Paranoia, fear, or maybe fury well within me. Possibly all three.
“I’m not a vamp—“
“You’ve said it yourself a few times. You have talent when it comes to sniffing out goons. Isn’t that what you say?”
I flinch. “You really think I’m a vamp and that’s why I catch them all?”
“One day you’ll run out of Poké balls.”
I blink.
“My nieces and nephews love Pokémon. Gotta catch ‘em all!” He clears his throat, clearly embarrassed, and settles back into aggressive cop mode. “I don’t know what to think, Tempest. Too many things have gone down. Too many lives have been lost. How many of the ones who have died have you been in contact with?”
“More than I’m comfortable with. Maybe they want to pin this on me.” I bite my lower lip, agitated. “But they’re male. I haven’t come across a female one.”
“Yet,” he stresses, a trace of anger and frustration in that single word. “Maybe what they want from you is something more basic.”
My brows knit together. “I’m not following.”
“Maybe they want to see if they can groom you into becoming a vampire, too.”
Chapter 23
A hysterical shout of laughter bursts out of me.
Me. A vamp.
No way. No how.
Never in a million years.
But the lieutenant is right. There has to be a reason why they are threatening me without actually doing enough harm to kill me. They’ve killed so many others. Why haven’t they just bitten me and been done with it?
The lieutenant eyes me, clearly not amused. The lines around his lips deepen as his frown grows. “This isn’t a laughing matter.”
“Would you rather I cry?”
“Cops don’t cry.”
“Oh, so that was smoke in your eyes after you saved that girl from the kidnapper who lit the house on fire when you showed up?”
“Of course it was.” He glances away, and I swear I see a sheen cover his eyes now.
That case had been a brutal one. The girl had been fourteen. A troubled student. Didn’t have a lot of friends, got into fights a lot. Her parents were murdered, and she was missing, and some thought she had killed them.
But the lieutenant never believed that. He lived on their street, and he always suspected something had been off about the parents.
Turns out, they owed the kidnapper a lot of money. Maybe he always intended to kidnap Rose, maybe not. Maybe he always intended to kill the parents, maybe not.
Once Rose was rescued, the lieutenant tried to get her to talk to a psychiatrist, but she would only talk to him, and what he learned… the abuse she suffered at the hands of her parents and then at the hands of her kidnapper…
“Why didn’t you adopt Rose?” I ask without thinking. There’s no way he’ll answer that.
A few people told him he should adopt her, but he never did. Maybe being a cop hardened him too much to want to raise a child in this world. Maybe he didn’t think he would make a good father. Maybe he was afraid of dying on her. I don’t know. I’ll never know.
“She has an aunt who loves her, and she needs to know that family can be a good thing.”
“You could’ve been her family,” I say.
The lieutenant narrows his eyes to tiny slits. “Not that it’s any of your business, but she calls me her uncle, and I still see her a few times a year. Now. Can we get back to working on the case?”
“Of course.”
We tackle the tip line for a few more hours. By now, it’s getting late, and most of the other officers have made their way home. Only a skeleton crew works at this hour, and I’m feeling peckish and skeleton-like myself.
Finally, I can’t help it. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna grab a quick bite.”
He rubs under his eyes. “Where are you going to go?”
“Subway. Want me to grab you a hoagie?”
“Sure.” He reaches into his jacket.
I hold up a hand. “I got it.”
“You sure?”
I shrug. “It’s not like it’ll be expensive, and besides, we’re not gonna crack this case tonight. You can buy next time.”
“I want to crack it tonight,” he mutters as I walk away.
In and out, I’m back as quick as I can, almost like I’m the Flash.
He doesn’t look up as I place his bagged hoagie on his desk. “Nothing happened?”
“Nothing happened.”
“We can’t let them rule the night. Or the day. They can’t do whatever they want.”
