by Shae Bryant
He laughed, “I forget to check it so often. Ah! Detectives Escobar and Kleyman. Sophie Marchand. My Secretary."
I reached out to take her hand, "Vampire or Thrall?” You couldn’t ever be too sure.
Sophie's smile faded, and she ran her tongue across her teeth, "Vampire. Good to meet you."
Catherine reached out to take her hand, "Nice to meet you too."
Sophie ignored us, turning to Vince. I think I asked the wrong question. Sophie no longer liked me. Or Catherine. "Belle called. She would like to have dinner tomorrow night."
I raised my eyebrows, "Belle Patricio? Are you two a thing?"
Vince chuckled at me, "Belle and I are old friends. We knew each other in Europe before either of us moved to America. I am so happy we live in the same city again. Ladies, if you please…”
Vince motioned towards the broad wood doors behind Sophie. A small electronic chime indicated that they had unlocked. I was not at all surprised to walk into an office that spared no expense on luxury. A blue carpet ran up to a giant wooden desk. On one side was an inviting seating area with leather sofas and a kitchenette. The other side was tiled; because there was a hot tub in the corner of the office.
Catherine stood in the center of the room and turned around, "This is an office? My apartment isn’t even this big!”
Vince looked around with an air of innocence, "I may have given myself a few things I wanted."
"A few?" She pointed to the left corner, "You have a hot tub."
"A lot." He waved it off, motioning for us to sit down on the sofas, "Relaxation is important for mental health, Detective."
"Right..." Catherine reluctantly agreed.
I looked towards the doors when the chime sounded again. Leo walked through the doorway with bags of takeout, "Hey. I brought dinner like you asked."
"Hey Leo." I wiggled my fingers in greeting, looking at the bag, "That's a lot to eat."
"Vince said bring dinner for four."
Vince rubbed his hands together, "Ahh Italian. My favorite."
Leo laid the spread out on the table. The smells of garlic, fresh herbs and homemade sauces made my mouth water. When Vince offered me a plate of eggplant Parmesan, I graciously accepted it. I was also very happy that he remembered Druids are vegetarians. We just can’t bring ourselves to eat something we can have a conversation with.
Catherine accepted her plate and inhaled her first bite of sausage and peppers. She watched Vince twirl pasta on his fork and savor it,“You can eat?”
"Yes. It doesn't do anything to nourish me, but I do like the taste." He took another large bite of broad noodles that were dripping with an aromatic garlic and butter sauce.
"How does it..." She shook her head "I don't think I want to ask."
Vince looked up at her, "It's best you don't while we’re eating."
I tried to push the image out of my mind, so I could actually eat. There were a few things Vampires could do that made them seem more Human. They could make love, drink or eat like anyone else. The problem was, whatever they ate or drank had to go eventually. Which meant only one thing, they had to purge it.
Catherine stared at Vince again, “That is loaded with garlic."
"Yes it is!" he grinned, "Isn't it wonderful? This is the best Italian food in Miami if you ask me."
I snickered, "The garlic thing is a myth, Catherine."
"Oh."
Vince gave Catherine an amused smile,"Enjoy your dinner, Detectives. Leonardo has something to tell you while we dine."
Leo swallowed his food and wiped his mouth, “The victim from this morning. I saw him last night.”
Both Catherine and I dropped our forks in unison, "What?"
Leo nodded, "He walked right in front of my car. I almost hit him. He was super high on something. The guy had a weird look. When I beeped the horn, he turned his head and just kept walking like he didn’t see me. He was right here in front of the club."
What Leo was describing sounded to me like another night on South Beach. I gestured for him not to worry about it, “It sounds like the victim was a user.”
"That’s not what the news said about the guy." Leo disagreed with me, "He was supposedly this 'upright citizen'. A 'good husband and Father'."
Catherine thought about it for a moment, "He's right. Every statement from the family was about this wonderful man. There were no mentions of drug abuse or alcohol abuse. We don't have toxicology reports yet, but Leo has a point."
