Vampire Blood (12 page)

Something scuttled past her feet, and Jenny moved closer to Black Beauty, who had come to stand beside her, shivering like a newborn filly in a winter wind.

“Are you sick, girl?” she leaned her cheek up against the horse’s quivering neck, feeling the silkiness of it. The warm flesh.

Jenny listened. The mist was whispering again. Ghostly, fleeting figures seemed to be there one moment and then the next, not.

Fear shimmied along Jenny’s bones.

“Is there someone out there?” she shouted, her heart pounding.

More rustlings, like faraway laughter.

I
must be going crazy,
she told herself.
No one’s out there. Just the moonlight and that spooky mist.

There wasn’t much she could do for the horses so late, but she’d discuss it with her father first thing tomorrow morning. Something was scaring them. Could be coyotes slinking around or snakes. Her father and she would have to look for snake holes when it got light enough.

“For tonight,” she told them, “you both stay close to my trailer. You understand?” She liked to imagine that they did. They were uncannily smart old horses.

With soft words and tender pats Jenny coaxed the animals to follow her to her trailer. When they were outside, the light from the kitchen shining out around them, they calmed a little.

“Stay here, understand? I’ll be right inside. Don’t be afraid,” she murmured. They nickered and kept brushing up against her when she tried to leave, as if they didn’t want her to go.

She could have gotten some rope and tied them to the fence, but she hated doing that to any animal. She stayed with them for a while, stroking and singing to them as if they were her children (they’d always liked that) until she was so tired she could hardly stand. Then she went in to bed.

Her dreams were full of scary faceless things that kept chasing her through the fog, leering into her windows, so real. What did they want?

In the middle of the night, violently awakened by the trailer bucking about underneath her like an angry horse, she bolted up in bed, screaming. In an absolute panic, she clung to the headboard, so fuzzy-headed at first, she thought she was still asleep, and this was a continuation of one of her spectacular nightmares.

She was thrown out of bed, landing on the floor with a painful thud.

Quivering, she crawled to the front of the trailer.

Get out. Get out!

She threw the door open and tumbled onto the porch and into the night, yelping with pain at every step she bounced down.

She sat, frightened and relieved, on the safe ground.

The world, covered in mist, was still.

Then, as if a huge hand came and shoved it away, the haze dissipated, and in seconds, was gone. The night was clear and quiet.

Nothing looked any different. Nothing looked smashed, destroyed or changed. It was as if she’d dreamed the disturbance.

Had she?

After moments more of confusion, Jenny returned to the trailer and crawled into bed, shaking. Soon she’d plunged into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Chapter Five

August 19

The next morning, when Jenny went out to check on the horses, she found them both sprawled out in the grass, stone dead. She knelt over them sobbing, heartbroken.

Later, her dad stood behind her, his hand poised on her shoulder sympathetically, as they watched the truck drive away with the carcasses inside. Her eyes were dry by then, but red and puffy from grief.

The vet, Rick Chalmers, had come out to examine the dead animals earlier and had been as mystified as the police as to the exact cause of their deaths.

“I’ve seen wounds like these before. It looks like bat bites. Now I’ve known bats to attack other animals in numbers and kill them like that, but it’s rare—and not around these parts. In this case, it’s not only the bites that are unusual, it’s something else. It looks
like a lot of their blood is gone. I guess,” he’d scratched his head, his sharp eyes perusing the two large lumps of flesh, “I’ll know more after I get them to the lab and do some investigating. Make some phone calls. I hear there’s been other cases similar to this across the area lately. It’s got all the farmers—everyone—spooked.”

“I bet. I’ve never seen anything like it, either, Rick. It’s strange all right,” Jenny said to the vet.

He’d been up all night, he’d informed her when he’d first arrived, helping someone with a sick cow.

Rick Chalmers was another familiar face from Jenny’s childhood. That morning was the first time she’d seen him, face to face again, in over thirteen years. He’d looked the same, a short, stocky man with intelligent gray eyes and short blond hair in blue jeans and a plaid shirt.

He’d always had a way with animals, had always wanted to be a veterinarian. He’d always had a crush on Jenny, but Jenny only had had eyes for Jeff.

Heavy loss of blood?
Jenny had turned to her dad, her eyes swollen from crying. “I can’t believe they’re dead. I saw them last night. They were behaving strangely even then, terrified, probably because they sensed that earthquake coming,” she stated thoughtfully.

“What earthquake?” her dad demanded.

“You didn’t feel it? It shook my trailer so violently, I had to get out. I was scared.”

“Didn’t feel a thing, honey.” Her dad was gawking at her, and so was Rick Chalmers. Apparently he hadn’t felt it, either.

“Anything damaged?”

“No.”

Puzzled, Jenny remembered the calmness outside her trailer afterwards and stopped talking.

“You said something about the horses behaving strangely last night. How?”

“Scared. Sick.”

“Scared of what?”

“Don’t know, Dad. I didn’t see anything. It was late and I was going to tell you about it this morning.” She observed her father’s strained, white face. He looked worse than he had the day before, and he seemed distracted.

Though he never rode the horses, he’d been attached to them. The last of his animals. He’d known how much Jenny loved them. He had been the one who’d called the police and the vet.

Jenny shook her head sadly in the sunlight. “I guess there’s nothing else to be done here now.”

“We need to get over to the Albers’ house and get to work,” her dad announced as he stared empty-eyed at nothing. The way he was acting was beginning to alarm her.

“Dad,” she touched his arm, “are you really okay?”

“Sure. Nothing wrong with me, girl.” He flashed her one of his brave smiles before he moved away from her towards the house.

