Playing With Vampires - An Izzy Cooper Novel Read Free Page A

was no sense in putting Myron on the defense, especially since he seemed so proficient with throat cutting.
    Just maybe I was onto something, and he was the perp.
    “Anything else?” I asked, hoping to slip him up.
    “There is a strange lack of blood for such a brutal attack, and it appears the mutilation occurred postmortem … and there could have been a sexual assault. I’ll know more after the autopsy,” he added.
    Were those sparks of excitement I saw forming in his eyes when he mentioned the word, autopsy?
    Shuddering inwardly, I forced a smile. “I look forward to the report.”
    Actually, the crime scene and the technicalities of how Polly met her end were probably a little more important to Tim, than me. He was the profiler.
    How Tim could come up with so much information on the perpetrator, just by examining the crime scene and manner of death, was a mystery to me. I preferred to get right at the suspects, which was the reason I jumped on Myron.
    True, no one else may think of the ME as a suspect, but I was definitely going to be keeping my eye on him.
    As soon as Ayden finished examining the body, Myron motioned for his assistant, a boy who looked like he was probably still in high school. The assistant broke away from a group of girls that had gathered on the sidewalk.
    Hiring high school boys to work with the Medical Examiner seemed like a surefire way to a whole lot of town gossip.
    Myron and the boy lifted the body onto a stretcher and loaded it into a white van.
    “What are you thinking?” I asked Tim. If I knew my partner, he more than likely already had a working theory.
    I would have asked Ayden, but he still had that brooding look on his face, which meant he was running through possible scenarios.
    Tim looked up from the notepad he was using to jot down details of the scene. “I think we are looking at a disorganized subject. He probably blitz attacked her … maybe when she was taking this alley as a shortcut.”
    I’d already come to the same conclusion. Maybe I was getting this profiling thing after all.
    Ayden motioned for us to follow him back to the SUV. “Tim … first thing in the morning, see if you can get the Coos Bay case file sent over. Then maybe we can start working a profile.”
    Looking to me, he asked, “Did you pick up anything?”
    What he meant was, did I question the victim?
    “She’s here, but unresponsive.”
    I could tell the boss man was beginning to question my talent. More often than not, murder victims weren’t the most cooperative witnesses.
    “I’ll try again in a couple days. Maybe she will snap out of it by then,” I added.
    Nodding, he got into the SUV. Tim and I followed suit.
    “We’ll get a fresh start on this in the morning.” The frown on the boss man’s face didn’t ease up at all.
    I couldn’t help but wonder what it was about this case that had him so shook up. Ayden took all his cases seriously, but this one really seemed to be bothering him.
    My thoughts were interrupted by a text alert.
    Finding my phone was simple. These days I only carried two things in my purse. That was my phone, and a wallet. I’d already learned the hard way that digging in one’s purse for a phone could be deadly, especially when you were crossing a street.
    The message was from Julius, the demon that haunted my every waking moment. He was literally a demon, sent from Hell. It was his mission to tempt me to the dark side. Every once in awhile, he almost managed to succeed.
    Although Julius could be devious, and even a little evil at times, I still preferred to look at him as my guardian demon. Not that he was all that helpful, but there were times when he’d surprise me with some real guidance.
    Meet me at Pies & Stuff for some coffee .
    I couldn’t understand why it was that I had to meet him. Julius had the maddening habit of popping in and out faster than I could blink. If he wanted to talk to me, he’d just appear, and most of the time that’s exactly what