The Preacher's Daughter

by Valerie Reyes

  I probably would have worked at the museum if she was still alive. She had died not too long ago. Murdered. She left no clues as to what happened to her, a cold case opened and closed within a month. But it was this event that pushed me into my current career as a forensics detective. A darn good one at that.

  Some people found it weird that I messed around with dead bodies and fingerprints, but it somehow helped me stay sane. My work had helped many police detectives catch criminals and sociopaths, and that was all that mattered. As long as my work helped to save people, I was content.

  But now, sitting here on my couch with a TV dinner, a feeling of helplessness overcame me. The TV was turned onto the local news station and my eyes were glued to the screen. I watched in horror as my beloved museum burned to the ground. There were flames spewing out of the windows and smoke billowing all around it.

  The news reporter was trying to explain what had happened, but being horrified by the image, it was impossible to process his words. The place I thought would stand forever on Main Street was slowly being destroyed in front of my very eyes. It all made me want to scream, but I couldn’t find my voice. It was trapped somewhere deep inside of me.

  Watching the left wing of the museum crumble, something inside of me snapped, unable to stand to witness the fiery destruction any longer. I quickly got up, looking around for my coat, but it was nowhere to be found. While contemplating going outside in the cold without a jacket, something caught my eye.

  I got close to the TV, seeing a shape in the upper left corner. It was blurry, but it looked like something big, something red. Was it the fire? It was impossible to discern, but as the camera focused on the roof of the museum, now caving in on itself, my eyes locked on to the red object in the corner of the screen.

  It began to move and I followed it closely, wondering what it was. The camera man refocused, and my eyes widened as something resembling a dragon stuck out in my vision. Not letting it go from sight, it seemed to be breathing down a fiery storm onto the already doomed structure. I kept watching as it swooped down low, destroying another part of the museum with its large tail.

  My brain wouldn’t accept these images, forcing me to quickly rub my eyes in disbelief. Dragons couldn’t be real. They were creatures of myth and fantasy. Sleep deprivation must’ve gotten the best of me. Why else would I see dragons floating above the museum? It was ridiculous.

  Sitting in front of the TV, I tried finding the dragon again, but it was gone. It must have been my imagination. Grabbing the remote, I turned up the volume, finally paying attention to the newscaster’s words.

  “The Berkley Museum is on fire. I repeat, the Berkley Museum is on fire. Firefighters are doing everything they can to contain the flames, but it is quickly spreading and becoming uncontrollable. The fire chief says he has never experienced such a fire in his thirty years of service. He is doing everything he can to save our precious museum, but at this point we advise citizens to stay out of the streets since the smoke is quickly building up.”

  Hearing his words made me numb. The fire was becoming uncontrollable. Soon there would be no museum left. The thought made me want to cry as I kept watching the live footage.

  In a rush of anger, I quickly turned off the TV, throwing the remote against the wall, causing the batteries to fly out of their compartment. The desire to go outside had been destroyed, and all I wanted to do now was curl up in bed. With dreary steps I made my way into the bathroom and got ready for bed, letting my body go through its usual motions as my mind kept thinking about what could have caused the sudden fire.

  The museum was inspected and checked thoroughly every year by the fire department. Making my way to bed, the idea of foul play came to mind. Had someone caused the fire?

  Thinking about such a scenario, I crawled under my covers, cuddling into my warm blankets. My eyes anchored to the ceiling as thoughts about the dragon from earlier emerged in my head. Was insanity weaving its subtle net around me? Did no one else see the giant winged lizard soaring high above?

  While falling asleep, my mind reeled back to my favorite piece in the museum: a large fifteen by fifteen foot medieval painting of a dragon hoarding its stash of treasure. The artist was unknown but it was a beautiful piece nevertheless, with stunning crimsons and contours. I remember sitting there for hours at a time, staring up at the dragon’s almost human eyes. Lying in bed, I wondered if my favorite painting was burning in the flames, or if the dragon was still looking over his domain with his beautiful eyes.

