“Can’t handle it? “Agent Reeves asked, a frown creasing his brow.
I sighed. “I can handle it, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to make it go away. Some things just can’t be unseen.”
“Just wait until you’ve seen it in person.” I shuddered but knew it was inevitable. I’d see this up close and personal soon enough.
He stacked the files neatly and gestured to my bag. “Take them with you, review them, find something new. I want to get this guy. No one should die like that.”
“Do you have any ideas? A plan? I mean you must have one to get me on board.”
“We suspect the local House is involved,” he started.
“Wait. You’ve seen these pictures - no vampire would do this. They would consider it below their dignity. Even the most maniacal newbie vamp wouldn’t-” I took a deep breath and shook my head meeting his eyes with my steely glare. I didn’t like where this was headed. “There is too much blood left for it to be a vampire. Even one with self-control of steel would have a difficult time walking away from that much fresh blood.” I explained, my teeth clenched.
“It’s not that we think a vampire did it - we think they are involved. That’s one of the reasons we hired you. You are going to infiltrate the local House and investigate.”
Investigating a series of murders was one thing, infiltrating the House was another entirely.
“This is species profiling,” I sputtered, enraged. “Just because it is a crime and human bodies are involved doesn’t mean a vampire or shifter did it. There are more creatures out there than anyone can fathom. Why focus on the vampires when it obviously isn’t their style?”
“Because it’s somewhere to start.” Leaning forward, he laid his hands on his desk, narrowing his eyes. “We don’t know a lot about them, just that they are monsters that prey on humans, same as shifters. We have a body count that keeps rising and we are getting nowhere.” Dragging in a deep breath he continued, “The House has its fangs into everything in this region. If they aren’t involved then they certainly know something.”
I considered my loyalties, the duality of my nature. Which half was I - human or other? I hated that he so clearly saw a separation between the two. It wasn’t always as black and white as he obviously thought. But whatever creature did this needed to be stopped. Agent Reeves was right, the House was the best place to start. At least with me involved I’d see that any others would get a fair shake.
“Fine. I’ll review the cases. If I can’t come up with a better plan, I’ll get into the House. But I’m not leading a witch-hunt. You’ll have to find another McCarthy.” I rose out of my chair, ready to walk out of the lucrative job. I wasn’t hunting my own people, not on such flimsy evidence.
Spencer sighed heavily. “It’s not like that. All of us here know what it’s like to be different. We are not conducting a witch-hunt. All we want is to find the thing responsible and stop it, whether it is human or other.” He put his hand on mine gently. “Just review the cases. Your fresh eyes will hopefully spot something we’ve missed.”
Growling my agreement, I shoved the files into my messenger bag and stalked out of the room.
I considered my reaction. Why was I so upset? It’s not like I even really liked vampires, although I didn’t dislike them either. The few I knew were actually pretty cool. Although any creature that had lived hundreds of years had tricks up their sleeves the rest of us couldn’t even dream up.
For someone who was intent on fitting in as human, I sure had a funny way of showing it. I had a feeling this would be so much more than just a job. I feared its impact would be a little more serious and long-term than a simple case.
I sat on the floor of my living room surrounded by the files and pictures. I painstakingly reviewed each case for even the most minute detail that could have been overlooked or misinterpreted. The images of the mutilated bodies would be forever seared onto my mind. I may be a shifter of sorts, but I wasn’t used to such visceral, violent images. I only killed for food - rodents, birds, the occasional deer - or if my life was threatened. Even then I only did what I needed to survive, usually a quick kill, not this prolonged torture and mutilation. To see this amount of damage done to anyone, was almost too much to deal with. But look I did. Again and again, trying to find some clue as to who - or what - did this.
After my back could no longer stand hunching over the files, I stood and stretched out the kinks that had developed over the last several hours. I had little to show for it other than knowing, with increasing certainty, that a vampire had not done the actual murder and mutilation. There was too much blood remaining. Vampires were meticulous. They considered themselves to be the sophisticated species, above the uncivilized shifters and the banal humans. I suppose it’s due to most of them being so damn old and from a different time when ritual and social niceties were the norm. I’d heard that the fey were similar, but I’d never spoken to a fey, knowingly anyway. They didn’t always flag my preternatural radar, or predar, as I mentally referred to it.
Vampires, even the newer ones, were able to leave their victims alive and with little knowledge of what had happened to them. They were usually just missing a pint or two, nothing life-threatening, suffering symptoms no more severe than those from donating blood. Vampires didn’t last centuries by causing this type of bold and visible carnage. They were better at hiding than most of the other species out there. From what I knew, direct sunlight could kill the younger ones, but the allergy lessened as they aged, akin to a sunburn on a fair-skinned human after a few centuries. They generally didn’t go out in the sun much regardless, but it was due more to a conditioned psychological aversion than a true physical reaction. In fact, I had discovered that most of the myths surrounding the preternatural community were just that - myths.
Yes, it was difficult to kill them, but the same methods worked for them as they did for the rest of us - beheading, fire, removal of the heart.
