by Bekka Black
I just stared at her with my mouth open, and then she said a prayer (in Latin, I think) and wandered off.
Getting him back was hard. We had to dope him up so much to keep him from yelling, we had to practically carry him on and off the plane. We had this same exchange about fifty times, but here’s the gist of it:
J: It was full of skulls. Baby skulls.
Me: There were no skulls. The police searched the Count’s castle. It was empty. Everything is fine.
J: I’m sorry for what I did to you.
Me: You didn’t do anything to me. I’m ok. Everything’s ok.
Then he would squash my hand so hard that my fingers practically went to sleep.
I just kept talking to him like he was a little kid or a horse or something. His dad was no help at all. He was more upset than I was.
But we’re here now, and Jonathan’s doctors say that he has “idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia.” Plus his psychological problems. As if those weren’t enough.
He is super pale and has huge dark circles under his eyes. He looks like crap.
I’m scared.
Will tell you when I learn more. He’s coming out now. Gotta run.
Call if you can. I need somebody sane. And you know how bad things are if I’m expecting YOU to be the sane one.
xoxo,
Mina
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From: Mina Murray
To: Lucy Westenra
Subject: More serious stuff
Sent: June 20 6:23 AM
* * *
Lucy,
They are rushing Jonathan into surgery to remove his spleen. Usually they try steroids, but they say there’s not time.
His mother is trying to get in from Canada for the surgery, but I don’t think she’ll make it. His father is here but useless. Still a mess.
The surgeons say he’s super weak. I don’t think they are hopeful about his recovery. But I’m trying to be.
Please call me. I need you. Besides Jonathan, you’re my best friend.
What if I lose him, Lucy?
Mina
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Text message from Mina Murray to Lucy Westenra
From: Abraham Van Helsing
To: Mina Murray
Subject: Re: Delicate question
Sent: June 20 1:56 PM
* * *
Hello Mina,
I am sorry to report that Lucy is gravely ill. She was brought by ambulance to Lenox Hill Hospital Manhattan. She asks me to contact you.
She has acute idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia. It is a very rare disorder, but they say it is almost never life threatening. She is being treated aggressively with steroids, and her doctors are cautiously hopeful.
I wish that there were another way to deliver the news to you, but I do not have your telephone number and Lucy is in no condition to tell it to me. Please contact me immediately. My number is 212-555-0184.
Abe
From: Abraham Van Helsing
To: Mina Murray
Subject: Re: Delicate question
Sent: June 20 7:29 PM
* * *
Hello Mina,
I would have called had I your number. Lucy’s condition is critical.
Her family is at her bedside. I do not believe that she will last the night. We are at Lenox Hill Hospital Manhattan. Please come at once.
I am truly sorry to be the bearer of such sad tidings.
Abe
Text message from Jonathan Harker to Mina Murray
From: Mina Murray
To: Jonathan Harker
Subject: Lucy just died
Sent: June 21 7:29 AM
* * *
J,
Lucy just died. I’m crying so hard I can barely type. I would call you, but I don’t want to talk to you. I can’t believe that you slept with her. And that you had to tell me while she was dying.
I told her doctors about how you and Lucy have the same weird disease and about you and her. They said they would look into it.
Her father gave me that stuffed kitten she used to sleep with. Remember Mr. Bubbles? I’m going to put him in her coffin. I can’t bear to think of her all alone in that box.
I’m going home to bed. Please don’t call me. I don’t want to talk to you.
M
From: Andrew Peterson
To: Abraham Van Helsing
Subject: A break?
Sent: June 24 8:18 AM
* * *
Abe,
This is a difficult email for me to write.
You have been a great asset during your time here, and I appreciate your hard work. You’ve been hit hard by the death of the woman you were seeing and understandably so, but your behavior has become inexcusably erratic. You must stay away from Randolph Renfield. Your presence agitates him, and your questioning him about his psychosis as if it were real is not helping him any. I have warned you several times, but I keep hearing that you are in his room on all of your breaks.
Remember that your girlfriend’s death was not your fault. Nor was it Randolph Renfield’s. Her condition was untreatable and fast advancing. No one could have helped her. When you become a doctor, you will have to deal with this kind of situation far too often.
Please consider taking some time off. We will be assigning your duties to another volunteer for a few weeks.
Things don’t always happen for a reason. Sometimes they just happen.
If you ever need someone to listen, I’m here for you. Heck, I’m even trained for it.
Stop by my office when you get this so we can discuss. Please.
Andy
From: Mina Murray
To: Abraham Van Helsing
Subject: Can we meet?
Sent: June 24 8:25 AM
* * *
Abe,
Thank you for the things you said about Lucy. I think you understood her essence—generous, loving, and full of life— better than many who knew her longer.
