CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next morning I awoke to the sound of voices. I opened my eyes to see the living room full of men and women in uniform. What happened and what did I miss?
“Relax, Shawn. We’re just going over some things in a place we are hoping she won’t look right now.” John said as he noticed I was awake.
I stood up and stretched, wondering why my alarm didn’t wake me in time to get ready for work. Seeing John there had thrown me off. It was Sunday. No work. “Wait, what are you doing here in uniform? I thought you were told, as well as me, you would be fired if you showed up before Monday.
Before he could answer, Dad walked in. “You’re off this case, Shawn. You’re staying here where we know you’ll be safe.”
“Not a chance Dad. I’ll go insane if I have to stay in hiding. After what happened last night, this has to stop NOW. Davis is here so he’ll have my back. Besides, the best way to get her is for her to come to me. And I am sure as hell not going to let that happen while Mom, Mark and Courtney are in the same place as I am.” I grabbed my bag and headed to the bathroom to get a shower and dressed. Or I would have if Dad hadn’t stepped in front of me.
“I will not allow you to be put in harm’s way. We have a plan and you aren’t included in it. We’ll find her and put her in jail without you. And have you forgotten I’ll fire you if you report for work before Monday?”
“You’re joking, right? I’m not saying you can’t do it without me. I’m just saying you WON’T do it without me because I’m not staying here. This started because of me and I’m going to see the end of it. I will be involved. And if I remember correctly, you told Davis the same thing.”
“Do I need to fire you? And after last night I need all of my best here. That’s why Davis isn’t going to get fired.”
“Do you really think I won’t go after her if you do fire me? Remember, I’m a vampire and have ways of doing things none of you have learned of yet. I move faster, quieter, and can hide in places you will never see me. So what will it be? Will you allow me to be part of the team or will I go out on my own?” I felt bad for talking to him like that but I’ll be damned if I’m just going to sit back and not be a part of taking down the one who has tried to hurt my friends and ruin my life. Not to forget the victims she has already killed.
With a scared look he gave in. “Fine. But Adams and Jones will be with you and Davis. I think you should inform your friends where you get your coffee every day. I’m sure Beth knows about them.”
I took off to the bathroom and showered and dressed in record time. I KNOW Beth knows about Casey and Julie. I’ve sent her there to get coffee several times before. I had to get to them before she did.
Davis and Jones had trouble keeping up with the two vampires. Adams had noticed my intent before they had and quickly caught up to me. We were in our cars with them turned on and in gear before they were on the porch.
“Damn boss. Give us some warning next time. You two move way too fast for us to keep up.” Knowing the “boss” comment was a smart ass remark from Davis as he got in; I hit the gas and backed out onto the road. Having to go through the grass to do it because Mark’s car was behind mine, I came out in front of Adams, jerked it into drive and hit the gas.
Slowing down when I got near the store I realized I should have let Davis drive. That way, I wouldn’t have to keep an eye on the road while I was checking things out. Hopefully, between Adams and me, nothing went unnoticed.
We pulled into a parking place and headed to the door. Inside I could hear the everyday noise of the store and Casey talking to someone I hoped was Julie.
I pulled open the door to see a smiling Casey run over to me and Julie behind the counter.
Casey threw her arms around me and gave me a tight hug before saying “I was worried about you. You didn’t call me like you said you would. I was afraid your dad had changed his mind.” Leaning back to look at me, she finally noticed the concern on my face. “What’s wrong? Why are you all in uniform? Aren’t you off on Sundays?” The form fitting blue jeans and light pink shirt she was wearing along with her hair framing her face was just about enough to make me forget why I was there. But the look of concern in her eyes was enough to remind me.
“You and Julie need to get out of here. Beth is the one doing this and she’s already sent her brother after Courtney. Luckily, Mark scared him away from Courtney and I fought with him until Adams shot him. He’s no longer a problem but she’s still out there and she knows we are friends. I’m afraid she’ll come after the two of you when she finds out her brother is dead.”
Casey just stood there with fear in her eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder if she regretted getting involved with me. That is until she planted a kiss on my lips that lite a fire inside of me. After she pulled away, I noticed Julie had come out from behind the counter and locked the doors.
“Shawn, you haven’t fed today have you?” For a moment I had forgotten Julie could spot a vampire that needed to feed.
“No. I ran out of the house when my Dad told me to make sure you two were okay and somewhere safe. I’ll go back and feed once I’m sure you are.”
“We’re fine, Shawn. Go feed.” Casey started to lead me to the door but I stopped her.
“I’m fine. At least I’ll be fine when you two are safe. I’ll only feed when that happens. Now, do you two have somewhere to go?” I took Casey in my arms and raised her head to look her in the eyes. “I almost lost one of my best friends last night. Please don’t make me worry about you and Julie.”
Julie stepped up and put her hand on my shoulder. “We will go home. We should be safe there. We live in the country and no one else is there.”
“No one? So if something were to happen then no one could help you? That won’t help. You can go to my parents. Mark and Courtney are there. Mom won’t mind.”
“Shawn, we won’t put your parents in that position. We’ll be fine at home.”
“Julie, I don’t want you where there is no help. There are already extra eyes on my parent’s house and Sadie is there. I’ll feel better if I know you aren’t alone in the country with no neighbors. Besides, they know how I feel about Casey. That’s why Dad made a point of telling me to get here.”
Behind me, Adams and Jones were soaking in the news that I had a girlfriend. In the time they’ve known me; I haven’t even shown an interest in girls around them let alone had a girlfriend. Kind of makes me wonder if they thought I was gay. Not that there’s a problem with that. But I’m not.
