by LM DeWalt
“Yes. I suppose that is true,” he smiled as he understood what I was hinting at. “Do you really think we could?”
“I don’t see why not. It worked for you.”
“True. But if in fact you both did make me, shouldn’t I feel some kind of a connection to Ian too?” He leaned against the dresser and ran his free hand through his hair.
“I didn’t think of that,” I walked back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Thinking about Ian was something that required me to sit so I couldn’t wear circles into the floor. “Are you sure you don’t?”
“I’m sure. I feel nothing for him, well, besides disgust. It’s your blood that made me what I am,” he explained with a sudden look of disappointment.
“Maybe it’s because you didn’t spend any time with him afterward. Maybe it’s because…”
“Lily, I think it was just you that made me. He killed me and that was his only role. There was no blood exchange between us. Even when he was drinking from me in Ireland, I never tasted his blood.”
As much as I wanted to analyze what he said further, though I was happy he felt no attachment to Ian, I had to agree with him. Ian took his life and planned for that action to be permanent. “So basically, only one of us can transform Jose Luis?”
“I think so,” He moved to stand in front of me and take my hands. “It doesn’t matter. If you want it to be both of us, then it will be. We’ll figure out how. I don’t care who he has the greater attachment to anyway. We are a family and we will both play a part in his transformation.”
The phone rang as I waited for Christian to dress so we could join Aloysius in the living room. Aloysius’s voice boomed up the stairs as he yelled at whoever was on the other end. He spoke so fast I could make no sense of what he was saying. My stomach dropped as we ran down the spiral stairs, dread filling the silence as Aloysius slammed the receiver down hard, shattering the base unit.
NINE
Aloysius was already wearing his own circles in the carpet as we reached him. His usually calm features turned into those of an angry old man. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“That was the hospital calling to ask why we took Jose Luis home without their permission.”
“What?” I yelled as Christian wrapped a concerned arm around my waist.
“Obviously it wasn’t us.” Aloysius sat on the edge of the sofa and ran his fingers nervously through his hair. “Someone snuck in and took him without anyone noticing.”
My knees unlocked and Christian tightened his grip, keeping me from hitting the floor. “I don’t understand this. Why? Why an innocent child?”
Aloysius shook his head, his eyes not meeting mine. “How did they even know where he was? We were so careful.”
“Do you think we’re being watched?” Christian led me to the sofa before going to the window and pulling the curtain aside. He opened the window and stuck his head out, scanning the street below.
“Do you see anyone?” I asked.
“Nothing unusual, just walkers who look like they have a destination and a few cars here and there.” He stepped away from the window but left it open. “Can either of you hear any thoughts?”
I looked at Aloysius before answering. “It’s worth a shot.”
The three of us remained silent while we focused our thoughts on the street. Even Christian looked frozen in concentration. After a few minutes, I threw my arms in the air, defeated. “I hear all kinds of stuff but nothing we need.”
“Same here,” Aloysius replied. “I was thinking, if they already have him, then they are probably not watching us anymore. They got what they were after.”
“You have a point there,” Christian answered. “So, what now?”
“We need to get to the hospital. Maybe we can find out more there,” Aloysius said as the front door opened. Fiore walked in with a few shopping bags in her hands.
Before we could say anything, she said, “I heard your conversation as I came up the hall. Let me throw these in my room and I’ll join you.” She disappeared up the stairs.
We arrived in Jose Luis’s ward about a half hour later. As soon as we turned the corner within view of the nurses’ station, we saw them. “Shit!” I said before I could stop myself. Everyone stopped short.
“What’s wrong?” Fiore asked as all raised their eyebrows at me.
“I don’t know that we should talk to the police.”
“Why not?”
“Well, remember what I did at the beach?”
“Oh, right,” Fiore said. “What you did was warranted, remember? Those guys were going to rape you and God knows what else. You had no choice but to kill them.”
“I have a feeling that wasn’t even reported. Those men weren’t exactly law abiding citizens,” Aloysius replied. The three of us nodded and I felt a bit more relaxed.
“You’re right. This is about Jose Luis,” I answered as we started walking toward the three officers who were talking with a doctor and two nurses at the counter. A bouquet of flowers with a birthday balloon tied to it sat on the counter.
Aloysius walked up to one of the officers and introduced himself in flawless Spanish. After speaking for a few moments, he turned to us. “The doctor said we can use his office to talk.” He led the way as we, the doctor, and two of the officers followed. As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice that the two nurses standing at the counter with the remaining officer avoided us. They averted their eyes every time we glanced their way.
The doctor opened the door and led us to a round table at the corner of his office. Once we were seated, the conversation began, in English for Christian and Fiore’s sake. “I am in charge of this case. My name is Mateo,” the officer said with absolutely no Spanish accent. It wasn’t until that moment that I noticed he was blond with blue eyes, his skin as pale as mine. As I looked at him, something in him stirred a memory in the back of my mind, too far back to reach.
