Bite Shift

59

Once the sun was down, and I knew Rhys was at work, I jumped into my van. I had a small back pack in the passenger's seat. It contained a Thermos full of the left-over, slow-cooked warm blood, a notebook, pen and digital camera. I didn't know what I was looking for but I knew that I had to get to the bottom of everything tonight, before I went insane with suspicion and fear.

I was halfway to the little cottage when my phone rang. I quickly glanced at the screen and saw DR. KITCHNER flash across it. I took a second to contemplate my next step and hit answer when I couldn't think of anything else.

"Kate?" The Bluetooth had connected to the van speakers and his voice filled the interior. I stayed silent so he repeated the question. "Kate?"

"Hello, Dr. Kitchner."

"Oh, thank God. Are you okay?"

I was, momentarily, taken aback by the question. Why does he care? "Yes, I'm fine, Why?"

"Did I do something? Did I upset you?"

Now, I was really unsure why he called. "What do you mean?"

"You called off. I want to be sure it is not because of me. I crossed professional boundaries with you. I am your doctor and I should not have allowed my feelings to become anything else. Please forgive me."

Great. Now, I have pulled Alex into my mess. Once I figure out what was killing girls, and what the hell I was going to do, I needed to do some damage control with anyone in my path. "Alex. I promise. My call off has nothing to do with you. I came back too fast. That's all."

Silence. I heard him breathing so I waited. "Are you sure?"

Geez. Last thing I need is to hold his hand, too. "Listen. I'm not coming in because my life is a steaming pile of shit. I am dealing with problems much bigger than our little make out session at work. When I figure everything out, I will be back. Worry about finding a cure.

Even to me, that sounded supremely bitchy but I did not have the time or energy to stroke any egos. I had enough to deal with.

"You're right. Good evening, Kate." And, he hung up.

"Shit," I said to an empty car. Nice job, girl, alienate the one person who can help you get back your old life.

At that point, I, honestly, didn't care. I needed to worry about bigger things. I could fix the small stuff later. I had to get back to my mission: 1) Find the killer. 2) Let Sorin handle it 3) Take care of my daughters and not let anything else distract me. 4) Wait for a cure.

I flipped off the headlights when I turned into Rhys' long driveway. I was worried someone would see me, even though I knew his closest neighbor was too far away. For an instant, I worried about cameras, but I had seen his whole house. There were no monitors displaying a video feed. Despite knowing I was not going to be seen, I felt overwhelming guilt for sneaking onto Rhys' property. He had saved my life and kept me here on Earth to raise my kids. He exposed his secret for me. He had been generous and welcoming.

And, I was thanking him by wondering if he was a killer and breaking into his home. Classy, Kate.

I stopped the van and looked at the cottage. The flowers, the rocking chair, the hooting owl... they all gave me a feeling of peace and refuge. This was my sanctuary. I couldn't believe that it was anything else. I was going to search his home, find nothing, feel guilty and apologize. Then, we could focus on finding the real killer.