by T. R. Lester
Chapter 7
Draven watched as the female left her house. He’d saw her take the note from her door. He felt like kicking his own ass because he didn’t stay longer during the night. He may have been able to see who left the note. He had an idea he knew who had left it. The same one he’s been looking for over the last decade. The one he saw kill a whole family by draining every last drop of blood from their bodies, then set their home on fire to cover his slaughter. He had smelled the bastard’s scent as soon as he got to Grace’s this morning. Neal Aleron, the one who has caused chaos and left so much carnage in his wake. One day, he would be able to kill the bastard.
Draven had hunted endlessly for all the abominations of his kind. Over the years, he had been successful in locating and killing thousands of the strigoi. But, it wasn’t enough. For as many as he killed that many more were made. Strigoi can only repopulate by conversion, by biting and changing humans. They have no feelings, no soul and no compassion. The only thing they do feel is an incessant hunger for blood. They are said to be troubled souls of the dead, but Draven knew they never had a soul to start with. No one is sure exactly where they originated from. Some say they got their beginnings from some of the fallen ones who had committed heinous crimes after being cast from heaven. Some say they rise from the grave. Either way, they are bad news and have to be stopped.
The thought had crossed his mind to try to get a job as an agent. Of course, he would have to find someone who could create a fake file on him, and he knows just the one who can do it.
Taking his phone from his pocket, he dials the number. Draven never much cared for the internet, computers and all that electronic crap everyone has now. He always relied on others to assist when it came to those things.
“Gideon here.”
“Lykos.” Draven growls.
“Well, if it isn’t the old blood sucking bastard who hates wolves.”
“You don’t like me either Lykos.”
“True. What do you want Bratu?”
“I need a work file for myself.”
“Ok. What kind of work?”
“Detective work. I need a file that lists me as a detective, or a police officer. Whatever. I need it as soon as possible. Can you get that for me?”
“What do you think?”
“I know you can, but will you?”
“How much money you got?”
“I’ve got enough to pay you, so don’t question my finances wolf man.”
“No need to be rude vampire.”
“How long will it take?”
“Well, if you want it to look authentic, about a week. If you want it to be questionable, about a day.”
“I want one that will pass as the real thing.”
“One week then.”
“How much?”
“We’ll discuss that when I get the file created. You know I’ll have to enter the credentials into a database so it will be believable, right?”
“Whatever. I just need it soon. I have a job to do.”
“Fine. Give me until Monday. I’ll have it then. And Bratu?”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you job hunting?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Draven says with a snort.
“You’d try.” Gideon replies.
Draven ended the call and looked around. Grace was gone.
“It looks like it’s time for you to meet me Grace Chandler. This should be interesting.”
Chapter 8
Grace drove into the parking lot of the P.A.D department. She looked around to see if she saw Lucas Cane’s car. She didn’t.
“Where could he be?” She wondered.
She grabbed her pack and got out of the car looking around. No creepy feeling so far.
She tilted her head back to soak in some of the February sun. Sixty-five degrees in February. Only in the south.
She started her walk to the entrance and was stopped by a co-worker.
“Hi Steve. How’s it going?”
“Good Grace. How are you?”
“Doing good.”
The silence hung in the air for a moment until Grace broke it.
“What can I do for you Steve?”
“Oh, nothing. I just wanted to tell you I put the coroner’s report on your desk. He sent it over this morning.”
“Great. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Grace turns and walks into the building, not waiting for any more silence to linger. Steve was not one for conversation and Grace didn’t feel like being the one to keep one going.
Walking down the hall to her office, she passes by Lucas’ office and turns the door knob. Locked. She walked on down to her door, unlocked it and walked in. dropping her pack on the floor, she went behind her desk to sit and take a look at the coroner report.
Skimming through the medical terminology, she sees that the victim died from basically being ripped apart. The bruising on her ankles and wrists were from being restrained by chains as there were a couple of link marks on her skin. The bruising on her inner thighs was the result of the abuse she had endured while being impregnated.
Scanning down the rest of the page, she sees what she’s been looking for.
The victim’s womb showed signs of necrosis. The umbilical cord that protruded from the victim had small teeth marks, not made by an animal. Her womb was shredded as was her abdomen.
“So, it was rot that I smelled.”
The victim had been identified as Emily Kessler, who had been reported missing by her parents four weeks previous.
“Son of a bitch.” Grace whispers.
Having seen all she could stomach right now, she put the report to the side. The girl had gone through hell before being killed. Now, without any outside leads on the case, she was stumbling in the dark.
Grace remembered the last time she talked to Lucas he had mentioned he was going to get the truck impounded. Picking up the phone, she dials the impound lot.
“Hey Derek. Grace Chandler here.”
“Hi Grace.”
“Lucas was going to get you guys to pick up a truck that is involved in a murder investigation. Did you pick it up yet?”
“What kind of truck?”
