Chapter 2 A Vampire In Sheffield

It's been 30 days since the most notorious serial murders in the history of Sheffield,

Or as I prefer to call it, the case of the crimson Vampire.

This exceptionally clever killer has managed to evade the peelers for a month now, while committing more atrocities,

Even the best of the ranks at the Scotland yard

remains unable to extract useful clues that could lead to him.

****

This case has been especially personal to

me, my newlywed wife Elizabeth Buckley was murdered 7 days ago

In our home.

Every ounce of blood drained from her beautiful body.

I still blame myself for not being able to protect her, most days I find her in my dreams

Screaming for help and each time I get to her, she already dead.

The nightmares and the hallucinations have become more frequent with each passing day.

After retiring from work for the day, I decide to visit Booker's pub where I regularly come to avoid the deep abyss of sorrowful thoughts.

After my third glass of ale

A stranger came up to me he introduced himself as Arthur Caine

I remarked that I had heard of his name somewhere, maybe in the newspapers.

I would later learn that this simpering annoying sod was an especially distinguished sleuth, A professor if I recall.

"Drinking alone my goodman is a dangerous habit" said the stranger

I replied him "I'm the chief detective of Sheffield police, I'm more than capable of drinking by myself.

You dont look like you're from around here,

what brings you to Sheffield" I asked

"The murders" he replied blatantly "I have traveled a long way from London to investigate the murders, I could be of great assistance chief detective"

"Of what use are you, I have a station of detectives on the case and the brightest forensic team.

"Now if you must excuse me Mr Caine I have to be somewhere else."

"I can tell from looking at your that you've barely slept since the incident,

and from the state of your grief your I can infer someone close to you was killed, perhaps your wife, she was murdered by the very serial killer that's been slipping under your nose.

And I can also tell you that at this very moment you still see her as a conjured phantom.

"You have avoided sleeping at your house from the nightmares and the hallucinations you suffer there"

"How did you know that?, the details of my late wife's murder was kept from the public, are you from the press?"

"No," He answered "it was a simple observation, your clothes are shabby and your shoes are worn, for a gentleman such as yourself these unhygienic mismanagement could only be an aberrant of your usual daily habits"

he added

"I'm just a curious fellow, offering to help

And if I'm not wrong,

on the death of your wife I assume that her corpse was drained of blood, I gathered that from the examination of the other victims i examined, you could tell that their blood were drained, any fool with half an inch of sense could tell.

"So detective you must reconsider, I can help you save lives, we owe satefy to the people of Britain and your are forerunner of this very task"

I was strangely impressed by this odd fellow, he was eloquent and clearly intelligent

but how did he know about my hallucinations

have he been following me.

Either way I couldn't let an amateur,

a stranger in on my investigations.

******

Cecil Melbourne

In Sheffield's hospital mortuary, a ginger haired nurse walks hastily to meet Mr Melbourne a skilled surgeon who was dissecting a fresh cadaver for the effect of post mortem injury on corpses, he does this things, his pragmatic mind never allowed an ounce of free time.

Today was unusual for Cecil, he usually wasn't so frantic during this little experiments, but he was more nervous than usual, he was distracted, he could barely concerntrate.

"Mr Melbourne.. Mr Melbourne, are you alright" asked the young nurse.

Cecil responded by looking straight at her, his bluish gray eyes snapping back to reality

"Yes... yes I'm quite alright thank you for asking"

"Can I help you with anything" he asked, smiling casually as usual.

"I brought you tea and some biscuits, I noticed you've been working quite a while, I thought you would want something to eat.

"Yes, very much"

"How thoughtful of you" the sounds of these very words made the young lady flush.

Something about Cecil made women swoon, maybe it was because he was properly and impeccably handsome, his strikingly soft feature, his extremely charming demeanor and of tall, he was a cornucopia of good genes, his shiny blond hair was long and fell gracefully touching his shoulders.

Cecil was a modern Ganymede, his affection was craved by distinguished men of nobility and women esteemed status

Who were willing to do as he commanded, oh such power in the hands of poor Cecil, beauty was indeed a great burden.

"I hope you enjoy them I'll be returning to my post now, have a jolly day Mr Melbourne" she said smiling as she hurried of.

Cecil was now alone with his thoughts, his bitter and burdened soul beautiful mind weighed down by flaws.

Cecil didn't have the warmest of childhood, growing up his father vanished from his life, when he was only ten, leaving him and his mother a considerable amount of wealth.

His mother Sophie Melbourne, she was barely sober during his adolescent years, she would throw throw extravagant parties, bringing home strange men

into the house she was never quite the same after the disappearance of her husband.

Cecil made wonderful friends growing but he felt he was scarcely understood. until he met a unique fellow, but all that is for later, now back to young Cecil.

Unlike other kids his age Cecil always had a taste for higher learning, he would study Medical text and anatomical drawings for hours on end as boy, he was extremely fascinated by the life sciences.

He showed an aptitude for linguistics and the sciences.

By the time he was 20 Cecil could speak every romance languages and without difficulty translate greek text,

he had an insatiable desire for learning.

Cecil drank his tea in solitude, finished his biscuits and got up, it was time to call it a day.

He took his coat and walked out the door, on his way out the hospital he stopped to wave Mary the ginger haired nurse goodbye, what a gentleman.

It was dark outside, and the weather was a bit cold, the kind of cold Cecil preferred.

He was hoping for a good night rest when he wouldn't have to wake up with cold sweat from unpleasant dreams.

Cecil lived in a huge manor house with Hearst his childhood butler.

The manor was an inheritance from his father who by God was lost or possibly dead presumably.

The house was warm with the fireplace lit when Cecil got in Hearst was already done making supper

"Welcome home master Cecil, how was your day at the hospital"

"Same old, Hearst.

performed a couple Lithotomy, multiple amputations and a colectomy, I'm fatigued."

"I knew you'd say that I've prepared you a hot bath, take your time and then you can have supper afterwards."

'Thanks Hearst, I don't think I'd be able to function without you my goodman,

"you know it sir" Hearst replied proudly.

Taking care of Cecil was Hearst most important job, and he did a fine job of it.

The day dawned with sun rays breaking through the clouds in a million fold,

sunlight seeping, falling crisply from the windowpane unto the bed where Cecil lay half awake, he lifts up his left hand to block the golden ray that fell on his face,

another day he thought, another day of work.

The night was blissful luckily he was too tired to dream, and that was the truest ecstasy he knew.

On his carriage ride to the hospital Cecil observed the people, he saw what they did, their shallow mediocre minds he wished he could be as they were, oblivious of the greater calling, the absence of destiny on their shoulders, was it the merchant who traded apples or the boy who sold the newspapers, oh how he envied their simple minds.

his days were filled with responsiblity, shoes to fill, to prove he was not just a boy who got what he wanted because of his flawlessly symmetric physiognomy.

He was blatantly aware of who he was.

Cecil arrived punctually as always, he was surprised to find someone waiting at the morgue.

The stranger was Arthur Caine, his old friend

"I never took you for a pathologist, although you did always have a

propensity for the gory"

"Hello Arthur, nice to know that you're still as annoying as ever,

what brings you to the humble city of Sheffield, is London out of rage now, or no, let me hazard a guess you'rehere for the Vampire the on on the papers, I hear he's all the fuss right now.

"Yes" and I need your help to catch him" Arthur replied

does that make you a hunter, I can see the headlines 'The hunters sleuth slays Vampire' "

"I see you still have your sharp sense of humour, how sweet of you"

"But now we must hunt" Arthur replied dramatically.