  Chapter 2: Simon

  Ugh, why was the sun always so damn bright in the morning? Groaning, I rolled over, trying to hide under the covers, but the shining light continued to creep through the window and attack me. Getting out of bed was the last thing on my mind. My head was pounding with an awful headache, and all I wanted to do was stay in bed all day. Was that too much to ask for?

  Soon enough, however, the sun quickly won the battle between us, forcing me to get out of bed in order to close the blinds. The reflection in the mirror was a total mess, provoking a loud grumble on my side. What the hell went on last night?

  Trying to remember caused my mind to go blank. There was nothing unusual about yesterday evening: coming home from work, grabbing a beer with dinner and enjoying it on the couch. It couldn’t have possibly gotten me drunk. Yet, somehow the rest of night was a mystery. The search for clues around my room came up short. Shrugging it off, I went into the kitchen, making a pot of coffee.

  Brewing a decent cup of coffee was a relatively lengthy process, allowing me enough time to get into the bathroom and prepare for work. With my detective uniform on, I washed my face, trying to get the sleep out of my eyes, but the lack of sleep remained obvious on my face, suggesting an all-nighter on my part. Trying to remember last night only caused the splitting pain of my headache to return.

  A sigh of relief escaped my lungs as I looked at the time and realized there was still an hour left before work, allowing me to actually sit down and have breakfast. After I put some bread in the toaster,I turned on my small TV, with the intention of watching the news. That, however, was interrupted by my phone ringing.

  “Hello?”

  “Detective Oskar?” A delicate female voice came through the line and I rolled my eyes.

  “You know it’s me, Stacy, no need to be so formal. What’s up?”

  “Oh…well, Sargent McQueen wants you to come in as soon as possible, sir.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in five.” I hung up and grabbed my jacket. The toast popped out of the toaster a few minutes later and I grabbed it with a quick reflexive catch, nearly burning my fingers.

  Soon enough I was at the police station. Walking in, my boss, Sargent McQueen, looked at me with a grave expression on his face. I knew that face well. This wasn’t good. Something had happened.

  “Detective Oskar.” With a nod in reply, he brought me into his office, closing the door. “Surely you’ve heard about last night’s fire.” I looked at him quizzically, wondering what he meant.

  “Fire?” I asked. He gave me a strange look.

  “The Berkley fire. The museum was burned to the ground. It was all over the news. Didn’t you hear about it?” McQueen looked at me, searching for an answer. This wasn’t good.

  “I went to bed rather early last night, sir,” I said, having no idea whether the statement was a lie or the truth, but in any case, my commander didn’t need to know that.

  “Regardless, you’re getting the case. The fire chief suspects arson, and I want you to figure out who did it. I want whoever did this behind bars.” The Sargent’s tone was quite serious. “But you will not be doing this alone. You will be working with forensics expert Matthew Hughes.” I raised an eyebrow, wondering I was being paired with a complete stranger. Nonetheless, I remained quiet as I was led to our forensic unit in the basement.

  While following him, my mind wandered back to the previous night. A horrible feeling was growing in the pit of my stomach. I had
assumed human form about three months ago. Living as a dragon, all alone in some cave with nothing but a gold stash for company, didn’t seem that attractive anymore. Riches no longer interested me. All that mattered now were the little human things that kept me going. Like coffee…coffee was absolutely fantastic!

  Thinking about this, doubt started to creep its way into my mind. Turning into a dragon once more could’ve caused a temporary amnesia. But that would mean the destruction of the Berkley museum was my fault…

  I was quickly pulled out of my trance when my name came up into the conversation. “Detective Oskar.” Looking up quickly, my blue eyes widened in surprise.

  A man, relatively small in stature, but with delicate skin stood before me. He had a V-neck sweater on and he looked fresh out of college. My eyes roamed up and down his body with curiosity. Heat built up in my body, but I tried to ignore it as the young man held out his hand, offering it to me.

  My hand met his, offering a firm shake. The curiosity in my eyes didn’t subside, as a strange emotion grew inside of my chest. It was new and unique. No human had ever made me feel this way. I wondered what was so different about this one as I looked into his sweet, hazel eyes.

