The Scottsville Vampire Invasion

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 

The early morning sun barely peeks above the tree line, giving just enough light for me to make out the empty beer bottles and hypodermic needles that litter the ground of the jungle gym at the trailer park. The medal chains to the swings are covered in rust. I wonder when the last time a kid actually played on that thing was. What a shit show. 

I step out of my cruiser and my foot falls into a puddle of mud. I pull it out making a loud sucking sound. I stare at the dark ground and focus where I can put my other foot to avoid the sludge. I find a secure landing spot and pull myself out of the stuffy police cruiser. Stepping into the cold morning air actually feels somewhat refreshing. I keep my attention downwards to avoid the gunk at my feet as I head over to the murder scene. 

I spot Josh and Bear standing outside of a trailer. The indoor light is on, and the door is open, illuminating the area. Next to the trailer is a small, old brown Nissan also with its door open. The car is still on. It emits a low hum with a small trail of gray fog coming from the exhaust pipe. There is a person inside slumped over, her head lying on the steering wheel. She is facing me with her eyes and mouth hanging open.  

I walk past Bear and Josh and stick my head into the car. It's Kim from the Corner, the one that we begged to give us information about Jenn so she wouldn't end up like this. 

The stench of old cigarettes is overpowering. There is garbage all over her car with empty diet coke bottles, smashed cigarette boxes and a few fast food wrappers lying on the floor and on the seats, a layer of filth that has been here for years. I lean over her and see the trademark gash in her neck. I turn the car off, pull myself out of the vehicle and scan the area.  

The residents of the trailer park have come outside to see the spectacle. The early morning hour has many of them wearing the clothes they slept in. This is the one neighborhood that hasn't made an exodus out of this town. Existing in the lowest on the economic strata, they're trapped without the means to escape. The sun has struggled over the trees and is producing enough light to see. 

"Who found her?" I ask Josh and Bear, who are walking over to the car. 

"I did," Bear says. "I was running the regular patrol and saw her car like this. First I checked on her. Then I saw the trailer was open so I went inside." He points at the white doublewide. "There was no one in there. I asked her neighbors and they said her daughter should have been home. I didn't touch the car. I wanted to wait for everyone to get here." 

"Kim was either coming or going. Who was supposed to be taking care of her kid?" I ask. 

"The couple next door said that she would just leave her daughter when she went out. They think she was probably coming home since she worked late." 

"She just left her kid here alone?" I ask. 

Bear shrugs his shoulders.  

"What if something happened to her?" I ask. 

"Something did happen to her," Josh says. 

"So now we have a missing person and a murder?" I say. 

The two nod.  

"Not another kid. I can't go through what I did with the Downey boy. We're going to find this girl. Go inside the home and get out a picture. We're going to fan the area. I'll call Sheriff Hamilton in Arronsville and see if we can use their search dogs. Hopefully, the girl got scared and just wandered out and we'll run into her. We got to move fast. It's cold out here." 

Josh hurries into the trailer, and Bear heads out to talk to the neighbors. I take out my phone to call Sheriff Hamilton in Arronsville when Glenn pulls up in his car. Not a surprise. The guy shows up just when the bodies do.