BLOODLUST: CHAPTER 7 (VAMP) Our story thus far: The body count is now up to four as Daniel set his sights high and snagged Sandra Bullock as his latest victim. Meanwhile the police are getting a tad pissed off about the tendency of the bodies disappearing on them. All in all, Daniel is living it up while his pursuers are trapped under a mountain of confusion and frustration. Not a good time to be a good guy, I suppose. As usual I crave feedback, any type of feedback. So if you have any comments, please send it to KMB_76@yahoo.com If you have trouble copying the address (as it has been brought to my attention that you may very well have) then I suggest the old cut and paste method. In the meantime I am considering getting a new address. No legal warning this time because we have no sex in this chapter. I’ll make up for it in the next two, but I have to warn you there is a long stretch coming up in the future where I go three straight sexless chapters. Hopefully you will all be hooked on the story by then so you won’t mind. Anyway, no sex here so kids of all ages are permitted to read, read, read. Here we go: CHAPTER 7: A MYSTERY MAN APPEARS By the time the dawn of the new day had come and gone, the police force had been mobilized. But so had the media and any police officer attempting to enter the station house was mobbed by reporters and their questions about the murders. This was what happened to Tom Avery as he tried to escort Stacy Campbell to her job. “You know you don’t have to do this,” Tom said after they had fought their way into the building. “I do have to, this is my job,” Stacy replied. “Well at least you don’t have to be here this early,” Tom offered. “What am I going to do, go home and come in again three hours later?” Stacy asked. “Besides you guys all have to be here, then at least I can contribute somehow.” “Yeah but none of us were attacked last night.” “Look Tom,” Stacy said as they walked up the stairs toward the homicide squad room, “You really helped me out last night and I can never thank you enough. And I really appreciate the way you’re looking out for me, but I’m fine. The guy last night just tried to cop a feel or something. I’m going to be okay.” “All right,” Tom said, “But I’m worried about you.” “But you don’t have to be. The guy didn’t hurt me and it’s better for me to get back into the swing of things right away instead of staying home and getting all pissed off over nothing.” “Well, you know you can talk to me, if you need to,” Tom offered. “I will,” Stacy said, “Now lets just get to work.” The two entered the squad room and Tom saw that the briefing off the officers was about to begin so he went to get a seat. A display of all the information that was relevant had been set up and Chris spoke first. “All right,” he began, “Here’s what we know and it isn’t much. We’ve had three victims so far: Lysette Andrews, Michelle Ryan, and Mary Lassiter.” As Chris mentioned each of the names, he pointed to a picture of them on the board set up. He then continued his brief. “All three engaged in what appears to be consensual sex with their killer before they died from blood loss resulting from wounds to their jugular veins. The veins appear to be severed and the blood drained somehow. The big mystery surrounding this cause of death is that there was little blood found at the scene. This leads us to believe that the killer is, shall we say, collecting the blood and taking it with him.” Pete then took over the discussion, “On each of the three victims we have recovered blood samples that do not match the victims. All three samples come from the same person, so it is reasonable to assume that the blood belongs to the killer and that, because of a lack of bruising around the face and chin, this was a consensual act done before the killing. No other injuries were on the victims aside from the death wounds, so we have reached the conclusion that these women were not raped or beaten in any way.” “There are two big problems here,” Pete continued, “The first is that there are no leads anywhere. Chris and I have been working with Detective Carly Sanchez and Detective Steve Huston on this one and we haven’t turned up anything. The killer appears to be picking his victims at random as the only thing that they seem to have in common is that they’re females in their mid- 20’s and they are all attractive.” This brought a smattering of smiles from the crowd and an eye roll from Pete. “Hey, what’s the second problem,” Detective Michael Steinberg from the second shift of homicide asked. “You want to field this one Carly?” Pete asked. “Oh I’d love to,” Carly said as she got up and took over, “The second problem is that the bodies of our first two victims have disappeared.” “What do you mean disappeared?” Detective Jane Douglas asked amid the