'Murder in Manhattan' is my answer to challenge 150 - Murder on the Sixth Floor. It's another look at what might have happened had Josef met John Whitley before he died.
Please enjoy and as always, I don't own the characters, but dearly love playing with them.
Murder in Manhattan
As pretentious as the obituary was, those who would have appreciated it had long since turned to dust.
All except one.
Bet the old reprobate wrote it himself. Reading this, you’d think John Whitley was God’s gift to Manhattan if not mankind.
Josef tossed the paper aside, turning his attention to the silent red haired beauty on the bed.
I hate to admit it, but the old boy and I have a lot in common. Power and wealth drove us. Whatever we wanted, we got, except for the one thing we both cherished most – you. If only your father hadn’t threatened to come between us, maybe I wouldn’t have rushed your turning and you’d still be here. If only he could have let you go….I know I couldn't.
Alone with his lost fledgling, Josef recalled his final encounter with John Whitley a few nights earlier. Since Mick and Beth’s recent breach of Whitley’s apartment, security had been tightened, forcing Josef to enter surreptitiously through the sixth floor bedroom window. Whitley was alone and asleep, but woke sensing someone’s presence. Even on his deathbed, the old man’s eyes burned with hatred.
‘How is it you still survive, monster?! Have you come to murder me as you did my precious child?’
To Josef’s surprise, Whitley seemed unafraid, then perplexed when the vampire didn’t strike.
Monster? OK, but a case of pot and kettle, you know? Did I intend to kill him? Yes, but he was almost dead anyway. Besides, why give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right….about everything.
While the old man struggled to sit upright, Josef had stood silently at the foot of the bed. He hadn’t seen Whitley in five decades, and the person before him didn’t resemble the robust, savvy businessman he remembered. He’d been such an imposing figure back then, acquiring and developing what would become choice Manhattan real estate. Back in the day, everyone knew that whatever John Whitley wanted, he got, no matter the cost or consequence. Now, shriveled by age and disease, the old man seemed inconsequential, dwarfed by the massive bed on which he lay.
The last time they’d spoken, the man known as Charles Fitzgerald had come to collect Sarah for the premiere of Broadway’s revival of ‘South Pacific’. They had been seeing each other for months now, to John Whitley’s clear displeasure and growing concern. While many thought he’d be disappointed at not having a son, Whitley adored and doted on the precocious red-haired girl. Of all his possessions, Sarah was the one he most treasured.
As she grew, so did Sarah’s curiosity about life beyond her father’s carefully established boundaries. There was a world outside Manhattan Sarah wanted to experience and not just through Broadway plays. Whitley was protective of his only child, wishing to shield her from the world’s dangers, something Sarah began to chafe at. Many an argument ensued between the equally headstrong father and daughter, but the elder Whitley always prevailed until Charles Fitzgerald entered their lives.
On the surface, Fitzgerald seemed harmless enough, charming even. From the moment Sarah introduced Charles to her father, Whitley disliked him, sensing there was something off about the young man. It was difficult to pinpoint, but Fitzgerald seemed wise beyond his years, always having a smooth answer to any question put to him. Then there were his eyes; Whitley believed a man’s eyes reflected his character and what he saw in Fitzgerald’s worried him. In short, he didn’t trust the man and hoped Sarah’s infatuation with him would end before it progressed too far. When it hadn’t, Whitley had Fitzgerald investigated. What he’d found, or more precisely, what he hadn’t, made him even more suspicious of the man and his motives for dating woman as wealthy and naïve as his Sarah.
When he confronted Sarah about his misgivings, Whitley found out just how headstrong his daughter was. She dismissed her father’s concerns, saying that he didn’t know Charles the way she did, something that did little to assuage his fears. Since his daughter was of age, there was nothing Whitley could do to prevent her from seeing Fitzgerald, short of locking her in her room. It was then he decided on a different approach.
While Sarah gathered her things, Whitley had taken Fitzgerald aside, suggesting that perhaps it was time for him to let Sarah down gently so that they could both move on to more suitable partners. Even though she was 21, his daughter was quite innocent in the ways of the world, ways he was sure Fitzgerald was well acquainted with. In the most thinly veiled of terms, Whitley stated that anyone who used or hurt his daughter would suffer greatly for it. Eyes flashing, Fitzgerald glared back at him in silent refusal. It was then Whitley knew he had underestimated this mysterious young man and that his threats had had only made Fitzgerald more determined than ever to have Sarah for his own.
