Emily shut her eyes, and felt all the emotion drain from her. She crossed back to the sofa and listened.
‘So, the HeadHunter killed this woman two nights ago. No real reason for anyone to think anything unusual. Admittedly, all his victims have been male so far, but I think this was a deliberate choice. There’s been nothing to connect his victims so far, other than that they’re all human. Anyway, because it’s a woman, the Security Forces swept her body, and the area where she was found with a special scanner.’
‘Why ‘because she was a woman’?’
Simon paused.
‘They were checking to see if she’d been raped.’
Emily swallowed, ‘And had she?’
‘No. But what they did find was a series of numbers. Written on the ground next to the victim. They showed up under the light the Security Forces used. That’s the clue I’m talking about. That’s why a woman. A deliberate choice. He used her.’
‘What, you mean as well as killing her?’
‘Yes, of course yes.’ Simon took a mouthful of wine. Emily’s still stood untouched. ‘Anyway, they decided to check around the areas where the HeadHunter’s other victims have been found, and …’
‘And they found the same numbers,’ Emily said, her curiosity beginning to catch despite herself, despite the situation.
‘Not quite. They found numbers. A sequence of four sets of numbers again, some double digits, some single, but different numbers at most of the sites.’
‘How did you find all this out?’ Emily asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
‘Contacts in the Security Forces.’ Simon shrugged. ‘Finding those numbers was enough for them, but I decided to go and check it out myself, as soon as it got dark enough.’
‘So, you thought you were going to find something that they missed? Surely all the murder scenes are protected?’
‘But I did find something. Because I went looking for it in much wider areas of the Entertainment District than they did. And yes, the sites are being protected, but, like I said, I’ve got contacts.’
Simon stood and retrieved his phone from his coat pocket.
‘And the Security Forces let you? A total press blackout, and they just let you onto a crime scene?’
‘Yes.’ Emily could hear the exasperation in his voice. ‘My contacts are pretty high up. And I can’t publish anything. Not yet. Not until the Security Forces give their permission, but that’s all irrelevant anyway.’ He drank more wine, went to Emily’s computer and drew a data cable from his pocket, which he connected to his phone.
‘May I?’
Emily nodded her consent and went to join him.
‘You’re claiming then, to have found something that the Security Forces missed, with all their officers and equipment?’
‘You’re missing the point, Emily. I’m not just claiming it. Look.’
He indicated the screen and she saw lots of rows of sets of four numbers. Simon had tabulated them.
‘What are they?’ Emily asked, ‘ID numbers?’
‘That’s what the Security Forces think they are – that or dates. They know they’re not the dates of the murders, but they think they might be significant dates for the HeadHunter. Maybe when things happened to him. But, look.’
He clicked at the top of the first column to order by those digits.
‘Oh, they’re sequential – those first digits. Some are the same, but they all follow on.’ Emily realised.
‘That’s what I noticed too, so they can’t be ID numbers – they’re all randomly generated.’
‘They could still be dates,’ Emily stared at them, her brain fighting to cling to this problem as something new to think about, to distract it and consume it.
‘Sets of four digits?’ Simon objected.
‘Could be year, month, day and time.’
‘No. I don’t think so – time would need another two digits.’
‘Could just be the hour.’
‘No. I think it’s RAGE references.’
‘What? How did you get to that?’
‘Because the HeadHunter is a vampire. These killings are revenge for RAGE.’
‘What?’
‘Volume number, issue number, page, paragraph. It fits.’
‘In your deluded world maybe.’ Emily returned to the sofa.
‘It’s obvious,’ Simon persisted. ‘There’s no blood. Who wants blood? Vampires. Just because they’ve had the fang file to get rid of those pointy canines, doesn’t mean they couldn’t use a weapon, a knife, or whatever to get at the red stuff.’
‘If this is all your sick attempt to make a point, then I’m not appreciating it very much.’
‘Emily. Get over it.’ The harshness of his tone struck her. ‘This is real. These people are dead. Killed in a horrific way. Decapitated. Their blood drained.’
Emily took a mouthful of wine. Neither of them spoke. Simon stood, hunched at the computer. Eventually he went to her and knelt at her feet.
‘Will you help me? I know you don’t believe me, and I know you won’t enjoy it, but I need you, Emily. I can’t do this on my own. I don’t want to. Please.’
Could she? She searched his eyes. He was sincere. Could he have found what the Security Forces had missed? Doubtful, but, if he had… She nodded.
Emily allowed only the lightest touch onto each magazine. Made sure she simply looked for the references. Didn’t read anything. They marked each one and laid them open.
‘So, whoever wrote all these, that’s who you think the HeadHunter is?’ Emily said. There were more than twenty magazines spread around them.
‘Not as simple as that. They’re from three or four different contributors – that’s what I was checking on the computer just now.’
‘How do you know that? RAGE records aren’t in the public domain are they? Be good if they were, then the Security Forces could shut it down forever.’ Emily made no effort to keep the frost of contempt from her voice. Touching all this – she looked around her – made her feel tainted. She wanted to wash her hands.
‘It’s all underground, you know that. It’s still about freedom of speech though.’
