TW08 The Dracula Caper NEW Read Online Free PDF

his hand to his mouth.
    Stoker felt for a pulse in her throat. He shook his head with resignation. "Her heart's stopped beating," he said "Hello? What's this?"
    He pulled aside the lace at her throat. There were two small marks over her jugular vein.
    "What is it, Bram?" said Irving.
    "Take a look," said Stoker.
    "Pinpricks?"
    "More like bite marks," Stoker said.
    "What?"
    "Look how pale she is," said Stoker softly. "White as a corpse," he murmured, repeating Irving's words.
    "What are you talking about?" said Irving.
    "I am almost afraid to say it," Stoker said. "Perhaps my imagination is merely overactive. But those marks are not imaginary."
    "Bram, for God's sake! What is it?"
    "Have you read
Carmilla.
by Le Fanu?” Stoker said.
    Irving stared at him uncomprehendingly. " What? Sheridan Le Fanu, the novelist? What are you . . . “ His voice trailed off as he stared at the marks on Angeline's throat. "You mean that story about a countess who was a—" He caught himself and lowered his voice so that only Stoker could hear him, "—a
vampire?"
    He swallowed hard and shook his head. "No, no , that is absurd, a fantasy. Such creatures don't exist."
    "How can we say for certain?" Stoker said. "I admit it sounds incredible.
    Henry. but how else can you explain those marks upon her throat?"
    "She must have accidentally stabbed herself with something. a brooch.
    perhaps."
    "Twice? Both times, directly over the jugular vein
    "No. I have heard enough." said Irving. "I am sending everyone home before you have the entire cast in a panic."
    "I do not think that would be wise," said Stoker. "The police will probably want to question everyone."
    "The police! Must we have the police?"
    "I see no avoiding it." said Stoker. "We have a dead young woman on our hands and no explanation for her demise. The police will have to be called in. An investigation must he
    Irving passed his hand riser his eyes. "Oh, dear Heaven! Very well, Bram, you handle everything. But for God's sake, be careful what you tell them! Please, make no fanciful suggestions. As for myself, I am quite done in by all of this. God, she died in my very arms! If the police wish to speak with me, they can find me at home, but if there is any way it can be avoided--
    "I will handle things. Henry." said Stoker.
    "Yes. Yes, you'll see to everything, won't you?"
    "I always do," said Stoker.
    "And for Heaven's sake, no wild theories about ... you know."
    Stoker glanced up at him and then looked back down at the dead girl. "Yes,"
    he said. "I know."
Chapter 2
    Electricity had come to London. but it had not yet arrived in Limehouse.
    Westminster Bridge was the first place to receive electric lighting in 1858, but it was not until 1887 that the first station of the Kensington and Knightsbridge Electric Lighting Company was opened. The first large power station started operation in Dwptford in 1889; the London Electricity Supply Company was formed and the city was lit electrically from fleet Street to Aldgate, but it took a long time for electricity to completely replace gas and in 1894, much of London was still illuminated by gaslight. The gas companies were consuming over six million tons of coal per year and the malting effects could be seen in London's famous fogs. An atmosphere permeated by soot particles had blackened the city's buildings and it was frequently so thick that coach traffic was forced to move at a snail's pace and pedestrian trawlers often became lost in their own neighborhoods due to lack of visibility.
    The lime kilns around the docks which gave Limehouse its name dated back to the 14th century. It was a center of shipbuilding, a part of the industrial East End. Most of the area's residents were employed in the shipyards and on the ducks and most of them were poor. There was a large population of immigrant Chinese, especially around the Limehouse Causeway, where gambling houses and opium dens could be found by those in search of London's more decadent diversions. It