The Vampire Obsession

Chapter 14

Evelyn

Outside Alan’s office at the Grimwood police station, I gave two heavy knocks on the door and waited for an answer, which came almost immediately.

"You may come in," he shouted from the other side.

When I opened the door, I came across Alan sitting behind his dark wooden desk. An unknown man was in a chair in front of him.

He had his arms crossed over his chest and seemed to be tall, considering the way his long legs occupied space under the desk. He wore social clothes, wore a polished leather shoe and had black hair meticulously combed back with gel. Everything about him indicated that he was someone who cared about his appearance and needed to make a good impression wherever he went. Probably also worked in the police department.

"Good morning," I said, unsure if I was interrupting something, standing on the threshold of the door. Thinking if I should enter or not. Alan had asked me to appear in his office at 11 a.m. "I can come back later if you are busy."

"No, no. Come in, we were waiting for you." Alan gestured with his hand for me to approach. I closed the door behind me and walked to the desk with distrust. He pointed to the unknown man in the room. "This is Detective Vincent Morgan, from the Grimwood police. Vincent, this is Evelyn Cross, the criminologist who is working with us in the investigation. Starting today, I want you two to join forces on the case and work together."

Vincent stood up and offered a hand to me. When his fingers closed around mine, his grip was stronger than any friendly handshake should be.

"It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." I nodded, firm. "I did not know Grimwood had a detective."

I did not care if that statement sounded provocative, although I knew the implication I left implicit in it. This God-abandoned city with the killer of so many deaths walking around free has a detective? It does not seem so.

"Many do not know that fact, after all, Grimwood is a small city where almost nothing happens," he answered, smiling cordially.

"Funny, the latest news reports seem to say otherwise," I shot back, which made me earn a disapproving stare from Alan.

"Do you find all the deaths committed by the Ripper funny?" Detective Morgan arched an eyebrow at me.

"Of course, that was exactly what I said, in case you do not have more than two neurons functioning."

Suddenly, I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder hard, censoring me. A laugh too delayed to sound genuine thundered through the room. When I turned, I found Alan right beside me.

"Evelyn loves to make jokes, even in the most inopportune moments." His fingers dug in a painful grip on my clavicle. He turned to me with an almost murderous look on his face. "Isn’t that right?"

I nodded, coerced. However sighing inside.

"Yes, of course. I was just joking. It will be a pleasure to work with you, Vincent." I forced my lips to pull upward in the imitation of a complacent smile. And then I indicated with my chin toward the board in the corner of the room. "Did you make that?"

"I did. I assembled this board since I was assigned to actively participate in the investigation of the Ripper." Vincent seemed proud.

"When did that happen?" I approached the board, narrowing my eyes while observing attentively. It was very similar to the one I myself had created, however with fewer details.

"A few months after the death of your father, when Alan was appointed as the sheriff of the city."

"Ah, of course. I was no longer in Grimwood," I said, noticing an incongruity in the dates of the deaths that Vincent wrote under the photos of the victims. I grabbed a pen on Alan’s desk and scratched out the number, correcting it with the correct date. "Otherwise, I would have seen this."

"What are you doing?" he scolded, approaching me and taking the pen from my hand by force.

"This body was found on the 22nd, but the homicide was committed on the 20th." I touched the board with my nail, indicating the photo of the death I referred to. A man thrown on the forest floor with his throat slit.

He lifted his gaze to me, his dark eyes sparked with irritation.

"Are you sure? I reviewed all these details more than once."

"Absolute, because I also reviewed. His autopsy confirmed that, as well as the police report."

"Right, right. That is a detail from years ago and practically irrelevant to the entire operation." Vincent rolled his eyes, moving away from the board and walking back to Alan’s desk.

"Irrelevant?" I scoffed, feeling the heat of anger rise up my spine. "Every detail matters. Details, even the smallest ones, are the difference between arresting the Ripper or letting him continue free. If you think that way, that explains your negligence with the case and why this investigation has been dragging on for years without any success."

"What?"

"Did I stutter? You heard very well what I said."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, interrupted only by the occasional hum of the computer and the click of the air conditioner.

"Is this the talented criminologist you mentioned when I arrived here?" Vincent said furious, turning to Alan. "Because so far I have only seen a selfish little girl who does not know how to work in a team and thinks she knows everything."

Little girl.

I muffled the voice of the wounded-ego man behind me. They always opted for the “weaker s*x” argument when they were wrong. I was a woman in a mostly male field, I was already used to this type of comment when I imposed myself in my work. And I did not have time to deal with that.

My gaze divided between the photos of the latest homicides committed by the Ripper, more precisely, to the marks on the chests of the victims.

Our last conversation echoed in my mind.

I never doubted your capacity.

There was a divergence in the last mark. Something I did not capture before due to the poor quality of the photos I had on my board. Even there, I could not precisely find what it was. There was only one way to do that.

Analyzing personally.

"Has Steve’s body already been buried?" I asked Alan, who was trying to calm Vincent’s tantrums.

"The autopsy results came out in the morning, the body should be sent to the funeral home still today and wake held the following day. Why?"

I bit my lower lip, hesitating for a moment.

"I want to see him at the morgue."

A smile spread across Alan’s face. Immediately, I knew what he was thinking.

"I know someone who can arrange that."

The ride in Alan’s car to the Grimwood morgue was uncomfortably silent. Until I was unable to contain myself any longer.

"You did not tell me you already had a detective."

Alan sighed, as if he had been waiting for that moment since he got into the car with me. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Vincent was on vacation."

Apparently, he had been on vacation for 5 years, I thought, but those were not the words that escaped me.

"He is s**t at his job, you know that, right?" I turned my face to the window.

"That we cannot disagree on," Alan murmured, distracted, while his eyes wandered over the rows of cars parked on the street, looking for a space. "He is the nephew of the city’s mayor."

Ah.

Now everything made sense. It did not matter if he was efficient or not, only who appointed him to the position. In a way, that information calmed me. Alan had not chosen him for the department on his own, he had been forced to work with him.

"That explains a lot…"

"You do not need to exchange friendship bracelets with him during the investigation, Evelyn. Just do your job and let him do his, even if it is mediocre."

"Alright."

"Alright?" My sudden acceptance made him turn to me abruptly, searching for my expression. Alan narrowed his eyes for half a second, disbelieving. "Why do I feel like you are not really going to work together with him?"

"I have always worked better on my own," I commented, looking at the horizon, and then threw a conspiratorial little smile in his direction. "But I promise I will pretend very well when necessary."

The sound of our steps echoed in the hauntingly pale corridor. The characteristic smell of disinfectant mixed with the light odor of formaldehyde. At my side, Alan walked in silence, his expression serious.

We passed by a series of white doors until we reached the last one in the corridor, where a simple sign indicated “Autopsy Room”.

Alan knocked twice before opening the door, without warning, as if his presence were already routine there.

We entered a cold room, illuminated by fluorescent lights that cast a pale glow over the stainless steel table in the center of the room. A woman dressed entirely in white was leaning over a naked body on the table.

"Dr. Dyer," Alan greeted with a nod.

The woman lifted her head, surprised. Removing her gloves and pulling her mask down, as well as her headphones. An upbeat pop song sung by a female voice echoed through the room.

"Dad?" she answered, sounding genuinely surprised. "I was not expecting you around here. Especially you, Evelyn."

"Hi, Nadia." I stepped out from behind Alan and scratched the back of my neck, embarrassed at seeing my childhood friend after so many years without contact.

Nadia and I were raised together, almost like sisters. We attended the same school, shared the same toys, were inseparable since we understood ourselves as people.