  “Matthew. But call me Matt,” he said in a small voice before offering me a warm smile. With a chuckle, my blue eyes crinkled.

  “Simon.”

  Matthew smiled a little wider this time, causing my heartbeat to thud a little faster.

  Chapter 3: Matthew

  Setting foot in the police station, it was exciting to find out that the Berkley fire was assigned to me. The desire to find out what arsonist had the audacity to destroy such a historical building was slowly building up inside of me. I got down to work quickly, running all the evidence acquired through microscopes and different forensics equipment, trying to find some clue that would help me solve the case. But it was hard since everything was charred to a crisp. This had been one hell of a fire.

  But on the other hand, being paired up with Detective Oskar was a welcome change. He was really nice to work with, and I really liked him. Truth be told, he was really attractive. He has the sexiest blue eyes that my gaze has ever run into. But, of course, a guy like him probably had a girlfriend or something.

  Sighing, I went back to work with my face pressed against a microscope, trying to inspect what looked like footprints, but it was impossible to distinguish what type of shoe it might have been. The fire destroyed everything in its wake, including any evidence that could have been left behind. But I refused to give up.

  As my work went on, someone walked into the lab. Looking up, I saw Simon. With a bright smile, I jumped off my stool and walked up to him. The tall man looked down at me with a smile before offering me a cup of coffee.

  “Find anything yet?” he asked, his eyes looking at me seriously. He was wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt and as I brought him over to my lab bench his muscles flexed under his skin. Trying not to stare, my eyes examined the countless scars decorating his arms. It made me wonder where he had gotten them. There was so much mystery to my new partner.

  “Nothing big. Just a few things here and there but they are all pretty much useless,” I replied in disappointment. The desire to solve this case and catch the criminal painted a frown on my face. Simon picked up my chin, his eyes warm and compassionate.

  “Hey, it’s not your fault. The fire burned everything, and it’s hard to find a decent piece of evidence, but don’t worry. We will find whoever did this.” He smiled, making me feel more at ease.

  After a moment of silence between us, he spoke up again. “Hey, are you doing anything tonight?” I was a little shocked. Why would Detective Oskar want to spend time with me outside of the workplace?

  I shook my head shyly, looking down. He chuckled.

  “Excellent. Would you like to grab dinner with me then?” He was quite forward with his request, and it made me blush. After a moment I nodded, looking up at him. He smiled and messed up my hair, treating me like a small child. My blush darkened as my eyes followed him until he left the room.

  Later that night, I nervously got ready. Surely this was just two friends hanging out, but it still felt like some sort of date. There was no denying my feelings toward my partner, but it was a mystery whether he was straight or gay. Afraid of rejection, I kept messing around with my hair, trying to make it perfect.

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door, making me jump out of my skin. Taking a deep breath, I noticed the time. It was him. As if moved by magic, my body made its way to the door, reaching out a hand to open it. I was too excited to actually process this information consciously. As my gaze fell upon him, the blush returned. He was wearing dark jeans and a tight-fitting V-neck. The delightful sight made me freeze up, so he made his way into my apartment uninvited.

  “Oh…um…make yourself at home,” I stammered, watching him look around my house as if looking for something. He turned around and faced me with an apologetic look.

  “So, the restaurant I wanted to take you to didn’t have any room for us.” Simon rubbed his neck in embarrassment as he looked at me.

  “Oh, well, we can cook something here if you’d like.” Simon smiled at me and nodded, making his way into the kitchen. He started to look around as he pulled things out of the cabinets and refrigerator as if he lived there.

  Soon enough there was a gorgeous dinner on my table. I looked at it in awe. “Wow. How’d you learn to cook like this?”

  “Well, years of practice.” He winked at me. As the night progressed, it was obvious that Simon was loosening up more and more. He was touching me and getting closer to me than usual. As we sat down to watch some TV together, he even wrapped his arm around me. Was he flirting with me?

