Later that morning Clara found herself sitting alone in Lucien apartment. A man by the name of Detective William Kinney came by and asked if he could see him down at the station. Lucien told her to just wait there and he'd be back soon enough. It was incredibly boring, even with Alexis around.
She stared out the large windows and watched the city of New Orleans. It was almost noon so the city was still asleep. It'd wake back up when the clock struck midnight. It didn't take long to realize that this place was quite nocturnal; especially with all the tourists around. A vampire could truly make himself at home here.
"You know you, you are allowed to leave this place." Alexis said. She wore a knowing smile. "Why don't you explore the city? I made that new daylight for a reason."
Clara held up her hand and looked at the small Amber ring. A replacement for the one she lost a few days ago. She pursed her lips then met Alexis' gaze. "I suppose. There's bar just down the street."
"Exactly. You don't know how long Lucien wants to stay. So, enjoy the city while you're here." She walked back into her bedroom and shut the door.
Alexis was right, Clara didn't need to stay here. She grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. Maybe Elijah was around to have a chat over dinner or something. Though, with Lucien around the odds were that he was awfully busy. She folded her arms tightly across her chest and walked quickly down the busy, yet narrow, street.
Instead of going to Rousseau's, like she planned, she ended up at a small cafe in the French Quarter. She was seated outside with a cold coffee in her hand and a newspaper in front of her; the paper brought back a memory she wished to forget.
The headline read: Serial Killer Strikes New Orleans. She quickly grabbed the thin paper and read the arrival only to be reminded more of the memory. The victims were drained of blood and had a smile cut into his cheeks. She shuddered.
It couldn't have been Lucien.
They were together the entire time. Not once did she remember him ever leaving to go cut up some poor defenseless human. He just brought them back to drain them, which wasn't her style but she was in no position to complain about his dieting habits.
Out of the corner of her eye, Clara saw someone watching her. By the smell, the man wasn't a human. He wore dark, expensive, clothing and a facial expression that said he worked for a higher power.
"Hello Ms. De Martel."
Clara jerked her head around and found a member of the Strix standing behind her chair. She smiled, "Shen Min. What a pleasant surprise."
"Your brother wants to see you." He replied; ignoring her greeting.
Clara rolled her eyes, "And what if I don't want to see him?" Shen Min pulled out a syringe, concealing it partially in his jacket. He smiled back causing her to nod. "Ok. Fine." She got to her feet and grabbed her coffee, "Let's go see my brother."
♔ ☾♔ ☾♔ ☾♔ ☾
Lucien sat quietly in the interrogation and watched the door. He'd left Clara with Alexis who, undoubtedly, was probably encouraging her to leave and go explore New Orleans. They could both use a break from each other. At least he thought so.
Detective Kenney suddenly walked in, disrupting his train of thought. He sat down across from him and tossed the case file for the serial murders across the table for him to read.
"Mr. Castle, thought you might want to see this."
Lucien took the file and opened it perusing the photos inside of the men who were murdered by the serial killer. "Oh, I read about this. Those poor men..." He glanced at the photos more closely and corrected himself. "Ah, in life, they were anything but poor. Solid gold cuff-links, Bulgari watches... Such ostentatious displays of wealth no doubt attracted the attention of some vile criminal element."
