Chapter 449 Chapter 449
Reaves' final tone suggested that Tom should act a bit more impressed.
"That's really impressive sire."
"Indeed. So, as the shadow of twilight swept through the city, I simply went out and hid on the tallest building."
Clenching his fists, Tom fought to keep the impatience from his tone. He wasn't interested in this grand tale.
So, he jumped right in- asking the question of the hour and halving the tale;
"And the killer? Were you able to get a good look of his face? Did you recognize him?"
Reaves' nose twitched. He actually looked a little hurt.
"Charlie."
The light in his eyes went out. "No, there must be some kind of mistake."
"I'm telling you," he said without a hint of humor; "It was your former partner. I could tell."
"How?" Tom inquired; "Did you see his face?"
"Of course not," he snapped; "There was no moonlight. . .no stars. . .no street lamps either. . .you know this already. . ."
Tom doubled down- plunging straight into detective mode;
"So then how do you know for sure that it was him? That it was really Charlie?"
Through the fading light of the glowing embers, Reaves stared at the glowering cop before him. Of course, he knew that the police force would kick against his claim. So, he didn't waste anytime on regret.
"Because, you simply don't forget the moves of the bastard who tried to kill your daughter. It was Charlie, it moved like him, fought like him, and ran away in the same girly way- like him."
Tom's teeth gritted in his mouth.
He wanted to defend his dead partner's honor.
But he also needed to appear objective. Still, the facts were clear.
'Charlie's body is merely a conduit. . .' he thought to himself; '. . .a mere meat sack. . .an empty meat sack. . .someone else is controlling his body. . .someone's obviously calling the shots. . .besides, the killer's a vampire. . .'
Tom straightened his back.
'Of course, corpses don't suck blood. . .it's fundamental necromancy stuff. . .'
Reaves probably knew all these- and more. Especially with his connections. However, for the sake of ethics, Tom had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from spilling all this to a civilian. The only thing he was allowed to say was one thing;
"The ruling consensus is the killer's a vampire–"
Reaves scoffed.
"–so," the cop continued; "it can not be Charlie. How can he be both dead, and a vampire?"
Declaring in a solemn voice, Reaves replied;
"To the rest of the city, this killer's a mythical monster. . .a horrendous creature born of bloodlust and ancient curses. But none of them has had this killer come after their daughters."
He squared his shoulders- and frowned;
". . .I have. It came after Tiffany. It's very real to me. And because of that, I can't be bothered with folklore. Officer Tom, it was Charlie. I fought him, so I would know better. Besides–"
He lifted up his black leather gloves;
"–I have his prints on my gloves to prove my point."
Tom crossed his arms across his chest and exhaled. Thin wisps of vapor curled out from between his lips. Below his forehead, both his eyebrows furrowed across his face- and his quick eyes kept darting back and forth in his sockets.
Surrounding both men, the cold night air wrapped them both in a swirling fog.
"If you're right," Tom began quietly; "Then that could mean that there are–"
"There are two killers." Reaves completed; "That much is obvious. But only one, for some reason is after my daughter."
"You don't think the two could be related?"
A shadow of despair crept across Reaves' dark features;
"I hadn't considered that."
Tom's arms dropped from his chest; "Lord Reaves, where is Tiffany right now?"
Then, with a blood curdling swoosh, the despair bloomed into full blown fear.
"I–" Reaves' eyes opened; "I left her at home."
Both their eyes opened wildly as their brains connected the dots at the same time. However, just as Tom opened his mouth to break the deadlock of silence, a high pitched scream ripped through their ear drums.
At once, both men's heads turned towards each other.
And with blood pumping in their ears, they plunged headfirst- racing towards the east end of the grove.
The wind beat against their faces, fanning the inner flames of their anxiety. A surge of savagery swept through their spines as they leapt over a fallen tree trunk. Seconds wheezed past, and the air grew still with each moment. Finally, they came up in an alley.
Breathing huskily, they trained their eyes in the darkness- only stopping when a human sized figure came into their lines of sight.
Reaves' gasped. Tom gritted his teeth. Together, side by side, they slowly approached the body with narrowed eyes, dragging their steps lightly along the dark pavement.
"Is that him?" Tom whispered; "Is that the person you fought?"
Reaves squinted his eyes into slits- and held up his palm. A single flame burst from his matchstick;
"I doubt," he grunted; "The person's so still- why?"
"Stay behind me," the cop ordered; ""This could be a trap. . ."
A shadow of dread passed over them a few moments later.
"SHIT!" Reaves cursed into the night time; "Is he–?"
"Dead? Yeah," Tom lowered his knees to a squatting position; "I'm afraid so."
The body was laid on its stomach. Knees apart, and limbs buried underneath it. And at its neck, between its right shoulder and throat, four bite marks appeared- printed in red. Tom leaned in- and nearly staggered back.
The skin was pale white, and the body was-
"It's empty." he stuttered; "The body's empty."
"What?" Reaves echoed.
"It's been drained. There's not a single drop of blood in it."
The other man's eyes widened, while Tom rose to his feet with chattering knuckles.
"FUCK!!!" he roared- slamming his right fist into the concrete wall!
"So, that was it," Reaves said sadly; "The attack earlier was just a distraction. This poor guy was the real target then?"
Turning away, with his shoulders hunched, Tom declared sadly; "It's a young girl Reaves. The victim's a young girl."
........
Mary Kay stood at the balcony, eyes sunken, fan in right hand- fanning her neck furiously. The fumes of her perfume filled the air like a cloud. On her eyelashes, rich dark mascara was imprinted- giving her the appearance of a raven.
Suddenly, behind her, the sliding doors opened. And the sound of two muffled footsteps touched down on the hardwood.
Mary Kay sighed;
"I feel feel the bad news leaking from your breaths girl, get on with it!"
The girl's soft feet shuffled lightly behind her;
"Madam," she began; "It's the girls. . .well. . .they've been on edge for a while now. . .and, they were wondering if you've got a plan for them. . .for us. . ."
The purple fan in her hand suddenly stopped.
Her left hand gripped the rail tightly.
Her gin scorched voice came;
"A plan?" she scoffed; "You were wondering if I've got a plan? How does one plan for a vampire epidemic?"
With each word- her tone rose higher and higher, filling the poor girl with a palpable fear.
Mary Kay continued to pour rich scorn into her word...
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