Holy water and garlic? The overactive imagination of a human writer. Not that I knew any of this from experience. I’d never had any reason to kill a vampire, but with hearing and senses as good as mine I’d learned a lot of things over all the years I’d been slinking around in the dark.
What about shifters? The carnage was about right for what a pissed off shifter would do. But to leave all that meat behind? Not likely. Like vampires, it would be considered too wasteful. Although I could think of a few instances when that would be possible. I didn’t eat my foster parents, Deena and Aaron Watson, nor anyone else I had ever killed. Could this be a series of revenge killings by a shifter? Possible, but unlikely as there was no connection found between any of the six victims. Plus an enraged shifter would leave a lot of evidence - footprints, fur, something.
Another option was a creature that we hadn’t seen before. There were so many possibilities out there. Human mythology is full of strange and terrible creatures. If shifters and vampires were real, who’s to say others aren’t.
A common thread with each body was the absence of bones. While there was a lot of blood, meat, and skin at each scene, not a single bone or bone fragment remained. This made the possibility of a new creature very likely. With my somewhat limited knowledge, there wasn’t a creature that would take the bones but leave the rest of the body behind.
My heavy sigh split the silence in my condo. I needed to find someone who knew more about what other creatures were out there. I grudgingly admitted that Spencer was right - the House was our best lead at this point. Infiltrating the House would be the most effective move. Vampires had been around centuries, surely they knew what other creatures lurked in the shadows.
I needed a plan to get into the House. I considered what I knew about the vampire’s societal structure. A House is what the vampires called their families, kind of like a coven for witches. Members of a family weren’t usually blood related, although they could be. In the Tampa Bay area we had one ruling House, which was commonly referred to - simply enough
- as the House. It seemed the ruling House acted like a local government. To my knowledge the next highest level of ruling was at the regional level. I’m not sure exactly how far the Tampa Bay House reached, but I knew it went at least as far south as Fort Myers, possibly Naples. Miami had its own ruling house, as did Jacksonville. There could be several Houses made up of several different vampire families - as they referred to their closest cohorts - in an area, but only one had any type of ruling power. This inevitably caused tension as the ego driven vampires didn’t like to be told what to do. Every few centuries there was an uprising of which House was in charge.
I had no clue as to how the system actually worked, or any of the ins and outs. Nor would I unless I actually found a way inside. I did know that if there was some new creature in an area, the House would be the first to know. Interspecies alliances were frequently made and broken. Shifters could form alliances with a local House for extra muscle. Maybe something similar had happened or some type of turf war was about to erupt between the local Houses. Usually things were kept a little better under wraps than this, but who knows. If the parties involved were wanting a Revelation, they wouldn’t be too worried about keeping the protocol of secrecy that the majority of us upheld. While I certainly didn’t want to get involved in any of that mess, I would like to know what was going on, and what to expect. If a house was planning to reveal the knowledge of the others, I’d certainly like to know.
The million dollar question, how was I going to do this? It felt like an impossible feat. They didn’t let just anyone in. My best bet was to get close to someone who was already in the House and get noticed somehow by someone in charge.
Piece of cake. I started to roll my eyes at my own sarcasm when I froze, an idea blossoming.
I was pretty sure I did know someone inside the House.
My heart tripped over itself at the thought of seeing - no - touching him again. While I didn’t know for sure, there was just something about him that had raised a red-flag. Maybe it was the scent a fresh feed mingled with older ones that had me considering him as a possibility. Either way once the thought appeared it wouldn’t leave me alone. Sure it was far-fetched, but so was this whole plan. With bodies piling up and the next mutilated corpse an inevitability, it was as good a shot as any.
Chapter Three
Slapping the file back on his desk I sank into the squeaky vinyl chair in his office.
“You really need better furniture in here,” I grumbled, kicking my legs onto his desktop. He frowned but ignored it. Probably a good move on his part, I was spoiling for an argument.
“Take a pay cut and I will.” I snorted and rolled my eyes. Damned if I was going to take a penny less for what I had to do. This was my life we were risking for this case. I deserved all of it and more.
“I am assuming by your stellar attitude that you aren’t much of a morning person.” He set down two Styrofoam cups of brown liquid between us. I think it was supposed to be coffee, but it smelled more like burned gym socks. At this time of day and with as little sleep as I’d had last night, if it had caffeine I’d drink it.
Grunting my thanks I downed the scalding brew in two gulps doing my best not to taste it.
“You call that coffee?” Unable to hide my revulsion I shuddered.
“You get used to it.” He laughed as he sipped the swill.
“Never.” I countered, disgusted. Coffee should be hot with layers of flavors. It should be savored. Enjoyed.
Eying me over the white cup he waited, eyebrow raised.
“I looked over all the case files last night.” Sighing, I rushed out a mumbled you-were-right.
“Excuse me?” A smile crept onto his handsome face making him even more devastating to look at as he cupped his hand behind his ear. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“You were right,” I repeated louder, knowing he was messing with me. “The best plan of action at this point is to infiltrate the House.”
“And what made you agree with me?” He refrained from saying I told you so, which I appreciated. He was thinking it though.