‘But why would a vampire write in RAGE? Why would they even read it?’ Emily protested.
‘What better disguise could he have? What better way to think it was a human?’
‘Perhaps that just means it is a human? Anyway, how do you know who all the writers are?’ She eyed him. All these magazines, how had Simon found them all?
‘Emily, please don’t ask; you won’t like the answer.’
She removed herself to the sofa, drew her legs up under her. Agreeing to do this had been a mistake
‘What do we know?’ Simon began, almost hesitantly. ‘What does all this tell us?’
Emily still did not speak. Simon paced backwards and forwards in front of the mosaic of magazines and continued,
‘We know they all come from different people, so it could be anyone of them. Or all of them. The Security Forces suspect more than one person – to help transport the bodies from where they are killed to the dumping locations. Or it could be none of them and be someone who just reads their articles.’
‘Or,’ Emily found herself unwillingly drawn in once more; this killer needed catching. ‘It could all be from one person, just pretending to be different people.’
‘No, it’s not just one person. They all come from separate email accounts.’
‘That’s not hard to set up though is it?’ Emily objected.
‘Possibly not. I’ve just got this feeling.’
Emily shut up. Simon paced more.
Then, a frown claimed Emily’s brain. Something wasn’t right here – beyond the obvious taking of lives. She surveyed the magazines once more. There were so many of them. So many…
‘Hang on. The HeadHunter has only killed a few times. Where did all the other references come from?’
Simon was silent a moment too long. She was suddenly cold and w
rapped her arms around herself.
‘They’re from the other killings.’
‘What other killings?’
‘The missing vampires. That’s my theory at least.’ His voice was flat.
‘What makes you think that?’
‘There were marks, more weathered ones, near to where each of the HeadHunter’s victims was found. Where each part was found. I think, maybe, that he, they, are using human victims to point out where the suckers were got. The same person or people are responsible for all the deaths.’
‘That totally puts paid to your vampire murderer theory then,’ Emily said. Why did she feel a note of triumph at that?
‘Not necessarily. Humans kill humans. Vampires kill vampires. It follows. And there’s other reasons. Why such violence? It’s too much… effort for it to be a human. Too much time, too much risk. Get the victim, take them to wherever, kill them, take them back to the Entertainment District.’
‘Let’s not forget we aren’t talking about a normal person here. We’re discussing a deranged murderer. Perhaps that’s all part of the game.’
Another thought needled at Emily, another thought she didn’t want to give voice to. She began slowly as if testing out the sound of the words.
‘Maybe… maybe… it is some sort of game. Maybe it began with Rachel, she could have been his trial run.’ Emily swallowed hard, clenched her hands together to stop them shaking. ‘Perhaps she refused to leave the club with him, he got angry and killed her there and then.’
Simon crossed the room to her and took her hand. Emily recognised it as an attempt to be gentle with her and took her hand away.
‘Emily, Rachel’s death, it was …’ He hesitated. She eyed him expectantly. ‘It was different. Just as awful, but not connected to this. This isn’t the same.’
‘You’ve got your theory. Rachel is part of mine. The HeadHunter took her as his first victim, made it look like a vampire to put the blame on their kind and then carried on taking vampire lives if you must have it that they’ve all been killed by the same person.’
‘They are. And just to remind you, vampires don’t have lives to take. Already dead.’
Simon stood up. Emily continued as he bent to begin collecting the magazines.
‘That’s another point we’ll have to disagree on then.’
‘Emily, this killer is a vampire. I’m certain. It’s revenge for RAGE. It’s a blood sucker for sure.’
‘But there’s no reason to make such an assumption. No reason for vampires to kill their own because of RAGE. It could be a human. A human who didn’t like …’ She slammed the brake onto those words.
Because she knew someone who didn’t like the vampire kind. Someone who appeared to have an intimate knowledge of RAGE too. She looked across at Simon, engrossed in ordering the copies to match what he’d rather conveniently found. But it couldn’t be him. It couldn’t. He cared for her. Said he trusted her. It just wasn’t possible. Was it?
Emily hugged herself and shrank back into the sofa. It could have been anyone, anyone in that club he’d taken her to, anyone that wrote for RAGE, anyone that read it. It didn’t have to be him.
‘I’m going back out there. I want to check out a few more locations. I know you won’t come with me.’ He paused and looked at her. She dared no word, not a movement; it might betray her thoughts. ‘But, for what it’s worth, thanks for your help. I’ll see myself out.’
Emily didn’t reply, but watched his departure. Once he was through the door, she swiftly crossed the room, pressed her full weight against it and locked it. No one was coming back in tonight.
Forty Nine
So, did you get it? My kill? The woman? The HeadHunter’s latest victim. Same woman. Same killer.
Are you surprised? Do you give a little chuckle or a horrified grasp? Did you dream, suspect or even perhaps hope, that we were one and the same? I must apologise to you for any deception caused by my earlier words. It was purely intentional. I wanted to keep you guessing, give you the sense that you’re here with me.
They think that the numbers I have left will lead them to me, but in that they are wrong. And no doubt too, that when I reveal my next secret, the authorities, the people who think they are in the know, who assume they are, will claim that my next move is a mistake as well.
