by Emily Knight
A half hour later found Peter and Val were seated before the desk of Detective Mordecai. Mordecai glanced between Peter and Val. In his hands were clasped a folder with the report of their doings.
He leaned over his desk and waved the folder at them. "Mind telling me what you two were doing at the morgue with a backpack full of wooden stakes and garlic?"
"Um, getting ready for a barbecue?" Peter replied.
Detective sneered at him. "Uh-huh, and how does that explain the missing body and a pile of dust all over you?"
Peter shrugged and sheepishly smiled. "The janitor hasn't swept in a while?"
"And the missing body?"
"Walked off?"
Mordecai slammed the folder onto the desk. Val and Peter jumped. "We have a body missing and you're the prime suspect in the killing." He leaned forward and curled his lip back in a snarl. "What did you do with it?"
Peter shook his head. "I didn't do anything to it." He paused and furrowed his brow. "Well, kind of something."
Mordecai's eyes flashed with anger. He crushed the folder beneath his hand and ground his teeth together. "Did you or didn't you do anything with the body?"
Val raised her hand. "Sir, I think I can explain where it went."
Mordecai arched an eyebrow. He leaned back in his chair and gave a nod. "Go ahead."
She took a deep breath. "The body came to life and Peter destroyed it with a stake to the heart."
Mordecai's eyebrow arched high into the air. "Come again?"
Peter scooted to the edge of his chair and set his hand on the end of the desk. "It's true. The body came back to life and tried to kill us."
"You really expect me to believe you burned a body in less than ten minutes?" the detective asked them.
Val shook her head. "We didn't burn the body. It just sort of blew up. Check the surveillance tapes. Those should show you what happened."
Mordecai sat up and pursed his lips. "We're getting them now, but-" his eyes flickered to Peter, "-until I get a look at them I'm not letting you go. I have enough suspicion to hold you for murder."
Val jumped to her feet and glared at the detective. "But that's stupid! He didn't do-"
"It's fine, Val," Peter spoke up.
She whipped her head to him and gestured to Mordecai. "But he has no solid evidence! It's all circumstantial!"
Peter closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's all right. I'll be fine."
Her shoulders slumped and she pursed her lips. "Peter. . ."
Mordecai stood and turned his attention to Val. "You're allowed to go, Miss Medici, but expect to appear in court for damage to public property."
Val turned away from Peter and nodded. "Yes, sir."
Mordecai glanced at Peter and sneered. "You come with me."
Peter followed the detective out of the office. Val pursed her lips as she watched Peter led away. "Peter?"
He paused in the doorway and looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
She bit her lip. "Do you. . .do you want me to call your parents?"
A small smile slipped onto his lips and he shook his head. "No, I'll do it."
"Come on!" Mordecai snapped.
Mordecai guided Peter through the police station to the rear. Behind a locked steel door was a long hallway of cells. All but one was empty. The exception was occupied by a drunk young man who sat on the edge of the bench that doubled as a bed.
As they passed, the drunk stumbled to the bars and stretched out his pale hand toward Mordecai. "Hey, when you gonna let me out?" he slurred.
Mordecai stopped and glared at him. "When you stop spouting nonsense, and after we've identified you."
The drunk glared at the detective. "I ain't-hiccup-spouting nonsense. This town's about to go to hell. Ya know, lava, brimstone." He stretched his arms out on either side of him. "Holes this big."
Mordecai sneered at him. "You keep saying that and you're going to be transferred to a padded cell. Now sit down and sober up."
Mordecai led Peter onward, and stopped at the last cell. He opened the door and stepped aside. "Get in."
Peter stepped into the cell and flinched when Mordecai slammed the door shut behind him. He turned around and wrapped his hands around the bars as Mordecai grinned at him from the other side.
"Make yourself comfortable. You could be in here for a while," the detective warned him. He half-turned and pointed at wall opposite his cell. A security camera moved back and forth watching the entire block. "And if you find any more vampires, we'll see them."
And with a laugh he walked away. His receding footsteps echoed down the hall until the main door shut behind him. All was quiet but for the grumbling of the drunk.
Peter's new abode was a ten-by-ten cell with a toilet, sink and bench. He plopped his butt on the bench and clutched his head in his hands.
"Sorry, Mom, sorry, Dad. Looks like I've pretty much ruined my life. . ." he muttered.
"I have seen better attempts," a voice quipped.
Peter snapped his head up. His eyes widened when they fell on the dark figure of Ana's father. Lysander stood a foot from where Peter sat. His red eyes were zeroed in on the caged young man.
Peter yelped and scrambled back against the far wall. "H-how the hell did you get in here?" he asked him. He paused and furrowed his brow. "How the hell did you even know I was in here?"
