Thursday morning breezed by; I was preoccupied with the case. I coordinated a meeting for Friday morning—even though I had told Maddie I’d wait until Saturday. We needed to have one sooner, given the circumstances. I scheduled it before her practice time, nonetheless. It was going to be an early morning.
To my horror, during English class, I realized the evidence Wolfe and I had collected from the second murder case was left in my forensic kit in the foyer of my home. I still had the pictures, but the evidence wasn’t stored properly. I calmed myself, reasoning the collection of the data was good training, and we could still work on the pictures and get the lab reports from the crime lab. The only thing of merit we had collected were the blood samples from the altar—nonetheless, the real investigators had collected plenty, without a doubt.
When I got home from school, I slowly crept by Haley’s bedroom, ready to ambush her. She wasn’t there, her bed still made. Janice said Haley had contacted my parents and told them she would be sleeping over at a friend’s house for a few days. My parents didn’t argue, avoiding the imminent Armageddon when she returned.
Grabbing my doorknob, I cringed. I pushed open the door, peeking through my peripheral vision first before I committed to a full view. Luminal’s dog bed was gone. It was a relief; it would help me heal. He would always hold a place in my heart, but I didn’t need to grieve every day.
I scanned the room slowly, amazed. The pink palace was better than before. Janice had put everything worth saving back on the shelves, the dresser, and my nightstand. Luckily, Haley had spared my clothes.
She had purchased the most astonishing bedding I had ever seen. I stood in awe, gawking at the faux fur comforter with satin pillows. The faux fur bed pillows with rhinestone accents were spectacular. This was undeniably an upgrade. Thanks, Haley.
On my wall hung an enormous corkboard framed with a dazzling fuchsia glitter frame where my no frills evidence board used to be. There were tons of colorful pushpins for me to attach and move data around. I still wanted payback, but my bedroom upgrades were certainly going to ease the level of revenge I would seek.
I was oddly relaxed most of the night, arranging the evidence back in order on my new corkboard. After I had finished, I prepared new evidence reports for the club members for the upcoming lab meeting.
Before bed, Maddie and I met at our windows in the side yard between our homes to discuss her blooming relationship with Carden Doyle—since we were little, we had communicated this way along with our Walkie-Talkies—it was great being neighbors with my best friend.
After a quick call to Wolfe, I crawled into my new bedding, inhaling the aroma of crisp, clean fabric softener. After a few music videos, I passed out, commencing a sumptuous night’s sleep.
Only minutes had seemed to pass before I awoke. I rushed out of the house as quickly as I could move, scrambling into the car with Agent Bronson, my new evidence packets in hand. Checking my inbox on the way to school, I noticed my daily email from Detective Chase. I decided to wait to get to the lab to print it off for everybody.
Agent Bronson was exceptionally chatty during the car ride talking about his favorite desserts. He must have been hungry. Once we arrived, he escorted me to the front where Maddie and Carden were already waiting for me on a concrete bench.
We made our way to the lab, and it was only minutes before the rest of the club arrived. The inseparable duo rushed in, haggard, immediately apologizing for not answering my text messages. They had pulled an all-nighter, for a physics retest.
Wolfe arrived with a charming smile, wearing a dressy button-up, his signature scent trailing him as he strolled to his seat.
“Good morning! Your case evidence packets are right in front of you along with a copy of the report from the detective. Let’s all take a few minutes and review the documents before we discuss. I haven’t even had time to read the latest report from the crime lab,” I said, grabbing the document and scanning it.
Within a minute, gasps of disbelief sounded across the room. I focused in on a particular piece of evidence before addressing the group.
“Seems they’ve been busy. Let’s start with the new evidence. The bloody fingerprint found at the second murder scene in the cave,” I paused as everybody turned to the correct page.
“Whoa, Fiona. It belonged to Gerald Smith?” Maddie mumbled slowly.
“It’s not a serial murderer, then. It can’t be. He was still in prison during the first murder,” Willow added sternly, pointing an index finger at me.
