Kenzie withdrew her laptop from its case and set it on the nearby desk. She plugged it in and then took out her digital camera. She took out a power cord and hooked the camera up to the laptop. Then, she downloaded the pictures of the crime scene she’d taken earlier and attached them to an email to Carson.
After doing so, Kenzie saw that she had a message in her inbox from her mother, Constance. Kenzie opened the message and read it.
Dear Kenzie,
Your father and I hope you arrived in Bridgeport safely. We’re missing you already; it’s not the same with you not living right down the street! We’re looking forward to when you come back home. Please do us a favor and be very careful; the city life is bound to be different than what we have here in Riverview, not to mention all those crazy vampires running around. Makes me shiver just thinking about it!
If you can, please give us a call as soon as you get checked into your hotel. We want to hear from you and make sure you haven’t been given a love bite! Well, your father wants to be sure of that for any man; you know it’ll take a lot for a man to be good enough for his little girl! But I told him I'd rather see you get a love bite from a human than a vampire, because at least that wouldn't kill you. He got pretty quiet after that!
Anyway, I’m off to cook supper. Having grilled salmon tonight! I’ll bake some cookies for you for when you get back. Stay safe!
Love, Mom
Kenzie smiled. Her parents were a little overprotective of her, but she was the only child they had. And that took 10 years to happen. She didn’t mind her parents looking out for her; she had always been very close to them. She’d lived with them until she graduated college, then moved out on her own. But luckily for both her and her parents, a house was for sale right down the street of Hidden Grove Lane. Kenzie fell in love with the little one-person cottage and put a down payment on it. She was still paying mortgage but she found it was worth it. Her parents even helped her out too from time to time, sometimes as a gift for a special occasion when they weren’t sure what else to get her. Kenzie’s car had actually been a gift for her high school graduation. She loved it and took very good care of it.
The Howells were a very close family. Constance and Russ were high school sweethearts and had married at the ages of eighteen and nineteen. Five years later, Kenzie had come along. Though not exactly the wealthiest family in town, they managed just fine. Russ was a big businessman, hoping to be the CEO of his own company one day. Constance, however, had found her place as a paramedic and hoped to one day even become a nurse.
Kenzie’s career decision wasn’t so easily made. When she was a child, she wanted to be a teacher. In middle school, it was an actress. But that was when she began to grow out instead of up, so she lost hope of that. But then she saw several crime shows on TV, all of them showing people collecting evidence to catch a criminal and bring them to justice. Kenzie was fascinated with forensics and the ability to dust for fingerprints and snoop for clues. So she dedicated herself to studying just that.
Now, thinking back, she was glad she spent all her time studying. It had really paid off. She didn’t care to go to her high school’s football games, or any sports for that matter. She preferred to stay home and study, and it had earned her a spot on the honor roll all throughout high school. Her activities were reading, writing, and computer games.
Shopping also ranked high on the list, but not necessarily buying everything she saw, unlike some of her classmates who had their own credit cards since the age of thirteen.
Still, despite some hardships in her life, Kenzie enjoyed everything. She was thrilled to find a house so close to her parents. Although now she spent most of her time on cases, she still kept in contact with them often. They visited each other’s houses a lot as well.
Kenzie checked the clock. It was 8:00, so not too late for a call to Riverview. She pulled out her cell phone and pushed the speed dial for her parents’ house.
The phone on the other end rang three times before she heard her father’s voice say, “Hello?”
“Hi, Dad.”
“Kenzie! Your mother and I were just wondering if you were going to call. Hold on, I’ll tell her to pick up the other line.”
Kenzie heard her father move the phone away as he yelled, “Constance! Kenzie’s on the phone! Pick up the other line!”
Russ then put the phone back to his ear and said, “It’s great to hear from you, Ken! How are you? Did you arrive okay?”
“Yes Dad, I’m fine. I arrived a few hours ago but I just now got to the hotel. Been pretty busy from the start.”
There was a click as Constance picked up the telephone in the living room; Russ had undoubtedly answered from his computer office in the basement, where he worked away from his actual employment office.
“Kenzie?” Constance's voice said.
“Hi, Mom.”
“I’m so glad you called! I was worried you didn’t get to Bridgeport safely.”
“No, everything is fine. I just got to my hotel. I just told Dad I’ve been busy since I got here. You’ll never believe what all happened.”
“Well, don’t leave us in the dark! Tell us!”
“Well first I got to the police station and met Chief Tobias. I already told you about the case, how there have been bodies showing up all over Bridgeport drained of their blood. Carson, that’s the chief, showed me some pictures of the victims and they were pretty gruesome. I could even see the bite marks in the necks.”
“Nasty,” Russ said. “Were they those photos that get taken when the body’s cut open?”
“Russ,” Constance said, “that’s not an image I want in my head right now.”
“No,” Kenzie said to her father, “the pictures weren’t during an autopsy. They were from the crime scenes. But there were autopsies, and I’m positive a vampire doing this.”
“Well, you be careful!” Constance warned. “This is your most dangerous case yet, and I don’t want to see my daughter brought back in a coffin.”
“Poor choice of words, considering this is a vampire case,” Russ said.
Kenzie chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be very careful. But there is one thing you should know…”
“What?” both her parents asked at once.
“Well, it seems the Bridgeport police department has their own official vampire specialist. Whenever something involving vampires comes up, they call him in.”
“A vampire specialist?” Russ asked. “Why do vampires need specialists?”
“They’re basically their own society, living right in with humans. But they still have laws. Apparently some higher authority deals with vampire criminals.”
“What makes this guy an expert?” Constance wondered.
“You’ll probably hate this, but he’s an actual vampire.”
