NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Before things would escalate between Martha and Mr. Humphrey, Donovan interjected, ”Head warden Humphrey, nobody is accusing you of anything. We were merely asking you questions concerning the missing man in this village, which you have denied knowing. But then we got a report of it in the church.”

”Doesn’t that make you suspicious, Head warden Humphrey?”

The courage Mr. Humphrey had built in himself crumbled and crashed like how sand castles built near the ocean are washed away by the ocean water. Again, he stayed quiet after Donovan questioned him.

What was all this Mr. Persin and vampires abduction?M Humphrey internally questioned himself. When will these church members agree with me that there are vampires in this village and also that no man by the name of Mr. Persin was missing?

But wait...Mr. Humphrey paused in his thoughts as he recalled something that happened some weeks ago. It was about a man whom the villagers had reported missing and he can also remember that he had caught his wife whom they said was responsible for his departure because she was accused of whoring and taking birth control pills. And that was the reason her husband ran away and has not returned till today.

Also, the man was not Mr. Persin if he remembered correctly too. It was...Mr. Per...yes, yes, it was Mr. Perkin! Mr. Humphrey confirmed in his head with a thoughtful look on his face which the church members took note of.

”Did you remember anything, Head warden Humphrey?” Donovan asked.

”Yes, yes, yes,” Mr. Humphrey vigorously nodded his head and answered, ”Headchurch Donovan, there might a mistake here...I mean about the report that was filed.”

”Mistake?” Donovan quizzed with a narrowed look as he adjusted his sitting position once more. He demanded, ”What is the mistake you speak of, Head warden Humphrey?”

Mr. Humphrey bobbled his head, his eyes filled with excitement at the discovery he made. He was already calculating the bonus and treats he will get for pointing out something so important to the church members.

Mr. Humphrey inclined his head to the side and respectfully answered, ”The man you all are looking for is not Mr. Persin, he is Mr. Perkin.” One could hear the change in his voice and attitude he exuded just now when he spoke that made Theodore scoff in his seat.

”What?!” Donovan, Mr. Welsh, and Martha exclaimed in unison while the lazy and bored look on Theodore’s face was replaced by a slightly narrowed and suspicious look.

”What do you mean that the man we are looking for is not Mr. Persin but is Mr. Perkin?” Donovan further questioned with a frown that now marred his face.

Mr. Humphrey continued with his explanations, ”What I am saying Head church Donovan is that Mr. Persin is not Mr. Persin but is Mr. Perkin. The man who is missing is Mr. Perkin. If I am correct, no man is answering Mr. Persin in this Woodbridge village.”

Was this the reason the king ordered them to go and clarify the report? Donovan asked himself. The king knew the man missing is not Mr. Persin but is Mr. Perkin. They had interchanged the letters, K and S.

That cunning king. Donovan gritted his teeth in annoyance. He knew all about this but kept quiet, later he will claim he has the best interest of the people at heart. What confused him more was how the King got to know that no man was answering Mr. Persin in the village of Woodbridge. Could the King have something to do with the abducted man and that was why he knew? He wouldn’t be surprised if the king killed him while drinking his blood. The man was a sly and cunning king who displayed different shades of quirky characters. Donovan thought to himself.

Silence ensued in the office after Mr. Humphrey finished speaking.

The church members were quiet and were still trying to understand what they heard from Mr. Humphrey.

Mr. Humphrey on the other hand looked from one church member to the other in the hope that they believed what he told them. But all they held were deep frowns on their faces still in thought.

The woods in the fireplace crackled in the now silent room. The snow continued falling outside as the wind occasionally blew cold air, slapping on the window panes.

It felt like hours passed in the room when Donovan finally broke the silence with his question. He asked, ”Head warden Humphrey, how are you sure the man we are looking for is this Mr. Perkin and not Mr. Persin?”

Mr. Humphrey exhaled, already tired of repeatedly answering the same question. He swallowed his spittle as he wrung his hands together and began his explanation again, ”I am a hundred percent sure, Headchurch Donovan. There was a time three or two weeks ago when the villagers came and reported to me that a man called Mr. Perkin was missing.”

