‘Oh my God!’ gasped Wee Renee. ‘Poor wee fella. If only we had checked.’ The group looked at her in shock, their eyes going to the bag.
‘What is in there?’ Terry asked.
‘You don't want to know. Only that it is a dead giveaway. I have seen bags like this in Friarmere. Let’s just say, I’m glad Sue wasn’t here. Pat and Terry chose to go and look. Terry closed his eyes as he saw what was inside.
‘Nasty little rat,’ Pat said and Terry nodded.
‘Come on, let's go.’ He said.
‘I’m taking this poor wee soul out of here. This is one they won’t eat!’ Wee Renee said.
‘You take your shopping, Rene. I’ll take this little lad with me. Let them try and take him now. Barbarians!’ Pat said, picking up the bag containing the dead tabby cat. They filed out and Terry locked the doors behind them.
‘Now run around like mad.’ Terry said. Whilst they did this, running around the street making higgledy-piggledy footprints in the snow, he walked to the next house. He took out a separate set of keys. Once the door was open he shouted, ‘Right! In! ‘ One by one they stopped running about and entered the dentist. Terry locked the door. They breathed a huge group sigh of relief. It was now fully dark. They would be here soon.
19 – Dentist
Terry got into the dentist and locked the door behind them. Immediately they were in complete darkness.
‘Wait,’ whispered Terry and he walked a couple of steps. They could hear his arm dragging on the wall. Suddenly about ten feet ahead of them it became slightly illuminated. Terry was framed in dim lights in front of them. He had switched on some fan shaped wall lights that had very low wattage bulbs. ‘Follow me,’ he said quietly. They walked behind him into the dentist waiting room, at the end of the corridor.
This room was furnished with quite a few soft chairs and sofas. It had the smell of clean antiseptic about it. The walls looked a mocha colour, the carpet chocolate. There was a large fish tank on one wall, which was lit by a bright aquarium light.
It illuminated the glittering fish, the water reflecting all over the walls in relaxing patterns. There were several pictures on the walls. These were of lovely serene landscapes, pools of water, forests and snowy mountains.
‘This is nicer than our dentist, Rene,’ Pat whispered.
‘Yes, by a long shot,’ Wee Renee replied.
Terry walked behind the reception desk and opened a cupboard. He fiddled under there for a few seconds and turned on the switches. Terry also got a bottle out of the bottom of the cupboard and placed it on the counter.
‘Right shouldn't be too long now and we will be a bit warmer. I have put the heating on, but I’d wait a bit until you take your coats off. I am just going to splash this disinfectant across the entrance, so that they can't smell us. I don’t know if that is what they can do, but better be safe than sorry.’
‘Good idea Dad,’ Kathy said.
‘I am also thinking, we need to splash it over ourselves, just in case they can smell us through the door,’ he said.
‘Aye, good idea Terry. I think we need it on our shoes. I’ll do them all. Lets leave them on though, shall we Pat,’ Wee Renee said as Pat began to pull off her boots.
Terry walked out of the waiting room and Kathy went with him. The entrance hall had several doors leading to rooms for different purposes. One said Hygienist and two of them said Dentist. The one they were in said Reception. There was also a door opposite the reception that said Toilet.
Terry went to the front door, Kathy opened it quickly and he tipped the bottle of disinfectant upside down whilst wiggling it. Several loud glugs of liquid splashed across the steps. She shut the door quickly, as soon as he had finished. When he came back, he was just about to enter the waiting room, when he suddenly cocked his head towards the door. He said he could hear something outside that sounded like a motorbike. Which was unusual in the snow.
Wee Renee quickly went to his side.
‘I will look take a look. I’m good at beaking.’ She said winking at him. Walking past him, she opened the door that said Hygienist, which would have a view of the front of the property.
‘Don't put the light on!’ Terry said, just as her hand was reaching for the switch.
‘Oh yes, silly me.’ Wee Renee giggled. She struggled through the room, and round the dentist chair and all the paraphernalia, to get to the window. In the half-light, which was weakly coming through the blinds, she just managed to navigate her way around without knocking anything over. It was slightly brighter outside than inside, due to the streetlights. She positioned herself to one side of the window, looking through the gap between the blinds and the window frame. She observed what was going on for a long time. The other’s watched her from the door of the hygienist, trying to be as quiet as they could. She stood and blinked and watched. They could see her eyes moving from left to right, recording every detail. The rest of the group desperately wanted to ask what was going on but they did not dare. They could hear small noised outside too, muted by the snow. One of them stepped forward as the tension was unbearable. Wee Renee heard the floorboards creak and put up her palm to stop them in their tracks. She put her finger to her lips before carrying on. They saw her swallow and then they heard more noise and voices.
Wee Renee continued her surveillance for another five minutes, mentally making notes. Then she backed away from the window looking behind her, so that she did not bump into anything and make a noise. By rolling the balls of her feet on the floor, she managed to walk really quietly to the door.
She pulled the door shut, but not fully closed, behind her. Poking her finger towards the waiting room, they all quietly walked back in and sat down. She shut the door behind them, so slowly that no one heard it click, to try and block out their voices. In a loud whisper, she began to tell them what she had seen.
