Read Online The Empty Coffins by John Russell Fearn - Free Book Online

Mrs. Burrows, and Dr. Meadows also being present.
    â€œI am quite sure of one thing.” Rushton said, his square face grim. “The Assistant-Commissioner is going to haul me over the coals when I have to report failure in this business—for the third time.”
    â€œSo you’ve not got anywhere?” Peter asked bitt­erly.
    â€œI’m afraid not. Fingerprint experts have not found any prints anywhere—or at least any prints that might be of use. What prints there are, chiefly on the window frame of this room here, are blurred with none of the familiar whorl, arch, or loop formation. From the doctor we have the assurance that the blood found on the pillow was yours, Mrs. Malden, which means you actually must have lost far more than that caused by the wounds in your throat. Anyway, the group matches. True, you are not the only person with an ‘O’ type blood-group, but the coincidence of the attacker losing that much blood, and being in the same group, is too coincidental.”
    â€œA vampire is not a creature of flesh and blood, anyway,” Meadows put in. “Not in the accepted sense, anyhow; so the blood on the pillow could only belong to Mrs. Malden.”
    â€œSo it would seem,” Rushton admitted. “We have also made routine enquiries but have got no further than talk of vampires in general and George Timper­ley in particular. We have not been able to pick up any clues in the cemetery, even though we have noted that George Timperley’s grave, or at least his coffin, is empty. We could of course have kept a vigil by night and see if he appears, but you people have already done that and met with no success. So,” Rushton finished. “I’m afraid we haven’t got very far.”
    â€œNot a very encouraging admission for Scotland Yard,” Dr. Meadows commented.
    â€œWe’re not magicians, doctor,” the Chief-inspector told him. “In this particular case we are up against a complex problem. A vampire—if such a thing really does exist—is a long way from our territory.”
    â€œHave you thought of the possibility of the vampire being an excuse for some criminally-minded person to commit murder and assault at random?” Mrs. Borrows asked. “Making everything look as though it is the work of a vampire....”
    â€œYes, we have considered that possibility,” Rushton admitted, ‘but it does not get us any further. If it be a tenable theory, the answer is a maniac—and not a sex-maniac, either, since men have been killed as well as women attacked. The whole thing is so motiveless, so utterly lacking in purpose—”
    â€œFrom a material, standpoint, yes.” Meadows said. “From the standpoint of a vampire every­thing fits in. It all comes down to one thing: George Timperley is anxious to destroy his former wife and turn her into a vampire like himself. To do that he needs human blood, so to obtain it he kills off villagers, none of whom he liked whilst he lived. It’s as simple as that.”
    â€œAnd you think Mrs. Malden is likely to be attacked again?” Rushton asked, thinking.
    â€œI am convinced George Timperley will do his best. It is up to us to see that he fails. I think we should organize a vampire-watch amongst the villages and attack him the next time he appears.”
    â€œIt seems to be the only move,” Rushton agreed, then he switched the subject. ‘Tell me, about this mystic, Rawnee Singh. What exactly did he have to say? Do you feel able to detail the facts to me, Mrs. Malden?’
    Elsie nodded from where she lay in bed and, by degrees, gave all the details, Sergeant Mather writing busily in his notebook.
    â€œQuite extraordinary,” Rushton said at length. “I am wondering, since Singh appears to have some kind of other-world connection, whether he might not be able to throw some light on this vampire business.”
    â€œHardly