“Gerald’s working with Victoria. He has to be. I see the crime lab doesn’t offer an opinion on it here. I’d love to know what the detective thinks about this,” I said directly.
“They still haven’t found a body or a murder weapon with the second murder, right? My mom heard about the second murder on the news this morning, they’re still reporting it as a large amount of human blood with an outline of a body,” Wolfe reported.
I scanned the report.
“There’s been nothing found,” I added.
My phone vibrated. A text message from Detective Chase.
Want to ride along this afternoon to visit Dimitri, Melanie and Victoria? You can ask the group, I have room in the Impala, and it would be an opportune interview for them to be involved with.
I presented the offer.
“Well, you know I have a soccer game,” Maddie said. “But I’ll pop over to your house later and catch up.”
“I’d go, but I’m not allowed, so I’ll keep my promise to Maddie to go to her soccer game,” Carden said, turning up a corner of his lip to Maddie who smiled in return.
“I’ll go,” Wolfe said happily.
“Count us in,” Lauren screeched. “Finally, I’m involved!”
“No doubt!” Willow laughed, smiling at Lauren.
“Oh wait, Fiona. I’m supposed to go to the Arles Cave tonight, but not until a little later. I’ll be there most of the night, until early morning!” Lauren added.
“Why is that?”
“I’m going with the Harford paranormal team—Professor Black invited me. They sometimes go during the Witching Hour to take readings, especially in that scary orb room, but they’re going to investigate the cave, given the murders,” she reported, an edge of eagerness to her voice.
Another sly attempt to commingle pseudoscience with the real science of my training program. I was annoyed.
“Lauren, remember our deal. You focus on paranormal fiction once you get to college, but in here, in my club, we only look at tangible data. It’s all my grant covers.”
“Here she goes again,” Willow scoffed, brushing her hands through her shaggy locks.
“Fiona, it’s cool. I’ll go with Detective Chase, and then I’ll head to the cave—it’s around the corner from there. And you’re all invited as friends—not club members. Okay?”
I smiled, “Okay.”
We breezed through the data in the report and discussed the suspects in the Jody James case one by one. The consensus was there wasn’t enough data to exonerate anybody as of yet, and the fact that Gerald Smith was now involved in the second murder case was more than disheartening.
Counting each minute, I couldn’t wait for each class to finish, longing for the final bell, which eventually came. Wolfe and I hopped in the car with my black suit to the police station. Not wanting to leave her car at school, the inseparable duo followed behind.
Once we arrived at the station, we switched cars to Detective Chase’s Impala, Agent Bronson poised to follow us. Attempting to claim a spot in the back seat next to Wolfe, the detective directed me to take the front seat, giving me a raised eyebrow. This was going to get annoying with him watching and interpreting my every move.
“We got some interesting news about Parker Thomas, III—the one who inherited a ton of money and was the brother of the victim,” he said, driving the car out of the parking lot.
“Yes, Mr. Thomas teaches at our school,” I said.
“K
now where his wife works?”
I swiveled in my seat to catch the expressions of the faces in the backseat. All blank, including my own.
“No, I’ve never met nor seen his wife, actually,” I added, my brows furrowed in confusion.
“Me neither,” Wolfe said.
“Beth Thomas, she works at the prison. The warden has also conducted an investigation into the escape and determined it had to be an inside job. Strange, huh?” he said, turning onto Copper Street.
“Yeah, quite strange,” I added.
We arrived at Dimitri’s house next to the marina with a full view of the Lakeside Trailer Park from their front porch, not the best part of town. The detective took the lead down the jagged, cracked sidewalk to the front door. He knocked on the door; we stared at each other with awkward expressions. I had forgotten the others hadn’t witnessed Dimitri’s shocking appearance. I glanced at Willow, knowing she was about to freak out.
“Do they know we’re coming to visit?” I queried in a whisper.
“Yes and no,” Detective Chase countered.
“What’s the meaning of your dual answer?” I whispered loudly, smiling.
