later, the plane touched down and we were immediately en route to the Milwaukee Police Department, District Seven. Now, as we proceeded to step through the front doors of headquarters we weren’t given a very warm welcome. Every police officer that greeted us appeared less than happy of our arrival, as most of them scowled as we walked by.
“Tough crowd,” Chase grumbled.
I wasn’t surprised to receive this kind of reaction. It was understandable, so I tried not to let it affect me. First off, it was close to eleven now. All the cops here were running on empty and probably had been for days since they were in the deep of the investigation.
Second, the crimes happened in their city. They weren’t looking for help in finding these missing women. They wanted to be the heroes and I respected that.
However, the choice wasn’t theirs any longer. Seven young women had lost their lives and two more remained missing—the need for pride within this police force had left. I could handle the grumpy men if it meant these two women were found alive.
It wasn’t often we were brought in on a case where the victims were still missing.
Usually, they were already dead and we were hunting a killer. To say this was a unusual situation would be very accurate.
Just as the door slammed behind me, a kind voice called out, “Mike.”
I glanced toward the voice on my right. The man’s tone matched his look with equal softness.
His sandy hair with hints of grey around his face was cut almost to his scalp.
His brown eyes squinted from the smile that crossed his lips. I could only assume that this was the the Chief of Police since he was the one greeting us. Standard protocol for this sort of thing and the man had an air of authority around.
“Nice to see you again, Ralph.” Mike extended his hand and confirmed my assumption that this was the man in charge since he knew him by name. “A nasty one you’ve got on your hands.”
“Nasty as it comes.” Ralph gave Mike’s hand a firm shake. “Glad to have you aboard on this one.
The entire city is in a panic.”
I laughed softly. “Wonder why? Some psycho offed seven young women and made them look like Barbie. Now, two more are hidden somewhere with no answers as to where they are.”
Mike shot an annoyed glance my way. Ralph squinted his eyes at me, a move that nearly made them vanish from sight. The warmness I’d witnessed before was now gone.
Yikes! Then as if I said nothing at all, they completely ignored me, swiftly heading off down the hall.
“Not funny then, I take it?” I whispered to Chase.
He just laughed and shook his head.
“No one has a sense of humor anymore.” This was how I dealt with the bad. It might seem cruel at times but if I took it all too serious, getting through the emotional part of this would devour me. I may be a vampire, but it wasn’t how fantasy declared—I did have a soul.
Only a few steps down the hall, we stepped into a meeting room. I cringed the second I cleared the doors and saw the photos that hung on the walls. Seeing what the woman looked like before and what remained of them after was a bit much to take.
Pushing away the unhappiness that rose within me, I took a seat at the table beside Nick and placed my briefcase on the floor as Ralph said, “We’ve given up this workspace for you and your team.”
He pointed down the hall. “We’ve set up our group over there.”
Mike nodded respectfully. “You keep going at the investigation and we’ll start fresh.
Having both teams working independently can only help here.”
That statement almost made me laugh, yet I restrained myself to not get any more stare downs.
Mike was only saying that to keep the peace. He’d never let any other officer into our investigation, nor would he listen to what any of them had to say. He always made it appear as if he cared. I never knew why he bothered with such niceties.
Ralph grabbed the door handle and swung it
“Tough crowd,” Chase grumbled.
I wasn’t surprised to receive this kind of reaction. It was understandable, so I tried not to let it affect me. First off, it was close to eleven now. All the cops here were running on empty and probably had been for days since they were in the deep of the investigation.
Second, the crimes happened in their city. They weren’t looking for help in finding these missing women. They wanted to be the heroes and I respected that.
However, the choice wasn’t theirs any longer. Seven young women had lost their lives and two more remained missing—the need for pride within this police force had left. I could handle the grumpy men if it meant these two women were found alive.
It wasn’t often we were brought in on a case where the victims were still missing.
Usually, they were already dead and we were hunting a killer. To say this was a unusual situation would be very accurate.
Just as the door slammed behind me, a kind voice called out, “Mike.”
I glanced toward the voice on my right. The man’s tone matched his look with equal softness.
His sandy hair with hints of grey around his face was cut almost to his scalp.
His brown eyes squinted from the smile that crossed his lips. I could only assume that this was the the Chief of Police since he was the one greeting us. Standard protocol for this sort of thing and the man had an air of authority around.
“Nice to see you again, Ralph.” Mike extended his hand and confirmed my assumption that this was the man in charge since he knew him by name. “A nasty one you’ve got on your hands.”
“Nasty as it comes.” Ralph gave Mike’s hand a firm shake. “Glad to have you aboard on this one.
The entire city is in a panic.”
I laughed softly. “Wonder why? Some psycho offed seven young women and made them look like Barbie. Now, two more are hidden somewhere with no answers as to where they are.”
Mike shot an annoyed glance my way. Ralph squinted his eyes at me, a move that nearly made them vanish from sight. The warmness I’d witnessed before was now gone.
Yikes! Then as if I said nothing at all, they completely ignored me, swiftly heading off down the hall.
“Not funny then, I take it?” I whispered to Chase.
He just laughed and shook his head.
“No one has a sense of humor anymore.” This was how I dealt with the bad. It might seem cruel at times but if I took it all too serious, getting through the emotional part of this would devour me. I may be a vampire, but it wasn’t how fantasy declared—I did have a soul.
Only a few steps down the hall, we stepped into a meeting room. I cringed the second I cleared the doors and saw the photos that hung on the walls. Seeing what the woman looked like before and what remained of them after was a bit much to take.
Pushing away the unhappiness that rose within me, I took a seat at the table beside Nick and placed my briefcase on the floor as Ralph said, “We’ve given up this workspace for you and your team.”
He pointed down the hall. “We’ve set up our group over there.”
Mike nodded respectfully. “You keep going at the investigation and we’ll start fresh.
Having both teams working independently can only help here.”
That statement almost made me laugh, yet I restrained myself to not get any more stare downs.
Mike was only saying that to keep the peace. He’d never let any other officer into our investigation, nor would he listen to what any of them had to say. He always made it appear as if he cared. I never knew why he bothered with such niceties.
Ralph grabbed the door handle and swung it
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