I open up my chicken and bacon ranch melt. Delicious. Normally, I opt for tuna. The last few times, it’s been oversaturated with mayo to the point of being overkill, but this? You can’t go wrong with their chicken and bacon ranch melt. Not the healthiest, but who cares?
We eat as we field more calls. A woman mentions she saw shadows. I’m thrilled to have found a lead until I accidentally get her to reveal that she wears glasses. Worse, she saw the shadows when she peeked out her window immediately after a shower and before she put her glasses back on. She hadn’t actually seen anything.
“Actually,” she says, her voice tinged with excited confusion, “it wasn’t a shadow. More like a dark fog. And I swear, the temperature dropped twenty degrees.”
Leaving a hot shower could explain that, but I have seen fog a few times near the vamps. Maybe they can turn into the fog. Maybe that’s how they move so quickly. Didn’t Dracula turn into fog? He definitely turned into a bat. If that’s a legit thing and not legend, I’m gonna freak. I’ve been terrified of bats ever since I stepped on one outside of my house a few years ago. It scared the crap out of me. Thankfully it didn’t bite me because I sure don’t want to ever have to get rabies shots. To quote my dad, no siree, Bob.
“Where did this happen?” I ask, trying not to sound skeptical.
Her address is near Holy Saviour Cemetery, and I jot it down.
“Got something?” The lieutenant looks as worn as I feel.
“Maybe. Possibly.”
I hesitate, tapping my pen against my pursed lips. A wave of repugnant loathing fills me, along with a heavy dose of guilt and remorse. The vamps are watching me. That’s for sure. Will they come after this woman just for talking to me? Will those volatile beings inflame her? Is that their goal? To harm others to provoke me into action? Why would they single me out but keep me alive while aggressively attacking and killing others? It just doesn’t make any sense. I’m not sure if I should feel like a victim or if I should distance myself from everyone. I do know that I will not avoid the vamps. I will face them head on. I will not go quietly into the terrible, resentful night.
“Well? Are you going to keep me in suspense?” he barks.
Wordlessly, I hand him the address.
“A cemetery? Are you kidding me? First vampire wannabes…” He side-eyes me. “Or vampires,” he mutters as if it’s a curse. “And now they hang out in cemeteries.”
“Makes sense. The whole coffin bit,” I joke.
He blinks a few times, clearly annoyed. “Have you only seen them at night?”
My grip on my pen lessens enough that it falls from my grasp. “Actually… yes.”
One more blink.
“But that might be because they’re trying to keep a low profile,” I offer desperately. “Okay, so killing people, especially so many so quickly, doesn’t help with a low profile, but… I don’t know.”
“Let’s go check out the cemetery.” The lieutenant yanks his coat from the back of his chair and shoves his arms into it.
Darkness covers the land and blankets us in shadows. We’re silent the entire ride over, even when the lieutenant hands me back my gun. I keep my eyes peeled, looking all around us, jumping at every sound. Agitation, uneasiness, resentment, fury, I’m not sure which I feel more. The emotions swirling within me are as dark as the black sky. Not a single cloud is in sight, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if clouds appear any minute a
nd drench us.
“You said she lives here?” Lieutenant Reynolds pulls up in front.
“Yes. That’s the window she looked out of.” I point at the one that looks directly over the cemetery.
He continues on, driving around the block a few times, but there’s nothing here. Without a word, he heads for the cemetery gates. They’re closed, of course, but I climb out of his car and unchain them. A low creak sounds as they swing open, and I glance around warily before jetting back to the car.
Glass and a metal door won’t save me, I know, but I do feel better in the car than outside.
The two stone pillars on either side of the gates look majestic, especially with their dual crosses on top. Matching plaques with another cross and “Holy Saviour Church” make me feel a little better. I doubt the superstition about crosses and vamps is real, but just seeing them gives me a small measure of comfort. Believe me, I need that. I’m so on edge and uptight that I’m holding my gun and I’m not even sure when I grabbed it.
