werking~~~<3
Jul. 29th, 2011 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xhesikaSunday.
Bastian's been missing for almost forty-eight hours, and I suddenly realize that I've been strictly referring to him as just "missing", but deep down I know he isn't coming back. What's worse is that I think Jenna's come to that conclusion faster and easier than I have.
She woke earlier than the kids despite the weekend; I guessed that she had heard my alarm clock, and when I went down to the kitchen she had turned on the coffee pot. I was a little thrown off by the gesture at first, but I think that was when it all started to sink in for me, like it had already sunk in for Jenna. She wouldn't have to take care of her brother anymore, but she still wanted to take care of someone, to fill the void I guess.
The sun would rise late, the December air outside coaxed fog on the windows, and the crisp chill coming from it confused my senses with the smell of burning coffee that had spilled onto the burner and charred several times before.
She watched me walk out to the car in the driveway with my thermos full of coffee, I would later get the call from Alice that she had made breakfast for everyone and finished up the laundry, but I had seen that coming.
I get to work early most days, and today was no exception, I don't hate the sight of the police station near as much as Bastian did, there's nothing about this place that makes me nervous anymore, maybe when I first started at the bottom of the totem pole, but not now. My secretary, a younger dark-skinned girl named Anita, picked up on my work habits early and made it a point to beat me to the office every day without fail. I have to commend her on her efforts, I never really tell her, but I'm rather impressed at her dedication. She gives me a sweetly smug smile as I pass her with a nod on my way to the office.
The pile of papers was on my desk, all information about the night of Bastian's disappearance. Everyone understood what this case meant to me, and I'm sure several of them were looking for some brownie points; I immediately set to work on them.
The more I looked over the various accounts of eyewitnesses that night, the more it didn't make sense. Bastian had gone out the back of the club with the infamous Bloody Mary alone? Had he gotten that careless? That was the last that any living had seen him, the vampire code was iffy on letting police into their affairs, and by the time I would be able to wade through their red tape, it would probably be too late for Bastian.
Anita's voice came over the small intercom, "You have a visitor, David."
I pressed the button, "Tell 'em to fuck off, I'm busy."
"You could at least talk quieter, he's right here ya' know."
"Sorry, FUCK OFF. Better?"
"He's coming in."
I groaned and looked up from my desk to the man now closing the door behind him, freezing slightly as he addressed me, "Detective."
"Mr. DeWinter." I said dryly, "When did you get back to the States?"
Tall, angular, and sinisterly charming, that was Gale DeWinter, with a voice that could convince steel to curl itself, and he swept his coat behind him before sitting down and taking off his sunglasses, setting them onto my desk and letting his glassy fingernails tap the wooden surface.
I don't know that I had ever actually seen him in real life before, maybe from far away, but never sitting comfortably on the other side of my desk, and in broad daylight and sweeping the stray brown hairs back into the neatly pomade-slickened form.
"Renée told me that you stopped by the house with a few accusations, that she killed Bastian?" He tapped his jaw lightly with his right hand, his left held a simple black fedora on the edge of the arm, and I would have bet anything that it was an authentic from his days in the roaring twenties.
I stopped for a second, thinking back to the specifics of the conversation. "I never accused her of killing him."
He was dead. Not missing. Dead. Ritz had slipped, but whether or not she was actually guilty of the crime was to be proven, regardless of how much I wanted to lock her up for it.
Gale raised an eyebrow, "Regardless, I can assure you, she is innocent of this crime and many others you would seek to blame her for. She has a terrible habit of taking the blame while believing that she is bettering the clan."
I glanced down to the last testimony I had read, "I'll take your opinion into consideration." I quickly looked back up at him, "Bloody Mary. Bastian was last seen with her; would we be able to question her?"
It must have been a stroke of luck that he had come to me at that moment, or even that I had that particular testimony on my desk. Gale was both Mary's sire and clan leader, and therefore he was all the permission I needed to interrogate her.
He leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his long nose for a few seconds before letting out a small deep chuckle, "Actually, that is the very reason why I've come to you. You see, Mary is dead."
Well fuck; there went my best lead, straight into the dirt in a heap of flames.
"Actually," Gale hummed, "Bastian did me that favor. Your massacres will stop."
I had briefly seen the report of Bastian's last commission, but the torrent of panic that I had induced with his disappearance and Jenna's early-morning phone call had somehow kept me from looking it over fully, and even what spots of it I had seen were nothing but professional facts all pointing to Mary as the butcher. Bastian had been quicker about this kill than any others.
