“You know—I do have a name. Could we try using it once in a while?”
“Sure thing vampire,” Roy replied with a grin.
“Yeah, thanks—and, to answer your question, my night was rough enough but it was definitely better than the one those damned newborns had. I took down five. You?” Rick asked.
“From the reports still coming in we had a good night. Killed fifteen in all—three I took down myself. We had a few injuries but we didn’t lose anyone. Let’s just hope we fair as well tonight. No sign of the hound himself though—not sure if that’s good or bad. But that’s not why you’re here instead of out in the field, is it?”
“No—can we sit somewhere—out of the way?” Rick asked as he headed for a lone table hidden deep in the shadows near the back of the room. Roy followed and, when he reached the table, his questioning look was unmistakable.
“What’s up—Rick?” he asked as he turned the chair around backwards, straddling it with his legs as he sat down.
Rick’s sharp eyes scanned the room once more just to satisfy himself that no-one else was listening in on their conversation. “Werewolves weren’t the only things I encountered in the woods last night.”
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“There was a woman there as well—a very beautiful woman—with a gun.”
“A woman—what woman. Who was she?” Roy asked in confusion.
“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”
“Me—what makes you think I’d know anything about this woman—and where did you say you saw her?”
“I was on the other side of Moon Lake. She came upon me as I was—disposing—of some unwanted trash. She pulled a gun when she thought I was illegally killing wolves—until they morphed back into their human forms right before her eyes. Then she realized exactly what they were. But that’s not what’s bothering me. The reason I thought you might know something about her is—because of her scent.”Rick said.
“Her scent— what’r you talkin’ about, man?” Roy knew the vampire’s sense of smell was as good— or better —than most of the wolves in the pack. If Rick picked up on something, and Roy had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was, he knew he’d have to be totally honest with the vampire.
“I mean her scent was strong—and strangely familiar. It was a scent I’ve smelled recently—at least up until a few days ago. It was Jaclyn’s scent, Roy; I’d stake my life on it.” Rick said as he watched the other man closely.
Roy rubbed the back of his neck as if the action would release the knot of tension that had suddenly formed there. He knew he was going to have to have this conversation with Rick sooner or later but he really had hoped it would be later. “Look, Rick, I need to explain something to you about us—about Jaclyn and the pack.”
“You’re damned right you do. I’m right—aren’t I? The woman in the woods—she’s connected to Jaclyn, to this pack in some way—isn’t she?”
“Yes—she’s…” but before Roy could finish his sentence Rick’s head jerked sharply towards the hallway, his eyes searching—his expression tense—anxious.
“She’s here—isn’t she?” Rick asked as his eyes, flashing red sparks, turned their full attention on Roy. “She’s staying at the Inn. Who is she, Samuelle—tell me?”
“She’s…” but before Roy could go any further, both men heard a door open then close as soft footsteps tapped along the floor of the corridor. “She’s coming. Quick, vampire, stay out of sight. She might recognize you from the woods and—I really need to talk to her first. It’s imperative that she stay in this region. I need to figure out a way to convince her of that without spooking her.”
“Spooking her—what’re you talking about?” Rick asked as Roy jumped up out of his chair and headed for the bar.
“I’ll explain it all to you later—I promise, but right now I really don’t think it’s a good idea if she sees you. It’s too late for you to get up and leave.” Roy said as he could just make out Eva’s figure as she approached the bar area. Push your chair back into the shadows and stay quiet.” Roy ordered.
“As the dead,” Rick replied.
“Yeah, you got that down pat. We’ll continue this conversation later.” Roy ran back over to the bar just as Eva looked around the room as if searching for someone. Since the bar was quickly beginning to fill with patrons, it wasn’t a problem for Rick to sit un-noticed in the darkened corner as he watched what transpired between Roy and this mystery woman, his sensitive hearing hanging on every word.
“Evenin’ Evangeline,” Roy said as Eva stepped up to the bar. “Sleep well?” He already knew the answer to that question by the dark circles under her eyes.
“Not really, Roy is it…” she asked as Roy nodded. “…I must have been overtired. I couldn’t seem to relax.” she said trying not to make eye contact with him. “Do you think I could get some food? I’m starving.”
“Sure. The kitchen’s up and running—you know, anticipating the crowd and all.” he told her as he nodded towards the now full bar. “What’ll you have?”
“Umm, a burger maybe and a good strong cup of coffee.”
“Burger it is. Lisa…”he called to the barmaid who’d just come on duty. “…can you get Miss Meredeloupe a burger and coffee?”
“Comin’ right up. Ah, how’d’ya want that burger done, mam?”
“As rare as possible. You know, nice and juicy…” what am I saying? She hated to see any sign of red in her meat. She always ordered her hamburgers, as well as steaks, well done. What the hell is wrong with me? “No, wait—make that well done—extremely well done,” she said as she noticed Roy staring at her. What’s his problem and why is he looking at me that way? she wondered as she turned to find a table somewhere away from the crowd. “I’ll just—go over there,” she said as she spied an empty table across the hallway and into the dining room.