”Why? What was the reason behind his departure? Did they report he was adopted by a vampire?” It was Mr. Welsh who questioned Mr. Humphrey.

”No, they did not say he was abducted by a vampire.” Mr. Humphrey answered and Martha was quick to respond to his words.

She said, ”Then it is not Mr. Perkin we are looking for, Mr. Humphrey. We are looking for a man called Mr. Persin who was abductee by a vampire and not your Mr. Perkin.” Her voice sounded like she was mocking Mr. Humphrey because of the stupid analysis he gave them.

”You said that this Mr. Perkin is missing? What was the reason behind it, Mr. Humphrey?” It was Theodore who now questioned Mr. Humphrey. Done with the little investigation he was doing behind the desk, he turned his head and attention to the head warden in charge of Woodbridge constabulary.

Mr. Humphrey turned to face Theodore who had questioned him and answered, ”He ran away, churchman Theodore.”

”Why?”

”The villagers said he discovered his wife was whoring around in the village and was taking birth control pills. That was why he ran away and has not returned till today.” Mr. Humphrey answered.

”The villagers,” Theodore repeated. His bloodred eyes stared deep into the black eyes of Humphrey. He continued to ask, ”You have been saying the villagers, didn’t you go to confirm the report?”

”I...I did confirm the report, churchman Theodore.” Mr. Humphrey’s voice quivered under the gaze of the vampire who seemed as if he could see right through his brain and the things he thought.

”And?”

”And it was true. Mr. Perkin indeed ran away because of his wife. And later, I also confirmed the birth control pills the woman took.”

”Show me the pills, Mr. Humphrey,” Theodore ordered.

”Right away, Mr. Theodre.” Mr. Humphrey immediately went to the large cupboard in the room and opened the middle drawer. He reached inside it and rummaged through the things before he brought out a small bag containing the pills. Closing the drawer, he walked back to the desk where Theodore sat and handed him the small bag.

Martha and Mr. Welsh wondered what Theodore was doing. They were here to clarify the report that a man, Mr. Persin was abducted by a vampire so they could go ahead with the exorcism in the village. But here he was asking this constabulary head warden about Mr. Perkin who ran away because of his wife. And what was he going to do with the birth control pills he asked Mr. Humphrey to bring?

Martha opened her mouth to ask Theodore these questions that swirled in both her head and that of Mr. Welsh, but a wave of the hand from Donovan was enough to keep her shut.

Donovan watched Theodore question Mr. Humphrey with a curious gaze. Did he also believe what Mr. Humphrey said that the man is not Mr. Persin but is Mr. Perkin? Donovan asked himself. He leaned his back on his seat in a relaxed manner watching and waiting for Theodore to solve another complicated case.

Theodore took the small bag from Mr. Humphrey. He opened it and brought out a red pill and examined it with a thoughtful expression. Turning the pill in all angles as if he was trying to know what it was made of, he broke it in halves before bringing it close to his nose.

Theodore took a sniff of the broken pills and his eyes hardened into slits which the church members did not notice.

He could smell blood and another strong substance in it.

He turned to look at Mr. Humphrey and questioned in a clipped tone, ”Are you sure this was the pill Mr. Perkin’s wife was caught taking?”

”Yes, I am sure these are the pills. In fact, I personally went to search their house and found the pills inside the bag of Mr. Perkin. It was also confirmed that the pills are birth control pills by the local apothecary.”

”Hmm,” Theodore hummed thoughtfully. These were not birth control pills and the local apothecary was wrong in his experiment. They are blood pills and he was very sure of it. It made him wonder what a human was doing with blood pills that were meant for vampires. Was it really because the man caught his wife whoring that he suddenly disappeared? Or was it related to these blood pills and some unknown vampire? Theodore asked himself before he rose to his feet.

His lazy eyes now shone brighter than before as he wanted to find out more about the pills. He said to Mr. Humphrey,

”This Mr. Perkin’s wife, is she still living in this village?”

”Yes,” Mr. Humphrey promptly replied. ”She is still in the village, churchman Theodore.”

”Take me to her house, there are important questions she will have to answer.”