But not before she saw the fatigue drain his face.

“Come on, slowpoke,” he barked good-naturedly over his shoulder when he walked away. “We promised the Albers we’d both be there today. I mean to keep my promise.”

As much as she hated the thought of going to work after what had happened, they had no choice. They’d already been paid for the job. They had to get it done.

They were on their way to Joey’s when she told her dad about the job offer from the Michelsons. She said nothing about her reservations about them.

It was an easy job, and the way her dad was behaving, they’d need
an easy job after painting the Albers’ place.

“Sounds real interestin’. How bad is it inside?”

“It was hard to tell by candlelight.” Jenny grinned as she sat beside him in the station wagon. “I think it’ll be mostly heavy-duty cleaning, lots of painting and some minor plaster work. The grime’s three inches thick. In fact, it’s amazing that the place has held up as well as it has. We’re supposed to talk price with them tonight, when they’re there again. Something about how they work out of town during the day and can’t be reached.”

“No telephone number we can call?”

“No. Just be there tonight, they said. After dark.” Jenny’s face was closed.

“You sound unsure about doing it, though. Why?” It was uncanny, at times, how perceptive her dad could be.

“It’s just that,” Jenny hesitated then stared out through the window into the golden brown fields. “Ah, never mind. It’s nothing.” She followed a sea gull’s graceful flight back out to the ocean with red eyes.

“Jenny?” More insistent. He tilted his head at her as he braked at a stop sign.

“It’s just that,” she finally gave in, “those people acted weird, talked weird and made me feel funny. I mean, I don’t have anything against them ...” her voice disappeared as she wondered why she was even protesting at all.

“Did they do anything wrong?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then, since we need the work, I say we do the job.” For her father it was always so black and white.

Jenny said, “You got it.”

“It should be a lot of fun.” Her dad chuckled. “After all, you’re forever going on and on about that silly place. How much you loved it as a child, and how happy you and Joey are that it’s reopening. I can’t believe you wouldn’t be thrilled at the very idea of having a hand in getting it back to the way it once was—in all its beauty.”

He knew her pretty well.

“Yeah, once I would have killed for the chance to work on that place, but, Dad, it isn’t that. It’s
them.
They’re different, that’s all.” She thought seriously of relating the queer scene that had occurred the night before, but ended up telling herself she was being a child. She did her best to sluff it off. Had it really happened, or had it all been in her over active imagination?

“Not all people are arrow straight and stuffy. Could be they’re a little eccentric; a lot are. I’ve met some mighty strange characters in my day. All nice, underneath, just different on the outside. It’s what makes the world so darn interesting. You’d hate it if everyone was all the same now, wouldn’t ya?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” In the bright daylight, as they strolled into Joey’s, half her doubts of the night before did seem ridiculous.

They had breakfast, and she broke the news to Joey about Black Beauty and Lightning.

“Vampires did it,” Laurie, who’d been eavesdropping, threw in. A pen lodged behind her ear, she chomped noisily on her chewing gum. “Yep. Vampires. I’ve been following the news close enough. All those dead animals. That’s a real tip off.”

“Get out of here, Laurie. You really expect us to believe that stuff?” Joey laughed out loud and made pushing motions at her with his hands.

She stomped off. She took that stuff seriously.

“The girl’s got a screw loose,” he said, twirling a finger to the right of his head, but good-naturedly. “She believes in monsters and ghosts, too. She’s read all your books, Jenny,” Joey snorted.

Jenny threw him a mock icy glare. “Very funny.”

“I thought so,” he glared back in the same way, imitating her with her irritated face, and made her laugh.

“Dad and I are going to help clean up and paint the Rebel next door,” she said casually then.

Joey whistled, his eyes wide. “Big place. You think you and Dad can handle it?”

“Sure,” she replied. “I was in it last night. It only needs minor work. We can handle that. No sweat.”

“Wish you luck. You’ll need it,” Joey said.

“Thanks.”

Jenny and her dad finished their breakfast.

* * * *

Later, at the Albers’ house, she nagged him because he was pushing himself too hard in the heat; she finally made him sit in the shade for the last part of the day, where he instantly fell asleep.

In silence, Jenny worked on alone. Sleep was the best thing for him, so she didn’t disturb him.

Muted colors of twilight were seeping in like pale watercolors when she finally woke him.

“Why’d you let me sleep so long?” he asked, guilty-faced.

“You needed it.” The curt tone of her voice silenced him.

He could hardly stand without swaying, but swore he was fine and not to fuss.

At least it’d cooled down. Jenny was grateful for that.

As they packed up to leave, she kept sneaking peeks at the Albers’ windows. She drifted towards the garage and then retraced her steps.

“What ya gawkin’ at, girl?” Her dad startled her, coming up from behind. The nap had revived him.

“Oh, I only wondered where the Albers were, that’s all. I haven’t seen either of them all day. Maude knew we were working, and she usually brings out coffee or lemonade, you know?” Jenny’s eyes surveyed the house.

“Well, they might have spent the day in town or visiting someone, Jenny. Maude and George don’t have to stay around here to cater to our whims.”

“I know that, Dad. It’s just that, well, we got here pretty darn early, and they didn’t leave after we got here, or I would have seen them. Now I noticed that their car is in the garage.” Her brow wrinkled, her long hair blowing in the cool breeze. A growing uneasiness rippled underneath her concern.

“Humph! Could be aliens got ‘em!” He teased her.

“It’s not a joking matter,” she quipped, examining the house. “I’m beginning to get worried.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be. They’re adults and can take care of themselves, ya know.”