murmurs that Carly’s statement produced. “I mean, here today, gone tomorrow,” Carly answered, “Lysette Andrews body disappeared the night it was discovered and the only witness was a morgue attendant who is now receiving constant psychiatric care and last night when Michelle Ryan’s body slipped away, the officer reported falling asleep at one point and when he woke up, she was gone.” “What did they just walk away?” Arnie Nash piped up from his desk. “I seriously doubt that,” Steve answered, “ But there is no evidence to support any theory at this point. The best we can do is assume that the killer or an accomplice came in and stole them. All we know is that they were dead when we left them there.” A chorus of laughs briefly sounded out. “Let’s get serious here people,” Lieutenant Lawrence Smith said as he entered the discussion, “I want every available detective on this one. The heat is on here and we have to respond fast. Here’s how we’re going to do it. Detectives Crawford, Steinberg, and Williams you are going to work with Detectives Sanchez and Huston. While the Foster brothers will work with Detectives Avery, Nash, White, and Petagine. Now we have with us Detectives Marcy Robinson and Tony Davenport from sex crimes and they will be working independently on any sex crime connections but will be reporting back to me. Any questions?” There was silence in response. “Good,” Lieutenant Smith replied, “Let’s get this son of a bitch before he kills someone else.” But before Smith could return to his office, Stacy called out to him. “Lieutenant Smith, there’s a telephone call for you. It’s Captain Carter.” “I’ll take it in my office,” Lawrence said as he went inside and closed the door as the squad room seemed to immediately turn into a hive of activity with officers and detectives rushing to and fro. Steve sat at his desk staring at the pictures of Mary Lassiter. “What’s up partner?” Carly said as she walked up behind him. “She was a wonderful person, you know that?” Steve stated. “And the other two girls weren’t?” Carly asked. “You know what I mean,” Steve replied, “This was a woman who dedicated her life to helping others and living according to the Bible. And some scumbag come out of nowhere and uses her for his plaything before killing her. It’s not right.” “Well of course it’s not right,” Carly stated plainly, “It’s a homicide.” But Carly could see that this death had obviously disturbed her partner a great deal. Steve was raised a good Catholic and tried to combine his life in the church and his life as a cop. It was not always an easy thing to do. “Hey we’re going to get this guy,” Carly reassured her partner. “He’s not going to get away with it, all right?” “Yeah, you’re right,” Steve said as he put the pictures down. “Let’s get some work done now,” Carly stated, but before she could get to do anything Lieutenant Smith opened his office door and gestured for her and Steve to come and talk to him. “What is it Lieutenant?” Carly asked. “Sandra Bullock has disappeared,” Lawrence stated, “Now there’s reason to believe that she stayed the night in her trailer. But she was gone this morning.” “Was there a body anywhere?” Steve asked. “No,” Lawrence answered, “For all we know. She could have bumped her head and is walking around in a daze, or maybe she just decided to disappear for the night. But this could also be connected with Michelle Ryan’s death somehow. Just go and check it out please.” “I don’t believe this shit,” Carly replied, “We’re homicide. Can’t missing persons handle it?” “Look, the Captain has specifically asked that we look into it for any connections,” Lawrence replied, “So just do it and get back here as soon as you can.” With that the two detectives resigned themselves to their task, grabbed their coats, and headed for the door. However, on the way Carly nearly walked into a man entering the squadroom. The man seemingly zipped out of the way like a jumping bean just before Carly bumped into him. “Sorry,” Carly mumbled. “Quite all right,” the man said in a low, tired voice with a heavy British accent. “You know maybe you should reapply for your walking license,” Steve remarked to Carly as they walked down the stairs, “That’s two days in a row now.” “Oh shut the fuck up,” Carly shot back, but by now the man could only hear their voices in the distance as he continued his walk into the squadroom. “Excuse me,” he said as he walked up to Stacy’s desk. “What?” Stacy said as she was snapped out of her daydream. All day she’d felt far away from her surroundings and she’d been daydreaming constantly, something she never normally did. “I’m looking for the detective in charge of the murder case,” the man said, “I believe I have some information.” “Which case sir?” Stacy asked as she gave the man the once over. He looked as if he’d slept in