Fiona Frost: Order of the Black Moon (36 page)

“Are we certain it is human blood?
Remember when Damien admitted to killing a deer on
the altar
?
It could be an animal,” Wolfe asked, shrugging a shoulder.

“
H
uman, type AB-.
A rare blood type, actually.”

My eyes shot at
Wolfe with a concerned expression.
Thinking of the evidence
we
would be able to
collect, I remembered I had left my forensic kit in my
car
.
I imagined having to crawl back through the tunnel and through the dark corridor by myself
. Cringing mentally, I grew
angry with myself
for such a clumsy oversight.

“I forgot my kit
!
I’m so irresponsible
!
”
I said in regret, jetting my eyes to the ceiling
as
I lowered my shoulders.

“Fiona, you are anything but
irresponsible
.
Is it in your car?
I will go get it, not a problem,
”
he
said tend
erly,
extending
a cupped palm
.

“
Yeah,
I always keep on
e
in my trunk
,” I
whined
with regret
, dropping my keys into
hi
s hand
.

“Be right back,”
he
whispered into my ear before taking
off with his flashlight
towards the
marble tunnel.

Detective Chase
walked
towards me
, a smirk spread across his
round face
.

“I see what is going on, Fiona.
I’m giving you a stern warning.
Keep this training lab professional.
You,
in less than
five
years, will be seeking your first job in a forensic lab.
You don’t want to set up bad habits of dating colleagues.
Make this a very hard lesson
learned
and stay away from any unethical behavior.
Keep working relationships honorable
.”

I was embarrassed, humiliated.
I
dropped my eyes to the wet limestone of the ground so he couldn’t read the expression on my
face, knowing
it would spill
my thoughts.
Was I that transparent?
I felt like such an amateur, even though I
was
an amateur, I always tried to be just as smart, just as professional, just as mature as the ones in the real job that I aspired to have.
This proved
I was still a child, not ready for the
adult
world
—
the real world.

I couldn’t form the words I wanted to use to defend myself so I mumbled, “Uh…um—
”

“Don’t get me wrong, Fiona
.
It happens more than you think
,
and we deal with it all the time at the station.
Feelings
form
during
stressful situations
.
Sometimes, these feelings aren’t even real, they’re not
true
,
but
they get you through the day when you’re working on a case without sleep, without eating, without any love or affection from
your family
.
I just want you to realize you should ignore the feelings you may have.
Remember you are involved in a case, and lives are on the line.
W
e need your brilliant mind here
, not in the clouds.”

I nodded, feeling more than ashamed
of
the feelings I had no control of, and didn’t mind having because they made me feel whole.

“Got it.
I understand completely.
You have my word,” I said.

“We’ll be done
in a few, and
you can have a look around, take a blood sample from
the altar
, whatever you’
d like for your investigation.”

After
a few minutes of silence,
Wolfe returned with the kit
,
and I did my best to look at him as a partner instead of a crush.
After the crime scene investigators
had
cleared the scene, Detective Chase stayed with us while w
e took blood samples from
the altar
.
I pulled out my camera and photographed the
bloodstains
in every possible angle, including the bloody letters
SVA
.
We searched
the
Dracul’s Den
in a standard grid protocol
and didn’t find any new evidence for the crime
.

We crawled back through the
white marble
tunnel and into the
main
area
.

A
fter searching the
area and the
other rooms
on
the main floor of the
cave,
we marched
outside with Detective Chase.
The sun was rising
,
and the weather was calm, nice
.

“Well, I suppose you
r team
will
search
for the body and weapon now,” I said
dryly, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight.

“That’s the plan.
We already have
teams at Silver Springs Lake and the Seven Points River.
We’ve pulled in some assistance from the Silver Springs Police, who happen to be dealing with their own serial killer at the moment, by the way.”

“There’s a serial killer in Silver Springs?
Is it
also
vampire stabbings
?
”
I asked.

