Who knew you'd taste so sweet: A vampire murder mystery

The best way to a vampire's heart is with silver or wood.

"And if I refuse?" I turned back to Edwards and asked.

"You'll be out of a job. And you understand what that means, " his voice was cold and serious. I call it his cop voice it's usually the tone he uses with criminals. Edwards had been an officer of the law, one of Gradyveil's finest before he took the Chief position for SIB. When he used that voice he had a way of making you feel guilty even if you weren't.

I understood what that meant. The problem was, I didn't care. I pushed the leather chair back and stood with my chin high. "You're insane if you think I'm going to work with a monster like that, " I threw my thumb in the vampire's direction. "And you're an i***t if you think I'm going to allow it to babysit me." I turned for the door.

"You're making a mistake, Eden, " Edwards said.

"I'd be making an even bigger mistake if I had agreed to this absurd nonsense."

The vampire didn't move immediately as I approached the door, which he stood in front of like a solid wall. I was seconds from pulling the knives I had tucked into holsters on my thighs. Letting the silver-coated blades burn his skin as I thrust it into the heart. That would be the end of him. Silver or wood is the best way to a vampire's heart.

He stepped aside in one swift move. With a speed unrecognizable to my eyes. A grin curled at the corners of his mouth as he gestured to the door. I clenched my teeth with all the strength I could muster and went for the doorknob.

"See you around, Eden, " the vampire said as I exited the room.

I didn't turn back, but oh boy did I want to. My face heated and my fists balled as I took the elevator to the parking garage. I found my truck where I had parked it earlier that night, got in, and peeled off.

I lived just outside the city on the chilling skirt of Lake Veil. I'd been living in the same home for the last twenty-five years and intended to stay there forever. I pulled onto my long, Rocky Driveway and drove in silence as the reserved black night encapsulated my truck. It was a thin road enveloped by trees on either side and even if I had neighbors they wouldn't be visible through the thick woods that surrounded me.

My headlights cast a shadow of the weeping willow onto my house as I pulled up in the yard. It was an old gray and white brick home with three stories. The great lake around back was visible from the front during the day. When I purchased the property it had been neglected for some years and it could send a shiver down your spine with one glance.

All the lights were out like I had left it. I shut the engine off and slid out, my boots crunched on the gravel beneath me. A frigid gust of wind sent my hair twirling as I made my way up squeaky steps and the screen door screeched as pulled it open.

Inside, I flipped the light switch by the door and hung my trench coat and keys on a hook where I always hung them in the foyer. I locked the door before I took the stairs to the second floor. In the bathroom, I removed my weapons first and lined them up on the black granite countertops; the 6-inch blades in a leather holster on either thigh, both of them silver-coated down to the hilt, and the .40 caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol that was cradled in the holster under my left arm.

Last, I removed my finger. Actually, my right pointer finger wasn't a finger at all. I hadn't had that digit going on twenty years now. Funny story really, I was in the middle of a tussle with an overly aggressive vampire when it decided to chomp down to the knuckle. I lost my finger that night, he lost his life. Now, I've replaced it with a gold claw that's silver-tipped and it stays in place with a gold band that wraps around my wrist. I don't consider it a disability and look at it more like an advantage. It doesn't even affect my capability of pulling the trigger.

My clothes ended up in a dark pile on the floor; my boots came off first, my dark jeans and panties, and my long sleeve, V-neck black shirt, and bra. It was hard to distinguish my clothing from the black marble floors. I turned on the hot water without any cold hoping to warm up a little. Steam swirled around the glass shower fogging the air until it was impossible to see. I soaked up the heat and tried to forget about the conversion I had in Edwards' office.

When I stepped out my black hair clung to my once pale now red body. I wiped the mirror clean of haze and brushed my too-long hair. As I turned to pick up my clothes I caught a glimpse of my back and I stopped to stare. Two long scars on either shoulder blade. The older I get the more noticeable they become. I threw my clothes on before I left the bathroom, an old T-shirt and night shorts.

In my living room, I plopped down on the white, leather sectional and propped my feet up on the round, glass coffee table. Remote in hand, I flipped through the channels of my 60' television that hung above the fireplace. There was nothing good on TV which was typical for three AM. I surfed the channels for nearly five minutes before something caught my eye.

A well-known late-night talk show host was interviewing a man I'd been seeing on television as of late. I'd even saw him on the front cover of a few magazines with titles like "Brilliant vampire scientist has major breakthrough" and others along that line.

"I'm so glad to have you here tonight, Dr. Eversman, " the host, Dana Point, started. "In fact, we're all delighted." The audience cheered.

"And I'm pleased to be here, " Dr. Eversman said. He had a slight German accent and his voice was as smooth as butter. He was in an expensive pinstriped suit and his black hair was slicked back. His blue eyes were soft and his skin was the usual vampire pale. He appeared handsome and maybe in his mid-thirties. Although, I'd bet money he was much older than that.

"I'll jump right into it then. You're a brilliant man, Doctor, we want to know more about this artificial insemination, " Dana said.

He smiled flashing sparkling white fangs. "It's simple really, I follow the same procedures as if I'm performing a regular insemination, " he adjusted his tie and leaned back on the studio couch.

"What is that you do differently? Vampires can't have children that's a well-known fact. And now they can, thanks to you. So, what have you done to make that a reality?"

"I looked at conception as a whole and why vampires didn't have the ability to conceive. Most know that vampires are essentially dead as are their eggs or sperm. And vampire blood contains amazing healing properties, " he said. "Before I inseminate a host I "wash" the sperm or egg in vampire blood."

"Fascinating stuff, Dr. Eversman."

"Please, call me Lorenz."

"Well, Lorenz, is it true that you and your wife have had a baby using artificial insemination?"

He smiled again this time it was warmer. "Yes, my wife is the reason I got into artificial insemination in the first place. She wanted a child and I wanted to give her what she wanted."

"How sweet, " Dana cooed. She bated long eyelashes at him. I'd seen that response from the other show hosts as well, even the men. It was like he put some kind of charming spell on them. "Do you not worry about how your child will be treated by others?"

"I'm no i***t, Ms. Point, I understand that some groups have their concerns and opinions about these children. But I assure you that that's all they are, children. I'm not the one who fears, the criticizers are the ones in terror. They can't help but fear something new, something different. Well, I'm here to tell them that there is nothing they should be afraid of-"

I shut the television off having heard enough for one night. Doctor Eversman is quite literally a mad scientist. He's assembling things in a lab and calling them "children" but really they're abominations. I think fear is the right response.