Born Suspect

by brett hicks

  “Yes, do that. And Clarke, we will discuss this matter at length later.”

  There was an undertone of violence in his voice. He hid it well, but I could taste his anger, is disgust, and his annoyance at the tight spot his detective had now pinned his whole department in. One last flick of weariness Ellison’s way, and the Chief strode off to another elevator as ours chimed and opened.

  Ellison patted me on the back and he led me by my waist. I wanted to shake his hand off, I hated men touching me ever since I was a teenager. I managed not to agitate my current defender. He didn’t speak another word on the elevator ride up. You would almost think he was in love with the music playing. Ellison was a man comfortable in his skin, no matter where he stood.

  Once the doors opened, he smirked at me and gave me a blinding smile.

  “Come little sister, let’s follow the nice detective.”

  That was not creepy at all! Nope, zero creep factor in that sentence!

  I nodded, keeping my sass to myself. Ellison was going to get to run with the damn ball tonight! He looked like a kid in a candy store as he studied all the murder-boards out. He studied every little scrap of information on every desk, and every computer. His eyes drank it all in, storing it away for future use. Ever the vampire was my brother-in-law. His wheels never stopped turning, and his thirst for latest information, new angles, never ceased. He would find ways to exploit every scrap of information these detectives inadvertently gave him.

  Clarke looked at Ellison and he sighed deeply, as if just realizing the vampire had perfect recall. I did too, even though I was only half vampire. I knew all too well, I would remember every single detail in the room, as would Ellison. He however, knew how to exploit information. By comparison, I had a few cheap tricks with my pheromones to fall back on. Largely, I was banking on my ability to deceive and seduce. Ellison could destroy a government with nothing but a piece of paper. (Hell, he probably egged on the American Revolution for all I knew!)

  I could hear Clarke as he strode over to the other detectives, scolding them.

  “You left everything out with two vampires roaming around the station! Have you forgotten one of their abilities is to remember anything they see?! Cover the damn boards next time! It’s too late now, but you better keep it in mind for next time!”

  He finished grilling his subordinate and he walked back over to us. Ellison gave him a knowing smile. He was actively rubbing his gifts in Clarke’s face.

  “Trouble in paradise Detective?”

  Clarke gave him a feral smile. Something so wolfish, you would have mistaken him for Mark’s equal as a wolf shifter. He was an alpha male all right, just not a furry one. His expression spoke to his unwillingness to budge on his convictions. His unwillingness to give Ellison a single foothold. He seemed to will away any rising tides of anger bubbling up in his gut.

  Not for the first time, I really wanted to know what his story was! There was a story, a compelling one too. I guess my vampiric half was every bit as hungry for information as Ellison’s. If not so, I wouldn’t have come this far down the proverbial rabbit-hole. I had come to figure out what was really behind the police hostility. What would possess them to try to kick in a shifter’s door to arrest a young vampiress.

  Clarke lead us to an interview room, but Ellison shook his head.

  “No, not that one. That has an adjoining room for eavesdroppers to listen in. Take us to your sealed conference room. That way we can speak in private, with no prying eyes, or ears.”

  Clarke’s nostrils flared in insult, and he felt as if Ellison had just trampled all over his best pair of shoes. They stared blankly at one another for a very pregnant moment. Finally, Clarke nodded and turned, cutting towards the left. Ellison guided me by the small of my back. I was left to wonder just how he knew the layout of the second precinct so intimately. That information seemed to trouble Detective Clarke too. Ellison had put the police on edge in every way possible so far.

  Clarke was looked a little ashen, like he regretted involving such a troublesome vampire in his investigation. Still, we walked in, and Clarke locked the door behind us. Hopefully, we could cut to the meat of this issue now.

  Seven:

  Ellison could be described in one word, obnoxious. He was a pesky adversary, as Detective Clarke had discovered. For the first thirty-minutes, Clarke had badgered me about my whereabouts on certain nights, and at certain time-frames. Ellison had promptly provided him with a lengthy, detailed dissertation on each night’s activities. I had noted him glancing at his phone multiple times. Rachelle was clearly feeding her brother ammo. Not that this was a terrible thing for me!

