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Just how the hell did Nick access the property?
And then it hits me, and I give a crazy laugh, because the answer is so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.Nick used my keys to let himself in.Of course! No mystery, no intrigue, no supernatural abilities. He must have driven to my house while I was at the hospital and dropped off my stuff. When he rang the bell and found no one was at home, he did the next best thing by letting himself in and leaving the bag in the sitting room.
With this puzzle finally solved, I start to breathe more easily. The fact that there’s such a simple explanation gives me hope that the whole vampire theory might be equally redundant.
Picking my mobile up from the floor, I examine the screen and realise the battery’s dead. Hurriedly, I go to my bedroom and attach it to the phone charger. With a heavy heart, I dial my mother’s number. It rings a couple of times before she picks up.
“Carly! What a lovely surprise. It’s so nice to hear your—”
“Mum, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“What is it? Darling, you sound hysterical.”
“Dad’s had a stroke,” I blurt. The line goes silent. “Mum, did you hear me?”
“Oh my God! When?”
“Last night.”
“Oh my God, oh my God.” The line goes quiet again, and I can hear her husband Michael in the background, asking what’s going on. She quickly fills him in, then returns to the phone. “Right, sweetheart, we’re coming down. Which hospital is your father in? Are you there now?”
“He’s at the Queen Victoria in Tooting, but don’t come yet, Mum. I’ve only just got home and I’m completely shattered. I need to sleep or I won’t be able to function. Also, morning visiting hours are over. The nurses said we can’t go back again until after four. I think we should—”
“For goodness sake,” she interjects. “Why didn’t you call me as soon as this happened? We could have come down ages ago. I don’t like the thought of you having to deal with this on your own.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. So much has happened, I just wasn’t thinking; plus I didn’t have my phone on me.” Hastily, I fill her in on everything else: what Dr Noble said, his hopes for Dad’s recovery and the upcoming MRI scan.
“What ward is your father in?” Mum asks when I’ve finished. “I’m going to call the hospital now to check how he’s doing. Then as soon as you’re ready, Michael and I will come down and get you, and we can go there together this evening. How much sleep do you think you’ll need?”
“Give it a few hours. Shall we say six o’clock?”
“Okay my darling. We’ll see you then. I love you.”
“Love you more.” I hang up and stand by the window a second, taking time to soak it all in. Now that I’ve told my mother, it feels like a great weight has been lifted. Knowing I’ve got her and Michael’s support makes me feel so much better about things. I am no longer alone; I now have other people to share the burden with.
Tossing the phone on the bed, I glance down at my beloved pendant and twirl the delicate chain between my fingers. Nick said it had once belonged to his late mother, and when he first gave it to me, I thought it was the most perfect, most romantic gesture ever; a symbol of a bond which could never be broken. Then I picture the demented expression on his face in the kitchen and remember the burning imprint left in his palm by the crucifix.
No!I shake my head.I can’t think about that.
Sluggishly, I cross to the dresser and pick up my laptop. Taking it to the bed, I flip open the lid and boot up the Internet. As I wait for Explorer to load, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. Really, I should be sleeping, but I simply can’t resist opening Pandora’s Box.
The Google homepage appears. Running my fingers down the keyboard, I type in the words ‘Nick Craven vampire hypnotist.’
I hold my breath as the results page loads. Then I release a sigh.
Of course nothing remotely supernatural comes up; just a bunch of hyperlinks and testimonials from The London Hypnotherapy Clinic website. Undeterred, I run a general search on the word ‘vampire.’ This time I get hundreds of results, everything fromTwilightto Bram Stoker to Bat Boy from the now defunctWeekly World.
I rake my fingers through my hair in frustration. Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean what the hell was I expecting? A Wikipedia bio with a photo of Nick dressed in a bat cape and drooling fangs? I click on a website calledbloodsuckers.comand read some of the most common facts about vampires. Mentally, I tick each one off as preposterous:
Vampires are afraid of sunlight.No, this definitely does not apply to Nick. I’ve seen him out in the daytime on more than one occasion.
Vampires hate garlic.Hmm. Now that’s a tricky one. I’ve never put it to the test, but we’ve eaten at several restaurants and I don’t remember Nick ever mentioning an aversion to garlic seasoning.
Vampires sleep in coffins.Ridiculous! Nick sleeps in a regular bed just like everyone else.
However, the hairs on my neck stand up when I come to bullet point number four:
Crossing the threshold.My eyes widen as I read the first few paragraphs. ‘Evil cannot enter a man's home unless it is invited.Such myths apply to vampyres. Romanian folklore states that a vampyre cannot enter a person’s house unless expressly invited by the occupant.’
