Kenzie couldn’t believe two more bodies had been discovered already. She’d barely been in Bridgeport for half an hour and more corpses were already turning up. At this rate, someone would have to start repopulating the city.
She also couldn’t believe a vampire was sitting in the front seat of her car, sipping plasma juice. She tried to control her anxiety; Isaiah couldn’t be that bad if the police trusted him, but she was a stranger to him. He could turn on her at any moment and make her a meal, law or no law.
Carson turned off into a small parking area and Kenzie followed suit. Once everyone was outside, they walked down to what looked like a pretty dreary beach. Yellow crime tape was strewn around an area close to the water and two officers were standing inside the tape. They ducked under it when they saw Carson approaching.
“What have we got?” Carson asked his men.
“Two Caucasian males, no ID on them, drained of their blood just like the others,” the taller man said.
“Bite marks?”
“Affirmative.”
Carson sighed. Kenzie was already pulling out her camera. Every detective knew that to solve a case, good pictures were a big help. She approached the crime scene tape but the shorter officer held a hand out in front of her.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m taking pictures as evidence.”
“And you are…?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Carson said, coming out of his trance. “This is Kenzie Howell from Riverview. I told you she’d be coming.”
Both officers stopped frowning and stretched their hands out. “Sorry Ms. Howell. Pleased to meet you.”
Kenzie shook both their hands, then gestured toward the crime scene. The men nodded.
Kenzie stepped under the tape and her feet sunk a little deeper into the sand. Seeing the bodies in person as opposed to photographs was even more horrific. The smell wasn’t appealing either.
Sucking in her breath, Kenzie raised the camera to her face and began snapping. She tried to get shots from every angle and various zooms. She didn’t touch the body, however, because that wasn’t allowed until a coroner released the scene. Thankfully, the coroner arrived a few moments later.
“Sorry I’m late,” the woman said as she emerged from her convertible. Her hair was light auburn speckled gray and she was slightly hefty.
“No need to apologize Margo,” Carson said, “we just arrived here ourselves.”
Margo approached the crime tape and eyed Kenzie.
“Miss, I’m going to need to ask you to step aside please.”
“Of course. I wasn’t touching anything, just taking pictures.”
“You must be the detective Carson keeps talking about.”
“Yes, I’m Kenzie Howell.”
“Yes, I’ve heard all about you. But if I may be so bold, I don’t know what you’re hoping to find here in the form of evidence. People from right here in Bridgeport haven’t found anything, so what makes you think you can?”
Kenzie was slightly taken aback. She’d dealt with her share of rude people before, but she wasn’t expecting the next person to treat her in such a way to be someone of authority.
“Margo, that’ll do,” Carson said. “Ms. Howell is here to help, and she’s one of the best.”
Margo snorted. “Well, she may be one of the best but she’s also one of the youngest. Young people, they think they know everything.”
Kenzie detected bitterness in the woman’s voice, but sensed it was coming from another source and had nothing to do with her. Carson began to interject but Isaiah stepped in. He’d been so quiet Kenzie had almost forgotten he was there.
“Mrs. Kingston, with all due respect, I don’t think it’s very kind to jump to conclusions about someone you’ve just met.”
Before Kenzie could contemplate why Isaiah would possibly be defending her, Margo shot Isaiah a death glare. Her hands clenched into fists as she stared at him in what can only be described as fury.
“You don’t talk to me!” she exclaimed, causing everyone to jump. “You know nothing about me, or any of us!”
“All right that’s enough!” Carson boomed. “Margo, I told you about the circumstances, and you agreed to behave. If this keeps up, the mayor is going to hire a new coroner.”
Margo made a snorting sound but turned toward the crime scene and the bodies. As she was looking them over to confirm that they were, indeed, already dead, and release the scene, a cell phone rang. Kenzie saw Carson put his to his ear. She could tell by his face that he wasn’t looking forward to talking to who was on the other end.
“Yes ma’am, I understand,” he was saying while nodding his head up and down as if to physically reassure both himself and whoever he was talking to. “We’ll take care of it as soon as possible.”
Some inaudible words were said on the other line before Carson said one more “I understand” and hung up. At this time, Margo officially released the crime scene, so Kenzie could go search the bodies for anything else.
“The mayor?” Isaiah asked Carson. Carson nodded. “She’s very concerned. She has no idea what’s going on and she’s been getting a bunch of phone calls from citizens demanding to know what’s happening.”
“By citizens, you mean celebrities?”
“Of course, but regular citizens as well. This is supposed to be one of the best places to start out as a celeb, and now it’s turning into a giant graveyard. Some people have already moved out. Not to mention the tourism has plummeted.”
Kenzie was listening while inspecting the corpses. She’d already taken photos of the bite marks on both victims’ necks, but now she could get even closer to inspect them. The puncture wounds appeared to be pretty deep, and not easy for someone to fake. Bones were protruding from underneath the skin like the bodies hadn't eaten anything in weeks, and there appeared to be no other openings on the body for blood to have come out of. That confirmed that the culprit was indeed a vampire.