“All I know is a black F-150. I don’t have a year on it.”
“We haven’t picked up any vehicles in the last three days. Sorry.”
“Did Lucas call you last night?”
“No. I haven’t talked to him in about a week.”
“Ok. Thanks Derek.”
“Anytime.”
“Well hell.” Grace says to herself.
Looking back at the autopsy report, Grace decides to leave it and go look for Lucas and Tanner. Where the hell they could be was a mystery to her.
Just as she gets to her door, the bitch walks by.
“Oh Grace, were you leaving?” Francine asks.
“Yes.” Grace didn’t elaborate.
“Well, could you spare a moment to talk to me?”
Biting back the sarcastic remark she had on the tip of her tongue, Grace nodded.
Grace swept her arm over to the chair inviting Francine to take a seat. Grace went back to her desk and sat down.
“Have you heard from Lucas yet?” Francine asks.
“No. I was about to go out and check around to see if anyone has seen him.”
“Good. We need to find him and Tanner as soon as possible. They have work to do.”
“I would think you’d take your time finding Director Tanner Francine.”
“What would make you think that Grace?” Francine says, batting her eyelashes.
“Well, with him gone, you’re next in line for his position.”
“Watch yourself Grace.”
“I intend to get to the bottom of all this shit.” Grace said.
“I do hope so. It would look bad on you if you weren’t able to solve this Grace.”
Again, Grace bit her tongue.
“What did you need
Director?”
“Just to tell you to keep me informed on anything you find out.”
Grace nodded.
Francine rose from her seat, looked at Grace and walked out.
“One day, I’m going to kick her ass.” Grace whispered to herself.
Grace walked out and back to her car.
Francine went to her office, walked in and closed the door behind her. She took out her cell phone, one she doesn’t use for director business, and dialed a number.
“Hello Francine.” A deep male voice says into the phone.
“Our little agent is going to look for Lucas and Tanner. I thought you would want to know that.”
“She isn’t really a problem for me. I have something special in store for her when the time is right. Don’t worry about her, I’ll handle it.”
“Just make sure you do. I don’t want any heat coming back to me.”
“Watch your tone director.”
“Watch your little pet.”
“I would hate to see any harm come to you Francine.” The male says.
“Is that a threat?”
“Oh, not at all.”
Francine ended the call and sat at her desk. If that bastard got her mixed up in this shit she would kill him. She knew it had been a mistake to get involved with him.
When Grace got to her car, she sat there for a moment trying to figure out where Lucas might be. She made a decision to start at the last place she knew him to be at. She went to the park. The drive from the department to the park took about fifteen minutes. On the way, she went back over some of the autopsy report and tried to figure out a way to tell Emily Kessler’s parents she was dead. That’s the one part of her job she found the hardest.
Pulling into the park gates, she parked her car and got out, keeping her hand on her gun. The black truck was now gone. Who had come and got it? She headed back to the trail that had led her to the crime scene two days before. It was no less eerie in the day light than it had been at night.
Before she made it to the area where Emily was found, she noticed a dark spot on the dead leaves at her feet. Bending down, she got a closer look.
“Blood?”
She took a plastic evidence bag from the pocket on her cargo pants and a rubber glove.
She put the glove on and reached down to pick up one of the leaves that was covered in blood. She stood back up and looked closer at the leaf. It was blood for sure.
She put the leaf in the bag, zipped it closed and put it in her pocket.
Pulling off the glove, she placed it in a trash bin that was one of many placed along each side of the trail.
As she raised her foot to take a step, she heard leaves crunching. She stopped, looked around, but saw nothing.
“Grace, you need to get a hold of yourself.” She said.
She made her way down the trail to the crime scene. It looked like it did before when she was here, except for the body being gone. She walked around the taped off area and looked on the ground. Looking for things that may have been missed when the techs were here. There was nothing.
She saw no sign that Lucas had been here either. His car was not in the lot and it looked as if no one else had been here.
She turned and walked back up the trail to the lot, hearing noises here and there but deciding to ignore them. She had to be losing her mind.
She made it back to her car and drove away from the park. Her next stop would be Lucas Cane’s house. She knew he kept a spare key for the back door under the door mat.
The drive to his house took about thirty minutes. When she arrived, she noticed his car in the drive.
She got out and walked to the front door to knock first. She didn’t want to burst into the man’s house unannounced in case he happened to be home.
She stood on the front porch knocking. She knocked three times, when she got no answer, she stepped from the porch and went around back. Pulling the mat up, she took the key out and opened the storm door. Putting the key into the lock, she turned it and heard the click of the latch releasing. Pulling her gun from her holster, she gently pushed the door open and looked around. No sign of Lucas.
She cautiously put a foot across the threshold and stepped into the kitchen. There was no sign he had even been here. No dishes, no food, no coffee. And she knew if Lucas had been here, he would have made coffee.