I finally get them to agree with going to my parent’s house and after they finished closing the store, we headed over to their place to get some things for them. Adams and Jones were always right behind me just as they were ordered. Not that I minded. Going out into the country was going to be dangerous enough as it was. But with three vampires looking, listening and smelling, not much, if anything, will get by us. And this time I remembered to let Davis drive.
Pulling onto a dirt road I would have missed hidden behind the trees if Julie wasn’t leading the way, I started to get a knot in my stomach. They really did live in the country. No one would know this place was here unless they were told about it and looking for it. Trees lined both sides of the drive for about a mile. They opened up to reveal a white single story house with a wraparound porch.
My senses were on double time. Every smell, sound and sight was enhanced a hundred percent. As we got out of our cars I could tell Casey and Adams were just as alert as I was. Even though this was my first time here and I wasn’t familiar with the scents, I could still pick out the one I feared would be there. Adams did too. I made a beeline for Casey and Julie with Adams right behind me. The smell was a day old maybe two at the most, but she had still been there.
“She’s been here.” I told Casey as I put my hand in hers.
“Are you sure?”
“Can’t you smell something different about your place? She’s got kind of a sweet scent mixed with musk.”
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nbsp; With fear in her eyes she turned to face me. “This smell has been here before. Not long after the first murder. I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Adams, let’s do a perimeter walk. Make sure she isn’t hiding. Davis, you and Jones stay with Casey and Julie. Stay sharp and if you see or hear anything, call for us. We’ll hear you from whereever we are.”
The “Yes, sir” from all three of them sounded like it was coming out of a surround sound system. Before I headed off to walk around the house, Casey pulled me to her and kissed me with a passion I didn’t want to walk away from.
“Be careful, Shawn. I don’t want you or your men to get hurt.”
“Don’t worry about us Casey. We’ll be fine. Stay alert to any sounds or smells you aren’t sure of. If anything is awry then call for me. I’ll be here in seconds.” I turned around and headed for my search.
There was maybe four acres of land around their home that would be considered their yard. After that, there were woods as far as the (vampire) eye could see. We walked about a mile away from the home in a half circle each and meeting in the middle just to be safe. With a breath of relief from finding no evidence of her being there, I walked over to where the others were. Another breath of relief came when Adams reported he didn’t find anything troubling either.
“Boss, I suggest we make this quick. She could come back anytime. Once she goes to the store and finds it closed she’ll know you got to them first.”
“I agree Jones. Ladies, just grab enough clothes to last for a few days and only what you absolutely need. Adams and I will stay out here and Davis and Jones will go in. Do you have any pets?”
“I have a cat.” Casey answered as she turned to the house to make her way in.
“This is going to be fun but get your cat. Sadie and Nacho will just have to behave themselves.”
Ten minutes later we were back in our cars and on the way to my parent’s house. There was a change in passengers though. Casey rode with me and Davis drove Casey’s car with Julie who drove between Adams and me because of their lack of a vampire in the car. I just needed to be close to Casey. I also called Mom to let her know we were on the way. She reassured Casey she was happy to let them stay there and she would have lunch ready when we arrived.
We rode in silence for most of the way home. She sat next to me holding my hand while looking out the window. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling and couldn’t see her face to determine if it was regret or not. I knew she was worried.
“Shawn, when this is all over, lets go out just the two of us.” Casey turned her enchanting green eyes to me and smiled.
I wasn’t expecting her to be so forward. Definitely not with all that’s going on right now. However, I gave her an answer without too much time going by. “I’d love to, Casey.”
Just then my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID to see my brother’s name on the display. “Hey Bryan, what’s up?”
His response told me he wasn’t calling as my brother which surprised me because he normally doesn’t call. “Boss, I think we have a lead on where Beth is.” My older brother calling me boss never felt right, but I couldn’t seem to get him to stop.
“Okay, what’s the lead and where do you think she is?” I ask as I pull onto my parent’s street.
“We found her car at the airport. You know the small one in Maxton where private jets and the like are?”
“Yeah, I know where you are talking about. Have you asked around and shown a picture to see if anyone knows her?” I had pulled into the driveway and was getting out when he answered.
“We did. We asked both people that are here. One of them knows her and said she took her brother’s plane down to Society Hill and will be back in a few hours.”
“Wait, Society Hill, South Carolina? Why the hell did she fly? It’s an hour drive from here. I don’t like this one bit. She’s working on something and we need to head her off before it gets worse. Get word out that when she calls in to get clearance to land we are to be notified at once. You stay there for when she does. I’ll call down to the Society Hill Police Department and see if they can catch her on their end. I’ll let you know what happens.”
I open the door to have a very excited Sadie almost knock me over. Davis had to pull her off so I could make the call to the Society Hill Police Chief. Davis also introduced Casey and Julie to my parents.
I spoke with the Police Chief about the details of what’s going on (but left out the vampire part) and gave him my number. He promised to send someone out to the airport as soon as we hung up and to call with any information they get.
“Casey, Julie, I’ll show you two ladies to your rooms.” But before I could move, Casey, Mark, Courtney and Julie had me cornered.
“You need to feed first. You just slurred your words like you’re drunk.” Casey took my hand and led me to the couch with Courtney right behind me.
“Okay, call me what you want but I’ve never fed in front of so many people. Let’s go to Dad’s office first.”
With a sigh of relief coming from behind us (not sure who it was but my guess would be Mom), Courtney and I went into Dad’s office alone.
About an hour later I received a call from the Chief of Police in Society Hill. The plane was still there but no sign of her. The individuals working there said they remember her getting into a dark colored car but had no idea where she was going or when she was coming back.