  Seeing the futility of his efforts to poke a single hole in my life, Sam Clarke finally switched gears. It was like he couldn’t handle one more story of me, shifters, and disturbingly detailed sexual debacles that, despite my own participation in said debacles, flushed my cheeks to hear spoken aloud. (I had spent a lot of time cooped up with nothing but my girlfriend, and a lot of shifters! I could hardly be blamed for my own nature!)

  “We have video evidence of you with the victim in Alley Katz Club.”

  Clarke placed a tablet on the table and hit the play button on a video. It showed me with glowing eyes and fangs out, holding the craven vampire against the wall by his throat.

  “Are you going to try to deny your involvement in this incident?!”

  Clarke’s eyes flashed triumph as he studied me, waiting for my response. Ellison sighed, as if he was about to explain the birds and the bees to a grade-schooler.

  “I have taken the liberty of compiling every camera, phone, or other recording device from that night. I am confident, once your techs, and yourself, have scrubbed through it, you will find that my client acted in aid to the victim. Ms. Toyo should be commended for her bravery, and her willingness to confront a clearly craven vampire.”

  Ellison slid a brand-new large screen tablet across the table. He had just fished it from his magical briefcase full of shockingly detailed reports, video evidence, and shifter surveillance. In short, I was going to be checking my shower for hidden cameras after this was all said and done! Ellison might have accepted his sister’s resignation form the clan, but he had clearly kept immaculate records, video, and surveillance on our new home. I wasn’t even sure how he had managed to get video of our block, it was deep into Lyra’s territory. Lyra had a kill-on-sight policy for any trespassing vampires.

  For now, I would just thank my lucky stars that Ellison Jameson had an insatiable desire to keep his sister close and accounted for. Either that, or he was truly following me, not Rachelle. That was something I refused to explore right now! I needed him as an ally for now, so I would just have to hide that thought in a box, and stuff it deep in my attic.

  There were literally, thousands of files on the tablet. Clarke grunted and looked at Ellison.

  “This is going to take some time to comb through, not to mention, vet. I have to confirm every single file is original, and uncorrupted. Also, I am only human. As such, it will take days to go through this video alone!”

  Ellison nodded his understanding.

  “Very well, if there is anything else, then please ask it now. Otherwise, I would like to get my client home. My sister, her lover, is likely worried sick. I never could stand the thought of my baby sister in distress. That has not diminished with time, Detective.”

  There was an ominous tone in his voice. Ellison wasn’t so much threatening, as he was stating a promise of some unnamed sort. Sam Clarke was a very savvy man, he didn’t miss the potent violence in the current of Ellison’s shifting mood. I was missing something, something that had soured Ellison’s mood.

  Luckily, or unluckily, depending on your position in this conversation, Clarke answered my questions for me.

  “I’m not releasing a potentially dangerous supernatural Born until she has been fully cleared of all charges. She will be held until her guilt or innocence has been established. Your sister will just h
ave to understand.”

  Ellison’s eyes flashed for a moment, they were deadly, bright with power. Sam Clarke’s hairs seemed to rise all along his visible body. Power, torrents of it, surged through the room like a dying star going nova. Something seemed to spin through the air, a current, airflow in a sealed room. Ellison didn’t move a muscle, he was still, predatory.

  “It is unfortunate that you wish to play it this way Detective Clarke. I have assured Rachelle that Melony would be brought to no harm.”

  Sam Clarke shrugged, and spread his hands wide.

  “And, she won’t be. She will just spend a few days in detention, the same as any other supernatural criminal. She will be perfectly well attended, as is any other criminal. She will not be fighting in some gladiator pits. We are humane.”

  Ellison smiled sharply, and he leaned in.

  “You imply her guilt, even in such a clear case of her being innocent. If she were human, she would be out this door, and you would follow up with a strong apology for dragging her good name through the mud.”

  Clarke shrugged again. His casual gestures showed his lack of concern for my life, or my well-being. If anything, he seemed to believe that I belonged in a cage, innocent, or guilty.

