to Dan. “Sometimes when older people are in the hospital, their biorhythms get thrown off and they get disoriented. It happened to my father. Maybe that’s what’s happening to her.”
        Dan hoped she was right but in his gut knew it was more serious than that.
        They stepped into the hall to speak privately.
        “Danny, I don’t like the way she looks. She’s so pale and acting so weird. And those bites look terrible.”
        He was comforted that at least someone else was on his side. “I tried to tell the nurse but she wasn’t very concerned.”
        “Keep on them, Danny. A patient gets better treatment if they know someone’s watching. I’ll stay here all night so you can get your rest. I’ll let you know if there’s anything to report.”
        He was genuinely moved. Robin owed him nothing at this point and her generosity meant a lot right now. “Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
        She took his arm. “Actually, I’m glad I can be helpful. I feel bad about all the ugliness of the divorce. I didn’t want my attorney to go after you so hard but he insists on playing hard ball.”
        Dan shrugged. “You can always call him off.”
        She smiled. “Actually, I already have.”
        He looked her in the eye. “You have? Do we need to talk?”
        She paused. “Yeah, I think we do. Not here and now, but soon.”

#

        The next afternoon, Gramma’s condition was no better, still disoriented, combative, and, her nurse explained, now anemic and dehydrated. And the puncture wounds looked worse. Dan stayed with her until ten o’clock when Robin showed up.
        As they sat with their patient, Robin said, “Danny, have you noticed anything odd about this hospital? Last night around three a.m. when it was really quiet I peeked into several other rooms along the hall. I saw at least ten elderly patients in restraints. It was the middle of the night but they were all wide awake and just stared at me with that strange look on their faces like Gramma. And Danny, they all had puncture wounds on their necks.”
        He digested this. “Shit, it sounds like there’s a vampire on the loose.” He was only half joking.
        She watched his face. “If I didn’t know better . . . .”
        The next day, Dan had a sit-down with Dr. Sharma. He asked about his grandmother’s odd behavior and the bites on her