spreads
via saliva. Similar to the rabies virus."

"Do we know how long it took for her to change, after she
was bitten?" David said. He looked to Ruby.

"Shenice was admitted to the hospital last night, shortly
after midnight," Ruby said. "She turned into that damnable
thing earlier this afternoon, I'd say around four o'clock, as
close as I can place it."

"About sixteen hours for the metamorphosis to complete," Franklin said. "By that estimate, I have only until late
tomorrow morning before I am no longer myself."

"Dammit, Frank, don't say that," Ruby said. "You're going
to be okay, do you hear me?"

"Ah, I feel the infection spreading like an icy river through my blood." Franklin closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
He shivered, then looked at them. "I fear that medicine cannot
stop its progression. My physician, Dr. Hess Green, prescribed
a vaccination of human rabies immune globulin, but my symptoms have continued unabated-they have worsened, in fact.
Therefore, I am not optimistic-"

"Excuse me "" Ruby quickly left the room, dabbing at her
eyes with a handkerchief.

Franklin watched her leave, an expression of deep sadness on his face.

David held Nia's hand tightly.

"We can't lose you, Franklin," David said. "We'd be lost."

Franklin's eyes were fierce. "Listen, you are going to fight
this, with or without me-probably without me. I won't tolerate any talk of giving up, of wallowing in sorrow. This is
no time for weakness and self-doubt." He pointed his long
finger at David. His voice was like iron. "David, this is the
challenge, the responsibility, for which you have been brought
here" He shifted his finger to Nia. "You must partner with
David. He needs you"

"David couldn't stop me from helping him if he wanted
to," Nia said.

"But Franklin .. " David could not finish his sentence.
The rightness of Franklin's stern words was undeniable. From
the beginning, signs had pointed toward a task that he would
be obligated to complete. His grandfather's ghost had warned
him; Pearl, the psychic, had warned him. His role was clear.

But he hesitated to accept the job. This wasn't his hometown. He was only a temporary resident. He planned to
eventually leave and return to Atlanta. Why were the goingson in an obscure Mississippi town that barely merited a dot
on a road map his problem?

Franklin's eyes drilled into his brain.

"It is your responsibility, David," he said. "If you don't
believe it yet, you will soon. You have been brought here for
a purpose. You cannot run from Destiny."

"Yeah," David said. He sighed heavily. "I know, deep
down, that you're right. But what in the hell am I supposed
to do?"

"That's my question, too," Nia said. "Are we supposed to
start collecting garlic and holy water? Sharpening wooden
stakes? Wearing crucifixes?"

"I do not know whether any of the traditional, fictional
weaponry will have an adverse affect on them," Franklin
said. "But I have a handgun, a Smith & Wesson .38, at my
house. It is in the study, in the bottom left drawer of my desk.
It is loaded, and additional ammunition is in the drawer as
well. Have either of you ever fired a revolver?"

"I haven't, but she has" David hooked his thumb toward
Nia.

"I have my own piece," Nia said. "David can use your
gun."

"Excellent," Franklin said.

"In the movies, guns never hurt vampires," David said. "I
guess we'll find out what's fiction and what's real."

"Shenice bit another man, before she escaped," Franklin
said. "A staff member. He refused to be hospitalized and left
to go home. What will become of him, I do not know. He
may live with others, and attack them, too. Thus, their numbers will multiply." He sighed. "We need Chief Jackson's assistance, to prepare and protect the town"