"Something wasn’t right about him. Yeah, he was high, but he had this look... I still can’t get it out of my head." It was clear that this didn’t only bother Leo, he was concerned about the guy too.
I tried to put his mind to rest, "Heavy drug users can have a pretty haunting look to them. If the victim wasn’t a drug user, then I wonder why he seemed like it yesterday evening?"
“I am not sure.” Leo shook his head, ”Vince thought I should tell you.”
"He was right to do it." I answered, "I can’t put my finger on it yet, but we need to check out every possible lead before people start losing their minds. Thanks for telling us.”
Vince inclined his head towards me, "I’m glad we could be of service. Now, enjoy your dinner."
We ate in silence for a few minutes. Vince was right. This was the best Italian food I had in a long time. I almost wished I had a Vampire partner. One with a lot of money who would buy lunch every night.
While I was dreaming of this fictional partner, the chime sounded and the doors flew open. Sophie ran inside shouting, "Vince! Vince!"
Vince stood up quickly, knocking his chair over. "Are you alright, Sophie?"
"You need to come out here now! I already called 911!" Sophie left the doors opened and took off down the hallway. Everyone in the offices were in a flurry of activity. Whatever Sophie saw, they had seen too and it bothered them.
Vince took off after Sophie, leaving only a waving door in his wake. Catherine, Leo and I ran after them. There was no way we could catch a Vampire. They moved so fast that sometimes one could only hear the wind they created.
The nightclub was still silent and empty, reeking of stale cigarette smoke. But I could smell something else — it was metallic, musty and dirty. I looked to where Vince and Sophie were standing. There was the source; a limp pair of legs that were splattered with blood.
When I rushed over to the person, I was shocked that the victim was alive and breathing. The man was covered in some very odd wounds. He hadn't been beaten. He had been stabbed and cut repeatedly. Defensive bruises covered his wrists and arms.
I grabbed my radio, "This is unit four one david eight. Requesting ambulance at 3101 Collins Ave.”
The radio chirped and dispatch confirmed an ambulance was on the way. Catherine was already behind the bar, looking for clean towels or a first aid kit. I knelt down next to the victim, checking his pulse. It was weak.
"Sophie! How did he get in!?" Vince shouted.
"He stumbled in the door and just collapsed!" Sophie threw her hands in the air.
Leo stared at an area on the victim’s arm and gulped, "Holy shit! Someone took the skin from his arm!"
Vince grabbed Leo’s shoulders, turning him around to face the offices. "Leonardo! Get in the office. I don’t want you to see this."
The sirens were growing closer every second. Help was coming. Catherine got down next to me. I grabbed a clean towel from her, pressing on one of the wounds. A pool of blood collected on the floor near the victim’s waist. Catherine tried to stop the bleeding.
She yelled, "We've got to stop some of this bleeding!"
"The ambulance is coming. Just wait!"
Leo’s expression changed from mild to disgust to horror. He walked back towards us and quietly spoke, “Vince…?”
Vince handed us another clean towel from the bar, "Use this."
Leo repeated himself, "Vince...?"
Vince whirled around, stomping his foot and pointing towards the offices. "Leonardo I told you to
get out of here!"
Leo screamed at him, "Vince!"
"Now!"
"That's the guy I almost hit last night! Look at him, Vince! He’s Shane Lynch!"
Suddenly, I felt sick. I had been so busy trying to keep the victim stable that I didn’t think to look closely at him. Catherine followed my eyes to the victim’s face. He was most definitely the man shown on TV this morning. If this was Shane Lynch, who was the dead body?
CHAPTER FOUR
Talk to the Cat
The following morning, I sat at my desk with Darius and Catherine. We were watching the news report with a mix of frustration and hopelessness. All of South Florida was now in panic mode over the discovery of a mystery body. We weren't dealing with a lone wolf anymore, we were dealing with something or someone else entirely.
Carlos de la Rosa stood in front of The Veiled Monarch in the wee hours of the morning. He looked at the camera with a serious expression. Sophie was standing next to him, watching him give his report of the situation.