  “I am just a servant of the law, as are you, right?”

  His tone was smug. Ellison hissed, but composed himself quickly. The gesture had not wiped the smile from Clarke’s face.

  “You have made an enemy Detective. Remember this hubris in the future. There will come a day that you will beg for this day to have never happened. You will wish only to reverse the flow of time, lest you lead yourself to your own folly. And, mark my words, if so much as a single hair is out of sorts on my sister-in-law, then I will descend upon this station like the monster you believe my kind to be. For, all men, all creatures under this star, know the meaning of retribution when it is properly earned.”

  Clarke looked less smug now, even a little disturbed, but he shook his head.

  “You cannot step a single toe out of line Mr. Jameson. You will lose all that favor, and all these privileges if you even think of threatening an officer of the law.”

  Ellison chuckled, rich, deep, and masculine. His palm extended to Sam Clarke.

  “You are not but a petulant child. Your bitterness at an unfair situation has created an abusive, and abrasive man-child. Badge, or not, you are not an officer of the law. For I have seen many law-men in my life. Justice is devoid of your logic and reasoning in all things today. This, pardon the poor word choices, is a witch hunt.”

  Clarke flared up, ready to lunge across the table, but he seemed to stop himself. I felt it, rawness, bitterness, and some festering wounds inside his heart. Something had happened to him. He had lost much, he had lived with this loss, and he had grown into a bitter adult because of it. My instincts were repelled by the taint on his soul. It was as if the flavor of his energy disgusted my succubus side. His emotions were foul to me.

  I couldn’t help but blurting, “I pity you. Whatever this hatred is, it is revolting. I have seen a good man inside you Detective. He is there, buried under infected wounds.”

  Clarke stood up straight and he pulled a pair of silver cuffs form his belt. Ellison snarled at him. Clarke must have sent a text, because the doors opened, and half-a-dozen cops walked in. They had batons out. Ready for a very angry vampire or two.

  “We are done, for now. You will leave this precinct now Mr. Jameson, or I will have you thrown in jail beside your client.”

  He seemed to make everything a curse, every reference to me some loathing. His stern gaze landed on me now, challenging me.

  “Are you going to come quietly? Or, are you going to cause a fuss again?”

  Again?! He was clearly remembering the morning differently than I am!

  I tilted my chin up in defiance and I stared into his eyes. I let my power brush against him, reminding him of his place in this pecking order. His flesh seemed to flush, and he shivered at the pheromones roiling through the air. My magic was powerful, seductive, it could twist, it could destroy his mind. I knew this now!

  “I have not caused you a single issue. You will know it, if I did.”

  I spoke nearly on par with Ellison for ominous statements. Mostly, I channeled the bitch-switch I had seen Rachelle flip a few times, when someone tried to do us harm. Ellison seemed to know it, he shot me a knowing, and approving look, and a quick nod.

  I looked into his eyes, I saw the similarities in his Nordic and Scottish features, similar in so many ways to his sister—my love.

  “Tell Rach I love her. Tell her I will return to her. Make her swear to me, that she will not rush the station. Make her swear to work peacefully with Lyra until I return. Tell her, she was right. Humans were not worth the trust I placed in them. I should have listened to her, but I will see her soon.”

  Ellison nodded, and he pulled me flush to him. His thick corded muscles seemed to hide me completely from the world. For the first time, I felt love from him. A strange sensation. He was a master vampire. He was ruthless, powerful, ambitious, and yet he was Rachelle’s brother. I felt no fear, no old memories bubbling up, reminding me of violations past. No remembrance of that night.

  This time, when Ellison touched me, I felt only a brother I never expected to have. I felt a surge of devotion, and his deep respect for me.

  ‘I will deliver this missive to your lady, my sister. I have never imagined Rachelle finding a compatible mate to bond to. After watching you, so young, so new, but truly brave. I know now why she loves you with such devotion. You are truly worthy of all she sacrificed for you. You, not because you are Kimiko’s child, but because you are Melony Toyo.’