‘I have just seen the vampire, Keith who used to be in our band. He is a policeman!’ She advised the others who did not know. ‘And a plump woman who lives near The Grange where Norman lives, that is also a vampire named Christine. She was sitting behind Keith, on a kind of snow bike, with wee runners instead of wheels.’
‘Do you mean a snowmobile?’ Terry asked, raising his eyebrows.
‘Yes, I think that's perhaps what they are. Keith and Christine came and waited, sitting on their snowmobile. They seemed excited, but seemed to be waiting outside the bandroom for something. There were a couple of wolves running behind them, who also stopped. Then they started roaming around the area, sniffing. They seemed confused with the scents from the bandroom. Maybe as there are a few of us and by running around we jumbled up the smells. Finally they came here and sniffed right up at the door, but I think your disinfectant made their noses tingle because they sniffed, squinted and buggered off. They didn’t like it at all.’
‘Are we talking about real wolves or Anne’s gang?’ Pat asked.
‘Real. Keith and Christine sat there and waited but did not speak. She was wearing an evening dress. An evening dress! A strappy one in this weather. With no coat! Her hair is looking very dry as well, more like a blonde fright wig.’
‘That’ll be going on a bike. That’s happened to me.’ Pat sniffed.
‘So another man turned up finally, I don’t know who he was, and Malcolm. He held out his key and all four went in. The wolves stayed outside, to keep watch, it looked like.’
‘So he did tell them where we were,’ said Pat, ‘that's it for him. And to think I liked him. I feel like a right old fool. I’ll teach him.’ And she drew her finger across her throat.
‘I’ll help you,’ Laura muttered, ‘dirty cat murderer!’
‘Well, it looks like we are here for the night then.’ Terry said resignedly.
‘They will just find that we aren’t there and then go, won't they?’ Sally asked.
‘This is how I see it,’ said Terry, ‘tell me if I am wrong. To get home we would have to walk through the streets knowing they are trying to find us. T
hey were already out patrolling, trying to find Laura’s group, before this.’
Laura nodded and Terry continued.
‘If two vampires are here from Friarmere the others might be here too. The whole bloomin’ gang, as far as we know. Plus we haven't seen Anne and her group. They’ll be somewhere terrorizing some poor beast, no doubt. Then there are the wolves, sniffing round trying to catch our scent to follow. Don’t forget too, there could be those kind of traitors, like the man you told me about, that stood in the centre of Friarmere on the last day. Still human, and more than happy to tell Anne and Norman about us, or to pick us off themselves. Apart from that, even if they aren’t looking for us, they are after fresh victims every night. More and more people are becoming like them. Maybe watching, spying from their windows. No. It will not be safe until morning, so let's think of the best way we can settle in here. As soon as it is fully dark, any light that is in this dentist will shine out. I know that, as I have driven past at night and realised that a light has been left on. The only thing I can think is that we stay in here, as this room has no windows but we have the light of the Fish Tank. I think is it dull enough for them not to see, but bright enough for all us to see our way around. Let one of us look and see that they have gone, and then maybe we could have a drink. There is a fridge in the back, it will have milk in it, so that we can have a tea or coffee. There might be some food in there too, that someone has left. We have the toilets down here too but I suggest unfortunately that we flush it sparingly, because of the noise.’
‘So it might mean if it's yellow, let it mellow,’ said Pat and laughed, ‘thank heaven’s Tony isn’t with us.’
‘Oh, it doesn’t bear thinking about does it,’ Wee Renee said. Laura laughed.
‘What do you all think? Do you think that is a good plan?’ Terry asked.
‘Yes, but all the others will be worried back at the house.’ Laura said concerned. Wee Renee put her hand on Laura’s arm and spoke to her frankly.
‘Yes, they will. But what can we do about it? It is better that they have some worry tonight and we get back safe tomorrow than taking the chance of never getting back to them at all. I will have that bag from you, Pat if you like. I have a facility that I could use to sort out the dead fellow.’ Pat passed over the bag.
‘Thank you, Terry, I was wondering what to do with him. Eee, I hope the other lot aren’t too worried about us. The silly buggers might put themselves in danger to find us!’
The others where in fact worried about Wee Renee, Pat and Laura. They knew that once it started to go dark, this probably meant they would not see their friends tonight.
‘I hope that they had found somewhere to safe to hole up in overnight.’ Our Doris said anxiously. Brenda, Our Doris and the rest of Friarmere Band, were really worried. They kept talking about it, going over various awful scenario’s and generally were making each other feel a lot worse. Gary, of course, felt extremely guilty as all along he thought he should have gone with the three ladies. Once they weren’t back by dark, he promised himself that he would listen to his instincts next time. If they had been killed, he would never forgive himself. He paced up and down Our Doris’s living room, looking through the window each time he passed it. Gary was anxious and to add to it, he had started to get a headache. They were only supposed to be helping a few villagers with identifications. Maybe something had happened and they were still there. Perhaps for some reason, they had to take Carl back to Beverly’s and thought they would err on the side of caution. Our Doris thought that they had gone into Terry’s Dentist’s Surgery, as it was very comfortable. Gary didn’t see why they would be, but he supposed it was possible. That was a least three possibilities. He realised how much they all depended on mobile phones. How he would have loved to use one now.