"Janelle, I'm once again at the Veiled Monarch Nightclub where you can see the activity of Police behind me. The victim of an illegal hunt found yesterday was misidentified as Shane Lynch of Kendall. Earlier this evening, Shane Lynch walked into the front door of The Veiled Monarch and collapsed near the bar. He has sustained multiple injuries. I'm here with a Veiled Monarch employee. Can you tell us what happened?"
Sophie stood next to Carlos with a polite smile on her face. When he put the microphone in front of her, she stepped forward and gave him a practiced response, " He stumbled in the front door and collapsed."
"Did you try to help him?" Carlos asked.
"Yes. Then I called 911 immediately." Sophie noted.
Carlos paused for dramatic effect then asked the next question, "We heard that two Miami-Dade detectives were inside when this happened. Is that true?"
"Shit..." I slumped down into my chair. "Who the hell told them that?"
"I don't know." Darius grumbled. "I'll find out."
Sophie nodded, "Yes. They helped before the ambulance arrived."
"Can you tell us who it was and why they were there?" Carlos pressed for more information.
Sophie shook her head, "I'm not at liberty to say. I am sorry."
I breathed a sigh of relief when Carlos smiled at the camera, "This is a developing story, and we'll keep you up to date. I'm Carlos de la Rosa with Channel 7 News, Miami."
Darius turned off the TV with a huff of indignation. Whoever tipped off Channel seven was going to get the riot act from him. The laptop had become the focus of his ire until he could howl at the tipster. Darius punched the keys with his fingers while he glared at the screen.
"We can all tell that the victim was flayed and tortured. Toxicology showed a large amount of drugs in his system. Most of them prescription painkillers. More than any one person should be taking."
"I went to Mount Sinai earlier." I said, "He's only half awake. The only way he could have even walked into the Veiled Monarch is by those drugs he had taken. Or was given. I couldn't get any statements. There was no way Shane was going to speak and his family was too distraught. The man died yesterday and now he's alive."
Catherine frowned, "The murder victims both seem like an illegal hunt. A shifted Werewolf wouldn't place someone else's tattooed skin on a body. They don't have that kind of control. I think we might be dealing with someone who is really sick."
"Didn't you say Vince Moretti's son saw Lynch?" Darius asked.
"He reported Lynch was intoxicated. He almost hit him with his car just a few hours before the body was found." Catherine confirmed what was on our report.
Darius shut his laptop, "I'd like you to both go back to South Beach and talk to Leo Moretti. Find out if he remembers anything else about seeing him. Then, ask around and find out who else saw him. Ask the stray cats for all I care!"
I put my hands out with a snicker, "Why not? We don't have anything else to go on."
Catherine and I both walked out of the department, getting into the car. She was driving this time. It gave me a chance to check my texts. One was from Isaac. He was worried. I ignored Isaac for now, paying attention to the text I got last night. It probably wasn't Vince's number, but it was worth a shot.
"Vince?" I wrote and sent it.
It took about five minutes until I got a response. "Yes? Raina?"
Surprise. Surprise. I had the right number. I smirked at the phone, typing a quick message to him. "We're coming to The Veiled Monarch. Heads up."
Another five minutes passed and Vince replied with, "Thank you."
I looked over to make sure Catherine hadn't seen any of the texts. She wouldn't appreciate me warning someone we were coming. That was what we did, though. Non Humans stick together. Sometimes, Human laws and etiquette don't apply to us. Humans were far too suspicious of Non Humans. Vampires always got the worst of their suspicion. If word got out that the son of a well-known Vampire was even remotely involved, the media would crucify Leo and Vince both. I had to try to keep that from happening. But, Vince needed to prepare for the possibility.
When we arrived, Vince was leaning against the door, "Good evening, Detectives. I'm seeing you both so much that I think we should be on a first name basis now."
"Fine with me." I stated.
"What can I do for you this time?"
Catherine leaned against the door, "We want to look back to two nights ago. Right after Leo almost hit Shane Lynch. You opened the club that night, right?"
Vince nodded, "I did."
"That was also the first night of your feeding lounge."