She slowly walked to the door way that lead to the dining room. Peeping around the corner, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She walked on through the dining room and into the living room. On the back of the couch, she saw the brown jacket he had been wearing the day before. She walked over, picked it up, and immediately smelled the metallic iron scent of blood. She looked down at the jacket and stumbled. The amount of blood on it shocked her. The front was painted red with blood. From the collar, down to the hem.
“Holy shit. He can’t be alive after losing this much blood.
She placed the jacket back on the couch and walked down the hall way. The first door on the right was a bathroom. Turning the light on, she saw nothing odd. She backed out and went to the next door which was a bedroom. From the looks, it was a guest room. It was in perfect order. She looked at the door on the left. The door was ajar, so she walked over, took the tip of her boot and pushed it open gently.
The door slowly opened, and it was black dark. Looking at the window, she thought the glass panes had been blacked out. Reaching into a pocket, she took out her pen light. Shining it around, she could see a bed that had been slept in and some clothes on the floor. She walked partially in, looked around and behind the door, then walked over to the bed. The sheets were stained with blood as were the clothes on the floor.
“What the hell has he gotten into?” Grace says to herself.
She slowly started backing out of the room and ran into a wall of… what? She spun around to see Lucas behind her.
“What the hell are you doing Lucas?” Grace asked him.
He didn’t respond.
“Lucas?”
Still, no answer.
“Are you alright?” She asked him.
He took a step toward her.
“Answer me Lucas or I’ll shoot your ass.”
Still, he didn’t say a word.
Before Grace could side step him, he lunged at her.
Grabbing her shoulders, he tried to pull her into him. She struggled as he pulled. Pulling her knee up to hit him in his man hood, he made a slight turn to avoid her hit.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull tighter and she elbowed him in his ribs. He didn’t flinch. He pulled her in, her back to his chest, and squeezed.
She elbowed him again. He jerked this time, but pulled her closer. He took his left hand and shoved her head to the side. Grace shook her head from side to side trying to get free. She was able to pull her head forward a bit and ram it backward into his mouth. He growled.
He released her and she spun to look at him to ask him what the hell was wrong with him. Then she saw them through the snarl on his lips.
Two long fangs. She pulled her gun up to shoot and he slapped her across the face with enough force that it sent her flying across the room and through the bedroom door to hit the wall in the hall. Lucas knew he really didn’t want to kill her, but the blood lust was more than he could handle. He had to have blood, now. He ran at her as she struggled to get her bearings back. When he bent down to grab her, she kicked up as hard as she could and caught him in the left temple. He staggered back and she was able to get on her knees. Her gun was gone, probably in the bedroom, so she took the only thing she could find, which was her car keys she had clipped to her belt loop, and when he came at her the second time, she jabbed him in his left eye with the car key. Lucas roared in pain and fell to his knees.
Grace scrambled to her feet and staggered up the hall to the living room. She could hear him getting to his feet and walking up the hall behind her. She forced herself to walk faster and entered the dining room. As she was about to ent
er the kitchen, she heard him growl in pain again. She turned to look and saw that he had made it into the living room, but smoke was coming off his skin. He was smoldering.
The living room windows weren’t blacked out, so the sun had caught him and burned his ass.
Grace staggered out of the kitchen door and into the yard. She could hear Lucas growling as she made it to her car. When she got in, she locked the doors and sat for a second, knowing he couldn’t come out in the sun.
“Holy shit. He’s a vampire.”
Grace started the car and got her cell phone out to call Francine.
“I found Lucas.” Grace told her.
“Oh good. Did you tell him I want to see him?”
“I don’t think he really cares if you want to see him. He’s a vampire Francine.”
The line was silent for a few seconds.
“Vampire you say?”
“Yes. He tried to kill me just now.”
“I’ll send some agents over there now.” Francine tells her.
“Well, you better do that now, while it’s light outside. He can’t come out so he won’t be able to leave.”
“Fine Grace.”
Grace hung up. She didn’t want to hear the bitch’s grating voice any longer.
She backed out of Lucas’ drive and headed to her home. She had to calm down and clean up. The slap he had given her was starting to swell her jaw and her eye was black now.
“Well Lucas, you’re in a damn mess now.”
Chapter 9
Francine made a call to get someone to go get Lucas.
“Your pet tried to kill Agent Chandler. You need to go get him, now.”
“Did she go there looking for him?” The man asked.
“Yes, you dumb ass. I knew she would. Now go get him before I send agents out there to do it.”
“I don’t like your tone Francine.”
“I don’t give a shit. Go get him.”
The line went dead.
Francine once had high hopes that this little venture would get her rich. She was tired of working. She worked all her life and wanted to retire and live the good life. She was promised money and freedom to be able to quit a job that she despised. She didn’t care about helping people. She didn’t care if people died. All she wanted was to be able to buy what she wanted and live the life of a princess.