The grass here is well kept, and a fair amount of the graves have flowers on them. I swallow hard, remembering the last graves I visited, the first time I encountered a vamp. I don’t bring my parents a lot of flowers. Mom never cared for them since they don’t last, so Dad hardly got her any either. Maybe I should opt for silk flowers instead.
I miss you guys.
This cemetery doesn’t house their graves, but I’m feeling the pull to visit them just the same.
I clear my throat. “So…”
He glances over. “Do you see anything?”
“Nope.”
“Then shut it.”
“Understood.”
He grunts as if I shouldn’t have replied, but if I hadn’t, we both know he would’ve asked if I heard him. In a way, he is a father after all. A gruff, overly stern, fiercely protective father to us cops. Some might find him abrasive. Of course, there are times when he pisses me off, but honestly, I don’t have a problem with him. Not usually, anyway.
A weatherworn statue of an angel catches my eye. It must’ve been beautiful at one time. Even now, it maintains a sense of hopeful innocence a cemetery sorely lacks.
Are angels real? Does everyone have a guardian angel? If so, where had my parents’ angels been that night? I’m not overtly religious, but I do believe in a higher power. In my line of work, you have to. Otherwise, it’s too damn depressing. All the bad shit that happens to everyone, all the crime… Bethlehem is actually not that dangerous of a city, not until recently.
My finger rubs against my badge. The official seal of Bethlehem is beautiful. Inside a star is an eagle with rays of light around its head. His left talon clutches three arrows compared to the olive branch in his right. His breastplate is a keystone, fitting since Pennsylvania is the Keystone State.
Between the points of the star are more emblems. A cross and Bible for religion, Bethlehem is known as the Christmas City after all. A lyre because of our annual Musikfest. An anvil, sledgehammer, and gear wheels for our historic and closed down Bethlehem Steel factory. An athlete hurling a disc. Finally, the Greek lamp of learning on top of two books for education.
Bethlehem is a great city, and I’m not just saying that because I’m born and bred here. Usually, we have a much lower crime rate than surrounding cities like Allentown and Easton. And I want it to always be that way. The safest city in the Keystone state. Safest in the country.
I shake my head to clear my mind. Now isn’t the time to be lost in thoughts. Gotta focus. Gotta be prepared. Gotta hunt down vamps.
Honestly, I still have to suspend my own disbelief, and I know better than anyone that vamps are real.
Up ahead, I see a figure, and I watch him closely. He’s moving too rhythmically, too slowly.
A gravedigger.
I point to him.
The lieutenant nods and parks the car. “Stay here. I’m gonna see if he’s on the up and up.”
“You think he might be a grave robber?”
“It’s possible.”
“Let me come with you.”
“No.” He opens his car door.
I open mine.
“Tempest.”
“With all due respect, sir, I would be irresponsible to let you go alone.”
“I don’t need—“
“Backup is important. Wouldn’t you be furious with me if I went alone?”
And that’s when it hits me.
“You don’t really want me to help. You just want to babysit me.”
The lieutenant closes the door. “You can’t deny that the bodies are starting to pile up, and you have been looked at as a suspect.”
“I haven’t—“
“I know you haven’t. But they want you for some reason. Alive. And you keep ducking Diego and Felix, so you’ve given me no choice. I’m seeing first hand how that isn’t their fault but yours. They’re getting some much-needed R&R right now. They’ve earned it.” He glowers at me. “You’re lucky you’re even here. At least I am allowing you to help with the investigation. Prove your worth, and we’ll see what happens.”
My fingers drum against my gun on my lap. “You need backup. If not me, someone else.”
He wrinkles his nose.
“I won’t let you get hurt. Or bitten. Or…” I swallow hard. “Please, sir.”
The lieutenant flares his nostrils. “Stick by my six and keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.”
I nod.
We climb out, and I trail a half-step behind him over to the gravedigger. He works despite our presence.
The lieutenant coughs.