“It is definitely not a vampire. Too messy and wasteful.” I continued after he nodded in agreement. “It doesn’t have the feel of a shifter either. There would probably be a lot more evidence left behind. But the fact is we don’t know what did this, nor do we know if it is a creature that we haven’t seen before - which is my guess.”
“I agree.” Spencer finished his coffee and tossed the cup in the trash.
“Since vampires are nosy control freaks and into everyone’s business, they might have a better idea about what guests have arrived in our fair city. We can’t trust them to answer us if we just come out and ask, so infiltrating their happy little family is the best way to find out what they know.”
“Any ideas yet as to how you might accomplish that?”
“I’m still working on that part,” I admitted grudgingly. “I know a handful of vampires but I’m not really friends with any of them. More like acquaintances - you know? I know where the hot spots are for picking up their human snacks.” I shrugged. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a few ideas, I just need to think them through a little more.”
“We need to catch this guy.”
“Or woman.” I pointed out. “A woman could just as easily have done this. Don’t underestimate us, we can be ruthless.”
“Noted.” He jotted down a few notes. “It just doesn’t fit the typical profile.”
“Does anything about this case? We are working with creatures that have an unlimited array of skills and powers. It could be anything. Think of all the myths throughout the world. Myths are often based on fact, sometimes deeply buried and twisted until they are unrecognizable, but a grain of truth is hidden somewhere. Women are just as capable of horrific acts as men. It’s never safe to assume otherwise.” I warned him.
My foster mother Deena Watson was often just as cruel to me as her husband Aaron, just in a different way.
“Speaking of underestimating the fairer sex, I hear you are pretty good at hand-to-hand?” He did that sexy half-smile of his, kicking up my heart rate. My eyebrows rose at his tone. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into.
“Yeah, I have an idea what you’ve heard. I won’t tell you none of it’s true, but I’m sure I could kick just about anyone’s ass in this department.” The skepticism in his eyes, made my pulse rise and a challenge I couldn’t hold back spilled from my lips.
“Want to give it a shot, tiger?” My eyebrow rose, my limbs beginning to tingle with energy. I figured he wouldn’t be able to pass up a test. “Or are you worried about messing up your suit?”
He laughed. A full on, no-holds-barred guffaw. The sound caused goose bumps to pop up along my arms, but warmed my heart as something unfamiliar settled there. When he was finished he met my eyes, his twinkling – twinkling for god’s sake.
“I have a feeling being your partner won’t be dull. They were certainly right about you having a big set of balls.” He kept smiling, and goddammit it was contagious. I couldn’t stop smiling in return.
Surprisingly he took me up on my offer, but we had to table it until tomorrow after my training for the department. I had to meet some specific criteria to be allowed out into the field. I guess they wanted to make sure I wouldn’t accidentally shoot a bystander or something. Probably a good idea.
Instead Spencer dragged me downtown to the Medical Examiner’s office. Fun.
Dead bodies. Just the way I wanted to spend my day.
I made some excuse about needing to stop somewhere so I could take my bike. I did not want to ride in his tin can of a car, even if it was a comfy Toyota Camry. I wasn’t able to ride in any car easily, my claustrophobia making it almost impossible unless it was a convertible. It was especially panic-inducing if there was a seatbelt involved. And knowing Spencer and his rule-abiding ways, a seatbelt would be mandatory. Being only partially human, I would heal from just about any injury received in an auto accid
ent, short of decapitation. With Spencer’s careful nature the risk of an accident was almost nil, but there was no way to explain that to him without revealing much more to the government agent than was good for my health.
Pulling up beside his Camry in the parking lot, I gaped at the sign on the building in front of us.
“It’s under a restaurant?” Wide-eyed, I stared in shock at the sign proclaiming we were at “Celine’s Fine Dining - Where dining is at its finest.” Immediately below that was the small sign in plain script that stated it was the location of the Hillsborough County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The creepy factor increased a notch when I realized we were heading into the basement. Who opens a restaurant above a morgue? When I said as much to Spencer, he shrugged.
“It’s a great location.” I shuddered and vowed that I would never eat at Celine’s.
“They have a great steak.” Spencer’s voice echoed in the stairwell as we walked down a flight. I stumbled down the last three stairs, flabbergasted at his comment.
An overwhelming smell of decay and antiseptic assaulted me as he opened the door. Sometimes having a preternatural sense of smell was more of a hindrance than a benefit. This would be one of those moments.
Standing in the middle of the sterile white tile and shiny metal cabinets was a blonde woman in a white lab coat, hunched over a table peering into a microscope. Jotting down notes in a file, she glanced up at the sound of the door hissing shut. As soon as she spotted Spencer she set down her pen, her full lips turning up on one side.
“Well, well, well.” She shifted her weight, crossing her arms across her chest. “It’s nice to see you when we don’t have a mangled corpse between us.”
Spencer hugged her warmly, the petite woman practically disappearing in my giant partner’s embrace. He turned to me with one hand still resting on the small of her back. My curiosity piqued, I waited for an introduction.
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