Innocent Blood [Inactive]

[Mitheral]

Mitheral submitted a new role play:


Innocent Blood - Enter the world of darkness in pursuit of your obsession with vampirism.

Please note: This is NOT a fandom. It is a serious story. Some humor is great. Can't be serious all the time. The more serious investigation techniques of X Files would be more appropriate. Innocent Blood gets its title from a musical group in the RP by that name. The band is partly composed of members that are instructors at UCLA. Vampires here are more of the White Wolf rpg or Anne Rice variety. They are intelligent and cultured, with a political structure, bloodlines, and clans. (This is a...

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The sun was just rising to the east, struggling to push through the haze of the smog. Red and blue LED lights strobed to announce the presence of police, an ambulance and a coroner. Just before dawn a handful of students had discovered the body of a young student in the parking lot. She was a petite and quite beautiful blonde - had likely been a cheerleader in her high school years. She wore a black T shirt with the fluorescent logo of Innocent Blood, a local band, and jeans with intentional rips and tears, a style of kids these days, not the result of the attack.


Cause of death was readily apparent. Her throat had been ripped. What was missing was all the blood. The natural conclusion for that was - murdered elsewhere then moved. But then why leave the body in the parking lot?


Detective Ryan Kelly scanned the scene slowly. This was a real mess to clean up. He already had the Chief on his back about closing this one up fast before the press made a national event out of it. His eyes stopped on a young CSI intern whom he had NOT asked for, trying to examine the corpse.


“Hey! Someone want to tell me why I have an INTERN at my murder scene? Get him back before he contaminates my canvass!” He lowered his voice. “Sorry Kevin, but you’re still just an intern. Observe, but stick to the lab for now. How are you holding up?”


Kevin Brady, a 19 year old prodigy, didn’t take well to being yelled at. But Ryan himself had put in a good word to get him the internship. Det Kelly had been his father’s partner and now served as the legal guardian for his younger sister. So is was hard to get mad. So he turned to the senior CSI agent and started to try to tell the man what samples he wanted - only to find himself being ignored.

 

[sharlene79]

Detective Ryan Kelly scowled as he saw the other man approaching. He had crossed paths with this man before and had hoped to finish the scene before the man got there. The last thing he cared for was federal interference. But okay, if the powers that be wanted to play it that way, fine.

Spoiler

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Richard Travers


The man stopped in front of Kelly - a little too close for comfort. He was dressed all spiffy and had come way too close to walking all over the canvass scene. Then the man barked almost subordinately, “Det, Travers sir. Which one is … is .. Zha ,, Zsa .. “ He stopped and looked down at a small notepad. Zsa .. Zsasz? Did I pronounce that right? It sounded like --”


“I KNOW what it sounded like! What are you doing at my crime scene?” Kelly demanded.


“Chief sent me. I’m her new partner.” Travers explained. “You can call him yourself. He said - though in not so many words - that you needed the help. And he didn’t want any foul ups. Oh … and he said to let the boy genius run his damned tests - whatever he wants.”


Kelly turned livid and actually pushed in closer to Travers. The younger man did not back down. It was a battle of testosterone that lasted for several seconds. Travers looked oddly calm despite the differences in their pay grades.


Kelly growled and turned to the senior CSI agent. “You heard rookie. So rookie, what does the rookie see? Do impart us with your wisdom.” He gestured angrily at the corpse.


Travers just glanced at it. He looked at Brady. “You ask to take measurements yet or to take a cast of the bite?”


Brady nodded. "Yeah, but I also want to get surface sampling of the interior first for particle deposits."


Travers just smirked and looked back at Kelly. “Not an animal attack. The bite is too regular.”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

"Not bad kid."


Zsasz said from across the body. When she heard him continuously butcher her last name she didn't even want to acknowledge that she was his partner. The fact that the chief made her have a partner still tasted bitter to her. She never worked good with other people and the fact that she screwed up on a past case a while back, was this her punishment?


Everyone stopped to look at Penelope. Standing up from her crotched position she looked at the sharped dressed man and gave him a nod and a wink of satisfaction when he showed Kelly off. Her long dirty blond hair was pinned up in a bun with two decretive chop sticks that had dangling jade beads behind it. Penelope wore a pin stripped suit with a green V-neck shirt, her long pant legs draped over her small pumps. Pushing her glasses back up to her nose she looked at Travers.


"He's right..."


Looking back down she proceeded to speak.


"about the bites, normally with an animal you would see constant biting, ripping of the skin, and small marks all over the body as if it was holding them down to prevent them from moving. This...bite is not an animal, it's to clean to make it an animal attack."


Stepping away from the body she pushed Kelly away from Travers. Them both having their chests puffed out like giant Apes only make her shake her head. "Back off Kelly but this rookie that just showed you up is mine. You already have enough ego to end world hunger, lets not feed you anymore." Stepping in front of Kelly which pushed him back even farther she proceeded to speak to Travers.


"As much as I don't like partners and it takes a lot to impress me...good job. We'll wait for the cornier report to see the rest. For right now let's examine the scene. What do you see so far, we already know the body was moved, what can you tell me about this parking lot?"

 

[sharlene79]

Rick Travers tried not to let his eyes stray. He barely managed to wipe the smile from his face from watching her put Kelly in his place. But the only way he found to keep his eyes from dropping a little over a foot below hers was to turn away from temptation. That pointed him at the other “kid”, Kevin Brady.


“The scene isn’t important for its construction, maintenance. What is important is its location. Why here?” He paused as he decided whether to make the maybe not-so-obvious connection. Body drained of most of its blood, but not here at the scene? The choice was easy. “It is what the woman was wearing. That,” he pointed at the building nearby, “ is the UCLA Theatrical School - or something like that. And the founder of the musical group Innocent Blood teaches music there part time - nights I believe.


