"Cappuccino and a croissant?" the waitress said, and, at Elena's nod, set them down on the table. Elena pushed her notebooks aside to make room. Midterms were coming up, on top of everything else that was happening. Elena had tried studying in her room but was too distracted by the sight of Bonnie's empty bed. She and Meredith were al wrong without Bonnie.

She hadn't gotten much done here at the cafe, either, despite getting one of the prime big outdoor tables that she could spread her books out on. She'd tried, but her mind kept circling back to Samantha's death.

Samantha was such a nice girl, Elena thought. Elena remembered how her eyes lit up when she laughed and the way she bounced on the bal s of her feet as if she was bursting to move, run, dance, too ful of energy to sit stil .

Meredith didn't make new friends that easily, but the wary coolness she usual y wore with strangers had relaxed around Samantha.

When Elena had left the dorm, Meredith was on the phone with Alaric. Maybe he would know what to say, how to comfort her. Unwil ing to break into their conversation, Elena left her a note indicating where she would be if Meredith needed her.

Stirring her coffee, Elena looked up to see Meredith coming toward her. The tal er girl sat down across from Elena and fixed her with her serious gray eyes. "Alaric says Dalcrest is a hot spot for paranormal activity," she said.

"Black magic, vampires, werewolves, the whole package." Elena nodded and added more sugar to her cup. "Just as Professor Campbel hinted," she said thoughtful y. "I get the feeling he knows more than he's saying."

"You need to push him," Meredith said tightly. "If he liked your parents so much, he'l feel like he has to tel you the truth. We don't have time to waste." She reached out and broke off a piece of Elena's croissant. "Can I have this? I haven't had anything to eat today, and I'm starting to feel dizzy."

Looking at the strained lines on Meredith's face, the dark shadows under her eyes, Elena felt a sharp stab of sympathy. "Of course," she said, pushing the plate toward her. "I just cal ed Damon to come meet me." She watched as Meredith decimated the croissant, stirring stil more sugar into her coffee. Elena felt in need of comfort.

It wasn't long before they saw Damon sauntering down the street toward them, his hair sleek and perfect, his al -

black clothes casual y elegant, sunglasses on. Heads turned as he walked by, and Elena distinctly saw one girl miss her footing and fal off the curb.

"That was fast," Elena said, as Damon pul ed out a chair and sat down.

"I'm fast," Damon answered, "and you said it was important."

"It is," Elena said. "Our friend Samantha is dead." Damon jerked his head in acknowledgment. "I know.

The police are al over campus. As if they'l be able to do anything."

"What do you mean?" asked Meredith, glaring at him.

"Well, these killings don't exactly fal under the police's agency, do they?" Damon reached out and plucked Elena's coffee cup from her hand. He took a sip, then made a smal moue of distaste. "Darling, this is far too sweet." Meredith's hands were bal ing into fists, and Elena thought she had better speed things up. "Damon, if you know something about this, please tel us." Damon handed her back her cappuccino and signaled the waitress to bring him one of his own. "To tel you the truth, darling, I don't know much about Samantha's death, or that of Mutt's roommate, whatever his name was. I couldn't get close enough to the bodies to have any real information. But I've found definite evidence that there are other vampires on campus. Sloppy ones." His face twisted into the same expression he'd made after tasting Elena's coffee. "Probably newly made, I'd guess. No technique at al ."

"What kind of evidence?" Meredith asked.

Damon looked surprised. "Bodies of course. Very poorly disposed of bodies. Shal ow graves, bonfires, that kind of thing."

Elena frowned. "So the people who have disappeared were kil ed by vampires?"

Damon wagged a finger at her teasingly. "I didn't say that. The bodies I examined - and let me tel you, digging up a shal ow grave was real y a first for me - were not the same ones that vanished from campus. I don't know if your missing students were kil ed by vampires or not, but somebody else was. Several somebodies. I've been trying to find these vampires, but I haven't had any luck. Yet." Meredith, who normal y would have jumped on Damon's comment about this being his first time digging up a grave, looked thoughtful. "I saw Samantha's body," she said hesitantly. "It didn't look like a typical vampire attack to me.

And from the way Matt described Christopher's body, I don't think his did, either. They were" - she took a deep breath - "mauled. Torn apart."

"It could be a pack of real y angry vampires, or messy ones," Damon said. "Or werewolves might be vicious like that. It's more their style." The waitress appeared with his cappuccino, and he thanked her graciously. She retreated, blushing.

"There's another thing," Elena said once the waitress was out of hearing range. She glanced inquiringly at Meredith, who nodded at her. "We're worried about Bonnie and her new boyfriend." Quickly, she outlined the reasons they had for being suspicious of Zander and Bonnie's reaction to their concerns.

Damon raised one eyebrow as he finished his drink.

"So you think the little redbird's suitor might be dangerous?" He smiled. "I'l look into it, princess. Don't worry."

Dropping a few dol ars on the table, he rose and sauntered across the street, disappearing into a grove of maples. A few minutes later, a large black crow with shining iridescent feathers rose above the trees, flapping its wings powerful y. It gave a raucous caw and flew away.

"That was surprisingly helpful of him," Meredith said. Her face was stil tired and drawn, but her voice was interested.

Elena didn't have to look up to know that her friend was watching her speculatively. Eyes demurely downward, feeling her cheeks flush pink, she took another sip of her cappuccino. Damon was right. It was much too sweet.