"Yes."
Catherine was in full cop mode. She pulled out her phone to note Vince's response so far. "Did anyone report anything out of the ordinary? Did you hear any conversations about anything?"
Vince shook his head, "No. I didn't. It was a slow night. More Vampires than Humans. Most Humans were too scared to come out."
Now it was my turn. I hoped Catherine was who I thought she was. She tried to be the type who cared about Non Humans. I was about to make it clear to Catherine that we tend to skirt around certain things.
"Vince. Do you know that Shane Lynch had puncture marks on his neck?"
He nodded, "I saw them."
Catherine jerked her head up from her phone, "What!? Why didn't you put that in the report?!"
"Because it healed before the ambulance even arrived."
Before Catherine could respond to me, Vince cut in. "I wondered if either of you noticed it. I should have known the non Human would have. What do you make of it?"
"I think someone tried to cover feeding on him." I pointed out, "Maybe someone grabbed him on the way in. Maybe someone had been feeding on him."
Catherine was pretty upset with me, "This is important information! I can't believe you didn't report this. We need to write this in the..."
I cut her off, "No we don't."
"Otherwise the Iron Oath will be here in moments." Vince agreed with me.
Catherine rolled her eyes with a loud sigh, "Oh come on. You guys have to stop this. You can't start breaking the law to keep the Iron Oath away from you!"
Vince patted Catherine on the head, "Detective Kleyman, it is adorable how new you are to all of this."
I slapped my face with an open palm and gave Vince an annoyed frown. Catherine bristled at his condescending tone. She squared her shoulders and turned to face Vince. It was almost comical. Catherine stretched to her full height of five feet three inches to try to be eye level with a man six feet tall.
Catherine may not be too keen on how Non Humans operate, but she was not going to back down from anyone — Human or not. The fact she was even standing up to someone like Vince Moretti gained her a lot of respect from me and Vince both.
"Excuse me?" She challenged him.
Vince's eyes flashed for a brief moment. Vampires and Werewolves both did not like to be challenged. The difference was in how they reacted. Werewolves were n
otorious for fiery tempers. Vampires would wait and let their anger build until they snapped. The person who was the focus of their ire usually wound up dead.
I tried to step in between them and nudge Catherine back a little. If Vince snapped, she would have no defense against him. At least I had a few tricks up my sleeve. The live fan palm near the door would do the trick if I needed to get Vince away from us.
Catherine stepped back, but Vince refused to move a muscle. "That was patronizing Vince." I turned to Catherine, "What he means is that you don't understand some things yet. Look, Catherine. You have to trust me. Us."
"Oh. Is there an 'us' now?" He gave me a sardonic smirk.
Vince wasn't backing down either. He made it clear to me that I had put myself in this position. See it through or have a big problem. I'm not afraid of a Vampire, Moretti. Or their temper.
I looked Vince directly in the eye, "I meant Non Humans."
We stood there for a moment in a staring contest. This would end one of two ways — Vince would tell us to get out, or he would soften and nurse his wounded pride later. Werewolves were stubborn, but Vampires were worse. Sometimes, I wondered why I didn’t have more friends who were Druids. We were so much easier to deal with.
Vince’s jaw flexed while he prepared a response. "Detectives, I have a dinner appointment shortly with Miss Patricio. She should be arriving any second. You are both welcome to stay here and look around as long as you'd like to."
Catherine and I had won. I inclined my head towards him, "Thanks Vince."
The office doors flew open and a lovely blond woman drifted across the floor towards Vince. I had never met her before, but I knew her face. Turn of the century ringlets, clothes that were an odd fusion of modern and old-fashioned, along with expensive jewels dripping from her fingers. This was definitely Belle Patricio.
She grabbed Vince's arm with a coy smile, "Vincenzo! You aren't ready yet? Oh. You have guests."
Her tone of voice was one of the most patronizing things I had heard in a long time. The way she turned and glanced at us with her nose turned up made my cheeks turn red. It was so obvious that she felt she was better than the rest of us. Two women with badges? We were merely 'the help.'