"Tomas, wake up...breakfast!"
Tom awoke with a start and grabbed the sheets closer to him. Looking over at the door, he saw Maria standing there with a sardonic look on her face. When she saw his reaction, her lips curled upward into a sarcastic half-smile.
"Don't be afraid, little chicken. I will not eat you," she said with her Spanish accent. "Hurry up and get dressed. Sergi is waiting for you in the dining room. Don't forget to make your bed."
"Make my bed?" asked Tom in confusion. "Yesterday you said...ah...er..."
"Yesterday you were a guest," replied Maria, throwing back her raven black hair before leaving.
Tom climbed out of bed, dressed, and quickly made the bed. He had to borrow clothes from James. The pants had to be rolled up at the cuffs and the shirt was too snug around the chest. Today was Monday and Tom felt both a little guilty and a little happy that he did not have to be back at work until Wednesday. He headed downstairs and met James near the front foyer.
"Howdy, partner," greeted James when he caught sight of Thomas. "It looks like my duds don't quite fit. We'll have to run you over to your place later. The doc is in the dining room."
"Thanks, James."
Tom turned and walked into the dining room. Sergi and Anya were sitting at the table. At Tom's entrance, Anya looked up and gave him an appraising glance up and down. With her eyes lingering on his too tight shirt, she pursed her lips together and gave out a loud wolf whistle.
"Anya!" admonished Sergi.
Tom almost blushed, but then remembered what Anya had said to him yesterday.
"You want to see the rest of it?" he asked her, reaching for his shirt buttons.
Tom was surprised to see Anya's eyes widen in surprise. She then blushed bright red and looked away. Sergi laughed that someone had finally given her as good as she gave out. Tom started to smile himself when a voice interrupted him from behind.
"I would like to see more."
Tom spun around and found himself staring down into Gretta's big brown eyes. She was dressed back into her French maid's outfit and Tom found his eyes moving downward to the very impressive cleavage she was showing. With a start, Tom realized where he was looking. His head snapped upward and he blushed just as much as Anya just had. Tom quickly sat down and stared at the tablecloth to keep from looking at Gretta.
Gretta looked at Sergi and shrugged her shoulders. She set Tom's plate in front of him and left the room without saying another word. Tom just sat there staring at the omelet and bacon strips in front of him. Sergi sighed and shook his head.
"Eat, Thomas, before it gets cold," said Sergi. "What do you think of our encounter yesterday?"
Scary, but not all that dangerous," replied Tom as he took a bite of his omelet. "I'm surprised that it is all real and we don't hear more of it."
Sergi and Anya both broke out laughing.
"You do hear about it all the time," chuckled Anya. "They're ghost stories."
"Humans want a physical world where they have control," said Sergi. "Ghosts, spirits, and supernatural creatures frighten us because they are outside the normal realm of human understanding. They are also not that common. Most require some trigger to appear, like the Gray Man who walks along the State of North Carolina beaches just prior to a hurricane."
"So, it was probably Haskin's death that made Vinetta appear," said Tom. "What was so special about Haskin's death?"
"We may never know," said Anya. "It may have been that Sandra Haskin was in danger while her second husband was alive and an appearance of Vinetta's ghost may have proven fatal to her."
"And remember, Thomas, that not many people will talk to other people about what they have seen," added Sergi. "Father Roberts would be fired and probably defrocked if he told his congregation about the incident. Mrs. Vinetta, who has dropped her Haskin's name, does not want to be seen as...slightly touched in the head, shall we say? What proof could either one offer?"
"Desiree is not like Vinetta's ghost," stated Tom strongly. "She kills."
"Of course she is not," said Sergi. "She is a vampire, not a ghost. Ghosts are tied to a particular event or place. If she is as old as I think she is, she has killed hundreds. Finish your breakfast. We are meeting in the living room to discuss the problem of Covington."
Tom finished off the rest of his omelet and bacon. He then followed Sergi and Anya into the mansion's living room. The large room had sofas and chairs placed strategically around the large fireplace. Tom was not surprised to see James and Gretta there, but had not expected Maria, Hannah, and a distinguished looking, bald-headed man.
"Good morning, sir," said the man in a cultured English accent. We have not met yet. I'm Dobbs, the butler."
"God morning, sir," said Tom, holding out his hand.
"It's not 'sir'...just Dobbs," corrected Dobbs, indicating a seat for Tom.
"Our group takes a little getting used to," said Anya. "We're all equals, but for some reason, some of us wanted the additional work...or,...," She glanced poignantly at Gretta. "...to play dress-up."
"I trained to be a butler and have been one most of my life, as you well know, Miss Anya," stated Dobbs patiently. "I would be uncomfortable if I was without a position."
"And, besides, if we don't do them, we'd have to hire them out," said James. "That maybe means getting some unreliable folk poking into stuff they shouldn't be in or talking about things they shouldn't say."
"We are here to discuss an encounter Thomas had," said Sergi. "Most of us are familiar with it, but I would like Anya to give us a summary."
Anya quickly summarized Tom's encounter with Desiree Covington. Tom turned bright red when she coolly described Desiree sucking off Mr. Silverman. She told everyone of the police involvement. She then read the ancient Roman text they had found and finished up with a description of the type of entity her grandfather thought Covington was.
"A vampire," gasped Hannah in wonder and fear.
"A sex vampire," corrected Sergi. "A female vampire that hates all males. Do not let that fool you, though. She will kill women just as easily."
"What do we do, doc?" asked James. "This ain't like a ghost that has a set purpose which needs to be fulfilled before it moves on."
