Chapter One: The New Case

Mmm. Coffee. The smell hit my nose as soon as I entered the café. College students were busy typing away on their laptops and the barista, as usual, was singing away to the morning radio music. I walked up to the counter and as soon as she saw me, she practically leapt over the counter to give me a hug.

"Shakira darling! I haven't seen you in weeks, where've you been?"

I laughed, "I was on leave for an investigation. It took me all the way up to New York this time."

She smiled brightly and went over to some weird machine, "the usual?"

"The usual," I confirmed.

Sheila has owned Café Black for years now. She's probably the happiest and most cheery person I've ever met. Her smiles are contagious and I swear they can light up an entire room. Her skin is the color of chocolate and her eyes, the color of honey. The black apron she always wears is embroidered and personalized and is always tied perfectly in place with a bow centered low on her back.

I'm probably café black's most loyal customer. I come here everyday, sometimes more than once. She walked over and handed me a mocha cappuccino in a to-go cup with the word "beautiful" written in the name section. I couldn't help but crack a smile at that. Her black curls fell in front of her eyes but she just as quickly swiped the ringlets away. I hand her a $5 bill and shoved the change she gives me into her tip jar. She shakes her head and giggles.

"Now, you better come back and see me soon."

"Of course," I laughed.

"You have a good day dear," she said with a smile.

"You too, thank you Sheila," I shouted on the way out.

Ten minutes later, I was walking up the steps and entering through the front doors of the police station. First day back at the department in five weeks. Hopefully today will be a smooth ride. One could only hope. As soon as I opened the door I heard the chaos of a million phone calls and piles of work papers being tossed around. Officers are busy at the front desk but they still stopped to wave at me. I headed towards the chiefs office to let him know I'm here and ready to get back to work. I'm one of only four officers within the paranormal investigations unit. There's not too many people willing to do what we do. It's dangerous. And let's just say the mortality rate isn't great.

Inside, I can hear him shouting at some newbie officer for insubordination. I chuckled silently at that, remembering a few times I've been in that exact same situation. Chief Ryan has had to kick more than a few of our butts on multiple occasions. But he takes care of us and taught us all everything that we know. Plus he's pretty much the only father figure I've ever had.

"Get out," I heard him say angrily.

What do you know, a smaller asian officer comes stumbling out of his office, his face as red as a tomato. Kinda feel sorry for the little fella. I walked in right after and saw the chief shuffling through some older files. His head pointed upward, eyebrows raised, when he felt my presence. He shoved the files to the side and into a singular pile on his desk. The grey growing in with his dirty blonde hair seems to be more prominent than the last time I saw him. His piercing blue eyes are sitting on top of dark eye circles. He looks tired.

"Detective, it's good to see you back."

"Yes sir-," I started.

"Unfortunately, I already have a case saved for you. I just got another damn call about it a few minutes ago," he interrupted.

I huffed. So much for a quiet first day back. Chief Ryan searched around his desk and pulled out a few files. They were fresh, not a single crease or speck of dirt to be seen. He dropped them in front of me, taking in a very exasperated breath. I picked them up and he waited patiently while I started reading through them. Three bodies. All female. Pale blue skin. Haunting, bloodshot eyes. Bite marks covering every square inch of their body.

All of that, horrible as it was, wasn't even the most unnerving thing about them. That would have to be their smiles. These women were smiling when they died. Their eyes were empty of a soul yet a big smile was plastered permanently on their face. A feeling of horror and disgust crept up into my stomach. A sour taste filled my mouth. Something about their eyes... their smiles. It made me sick.

"Detective Ryder, that call just now... they've found another body."

"A fourth? In just five weeks," I asked.

"Three."

My eyes widen. Four bodies within three weeks? That's crazy. I flipped the page in one of the files. The first victim was found at a vampire night club called Ecstasy. Catchy. That sounded like a good place to check out. Unfortunately that means I'd be wondering off into vampire territory.

