Lethal Beauty

XII - Disconnect

A dog was barking sharply from a distance and an elderly female wearing a tweed coat grabbed the animal by the leash roughly. The woodland a few feet away from her was gathering people, mostly cops. She was intrigued by the scene but also perturbed, crimes of such gravity rarely happened around the city. Straightening her coat, and her hat, she jerked the leash back and the dog followed her with a thud.

Inside the woodland, investigators and forensics assembled around a dead body. She was identified as Doctor Bernadette Harris, a professor at the nearby university. Decomposition was evident by the blowflies that appeared to immediately lay eggs on a deceased's body.

Detective Franz Riley and his young cohort by the name of Ake were collecting evidence along with some of the members of the forensics. The older seasoned detective was down on bended knee, checking the body closely. People were starting to pile up like a congregation, some of them were even carrying their cameras, ignoring police warnings. Ake, who was standing behind the detective looked at them with intensifying disapproval. Although he was young himself, he was having difficulty relating to today's youth.

"Ake quit hovering behind me."

"I'm sorry, sir."

Postmortem blood samples were sometimes rendered useless for certain tests in the hours after death due to bacteria and breakdown processes that could affect the results. The woman died within a forestry area and decomposition began in the minutes following the death.

Franz narrowed his gaze to the bound hands and his forehead puckered. She was holding something in her clenched fist. That something was a piece of paper. He stood up to unfold the crumpled note, Ake looked over his shoulder too.

A drawing of a cross with two skulls on each side. It wasn't a perfect illustration but it served its purpose.

"I know this symbol," the older detective muttered.

The younger one looked at him. "Cult?"

"Idiot. It's a university. Saint Constantine."

"Oh...how did you know?"

"Because my nephew was sent there thirteen years ago."

The detectives walked towards the patrol car, and the younger one was still puzzled. "Thirteen years ago? I thought they started sending human representatives in that school when the unification treaty was established?"

"Incorrect. They have been sending human students there even before the unification treaty was fully established. Vampires were eager to prove to the humans that they were safe to be around and that drinking blood was their only means to survive. Meanwhile, the human government wanted them for something else."

"What something else?"

Franz turned around to look at him. "What do you think the vampires are well-known for?"

Ake stopped and realized this immediately. Strength. Power. Immortality. Three things that humans were inferior to.

"So, what now?"

Franz Riley handed him the note. "Contact the EHPU HQ. I know two detectives assigned to keep an eye on our newest human representative in Saint Constantine. The note may mean something more to them than to us."

⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧

The weekend came and Abel couldn't even be more excited about this. Lexus and Milo promised to accompany him around Transylvania and visit this exclusive shop frequented by human visitors. They called it "Platea de Lamiae" or the Vampire Plaza. Just like the name, vampire merchants sell occult stuff in the place, and humans, specifically influencers, were interested in their merchandise. On top of that, Abel also received his first weekly allowance from the human government and it was in fact, a generous amount.