Scarlett Kisses

Chapter 2: To Catch a Killer

Chapter 2

To Catch a Killer

After getting all the information that I could from the police station, which wasn't much, I decided to do a bit of investigating on my own. I walked down the main street, looking at all the small buildings and homes located just off the sidewalks. Most store windows were either empty or sporting out of style mannequins that were coated in a thick cover of dust, obviously having been abandoned.

I sighed to myself. I had grown up in a small town like this, before I had been turned into a creature of the night. Of course, it had been different, with oil lamps and candles lining the streets instead of bright electric lights. The air had smelled of wood smoke and freshly baked breads, instead of the heavy smog produced by automobile exhaust. But, they had been similar in the fact that the communities were closely knit and generally quiet. A horrible crime, like unexpectedly finding a dead body, would have shaken the very ground beneath our feet. Mothers would pull their children indoors at the unknown dangers in the darkness. Fathers would load their weapons and wait into the late hours of the night, listening for any sign of intrusion. Brothers would tell sisters stories of the boogey man hiding under their beds.

The thoughts stung at my heart and I forced myself to pull back from that long ago time and into the present. I knew that the police had no suspect, but the first body had been found in the alley behind the local furniture store, Tulip's. So, that was the first place I went. I don't know what exactly I was expecting to find. As usual, the area's scent had been contaminated by the many people who had worked the crime scene and by the gawkers who had come later to view the site. There was no chance that I was going to pick out the killer's scent from all the others, so I settled with good old fashion detective work and used my vampire eyes to search through the dark, seeking any clues the humans might have missed.

Nothing. Damn.

Well, on to plan B... After I had gotten all the official reports from the police station's desk manager, I had asked him about his personal opinion about who the killer could be. He had glanced side to side, checking to make sure that we wouldn't be over heard before saying "Well, now if you ask me, it has to be one of those Downtown Demon's. Maybe Billy Lars, the head of all them sneaky sons-a".

I cut him off, my curiosity peaked. "What, my good sir, is a Downtown Demon?". I could feel the side of my lips starting to pull up in a satisfied grin. This would be good information to know, should my searching come up empty. 

"It's that gang that started up in the deserted part of downtown about fifteen years ago. Trouble, all of them. That Lars, he's the leader you know.", he said as a statement, not a question, like everyone in the world knew that.

"Of course", I cooed at him. "And this Lars has a history of violence?"

"Oh, yeah", he nodded vigorously. "He just got out of jail a few months ago. Served two years after beating that Mullins kid nearly to death. Him or that guy, Lomax. He's the Demon's second in command. He's killed at least three people, but the charges never stick. We call him Slippery Stanley Lomax". He had added with a satisfied nod.

Since I was already downtown, I'd just head over to their little bar on the edge of the town limits and see what this Lars character had to say for himself. I had just turned on my heels to head that way when a shriek broke through the silence, followed by a sickeningly wet thud. I turned, caught off guard, just in time to see a new body land on the pavement, just past the building.

"What the f-". I started, my eyes shooting up to the rooftop. There was a figure standing up there, looking over at the mangled and twisted body on the asphalt. I couldn't make out his face, because he was wearing some sort of ski mask that covered everything except his eyes and mouth. 

Seeing me, the figure took off like a bat out of hell, running the length of the building before jumping the gap to the next one. Without a second throught, I took a few long steps back and then took a running jump towards the rooftops. Now, vampires have some cool tricks, but I couldn't straight jump onto a tall building. Luckily, this one was just a couple stories and I could jump up enough to grasp the ledge with my fingers and pull myself up so I could begin my chase. I took off at a human jog after the man, determined to have a bit of fun on this one. After all, I just eaten last night and wasn't that hungry.