“Knowing our luck so far, the girl will break down and forgive him.”
“I doubt it.” Bernard said with a smile. “He almost tore her face off. She only survived because he was disturbed. Don’t worry Jonathan, tomorrow we will show the court the level of brutality that this man possessed. Tomorrow will be our day.”
“It’s good to know you have a plan, but I still worry. We have to win this case Bernard; otherwise, years of research and money are going down the toilet.”
“I still don’t understand why it’s so important to win, or why you even started proceedings.”
Longborough poured another drink, this time filling a glass for Bernard too. He took a long drink and then turned towards the lawyer.
“If the courts decide that Greer is a victim, they will force the cure to be made available for free the world over. Do you know how much money we will lose if that happens?”
“Ten million, maybe twenty.”
Longborough smiled, and Bernard shuddered at its oozing quality. “Try three trillion.”
Bernard looked at Longborough with raised eyebrows as the scientist took a long drink of his whisky.
“That sounds like an improbably high figure.”
“The world is a big place Bernard, and our cure is the only one. We patented it. Everybody is waiting to buy it from us, but until we can prove that these things are monsters that need to be dealt with, we can’t distribute it. If we don’t win this, my company will go under, I will lose everything.”
“You really have gone all or nothing, haven’t you?”
“It’s how I do things. Just make sure we win. There’s a hefty bonus in it for you if you do.”
Bernard sipped his scotch and offered a sly smile.
“With a three trillion potential income, there better be.”
Longborough said nothing as the car broke free of the crowds surrounding the court, and was lost in the citywide traffic.
Day two
Due to the televised events of the previous day, the court and surroundings were in even more of a frenzy than the day before. More television crew were on site, as were the number of supporters and protesters who were either for or against Greer. The courtroom doors were closed, and the crowds settled to watch the proceedings. Today, both Greer and Longborough would call one witness which they would have an opportunity to question. The court called the first witness, one chosen by Greer.
Jonas Hellier appeared live via camera from an undisclosed location. Along with his name, his voice had been altered, and his face was pixelated and blurred to mask his identity. He was dressed immaculately in a charcoal suit which looked every bit as expensive as the ones sported by Longborough’s lawyers. He was a picture of calm as he was sworn in, and Edwyn Greer began his questioning.
“Mr. Hellier, can you tell the court what you do for a living?”
“I’m an executive director of a well-known global business.”
“Which is an import and export business, correct?”
“Yes.”
“How much does your company turn over, yearly?”
“Approximately seventeen million.”
“Would you consider yourself a high-profile member of the community?”
“Yes.”
“Could you tell the court some of the people you regard as close personal friends?”
“I’d rather not state names, but I count several politicians, TV and movie stars and musicians amongst my friends, as well as world leaders from a dozen or more countries.
“I see,” Greer said, turning towards the jury to ensure they were paying attention to the video feed.
“Could you tell the court why you were called as a witness here today?”
“I have Longboroughvampirosis.”
The crowd murmured and order was restored.
“Mr. Hellier, how long have you had Longboroughvampirosis?”
“Almost a hundred and twenty years.”
“And has it stopped you from becoming a valuable addition to society?”
“No.”
“Mr. Winthorpe yesterday suggested that those contracted with the parasite would become mindless, bloodthirsty animals. Would you say that is correct?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Could you explain for us how you managed to deal with the disease?”
“It’s like anything, it’s about control, discipline. I taught myself to deal with the anger and the aggression, and to make sure I contributed to the world.”
“But surely, if what Mr. Bahl and Mr. Winthorpe said yesterday, we have an urge for blood, a desire that only human blood would satisfy.”
“They were wrong.”
A murmur rose, and Winthorpe glared at Greer just as Longborough was glaring at him.
“Could you explain in more detail what you mean?”
“Animal blood will suffice. In fact, it makes the infection easier to manage, decreases its potency.”
“So, in essence, would I be correct in saying that the highly invasive, experimental and not to mention expensive cure may be an unnecessary expense?”
“That’s not for me to say, but all I can say is that this isn’t a death sentence. With some effort, it can be lived with.”
Greer turned to Longborough with raised eyebrows.
“Thank you, Mr. Hellier, I have no further questions.”
Greer sat as Winthorpe stood and approached the television screen.
“Mr. Hellier, you say you are able to live with your condition, that it allows you to live a normal life, just like the rest of us.”
“Yes.”
“Then, may I ask, why you chose not to appear here in court, but to remain hidden?”
“It could have an impact on my business.”
“I put it to you that the reason you remain hidden is because the people close to you will be afraid if they knew what you really are. You said yourself, it’s possible to control, but it must be a struggle to fight the desires of what is proved to be an incredibly powerful parasite.”
“It’s difficult, of that there is no doubt, but we are not monsters.”
“Then, Mr. Hellier, turn on the lights! Let us hear your voice, let us see your face, and let us know who you are. If you are so certain that you have control of this disease, and then show us!”
“Mr. Winthorpe, do not badger the witness.” Warned Judge Jeffries.
“My apologies, your honour. I was just trying to illustrate that the witnesses’ words contradict his appearance.”