"Before you go investigate the first three, they need to see you at 346 Hollow Drive. I want you to take the lead on this case, detective. Paranormal investigations are your specialty and I need this case solved as soon as possible. The higher ups are really riding my ass on this one."

"Yes sir," I said.

I stood up to shake the hand he had offered, "welcome back, Ryder. Good luck on this one."

I took the files with me and headed outside the building to call a taxi. I had left my car at home, didn't think I'd have to leave the office. When the taxi arrived I hopped inside and gave him the address. During the drive I made notes and flipped through all the reports. I don't understand this. Not all of the bite marks match. There were thirteen different sets of bite marks on the first victim alone. Well, fang marks. Thirteen different vampires drinking from the same woman? That doesn't seem right.

Though vampires aren't exactly known to be shy, they don't typically like sharing their meals. They're territorial creatures. I've never seen more than two drink from the same person, let alone a number high enough to be in the double digits. And even more bite marks than that were left on the third woman. It was odd. Maybe it's like a weird vampire orgy? I doubted it but I made a note to do some research just to be safe.

When we pulled in to the drive way, cop cars were scattered around us. Yellow tape covered the whole yard. The body was found outside? Also odd. Younger vampires can't stand the sun but even then, most of them don't eat outside. It's too public. Risky. And not at all private enough if she was found naked like the last three. This could just be the dump site. I got out of the car and paid the driver. A tall slinky officer walked over to me and immediately held out his hand for me to shake.

"Good morning detective, I've heard a lot of good things about you," he said.

"Good morning Lieutenant, I didn't think I'd see you here."

"Well, I was just holding things down until you got here, that's all," he said with a smirk, "the body is this way."

He motioned over to the middle of the yard. I felt my skin go cold once I saw her limp body. A saddened part of me wished they would've covered her up to save her dignity. Dead or alive nobody should be left like that. Her body was completely drained of blood. Not a single drop was left. As if they had licked her skin clean. She laid mostly naked. Only her undergarments remain. A hot pink set of panties and a ripped sports bra. Bright but not anywhere near sexy. They were practically granny panties. I don't think she had planned on having sex. So if it is some type of orgy, I don't think she went into it voluntarily.

Blonde hair was blown across her face but even covered, you could still see her haunting smile. It's as if her muscles were stuck in place. Her wide eyes were staring out at you. She looked like a doll made for children. Two men in scrubs dragged a black plastic sheet over to cover her up. They adjusted it so it sat directly under her chin and tucked it under her shoulders and hips. To keep the strong wind from blowing it away I guess. That saddened part of me from earlier eased up knowing that she wasn't completely exposed now. It's probably silly but it makes me feel better knowing that she's getting the respect she deserved.

"Time of death," I asked the lieutenant.

"Unknown. Same with all the others."

Damn.

"Is this the victims home?"

"Yes," he motioned for me to go inside.

When I walked in I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my throat. The house was practically destroyed. It was a huge mess. The couch is torn to shreds. Feathers and wooden chips from the furniture littered the floor. Lamps are broken, the tv is playing loud punk rock music and the coffee table is flipped upside down. One of the windows was left open. But there was something that stuck out to me. There wasn't a single drop of blood anywhere in the room.

"Wow. Not quite what I was expecting."

"Tell me about it. The other scenes were similar. The area around the victims are trashed. The victims themselves were practically eaten alive and yet there's never any blood. Even the cleanest of vampires, can't help but leave a few drops. Blood is a messy thing," he says.

I look around the house for a few more seconds and find nothing. Her name was Jessica Barnes. She was 32 years old. Reading mystery novels was her favorite past time. She worked as a pharmacy technician and her husband, David Barnes passed away years ago. Since then she's remained single and doesn't have any close relatives worth mentioning. Nor any friends. It seems Jessica was a bit of a hermit. Kept to herself most of the time. So how did she end up becoming dinner to a dozen vampires?