'How's Colonel Steiger holding up?' she said.
'I'm due to wake him in another hour. He's holding up about as well as could be expected, I suppose. He's getting anxious, as are we all. Any sign of Wells?'
She shook her head. 'Not yet. Of course, there's no guarantee he'll be coming back to his house. Can I have some of that coffee?'
'Help yourself.'
'Thanks.' She sat down and poured herself a cup. 'What do you think Moreau's going to do with him?' she said.
'I have no idea what to think,' Delaney said. 'I still don't see how Wells would fit in with what Drakov seems to have planned. Unless he's planning something separate that has to do with Wells.' He shook his head. 'There are just too many variables. The best we can hope for is that Wells will show up again, with Moreau, and we'll get a shot at taking out Moreau and snatching Wells. The problem is, what do we do with Wells once we've snatched him? He already knows too much, but can we risk having him conditioned to forget his part in all of this? Would that affect his writing?' He shook his head again. 'I don't know, Christine. It's going to be very tricky. The waiting's hard, but it's not the hardest part.”
You know, a very unpleasant thought occurred to me while I was on the watch for Wells,' she said. 'It's bad enough that Moreau snatched him from right under our noses, but what are we going to do if he doesn't come back?'
Delaney's hand froze with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. 'Don't even think about it,' he said.
6
They met in the rooms of the Beefsteak Society. The Sublime Society of Beef- Steaks was not in session at the moment. The tradition dated back to 1735, when John Rich, manager of the Covent Garden Theatre, founded the club for 'men of noble or gentle birth,' which net for a beefsteak dinner every Saturday from November to June. The badge of the society was a gridiron and its members wore blue coats and huff waistcoats, buff being a light yellow napped leather properly made from buffalo skin, though other skins were sometimes used. The motto of the club was 'Beef and Liberty' and it met at the Lyceum Theatre. Grayson thought the whole thing was rather juvenile, but then there had always been a ritualistic fervor among the upper classes that he had never fully understood. If you want to meet once a week for a steak dinner, he thought, why not simply meet once a week for a steak dinner? Why make a bloody boys' club formality of the whole thing? In any case, it was a question that was never liable to concern him personally, as it was highly unlikely that he would ever he invited to join a gentleman's club. He was just a simple working class sod, happy with his station in life and if he wanted a steak dinner, he could bloody well just go down to the pub and get one.
Bram Stoker beckoned him to one of the chairs placed around the table. 'Please sit down. Inspector. May I offer you something to drink?'
'No, thank you very kindly. Mr. Stoker, not while I'm on duty.'
'Are you making any progress with your inquiries, Inspector'?' Stoker said. 'I take it that is what you wanted to speak to me about?'
'As a matter of fact, yes, it was,' said Grayson. ' Itrust, Mr. Stoker, that we may speak in confidence?'
'Certainly, Inspector,' Stoker said. 'However, I should tell you that if what you have to discuss with me should happen to concern Henry Irving, I would be both honor and duty bound to take the matter up with him. He is both my employer and my closest friend.'
Grayson nodded. 'I quite understand. However, I don't think we will need to concern ourselves with Mr. Irving. There is certainly nothing to suggest that he is in any way involved.'
'Involved in what. Inspector?' Stoker said.
'Well, frankly Mr. Stoker. at the moment Iam not quite sure, but I suspect it may be murder.'
Grayson watched Stoker carefully. The man suddenly became silent, but he did not avoid Grayson's steady gaze. He pressed his lips together and gave a couple of curt nods.
'I see,' said Stoker. 'Then if I understand you correctly, Inspector Grayson, you believe that Angeline Crewe was murdered, but you have no proof.'
'No proof that I would feel comfortable presenting at the Old Bailey,' Grayson said. 'At least, not yet. However, there is no question but that Miss Crewe was subjected to at least one violent assault shortly prior to her death and it appears possible that she may even have cooperated in it.'
Stoker frowned. 'Exactly what are you implying, Inspector?'
'Those wounds on her throat were made by teeth. Mr. Stoker,' Grayson said, watching the man for a reaction. 'Human teeth.'
'You're certain of this?' Stoker said.
'Beyond a shadow of a doubt,' said Grayson.
'You are telling me that she was bitten in the neck by someone and, as a result, she died?' said Stoker.
'She died from loss of blood,' said Grayson.
Stoker took a deep breath. 'Is each of us wondering who will say it first?' he said. 'Wry well, then. I will say it. Her killer bit her in the neck and drank her blood. In other words, a vampire?'
Grayson pursed his lips. 'I sec that the thought had already crossed your mind,' he said. 'Tell me, are you a superstitious man, Mr. Stoker?'
'People in the theatre are always superstitious.' Stoker said. 'But let's speak plainly, shall we? If you're asking me if I believe in the existence of such creatures, 1 can only answer by saying that I would be disinclined to, but to my certain knowledge, I don't know. There are many things in this world which we cannot explain to our satisfaction. Frankly, when I saw those marks upon Angeline's throat, it was the first thing that crossed my mind, but then I had only recently read a novel by Sheridan Le Fanu about a woman who was a vampire. Are you familiar with the work?'
'You mean Camillo?' Grayson said.
'Yes, that's the one. You've read it then?'
Grayson nodded.
'So what do you think?' Stoker said.
'I found it entertaining, but to borrow your own words,' said Grayson. 'I am disinclined to believe in the existence of such creatures. 'You would prefer to seek a more rational explanation.' Stoker said, nodding. 'Has it occurred to you that there are legends about vampires dating all the way back to ancient times, to Greece and Rome? And that there have been many apparently reliable reports concerning vampirism scattered throughout history since then'? Even up to and including recent times?'
'Yes, I am aware of that,” said Grayson. 'In fact, I recently had an interesting conversation concerning that very topic with Dr. Conan Doyle and he was able to explain to me convincingly how such stories might have been sustained as a result of ignorance and improper observation.'
Stoker smiled. 'Yes, that sounds like Arthur. There's a man with both feet planted firmly on the ground, just like his detective. Sherlock Holmes. He claims the character was based upon an old professor of his, but the truth is that there's a lot of Arthur in old Sherlock. No, I don't imagine he would sit still for a moment to listen to any farfetched notions about vampires. And yet there is the tragic, albeit fascinating case of Angeline Crewe. Did Arthur offer any theories about that'?'
'As a matter of fact, he did,' said Grayson. 'And I am inclined to accept them. One of the things that he suggested was that… well, how can I put this delicately?'
'Please don't bother,' Stoker said. 'We have agreed to speak plainly, if you'll recall.'
'Yes, well, meaning no offense,' said Grayson, 'but people associated with the theatre have a certain reputation for rather irregular behavior. And one of the things that Dr. Conan Doyle suggested is that we may be dealing with a case of sadistic perversion here. This theory seems to be supported by the fact that Miss Crewe apparently never made any mention of having been bitten in the throat and one would think that if she had been assaulted forcibly in such a manner, she would certainly have said something about it to someone. And it she had