Someone had left a local paper sitting on the table and she snatched it up gratefully. Maybe some local reading would get her mind off of her own troubles but, instead, a sense of urgency filled her as the headline in bold black print jumped out at her from the written page. BODY FOUND IN WOODS WITH HEART MISSING.
Immediately Evangeline’s mind flashed back to her nightmare and the mutilated body of the woman with long golden hair. Then she remembered something else as she scrambled in her pocket for her cell phone. Punching in some numbers she waited impatiently for someone to answer.
“Come on—come on. Pick up the phone Shaniqua…”
“Hello, Taylor here…”came a voice on the other end of the line.
“Shani, it’s Eva—where are you right now?”
“Well, normally with you on vacation I’d be out enjoying my free time but the Inspector called a meeting for all available officers today at six.” Shaniqua told her.
“Wells?”
“The one and only.”
“What kind of meeting—what for?”
“That’s what we’re about to find out in about—oh, ten minutes or so. I’m outside his office waiting for Al as we speak.”
“Okay, well, keep me posted. I don’t like him messing with my team when I’m not there but—oh, never mind. The reason I called—I need a favor.”
“Sure thing, Eva, what’s up?”
“There was a murder in Central Park just as I was leaving?” Eva told her.
“Yeah, it’s all over the precinct…” Shaniqua said, “…some woman was killed—ripped apart by some wild animal they thought except…”
“…her heart was missing.” Eva finished for her, “It was torn right out of her chest. No wild animal does that, Shani—at least not the kind we’re used to. Listen—hold on a second…” Eva looked towards the bar where she caught Roy’s eye, not realizing that he’d been listening to every word of the conversation with he
r colleague—both sides of it—with his super hearing as well as someone else seated not too far away from Eva’s table. “Excuse me, Roy; do you have a fax machine here?”
“There’s one in my office.”
“Great.” Then, turning back to her phone, “Shaniqua, get me all the info you can on the murdered woman’s case without that idiot Miller knowing about it. Fax it to this number…” she said as she looked at Roy again.
“570-126-8888.”he told her.
Thanks, she mouthed the words as she repeated the number to Shaniqua. “Fax me all you can find.”
“Will do, Eva, but what’s up and do you need us to take a little vacation and join you?”
“Not just yet— but something’s happening here and I have a funny feeling, call it instinct if you will, that it’s connected somehow to that murder in the park. There’ve been similar killings here. That can’t just be a coincidence.”
“Okay, Eva, I’ll see what I can find out and I’ll get back to you.”
“Good, and Shaniqua, let me know what Wells wants with my detectives.”
“Will do. Here comes Al, I’ll be talking to you, Eva.”
As Evangeline hung up the phone Roy approached the table with a steaming plate of food. Her mouth began to water as the delicious aroma of beef assailed her nostrils. Placing the food on the table he said, “Will there be anything else?”
“No, thank you. This is great—oh, Roy, I’ll be receiving a fax from my office in New York. It’s confidential so could you see that I get it immediately.”
“Of course, I’ll watch for it myself. Nothing’s wrong, I hope?”
Evangeline studied the man before her for a long moment. She barely knew him and she had an inherent distrust of strangers but, somehow, this man was different. She felt he was a man she could trust but she’d found out the hard way, on several occasions, that caution was always the best policy. Still—it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions—see what she could find out on this end. Motioning to the other chair at her table she said, “If you have a minute, I’d like to—talk for a while. Do you mind?” she motioned towards the food as she reached for the burger.
“Eat, please,” he said as he turned back towards the bar. The room had become quite full by now but two others had joined Lisa behind the bar so he knew they had the patrons covered. “I guess I can spare a second or two. What is it you’d like to talk about?”
“Well, I’m a detective.” Eva said as she bit into the burger. She almost gagged as she tasted the meat. Geez, this is awful, she thought as she placed the sandwich back onto her plate. She’d asked for well done, that was how she liked it, but this—well, this was too well done—or was it. She lifted the bread to stare at the meat. It looked like what she normally ordered. There was even the slightest touch of pink showing where she’d taken a bite but it tasted awful. Where was the juice? After all, wasn’t it the blood that gave the meat its flavor? What am I talking about? she asked herself then, noticing Roy watching her with great interest, she shoved the plate away and continued the conversation. “Guess I’m not as hungry as I thought. Anyway, I came here because I was delivering one of your locals back to her home. She’d been a witness in a murder case back in New York and I wanted to make sure she arrived safely.”
“Yes—Selene Peters.” Roy had to chuckle at the look of surprise on Eva’s face at his mention of the girl. “This is a very—close knit—community, Miss Meredeloupe. We all pretty much know each other’s business. Selene’s mother was very happy to hear her daughter was coming home—and she let everyone know it.”
“Okay, well, that being the case then maybe you can tell me something about this.” Eva said as she pointed to the headline in the newspaper.
