469 what's with all these questions?
He had picked up the sheet of photographs and was studying it again when the woman came out of the café carrying drinks to go. She asked,
“Any luck?” as she put the bright cups on the table and leaned to look at the pictures. Doyle tilted the sheet toward her.
“Yes, look. I’ve ticked the girls from the visions, but a couple of them aren’t here … and I never saw some of these other kids before. Where did you get the pictures?”
“I told you, LAPD got them from the families. Kate gave me copies. Some of the ones you don’t recognize … could that be because the photos are old?”
“I didn’t mean that. Are these photos of every missing girl in LA?”
She picked up her cup and jabbed in a straw with unnecessary force as she told him,
“Oh no, those are just the mystery deaths.” She pointed at pictures, “This one walked to school in a thunderstorm and then spontaneously combusted when she tried to walk home after it cleared. There were two more like that, so we added her;” she indicated a blonde;
“That one walked into a tanning lounge and vanished. The one next to her caused a 4 car pile-up. Strolled into traffic and didn’t try to get clear until a bumper was almost touching her.”
Doyle was starting to see a pattern,
“Newly turned vampires that don’t know the dangers? But anyone who’d ever seen Dracula would know. I always thought … I never thought about it.”
“Would these kids know, though? So far we haven’t found one over 16 - but those are the pictures Kate gave me. This one’s mine.”
The Goth put down a further picture, a framed gloss photograph showing a plain, freckled girl with a dark haired woman and a man in uniform.
“Yes,” Doyle said, instantly. “I saw her. She was reading a book while he fed from her arm. Her expression was … I don’t know how to describe it. What happened to her?”
“She was missing. Her father reported it and gave us the picture. That officer tried out for an Olympic place and just missed seeing London. He was fit even for a Marine, so when he was found dead in his kitchen with some very strange wounds they brought him in to NCIS for autopsy.” Sudden tears glimmered in the woman’s eyes as she added,
“That’s how it happened. Dr Mallard was working late, something to do with his mother. His pen ran out and he was taking notes with a pencil when the cadaver - got up and came at him, so he said. He tried to punch it away from him and it … turned into dust…!”
“He yelled, some of the others came running and, and, Ducky was almost incoherent and he told them! He told them! You were drunk when you answered the phone, weren’t you, Doyle? When I asked you about vampires you said you didn’t want to get the crazy-hunters on you. What do you think they’ll do about Ducky? He told them he’d killed a vampire!”
“But then … look, surely there’s no way I can help with this, is there? What can I do?” When she looked at him her eyes were glimmering with tears and rage, but she spoke very slowly and clearly.
“Kate and I think we know how the vampires got at them. We checked. All but one of those girls was in the Twilight fandom, but when we checked their on-line contacts there’s about 50 varients on “Edward_Cullen”. You and your visions may be the only way to identify the one who did it!”
Muse, Doyle
Fandom, Angel, the series
Words, 614
To be contued/concluded
“Any luck?” as she put the bright cups on the table and leaned to look at the pictures. Doyle tilted the sheet toward her.
“Yes, look. I’ve ticked the girls from the visions, but a couple of them aren’t here … and I never saw some of these other kids before. Where did you get the pictures?”
“I told you, LAPD got them from the families. Kate gave me copies. Some of the ones you don’t recognize … could that be because the photos are old?”
“I didn’t mean that. Are these photos of every missing girl in LA?”
She picked up her cup and jabbed in a straw with unnecessary force as she told him,
“Oh no, those are just the mystery deaths.” She pointed at pictures, “This one walked to school in a thunderstorm and then spontaneously combusted when she tried to walk home after it cleared. There were two more like that, so we added her;” she indicated a blonde;
“That one walked into a tanning lounge and vanished. The one next to her caused a 4 car pile-up. Strolled into traffic and didn’t try to get clear until a bumper was almost touching her.”
Doyle was starting to see a pattern,
“Newly turned vampires that don’t know the dangers? But anyone who’d ever seen Dracula would know. I always thought … I never thought about it.”
“Would these kids know, though? So far we haven’t found one over 16 - but those are the pictures Kate gave me. This one’s mine.”
The Goth put down a further picture, a framed gloss photograph showing a plain, freckled girl with a dark haired woman and a man in uniform.
“Yes,” Doyle said, instantly. “I saw her. She was reading a book while he fed from her arm. Her expression was … I don’t know how to describe it. What happened to her?”
“She was missing. Her father reported it and gave us the picture. That officer tried out for an Olympic place and just missed seeing London. He was fit even for a Marine, so when he was found dead in his kitchen with some very strange wounds they brought him in to NCIS for autopsy.” Sudden tears glimmered in the woman’s eyes as she added,
“That’s how it happened. Dr Mallard was working late, something to do with his mother. His pen ran out and he was taking notes with a pencil when the cadaver - got up and came at him, so he said. He tried to punch it away from him and it … turned into dust…!”
“He yelled, some of the others came running and, and, Ducky was almost incoherent and he told them! He told them! You were drunk when you answered the phone, weren’t you, Doyle? When I asked you about vampires you said you didn’t want to get the crazy-hunters on you. What do you think they’ll do about Ducky? He told them he’d killed a vampire!”
“But then … look, surely there’s no way I can help with this, is there? What can I do?” When she looked at him her eyes were glimmering with tears and rage, but she spoke very slowly and clearly.
“Kate and I think we know how the vampires got at them. We checked. All but one of those girls was in the Twilight fandom, but when we checked their on-line contacts there’s about 50 varients on “Edward_Cullen”. You and your visions may be the only way to identify the one who did it!”
Muse, Doyle
Fandom, Angel, the series
Words, 614
To be contued/concluded