  I sucked down a deep breath and looked searchingly into his eyes. Ellison spoke telepathically into my mind. Something he shouldn’t be able to do, since I blocked all sups from my mind, all but Lyra and Rachelle. If I had to hazard a guess, it was his blood-ties to Rachelle that allowed him entrance to my mind.

  ‘I still need you to figure out what is going on. These cops are ready to string any old sup up for a reason!’

  I spoke into his mind, mimicking the very technique I used with Rachelle. I had never tried it beyond with her, and a few times with Lyra, who only seemed to hear me half the time. It was a little more complicated across species divide.

  ‘I concur. You have my word, I shall find answers. You will need to be strong until then Melony.’

  ‘It’s just lock-up. I’ll be ok.’

  He shook his head, his eyes itched in sorrow.

  ‘It is a federal prison for supernaturals. There is no department lock-up for a supernatural being. You will be held in the Goochland County Federal Prison. Melony be very careful there. If they discover what you are, you will not survive the night!’

  Shivers wracked my body as I was pulled from my seat and cuffed. I looked back as two of the police officers drug me from the room. I looked into the tempest that was Ellison’s eyes.

  Eight:

  Still shivering from the freezing cold water-hose bath and the powder they had tossed on me. I was in a fresh jumpsuit. Unlike TV, the uniform here was a very weird teal green color. Maybe they thought that the ugliness of the color would have a pacifying effect? Or, maybe they just took the cheapest color they could buy?

  I had been deposited in a dank, and rank smelling small cell by a very strong guard. A being I overheard the humans call a Kopis. I had only heard a few things from Rachelle about them, they were supernaturally powerful, fast, and long-lived humans. They had a sort of superiority complex about them. Basically, they consider us all monsters and beast that they needed to police.

  Kopises and witches seemed to like to work for humans. They both considered themselves on the side of “justice.” Speaking of witches, I had seen a trio of them on my way in. They looked much like any human, but I noticed the pouches or bags they carried. I could smell fresh herbs wafting from the pouches. I also noted a lot of body art. Mostly Celtic, and
mostly symbols of some sort. I had no idea what the ink meant, but I would put it on my, to-ask-Rachelle, list.

  If being scrubbed like a zoo animal and dropped in a moldy cell wasn’t bad enough for one night, I caught the hungry gazes of a few inmates. Apparently, they didn’t much care that I was a girl! I was locked up next to several gruff men. The looks they were giving off made me shiver involuntarily. I hadn’t seen many women, almost none. The few I had seen, well, they looked pretty beaten down. There was no light in their eyes, I could guess why. If the leering looks were any indicator.

  How in the bloody hell could Clarke drop me in this hell hole?! I am going to kick him in the nuts until he is sterile, once I am free!

  I made the promise to myself. No matter what it took, I was going to give Detective Clarke a swift kick later! I wrapped myself in that promise, and in the promise, I had made to see Rachelle again soon. I wrapped myself in it like a cocoon. I let those thoughts blanket me in a layer of safety. Insulating me from the world around me.

  Would it be asking too much to hope these bars stay closed all day?!

  I mused to myself, mostly serious. Despite the discomfort of being confined to such a small little box. The thought of defending myself against so many crazed men was much more troubling. There were cat-calls and shouts my way. Everyone on this block had taken notice of a new girl arriving. It was as if they all thought I was here for their amusement. Like I was a sexual toy. Succubus or not, that was distasteful, and disgusting! My stomach churned in sickness. I just wanted to be left the hell alone!

  As if on que, the bars clanged open with a loud clattering metallic sound. A buzzing sound emanated through loud speakers in the walls.

  “Chow time. Everyone, line up, and prepare to go to the mess hall.”

  Mess hall? This is not the military! This is a bloody prison!

  A massive hulking figure, maybe six-six, if not more, towered over me. His eyes lit with lust so blindingly potent it made my stomach queasy. I could feel his intent, his desires. Considering my aversion to men in general, it was disorienting, and I wanted to throw-up. I’m pretty sure it’s in bad form to toss your cookies on the first day in prison, right?