Brandon looked across at the others at the table. “So why target these two children? What is the connection?”
“Both families denied any connection, but their bank accounts tell the story,” Sulie said. “Evidently, Mr. Cochran has a problem keeping his pants on – he is the father of Lenora Miller’s son, Stephen. Each month an allowance was withdrawn from his personal account and deposited into Lenora’s account.”
“That doesn’t mean Mr. Cochran is the boy’s father,” Alex suggested.
“Oh, the money just tipped me off about the connection. The lab work I was just checking on involved DNA testing. He’s the father,” Sulie explained.
“Perhaps his philandering ways explain why the nanny’s fingerprints were all over his office,” Dixon suggested.
“Maybe.” Raymond rubbed the palm of his hand across his chin, and sat back in his chair. “I studied the phone records and email accounts. No personal communication existed between the boy and his father, or to Lenora for that matter. Mr. Cochran’s personal date book showed no visits with his son.”
“At least he took financial responsibility,” Sterling said.
Raymond typed away on the keyboard. He read the screen output to the group. “Mr. and Mrs. Cochran have a thirty–seven year old son, and he is listed on his father’s family line. Their daughter, Tiffany, is listed on her mother’s family line.” He tapped the keyboard slightly with his fingertips. “That isn’t too surprising … a second child would never be listed on the family line.” He clicked on the keys once again. “Lenora Miller is a turned vampire, so her two children both have a spot on her family line.”
“I already checked. Stephen’s birth certificate does not list his father,” Sulie offered.
“Mrs. Cochran couldn’t have been too happy about the child support they had to pay for Stephen. Second children usually don’t get such consideration,” Raymond commented.
“Yes, and it was a sizable consideration each month,” Sulie added.
As an arguing point, Dixon threw out, “So maybe Mrs. Cochran decided to stop the payments, so she killed Lenora.”
“Doubtful,” said Sulie. “The payments go back easily a decade. Why wait ten years?”
“Maybe she only now found out,” Alex guessed.
“No. The situation wouldn’t make sense seeing how Tiffany was also targeted.” Raymond shook his head.
Brandon, who had recently accepted his new position with the group, raised his hand, like a kid awaiting notice from a teacher. “I don’t understand this family line. What exactly is it, and why is more than one kid bad?”
Raymond frowned. “It’s not information we usually share with humans, but it does seem important to the case. Vampires register their family lines with the Vampire Council – let’s just say, our ruling body of government. Registered families have access to blood banks, to social considerations, such as arranged marriages, and other niceties. Family lines keep our numbers low by allowing each vampire to place only one child directly onto it. It’s like a never branching family tree. Over centuries family lines gain money and prestige, especially if strategically arranged marriages have been involved.”
“Money and power. I guess poverty would suck if you live forever,” Dixon commented.
“Many have to suffer. I’m sure it must suck ass,” Sterling said.
Raymond lifted an eyebrow. “Crudely put, but correct. The more children a vampire has, the more at risk the secret of our existence is. Our resources are stretched. Blood banks are thinned out. A poor, starved vampire is always a recipe for disaster. If you have more than one child, you cannot claim them on your family line. Hopefully, the child can be listed on the other parent’s line.”
Brandon’s brow rose, and he said in a critical tone, “The hierarchy doesn’t sound fair if you’re unlucky enough not to be born first.”
“No more so than human monarchs,” Raymond retorted. “Firstborn sons get the title, the kingdom, the prestige … the younger brothers get very little. Sisters, even those who are born first, get nothing at all. At least with the vampire family lines girls are treated the same as boys.”
Dixon furrowed his brow. “Whoa, backup. Why does Lenora get two children in her family line?”
“She was turned. All turned vampires are allowed two children because they are a new line and no wealth has been accumulated yet,” Alex said.
Brandon nodded¸ letting it all soak in. “So purebred vamps and half–breeds are born into family lines, turned vampires are the start of their lines.”