“Now I am not suggesting the band had anything to do with the murder. But they may be the target of some sort of a warning. Maybe someone wants them to give up the music business.”


Kevin Brady spoke up. “Whatever the bite was made by, I should be able to pick up some DNA. That’s the evidence that will seal this case.”


Rick Travers nodded. “And if there’s no DNA evidence?”


Kevin Brady’s face was unreadable. “Then there will be residue from the murder weapon. It would be pretty unusual for a murder weapon. I spotted other evidence. The vic was bound - by zip tie I think. I saw no defensive wounds. However I found signs the vic fell - maybe drugged or tasered. I won’t know which without a better look. I can’t do that out here in public.” Brady paused there. “You may be right about the mechanical jaws. In the absence of defensive wounds it makes more sense.”


“Follow the evidence,” Travers said. “What we do know is that the vic didn’t struggle while they were being bitten. Were they already dead?”


Brady shook his head. “I don’t think so. If anything, I think they may have been hung upside down to facilitate the draining of the body.” He moved over to the woman’s feet and raised the pants leg a little to reveal marks on her skin from where she had been hung. “Saw this in a Sherlock Holmes episode. Murderer went around hanging his victims on a tripod to see how fast he could drain the blood.”


“So why simulate an animal attack - or vampire?” Rick looked at Zsasz sharply. “Sorry, but it looks like that sort of thing. But then we all know there’s no such things. Apparently someone wants us to think otherwise - or thinks they are one.”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

"Yeah...you got a theory on bigfoot too?"


She looked at Travers, shaking her head she decided to smack him on the back of his head before turning away and giving the body one last look. She couldn't help but feel rather intrigued by his opinion. Yes it was a bit far fetch but this had never happened before. Penelope was rather glad that Kelly had already closed the case before the press could get an honest idea of what happened. Just another campus suicide or the start of a killing spree?


Biting her lower lip she looked off into the distance. Travers had mentioned a preforming arts class just a few blocks from here. Her shirt "Innocent Blood" could give them a general idea of what exactly she was into. She really needed to find out what or who this girl really was. Better yet she needed to find the actual scene of the crime was. It wasn't often you would see a body get moved to another place. Was it staged?


Walking over to the edge of the parking lot she looked down...whenever Penelope thought, she was quiet. Her gears in her head were running, it was time to do some interviews, interrogations, what exactly was going on? Before she knew it she heard the church bells ringing off in the distance. Looking out one last time to the building across the way a small smirk formed. Turning back around she walked back over to Travers. Her walk had a bit of a strut, her hips would dance side to side, plus she liked the noise of her heels. Standing next to him she stared at him for a minute before speaking.


"I need you."


This boy, man, was difficult to size up. Normally she could easily get a good feel of someone quickly but this guy was something else. His huge physique intrigued her in more then one way. She use to have that same feeling for Kelly but it eventually went away. This bodacious brute next to her would definitely cause other people to become on edge.


"You pick, good cop or bad cop?"

 

[sharlene79]

At the mention of Bigfoot, Travers’ eyes lit up with mirth. He actually coughed a little to keep from speaking. Clearly there was a private joke running through his head. But he said nothing. Instead he just watched as Zsasz mulled over the ideas he had presented - and the evidence was coming up with. Brady was a gifted kid. But he had yet to learn to accept that the world often looked at gifts with jealousy and fear.


“Brady, I need you to work some of that CSI magic and tell us who killed this girl and where. and why.” Travers look at the kid with the face of a man who had seen a lot more action than his years suggested. “If I am right, there will be another body soon, probably after the next concert.”


Brady looked slightly offended. “It isn’t magic. Who, where AND why? Just give ME the detective badge why don’t ya?”


Travers just grinned, then looked serious again. “Let me know what you find on the fingernail scrapings and the cast. I hesitate to mention them until you’ve finished casting your incantations and doing all that alchemy.”


Brady realized Travers was trying to push buttons now and didn’t give the man the satisfaction of taking the bait.


“I need you.”


Zsasz’ words made both men look at her. Travers smiled ever so slightly. Brady fought a grin while reddening. He looked away in a vain attempt for his reaction not to be noticed.


"You pick, good cop or bad cop?"


Not missing a beat, Travers responded. “Your pick. I should probably go as good cop, this being my first day on the job and all. So what? It’s maybe 0800. Question the band? I would imagine they are all asleep. Concert was last night. We could see if she’s in. The band’s manager teaches in that building. I would assume she has an office there.”

 

[Mitheral]

Brady gave the to detectives a token attention, concentrating on his study of the body. He appreciated the fact that the pair were taking a real interest in his efforts - if not in the science, in the results. He was already certain there was a lack of saliva in the bite. He was also certain that no human had used their mouth. Whatever had been used it had the shape a a vampire’s fangs. But like Travers had said, follow the evidence.


As much as he wanted to run a zillion tests right there on sight, they needed to remove the body. He had the other lab techs take samples of the pavement and marks them with a grid encoding. He’d compare that later to tests on the victim’s feet and hands. He was also curious why Travers seemed to expect DNA under the victim’s fingernails if there were no defensive wounds. Then it hit him. The perp might have forcibly scraped another corpse to confuse the evidence - or even plant evidence from a living person.


So DNA evidence might prove inadmissible in court in the end.


Why? Why try to make it look like a vampire? And why here? Travers knew something. Kevin was sure of that. And Det. Zsasz seemed more than intent on getting to the truth of the case. He recalled seeing her when she worked in vice. And she had had a few occasions when she had lost CI’s - no bodies, no missing person reports, nothing. He had done double time hunting the morgues for some of her missing persons inquiries. But he had never found the bodies.


He had, however, found a link between the cases. Her working area had an unusually high number of vanishing prostitutes - with peak losses at regular intervals going back 50+ years. But it wasn’t actionable. It was just a trend. His supervisor had called it “normal for the season.”


