Conquering His Cold Heart

Unlike the other days, Carl’s clinic had a ‘closed’ sign pasted on the door.

“Closed?” Zenon furrowed his brows and then mumbled to himself, “I didn’t know the doctors also take leave. What is he busy with?”

Although the door said that the clinic was closed, the door was still open since it was the only way that could be used to get inside the house. So, Zenon thought of going inside and seeing if the doctor was in the house.

“Doctor Carl?” he stood at the end of the stairs and gave a voice. “Are you home? I had some urgent matter to discuss with you.”

Zenon heard a set of footsteps approaching, so he waited for a while, hoping that it was the doctor who was coming down.

However, he was disappointed when he heard the voice of a middle-aged woman. “Yes, who’s it?”

The moment that woman noticed Zenon’s red eyes, she stopped mid-stairs. And a cloud of fear and anger hovered over her face.

“A vampire?” She gave a piercing gaze to Zenon. And though she was scared, she spoke up, “What is a vampire doing in my house?”

.....

Zenon didn’t like the kind of vibe that woman was giving off. But he guessed that the doctor had shared how he and Vincent had threatened him the last time they saw him. So he said while keeping his calm, “I have brought a message from the King. I need to say it directly to Doctor Carl.”

“Be my guest and do that. My husband is dead!” she gritted through her teeth while trying her best not to control her extreme emotions.

“Excuse me? Doctor Carl is dead?” Zenon was too stunned to hear that news. “My deepest condolences to you, ma’am. Uh...”

He could see that woman fuming with rage, but he still asked, “I’m sure this is not the right time, but may I know when and how that tragic incident happened? He seemed healthy the last time I saw him.”

That woman was now completely taken over by her emotions. She didn’t care if the man standing in front of her was a vampire. She spat right in front of him and screamed, “How dare you come to my house after murdering my husband and asking me how he died? I’m sure it was one of you who did it! Don’t you have any shame left?”

She even took off her shoe and threw it at Zenon while shouting, “You murderer! Get the hell out of my house this instant! You don’t get to taint my house with your filthy presence! Get lost!”

Zenon dodged the shoe. But it stung his heart upon hearing the baseless accusation.

So he tried to clear the air, “I assure you that none of us had anything to do with your husband’s demise. But from the sound of it, he didn’t have a natural death. So, if you tell me what happened, maybe I can help you in identifying the real culprit.”

“I don’t need help from the likes of you, you monsters! I know it in my bones that one of you was-”

That woman was suddenly interrupted by a young man. “Mom, who are you shouting at? Who are you cursing? Just stop it already! The whole town can hear y-” That man stopped behind his mother and looked at Zenon with a frown.

And the woman began shouting again while pointing at Zenon, “They are the ones who killed your father! I have every right to curse them.”

The young man stepped in front of his mother and tried to ask politely but failed at it. “Look, we are already grieving. So, it would be nice if your kind stopped coming into our house and stopped sprinkling salt on our wounds.”

Zenon sighed and defended himself again, “I already made it clear to your mother that we are not the killers. We didn’t have any enmity with him. In fact, he was the only trusted doctor of the King. He was the one to treat Her Majesty every time. And she recently recovered from her illness. So I came here on His Majesty’s behalf to thank the doctor for his service.”

Both the mother and son exchanged glances with each other.

And the son finally spoke in a polite way, “Then I am happy that my father was able to serve the King and the Queen.”

Zenon gave a nod and asked, “If he was murdered, didn’t you file a case?”

The son simply shook his head and said nothing more.

And Zenon questioned again, “Don’t you want to find your father’s murderer? He was a good man. So, if you want the culprits to be punished, then I will do all that I can to help you.”

The son took a deep breath and replied, “My father hanged himself.”

Zenon was dumbfounded again. He didn’t understand why anyone of his status would want to kill themselves.

The lady sat down on the stair and began to mumble while recalling the incidents that had taken place.

“A few days before taking his own life, he had told me how he was threatened by some vampires. But he said not to worry about it. He said that he had settled all the misunderstandings. But... days later, I found him...” She broke into tears before she could even finish her sentence.

“We found him hanging on one of the trees at the edge of the woods,” Carl’s son finished his mother’s sentence and sat down to offer his shoulder for his mother to cry on.

Zenon took a deep breath and asked one final question, “Were there any marks of fangs on him?”

“I wish there was,” she mumbled while crying. “At least then, we would know for sure that it was one of the vampires who did it. Now, I don’t even know if that was a planned murder or... or if he took his own life... I don’t want to believe that he took his own life. That would mean that I couldn’t clearly see through his smile.”

She buried her face in her palm and whispered, “All he ever knew was helping sick people. He was always cheerful and forever ready to look after his patients. Who would want such a kind man dead?”

“I will do what I can then. I will send some-” Zenon suddenly caught someone shouting a familiar name. He turned his ear toward the door and listened in.

He heard a faint voice shouting from afar, “Fire! Fire! The Thompson’s house is burning down!”