“Dimitri knows, but nobody else. He said he wouldn’t mention it to Victoria and Melanie.”
“I see. This might be interesting,” Wolfe said quietly, raising an eyebrow.
After a couple of long minutes, Dimitri LeMorte answered the door wearing a white tank top with ragged holes and a pair of worn khaki shorts. His exposed skin was covered with bizarre tattoos.
“Hello, fine people. Please,” Dimitri said, stepping back into the house with a wave of his hand for us to enter.
Willow struggled silently with Lauren about entering the house. Being the coward of the group, she’d be a fine physician one day, but criminal investigations were not going to be in her future. Lauren was the one to push her into doing things against her will.
The inseparable duo locked arms at the elbows as they stepped into the house; Willow’s eyes darted around the room in a panic as she attempted to hide behind Lauren.
The décor, if you could call it that, was alarming. The air was rancid like cigarettes mixed with a thick potpourri—similar to Desde’s Gothic Garden. He had lit ceremonial candles, mostly black, some crimson, and they were circled around the couch, chair and loveseat in the living room. Had we just walked into a ritual? Should we run? My eyes scanned the room for a sword. I couldn’t find one. This put me at ease.
The art hanging on the walls—screaming bloody people, barren trees with black ooze streaming from their branches, human-animal hybrids flying in the sky with snarls exposing sharp teeth. Scarlet couches were the focal point of the room with vampire bat arches making up the backs.
Willow was teary eyed, repeatedly attempting to capture Detective Chase’s attention with anxious facial expressions, and refusing to turn in Dimitri’s direction. She should have known someone like him would sense her fear.
Wolfe wasn’t bothered by Dimitri’s appearance and kept a calm head—I figured as much.
Lauren was enamored as if she were at an amusement park or a zoo—she moved her head around in a wonder, soaking in the scene.
“Please, have a seat. Victoria and Melanie will be back shortly. They ran off to the marina to grab some milk. How may I assist you?” he said in a strange, foreign accent that wavered between British and French.
Detective Chase gestured for us to take a seat on the bat-inspired furniture, and we filed in and took our places, Lauren dragging Willow who nearly sat in her lap as she finally flashed her eyes upon Dimitri’s face, spotting his red-spiraled horns.
“Well, Dimitri. It seems as though you were spotted in front of the Arles Cave early Thursday morning after the second murder in Dracul’s Den. The witness stated you were with another man, mid-thirties, in front of the cave.”
“I might have been spotted there. See, I’d been at a friend’s house over by the Southfork Hills. We got into a bit of a scuffle, so I took off on foot. Took me forever to walk home. And I do remember walking by the cave on the way. Look at a map, that was my shortest route, Detective,” Dimitri said, gazing into each of our eyes.
Trying not to laugh at Willow’s reaction, I scanned the room, spotting a black lacquer table in the corner with an organized group of items on top. Rinden bowls. Bottles of oils and a few candles I didn’t recognize. Black magic. I decided to make it my mission to stay on Dimitri’s good side.
“Did you see anybody else in front of the cave? The witness spotted you with someone else. Do you recall seeing your cousin, Gerald Smith, that night?”
Dimitri hesitated while he continued to gaze at Willow, tilting his head to the side like a dog who had just heard a word he recognized. He was feeding off her fear. Detective Chase cleared his throat, his face composed.
“No,” Dimitri turned back to the detective, “but if a witness saw me and then somebody else, well, maybe he assumed we were together?”
“I never said the witness was male, Dimitri. Do you remember seeing a Hispanic gentleman that night?”
“I figured anybody who was out in the early morning during that time had to be a male. Especially with crazy murderers on the loose. No, do not remember seeing him,” he lowered his head, pointing his horns at the detective, gazing up at him from under his eyelashes. Willow throttled a tiny squeal as she backed into Lauren on the couch as if Dimitri was about to fire laser beams from his head.