What was truly odd to Kenzie wasn’t the lack of anything on the corpses – no ID, no stray fibers, hairs, or anything – but rather where the corpses were. Smuggler’s Cove wasn’t exactly an abandoned place. Anyone could go to the beach and find these corpses. It was almost like whoever did this went out of their way to make sure the bodies were found.
She brought this up to Carson and he nodded. “That makes sense. So far all the corpses we’ve found have been in relatively public places. First the graveyard, then the park, and various other places where people tend to gather. We were wondering why the bodies weren’t hidden.”
“Maybe they wanted them to be found, to show how…” Margo started but stopped herself when Carson glanced at her.
Isaiah, however, said, “Actually, I think that is the reason the bodies weren’t hidden, Mrs. Kingston. Someone wanted them to be found to send a message.”
“You would know,” Margo mumbled under her breath.
Carson didn’t appear to have heard that remark however. Instead, he glanced at the sky. The sun was beginning to set. Kenzie hadn’t arrived until late afternoon, so her time was already limited. Then, embarrassingly, her stomach growled.
Isaiah looked over at her and chuckled again, showing his toothy grin. “Perhaps we should get our guest something to eat, Carson.”
“Good idea. But I have to get back to the station. Isaiah, would you mind showing her a good human place to eat, as well as where she’ll be staying?”
“Sure, I’d be happy to.”
“Thanks. Ms. Howell, I’m sorry but I have to get back to work, but if you find anything out, let me know.”
“I will, and as soon as I can, I’ll send you copies of these photos.”
“Sounds great, just email them to me.”
Carson wrote his email address on a notepad he extracted from his pocket and gave it to Kenzie. He then got into his car and drove off. Margo glared at Isaiah as she got into her own car and drove away. The other two officers got into the other police cruiser and drove off as well. The only two left were Kenzie and Isaiah. And Kenzie felt a little afraid. Now that Isaiah had her by herself, there was no telling what he’d do.
But Isaiah didn’t do anything. He simply opened Kenzie’s car door and held it open for her, acting like a perfect gentleman. She mumbled a thank you as she got into the car. She contemplated hitting the gas and booking it out of there, but that wouldn’t have been very professional. Then again, she’d always been told she was a little dramatic.
Isaiah climbed into the passenger seat and pulled out another plasma juice box. Despite being slightly uncomfortable, Kenzie realized she did have some questions for Isaiah. He was a vampire, but he’d been nothing but kind to her. He already began telling her the best way to get to Hogan’s Deep-Fried Diner.
So, swallowing her pride, Kenzie said, “I hope I don’t come off as being rude, but I think that to do my best on this case, I should fully understand vampires.”
“That’s not being rude. In fact, I expected you to ask that. But no, I wasn’t reading your mind. It’s just a simple, inevitable fact.”
“I see. Well, I was wondering, why do you work for the police department?”
“Are you curious about vampires or just me?”
Kenzie felt her cheeks heating up. Why did that keep happening? “Well, both I guess, because we are supposed to be working together.”
“Ah. Well, you heard that the rules state one must ask to become a vampire before they can legally be turned into one. I didn’t ask for this. Someone else made the decision for me. I wish I were still human, but unfortunately vampirism is irreversible. So I try to be as human as I can. That includes working with humans, earning their trust, and even sleeping at night instead of during the day like most.”
“You don’t go out at night?”
“Occasionally, because vampires don’t need as much sleep as humans. I do have some friends I hang out with at Plasma 501 from time to time, but I prefer to be up and about during the day.”
“Plasma 501?”
“That’s the local vampire lounge. Only vampires are allowed inside. Think of it like an exclusive club.”
“You said it makes vampires feel ill to be out during the day. Yet you still endure it to seem more human?”
“It’s no secret that I’m a vampire, it's just that I want to live like a human. Yes, some humans are night owls, but the majority are not.”
“How long have you been like this?”
“As a vampire, you mean? I first got turned in 1902.”
“Wow. As bad as this may seem, it must be nice knowing you’ll live forever, unless someone stakes your heart. And the things you must have seen and lived through! The Depression, two world wars…”
“You missed the turn.”
Kenzie glanced in her rear view mirror and saw that she had, indeed, passed Hogan’s. “Oops,” she said, embarrassed. She found a side road and pulled into it, then turned around and headed back.
“Anyway, as I was saying,” she continued, “you would have also lived through the civil rights movement, women’s rights…”
“It wasn’t all that fascinating,” Isaiah cut in. He had a strange look on his face. “Being immortal isn’t exactly a blessing. Especially if you weren’t the one that chose it. Many people want to become a vampire because they fear death. They don’t realize it would be better to live a full, normal life than to live forever.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”
“It’s all right. You’re only human after all.”
Kenzie looked at Isaiah and noticed him grinning. She couldn’t help smiling back. And feel her cheeks heat up yet again. She finally made it back to Hogan’s and pulled in. She and Isaiah both got out of the car and were escorted to a table. Both were given menus but Isaiah refused his. The waitress looked at him again and saw that he would be on a special diet. She nodded and took his menu back.