“First, we don’t know if the Jody James murder or this murder
is
even
related to the vampire cult, Fiona.
Second,
the answer is
no, the
Silver Springs murders
are
strangulations
. The
killer leaves a
dead bird
at
each crime scene
, a
memento
from the previous victim in the chain
and a clue about the next victim
.
It’s got everybody working 24/7
over
there, so w
e are lucky to have any help fro
m them right now.”

“Gosh, that’s insane.
I hope this isn’t
a
seri
al killer
in Godley Grove
,
Detective,” I mused
grimly.

“It’s not.
This crime
seems
extremely
s
taged to me,” Wolfe interjected, his voice rose from a whisper to a normal pitch.
“Doesn’t feel right.”

“
Let’s
hope you are right
.
I’d rather have
a copycat than a seria
l killer,” Detective Chase said bluntly.

I scanned the front of the cave
to see two
police officers
speaking to an older
Hispanic
man.
Once they were finished, they walked
towards Detective
Chase.

“
C
an we speak to you for a moment?”
t
he large,
blonde officer said assertively, darting his eyes
towards
Wolfe and me.

“Go
ahead;
these are member
s
of
my team
-
in
-
training from the high school.
You’re clear
to speak,”
he
ordered
.

The office
r examined
us
before reluctantly deciding
to continue, “
Mr. Rodriguez, the
Hispanic
man we were just speaking to,
stated
there were two men here at the cave a few hours ago, arguing about something before they both left on foot, opposite directions
.
”

“Two men, huh?
Did he give a description
?
”
h
e inquired formally, his leather bound notepad in hand.

“Well, he said one looked like an average
Caucasian
man, maybe mid-thirties and the other looked like
, well, he said he looked like
Satan
,
”
the officer hesitated
with a shrug.

A much
smaller
, dark-haired
officer standing with him gave a simultaneous shrug of his shoulders with a
contrite
smirk.

“Satan
?
No other descriptions?
Just
Satan?
”
the detective inquired.

“He said he had horns, red hair,
a
bunch of tattoos, and might have even had a tail, but he wasn’t sure.
English
was
not his first language
,
and my partner had to
translate some of what he said,” the blonde officer reported.

The smaller, dark-haired officer stepped up
towards
us to join the conversation.

“That’s all we could get out of him
.
He
was
reluctant to speak with us in the first place.
He said he’s seen
Satan
going into the cave before
,
so he assumed the cave is a portal to the underworld or someth
ing,” the smaller officer added candidly.

Detective Chase’s shoulder CB radio
beeped
followed by an intense bout of static.
He grabbed it,
moved a dial,
and pushed the button on the side.

“Radio to Unit 218,
c
opy,
”
a
feminine
voice on the
radio sounded, followed by a short beep and static.

“218,
Arles Cave,
go ahead,” he said into the speaker.

“218, Please respond to 203 Nikale Street,”
the operator sounded.

“218, 10-4,” he re
s
ponded, eyebrows pulled
towards the
center of his forehead in uncertainty
as
he gazed into my eyes
.

“Be advised that we’ve received a citizen complaint of a potentially threatening caller.”

“
Copy, en
route, clear and direct,” Detective Chase buckled
the
radio back onto his shoulder harness.

The news
hit me at an instant
,
and I looked at Wolfe with my eyes widened in fear.

“That’s my address!
”
I said, my voice was brittle.

Wolfe’s expression
turned
sullen.

“That’s why they
’re
sending me there,
Fiona,”
he
huffed, gesturing
towards the
parking area.
“They know I’m associated with your family
,
and
she knows I am at
the cave
with you
.”

Wolfe and I scrambled to my
car
; jumped in, buckled our
seatbelts
and I quickly ignited the engine.
I looked in my rearview mirror for Agent Bronson, and then remembered I had left the house without him.
Since I left my mother a note I’d be with Detective Chase, she knew I was
safe
.

Af
ter allowing
the detective
to exit the parking area, we followed closely beh
ind
his
car, tailing
him to my house.
Wolfe looked at me wi
t
h an anxious expression.