"Renée received the head and Bastian went on his way, she called me immediately following your visit and I returned."
"Would I be able to formally interview Ritz?"
"I am neither Renée's sire, nor am I her master."
I nodded slowly; there was no use in arguing with him over Ritz's alibi, the few laws that were in place that kept me away from vampires were well placed strategically, and put in place with Gale's help—he knew them better than anyone else. This was exactly the reason why we even had a vampire bounty hunter on staff.
"How is the child? Is she well?" He asked cautiously.
"Jenna's fine."
"Glad to hear it." He swallowed and drew a slow breath, "I want to adopt her."
Fuck no. "You think Bast would have been okay with that?" It was obligatory, much better than what I wanted to say. Bast must have been rolling in the grave he dug for himself, the same vampires who killed his parents taking his sister into their care? I had heard too many horror stories about children taken into vampire covens to be kept as pets and fed upon over years until their bodies gave out. I glanced at my coffee and felt sickened at the thought of Jenna in that house.
"The most logical explanation for Bastian's disappearance is that one of Marley's lackeys came out of hiding and came for him. Renée said that Bastian was wounded from his encounter with Mary, meaning he left the house with blood on him and perhaps a few broken bones. He was already a target." He gave me a hard look, "I am quite fond of the child, and not for feeding purposes so get that out of your head this instant. I do not wish for her to become a Van Durham pet for them to spite Bastian with."
I swallowed back bile, "I'm glad we agree on that front."
"Likewise." He kept his gaze on me for a few minutes, not even blinking, and then he stood with the same swoop that he had sat down with, "I'm starting the legal procedures whether or not you approve, and I would very much like for Jenna to visit us at the house. You may accompany her if you feel it necessary for the time being."
He turned away from me to head to the door, and I don't really know what came over me in that moment, but I just blurted it out: "I hate to be shitty with you, but I'll be starting the procedures as well. Do you really think they'll allow a vampire custody rather than a human?"
He turned back to me with a small smile, "If you're apologizing for this shouldn't you also be apologizing for telling me to "fuck off" over the intercom? Rather, screaming it over the intercom?" He slid his sunglasses on and brushed the stray brown hairs back once more with the smooth flip of his fedora returning to his head, "Until we meet again."
Alice was going to give me an earful.
Bastian's been missing for almost forty-eight hours, and I suddenly realize that I've been strictly referring to him as just "missing", but deep down I know he isn't coming back. What's worse is that I think Jenna's come to that conclusion faster and easier than I have.
She woke earlier than the kids despite the weekend; I guessed that she had heard my alarm clock, and when I went down to the kitchen she had turned on the coffee pot. I was a little thrown off by the gesture at first, but I think that was when it all started to sink in for me, like it had already sunk in for Jenna. She wouldn't have to take care of her brother anymore, but she still wanted to take care of someone, to fill the void I guess.
The sun would rise late, the December air outside coaxed fog on the windows, and the crisp chill coming from it confused my senses with the smell of burning coffee that had spilled onto the burner and charred several times before.
She watched me walk out to the car in the driveway with my thermos full of coffee, I would later get the call from Alice that she had made breakfast for everyone and finished up the laundry, but I had seen that coming.
I get to work early most days, and today was no exception, I don't hate the sight of the police station near as much as Bastian did, there's nothing about this place that makes me nervous anymore, maybe when I first started at the bottom of the totem pole, but not now. My secretary, a younger dark-skinned girl named Anita, picked up on my work habits early and made it a point to beat me to the office every day without fail. I have to commend her on her efforts, I never really tell her, but I'm rather impressed at her dedication. She gives me a sweetly smug smile as I pass her with a nod on my way to the office.
The pile of papers was on my desk, all information about the night of Bastian's disappearance. Everyone understood what this case meant to me, and I'm sure several of them were looking for some brownie points; I immediately set to work on them.
The more I looked over the various accounts of eyewitnesses that night, the more it didn't make sense. Bastian had gone out the back of the club with the infamous Bloody Mary alone? Had he gotten that careless? That was the last that any living had seen him, the vampire code was iffy on letting police into their affairs, and by the time I would be able to wade through their red tape, it would probably be too late for Bastian.
Anita's voice came over the small intercom, "You have a visitor, David."
I pressed the button, "Tell 'em to fuck off, I'm busy."
"You could at least talk quieter, he's right here ya' know."
"Sorry, FUCK OFF. Better?"
"He's coming in."