Cocking his head, Raymond corrected, “That’s essentially it, but not exactly. Half–breeds cannot be listed on family trees.”
The room collectively looked over at Sterling, who just rolled his eyes.
“He has no interest in sitting on the Council board, and he gets money and blood from the government … so he doesn’t care about such things. If he has a child, if it is born a purebred, it can be listed on our family line,” Sulie pointed out. “That is,” she added, “if the placement has not already been taken.”
Brandon raised his hand again. “Half–breeds can have purebred children?”
Sterling respected the man for doing his best to be thorough, but still rolled his eyes.
“No, I’m not going into the reproductive possibilities of half–breed vampires. Just understand that there are purebreds, half–breeds, and turned vampires. That’s all you need to know,” Raymond said sternly.
Raymond returned to his computer and continued the meeting. “Since the Cochran family line doesn’t list the child, and his birth certificate doesn’t mention that he’s the father, then the fact the kids are related may not have any bearing on these kidnappings. It could be coincidental. Other than the secret family ties, the families have no similarities.” Raymond split the screen to display the image of the two children. Using a laser pointer, he highlighted the images. “One child is a girl, the other a boy. One family is older, with a much more established vampire bloodline; the other is a family line that is only a couple generations old. The Cochran family has wealth; the Miller family lives paycheck to paycheck. Other than they both live in Maryland, the only commonality is that they are vampires.”
“May I ask where the information about them being vampires is coming from?” Brandon asked.
Sterling’s jaw tightened. How many questions could this man ask? Sterling couldn’t remember Dixon being so vocal in his early days as a director.
Raymond eyed the human. “The database is classified. But, trust me, it is accurate. I cross–referenced the data against the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children database and the National Child abduction database.”
Alex studied the images on the wall. “So both families went through human channels to report their children missing.” She looked over at her husband, “Raymond, the age difference is about four years between these kids. Did they attend the same church, school, or other community gatherings?”
“The two families live a good 20 miles apart from each other. Both children are several years away from their Jahrling Year and appear human for all intents and purposes. I suspect their abductors knew they were vampires. After Tiffany’s kidnapping, they could have learned about Stephen through the family bank records.”
“Perhaps,” Dixon said.
“How long had each family lived in the area?” asked Sterling.
Again Raymond went to his keyboard and pulled up a picture of the entire Cochran household. “The Cochran’s were both born purebreds, and both have well established family lines spanning centuries. The parents have stolen social security numbers which have their age in their mid–fifties. All the numbers, for both families, start between 577 and 579 – so all D.C. socials. Home owner records suggest that they bought their home thirty years ago.” He now pulled up a picture of Lenora Miller. “Lenora Miller is about 150 years. But, she is the start of her family line, since she is a turned vampire. Her stolen social has her in their m
id–thirties. She has an older child, a purebred, who lives in Nebraska, and works as a news anchor on the radio. She was live on air during the time of her mother’s murder, so she isn’t a suspect.”
Brandon held up his hand to stop the briefing. “Stolen socials?”
Sterling took another sip of his coffee in an effort not to scream at the man.
“It’s a common vampire trick. When you move to different locations, and want to appear twenty, you search for someone who recently died who was born twenty years ago. You resurrect their social security number and assume their identity,” Sulie explained.
“And there are vampire agencies specializing in such things,” Raymond added. “Older vampire family lines usually have substantial money, as well as connections, to manage a comfortable living. Carefully selected, arranged marriages between vampire family lines allow for much wealth and networking to take place. In contrast, rogues and poorer families with vampire children, who do not have the benefits of their families’ wealth and connections, usually hunt for their meals and live meagerly.” He tapped on the keyboard, “Both of these families had the means to buy their socials – which is good news for us. We know that each family has lived in their neighborhoods for 30 and 10 years respectively. Of course, there is nothing in common with that length of time.”
“But there is something in common,” Dixon announced. “I mean, other than the kids being half–siblings. They have not yet reached their Jahrling Year and transitioned into vampires. We suspect that Stephen Miller was kidnapped, not killed like his mother or we would have found his body. The attacker wanted that child alive and there must be a reason.”