his clothes for days, he needed a shave, and his short blonde hair was wild and unkempt. “Which case do you think?” the man asked, exasperated, “The murdered women.” “Ahh, well that would be Detective Foster over there,” Stacy said as she pointed toward Chris’ desk. “I must speak with him immediately,” the man said as he headed toward Chris. “Whoa, hold it right there sir,” Stacy said as she got up quickly and blocked his way, “You don’t go back there, I’ll have Detective Foster come up here.” Stacy then picked up her phone and dialed Chris up on his intercom. “Detective Foster,” Stacy said when he picked up, “There’s a man up here and he says he has information on the case.” “Well that’s a refreshing change,” Chris replied, “I’ll be right there.” “One thing though Detective,” Stacy whispered into the phone as she looked over at the man and observed his nervous fidgeting and how every time someone came near him he seemed to jump slightly, “He doesn’t look too...stable, if you know what I mean.” “I got you,” Chris said, “I’ll be right there.” Chris then walked over to Stacy’s desk where he introduced himself to the man. “Hi, I’m Detective Foster. And you are?,” Chris asked. “My name isn’t important,” the man answered, “What I have to tell you is.” “Okay,” Chris sighed, Stacy was right this guy seemed like a nut job, “Why don’t we go over to my desk and discuss it.” “That’s where I wanted to go in the first place,” the man said as he glared at Stacy while being escorted to Chris’ desk. “Now what was it you wanted to tell me, Mr.....what did you say your name was?” Chris asked after they had both sat down. “I told you my name isn’t important,” the man repeated, “I just need you to listen to me. Do you have any leads yet Detective?” “Well, we have angles we’re following right now and we’re confident that we’ll be able to get something new soon,” Chris said warily. What was this guy getting at, he wondered. “I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” the man said, “Maybe you’re just looking in the wrong places for your information?” “What do you mean?” Chris asked. “I mean that you’re looking for a natural cause for these crimes, when they have a supernatural cause.” “What?” Chris asked in astonishment. What the hell was this guy telling him? “You heard me,” the man stated, “You’re not looking for a human being killer here, you’re dealing with a vampire.” “I think I’ve heard just about enough,” Chris said as he got up suddenly, “If you don’t have any real information then I’d advise you to stop wasting my time.” “This is real information,” the man said strongly, “And I am completely serious.” “Sir, we are conducting a murder investigation and we don’t have time to bother with impossibilities,” Chris said as he tried to escort the man to the door. “I am trying to help you here!” the man said sharply as he pulled away from Chris, “You know what I’m telling you is right. Look at the victims, drained of blood, the marks on the neck... For God’s sake Detective, we have to act fast!” “I don’t have time for this,” Chris said as he walked away. “Did the bodies disappear the next day, Detective?” the man shouted, causing Chris to turn around. “How do you know that?” Chris demanded, “We haven’t released that information to the public.” “I know what we’re dealing with here, Detective,” the man said, “And I think deep down you do too. You’re just afraid to admit it. We are dealing with a vampire here.” “What!” Pete exclaimed as he walked over just in time to hear the last part of the conversation. “A vampire, Detective,” the man repeated, “I know that your murderer is a vampire.” “Get the hell out of here,” Pete said, “We have serious work to do here.” “I’ll be back,” the man said as he started to leave, “You’ll need my help.” With that the man left and Chris and Pete sat back down at their desks. “He must be nuts, right?” Chris asked tentatively. “Well, obviously,” Pete answered, “I mean vampires? C’mon.” “Well that’s what I thought too,” Chris replied, “It’s ridiculous. It’s just stupid.” “Oh crap,” Pete sighed, “You don’t think he’s right do you?” “No, of course not,” Chris said, “It’s just that we’ve got nothing and I’m just about ready to consider any possibility, no matter how silly it is.” “Well, let’s not consider this one,” Pete stated, “Vampires do not exist. I don’t believe we’re even discussing this possibility. We are homicide detectives, we deal in facts and evidence. We don’t go chasing after ghosts and goblins.” “You’re right, you’re right, you’re right,” Chris said as he threw up his hands in surrender, “I’m sorry I brought the whole thing up.” “Well let’s just drop it,” Pete said, “What did you get from Mary Lassiter’s coworkers?” “Zip,” Chris sighed, “No one was stalking her, following her, or making a nuisance of themselves. She