I hate to ask this, but could we meet? Jonathan, my boyfriend, is ill, with acute idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia: same as what killed Lucy. No one knows how they got it: environmental, close contact, or a giant coincidence. The day that she died, Jonathan confessed to me that he and Lucy slept together (not since your relationship with her started but well after ours did). If the disease is sexually transmitted, I worry that you and I might have been exposed. Is there a way to test for it? I told Lucy’s doctors, but they didn’t take me seriously.
I’m sorry to give you more bad news, but I thought you’d want to know. Jonathan is slowly recovering, so I guess the splenectomy was a better cure than the steroids they gave Lucy. As tragic as it is, that knowledge may end up saving our lives if we do catch what they had.
Please call me as soon as you can.
Mina
From: Mina Murray
To: [email protected]
Subject: Problem with my blood
Sent: June 24 9:30 AM
* * *
Hello,
The blood I donated at the charity ball in Manhattan on June 16 may be tainted. I just found out that I may have been exposed to a fatal blood-borne disease that presented itself as acute idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia. I called and spoke to a Dr. Seward about it, and I am sending this email as a follow-up. If you still have my blood, please destroy it. If you have transfused it into someone else, please refer them to Dr. Seward.
Thank you, and I am deeply, deeply sorry. I never would have donated blood if I had known.
Sincerely,
Mina Murray
From: Jonathan Harker
To: Mina Murray
Subject: I’m so sorry
Sent: June 24 11:38 AM
* * *
Darling Mina,
I am s
o sorry for what I’ve put you through. I hated to tell you about my fling with Lucy, but I knew you needed to know in case I exposed you to something. It was just a few times, and I don’t think it meant anything to her either. I know it was wrong, and if you give me another chance, I can be the man that you always thought I was.
I love you, Mina. It took all this for me to realize it. Stupid, I know.
You have always been my foundation. Without you I feel like I’m sinking in quicksand. I need you, and more than I ever appreciated.
I understand why you don’t want to take my calls, but please reconsider. The doctors aren’t sure how to fix what’s wrong with me, and I would hate to leave this world with you hating me.
Would write longer but am weak today. Am having trouble with the keyboard on Dad’s laptop. My laptop and phone disappeared in Romania. I think I threw them into a river. I know that sounds crazy.
I know I can never make it right, but please please please let me try.
Yours,
J
Text message from Mina Murray to Lucy Westenra
From: Abraham Van Helsing
To: Mina Murray
Subject: Re: Can we meet?
Sent: June 24 12:10 PM
* * *
Mina,
I left a message on your cell phone but thought perhaps I should email you as well.
I would be happy to meet at your earliest convenience. Sexually transmitted anemia seems unlikely, but anemia can also be a symptom of other diseases, some of which are sexually transmitted (such as HIV, but I know that Lucy tested negative for that, so please put your mind at rest on that score).
I think that you and I should go to the same lab to be tested. One of my professors is also a hematologist, so I should be able to put together a list of specialists we can consult.
So far, I have had no symptoms, and I understand that you do not either? Try not to worry yourself too much. We will do what we can and see.
I’m sorry that you are having to deal with all this on top of Lucy’s death, Mina.
Abe
From: Mina Murray
To: Jonathan Harker
Subject: Re: I’m so sorry
Sent: June 24 4:04 PM
* * *
Jonathan,
I don’t hate you. I also don’t want to see you right now. I know the timing is bad for you. It isn’t great for me either. Next time you sleep around, maybe YOU should worry about the timing.
Abe recommended that you make a list of your sexual partners for the past year, in case you exposed them, too. Hope you don’t get writer’s cramp.
Not that you care, but we stopped by to see Renfield. Abe is going to take blood samples from all of us to compare with yours and Lucy’s to see if there are any matches. Plus I wanted to see Renfield again, and Abe didn’t want me to go in by myself since Renfield bit Lucy last time. Abe actually didn’t want me to go in the room with Renfield at all (he’s a kinda protective guy), but I insisted (I’m a kinda persistent girl).
Renfield was calmer than last time, but instead of yelling he cried. He was in a straitjacket after attacking Lucy. It seems so long ago now, but it has only been a week. Here’s what he said (I’m only telling you because he mentioned you):
Renfield: I am sorry for what I did to Lucy Westenra. For what he did to Lucy Westenra.
Me: Who?
Renfield: The Master. I am sorry for what he did to Jonathan Harker. But he is healed, isn’t he? The Master cannot find Jonathan Harker anymore, so he is dead or still alive. But healed.
Me (getting sick to my stomach, thinking of those nuns): Healed of what?
Renfield: You know, Mina Murray, even if you pretend you do not. Tell Jonathan Harker that I beg his forgiveness, as I will beg forgiveness of Lucy Westenra when I see her.
Me: Lucy is… (and I just couldn’t tell him, but I started to cry, so the jig was pretty much up).
Renfield: You think she is dead, but she is not. We moved beyond death, she and I. But it was not like I thought.
He looked around like he expected something to come through the walls. He trembled so hard his teeth chattered. Then he hid under his bed. After I coaxed him out, Abe asked for a blood sample.
