The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn Page A

wire-rimmed glasses, which gave him a professorial, academic look. By this time Ronald had returned, and the doctor addressed the three of us.
    â€œAre you the ones who brought in the young woman with the neck wounds?”
    We nodded.
    â€œAre you family?”
    We shook our heads.
    Midnight explained that she’d left a message for Emerald’s parents, telling them their daughter was in the hospital, but she didn’t expect them to show up because they’d given up on Emerald a long time ago.
    â€œDoctor—?” I said, searching for a name tag.
    â€œDr. Mitchell. Lee. And you are?”
    â€œDr. Knight. Kismet. I’m a psychologist. Can you tell us anything about what’s wrong with Emerald? Can we see her?”
    â€œWe’ve stabilized her, but she’s lost a lot of blood, and she’s receiving a transfusion now. This is an unusual case. Emerald should be covered with blood to account for the excessive blood loss, but she isn’t. Furthermore, it appears that she has older puncture wounds on her neck and chest in addition to those we’re treating today. We’re running tests on the wounds to see what kind of animal caused them. Do you have any information about where she was when the attack occurred? Did you see anything?”
    I glanced over at Midnight, encouraging her to answer.
    She shook her head. “I thought Emerald was staying home last night, and I didn’t get back ’til early this morning, so I don’t know what happened. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there for her,” she whimpered, tears running down her cheeks.
    I put my arm around her shoulders. “Dr. Mitchell, when will you get the results of the tests back? I’d like to know as soon as possible.”
    â€œIs she a client of yours?”
    I started to say no, but then I remembered the lost, empty eyes of the vulnerable young woman we’d brought in and decided to lie. I wasn’t sure how far professional courtesy was going to get me, but I wasn’t willing to be another person who abandoned Emerald.
    â€œYes. We just started working together.”
    â€œI should know something by tomorrow morning. I could call you when the results come in, if you want.” He smiled and tilted his head to the side.
    Was this guy flirting with me? I must have crossed into some twilight zone, because this kind of attention just didn’t happen to me. First the vampire wannabe gave me Jell-O knees, and now the handsome doctor was smiling at me in a most inviting manner. I’d bet the combination of the smile and the head-tilt thing always worked for him. I could definitely verify its effectiveness.
    â€œI would appreciate that.” Flustered, I finally managed to pull out one of my business cards and handed it to him. “Just leave a message anytime, and I’ll call you right back.”
    If one of my almost clients hadn’t been lying in the hospital missing several pints of blood, I might have been tempted to pull my own smile and head tilt out of the garage and take it for a test spin. Nancy would be so proud. But considering the circumstances, I just put my professional face back on and behaved myself.
    â€œShe isn’t going to be able to have any visitors today, so it would be best if you return in the morning,” he explained, also stepping into his official persona. “Don’t worry—we’ll take good care of her.” He winked at me and walked away.
    Well, that’s it. I’ve definitely entered a parallel universe. After thirty years of being almost invisible to men, suddenly I’m on the menu. How did that happen?
    Ronald went to fetch the van, and Midnight retreated in search of a restroom. I sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs, closed my eyes, and circled my head around, stretching out the tight muscles in my neck. After a few seconds, I sensed someone behind me and turned to investigate.
    A tall, absurdly