Darien

Chapter 6

“So what do you make of this?” Detective Samuels asked Detective Matthews.

“I am not sure, but this seemed like a random attack. It doesn’t have the markings of a serial killer for one.” He knelt beside the corpse and surveyed the body. “Young girl, early twenties, she seemed to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She doesn’t appear to have been s*xually molested either,” he said, observing the jeans she had on that still remained intact. “Her bag and all its contents are still present, and we assume as much because all her personal information, telephone and even cash are still inside.” He stood up now and walked over to Samuels.

“Doesn’t any of that sound odd to you?” he asked, raising his eyebrow. “Even if this was a random attack, doesn’t it sound odd? Who would want to just walk up, kill a young girl and make off unless they had a motive to do so?” he asked.

“You do have a point,” Matthews remarked. He looked around at the alley. The medical examiners were just lifting the body onto a gurney and covering her with a white sheet. “Whoever did this may have known her. The way the wounds were placed seemed deliberate. Two big jabs in the side of her neck. Based on the pattern, they fit that of a sharp instrument. It had cut the vein so she had bled out.” He looked around him now. “But if that is the case, where is all the blood that should be on the ground?” he asked.

“She may have bled internally. Sometimes the veins implode and that happens, but we will learn more as soon as we get back the coroner’s report.”

“I just can’t shake this odd feeling. As random as this killing was, I do not believe it was as random as it seems to be,” commented Matthews. “Something just doesn’t feel right.”

“We will get to the bottom of it,” said Samuels. “For now, we are going to have to just wait.”

The two flipped their notepads closed and walked over to the police cruiser parked only a short distance away. They got in and drove off behind the ambulance as it pulled out of the alley. The area was yellow taped, but there was nothing left at the site to revisit. They suspected the tapes would be down in a day or two.

The officers did not notice the two gentlemen standing at the corner of the alley and the main as they sped off. As soon as they left Weston and Michael, Darien’s associates at the Everest, walked back to the scene. They had taken a look at the young girl earlier, but they had lingered to get an idea of what the coroners and examiners might say. They had stayed at the corner of the street but they had placed a bug on the garbage compactor next to the body. They had in essence heard everything the detectives were discussing and they now had a look of concern on their faces.

“At least they didn’t assume right away the killing was non-human,” said Weston.

“That may be correct, but that was because Darien had happened to witness the murder. It is a pity he had not seen who it was or had caught him. Who knows when he or she will strike again? We can’t have the rogues making this city their hunting ground,” pointed out Michael.

“I agree,” said Weston. “We need to weed them out and fast, for our safety.”

The two nodded at each other and walked to the curb where the black Volkswagen was parked. They slid inside and the car sped off immediately.

*****

Darien didn’t sleep when he went home. This time he affixed himself by the television set, waiting to hear of news of the girl he had seen last night. Sure enough, there was a feature on it, but they labeled the killing a gruesome and senseless attack with what appeared to be a knife. He breathed a sigh of relief that they had associated the death with humans and had not found it suspicious. What he was clear on though, was that he may not be around all the times to clean up the messes, and even so, these were people who were dying just for being human and having blood.

He got up now and paced the floor. He had to go out and scout some more later tonight. It had been months since something of this nature had happened in this town and he was damned if he was going to let something happen to jeopardize his life here.  He had just passed by where the phone sat on the hook when it began to ring. He hastened to answer, thinking it might be Rose.

“Hello?” he whispered inside the machine.

“Darien, it is Weston. We need to talk.”

“Okay, I am listening.”

“Michael and I were at the scene last night when the police got there and it is not looking great. We have to increase our efforts to get the other non-humans registered or there could be trouble for everyone.”

What did the police say?” asked Darien.

“They are suspicious of how random this attack seems, and because it seems so random they figure it may not be after all. They may start investigating into it without dismissing it.”

“I see. I was just thinking that I would go scouting tonight. I ran into a long time friend of mine the other night and he told me that there are some new vampires passing through town that intend to stir up trouble. Now I, more than you, have reason to find out who they are and get rid of them.”

“Okay. Do what you have to do, and keep me posted. I will do my own investigating with the resources we have available.”

He hung up then and Darien resumed his musing. He went to rest in the afternoon hours, anticipating a busy night. No sooner had he fallen asleep when he heard his alarm going off. Night already? He assumed he was more tired than he thought and he attributed it to his recent bout of lovemaking with Rose. He wondered if they could coexist when he couldn’t go out in the days and she did and him being absent at night when she was home. Furthermore, he was an immortal and she not being one means he would outlive her, but he brushed the thoughts under the carpet of his mind; those things were just semantics when love was involved.