Page 25 of How to Stake a Vampire
My stomach sank.
“They were barely alive when they were found,” Constantia added in a small voice.
“What does that have to do with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?” Didi asked, confused.
A sudden intuition blasted through me.
Gregory confirmed my hunch with his next words. “The victims all reported hearing classical music before the attack. It was Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.”
A muscle twitched in Barney’s jawline. The tension radiating off the Head of Finance and Investments was almost palpable. Somehow, I had a sneaky suspicion he knew more about this case than he was letting on.
Samuel steepled his hands under his chin and watched Gregory and Constantia closely.
“We need to interview the victims.”
“Of course,” Gregory said with a stiff nod. “I’ll arrange it for tomorrow morning.” He looked at his wife. “You might as well show it to them, dear.”
“Show us what?” I asked warily.
Constantia opened her purse, withdrew a folded piece of paper, and passed it to Samuel, her knuckles white.
“We received this yesterday.”
Samuel took the paper and unfolded it. His expression darkened.
“What is it?” I asked unenthusiastically.
“It’s a blood purity manifesto.”
Somehow, that didn’t sound like a cocktail recipe.
Samuel handed me the paper stiffly. The others gathered around me.
Didi’s eyes shrank to slits as she perused the letter. “Someone wants to cleanse the vampire community of inferior bloodlines?”
I studied the handwriting scrawled across the paper. It was elegant, old-fashioned, and completely unhinged.
“‘The vampire race has been corrupted by centuries of mingling with lesser bloodlines,’” I read out loud. “‘Only through purification can we return to our former glory. The weak must be culled so the strong may flourish. Look forward to a revival, my brethren!’”
It went on like this for three more paragraphs.
Bo emerged from under my chair, ears perking up and expression bright. “So I was right?!”
I grimaced at Gregory and Constantia’s puzzled looks. “We were playing twenty guesses as to the culprit’s motives. Bo came up with the ‘wiping out inferior bloodlines’ theory.”
Gregory studied my dog with an inscrutable expression. I had the distinct feeling the Husky was either being measured for a coffin or a pedestal.
Bo withdrew quietly under my chair.
“I should warn you,” Gregory said. “The vampires who were attacked are not quite themselves at the moment. They may not be very cooperative.”
Uncooperative vampires was right up there on the list of things I didn’t want to have to deal with.
“What do you mean, exactly?” I asked carefully.
“Blood loss affects vampires differently than humans,” Constantia explained. “They can become somewhat—theatrical. Sometimes, they even fall back on poetry and foreign languages.”
Barney groaned. Gavin’s nostrils issued a smoking signal of distress. Didi made a face.
