Deader Still

“That doesn’t seem odd to you?” I said.

“Odd, certainly,” Dr. Kolb said, his face a mask of excitement, “but think about the scientific implications of this. This is on par with King Midas or the myth of the philosopher’s stone . . .”

Before I knew what was happening, Co

“What the hell?” I asked.

“Sorry,” Co

Co

“You were attacked yesterday,” Co

The jogger, although much more sedate now, still shook his head. “I don’t see how that’s possible. I mean, you are talking to me.”

Co

“Not to be harsh or anything,” Co

The jogger squinted at the tiny screen. His eyes widened, and he nodded. His wet hair fell from its perch and hung off the side of his head again like damp seaweed.

“Hate to break it to you like this,” Co

Dr. Kolb laughed at that. “Want me dead? You’re kidding, right? I’m a scientist. My specialty is developing polycarbonate thermoplastic resins for communications and buildings. Who’s going to want me dead? Someone from a rival nerd consortium?”

Co

Dr. Kolb looked at the picture on Co

“Anything you can give us,” Co

“I can almost see it in my mind,” the dead jogger said, still struggling.

While Dr. Kolb gave it a good think, I watched the water for any signs of the crabs, even though the spirit that had been mechanizing them now stood before us. I shuddered at the thought of them crawling back up to shore.

“It was like . . . like a dog,” he said with conviction.

“A dog?” I repeated, then looked to Co

“Doubtful,” he said. “We’re not even close to having a full moon right now.”

“I said like a dog,” Dr. Kolb said, clearly irritated that he was dealing with two people he felt were his mental inferiors. “Not an actual dog.”

I tried to keep him focused. “Why don’t you describe it to us, then?”

The dead jogger’s attitude morphed as he recalled the creature, his face full of fear.

“Like I said, kinda like a dog, only hairless . . . with sunken red eyes . . .”

Co

“I couldn’t look away. I wanted to, God knows, but I was paralyzed with fear . . .”

“This creature,” Co

Dr. Kolb nodded. His arms were held out in front of him, trying to push something invisible away.

I moved closer to Co

“You know what it is?” I whispered.

He nodded and hit the speed dial on his phone. haunts-general popped up on the display.

“Could it have been a vampire?” I asked. “Can’t vampires take canine form, do that whole shape-shifting thingie?”

Co

20

I was freezing by the time Haunts-General showed up twenty minutes later. They started going about the business of releasing Dr. Kolb’s spirit. Whatever that entailed, I really didn’t know. My last encounter with them had been over Irene’s spirit, and the paperwork for dealing with a spirit like hers sans body had been enough of an excuse for them to leave her case in Other Division hands. Haunts-General had simply walked away from it. Tonight, thankfully, we already had the body and now the spirit of the late Dr. Kolb. Hopefully they’d be able to send the poor guy off to wherever it was that spirits were supposed to go after death, and Dr. Kolb would be one less apparition ru

As Haunts-General took over the scene, I described what had happened while Co

“So, if it’s not vampires, then what is it?” I asked when I was by his side. Co

“Dammit, kid. You shouldn’t have reported it as vampires. You said it was vampires in the vision.”

“I know,” I said.

Co

I gave up. Co

“So are you going to tell me what type of creature we’re dealing with or not?”

Co

I knew the name from the D.E.A.’s three-hour seminar entitled “Fee Fie Foes: A Refreshing Look at Cryptozoology from A to Z.” There had been handouts, but I was sure mine were lost somewhere in the paperwork scattered across my desk. What I did remember of the chupacabra was one key factor. It, too, was a bloodsucker.

“They’re from New Mexico,” I said. We were at the edge of the park now. Co

A cab pulled over and Co

“Maybe you’d better read up on them, then,” he said, sullen. “And while you’re at it, why don’t you fill out the paperwork for reporting the missing crab statues? Maybe next time you’ll think before causing a stir in the Department.”

He slammed the door shut and the cab sped off as the horror of more paperwork filled my head.

I stood there, soaking wet, wondering if I’d ever again be able to go a whole day with dry pants. The odds weren’t looking good.

By the time I got back to my apartment, I was shivering involuntarily, thanks to being soaked through. I barely had control of my hands as I went to unlock my door, but I finally managed to get it open on the third try.

Thankfully, Mina was already passed out in my guest bedroom, so I wouldn’t have to deal with her. I considered that my luckiest break in the whole of my night—well, morning. I hadn’t really thought about what I would have told her had she seen me coming in like this anyway. She never would have bought a made-up story about the old version of me getting mugged, but since she held the straight-and-narrow version of me in such low esteem, maybe she would have bought it. It was no matter—she was busy sleeping, something my body desperately wished it was doing.