That hadn’t stopped him from admitting his observations to Zsasz - along with his supervisor’s lack of interest. He also explained that he had been ordered to drop it and move on to current cases.


Kevin hated unsolved puzzles.

 

[sharlene79]

Annabelle Kramer watched the detectives from the edge of the crowd. The fact of what the girl now being prepared for transport to a morgue was wearing was not lost on her. Neither was the body language as Travers turned his attention to the Theatrical Arts building. Then detective Zsasz did the same. Inwardly she groaned at the inevitable fact that the next person they would want to talk to would be herself. So much for turning in and getting some sleep.


Rather than avoid the detectives, she placed herself right in their paths and waited. As they approached she held out a business card for the group. “I believe you are about to go looking for me. Annabelle Kramer, manager for the band Innocent Blood. I thought I would save you the trouble. If you like we can take this to my office. This way if you please.” She gestured toward the Theatrical Arts building.


She carried herself with a sophisticated air and a casual attitude, like a woman who had been born with a platinum spoon in her mouth. “I suppose it is a good thing we don’t do shows on school nights. This being a Saturday there are fewer students to gawk at the murder scene. I assume it is murder. Someone described the girl as having her throat ripped out by an animal. And that is very hard to do to oneself. Hmm?”


Her office was rather small and cramped. But the decor was unusual, including an authentic grammophon. Already set to play the Liszt Etude,





The bookshelves were lined with a mix of Classical, Jazz, and music of the Roaring 20’s. These seemed to be her favorites. She had two desks. One was for doing the usual teaching duties. The other had a keyboard that was plugged into a computer and likely used for composing.



She gestured to a couple of chairs for the detectives and took a seat behind her desk. “Now then, is it going to be the usual Good cop, Bad cop routine? Or do you just want to ask me questions?” She didn’t seem to be the slightest bit nervous.

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

"Assume as much as you want Ms. Kramer but how the person died is none of your concern."


Zsasz was already getting peeved at this chick. For some reason she wanted to reach right across the desk and slap her so hard that she'd be seeing black and blue for two weeks. Preppy, plastic girls made her cringe, the kind of person that always freaked over a broken nail or her makeup was running. Cracking her neck before speaking she clamped down on her teeth which caused her cheek bones to move. She felt rather cocky, it was time to play the bad cop.


"Why? You do something wrong for us to be bad cops?"


Taking a seat next to Travers she looked at him and gave him a wink. Let's see what this rookie had to offer. She heard this boy took good notes and Penelope never did so it was a good combination she thought. Taking a hard swallow she crossed her legs before speaking again. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a picture of the victim, one of the investigators who was taking the pictures had uploaded one for her when they were ready go question suspects.


" Tell me..." Penelope closed her eyes for a second and reworded her sentence. "us about her. Let's start off with the five W's shall we? Who was she? What was she like? When and where did you last see her? And why would anyone want to kill her?"

 

[sharlene79]

"Tell me..." Penelope closed her eyes for a second and reworded her sentence. "us about her. Let's start off with the five W's shall we? Who was she? What was she like? When and where did you last see her? And why would anyone want to kill her?"


There was the slightest flash of anger in Kramer’s eyes. Or was it annoyance? But the woman forced herself to maintain an exterior of calm. She seemed to count to ten - perhaps she was actually doing that - before responding. Truth to tell Kramer could have answer all but one question with three words.


“I don’t know,” she answered plainly. “By her manner of dress I would assume - you DID say I could assume all I want - that she was a fan.” Kramer’s eyes narrowed slightly in an acidic mirth. She had to fight to keep from smiling - not about the death, but at getting under the skin of this cop. “Isn’t that your job?” The words had come out before she even realized it.


Nick winced. Now THAT was the old Kramer that had been the source of so many a headache. He looked at Kramer with the slightest of increased interest - then harder as he caught her response.


Kramer caught the look. For a moment she looked stubborn. Her jaw set defiantly. Rick was actually trying to hold a staring contest with her. It was amusing. But Samantha would have never forgiven her if she did anything to harm Rick. She finally looked away.


“Fine! You know I could just lawyer up at this point and stall you investigation for days and weeks. But believe it or not, I want the person or people who did this off the streets. Your first 4 W’s? I really don’t know. She wasn’t one of the ones I’ve seen up at the edge of the stage every performance. She wasn’t a groupie. But I do happen to know that you are going to pull my financials. So I will save you a little time. I do not know if this has anything to do with the murder, but I own a nightclub that has a 1920’s styled atmosphere. Part of the proceeds of the band are going to the renovations. I am the victim of an arson. Someone burned down my place. My fellow band members are just trying to help me rebuild. I don’t know if the incidents are related.


“Now the method of the attack - does having an animal rip a throat out qualify as murder? I suppose if someone trained an animal to attack it might. However, I am guessing there were no defensive wounds. Someone about to be attacked by a dog normally throws up their arms to fend it off. I can only guess the natural leap of conclusion. The T shirt, bitten throat. Vampire attack. Really? This is the 21st century. Or maybe you have better theories? Feel free to accuse and insinuate at this point. But whatever you do, make it quick, because I am going to get some sleep. So if you aren’t quick, you will just have to speak to my attorney.”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

God, Penelope loved being a bad cop. This woman tried to get under her skin but being on the force for to long caused her to never jump at a sudden punch of intelligence. The whole time she spoke Penelope kept to herself, it was like the old T.V. shows where the cop would just let them sit in the interrogation room for a while before showing up, then they would just sit there and just stare. Eventually, some would crack under pressure. She had to give this girl props though, she seemed like the type that had been through this several times.


"I really don't like to repeat myself so when I say "how the person died is none of your concern"....it means, how the person died is none of your concern. I would think that a woman like yourself would know the difference."