“Then do it more carefully. Mr. Greer is the one on trial here, not Mr. Hellier.”
“Again, my apologies.”
Winthorpe paused to compose his thoughts.
“Mr. Hellier, apologies for my outburst. I was merely trying to establish why somebody of obvious social stature would prefer to remain hidden when you state that you are in control of your disease.”
“I didn’t say I was in control. I said it’s manageable.”
“So, although you can feed on animals, you still have the desire for human blood. Is that correct?”
“I don’t see how that is relevant.”
“Please answer the question, Mr. Hellier.”
“Yes, it’s always there, but the desire is manageable. We don’t have to feed on humans.”
Bernard grinned, it was a confident smile, and he turned his attention back to the jury.
“Thank you, Mr. Hellier, I have no further questions.”
Winthorpe returned to Longborough, who also looked smug. Greer grimaced, because although his witness had tried as best he could, his evasiveness had made him look weak. The court broke for lunch, and again, after everyone settled in, the next witness was prepared. Greer recognised her, and his stomach rolled slightly as he saw the way the jury looked at her as she sat down. Unlike his witness who was shrouded in secrecy, the girl was there for all to see. She looked to be in her early twenties, with long golden hair and blue eyes which would be seductive if not f
or the permanent fear which showed in them as she looked around the courtroom at everything but him.
She would have been one of those naturally beautiful girls — the ones who didn’t need to wear a ton of make-up or go overboard with the hair styling — if not for the scar tissue which covered her neck, shoulder and the most of her right cheek. The skin was uneven and rugged, and although the surgeons had done an admirable job, the savagery of her wounds was plain to see. Greer looked towards Longborough, who was watching him with a thin smile on his face. Winthorpe stood and approached the frightened girl, as the courtroom fell silent.
“Please state your name,” Winthorpe said with sincerity that Greer could just about see through, and that was for the benefit of the jury.
“It’s... Clara. Clara Wood.”
“Thank you, Clara.”
Winthorpe turned towards the jury and then spoke to them in his usual, booming court voice.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Clara Wood was on her way home from a friend’s house three years ago when she was attacked from behind. Miss Wood suffered flesh wounds which resulted in her needing three hundred and eleven stitches to her face, neck and shoulders. She was in such a poor condition when paramedics arrived and had lost so much blood, that she wasn’t expected to live. In fact, on her way to the hospital, Miss Wood stopped breathing on four separate occasions, only to be revived by the excellent medical staff in attendance.”
Winthorpe paused, and the immense room was silent apart from Clara’s sniffles as she wept. Bernard handed her a box of tissues, which she took gratefully.
“This woman.” He said as he pointed to her. “Has shown incredible bravery by coming here today. She isn’t hidden behind a television screen. Her name hasn’t been changed, nor her voice altered. She is here today to show you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the true face of the Longboroughvampirosis parasite.”
Greer was listening to Winthorpe, but watching the jury. They were staring at him coldly.
“Miss Wood was saved from certain death because her assailant was interrupted.”
He paused again for effect, waiting just long enough for the information to sink in with those watching.
“Miss Wood, is your assailant here in this courtroom today?”
She nodded, wiping her eyes with the tissue.
“I’m sorry Miss Wood, I know this is difficult for you, could you verbally answer the question?”
“Yes, yes he is.” She said, lowering her head. Bernard nodded and then turned to the jury.
“Could you point him out to the jury please?”
She was shaking, and with some effort lifted her head and pointed a shaking hand at Greer.
“Him. He did it.”
Greer sat and stared straight ahead, feeling the pressure of countless pairs of eyes trained on him. He felt a tear of his own roll down his cheek and was surprised. It was something that he hadn’t experienced for over two hundred years. Bernard walked towards Greer, a predatory smile on his face as he neared.
“Miss Wood was pleading for her life. But this man showed no sympathy. Miss Wood begged for her freedom, but this man showed no sympathy.”
Winthorpe paused and leaned on the desk, his face inches away from Greer’s. Winthorpe glared and said his next words quietly, the microphone on his jacket making sure everyone in attendance and watching the world over, heard it all the same.
“Miss Wood was pregnant at the time of her attack, but this man showed no sympathy.”
This time, the court descended into chaos, people shouted and pointed, and the Judge tried his best to regain order. Only Winthorpe and Greer were silent, staring at each other with neither willing to break eye contact first. As the din subsided, Winthorpe stood and walked back towards the jury.
“Look at the injuries sustained by Miss Wood. Look at them and consider that she is just one of the lucky ones. Think of the others, the three hundred thousand other souls who Edwyn Greer took in order to satisfy his urge to kill. In closing, let me ask you this, ladies and gentlemen.”
He looked at them in turn and then delivered his closing statement.
“If indeed, Mr. Greer’s kind are able to sustain themselves on the blood of animals, then why did he feel the need to do this to poor Miss Wood and his countless other victims?”
Bernard straightened and looked at the Judge, nodding curtly.
“No further questions, Your Honour.”