Lysander reached into his black coat and tossed a paper at him. "You are popular with the papers."
Peter fumbled with the paper. His face drooped when he realized it was the latest paper, and his name was once again implicated in the attacks. "Yeah. These headlines beat their usual missing-dog stories."
Lysander limped across the floor to stand in front of Peter. His bright eyes studied the young man. Peter pressed his back against the wall. "There is nothing in there about vampires."
Peter gulped. "Should there be?"
"It would be easy enough to tell others about us," the old vampire pointed out. He used his cane to point to the cell around them. "You could easily free yourself from this prison by leading the police to our home."
Peter frowned and stood to his full height. The hunched vampire still towered over him. "Maybe, but I said I'd help you out. Telling the police about you wouldn't really be helping, would it?"
Lysander studied him a moment longer with an arched eyebrow. "No, it would not."
Peter caught movement behind Lysander. He winced and looked at the vampire. "Do you vampires and those revenant things show up on video tape?"
Lysander nodded. "We do."
Peter pointed a finger at the camera. "Then you might want to worry about that camera, and the one at the morgue. My friend and I were able to stake the revenant, but the whole thing was kind of taped."
Lysander's eyebrows crashed down and he frowned. "Where are they viewing this tape?"
Peter shook his head. "I don't know. Probably somewhere in this building. A Detective Mordecai is probably watching it, though."
Lysander's eyes narrowed. "Remain here."
Peter snorted. "Like I have a-" The words caught in his throat when Lysander's body transform into a cloud of fog.
The fog slipped through the cell bars and slipped out of sight down the hall past the empty cells. Peter raced to bars and saw the mist disappear beneath the doorway of the cell block area.
The fog that was Lysander kept low to the floor as he flitted beneath desks and around feet, all the while listening to the discussions among the police station inhabitants.
"Yeah, I picked him up again."
"For what?"
"Impersonating a banana."
"What do you mean the charges were dropped? He was drunk!"
"Your breathalyzer hadn't been checked in a year, so the judge threw it out."
"Anybody seen Mordecai?"
"He's in his office, but don't bother him. He's waiting for that call on the surveillance footage."
Lysander directed his body to the door marked 'Detective Mordecai.' He slipped beneath the door and curled beneath the desk. Mordecai sat in his chair with his hands clasped in his lap and his eyes zeroed in on the phone on his desk.
The phone rang. He leapt at the receiver and answered the phone. "This is Detective Mordecai." He paused. A frown slipped onto his lips. "Only one camera?" Another pause. His faced twisted into disbelief. "What do you mean I'm not going to believe what I see? All right, all right, calm down. I'll be right there." He slammed receiver on the phone and grinned. "Now we've got you."
Mordecai jumped to his feet and strode from the room with the small cloud of mist at his heels. The detective marched through the halls of the station to the electronics room. Inside was a mess of computers and TVs. Seated in front of a TV and VCR was a uniformed officer.
The officer swiveled his chair to face the detective. His face was pale and his hands shook. "You're seriously not going to believe this."
Mordecai grabbed a chair and scooted it up to the TV. "You already told me that. Let me see it and I'll tell you what I do or don't believe."
The officer swallowed and nodded. He turned on the TV and clicked play on VHS player beneath the screen. It was the surveillance footage of the morgue and began at thee point where the pair of friends approached the freezer locker. The detective's mouth dropped open as he watched the nightmarish scene unfold with the revenant escaping and attacking them.
"Mother of God," he whispered.
Lysander materialized behind them. "Hardly."
The officers spun around in their chairs. Their wide eyes bulged from their heads as they beheld the dark-suited, red-eyed vampire. Mordecai jumped to his feet. "What the hell are you-" The detective's eyes were caught in the red glow of the father's gaze. His face blanked.
"What's going on-" The other officer suffered the same fate as he, too, was captured in the father's gaze.
Lysander looked from one mesmerized victim to the other. His voice was low and even. "You will remember nothing of what you have seen here. The security footage showed nothing during the time of the incident, and the camera footage in the cell block will be deleted promptly."
They nodded. "Yes, master," the men replied in unison.
Lysander turned to the detective. "You will immediately release the human you have accused of murdering the woman."
"Yes, master," Mordecai agreed.
Lysander limped between them and grabbed the VHS from the player. He stuffed the VHS into his cloak, turned back into mist and swept from the room. Once he left the two humans gasp and clutch at their heads.
"What the hell just happened?" the officer wondered.
Mordecai shook his head and straightened. "I don't know, but that tape was worthless."
The officer glanced at the blank screen. "So what now?"
Mordecai frowned. "Now I've got to release that scum."
CHAPTER 18