“If that is true,” said Alex, “what happens when these kids transition to the age of their Jahrling Year? Do the kidnappers keep the kids alive long enough for that?”
“I would suspect none of them live that long, but just in case …” Raymond typed another query into the computer. “I’m going to expand my search. Originally, I was only looking for children from the last six months in which a dagger was involved, and with no ransom. Let’s see if we get a hit from the last five years with a search on Hands of God.”
They sat patiently while the computer calculated the results and displayed them on the wall. A list of over a dozen children appeared. Raymond studied the list and then used his laser pointer to highlight the first name. “The oldest kid is Kekoa Aui. He went missing five years ago, and possibly has already transitioned. He’s a purebred vampire, so he could transition as early as eighteen. It’s more likely that he’d turn in his early twenties though.”
Sterling gestured at the board. “Mr. Cochran sure gets around.”
“It’s probably safe to assume they’re not all related,” Dixon said. “Were Kekoa’s parents killed?”
Raymond read the information on the screen. “The parents were not attacked. Kekoa went missing one morning. At first they thought he was a runaway …” He scanned the remaining information, “… but then a note was found which was signed ‘Hands of God’.”
Brandon let out a frustrated sigh. “So these creeps have upped their game and have started murdering. Who knows what they’re doing to these poor kids.”
“How many of these kids are now orphaned?” Sterling asked.
William typed away on his keyboard. “Yo, I got that.” The room waited while William’s fingers danced on the keys. Finally he announced to the group, “The term ‘Hands of God’ and a dagger left at the crime scene appears on several missing person reports and some suspected homicides.” He leaned into the screen and studied the information. “First event was twenty years ago. The cases are all over the United States.” He sighed and added, “If all the victims were vampires, we’re talkin’ about piles of dust. No bodies.”
“The human officials wouldn’t have known what to look for,” Raymond commented.
“Wait.” Alex shook her head and pointed back to the screen on the wall. “Getting back to the kids, Kekoa would be about 19 now. Assuming he has lived with them for five years, he may have Stockholm Syndrome and is sympathetic to his captors.”
“Or, even worse, is helping them,” Sulie added.
“Anything is possible, even the idea that he escaped, died, or hasn’t turned yet and is still captive.” Raymond’s cell phone buzzed and he read the text quietly to himself before sharing the information. “It looks like we have a human suspect in custody down at FBI headquarters for this case. The police picked him up a few hours ago.”
It was Sterling’s normal turf. Before his father assigned it to another team member, Sterling stood up and said, “I’m on the case.”
Raymond shouted out to his son as he left the room. “Ben is in court today. Have him meet you at the headquarters when he’s done. These kids are top priority, so we’ll cover the rest of your assignments for you.”
CHAPTER NINE
Sterling grew tired of waiting for Ben in the lobby of the FBI headquarters, so he texted the vamp for his ETA. Not wanting to wait around, Sterling walked down the familiar hallway. He had planned not to be back at work so soon after yesterday’s painful experience, but this case involved kidnapped vampire children, so he viewed it as a high priority.
Sterling met Lt. Gallendar as he turned the corner. Once again, Sterling compelled the man to turn off the metal detector allowing him to walk through with his gun, knives and silver whip chains. The process was all routine. At least today Ben would join him in the interrogation and evidence room. Sterling’s phone buzzed and he read the text from Ben saying he’d arrive in five minutes.
“We already have the suspect in a holding cell. Here, sign in,” Lt. Gallendar said handing Sterling a clipboard.
