Siren's Secret

1. First Blood

It smells like decay and salt. A grim detail in an otherwise gorgeous Saturday morning in Santa Cruz.  

Wading through the dozens of curious onlookers who came to the pier for a day of weekend fun, Detective Rieka Stephens makes her way to the roped off crime scene on the beach area to the left of the busy pier. 

She flashes her badge to the beat cops at the tape that are keeping the pedestrians from getting too close and they let her in.  

She smiles as her favorite Medical examiner, Georgia Munroe, is kneeling over the body. 

"Good morning Georgia. What do you have for me today?" Rieka askes as she pulls her dark brown hair into a ponytail and dons some latex gloves. 

"Oh good! I'm glad you're here" Georgia says then lowers her voice, "this one will definitely need your special talents."  

Rieka nods in understanding.  She is secretly a Werewolf, well, technically A wolf/angel hybrid.  Most of the time hybrids take on the traits of one side or the other. Rieka was the first and only winged wolf.  A true hybrid with talents from both her Werewolf Alpha Father and Angel Warrior Mother. 

Georgia only knew Rieka's secret as she was also supernatural- she was a Blood Witch, which was a special type of witch that uses blood to fuel their spells.  Many think they are inherently evil, however, Georgia found her abilities were well suited to make her an excellent Medical examiner for law enforcement.  No one would question her having blood on and around her at any given time and often she used her magics to help find the culprits.  

Rieka and Georgia were some of the very few supernaturals that choose to live and work alongside humans- using their unique abilities to help everyone and not just seclude themselves as most supernatural beings do. 

Leaning over the body, Rieka took in the grim sight. 

"Asian Male, mid 20's.  A chunk of his neck is missing. Do you think it was a vamp that got carried away?" Georgia asks. 

Rieka discreetly sniffs and moves the body to get a closer look at the neck, "I don't think so.  Usually vamps leave a distinct stench behind on the victim, this one doesn't seem to have it."  

Georgia's brows knit together in confusion, "Wouldn't the ocean saltwater wash away any smell?" 

"Possibly. Which is why I'm not ruling anything out just yet." Rieka looked over the body for anything unusual, "any other markings or anything that could give us an idea of what happened?"

"He didn't put up much of a fight.  Other than the strange punctures on his shoulders, there are no other marks that are from before he was killed. All this bruising up and down the arms, legs and back are post-mortem. Most likely from hitting rocks and the pillars of the pier during his time in the ocean.  I guesstimate that time of death was between 12am and 5 am. The water makes it tricky to get a great estimate. I'll have something more concrete for you after I get him back to the lab" Georgia said, standing up and squinting as the early morning sun shone on her chocolate skin and caramel eyes. 

"Great" said Rieka,"Keep me posted. I'll chat with Johnson and Patrovsky to see what they've found. Also, you should probably bring some sunglasses next time."  Georgia laughed and waved her off before kneeling back down to make more notes. 

Taking off the gloves and disposing of them, Rieka's aqua eyes scanned the beach quickly before heading to where a few other cops and first responders were gathered. 

Detectives Patrick Johnson and Anton Patrovsky were two of the best detectives on the force other than Rieka.  Johnson was Afro Latina and tall, ruggedly handsome with a charming smile which made him great at getting info from witnesses.  His personality always reminded Rieka of her brother Jason who was back on pack lands. Both were smart, calm and women tended to throw themselves at them.