of equality between donors and vampires. Anyway, one of the users began asking a few questions a while ago. Wanted vampires to describe what blood tasted like. And he was talking about nonconsensual blood drinking, which we are totally against. I mean, this is the twenty-first century, not the nineteenth century in Transylvania, right?”
Tatum glanced at Zoe. She hardly even breathed as she listened to Peter talk.
“Anyway, some members bashed him, and he stopped posting. But I was, like, worried that he might do something weird? So I reached out with a personal message and explained what people had an issue with and suggested that he maybe find a donor who would role-play as if she was nonconsenting. Some donors are excited by that.”
“And was he interested?” Zoe asked, tense.
“Nah, he wasn’t interested at all. He said that it wouldn’t work, whatever that means. Then I didn’t hear from him for a while. Then, two weeks ago, he began talking to me again. He asked if I thought drinking blood could cure anything. I was like, um . . . no, it’s good for some things, if you need it, right? But if you break your leg, or, I don’t know, have diabetes, go to the doctor. And then he asked if I thought drinking blood could replace antipsychotics.” Peter paused, shaking his head.
“What did you tell him?” Tatum asked.
“I told him no way! And he kept going on about what if the blood was really pure, like if the donor was purehearted or whatever, so I just straight-out told him he was being stupid. And he didn’t answer. So I was, like, thank god, I got some sense into him, right? And then, two days ago, I got a short message from him.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that I was wrong.”
“What then?”
“Nothing. I answered, asked him what he was talking about, but he didn’t reply. I sent him a few more messages, but I got absolutely nothing. And then when Carmela talked to me, I thought, shit, that could be your guy.”
“We need the email he was using,” Tatum said.
“The forum doesn’t use emails, just usernames and passwords. His username is Dracula2.”
“Fine. We’ll need admin access to your forum and to talk to whoever is running it.” Unless Mr. Dracula2 was a technological wiz, the bureau’s analysts would be able to locate him in five minutes.
“It’s a Tor-based forum,” Peter said.
Tatum gritted his teeth. The Tor network, commonly known as the dark web, almost completely guaranteed digital anonymity. This was why it was often used by pedophiles or for black markets such as the Silk Road, which sold drugs and guns. And, apparently, it was also used by Chicago’s vampire community.
“Peter, if this guy is the one we’re looking for, he might kill more people,” Tatum said, neglecting to mention the fact that he already had. “We need to find him as soon as possible.”
“Listen, I’ll give you what I can, okay? I’m just saying there’s a reason we use this forum. Some vampires don’t want to be found.”
“Did this . . . Dracula2 ever mention the purity of blood before his last messages?” Zoe asked. “Any mention of that word at all in one of his earlier messages or his posts?”
Peter thought about it. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’ll check, but I feel like the first time was two weeks ago.”
“Is it something you talk about routinely on the forum?”
“Nah, I don’t remember anyone talking about blood purity. I mean, we talk about STDs a lot, so there’s that.”
Zoe caught Tatum’s gaze, her eyes telling him that they were done.
“Can you find the posts by Dracula2 to show us?” Tatum asked. “And the forum’s details too.”
“Uh, sure, hang on. My laptop is in the back room. Don’t touch the fangs on the table, okay?” He exited the room, leaving them alone.
“What do you think?” Tatum asked. He could see the spark in Zoe’s eyes, the way she bit her lower lip. She thought it was their guy.
“It fits,” she said. “The timeline works, and everything he told us fits the profile. The fact that he wasn’t interested in role-playing clarifies his blood drinking isn’t a result of paraphilia.”
Tatum took a few seconds to catch up. When they’d analyzed the various possible reasons for consuming blood, Zoe had said that paraphilia was a possible reason. A sexual fetish. “Why does it mean that?”
“Well, if it was a sexual fantasy, I’d expect him to be interested in role-playing