“How did this happen?” Aloysius asked interrupting my thought.
“It’s one of the nurse’s birthdays today. They checked on all the patients before moving to the conference room to sing to her and have some cake,” he paused, staring at me for a moment before continuing, obvious confusion on his face. “They left the nurses’ station unattended.”
Christian looked from my face to Mateo’s, making me aware that I was staring. I looked at the floor, trying to ignore the foggy memory that was trying to make its way to the front of my mind. “So in the time that they were singing and eating cake, someone came in, unhooked Jose Luis’s machines, took out his IV, and carried him out of the hospital with no one noticing?”
The doctor’s face suddenly flushed, the warmth of his blood obvious in his cheeks. Christian gasped and I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, sliding my chair closer to his. I’m ok…Christian thought. Mateo turned toward Christian as if he heard his thought.
“I am so sorry that this happened. I do not know how nobody saw them going out of the hospital. We were only gone for about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty,” the doctor explained.
“Are there cameras in the hallways?” Aloysius asked.
“Sorry but no. They are only at the exits and we already checked those. We found nothing. Whoever took him went out another way,” Mateo explained.
“Is there another way in and out of here?” I asked trying to focus on Jose Luis and not on the confusing signals I was getting from the officer.
“There are service entrances. They are used mostly for deliveries,” the doctor offered. “But no cameras there.”
“One moment, please. I’ll be right back.” Mateo left the room.
“What’s going on, Lily?” Christian whispered as soon as the door closed behind Mateo. The others were talking to the doctor and the other officer, paying no attention to us.
“I don’t know. I feel like something is off with that cop. I get the feeling I know him but don’t know how. It’s weird.”
“Hmm… And did you notice he looked r
ight at me when I sent you that thought?”
“Yeah, that’s another thing. Do you think he’s one of us?” I asked.
“I thought so for about a second, but then I heard his heart.” Before we could say more, Mateo entered the room.
“I sent the officers to the service doors. They will check that out and talk to anyone who was working at the time the boy was taken.” He still focused only on me while he explained. Annoyed that I still couldn’t place him, I turned to Aloysius.
“I need to go see his room.”
“Why?” the doctor asked. “We’ve already looked and there are no clues. The police also looked.”
“It doesn’t matter. I want to see for myself. And besides, I want to take his things home.” I explained.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Christian asked.
“Of course. We won’t be long,” I said to the others and left before they had a chance to protest. I was not exactly sure what I was trying to gain from examining his room but it was worth a shot.
“Why would he take his comic books?” I asked as I opened and closed his nightstand drawers.
“What? Are you sure about that?”
“They’re not here, or anywhere. Someone also took the time to put his sneakers on.”
“That seems more like he left on his own. Do you think he was really taken?”
“Unless that’s what somebody wants us to believe. I can’t think of a reason why he would leave on his own. Where would he even go? He wasn’t happy with Arturo and he has no family.” I sat on the edge of his bed and ran my hands through my hair, thinking.
“What is that?” Christian asked approaching the head of the bed. The corner of a piece of paper stuck out from beneath the white blanket.
“Open it,” I said when Christian pulled it out and I saw it was a folded piece of lined paper.
“It’s a note from him,” Christian sat on the chair next to the bed and started reading. “According to this, he left. He thought it was best that he die alone and not burden all of us. He apologizes and thanks us for everything we’ve done for him. He doesn’t want us to look for him.”
“That’s ridiculous! Why would he do such a thing?” I grabbed the paper from his hands and read it myself, as if the words would change in front of my eyes.
“Is that even his handwriting?” Christian asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s ever written anything that I’ve seen.” I turned the paper over and held it to my nose. I inhaled, hoping.
“Well?”
“Nothing, just him. He is the only one besides us who touched this paper.” As I realized what that meant, my stomach dropped. “He really did leave.”
“We need to take the letter to Mateo. They will want to examine it themselves I’m sure.” He stood and walked toward the door.
“You go ahead. I need another minute here, I want to gather the rest of his things,” I waved him away as I went to open the cabinet door. The only thing left in there was his windbreaker. That’s odd. Why would he leave in the middle of the night, when it’s coldest, without his jacket? Deciding that question could wait until later, I grabbed the bag and left the room.
Turning the corner in the hallway stopped me short as I slammed into someone’s hard chest. “Mateo, sorry I didn’t hear you.”
“That is the one thing I remember best about you, Lily. You were always so distracted.”
TEN
“What does that mean?” I stepped away from him and looked at his face. “How do you know me?” Did he live in my building in Washington? Was he in one of my many college classes?
Mateo smiled and took a deep breath. “I’ve known you since…”
“What is this all about?” Aloysius asked as he and Fiore hurried down the hall. He held the note in his hand.
Mateo smiled at me once more and turned toward the others. “May I please see that?”
Aloysius handed the folded paper to him and moved to stand by Fiore, wrapping an arm around her waist. They were definitely a couple.