  Turning my head towards him, his lips suddenly found their way to mine. I gasped but then kissed him back, melting into it. As our emotions came to the surface, we ended up naked.He pinned me under his strong body. He looked down at me, his bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement as he kissed my neck.

  With a moan, my arms wrapped around his neck. My member twitched between my legs as his body pressed into mine. Shivers of excitement ran down my spine as I looked at him, biting my lip, waiting for his next move.

  “You don’t mind, do you, Matt?” he whispered in my ear, making me shiver once more. I shook my head quickly, eager for the night to begin. “Excellent.” With a grin, he picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. Playfully he tossed me onto the bed.

  As he crawled on the bed, lying down next to me, it almost made me giggle. Waiting in anticipation, my eyes followed him intently. Soon enough he pounced, pinning me onto the bed as he leaned down and kissed my neck again.

  Before I could react he flipped me over, laying me on my stomach. I lifted my hips, placing my ass in the air, shaking it a bit, hoping to tease him with it. He took the bait, as his hands grabbed my hips. Suddenly, he plunged himself deep inside of me. I moaned out loudly, clutching the sheets as my toes curled in pleasure.

  My whole body began to shake and rock back and forth as he pounded into me. His balls were slapping into mine, making me shiver in delight. He felt so good inside of me that I didn’t want him to stop. His name kept coming out of my lips as he took control. Feeling his hands run over my body made me feel even better.

  It didn’t take long for the warmth to build in the pit of my stomach. My balls tightened making it clear I was moments away from releasing my load. Simon grunted with his own efforts as he continued to fuck me harder and harder. Climbing over the edge, I screamed out, filling the room with my sounds of pleasure.

  Covering the bed in cum, I collapsed before feeling Simon fill me up with his own load. With a loud moan, my eyes met his. He lay down beside me. There was a smug look on his face as he pulled me closer, wrapping a well-toned arm around my slender torso.

  “Mmm. Best partner yet,” he cooed into my ear before promptly going to sleep. I looked at him and smiled, my fingers moving over his rough cheeks, covere
d in a small layer of facial hair. My fingers then ran across my own, free of any hair. Sighing contently, my head made its way to his bare chest. I rested it there before my eyes closed and I fell asleep. Being together assured me we would solve the case, and maybe have some more fun along the way.

  Chapter 4: Matthew

  A few days after our steamy night together, we got the breakthrough we were waiting for. Simon came into my lab, looking excited as he handed me something in a small plastic bag. I looked at it curiously for a moment.

  “What’s this?” I asked, looking at him, placing some gloves on my hands. It wasn’t clear to me what the small item was, but in any case, contamination was out of the question.

  “The piece of evidence we need to solve this case,” he said confidently as he watched me pull out a small layer of compacted soot. Placing it on a microscope slide and taking a look, it confirmed Simon’s theory.

  “It’s an almost perfect fingerprint!” I chimed, zooming in closer to it. “This could crack the case!” My voice was filled with excitement. With this, we could finally put whoever did this behind bars.

  “That’s what I told you. How long before you can figure out who it belongs to?” he asked me, getting closer, as I sat down on the lab bench. As his body pressed against mine, I blushed slightly thinking about our amazing night together two days ago.

  “A couple hours, max,” was my reply. I quickly moved the fingerprint to our scanner. It began to glow a bright green color as it analyzed the fingerprint and digitized it, bringing it into the computer system. It didn’t take me long to fiddle around with the program and instruct it to compare the scanned fingerprint with all ones we currently had on file. If the person was in our database, the software would tell us.

  “Excellent,” Simon mused before patting my head, messing up my hair. It seemed like he really liked to do that. He did it almost every time he left my presence. I blushed softly and watched him go away, my eyes locked on his sexy body as he made his way out the door. The software took longer than expected. It made me stay behind in the lab until the late hours of the night waiting for the results. My eyelids were getting heavy as I sat there, my head drooping forward. As I drifted to sleep, my daze was interrupted by a loud chiming noise, making me get up in an attempt to figure out where it was coming from.