SUNDAY
Janice had only been in bed a few short hours when her mum came knocking to her hotel room door. Just as Denise got the words out that she hadn't seen Brian since before dinner time the evening before, Brian came down the hallway holding the back of his head. He demanded to see Alice. Before Janice could react, Brian was in the girl's room and Alice was not. She had not returned from being out the night before. It was early morning and the sun had already risen. Brian was most definitely not in a good mood.
'Where is he?' asked Brian with anger in his voice.
'Where is who?' calmly asked Janice.
'You know who I'm asking about.'
Brian stared at Janice for a moment without getting a response. She didn't know how to respond. She didn't know where either Gabriel or Alice were, and also did not know how to tell her parents that Alice was no longer human or even if she should tell her parents this at all. Brian, determined to get answers, soon began to make his way down to the lobby. When he got there, he demanded that the desk clerk should tell him where the 'vampire' had got too. Before the desk clerk could respond in any way, Gabriel arrived back to the hotel and was right away confronted by Brian.
'Where is my daughter?'
Denise and Janice had followed Brian.
'She is right behind you' replied Gabriel with a smile.
Gabriel wanted to stick it to Brian but at the same time he did not want the hassle that 'sticking it' would bring. If only he truly understood. It was far too late to consider not irritating any human; Brian had more than likely already been irritated prior to first arriving at the hotel. If it weren't obvious, there is a definite dislike that goes both ways between Gabriel and Brian.
'My other daughter, you fool, where is she?'
Brian's anger was clear and obvious. Despite how the weekend has gone do far, he has not experienced anything which might have him believe there was such a thing as vampires, for if he did believe this then maybe he would be a lot calmer than what he was at this point or at least he would try to appear to be calmer.
'The location of your daughter at this moment in time is of no concern to me.'
The frustration Brian was feeling had reached its limit. He wanted to throw a punch, but he restrained himself.
'No concern huh? And I suppose you also know nothing about the attack I was a victim of last night?'
'You were attacked last night and automatically you think I had something to do with it?' Gabriel stated as much as asking a question and he done so while removing the sunglasses from his face.
The hotel general manager came over in an attempt to ease the situation while also being eager to find out as to if the truce had been broken or if it was still on. This being asked more from a business point of view rather that from anything else. Gabriel replied that it was indeed still in effect, he would have those unwilling to uphold the truce severely punished. He has fought too hard up to this point to achieve as much as he as.
Brian's face was now turning all colours, from puce to pure red and even had a moment where he looked a little yellow ... a heart attack just waiting to happen or possibly actually happening ... to a point.
'Do not give me this vampire bull; I just want my daughter so I can get the hell out of here.'
The desk clerk, the same desk clerk who had been at the reception desk all weekend, could not prevent himself from letting loose a laugh.
Brian turned and walked aggressively towards him pointing a finger and shouting 'you think this is funny huh? Right, I am calling the police.'
'I am sure there is no need for that' spoke the general manager.
'No need? My daughter is missing, and you think there is no need for the police?'
Police do arrive and they did so quite quickly and to a point managed to calm things down at least a little. Since Brian and Denise did get a glimpse of Alice the evening before meant that Alice was technically not yet a missing person, twenty-four hours needed to pass first before she could become a missing person however with the current situation being what it was, there would be some suspicion. The advice given was for the remaining three members of the family to go home and await further contact from the police.
Brian searched the grounds of the hotel; he didn't want to go anywhere just yet. He had plenty he wanted to prove or disprove. His search was escorted by two patrolmen. He went to the wooded area and showed the police the general area to where he had been attacked and soon moved on. There was evidence that a party had taken place not far from where the attack on Brian had occurred. A fire had been burning and was still smouldering.
Denise waited in the family car with Janice. Denise could tell that Janice knew more than she was giving in to and that she was not going to reveal anything. When Brian came back to them there was nothing more of which any of them could do now but go on home. With reluctance, this is what happened. Oh, how different things would be at this moment if indeed Brian had got his way of having the weekend away occur by that cabin of his.
When things had quietened within the Castlemount Arms Hotel and there wasn't anyone else of note around, Gabriel reached across the reception desk with his left hand grabbing the clerk by the back of his neck and in the blink of an eye he rammed the clerks face into the desk.
'That is what you get for being stupid.'
Holding his nose and responding frailly, the desk clerk said 'yes ... Sir ... Mister .... Grimmel'
Turning away and putting his sunglasses back on Gabriel said, 'and by the way ... like I told you before, call me Gabriel....'
****
Brian and Denise never saw Alice again after that weekend. Janice, however, did see her sister again, quite a lot and quite regularly actually but there was no way she could tell her parents that her twin sister was now a vampire, not that Brian would ever accept such a thing as fact.
The family obviously would never be the same again. Eighteen months after that weekend, Brian suffered a stroke. His health deteriorated rapidly and the number of months remaining prior to his death had come to be in the single digits.
Losing one of her daughters then losing her husband was too much for Denise. Two months after the loss of her husband Denise took her own life. Janice inherited the house and whatever was left of the family's wealth. Alice never returned to the family home other than to see Janice for the first time since leaving the hotel and at that, it was outside the house when the sisters would meet.
Gabriel Grimmel also had made a visit to Janice at her home; in fact he made several visits. Even though it was that VAMPIRE WEEKEND that marked the destruction of her family, Janice had a strange trust for Gabriel, she knew what he was, she knew what her sister had become, but at this moment she basically had nothing in her life but her home and to her there was no wrong that Gabriel could do.
As for Gabriel Grimmel, he got exactly what he wanted from that weekend and just what it is that he wanted?? ... Well, that is another story ...