She had to admit that was pretty rough, but it was true, Penelope never liked repeating herself. She had to often do it back when she was just a local cop. She would speak to fast and repeating herself four or five times got the best of her. But seeing as how Penelope was sitting down and talking slowly she would have thought the woman would have gotten the picture.


When she spoke about how she was a victim of arson she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She was half tempted to say 'who's life did you destroy' or 'home wrecker?' but she kept to herself. An idea popped in her head, when she said her band members where helping her rebuild her home she couldn't help but ponder an idea. What if the girl had witnessed something that she shouldn't have seen? Being a fan of the band and assuming she was from this school and knowing everyone in it including the person behind the curtain, she could have seen Kramer possibly doing something with a student, the Jane Doe saw it, she gets kidnapped by Kramer and a few others, dragged off some place, killed, then move to the parking lot. The Jane Doe could have been the one that made her house catch on fire because she had seen what had happened between Kramer and the student. But that doesn't make sense though, if Penelope was the person that had seen Kramer do something with a student she would have used black mail. If that was the case, it still didn't provide evidence for the giant gash in the girls throat. Hmm...


Snapping back into reality from her little hypothesis she took a deep breath before speaking.


"When I ask for your theory on how the girl died, is when I have you charged and arrested and appearing in court. Your thoughts are irrelevant and so are your ideas. Let the professionals do what we do best and let us figure it out. We'll take your records and look through them, an officer will come by and pick them up. Call your attorney if you will but that only makes me think your hiding something. In the mean time, get some rest. I'll be back for a warrant to search your house."


Getting up from her seat she not once gave the woman a 'hi, hello' or a 'goodbye.' Penelope was never like that, she refused to be nice to the people that she suspected of trouble. On the other hand it was going to be different when she would have to approach the family of the deceased. Nothing like crying mothers and fathers to ruin your day. Sometimes she hated being the messenger boy, but it had to be done. Walking toward the door she reached down to turn the door knob and walk out into the hall. The door behind her slammed softly, making her way down the hall to the outside she pulled out a packet of cigarettes and placed one in her mouth. Pulling out her zippo she lit the menthol laced cigarette and took in one giant puff. Releasing slowly she watched the white smoke float up in the air.


"I really don't like her."

 

[Mitheral]

Rick laughed. “I guess not. I’m not sure, but I think she liked you and hated you. But we are still on square one. That just wasted 30 minutes and got us nowhere. Fact is, I would be very surprised if we ever got a conviction on anyone. The crime scene was compromised by students walking around. We have absolutely nothing to tie Ms Kramer to the crime save for the fact that the girl was a fan. For all we know Ms Kramer is the victim here. Her night club was burned down. Maybe this is just the next step toward ruining her. Having your fans murdered isn’t exactly great publicity. You would think if she were the perp, she wouldn’t drop the body on her own doorsteps.


“You need to start looking at Ms Kramer the way you looked at prostitutes. Lot of cops look at them as not worth the time. As I understand it you took more of an interest in the rights of the ladies. Same thing needs to apply in homicide. Not liking someone isn’t enough to call them guilty of not protect them. Have you considered that Ms Kramer’s life is in danger. Whoever killed that fan may be trying to get her to panic, flush her out into the open where she is an easier target.


“In other words we need to figure out what the real motive was here. The three M’s are what it takes to seal one of these cases - not the 5 W’s.” The serious look on Rick’s face broke as he smiled a little. “I did like that line though. Mind if I borrow it sometime?”

 

[sharlene79]

After departing Kramer’s office, Rick kept to himself mostly. He had wondered how the scene would play out. Kramer had almost been like her old self for a moment. But she had actually tried to play along. It had been Zsasz’s bad cop routine that had turned things against them. Kramer actually loved cops that tried to play bad cop with her. It gave her a chance to ignore them - like a petulant teenager ignoring her parents. Instead of offering information she had fished for some of her own. But he had to hand it to Zsasz. The detective had held her ground.


But none of this was getting him any closer to the hunters. And this lot was more callous than usual, willing to sacrifice an innocent to flush a vampire out. Thing of it was, Kramer wasn’t the vampire they thought she was. Of all the supernatural beings in existence they had picked the wrong one.


So what now? Kelly and the Chief were under control. Sam had seen to that. But now he was stuck playing the part of some rookie and he was just no damn good at that any more. But until nightfall there was just only so much he could do. Then it hit him. What would the hunters be doing? He grimaced. They would be planning to keep the investigation on the ‘right’ track. And that meant he was now a liability. The hunters might actually recognize him. If so, they would never reveal their Motive to Zsasz. He had to just hope he wasn’t on their radar.


++++++++++++


As it turned out the hunters were way ahead of them. And they had had a plan for this already. On the way back to Zsasz’s car a ‘student’ walked right up to them. Even Zsasz spotted the fact that this probably wasn’t a student, but a paid messenger. The young man bumped into Zsasz and dumped the burner in her jacket pocket with a professional skill and vanished into the crowd. even before Rick could give chase the phone rang.


They were being watched.


When she finally answered the phone a man’s bass voice spoke. “Hello Detective. You want to know how about the monster responsible for the woman’s death? My apologies for doing things like this, but in my profession I have developed an aversion to law enforcement. Taped to the inside of the phone case is a key and a short note. That note is the address of an apartment mailbox. Naturally that is the key. Inside the mailbox is information pertinent to your case. Ms. Kramer isn’t who she pretends to be. She is a monster. You also need to lose the rookie. He is a slave to a monster himself.”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

Zsasz listened carefully, the voice was very mono-tone so she really couldn't get a distinct idea. Like most voices that sounded alike there was one thing to each vocal cords that made them different. Who ever it was obviously knew what they were doing.