I groaned and looked up from my desk to the man now closing the door behind him, freezing slightly as he addressed me, "Detective."
"Mr. DeWinter." I said dryly, "When did you get back to the States?"
Tall, angular, and sinisterly charming, that was Gale DeWinter, with a voice that could convince steel to curl itself, and he swept his coat behind him before sitting down and taking off his sunglasses, setting them onto my desk and letting his glassy fingernails tap the wooden surface.
I don't know that I had ever actually seen him in real life before, maybe from far away, but never sitting comfortably on the other side of my desk, and in broad daylight and sweeping the stray brown hairs back into the neatly pomade-slickened form.
"Renée told me that you stopped by the house with a few accusations, that she killed Bastian?" He tapped his jaw lightly with his right hand, his left held a simple black fedora on the edge of the arm, and I would have bet anything that it was an authentic from his days in the roaring twenties.
I stopped for a second, thinking back to the specifics of the conversation. "I never accused her of killing him."
He was dead. Not missing. Dead. Ritz had slipped, but whether or not she was actually guilty of the crime was to be proven, regardless of how much I wanted to lock her up for it.
Gale raised an eyebrow, "Regardless, I can assure you, she is innocent of this crime and many others you would seek to blame her for. She has a terrible habit of taking the blame while believing that she is bettering the clan."
I glanced down to the last testimony I had read, "I'll take your opinion into consideration." I quickly looked back up at him, "Bloody Mary. Bastian was last seen with her; would we be able to question her?"
It must have been a stroke of luck that he had come to me at that moment, or even that I had that particular testimony on my desk. Gale was both Mary's sire and clan leader, and therefore he was all the permission I needed to interrogate her.
He leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his long nose for a few seconds before letting out a small deep chuckle, "Actually, that is the very reason why I've come to you. You see, Mary is dead."
Well fuck; there went my best lead, straight into the dirt in a heap of flames.
"Actually," Gale hummed, "Bastian did me that favor. Your massacres will stop."
I had briefly seen the report of Bastian's last commission, but the torrent of panic that I had induced with his disappearance and Jenna's early-morning phone call had somehow kept me from looking it over fully, and even what spots of it I had seen were nothing but professional facts all pointing to Mary as the butcher. Bastian had been quicker about this kill than any others.
"Renée received the head and Bastian went on his way, she called me immediately following your visit and I returned."
"Would I be able to formally interview Ritz?"
"I am neither Renée's sire, nor am I her master."
I nodded slowly; there was no use in arguing with him over Ritz's alibi, the few laws that were in place that kept me away from vampires were well placed strategically, and put in place with Gale's help—he knew them better than anyone else. This was exactly the reason why we even had a vampire bounty hunter on staff.
"How is the child? Is she well?" He asked cautiously.
"Jenna's fine."
"Glad to hear it." He swallowed and drew a slow breath, "I want to adopt her."
Fuck no. "You think Bast would have been okay with that?" It was obligatory, much better than what I wanted to say. Bast must have been rolling in the grave he dug for himself, the same vampires who killed his parents taking his sister into their care? I had heard too many horror stories about children taken into vampire covens to be kept as pets and fed upon over years until their bodies gave out. I glanced at my coffee and felt sickened at the thought of Jenna in that house.
"The most logical explanation for Bastian's disappearance is that one of Marley's lackeys came out of hiding and came for him. Renée said that Bastian was wounded from his encounter with Mary, meaning he left the house with blood on him and perhaps a few broken bones. He was already a target." He gave me a hard look, "I am quite fond of the child, and not for feeding purposes so get that out of your head this instant. I do not wish for her to become a Van Durham pet for them to spite Bastian with."
I swallowed back bile, "I'm glad we agree on that front."
"Likewise." He kept his gaze on me for a few minutes, not even blinking, and then he stood with the same swoop that he had sat down with, "I'm starting the legal procedures whether or not you approve, and I would very much like for Jenna to visit us at the house. You may accompany her if you feel it necessary for the time being."
He turned away from me to head to the door, and I don't really know what came over me in that moment, but I just blurted it out: "I hate to be shitty with you, but I'll be starting the procedures as well. Do you really think they'll allow a vampire custody rather than a human?"
He turned back to me with a small smile, "If you're apologizing for this shouldn't you also be apologizing for telling me to "fuck off" over the intercom? Rather, screaming it over the intercom?" He slid his sunglasses on and brushed the stray brown hairs back once more with the smooth flip of his fedora returning to his head, "Until we meet again."
Alice was going to give me an earful.