The front door opened abruptly, and the pink-haired Victoria and her mother Melanie walked in, a gallon of milk in Victoria’s hand. Seemingly caught off guard, she huffed, shifting her weight as she stared at us with a puzzled expression. Melanie was in full workout attire, reasonably fit for a woman of her age. Victoria was wearing dressy 1960’s Gothic attire.
“What are they doing here?” Melanie scoffed, throwing her keys on the black lacquered table.
“Mel, let’s be kind to our guests. They are simply here to visit and see what we know about these awful murders that have happened,” Dimitri purred, smiling impiously at Melanie and Victoria.
Melanie sighed. She dragged a chair from the dining room table and sat behind Dimitri’s loveseat; Victoria followed her lead and did the same while shooting our group a vicious glare.
“What can we do for you guys,” Victoria said boldly, grimacing as she raised her chin a fraction.
“Victoria, where were you on Thursday from midnight until 4 AM?”
“I’ve already told the other officers, but here I go again. I was spending the night with Damien Lee, my boyfriend.”
Detective Chase jotted notes on his notepad and turned his attention towards Melanie.
“Can you please tell us where you were?”
“I was at work.”
Victoria nodded in agreement, her thick, spiked choker nearly covering the vampire bite tattoo on her neck. It didn’t look comfortable.
“Victoria, was Damien’s grandmother home with you two?”
“Yes, but she’d never know. She’s got that old lady brain disease.”
“Do you mean Alzheimer’s?” the detective inquired, scrawling more notes.
“I think Damien calls it old timer’s disease. But all she wants to do is make us soup, even if she’s just done it,” Victoria sneered, rolling her eyes.
“Are you still seeing Damien romantically?”
Victoria laughed for a moment and answered coyly, “I wouldn’t call it romance, Detective, but we’re in a union.”
“A union?”
“A union is an agreement between two vampires that love each other,” Dimitri interjected. “The Southern Vampire Alliance recognizes it, and I declared it by my powers of Nosfu and made it official.”
Lauren wore a mask of perplexity as she tried to immerse her mind in the words flying around her. Willow was frozen. I worried about her mental state, hoping it was only temporary.
“Oh yeah, you are a Nosfu, Dimitri. Is that correct?” the detective asked, his ey
ebrows knit together in concentration.
“Yes, thank you for noticing,” Dimitri said in a pseudo-foreign accent, grinning.
Dimitri excused himself for a moment. Victoria and Melanie stared at us, hatred sprinkled in their eyes. The moment was as awkward and hostile as it could have been.
Dimitri returned with a golden goblet, took a drink and set it on the coffee table. I had no idea what was in the goblet but didn’t want to know.
“Well, I thank you for your time. We’ll be going now,” the detective said abruptly, gesturing for our group to move towards the door.
Willow jumped up, grabbing Lauren by the wrist and locking with her at the elbows. To no surprise, the inseparable duo was first to the front door, letting themselves out, leaving it ajar for the rest of us. Wolfe waited for me to pass, filed in behind me, and passed it off to Detective Chase.
After piling into the Impala, I couldn’t help but feel as though I had been cursed by just entering that creepy house. Lauren switched positions with Wolfe in the backseat of the car, taking the center position so she could console her best friend who wasn’t doing well.
“Detective, can you please drop me and Willow off at Arles Cave since it is on the way?” Lauren asked politely.
“Lauren, I don’t think I can take more scary crap today, seriously,” she whispered, her hands still shaking.
“Doc, stop being ridiculous. We’re going to the cave with a bunch of Hartford hotties—so chill.”
Detective looked at me in the margin of his eye, crunching his eyebrows in mystification.
“Why do you want to visit the scene of two crimes? At night?” he asked, pulling the Impala next to a stop sign.
“Well, they’ve been cleared, right? They’re no longer active crime scenes.”
A sudden onset of gloom assaulted Lauren’s face as she anxiously awaited Detective Chase’s reply.
“Yes, they were cleared by our team, but it’s obviously dangerous. I couldn’t in good conscious drop you off for a joy night in a place where two murders have happened.”
Fiona Frost: Order of the Black Moon Page 18