‘What are we going to do? Should we try and send out a search party?’ He said.
‘No! You’re not thinking straight, Gary,’ said Freddie. ‘They will be safe, I know it. They have Pat and Wee Renee with them. I would pity the vampires or wolves that tried to attack them. All three of the girls have weapon’s, I checked. They will be absolutely fine and I am sure we will see them tomorrow. It's just going to be a bit of a long night. I am hoping that they found somewhere to stay too. Obviously, something has happened so that they could not get back here before dark. But they are sensible and experienced. Those three know what they are playing at. They are big tough girls and clever ones at that.’
Wee Renee decided that she would like to go and watch the street again from the blinds, in the Hygienists room. She said she had seen exactly who had come in, and she would know who had or hadn’t gone out. If they had left someone in the bandroom, she would know. She felt, as she had not been observed before, that she obviously had found the ideal place to watch. She positioned herself again and Pat stood by the door, just in case she had to very quickly indicate to them that they were coming this way, or for another emergency matter.
In the waiting room, Terry quietly walked around, having a look in the fridge and strangely, the filing cabinets. Trying to find out what sustenance they had to last them overnight. Kathy and Sally had known their father far too long to know that he would not be finding any biscuits or chocolates in this dentist. He was very strict about those kind of foodstuffs and it did not set a good example for his receptionist to be eating them, when he was telling patients not to eat them at all. Sally had the idea that they might have to live on toothpaste samples at this rate, but at least she wouldn’t be worried about getting on the scales at slimming club next week.
Laura, Carl, Sally and Kathy sat on the sofas. Laura looked at the fish tank. It certainly was relaxing. She watched one fat black fish go to the bottom, pick up some gravel, swim to the top and spit out he gravel. It cascaded down and he happily wiggled his tail. Then he dived down again. She wished life was as simple for them. Just happy with a bit of flake food and throwing gravel up and down. There was something to be said for the life of a mere fish as opposed to a human. This life was now harsh and dangerous and sharp. Carl was facing the fish tank too, but not really watching the big black fish. He was still every so often releasing a tear down his face, which he wiped on the sleeve of his coat. Carl was not thinking about anything only Kate. Laura got up from the sofa and took a big box of tissues off the reception desk. Wordlessly, she placed them on the arm of the sofa next to Carl.
Sally and Kathy were watching their father walk around checking cupboards, pulling various bits out of them and putting them on the receptionist desk. All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Kathy.
‘Wait a minute, we should have worked this out about Malcolm. He went to that party at the big house and then last week when we were at rehearsal he slashed his finger open on one of the old music stands that he was trying to force open for someone. When he did, I saw that it was a really big cut, but do you know, I haven't thought about until now, but no blood came out of it.’
‘Yes!’ Sally said. ‘He quickly got his handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it round his finger but it never bled and he wasn't bothered about it the rest of the night.’
‘It doesn’t add up,’ Kathy said shaking her head. ‘If he is one of them, how come he was out in the day?’ The others looked crestfallen. This would have tied up everything nicely. Everything was explained apart from that fact. He had been at the party, had been cut but had not bled. There was the bag with the dead cat and the smashed wine. Apart from the fact that he was a traitor. Terry thought hard. There was something they were missing. Then he knew.
‘Well he wasn't out in the day really was he? Malcolm was already in the band room. He was already here when we got here. He could have been in there since it was dark this morning, waiting.’
‘Extremely creepy,’ said Laura shivering.
‘And last night when we saw him in the Pub it was already nighttime. I can’t remember when I last saw him in the day.’ Kathy said.
‘What about just?’ Sally asked.
‘Or he could have been hiding in the wheelie bin until it was dark!’ Kathy said. ‘Who knows, with them kinds of folk.’
‘Oh no.’ Laura put her head in her hands. ‘Not only does he know where we were tonight, he tricked us into telling him exactly where we were staying and how many of us there are. Now Anne and Norman know everything.’ Terry cleared his throat.
‘Yes, we are all in even more danger now. And the other group stopping in Melden don’t even know it!’ Terry said as he run his fingers over his bald head.
20 – Fang
Even though they were talking quietly, Terry could hear everything they were saying. He stopped putting stuff on the counter and took a deep breath.
‘Listen, everyone, Malcolm visited me a few days ago. He was pale and anxious. I noticed he was slightly hyperventilating and I was very worried. It took him a long time to tell me. At one point I thought he wasn’t going to at all.’ Terry stopped at this point and stared at the wallpaper, recalling the day of their meeting. ‘He was heavily sweating, his face looked …..waxy. He said he couldn't go more into it but he had developed a strange addiction. One that he was a little worried about. He wouldn’t give me any more details, no matter how hard I pressed him.’ He shook his head. ‘I thought it was marijuana. I really did. I called him the next day, left messages, heard nothing.’
Silver Banned: Book 2 of the Saddleworth Vampire Series Page 12