Penelope just stood in one spot, she did not move, she did not speak but when they spoke of her green horn her eyes shifted left, "he is a slave to a monster himself," great, did this mean Rick was a spy, a mole for them? She huffed to herself, thats one of the many reasons why she worked alone. Double crossing, not on her watch.


Hanging up the phone she just shoved it in her pocket. She needed to act calmly, not alert Rick. She needed to slip away, have enough time to take this lead. "Seems to me...we need to do a bit more digging up on Kramer. Lets get back to the station." Getting into her car, she drove. What could possibly be there?


After arriving to the station she walked up the steps and opened the doors. Walking over to her desk she turned to Rick who was close behind her. "I need you to do a routine background check on kramer and all her students, get me some stuff on this fire as well. The fire could be related some how. Also get me the address for this Gatsby club she has. While you do that, I need to talk to the chief. It's nothing bad, I have to give him evaluations on you, see how the rookie is doing. Good job so far Rick." She gave him a fake smile, she hated lieing.


Turning away she started walking toward his office. Taking a quick turn she looked back to see Rick hard at work, taking a deep breath in she closed her eyes for a second, please forgive her. Sneaking out the back enterance she walked to her car. Taking the phone from her pocket she unlatched the back which revealed a key and letter just like the voice said. Getting into her car she opened the note, the address was written on computer paper, obviously printed so she wouldn't be able to do any tests. Starting her SUV up she plugged in the address, it was thirty minutes from where she sat. Good, at least she had a drive to calm her nerves. Pulling out from the parking lot she proceeded to the destination.


"Slave to a monster." That echoed through her head, why couldn't she figure out what it mean't, none the less why couldn't she stop thinking about the possibility that this murder was actually caused by some super natural creature? What if it was a vampire? She had never had cases like this before. Something about it didn't set right, the bite mark was to clean but if penelope was a vampire she would be smart enough to not leave a mark, just drain the blood and leave nothing...what happened?


The destination arrived quicker then she expected since her thoughts were racing. Grabbing her badge and gun she placed it in its holster. Going inside toward the mailbox she lifted the note from her pocket and looked at it one last time. 3B. Grabbing the key she placed it inside the key hole, slowly turning it she heard the click of the locking mechanism unlock. Opening the door she saw a large manilla folder, grabbing it she opened the folder and proceeded to read.

 

[Mitheral]

Inside were a number of articles from the 1920’s. The first was an article about a scandal involving a flapper, the daughter of an industrialist named Alexander Kramer. The flapper’s name was …. Annabelle. There was an old black and white image, grainy of course. But it most definitely looked like Ms Kramer. There was another article. This one was about the disappearance of Annabelle and a citywide search underway. There was another article about the disappearance of Mr Kramer as well, dated shortly after Annabelle’s disappearance. There were no articles about either being found.


The other articles were unrelated. One was a photo dated 1952 of Annabelle in front of a biker diner somewhere in Louisiana - hardly recognizable - but not having aged a day. The photo wasn’t so grainy. It looked very much like Annabelle. The next photo was dated 1987 at the Gatsby club with a young man in his late teens. Then there was an article about the young man and a girlfriend who had vanished. There were yearbook pictures of both. The girl’s picture was signed Watts. Then there was another photo of the young man in 2003 - and he hadn’t aged a day. There was a picture of the his girlfriend in 2013 at an Innocent Blood concert. The girl was the lead drummer - Watts. None of them had aged.


The next set of articles were about Rick. There were pictures of him going all the way back to the 1950’s The difference was he had aged a little. He had served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as other military actions under various names,


About this time the burner phone rang again. When Zsasz answered the voice on the other end spoke. “Are we learning anything yet?”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

"I'm always learning new things, you under estimate me deep voice."


Her eyes never left Rick's, the pictures on the newspaper articles made him look like they were taken yesterday. He hadn't aged a day, if it was truely him. Deep down she wanted to deny the fact that it was him but the majority of her said that he was someone or something more then meets the eye, she would have to approach him cautiously.


"Let me guess, the Gatsby girl is Kramer. But that doesn't make sense if that was her she would be at least seventy. Kramer doesn't look a day older then thirty. Unless she's....no, I refuse to say it, there is no such things as vampires."


Penelope was silent for a minute.


"All these people, these kids all look the same. The dates though, it's throwing me off. If these people are some sort of supernatural or have really really good anti-ageing cream they are all almost a hundred years old."


She began to bite her fingernails. Whenever she was nervous or worried she would chomp down roughly till they bled. Swallowing she read the articles over and over but whenever she saw Rick's pictures a huge knot would twist and turn.


"How could I be so stupid?"


Taking a deep breath in she managed to relax.


"I'm assuming since you helped me you want something in return?"

 

[Mitheral]

“I wanted to open your eyes to the world of darkness that surrounds you. These creatures are more than just murders. They are monsters not meant for this Earth. It is incumbent upon you to find a way to reveal these monsters for what they are. But I must caution you. Your proof must be incontrovertible. These creatures hold many members of law enforcement and even the government in thrall. Both your new boss and the Chief are under their thrall. How do you suppose your new rookie was assigned to you so swiftly?”


“You should know that if they suspect you are getting close to the truth, you too will vanish. There are ways to detect them. They fear fire. They burn in sunlight. However tests such as mirrors and holy crosses are a waste of time. Your new partner is what they call a ghoul. This means he has drunk the blood of a vampire and become bound to them. I believe that doing so interrupts the aging process.”


“You may find all this difficult to believe. However, nightfall is coming soon and I feel it is my duty to warn you so that you may prepare yourself. I also wanted to warn you of the dangers of your investigation. I know about the informants you lost in your prior department. As you might now surmise, some of those were lost to the unlife.”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

"So in other words, I talk or say anything about these creatures I die. That's just lovely. You can't see my expression but I am utterly thrilled right now."