Bernard sat back with his team, and Greer felt the definite shift in atmosphere. The Judge told him it was his witness, and as he looked at the poor girl, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. He had already subjected her to a harrowing experience, and couldn’t bear to even look at her, meaning that questioning was a non-starter.
“No questions,” Greer said.
Across the table, Winthorpe and Longborough smiled
Day Three
The atmosphere in court for the final day of proceedings was tense and heavy. Outside, the police presence had been increased tenfold, due to the increasing number of clashes between both supporters and detractors of Greer. The last day was the one which those who were watching had been waiting for. It would be Greer’s turn to be questioned, and he, in turn, would have the opportunity to question Longborough. After that, there was nothing more that could be done, and it was down to the jury to decide.
Greer was transported to the witness box, still shackled at his feet and hands. Winthorpe stood and approached him, the swagger in his step fitting perfectly with the arrogant grin as he prepared to begin his questioning.
“Mr. Greer! Do you consider yourself to be a good man?”
“In what way?”
“I mean. Do you believe in justice? Right and wrong? Crime and punishment?”
“I do, although in some instances, the system is flawed.”
“I see. And are you a remorseful man? Do you feel sorry for the crimes which, I don’t think are unfair to call, a reign of terror?”
“That’s a very dramatic way to ask me, councillor.”
“Nevertheless, it is a question I would like you to answer.”
“Of course I do.”
“Then why did you continue?”
“Mr. Winthorpe, it’s easy for you to stand there and judge me, but unless you have experienced it for yourself, it’s hard to make you understand.”
“Oh, please,” Winthorpe said, flashing a wide smile. “Enlighten us.”
“You are a smoker, aren’t you Mr. Winthorpe?” Greer asked.
“Not that it matters, but yes, yes I am.”
“Even though you know that every drag you take is killing you, I would bet my life you will be lighting up a new one the second you are outside. You know it’s bad, and you know you should stop, but you just can’t. Now imagine that feeling and multiply it by a hundred thousand, and you still don’t come close. I hated what I had become, but I was powerless to stop it.”
“But you have done it now for over two hundred years. If you were so unhappy; there were other ways to stop.”
Greer smiled. “You mean suicide?”
“Well, was it never an option Mr. Greer? Not that I advocate such a thing, but I think the question has some validity.”
“You don’t understand, do you Mr. Winthorpe?”
“No, I don’t think I do. So please, explain to us all why you chose to continue to kill instead of doing what some might deem the honourable thing and take your own life.”
Greer smiled, and then grew serious. Everyone was looking at him, and taking a leaf out of Winthorpe's book, he spoke softly, yet clearly.
“In the winter of eighteen eighty-eight, I was in London. The Jack the Ripper murders were still fresh on the minds of the community in Whitechapel, but I have to admit that I wasn’t one of them who cared. My body by then was alien to me. You call me a monster, but the conscience is the thing that seems to last the longest. The terrible things that my parasite had forced me to do weighed heavy, and I tried to blot out all thou
ghts of it with drink. Whitechapel then was a violent, dark place Mr. Winthorpe. The poverty was a physical thing that you could smell in the air, buried beneath the stench of the slaughterhouses and the human waste which flowed through the streets.
I would get into fights, and even though I would let them kick me, and stab at me, my parasite kept me alive. That didn’t make me feel any better, so one night; I walked down to the docks. I filled my pockets with heavy stones and jumped into the Thames. I hoped that it would be enough, but the vampire is a clever one, Mr Winthorpe. Especially when it comes to its own self-preservation. Even though I fought it, my body emptied the stones from my pockets, and I pulled myself out of the filthy water gasping and furious that I had failed.
I tried again in nineteen twenty. Hung myself from a tree. I didn’t die. I just hung there, unable to breathe. Of course, my parasite could have freed me, but it was angry, it wanted to show me that it was in control. So it let me hang there, feeling the pain, lost in the limbo between life and death.
For five days I swung from that tree, just waiting for my vampire to free me. Eventually, a young hunter came across me and cut me down. My vampire pounced on him seconds after I hit the ground. It had a point to prove you see. And it proved it well.”
Greer looked around the court. Everyone, even Winthorpe was watching him as he continued.
“Lesson learned, I went on until early sixty-eight. I was in America then, my wanderings taking me from one continent to the next, trying to find a place where I belonged.
I encountered a man in Texas. He tried to rob me, and my vampire took control and split him from chest to pubic bone in the blink of an eye. As my vampire feasted on the spoils of its victory, my eyes fell upon the man’s gun. It was a pistol, and I thought that if I did it quick, then it would be done before my vampire could stop me.”
Greer smiled, and the expression melted away just as quickly as it had come.
“Well, I tried for it. I scooped up the gun, whirled it around and jammed it into my mouth, but the vampire knew. It had known all along. I stood there with that hot, oil tasting steel pressing onto my tongue, and yet I couldn’t pull the trigger. I tried, tried with all the will I could muster, but the vampire wouldn’t let me. My punishment was that it forced me to cut off my own genitals.”
At The Edge of Night - 28 book horror box set - also contains a link to an additional FREE book Page 24