didn’t have a boyfriend and is most certainly not the type to go off and have sex with some stranger in an alley.” “You know,” Pete said as he mulled all his information over, “It’s almost like this guy is able to get some kind of a hold on his victims. None of these girls have been described as promiscuous and yet here each of them are being killed by a strange man they just had sex with. It’s like he’s irresistible to them or something.” As Pete saw Chris looking at him with arched eyebrows, he immediately moved to cut off what he was sure his brother was going to say next. “Don’t even bring up the word vampire,” Pete said firmly. “I wasn’t even thinking along that line,” Chris contended, “What about you? Did you get anything?” “Less than zip,” Pete answered, “I sent Tom and Arnie to check in with Vincent on the autopsy and they should be back in a few minutes. But I checked the records for D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, and there'd never been any crime like this. If our guy has struck before, he’s hasn’t done it locally.” “Well it definitely wasn’t rape,” Tom said as he and Arnie returned from the autopsy. “Not surprised,” Pete sighed. “Vincent says it’s the same as the others,” Arnie reported, “Neck wound was the cause of death. She drank our mystery man’s blood. And she consented to the sex.” “Hey,” Chris said as a thought popped into his head, “How could we have missed this before. The attacks do seem like vampire attacks.” “Oh please don’t start this,” Pete begged. “No wait, just listen for a second,” Chris replied, “Maybe the guy just thinks he’s a vampire and that’s why he’s killing like that. There’s some kind of mental disorder like that.” “I’m listening,” Pete said with growing interest. “That’s right,” Tom interjected, “I heard about that thing. It’s a real disease.” “Yeah,” Arnie agreed, “There was that George Romero movie about it. What was it called? Melvin? Marvin?” “It was called Martin,” Pete answered, “And you may have something here. We should look into this right away.” “All right,” Lieutenant Smith said as he came upon the Detectives, “Which one of you wants to stand lookout over the body tonight?” “Arnie,” Chris immediately said. “Arnie,” Pete said right after. “Arnie,” Tom agreed. “I guess I win the popular vote in this election,” Arnie sighed. “Oh come on,” Tom replied, “You would have volunteered for it anyway. You love this part of the job.” “I will not dignify that comment with a response,” Arnie contended, though a wide grin had broken on his face revealing that Tom was indeed accurate in his assessment. “All right Arnie,” Lawrence said, “You watch over the body tonight until someone comes to relieve you later. If anyone even looks funny, shoot them.” The phone ringing on Pete’s desk distracted the detective from the conversation and he went to pick it up. “Have anything new?” Lawrence asked. “Yeah we may have something, Lieutenant,” Chris said, “These attacks all are similar to vampires in moves and stuff. So we’re thinking that maybe the guy has a mental disorder and thinks he’s a vampire.” Smith mulled this over for a second. “Seems promising,” he said, “But it still doesn’t give us a suspect. Check all the local hospitals and see what you can come up with.” “I’m on it,” Chris said as he picked up his pulled out a phone directory from his desk. But before he could dial out, he saw Pete slam his phone down. “What now?” Chris asked. “That was Carly,” Pete said, “I think we can move Sandra Bullock off the missing list and put her on the presumed dead list. The bed in her trailer had blood on the sheets just like our other victims. She’s getting samples of everything and I bet anything the blood matches our guy.” “Just what we need,” Tom remarked, “There’ll be national attention now.” Lieutenant Smith and his Detectives just sat there in silence as Pete leaned back in his chair and sighed. “What'cha thinking?” Chris asked his brother. “How nice early retirement would be...” Pete answered. “Detective Foster?” Stacy said as she tapped Chris on the back. “What now?” Chris asked as he whirled around, but he got his answer as soon as he saw who was standing there behind Stacy. A man and a woman, they looked to be in their mid fifties stood there. >From one look at their grief stricken faces Chris knew that he was looking straight at Mary Lambert’s parents. “You’re going to catch the man who killed our baby, aren’t you?” Mary’s father asked. Inside Chris’ head he was screaming. Not this shit, not today! Not now! Why did this have to be added on top of everything else. He looked back at his fellow Detectives for support and he saw the same anguish covering their faces as well. By then time had run out for an answer and Chris gave the only one he could. “Yes,” he emphatically declared, “Yes we are!”