Vicki said, "We need to address this. We may think it's silly, or at least some of us do, but people are taking it seriously."
Ray nodded. "I agree. We should listen to what people are really saying, not just dismiss it."
"You, too?" said Doc.
He shook his head. "No, my point is that we need to find out what they're really saying. We need specifics, not just the label 'vampire.' For example, do I believe that corpses rise as the living dead, roaming abroad by night, subsisting on the blood of the living, able to become bats or wolves or mist, vulnerable to daylight, and the stake, and the cross, and holy water, and garlic, sleeping in coffins during the day? No, I do not.
"I understand Jan's point, but I think it would not be possible for vampires, as they are generally described, to exist in the modern world for any length of time and for that fact to remain secret. After all, we've only started to see any evidence, and the populace and the press are already all agitated about it.
"So, I don't believe in vampires as supernatural creatures. However, do I believe that someone could be out there, attacking people at night and feasting on their blood? Sure, that's human evil and insanity, and I do believe in that." He smiled as he stubbed out his cigarette butt in one of Jan's many ashtrays. "It wouldn't be the first time a natural situation was ascribed to supernatural causes out of ignorance."
"Now, here's something else," Jan said. "I don't want to issue a statement about vampires, but I'm perfectly willing to issue a statement along the lines of 'Jan Sleet is investigating this mystery, and she's solved every case she's undertaken since her arrival here in U-town.'" She smiled. "I would be very comfortable with a statement like that."
Doc nodded. "I agree. Maybe we should call a meeting for tonight, too, to find out exactly what people have seen, and what they think. Have the runners spread the word."
Jan shook her head. "Make it for tomorrow night. Announce it now, but make it tomorrow."
previous || about || home || next
