CHAPTER 27 #3
They stood in the bedroom that was meant to be Edgar’s.
They had placed him in there before dawn so it would seem like he died peacefully in his sleep.
Valeria had fallen into her stupor once dawn broke and her parents returned to their room to pretend to be asleep.
She waited until Lucy came with her breakfast tray before walking across the hall to invite him to join her when she screamed upon finding his body.
Mrs. Thomas made sure several of the servants went up to check on her, so a good portion of the household watched her fall to her knees as she screamed and cried on the floor.
Her grief was over the top, but it was a little real.
He was such a sweet man before The Count had corrupted him.
Valeria had explained more about his state under being compelled.
His brain was fractured, and there was no way to fix it after he had been under The Count’s influence for so long.
Death was a kindness, as no one could ever take over his mind again.
Seeing Edgar on the bed, her throat spasmed.
Once as a child, she had heard a dead body described as a sleeping person, but she was struck by how wrong that was.
His stillness was something other than sleep, and he didn’t even look like himself, not really.
Whatever made him Edgar was gone, and this husk was all that was left behind.
Dr. Murnau walked to his bedside, followed by Dr. Gardner and Mrs. Montgomery.
Caroline remained on the other side of the room with her parents.
They were there as a technicality, but she hoped this didn’t take long.
She was ready for this part to be over. There were still lawyers to talk to and who knows what else, but once the body was gone, it would be its own relief.
Dr. Murnau placed his black doctor bag on the bedside table and opened it up. “We let the mortician know he was needed before we left. He should be here shortly, but I wanted to do a quick check of Mr. Andrews first.”
Caroline nodded; she had expected as much. “Are you able to ascertain his cause of death?”
“It’s not likely without an autopsy. When were you last with him?”
“I’m not sure of the time. We left the reception early and went to my bedroom. He seemed fine last night, but did complain of a headache shortly before we retired. I thought he had too much champagne and told him he would feel better in the morning.”
Mrs. Montgomery’s eyes flicked to Dr. Gardner, and they shared a look while Dr. Murnau nodded gravely before starting his cursory examination.
Last year, the village blacksmith—Mr. Johnson—a seemingly healthy man just beneath forty years of age complained of a headache and died in his sleep that night.
His distraught widow had insisted on an autopsy, convinced someone had murdered him instead, and his sudden death had been ruled to be an apoplexy.
Murnau sucked in a breath, and she knew what he had discovered.
At least one of the things he had discovered.
It wasn’t until after he had died that she noticed he had many bite marks.
Valeria had shaken her head at the fact that the bites weren’t healed and said her sisters and The Count had been too lazy to heal them, but she only scowled when Caroline asked if she would heal her bite marks.
In the end, she agreed, but wasn’t happy about it.
Caroline promised she could leave other ones in places where there was no worry of anyone seeing.
“Gardner, take a look at this.”
Dr. Gardner leaned over Edgar and examined what Murnau had found. “Those look to be healed.”
“There are dozens of such marks.”
“It’s not an illness. I’ve never seen anything present like this. I think it’s injuries that have healed.”
“But that one looks fresh, doesn’t it?”
Caroline stiffened as the doctors discussed the various injuries they found on Edgar.
She knew Murnau would recognize them as vampire bites, but she hoped Dr. Gardner would stay strong in his belief that there was no such thing as vampires.
She didn’t care if they were stumped as long as someone finally took Edgar’s body away.
After her morning of anxiety, it was all very uneventful. The undertaker had a few questions once he arrived, but it was mainly about Edgar’s wishes, which she didn’t know much about. She had sent a message to his parents so they could be involved, but she made the choices as best she could.
One of her worries had been how she could deny an autopsy without arousing suspicion, but no one even suggested one.
The undertaker took longer to arrive, but once he got there, he moved very quickly.
The doctors left with him, likely to keep examining the body.
If Murnau worried he would rise, he didn’t let Caroline know, but she felt better knowing that even if he stayed with the body, Edgar wouldn’t wake up again.
By the time the sun set, she was utterly exhausted. She was in the downstairs parlour looking out the window when a pair of arms wrapped around her.
“How did it go?” Valeria asked, kissing her jaw.
“Fine. It was tiring, but no one questioned me. Dr. Murnau found the bites, but hardly asked any questions.”
“Good.”
“There’s still plenty of time for things to go wrong, but at least today went smoothly.”
“It will be fine. People want things to wrap up. No one will want to drag something like this out.”
“What did you want to do after this is over?”
“Well, I figured since the roof was getting fixed, we might as well replace the flooring in the attic. It’s been dripped on all winter, and I imagine the wood is rotting. I imagine any builder I find could be easily motivated to do the work free of charge.”
Caroline groaned. “There’s always something to do. Can’t we just run away and let someone else take care of this?”
Valeria laughed. “I would be more than happy to leave, but I didn’t think you would want to.”
Mrs. Thomas entered the room. “You have visitors, ma’am. Should I send them in?”
“Yes, Mrs. Thomas.”
She had sent a note to Diya about Edgar’s death and expected her to arrive at any time.
Dr. Murnau entered, trailed by Dr. Gardner and Mrs. Montgomery, and her face fell.
“I’m so sorry to be imposing on you again, but Mrs. Montgomery left her notebook upstairs, and she and Dr. Gardner are leaving tomorrow,” Dr. Murnau said, but his smile died as his eyes settled on Valeria.
Caroline’s brain scrambled for an excuse, but before she could open her mouth, Valeria pushed in front of her, blocking Caroline from the three of them and taking a defensive stance.
“What the hell are you?” Valeria spat out with venom unlike anything she had heard from her before.