The man finally stops digging and wipes his brow. It’s hard to tell in the low light, but he seems to be in his twenties. With his dark hair, eyes, and clothes, he almost blends into the night, but his smile is like a beacon of light.
“How can I help you?”
“I’m Lieutenant Reynolds of the Bethlehem Police Department.” He jerks his head toward me. “This is Detective Tempest. Who are you?”
“I could ask you,” he says cheerfully. He reaches into a pocket and removes a card that he hands to Lieutenant Reynolds. “I’m working the skeleton crew tonight. I had an emergency earlier today. My sister got sick, and I had to take her to the hospital, and I was there for hours.”
The lieutenant snorts and pockets the card. “Have you noticed anything suspicious lately?”
The gravedigger looks from me to him. “You two here about those murders?”
The lieutenant crosses his arms. The gravedigger is shorter than he is, but the lieutenant makes an imposing figure.
“Ah, well, I can’t say that I have. Seen anything suspicious, I mean. It gets real foggy at times, which makes digging hard—“
“Don’t you do most digging during the day?” I interrupt. “Do you see the fog during the day?”
The lieutenant sends me a fierce glower.
Whoops. I’m supposed to keep my trap shut.
“Yeah. It’s strange, though.” The gravedigger leans against the handle of his shovel. “Nowhere else will be foggy, just a few patches here and there in the graveyard.”
Hm. Holy Saviour Cemetery is a much larger plot of land than Fairview Cemetery, where my parents are buried. There are only about two miles between the two, but for a vamp with super speed, it’s no distance at all. Maybe the vamps have a station near here. They might’ve heard me in the cemetery and came to investigate. Can they smell the difference between a human from a vamp? Maybe the vamp was hungry, but then why didn’t he attack? I’m so confused, and trying to sort through this puzzle is giving me a headache.
“Have you seen anyone here?” the lieutenant asks.
“Lots of people. Mourners, mostly.“
I glance at the lieutenant, who sighs and then nods.
“People who seem off,” I clarify. “People who hang out by themselves. People who don’t seem…” I trail off, uncertain how best to phrase this.
“I don’t pay much attention, honestly. I ju
st do my work. Between you and me…” He leans close to me, and I catch a whiff of his aftershave. “I don’t really like graveyards. They give me the creeps.”
The lieutenant hands him a card. “Call if you do happen to see anything, and look alive, all right? This is important.”
I place a hand on the gravedigger’s shoulder. “You could make a difference.”
He looks from me to the lieutenant and back again, a slow smile forming. “I can do that.”
I smile back, step away, and fall into line next to the lieutenant. We cross over a few rows of graves, the stones glowing ethereally despite the poor visibility. The swirl of mist adds to the otherworldliness of the cemetery, and I find myself bringing up my gun unconsciously.
“You always flirt with witnesses?”
“He didn’t witness, and that wasn’t flirting. It’s called making a connection. Give them something to remember you by and they’ll be more likely to want to help you.” I grin. “You taught me that, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters disapprovingly.
Despite my smile, I turn aside and roll my eyes. His gruff attitude isn’t going to be earning him any brownie points, and he’s certain not taking his advice.
For the past month or so, before all of this hit the fan, he’s been growing tougher, harder. The job is wearing him down, and he’s hostile at times and easily provoked. It’s almost as if he feels guilty for taking so long to clean up the streets. I think he might’ve lost a few pounds, too, from all the stress.
I’m worried about him, and I don’t blame him for being affected so much. I’ve had to start wearing belts because my pants aren’t fitting me in the waist anymore. Maybe I shouldn’t skip out on the doctor after all.
Football, food, a friend who might turn into something more, what else could I want?
Bethlehem to be vamp-free.
For there to not be one more murder.
For not one more person to be bitten, made sick, or die.
For us to take our city back.
The night will be ours. The day, too. Vamps will not rule. They will not spread fear.
We will prevail.
Chapter 24
When Vamps Bite (Bedlam in Bethlehem Book 1) Page 17