At least Whitley recognized a dangerous man when he saw one. How can I damn him for trying to protect Sarah from me, something I failed to do myself?
As he and Sarah watched the play, Charles noted the similarities between their relationship and those of the main characters. On stage, lovers were kept apart by the racial and social prejudices of the times. At the play’s end, while one couple succeeded in overcoming those obstacles, another failed, death coming between the star-crossed lovers, just as it stood between Charles and Sarah. If Charles wanted Sarah by his side, he would have to turn her, something she’d been begging him to do for months. With John Whitley determined to end their romance, Charles knew he would have to act soon.
On their way home, Sarah hummed tunes from the play, ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ being her favorite. The couple paused for a few moments at the Angels of the Water fountain in Central Park, holding each other close and stealing kisses under the moonlit sky. To Sarah’s delight, Charles confessed his change of heart about turning her, but only after she fully understood the consequences of becoming a vampire.
‘You must understand that what you’re asking me to do can never be undone. Immortality comes with a high price; you’ll never see your parents again and every few decades, you’ll have to leave everyone you love behind and become someone new. It can be a hard and dangerous life, Sarah, but one eased if you share it with someone you care for. Are you sure you love me enough to do this?’
Eyes shining with joy, Sarah professed her love for Charles, acknowledging her understanding and willingness to be turned.
‘I love you, Charles, and always will. Tomorrow night, we will have our own enchanted evening as you make me your own. For now, let’s make a wish for an eternity of happiness together.’
Sarah drew a coin from her purse and tossed it into the fountain, then kissed Charles deeply. Agreeing to meet the next night at a house he had purchased under an alias, Charles returned Sarah to her parents for one last day together.
The next night, her wish for an eternity of happiness together was destroyed when Sarah’s turning failed. As feared, Whitley spared no expense looking for his daughter, who he believed had run off with Fitzgerald. The investigators he hired followed carefully planted leads taking them far away from Waverly Place. After a few years with no sign of the errant lovers, Whitley finally accepted that in the battle to win Sarah’s heart, Fitzgerald had won.
When Whitley found and read his daughter’s diary five decades later, he understood that death would have been preferable to what Fitzgerald planned for her. It took two years and a small fortune, but John Whitley finally found his daughter’s lover, who now stood silently before him.
‘What are you waiting for, monster? Kill me now and be done with it.’
That’s when Josef realized that vengeance wasn’t all Whitley sought; more than anything he wanted to be reunited with the daughter he had lost so many years ago.
Sensing death was imminent, Josef drew nearer to the old man. Whitley stared past him, his eyes tearing as he raised his arms as if to embrace someone unseen.
‘Sarah!’
With his last breath, John Whitley cried his beloved child’s name. After a few moments, Josef closed the old man’s eyes, unable to bear the joy in them. As he left, Josef wondered if Whitley had achieved what they both yearned for - a reunion with their beloved Sarah.
I knew Whitley was right, that I would only end up hurting Sarah. Like him, I just couldn’t let her go. She loved me, despite what I was, and God help me, I loved her. No, not loved. I still love her and always will.
Before returning to Waverly Place, Josef made his way to the Angels of the Water fountain where he and Sarah had made their plans for an eternity together. In his mind, he could still hear her humming ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ as they walked hand in hand through the park. He’d come to the fountain every year on the anniversary of that night, tossing a coin into the fountain hoping that one day Sarah’s wish for them would come true.
I really, really wish there had been a final scene between John Whitley and Josef in the series, but without one, we can all imagine what might have occurred. In another story, I had Josef show up in Whitley's bedroom after Mick and Beth left, and literally scared the man to death. In this story, Josef never says a word to Whitley, but after his death, thinks back on their exchanges and just how much they had in common. Both loved Sarah, yet both of them lost her. Whitley may be re-united with his daughter's spirit, while Josef can only hope that she will one day return to him. 
I only wish we could have seen a final meeting between Josef and John Whitley in the series.