Forbidden Fangs

Chapter 24

“Well that was a fat waste of time.” Baker said as he settled back into the driver's seat. Pete climbed in beside him and he fired up the engine. “Do you think Meeks was sending us on a wild goose chase?”

“Maybe, but not likely.” Pete replied. “Alluvian confirmed the connection between them. It looks like maybe the wild goose chase started when we pulled up at Meeks' house. We might have to go back to square one and and take a new direction.”

“Great,” Baker groaned, “so we spent the night interviewing vampire enthusiasts for nothing. But where else can we begin?” We twisted around in his seat and backed out of the long driveway onto the lonely road.

“Maybe we should take a closer look at the area surrounding the crime scene,” Pete suggested, gazing out his window as the trees whizzed past. “If the vampire thing is a dead end, maybe we should find out who is most likely to have been in the area at the time of the murder.”

“What if the kid was targeted specifically?” Baker pointed out. “Maybe we should look at his social circles, friends and family, find out if there's anything there.”

“It seems a bit too random to be a targeted attack, don't you think?” Pete pointed out. “I mean, Kylie said they drove out there impulsively, and there was no way of guaranteeing they'd get out of the car and go wandering in the woods. It seems like a crime of opportunity to me… and yet, the way the blood was drained speaks of preparation.”

“I agree,” Baker nodded, a sense of dread welling up inside him. “So it sounds like our suspect was wandering the woods, looking for a victim whose blood they could drain. Sounds like we're pretty much looking for…” he trailed off.

“A vampire?” Pete chuckled. “I suppose you're right. Maybe we should look more closely at Meeks and his friends. After all, we know that he had privileged information on the murder. He could have been lying about where it came from.”

“True,” Baker mused. “No real need to interrupt their party again, though.” He didn't want to go back to that neighborhood unless he had to. “Why don't we head back to the station, call Meeks for a list of the members of his club, and check to see if any of them have criminal backgrounds?”

“Sounds like as good a place to start as any,” Pete replied.

The heavy sedan crooned along the highway, taking the corners smooth and easy. Baker was a good driver, and the anxiety blazing in his brain did not extend to his operation of the vehicle. Guiding the car along the curves of the road was a calming, meditative action. As he drove the portly detective found his mind drifting over everything he knew about vampires. Not obsessing over it, like he so often did, but perusing the facts as though watching them pass by a window on a calm day.

The murder had occurred at night, which is when vampires hunted. The victim had not just bled out through his throat; the blood had been removed from the scene. That would be difficult, unless the killer consumed it. But if it was a vampire… it would need to feed again. There would be some sort of pattern. And there hadn't been any…

The radio crackled to life.

“All units be advised,” the dispatcher said, “we are issuing a be on lookout order for a small blue sedan, attached to a missing persons report for one Ruth Gladwell.” A license number and brief description of the woman followed. Baker barely heard it. His head was spinning. This could be nothing. People went missing all the time, for any number of reasons. Just because a woman went missing shortly after a man was found sucked dry…

Baker realized his knuckles had gone white on the wheel and relaxed his grip. He could not afford to spiral out of control. The last time his phobia had gotten particularly bad, he'd almost had to take medical leave from work. Imagine that… medical leave for being afraid of something that doesn't exist.

“Something's eating you,” Pete said, interrupting Baker's reverie. “This case is really getting to you, isn't it?”

Baker swallowed the lump in his throat and stared pointedly through the windshield.

“It's not every day we see a kid murdered in such a grisly fashion.” He said. “I just want to find the sick bastard who did this… and I’m frustrated with our lack of progress.”

“I feel the same way,” Pete nodded. “Don't worry partner, we're bound to catch a break soon.”

That's what I'm afraid of, Baker thought.