Before she spoke another word she heard her actual phone go off. It was a text from Rick, he was wondering where she was. Looking at the time she didn't realize an hour almost two had past. It was getting sort of late and her nightly reports were almost due.


She took the voices warnings in mind. Afraid of fire, mirrors, crosses and things don't work. Great, where was the nearest catholic church to get some blessed holy water. When it came to this type of supernatural stuff she was in the dark. It seemed like Penelope needed to do some research.


Grabbing the things and walking out to her car she shoved everything in the glove compartment. Everything that she learned today needed to be kept a secret. For once in her life she didn't know what was the right decision. Go rogue and persue this herself and become the hunted when exposing the possible truth or just play it out with all the mudering psycho paths around her?


Eventually she made it back to the station. Her gun was still on her when she entered the building. She saw Rick, the chief, fellow detectives, and other cops doing their things. Who was who honestly? She only made a quick eye contact with Rick before turning her back to sit down at her desk. Her fingers went to her keyboard and typed.


Google: Vampires.

 

[Mitheral]

The first few sites that Zsasz came up with on Google was a site about real vampires. But a little reading suggested the site had nothing to do with the sort of monsters her mysterious informant had spoken of. There were several hits on the movie Space Vampire - useless links. Then there was vampire mythology. The wiki proved a little insightful as it discussed the evolution of the vampire myth.


She didn’t get much further before she realized Rick was standing in front of her desk. Kyle Brady, the CSI intern finally had some results back. That meant a quick trip over to the lab.


Brady’s report was rather more thorough than expected. And if Zsasz’s informant was to be believed, the intern was well on his way to disappearing.


“I was right about the lack of saliva. There was none. I made a cast of the bite and did a little mathematical extrapolation to come up with some dental records. I finally came up with a match for a man reported missing and presumed dead back in 1982 - except for the long sharp vampire like fangs. Our actual bite was made by teeth made of ceramic. More specifically I know the exact ceramic composition. It is the sort of ceramic used to create artificial bones by archaeologists. This particular brand is made by one supplier. I have the exact formula and may be able to determine the batch lot and when it was made with some more work.


“Second, the bite didn’t cause the blood loss. The victim was suspended by her feet and bled out from the neck by an IV. I think our killer saved the blood. Also, the victim was heavily sedated prior to being killed. The blood will show heavy traces of thorazine - military grade thorazine like they used on POW’s to keep them calm for an extraction. And the concentration was a lethal dose - way past lethal in fact. Our victim never struggled. I also found punctures from a tranq gun.


“Someone went out of their way to make this look like a vampire made the kill. You would think that if a vampire were to drink this blood they would be high as a kite. I don't know, maybe someone needed vampire anesthesia for a surgery?”


“Okay … I also did some digital footwork on the clothing. Our perp had no hair or was very careful. They also knew something about carving livestock. I am moving time of death back several hours. They used electrical stimulation to prevent rigor mortis from setting in and transfused the veins with warm water to throw off body temperature measurements. Now I did pick up a smudge of auto grease. But I had a little trouble identifying it. So I got in touch with a friend who knows his auto fluids. Turns out it was rear axle fluid - a formula that hasn’t been used in about 6 years. So I looked for garages closed down 5-7 years ago that weren’t converted into new businesses and came up with 2 in the metro area. Only one is on this side of town. I know it isn’t much to work with, but I’m just getting started.”


Rick smiled at the intern. He had to admit, he was a little impressed. The guy was finding needles in haystacks. “Well, Zsasz, it is getting close to nightfall. You worried about running into a vampire? Or do we check this one out? How long to get a warrant?”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

"The warrent won't be here for at least a day or so. So in the mean time we just need to figure out what evidence we have. Something about kramer doesn't fit right with me. She's a shady figure and I'm feeling like she has a past, a rather not so nice past.


Before you go Rick I need you to do one last thing, run a few documents for me on an Annebelle and Alexander Kramer. Brady I'm taking you out to dinner, me and you need to talk. I'm very impressed with how well your working that I've talked to the chief to hire you on as full time. But lets not discuss details here."


Penelope looked at Brady with hard eyes, as if she was giving him a hint that she needed to secretly talk to him. She had to tell him what was going on. He seemed like the only one that she could trust right now. Not trying to cause any drama to Rick she tried pulling something off quickly. Getting close to Rick she gave him for the first time a full length smile on her face, it even showed her teeth. Giving him a pat on the cheek she winked.


"Better luck next time, rub me the right way and I might just invite you to dinner."


She couldn't believe she was flirting with him but it was the least thing she could do. Grabbing Brady by the tie she drug him out to her car. Shoving him in she got to her side and quickly drove off.


"Brady, I swear to God you say one word to anyone about what I'm about to share with you. I promise I'll hit you so hard you'll be seeing black and blue for the rest of your life. Its not a threat...its a promise.


"Look inside the glove compartment, your theories are correct, this proves your hunch about Vampires. But wait til you get to the last article, look familiar?"


While she drove penelope kept looking in her rear view mirror. She was getting paranoid, ever since the voice told her about the infinite possibilities of vampires being everywhere she only felt safe at her apartment.


"I'm taking you back to my place, we both know way to much as it is and I fear that with us closing in one the truth then our lives will be at stake. Do you trust me?"

 

[Mitheral]

For the brief moment that Zsasz flirted with Rick, Kevin huffed his chest out and flexed a little with his hands clasped behind his head in a half joking effort to make Rick jealous. Rick recognized the pose instantly from the first Star Wars movie. He had watched it in a drive in in the late 70’s with Samantha. The younger man instantly tried to return his arms to their normal position before zsasz could turn back around.


As the female detective went to drag Brady out of the station, Rick couldn’t help but deflate the man’s ego just a little. “And later Luke found out Leia was his sister.” He was pleased to see that Brady winced a little, but smiled at the humor.