“It says he left on his own but I’m not sure I believe it. It just doesn’t make sense,” I explained what Christian and I had discussed. “He really has no place to go, no family. Why would he want to die alone on the streets?” What I didn’t voice was why would he even be willing to give up? He was a fighter. None of it made sense.
“Do you have any other writing samples of his at home?” Mateo asked. “It would help if we could compare the handwriting.”
“I’m sorry but we don’t. He hasn’t been with us very long.” I regretted what I said as soon as the words left my mouth. How could we explain how we met him without revealing our identities and the chaos that brought us to Jose Luis?
Mateo looked from me to Christian and nodded, as if he already knew something we hadn’t said. “I’d like to take this to the station. I’m going to go find the other officers and head over there. We will be in touch as soon as we know something. In the meantime, stay close to the apartment and to a phone. If he really did leave on his own, he may have a change of heart and return. Here is my card.” He handed the card to me and as I took it from his fingers, I noticed his skin was the same temperature as mine. Christian was right though, his heart did beat.
“Thank you. If we think of anything new, we will be in touch,” Aloysius said as Mateo turned and started down the hall.
As the taxi headed toward the apartment building, our discussion remained on Mateo. “So, he looks like a vampire, he seems to know what we’re thinking, yet his heart beats. Isn’t that impossible?” I asked.
“Not necessarily,” Aloysius explained. “He may be what we call a half-breed.”
“But the term half-breed insinuates that he was born half vampire, half human. Vampires can’t be born, can they?” Christian asked.
“No, of course not. What he means is that he may be only part vampire, as in the process of his transformation was not completed,” Fiore answered, looking at Aloysius to confirm his suspicion.
“Is that even possible? And if so, why would anyone do that?” I asked.
“It is possible and it is usually done for selfish reasons,” Aloysius said. “It is possible that whoever is keeping him a half-breed is afraid that he will leave if he is turned completely. That may be the only way this vampire can keep him by his or her side, whatever the case may be.”
“Hmmm… It still makes no sense to me, but I know one thing for sure. Mateo is definitely not a Mateo. He’s more like a Matthew,” I added.
“Yes, I think you’re right there. He is definitely a native English speaker. Which leads to another question…What the hell is he doing in Peru?” Aloysius said as the car pulled up to the curb in front of the building.
By the time we entered the apartment, we had stopped worrying about Mateo. Finding Jose Luis was our first priority, regardless of whether or not he wanted to be found. I refused to believe he had walked out of that hospital on his own. Why would he want to die alone when he finally had what we thought he desired most: a family who loved him and cared for him?
“We will find him, Lily. I promise you that,” Aloysius said interrupting my quiet contemplation.
“I know, and I believe you. You have never broken a promise yet and I don’t think you are the type who would. I’m just worried about him being all alone, if he really is. What if it’s too late?” I imagined the worst.
“Don’t think like that. Keep all positive thoughts in your mind and the love you feel for him in your heart.” Aloysius stood and went to the cabinet in the corner of the living room. He opened the door and shuffled some things, finally pulling out what looked like a thin book.
“It’s time we search the mountain, house by house,” Fiore announced.
“I totally agree, but that will take a lot of time. And I have a feeling they are no longer there,” Christian said and motioned for me to sit next to him. I paced a few steps more and decided to join him.
“This is a
map of the mountain, or some of it, anyway,” Aloysius said as he held it up for us to see. It was open to a page somewhere in the middle. “Not everything up there will be on here. Most of the people who live up there are not even supposed to be there. The majority are squatters.”
“Squatters?” I held out my hand and he handed me the book.
“Squatters are what they call the people who make their homes anywhere they want. They either take an abandoned house and claim it as their own, or build their dwellings out of whatever they find to make a shelter on someone else’s property.”
“That’s sad,” Christian said as he looked at the map that lay open on my lap.
“I wonder… Do you think the police would be willing to search with us, since they’re already involved anyway?” I asked. More manpower would help us save time.
“That is a possibility but it would be difficult to hide what we are,” Aloysius explained. “I would not want to go up there unarmed.”
“You have a point there. So what do we do?” I passed the book to Fiore.
Aloysius ran his hand through his hair. “I say we wait for a call from Mateo and see what they find. If they find nothing, then we go to the mountain on our own. All the bodyguards can go with us and help out. We start at the bottom and work our way up, that way no one can get past us if they are warned of our presence.”
“How long do we wait? We don’t know for sure how long Jose Luis has, and how much worse he feels since he’s not on the pain meds,” I said.
“If he had such a short time to live, the doctor would have told us that. He was kept in the hospital for his comfort. Dr. Vega was waiting for our decision on the surgery,” Aloysius said as he took the map from Fiore. “Maybe we should give it a couple of days.”
***
The next morning, while we sat discussing how the search of the mountain would proceed, a knock on the door interrupted us. Aloysius opened the door and Margarita entered, a couple boxes stacked in her arms.