Part XIV The Giant Rat of Sumatra

Part XIV The Giant Rat of Sumatra


The dark haired dark bearded dark eyed man in the well-tailored suit with top hat and cane stood only feet away from Vittoria Donna Gina's caravan trailer.


Holmes immediately recognized him.


He ran to grab the man when suddenly another man appeared on the scene.


The distinguished looking man with gray moustache, silvery gray hair and spectacles sporting a huge crucifix around his neck pulled what appeared to be a huge wooden stake from under his coat and shoved it into the vicinity of the dark bearded man's heart.


To Holmes' shock and amazement, the dark haired dark bearded dark eyed man crumbled to dust.


All that remained were his distinguished clothes, top hat and cane.


Holmes stood there totally transfixed by what he saw.


"Mr. Sherlock Holmes," the gray moustached gentleman held out his hand.


Holmes then recognized the man.


"Dr. Abraham Van Helsing," Holmes held out his hand.


Holmes recognized the famous Dutch physician and distinguished world authority on rare blood disorders.


"What was that I just witnessed?" Holmes inquired.


Dr. Van Helsing laughed, "Well seeing as how you've attacked me for my views in letters written to various scientific journals and have called me a damned medievalist for believing in dark ages superstitious nonsense, I don't think you'd really believe me if I told you, Mr. Holmes."


"I've never seen a man crumble to dust within seconds after a stake has been placed through his heart," Holmes looked somewhat pale, "so maybe I'm now more open to possibilities that go beyond my sense of reason than I was before. Was that... a... a... a....?"


"A vampire, Mr. Holmes?" Van Helsing smiled, "can't you even bring yourself to say the word?".


"No, I guess not," Holmes shook his head.


"He shall be disturbing the world no more," Van Helsing looked down at the clothes that had once adorned the vampire.


"What was his name?" Holmes asked.


"He called himself Lord Belfor although he had no official legal title," Van Helsing replied, "he owned a large estate outside London where he was married to a fat and wealthy mortal former brothel owner who had a half-dozen brats of her own that he adopted and thus bear his English name Belfor."


"His English name?" Holmes lit his pipe, "But judging from his appearance when he was still alive and Undead, he appeared to be Italian in nationality."


"He was," Van Helsing nodded, "his real name was Rodrigo Salieri the bastard son of Antonio Salieri."


"Antonio Salieri the Italian composer rumoured to have murdered Mozart?" Holmes asked.


"The same," Van Helsing nodded, "Rodrigo Salieri was even a more mediocre musician than his father. He was also a greater moral reprobate than his father for Rodriogo was both a rapist and serial killer of young women."


"Before or after he was a vampire?" Holmes inquired.


"Both," Van Helsing replied.


"Any idea what year he became a vampire?" Holmes blew smoke rings into the air.


"Well, according to one of his diaries which I managed to find," Van Helsing answered, "in 1830 when he was 30 years old."


"Did he say how it happened?" Holmes was intrigued.


"According to the diary entry, he called on the demon Mephistopheles to grant him immortality. Mephistopheles, according to the diary, appeared to him and said he would grant him a form of immortality - a vampiric existence. But the young bastard Salieri would have to avoid Crosses and Crucifixes and consecrated Communion hosts as well as wooden stakes through the heart.  And unlike mad dogs and Englishmen, he could not go out walking in the noonday sun. Or any other time of day when the sun was present."


"And it was the demon Mephistopheles who turned him into a vampire?" Holmes was incredulous.


"Mephistopheles introduced him to the ancient Babylonian vampiress Lilith who bit him on the neck," Van Helsing replied.


An owl was heard hooting in the distance as the moon burst through a dark cloud.


Some frogs croaked in the distance on the other side of the river Welland.


"Demons and ancient Babylonian vampiresses," Holmes shook his head, "it makes me wish I was back in my London lab working with chemicals- substances I can understand."


"Chemicals eh?" Van Helsing smiled, "Like the Renaissance alchemist Dr. Johann Georg Faust."


"Another one of the exploits of Mephistopheles," Holmes mused.


"According to an entry in the bastard Salieri's diary," Van Helsing noted, "Faust was granted a form of immortality other than a vampiric one.  And Faust did not actually die like legend says or Christopher Marlowe or Goethe mention in their respective tales."


"No," Holmes had to smile, "What happened to him?".

"Well according to historical records, Dr. Johann Georg Faust was supposed to have died in an explosion caused by an alchemical experiment he was performing at the Hotel zum Lowen in Staufen im Breisgau.  The explosion was said to have occurred around the year 1540, " Van Helsing explained, "but according to Salieri's diary, Faust's face was only disfigured in the explosion. Salieri claims Faust took to wearing a mask and Faust is still alive today wandering the earth as a masked man."


"Reminds me of stories I've heard of a freedom fighter in Spanish ruled California or a lone Ranger riding the plains of Texas on a silver horse," Holmes laughed.


"According to Salieri," Van Helsing went on, "the mask Faust wears is an unusual one. He has two masks. One a golden mask of Greek dramatic tragedy. The other a golden mask of Greek dramatic comedy."


"Really?" The normally calm and serene looking Holmes turned ashen white.


"And Salieri claims that Faust is currently working as a stage magician," Van Helsing went on.


Holmes started choking on his pipe.


"I just wish I knew if Salieri has bitten anyone in Stamford and turned them into a member of the UnDead," Van Helsing scratched his chin.


"And presumably you'd drive a stake through that individual's heart," Holmes glanced nervously in the direction of Vittoria Donna Gina's caravan trailer.


"It's my sworn duty, Mr. Holmes," Van Helsing bowed to the consulting detective.


"Well I've been thoroughly watching this bastard Salieri aka the obnoxious serial killer and rapist Lord Belfor," Holmes said, "because there were fears among circus performers here that he was going to steal one of the animals. And I can assure you that he had no time here to turn anyone into the UnDead."

"Then it appears my work here is finished, Mr. Holmes," Van Helsing shook the detective's hand, "it was a pleasure to meet you."


"Nice to meet you, Van Helsing," Holmes shook the vampire hunter's hand.


As Van Helsing walked off into the night, Holmes could only guess what the bastard Salieri aka serial killer and rapist Lord Belfor had turned Vitttoria Donna Gina into when he used to sneak into her caravan trailer as she was touring Germany with Hemlock the Magician.


The Man With The Golden Mask- sometimes of tragedy and sometimes of comedy- had told Holmes that this stranger (Salieri Belfor) had stolen something from Vittoria Donna Gina.

Holmes now knew what that was.


And now Holmes knew why Vittoria only went out at night and not during the day.

And what that medication (as Hemlock called it) that looked like red iodine in a bottle- what that medication actually was that Hemlock gave her.

It was Vittoria Donna Gina's sustenance that prevented her from attacking the blood of innocents.


To be continued.


-A Sherlock Holmes novella chapter
 written by Christopher
 Friday September 25th
 2015.


This blog post contains the links to my previous chapters in The Giant Rat of Sumatra (that I wrote back in 2010):


https://draculvanhelsing.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/the-giant-rat-of-sumatra/


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