“All we need now is Chewie to laugh,” Kevin retorted.


Rick said nothing, but as he watched them leave he winced. Samantha might have taken that last comment personally.


++++++++++++


Kevin nodded, flushing slightly at the mention of going to Zsasz’s home. He just nodded. He wouldn’t have admitted it, but he did have a few fantasies about the woman. But he didn’t know exactly how to go about actually talking to her. The woman was larger than life, tough as nails. Quite frankly she intimidated the hell out of him. It was a lot easier to just talk shop.


Kevin read the folder of articles in silence, refusing to commit to a conclusion without all the available evidence. When he was done, he shook his head. “I don’t see it. You could draw other conclusions from this. In fact, there is very little to tie this to our current case. You ever watch Highlander? Immortals, but hardly vampires. You’d get the same sort of evidence. In Ms Kramer’s case that could be her great grandmother. If we don’t want to find ourselves the laughing stock of the precinct we have to have more definitive evidence.


“However,” he added, “if this information does have a link to the evidence, I think I have a theory about the killer. And it wasn’t a vampire at all. I think it was a vampire hunter. It is the only logical conclusion that makes sense. It offers motive, method and opportunity. The only fantastic piece of evidence is the bite cast. But if one presupposes that vampires are real, then our missing man with the dental match may have been turned - to use lore terminology - and killed by the hunter. A cast could then have been made to create the murder weapon. Motive? To flush vampires out - force them to expose themselves. In short, we may be dealing with a hunter ruthless enough that he is willing to sacrifice an innocent woman to flush his prey. Even the drugging of the blood makes sense. Once metabolized into the bloodstream the drugs might actually affect a vampire.”

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

Penelope listened very closely to Brady. He was definitely a genius for such a young age that it did impress her very much. So many questions that she wanted to ask but when he would speak he would answer them for her without him even knowing it. Biting her lower lip he kept her eyes on the road, after one turn to the other she was slowly making her way home.


"So you mean to tell me a Vampire hunter, slayer, like Buffy is trying to expose them for who they really are? But that doesn't explain Rick. In those pictures he hasn't aged in years. Earlier when we interviewed Kramer someone dumped a non traceable phone in my pocket, a voice told me that he is a slave to monster. I don't know what exactly it means but it makes me not want to trust anyone at all, except you Brady. You and me know to much as it is and from what the person on the phone told me eventually someone is coming for us. That's why I need you to stay with me."


Taking a quick look at Brady she gave him a look of protection. She would do everything in her power to keep him and her safe from whatever was coming after them or what was out there in general. When Penelope turned another corner she heard something rattle, she heard it earlier but thought it was something on the road. Looking down at the radio she noticed that it was shaking. Slamming on her breaks she quickly parked the car next to the side of the street. Parking she instantly went for the stereo system, grabbing it she felt the sides, someone had tampered with it, taking out her pocket knife all she did was turn two screws and her radio literally fell out.


"We've been hit! Get out of the car now, my place is just up the road from here. Let's go!"


Getting out she pulled her gun from her holster and started walking fast. Every few seconds she would look over her shoulder. She knew she had a feeling of being watched but would they go far enough to kidnap someone? She hadn't had butterflies in her stomach since she first joined the force back in the 90's. Taking a hard swallow she walking fast down the street, Brady was close behind. Soon they had started walking up the steps to her apartment building. Grabbing the keys she entered the building and started running up the three flights of stairs to her door. Placing the key in the door she opened it and looked at Brady.


"Anything else specifically I need to know about?"

 

[Mitheral]

Penelope Zsasz was harder than most detectives to elude. She was a strong willed woman and a natural survivor. Truth to tell, that had interested Samantha more than any other trait. Of course the fact that Kramer had naturally rubbed the woman the wrong way had been especially endearing. Had she been arrogant as so many elder kindred were prone to be, she might have sat up in the rear seat and been spotted. Of course that would have been rather humorous considering Zsasz had been using her rear view … mirror.


But instead the British vampire had laid down during the drive. She had realized that Zsasz might also be followed, used as bait by these hunters. So the trick was to separate the detectives from the Hunters first.


Samantha sat up after she heard the pair start to run off, transforming into a mist fo flow out of the car and reform as a bat. Long before the pair could finish their run and enter the apartment she would have time to call Rick and have him abort the bug sweep - and enter the apartment unseen. The trouble was that she would now have to watch out for hidden cameras and microphones herself. Being able to cloud minds did nothing to fool security systems.


Brady reached out and touched Zsasz’s hand. His other hand went to his lips, a shushing gesture. He then made a gesture about the phone gesturing a gimme. Then a paused and shook his head. He rapidly pulled out a pad of paper and began scribbling. “Radio maybe bugged. Phone bugged. apartment - probably. Gut feeling.” He drew his hand back and scribbled some more. “We are bait. Hunter using us. If vamp real, only thing makes sense.”


Penelope hadn’t even turned the key when the knob turned and the door creaked open. A woman’s hand stuck a page of computer stationery out with writing on it. “Place bugged. Can we talk somewhere more private?” The blonde woman then stepped out eying Zsasz’s pistol. She was dressed in BDU’s like some survivalist. She reminded Penelope of Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies after she had worked out a lot. This was Samantha Carlson of the Innocent Blood band.

 

[Penelope Zsasz]

Gun raised and ready to fire she had it pointed directly to the woman's head. Fire was in her eyes and her blood was boiling, no one ever snuck up on Penelope like this. What bothered her the most was that her security piece that she kept in her door hadn't fallen out. She had learned that the best way to see if anyone had entered her apartment was to place a piece of pencil lead on the bottom door hinge just close enough to where when the door would open it would crack and fall on the ground. Worked plenty of times when she felt like someone was following her on a case. She installed at least five different dead bolts on the door. Not even King Kong himself wouldn't be able to bust down her door.