Kenzie scanned the menu as her stomach growled again. It wasn’t bad enough that her stomach was slightly larger than average (though size 12 was supposed to be average size these days), but it had to make noises too. But Kenzie didn’t mind being a little larger than most young girls her age. To her, being like everyone else was boring. She felt that she’d get farther with her brain than she would with her looks. And that was proven right when she got her dream job as a detective. The way she saw it, if people didn’t like her for who she was, then they weren’t worth her time. Unless she was on a case.
The waitress returned and Kenzie ordered a bacon cheeseburger with a glass of tea. She was tempted to order her favorite, cookies, for dessert, but figured she didn’t want to keep Isaiah waiting any longer. He was already waiting on her to eat.
As she waited for her food, Kenzie asked, “About that woman, Margo…”
“Oh don’t worry about her. She hates vampires with a passion. It’s almost like a hobby to her.”
“I noticed. But why does she hate them?”
“Her teenage daughter recently discovered the fantasy that is the vampire. She’s got a group of friends who are almost like a cult that worship vampires. Margo’s daughter, Valerie, wants to become a vampire, but of course Margo doesn’t want that for her daughter. She blames all vampires for influencing Valerie, and accuses us of trying to take her daughter away from her.”
“So, she hates vampires because her daughter wants to be one?”
“Indeed. But that’s another law – only adults 18 and older can choose if they want to be vampires or not. Anyone younger can’t legally be changed. Valerie is 16, so she’s also become very rebellious.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I can read minds, remember? But I didn’t do that today; I found this out months ago.”
“You said vampires can control when they can read a person’s mind. How do they do that?”
“You can think of it as an on and off switch basically. We just simply choose if we want to listen in or not.”
“And obviously no one would know if you were, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Creepy.”
“I did happen to learn one other thing about you, Ms. Howell.”
“Please, call me Kenzie. If we’re going to be working together, we should be on a first-name basis.”
“All right. Kenzie. I found out that you are quite fond of wolves.”
“Oh, yeah…well I’ve always loved wolves for as long as I can remember, but I don’t know if werewolves exist. I’ve never seen one, just heard rumors about them…”
“It’s all right, you don’t need to apologize. You aren’t exactly working for werewolves at the moment, so you’re safe.”
“Are you saying if I was working for werewolves I wouldn’t be safe?”
“From other vampires, perhaps. But from me, I wouldn’t care if you worshipped werewolves or not because I want to be human. That wouldn’t matter to me.”
Just then, Kenzie’s burger arrived. The bacon was slightly sliding out of the bun and the fries were a little greasy, but it tasted pretty good. She and Isaiah made casual conversation while she ate.
“Not back then. We didn’t have laws then either. It was fair game for anyone to turn into a vampire.”
“Who made that decision for you, and why?”
Isaiah hesitated and Kenzie wondered if she’d asked too much. “It happened so long ago I try not to think of it,” he said at last. Kenzie nodded understandingly. She didn’t want to push it. Isaiah was obviously uncomfortable discussing this issue.
Kenzie then reached into her purse and withdrew her wallet. But she saw money already on the table. “It’s on me,” Isaiah said.
Kenzie shook her head. “No, please. I was the only one that ate, and I kept you waiting while I did so. I’ll pay for it.”
“Not necessary. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to treat anyone.”
“What, you don’t take your girlfriend out?” Kenzie couldn’t believe she just asked that.
Isaiah grinned and said, “Actually, I don’t have a girlfriend. Just the friends I told you about. But I still insist on paying for your meal.”
Before Kenzie could argue, Isaiah was up from the table and at the cash register in a flash. It was like he teleported himself. When he returned to the table, Kenzie was still sitting there in shock.
“Vampires have super speed,” Isaiah said as he offered Kenzie his hand to help her up from the chair. “I had to act fast if I wanted to beat you to the bill, even if it meant going outside my human image.”
“Wow…that’s amazing.”
“I can see you’re speechless. Perhaps we should take you to your hotel now so you can rest? Unless you’re one of those workaholics.”
“I do work hard, but I do know when to get my rest. But I am going to email Chief Tobias these pictures I have. And make some notes for myself. And then take a shower…”
“I can see you’re very dedicated to your work. I predict you will be in bed by 3am.”
“Very funny.” But Kenzie did find herself grinning.
She and Isaiah both got into her car and Isaiah gave her directions to the hotel she’d be staying in. The expenses would be paid for by the police department, since they'd asked her to come. The mayor had also chipped in. Because of this, Kenzie wanted to solve the case as fast as possible so she didn't cost Bridgeport too much just to supply her with room and board, even though she'd offered to pay it herself.
Isaiah rode up the elevator with Kenzie to her room, even carrying four of her six suitcases for her, as well as two smaller bags where Kenzie kept her makeup and detective tools. After thanking him and saying good night, Kenzie unlocked her room, took the suitcases from Isaiah, went inside, and, out of impulse, locked the door behind her.
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