Roy’s strange rust colored eyes stared at her as if they were looking deep into her soul. Then, glancing down at the paper he said, “That’s a sad business, I’m afraid, and not one I’m sure I can explain to you—at this time,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “Suffice it to say there are some strange happenings going on in this area—and they are still under investigation. I’d be happy to fill you in on any new developments as I get wind of them—but I’m not sure why you would be interested.”
“I’m interested, Roy, because there may be a New York connection.” Her answer definitely took him by surprise.
“You’re sure about that?” he asked, more interested than Eva thought he should be.
“I’m looking into it as we speak. A woman was killed the day I left New York. She was murdered in the same way as the killing here in the paper. Something tells me there’s a connection. Can you tell me where the police station is? I’d like to ask them some questions.”
His answer was not what Eva was expecting as he replied, “You can go to the station if you like—the nearest is the State Police—but they’re not the ones that can help you with this case.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s just that—I told you there were some strange things going on around here—so strange that they’re a little—out of the realm of the local law enforcement. Besides, they’re a little overworked anyway.” When he saw her look of confusion, he continued, “Look, Evangeline, there’s a group of specially trained people investigating these cases. I happen to be one of them—and we’re having a meeting later on tonight. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like. We’re meeting in about an hour.” As he talked, a movement near the back of the room caught Eva’s eye.
Roy watched as she strained her eyes to see. She could just make out a lone figure seated at a table. He was dressed all in black so she couldn’t distinguish his features but there was something so familiar about him. Noticing her scrutiny, the man drew himself deeper into the shadows but she could feel his eyes upon her. As she continued to stare his face became a little clearer to her. He was handsome, of that she was sure and a familiar flame of desire flared up within her.
A memory flashed across her mind’s eye—a tall man, his tangled mass of dark hair streaming down around his face, his naked torso gleaming in the moonlight and those eyes—those red eyes. She gasped in surprise when she realized who she was staring at. She blinked her eyes to clear her vision but it didn’t really help— he was well hidden in the shadows.
As she kept staring another thought, ever so brief, entered her mind. Since when is my eyesight so good? I would’ve never noticed anyone sitting that far away before—especially someone shrouded in darkness. She was surprised she’d seen as much as she had. She’d always needed glasses to see off into the distance.
“Evangeline—are you alright?” she heard Roy ask.
“What—yes, I’m fine,” she replied. She noticed that he was watching her closely so she returned her attention to their conversation but told herself she was going to go over there and see exactly who this mystery man was just as soon as she finished with Roy.
“I’d like to go—to the meeting, that is. Where’s it being held?”
“It’s at a cabin in the woods owned by one of our investigators.”
“How do I get there?”
“You can ride with me,” he told her then, much to Eva’s surprise, he seemed to glance towards the direction of the mysterious stranger seated in the darkness before he continued. “I’ll be leaving here shortly. I just have to gather up a few things and I’ll be ready to go.”
There it was again. Call it intuition—call it her detective’s instinct—it didn’t matter. Whatever it was her senses were warning her to be careful. This guy seemed on the up and up but she didn’t know him well enough to climb into a car and let him drive her off into the woods. “Thanks but no thanks— how about if I just follow you there?”
“Suit yourself—just tryin’ to make things simple.”
“And I do appreciate that. I just have to run to my room for a minute then I’ll
meet you back at the bar.” Eva told him.
“See ya in a few. Oh, and if you’re finished I’ll just take this away,” he said as he grabbed her uneaten food and headed to the bar.
“Umm, yes, thank you.” Evangeline watched Roy until he disappeared into the office behind the bar. Then, remembering the stranger sitting in the darkness she turned abruptly, heading for his table. Okay, let’s see just who you are, my friend, she thought but, as she reached the table, she found no-one there. Staring in confusion, she spun around to see if anyone was leaving the area. Surely she would have noticed him getting up but there wasn’t a soul around that particular table.
That’s impossible, she thought, No-one can move that fast. I would’ve seen or heard something. I only took my eyes off that table for a split second and he certainly didn’t just vanish into thin air—did he? She was beginning to wonder about the things she’d witnessed in the past few hours. None of it made any sense. Maybe I’ll get some answers at this so called meeting tonight—and where the hell is Shaniqua with that information I need? she thought as she headed back to her room. She hoped her colleague would call back before she left for the night with Roy. Something told her the information from New York was important—to her as well as to Roy and his friends.
Chapter 11
Deputy Inspector John Wells was seated at his desk waiting to start the meeting he’d decided to call together on the spur of the moment. His eyes scanned the room, the paneled walls of rich dark wood, the coffee stained carpeting protecting floors soiled with age as well as dirt. His oversized desk was an eruption of papers and files most of which were cases still waiting to be solved. With a deep sigh he wondered if it was all worth it but, as his eyes fell upon the row of plaques that paid tribute to his achievements, he decided yes, it definitely was worth it.
He leaned back in his chair and stretched, his arms reaching for the air, exposing two large sweat stains under his armpits. The large man’s countenance reflected years of law enforcement and the stress that came with it. His face always seemed to have a tinge of pink as his blood pressure rose and fell with the day’s activities. He snapped to attention when he heard the soft knocking at his door.
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