Her hand never moved, her eyes never blinked, and her body stayed frozen looking at this woman. She didn't even look at the sheet of paper that she wrote. All that was running through her mind was the fact that her apartment had been broken into. How could she have been so stupid, this happened within the last few hours that she made mistakes, never had she ever had this happen to her.


Without hesitation she grabbed the woman by the shirt and shoved her down the hall, her gun jerked in a forwarding motion to tell the woman to go walk. Taking her eyes from her for a brief second she looked at Brady, taking him by the arm she pulled him close to her for a brief second. Their bodies touched, face's close, and hands holding she looked at him softly. If he could read her eyes it was obvious that she scared. Her head moved in closer to his but hesitated a bit before pulling back and letting out a sigh of reluctance of not going any further. Turning her back she walked down the stairs.


Zsasz's hand still held the gun and the other held underneath it for support, getting out into the street, the woman turned around like she was going to talk but the gun raised a inch further to her head. Again the gun jerked to make her go down the street. She didn't care about anyone seeing her exposing the gun. Once they turned the corner she grabbed the woman by the collar and yanked her into the alleyway. Pushing her against the wall she placed the gun under her chin, Penelope got extremely close to the woman's face.


"You have five seconds to explain who the hell you are before I fire this gun and have your brains painted all over this brick wall. Do not test me, I will fire.

 

[sharlene79]

Samantha smiled gently. Penelope was so innocent and naive. But that was hardly her fault. And it was the whole reason for this encounter - to tear away the veil of innocence and conduct the young detective into the World of Darkness that most mortals never saw. She watched the vein pulse on the right side of Penelope’s neck. God, but the girl smelled delicious! She sighed yet again. No, she mustn’t. Five seconds? Plenty of time. Besides, the woman wasn’t going to shoot.


Samantha frowned. Penelope had made two mistakes. First she had touched her. Second she had got within arm’s reach. The sunglasses were a nice touch, but ineffective against her. Samantha concentrated slightly paralyzing every nerve in Penelope’s body save for the autonomic responses. She calmly reached up and took the younger woman’s wrist in the finger’s of her left hand. Then she looked to her right at Kevin Brady.


Samantha was a little surprised to see Kevin at a proper distance - by the book if she were any judge - a service pistol aimed neatly at her head. Slightly surprised she spoke with her British accent elevated slightly. “But you’re an intern, a lab rat?”


“I am also … almost …. a cop. And I’m in the field. Sucks to be you lady.” Kevin responded with less confidence than he projected.


“Relax …. “ Samantha spoke soothingly. Kevin’s aim wavered and fell. “Holster it.” Kevin complied. Penelope still couldn’t budge a muscle. All she could do was listen. Samantha reached over with her right hand and snapped the holster latch shut. Finally she reached over and did much the same for Penelope, returning the weapon to its holster and securing it. Finally she removed Penelope’s sunglasses and put them in a pocket.


“Rick, cleanup on aisle three. Make sure we aren’t followed. Extraction pattern Delta four.” With that she said. “Sleep.” Kevin slumped onto Samantha’s right shoulder. Then she looked Penelope in the eyes. “You’ll get your sunglasses back later. I just didn’t want them to get broken or lost. They look cool on you. Time for some answers.”


Penelope could only watch helplessly as she was folded over Samantha’s left shoulder. The diminutive woman shoulder the weight with impossible ease. Suddenly she took off running with them at highway speeds. At one point the vampire lept up - with all the weight - some three floors into the air and continued sprinting at what had to be around 60 mph. Finally after leaping across multiple building tops she hit the pavement falling in behind a black security van. The side doors opened and Samantha effortlessly made in in - still loaded down with two bodies.


Samantha laid Kevin down gently. Then she looked into Penelope’s eyes. “Time for you to sleep now. When you wake up, try to remember that you will only waste bullets if you try to shoot anyone you see. And please, let’s try to discuss matters in a more civilized. For the record, I am saving your life. And that means that if anyone asks - you belong to me.”


*************


When she awoke Penelope found herself in what appeared to be a bunker on a military bunk. Her sunglasses were in her pocket. Her weapon was in its holster - loaded and ready for use. However, her cell phone was gone - as was the burner the Hunter had given her.


Samantha sat in one of those metal folding chairs that the military liked to use. “One, two, three, four, five.” She reached up and rapped the concrete wall behind her. “Reinforced concrete. Much safer than a brick wall. If was saving your life. Your apartment? Bugged, wired for video, and I am all too familiar with the smell of Semtex. The hunter was using you as bait. Now would you like to know why? Before you say yes, you must understand that for a mortal to know any of this is considered a capital offense among kindred law. Only ghouls are permitted such knowledge - and they are considered both property and responsibility of their kindred masters.”


“Kindred? That’s what you would call a vampire. You asked who the hell I was, I believe. My name is Samantha Carlson, born in the days of the British Empire in 1819 - same year as Princess Victoria. You would know her better as Queen, but that wasn’t until 1837. I was embraced in West Africa during the Victorian Era. You see, my father was something of an entrepreneur. And I was a bit of a tomboy. I decided to do some exploring of my own, braving the dangers of the savannah.


“But not of that explains my actions here tonight. Who I am is a bit more complicated. I am a sort of enforcer. There are two major factions of kindred that struggle for control of Los Angeles in a sort of Cold War. I am part of a group of enforcers that keeps the peace. And what has happened is that this Hunter has tried to ignite actions to eliminate the peacekeepers by threatening the Veil - with kindred refer to as the ignorance mortals have of vampirism.


“Now then, with the basics out of the way, shall we discuss matters more civilly? I have no doubt you have questions. And no, I have no interest in seeing you - or Mr Brady come to harm. You are under my protection here.”