Demon Angel

Milton?"
    "Yes. But it isn't mine."
    Silence met her reply. Preston looked at the drawing Colin had made that morning, then at his partner, then back to Lilith. "Goddammit. Goddammit! What are we supposed to do with this?"
    His outburst wasn't directed at Lilith, but the frustration of having a relatively straightforward investigation shot to hell.
    But Taylor thoughtfully tapped the jewel case beside Lilith with her forefinger. "Why would they send this letter to you?"
    "I've made a name for myself in some circles debunking paranormal phenomena, exposing leaders of Satanic cults for fakes, that kind of thing. It's possible whoever sent this to me did it as a challenge."
    "So you've become Mulder," Preston said.
    "Scully, actually," Taylor said. Preston's brows rose, and she added with a shrug, "She was the skeptic." She glanced back at Lilith. "There's more, isn't there?"
    She nodded, relieved. If Taylor was listening now, too, it made this much easier. "A club downtown—Polidori's—burned to the ground last week. I went to KRON this morning and got footage from the newscast, including a few shots that had been edited out for the broadcast. It includes a scan of the crowd. There are men who match Polidori's description of the nesuferit very nearly perfectly."
    "Nosferatu?" Preston said, then hastily added when both Lilith and Taylor looked at him, "Or, guys dressed up like them?"
    "I wonder if Ian Rafferty frequented that club. Or if our professor is also in that footage," Taylor mused.
    If, through some coincidence, Hugh had been there, Lilith would never have given her the disc. And would probably have made the cameraman, reporter, and the news file database quietly disappear.
    Preston let out a long sigh. "So you're saying that whoever did this has a copy of the original letter, and is thinking of using it in some delusional scheme to transform himself into a vampire instead of just playing at it? Or maybe more than one plan to, like members of a cult? And setting fire to the club bearing Polidori's name was some kind of symbolic thing?" he summed up, then groaned softly when Lilith nodded. She fought to hide her grin. It was always best when they said it; people were always more likely to believe what came out of their own mouths. "What a mess."
    "At least these guys won't be too hard to find," Lilith said. "When you see the tape, you'll know what I mean."
    "Joe," Taylor said suddenly. "Let me see the book. He never makes mention of any kind of script, but there's lots about the nosferatu and vampires. If the original letter is in his possession, or even a copy of it, and we can prove a similarity between that book and what's here in this letter, showing he had knowledge of it…"
    What book? Lilith's stomach tightened. Why did she get the feeling she had just made a critical error, and that her attempt to divert their attention from Hugh had done the opposite?
    Preston reached into his jacket and withdrew a paperback. "He'd have to be the ballsiest nut ever to have published clues to his insanity ten years before he goes on his killing spree."
    Taylor opened the slim volume and began leafing through the pages.
    Lilith stared at the title and author's name for a full minute before she croaked, "May I see that?"
----

CHAPTER 17
    Previous Top Next
    It came as no surprise to Hugh when, toward the end of his last class period, Detectives Taylor and Preston entered the room though the door at the back of the lecture hall and took two of the empty seats.
    That Lilith was with them did surprise him, though it shouldn't have. When would he learn that he could never assume he knew what she would do?
    The day's lecture consisted of a discussion of Donne, and he half-expected Lilith to raise her hand and say something scandalous. But she remained still, watching him silently through the last ten minutes of class.
    That alone put his guard up.
    He was determined to save her, but he didn't want to hang himself in the process.
    They approached him as he began stacking his papers into his pack. The detectives' guarded expressions told him that despite his alibi, despite their questioning last night, their suspicions had deepened.
    Was Lilith the cause? He glanced at her, trying not to show undue interest or familiarity, though any man in his right mind would have stared. She'd coiled her hair neatly behind her nape, emphasizing the fierce, lush beauty of her features. Her suit jacket hung slightly open; the crisp shirt,