Half expecting there to be a big clatter from someone dropping a phone, Kenzie was surprised to only hear gasps coming from someone.
“But before you panic,” Kenzie interjected before her parents could say anything, Isaiah’s been nothing but a gentleman so far. He’s showed me around, brought me here and carried up some of my suitcases, and even paid for my dinner. In fact, he claims he never wanted to be a vampire and wants to live as a human. He does that by working with humans and he goes out during the day instead of at night.”
“How do you know he isn’t just saying those things?” Constance asked. “Maybe he’s trying to trick you so he can eat you. Maybe he’s the actual culprit. No one would suspect that.”
“I doubt that. The police trust him, so he can’t be that bad.”
“Which is why he’d be perfect for committing those crimes. If the authorities trust him, they’d never suspect him.”
Kenzie had to think about that. Her mother was a bit dramatic, and many people thought that’s where Kenzie got the trait. But she preferred to think of herself as opinionated. Her mother could very well be acting dramatic now, but only out of concern. Still, she had a point. But at the same time…
“I don’t know,” she said. “There were two bodies found earlier today and Isaiah was with me and Carson…
but it could have happened before he came here. The coroner hasn’t said how long the victims have been dead.”
“Thinking out loud again,” Russ chuckled, “just like your mother.”
“I don’t do that,” Constance laughed.
Kenzie laughed as well. She did have a habit of talking to herself. She was trying to break it, but even her thoughts may not be safe since vampires could read minds.
“Wait a minute,” Russ said suddenly, “two more bodies? And you just got there?”
“Oh yeah,” Kenzie said. “I barely got to know Carson and Isaiah before Carson got a call about the two bodies.”
“Who is this Isaiah you keep mentioning?” Constance asked.
“That’s the vampire, the specialist.”
“That name sounds pretty…sophisticated.”
“Well he said he’d been a vampire since 1902. So it’s an old name.”
“Wow, 1902? He must have lived through quite a lot.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t like to talk about it. He just wanted to live a full human life, not live forever.”
“Did he tell you all this?”
“Yeah, we got to know each other pretty well. Well, actually, he didn’t even ask to know about me. I hope he wasn’t reading my mind…”
“He can read minds?!”
“Apparently all vampires can. But I wasn’t thinking about home or anything. I was mostly just processing what he told me.”
“Well you better be careful. I’m liking vampires less and less.”
“Oh Constance,” Russ said, “Kenzie’s a wolf person. I highly doubt she’ll turn to the dark side.”
“Thanks, Dad. There’s no way I’d ever want to be a vampire. The whole concept seems very creepy.”
Just then, Kenzie’s cell phone beeped. She held it away from her head to see that its battery was dying. She put it back to her ear and said, “I’m sorry, this darn cell phone is dying. I have to charge it.”
“Well, you should probably get some rest too,” Constance said. “You’ve had a big day.”
“I’ll do that, Mom,” Kenzie said, although she knew she wasn’t. She still had notes to type out, and a shower to take. And unpacking to do.
“Well it was good talking to you,” Russ said. “Give us a call or email us whenever you can. Let us know you’re doing okay.”
“I will, I promise. I’ll talk to you guys later.”
“Good night,” both her parents said.
“Good night,” Kenzie said before hitting the End button.
She then dug into her smallest suitcase, where she kept her makeup and hygienic products as well as electronic things, withdrew her cell phone charger, and plugged it into the wall. She then plugged her cell phone into the charger. After that, she began unpacking her clothes and putting them in the dresser.
Kenzie pushed her glasses back up on her nose and opened up a text file on her laptop. She began typing up various notes about her current case, starting with things she knew and then adding things she needed to know.
“I need to find out when the coroner says today’s victims died,” she said aloud, and then caught herself, laughing. She was still thinking out loud like she usually did despite trying to break that habit.
After typing up her list, Kenzie walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Most people she knew preferred to shower in the morning, but she preferred to do so at night. There was something about crawling into clean sheets after bathing that made her sleep better.
The water was nice and warm, slightly on the hot side, just the way Kenzie liked it. Her pajamas were on the counter with her hair dryer. Also on the counter were some perfumes and a few makeup products.
Kenzie didn’t wear too much makeup, because she believed a woman should show her natural beauty. What if some woman met a man who saw her in makeup, and freaked out seeing her without it? If someone couldn’t like someone else for who they were, they weren’t worth it. Kenzie’s mother always thought this was a little strange so to keep the peace and make her natural beauty stand out a little bit, Kenzie wore a little blush, eye shadow, and lip gloss. But she'd only go near eyeliner for Halloween; she hated the thought of things getting so close to her eyes. That's why she refused to wear contact lenses, for fear they'd get stuck in her eyes.
After her shower, Kenzie stepped out and toweled off. Wrapping the towel around herself, she began to dry her hair. While doing so, she couldn’t stop thinking about what her mother had said. She did have a point; Isaiah would be the perfect candidate for the string of crimes around Bridgeport. He was trusted by the police and could have easily made up lines to make himself sound innocent. Much as she hated to distrust her volunteered helper already, she had to consider all angles. But she would keep her mouth shut just in case.
After her hair was dry and she was dressed, Kenzie sat on the sofa and turned on the TV. There was a late night news report on about the two bodies discovered that afternoon. No pictures were shown but the reporter was saying it was clearly the work of a vampire, just like the other victims. The words “serial killer” were also mentioned.
“A vampire serial killer,” Kenzie thought to herself. “Just what the world needs.”
Sighing, she turned off the TV, but before turning off the light, she double-checked to make sure her door was locked. Then she crawled into bed and went to sleep, but she left one of the bedside lamps on all night.
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