Sterling used his alias of “Agent Jones” and decided to start without Ben. He signed his fake name and something caught his eye. Actually, not something, but someone, caught his eye as she walked away from the interrogation rooms. His jaw hit the floor as the most angelic creature he had ever seen in his life walked towards him. Her long brunette hair cascaded along her shoulders and flowed over her backpack. Her beautiful locks framed her gorgeous face, which had the most bewitching gray eyes that melted him into a mere puddle of a man. Their eyes met, and he swore a slight smile appeared on her face. Her eyes focused on his as she walked towards him, her heels clicking on the floor. He watched as she tripped over her own feet and bumped into another human in the hallway. Her full attention remained on Sterling at the moment, or at least he thought so. He gave her a nod as she walked past him towards the elevators and he breathed deeply to take in her scent. He watched her from behind as she walked past him. She was tall for a woman and lean. Her slender legs were sexy in her tight fitting jeans, her backside round and perfect.
“Agent Jones? Please follow me,” said Lt. Gallendar.
Time had stood still only for Sterling. He was nearly drooling over the human as she disappeared into a crowd of other humans waiting for the elevator.
And, for the first time in decades, he had a hard–on just by looking at a woman.
“Agent Jones?” repeated Lt. Gallendar.
“Coming.” Sterling growled. His fangs had instantly extended when he had noticed her. Now, he felt at a loss as Lt. Gallendar waited for him. Sterling couldn’t put his finger on the feeling, but he wanted, no needed, to follow that vision of exquisite beauty – he just didn’t know why. His pants grew tighter as he again realized the woman aroused him with only the briefest of glances. That alone earned her another glance in his book. He blinked a few times and considered following her when he realized Lt. Gallendar again asked if he was coming. After a cleansing breath, he followed the man to the interrogation rooms. His thoughts remained focused on the woman – the human woman. No predator signs existed, so she wasn’t a vampire. She also had piercings above both eyebrows. Not really his style, but a vampire couldn’t have piercings or tattoos, so she was human. He could live with that. He began to rethink his dream of falling in love with a vampire woman if
the brunette bombshell were to take an interest in him. Sterling thought about ditching the lieutenant, but the man’s panicked voice startled him. The Lieutenant expected at least one agent with the suspect, but there was none. “Agent Jones, if you’ll excuse me. I need to find the agents assigned to this case,” he said as he ran back to the security desk to examine the day roster.
Sterling studied the suspect and instantly knew something seemed odd. He hadn’t cursed or called Sterling a name. There wasn’t even a sneer on his face. The medium–built man appeared muscular for a human. His filthy t–shirt hung loose over his jeans, and he did not have a military haircut. The man had more of a Shaggy from Scooby Doo appearance. Sterling glanced at the closed–circuit television, which was off and no longer recording anything in the room. Glancing back at the man, Sterling noticed the man’s eyes were dull and his skin pale, which were familiar signs to Sterling of someone who had been compelled. But, where was the vampire who did this to him? “Did you take those kids?” he asked the suspect.
The suspect stared blankly at the wall, his head leaning forward and his tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth. Sterling had seen this before, and it wasn’t good. The man was compelled, but some ass–wipe of a vampire screwed him up with a botched compelling job. His scrambled brain had lost any information he had known. Sterling looked deep into the suspect’s eyes and tried to pull him back into reality, but the man was a lost cause.
Sterling raced down the hall and passed two stunned, but otherwise healthy guards, standing around drinking coffee. Sterling then saw Lt. Gallendar. “Who was the last person with the prisoner?”
Lt. Gallendar checked the interrogation roster. “General Kathryn Spencer. She just left.”
“A general my ass”, thought Sterling. He didn’t wait to sign himself out. Instead, he ran towards the stairs as he called Ben on his phone. “Ben! You here yet?”
“Walking in the doors now. Why?”
“Stay there. Be on the lookout for a gorgeous brunette, about 5’ 7”, thin, long hair, gray eyes …” Sterling had not considered the possibility of her being a half–breed like him, and unable to give out any predatory signs as true vampires did. “Maybe a half–breed,” he added. “Do your best to make sure she doesn’t leave the building. She’s a suspect in the kidnappings.” Sterling raced down the flights of stairs at vampire speed and rushed to the ground level, hoping to beat the elevator down.
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