Renfield went ballistic. He said that he had worked so hard to make his blood strong that he couldn’t spare even a single drop. He had to be sedated again, but Abe took his blood sample. Is that even legal, taking someone’s blood against his will like that? I don’t know, but we do need it.
In spite of everything, I hope you feel better soon. I will talk to you as soon as I feel up to it. Which might be a while.
Mina
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From: Jonathan Harker
To: Mina Murray
Subject: Re: I’m so sorry
Sent: June 24 4:07 PM
* * *
Dearest Mina,
Thank you for writing me back. It’s more than I deserve, and I know that.
I will make that list and pass it along to Van Helsing. Send me his email address.
I know Renfield is crazy. But did you see that article about the bat attacks near the cemetery where Lucy is buried? Probably a coincidence, but when I read about it my eyes actually went dark and I thought I would pass out. You know I’m not a drama queen about being sick, but I think all of this ties into the hallucinations I had in Romania.
Maybe they were true. Maybe the Count is a killer. And I feel much weaker today than ever before.
What if Renfield is right?
What happened to Lucy’s body? Please tell me she was cremated.
But I don’t think she was. In my heart, I feel like Lucy is out there somewhere waiting for me.
And it scares the hell out of me. Will I end up killing children like the Count?
I have no right to ask this, but could you please visit me? I feel so alone.
J
From: Mina Murray
To: Jonathan Harker
Subject: Re: I’m so sorry
Sent: June 24 4:28 PM
* * *
Jonathan,
>I will make that list and pass it along to Van Helsing.
There is a list!?! Not just Lucy? How many others?
Were you ever faithful to me? Was I wrong about all of it? Every single minute?
Don’t tell me. I don’t even want to know.
I certainly will NOT visit you. And you should count yourself lucky that I won’t.
Mina
From: Jonathan Harker
To: Mina Murray
Subject: Re: I’m so sorry
Sent: June 24 4:44 PM
* * *
Dearest Mina,
I know I’ve acted unforgivably. And I’d like to spend a lifetime making it up to you. Don’t overreact. What we have is very special. Every minute is not a lie. There is profound truth there, even if I didn’t realize it until now.
I’m not going to ask you to forgive me. Just please let me back in. We can rebuild our relationship stronger now that it’s been through the fire.
Please. And please also be careful with the Count. Please tell me what’s going on there. It’s the least you can do. Remember, my neck is on the line, too.
Love,
J
Text message from Mina Murray to Abe Van Helsing
From: Jonathan Hayes
To: Abraham Van Helsing
Subject: Autopsy attached
Sent: June 25 10:26 AM
* * *
Abe,
Let me repeat my condolences at your loss. I understand why you are trying to keep yourself occupied, but maybe a break would be best. Trust me, you don’t want to push yourself too hard. Been there, done that.
That said, I’m attaching an autopsy report of one of the attack victims that you requested. I look forward to seeing you in class again next fall.
; Call me.
Jon
Name of Decedent: Unknown White Male
M.E. Case #: 666-666
Autopsy Performed by: Dr. Jonathan Hayes
Date of Autopsy: June 23
AUTOPSY FINDINGS
EXSANGUINATION DUE TO PUNCTURE WOUNDS OF NECK: PAIRED PUNCTURE WOUNDS LEFT LATERAL NECK WITH JUGULAR VEIN PUNCTURES:MINIMAL LOCAL SOFT TISSUE BLEEDING.
ABSENT LIVOR MORTIS.
GENERALIZED VISCERAL PALLOR.
NO FREE BLOOD IN VESSELS.
FINDINGS CONSISTENT WITH HYPOVOLEMIC SHOCK, INCLUDING SUBENDOCARDIAL HEMORRHAGE IN LEFT VENTRICULAR OUTFLOW AND MUCOSAL HEMORRHAGES OF THE RENAL PELVIS.
SHRINKAGE OF SPLEEN.
CAUSE OF DEATH: EXSANGUINATION DUE TO
PUNCTURE WOUNDS OF NECK.
MANNER OF DEATH: HOMICIDE.
OFFICE OF CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER
I hereby certify that I, Jonathan Hayes, M.D., New York City Medical Examiner, have performed an autopsy on the body of Unknown White’ Male, on the 23rd day of June, commencing at 1:00 p.m., in the New York City Mortuary of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION:
The decedent is initially viewed clad in a dark gray sleeveless T-shirt style top, blue jeans and belt, gray sweat shorts and socks. A right eyebrow piercing with indwelling white metal barbell stud is in place. A navel piercing in white metal is present. The body jewelry is left in place and secured with evidence tape.
The body is that of a well-developed, well-nourished, slender, 5’7”, approximately 120 lbs, White male whose appearance is consistent with an age in the mid-late teens. Muscular rigidity is moderate and symmetric and lividity is completely absent in the cool body; the body is strikingly pale.