Chapter 16: Chapter 16 - Clues

All right, let’s check the house for clues,” Sam said.

Donovan and Christian checked upstairs while John and Sam looked through the downstairs.

“What are we looking for?” John asked.

Sam didn’t look up from a stack of papers on the kitchen counter. “Anything that seems weird or out of place.”

“What do you mean?”

Sam rifled through the papers before tossing them aside. “This whole place seems a little too clean to be your typical vampire den. Vamps aren’t the classy aristocrats you read about in Victorian literature. This place should be trashed.”

John checked the living room for some sort of clue. He didn’t really know what he was looking for, and so he found nothing but dirt and trash. If this was an example of a clean vampire den, he didn’t want to see a dirty one. Sighing, he walked toward a door on the wall opposite the front door.

As he opened it, the smell of stale blood hit him in the face. John almost gagged, but he choked it down instead. He didn’t want to let the others think he was weak.

A flight of old wooden stairs descended from the door. At the bottom, a cement floor with chipped bluish-gray paint reflected back at him. He cautiously made his way down the steps, his crossbow at the ready.

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Other than the stench, not much else filled the basement besides a wooden table that stood at the far end.

John walked over to it and began studying the contents. “I think I found something,” he yelled up the stairs.

“What is it?” Sam called back.

“There’s, uh, science-y stuff. Some vials of blood, I think? Why would vampires need vials of blood?”

Sam appeared at the top of the stairs. “Now, that is a good question,” he said as he started his descent. He wasn’t bothered by the smell at all. “Vamps have been known to save blood for later, but vials are too small to be used for storage. Wow! This basement is really clean!”

“I know. What was going on down here?” John asked.

Sam scratched his chin. “I’m not sure.” When he reached the table, he carefully picked up one of the vials. “There’s no name on this, only a designation—Subject D."

“Wonder what that stands for?”

“I guess we need to find out,” said Sam, opening up a small pack he had brought with him. “We can send it in for analysis. Advanced Power has a great lab that we use.”

John nodded, and they made their way back to the first floor. Donovan and Christian had finished scanning the second floor and were in the kitchen waiting to leave.

John waved at Donovan. “Well, did you find anything?”

Donovan frowned and shook his head. “Just some plain mattresses. Vamps really should use some sheets or something. I wouldn’t sleep on those if someone paid me.”

Sam laughed. “I know. Pretty nasty, right? Although I guess it would make them a little easier to find if they only used nice stuff in the nice part of town.”

John cleared his throat. “Well, we should probably be going. We got some vials to send to the lab.”

Christian walked toward the door. “Really, vials, huh. That’s strange, isn’t it?”

Sam nodded. “You’re telling me. We’ll find out more soon enough.”

John beat him to the door handle and opened it. “After you, sir.”

“Thank you, son. You did well today, by the way,” Christian said, his eyes appraising John as if for the first time.

John smiled at the compliment. Sam and Donovan both nodded as they walked past him.