But you will surely know that is not true. You will know that my plan has always been the slow reveal, the long game. There’s nothing mistaken about my next move; my hand could never be forced. Everything has always been plotted far in advance.
Oh yes, they’ll call it a mistake. They’ll claim it a victory for justice, that it’ll lead to my capture. But they’ll be wrong. So very wrong.
Don’t fret. You will see how clever I truly am. For you will be with me for my next kill. You’re part of my plan. As always. And, of course, you’ll want the answer to the obvious question:
What am I? Human or vampire?
You’ll see.
Fifty
Monday evening’s handover to Amanda complete, Emily was just buttoning her coat when Simon veered past and in a low voice insisted that he needed to speak with her. Now. Emily turned to gauge Amanda’s reaction, but saw she was already on the phone and appeared to have missed Simon’s demand.
What could he want? He’d called on Sunday night, wanting her to know he’d found more numbers. By then, she’d been so fed up with the whole world due to Lucas’s continued silence that she’d cut Simon’s excitement short and said she needed an early night. Her feeling that he was perhaps responsible for the murders had diminished with the daylight. He’d hardly be likely to share all that he had with her if he was guilty.
Simon was now standing by the office door. Not quite blocking it, but obvious enough for her to see he was serious. She buttoned her coat, grabbed her bag and tried to resist the urge to check her phone. There was plenty of floor between her and Simon. Plenty of time to see if Lucas had returned any of her messages. Nothing. Whatever it was, Simon had better be quick; she wasn’t sure she was in the mood for him right now.
He was waiting for her in the coffee lounge. It was empty as it usually was at hand over time. Simon shut the door. Emily forced herself to refocus. If she could get this over and done with as quickly as possible, then she could go home and try Lucas again.
‘He’s a vampire.’
‘What? Who?’ Emily shook her head.
‘The man you’ve been with.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You were seen.’
‘What are you talking about, Simon?’
‘On Friday night.’
Clarity. Of a sort.
‘You were seen. By a colleague of mine. I ran into him by chance this morning. You were with a real, blood sucking vampire. I suppose it was only a matter of time. I just wish you’d told me, that’s all.’
What was Simon talking about? She had been with Lucas on Friday night.
‘Your silence says it all. You didn’t know, did you?’ Simon’s laugh was
low.
‘You’re wrong.’ But the crack in her voice betrayed the seed of doubt inside her.
‘Oh Emily, how could he not have told you? How come you didn’t work it out? You’re so pro-vamp, I assumed you’d gone for one on purpose – that was why you seemed to think it was okay to betray me. Clearly, you didn’t see us as very important.’
Emily didn’t answer.
‘I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.’ Simon shook his head. ‘That’s no real basis for a relationship is it? At least I’ve always been honest with you. I can’t believe you went behind my back. And with a vamp.’ Simon was silent a second. Emily’s head spun. She raised a hand, kneaded her forehead.
‘I don’t believe you. You’re making it up. He would have told me.’
‘I can’t believe he didn’t,’ Simon said.
‘You’re lying. You’re just angry cos I was seeing him and not you.’ Her confusion gave her words heat.
&nb
sp; ‘Which was a pretty low thing to do, Emily. I thought you were better than that. Obviously, I was wrong. You can think what you like, but, call him. Lucas isn’t it? Architect. Vampire architect. What time is it?’ Simon glanced at the clock. ‘He’ll be at work about now. Here you can use my phone if you like.’ He held it out.
‘No thanks.’ Her voice was shrunk by doubt. Lucas had said he was working for a vampire client. Was that the only reason why he was at work in the evenings? He would have told her. He would.
‘Has he ever stayed over?’ Simon asked.
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘Only pointing out that that’s a bit hard for vamps. The whole sunlight the next day thing. What about a meal? Has he ever taken you out? Like …’ Simon hesitated, ‘Like I do?’
No. And she’d never seen him eat anything for that matter. Could Simon be right? Was that why he’d had to leave on Friday? Had he needed to feed?
Emily pulled her phone out of her bag, turned her back on Simon and dialled Lucas’s work number. She wasn’t even sure why, or what she was going to say. Maybe she would have to leave a message. What would she do then? But no, Lucas picked up the phone.
‘Is it true?’
‘Emily?’ Lucas answered.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Silence. He knew what she was talking about. Her heart froze.
‘Tell you that I’m a vampire?’
‘Yes.’ A whisper was all her heart would allow her.
‘Emily, I… How did you find out?’
‘Doesn’t matter. You lied to me.’
‘No, I …’ Lucas began.
‘You didn’t tell me. You didn’t trust me with that. I don’t even care what you are, but how could this, us, possibly go anywhere, be anything, if you don’t trust me.’
‘Emily, I do trust you, it’s just that …’
‘No.’ She cut him off. ‘You didn’t tell me. I’ve been such a fool. Everything you’ve said, done – it was all a lie. And I was starting to think that I …’
No. She wasn’t going to say that. She hung up. Angry tears stung her eyes. Simon was right. She was the one that was wrong.
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