Read The Blood Detail (Vigil) for Free Online

“That’s bullshit. You want me to believe that this asshole is a vampire? Pull the other one. I’m no moron.”
    “I never said vampire, but what we are dealing with here is certainly of that nature. People elsewhere in this building are trying to figure out what it all means. Sam and I don’t have that luxury. We just have characteristics to go on for now—the need for blood to survive, altered strength, extended life, and an absolute aversion to daylight. I did not mention crosses, telepathy, or any other supernatural trapping. I mentioned what I know as fact—what we can prove. I thought you of all people would appreciate that.”
    “And I do. But I am also not going to call this guy a vampire, because that’s stupid.”
    “Call him what you want. Though you need to remember, you’re the one who wanted answers. No promises were made about how you would feel about those answers.”
    He had me there, the smug prick. “Go on,” I said.
    Douglass rolled his shoulders, as if he were trying to recall the next line in a prepared speech. “Okay, now that you have an inkling about what we do around here, I think we need to bring in a higher authority.”
    “Like an angel or a ghost?” I said, unable to resist.
    Douglass shook his head. “No, our captain.” He motioned at Racine and the big detective zipped out of the room and left us alone. Through the glass wall, I watched him enter a corner office, five doors down.
    “You probably should have answered your phone,” Douglass said, his voice low.
    “Huh?” I swiveled back to him. I hadn’t been paying attention. My mind was mulling over what he had just told me.
    “The phone at your house this morning. It was me calling to tell you to stay put. We had the suspect in our sights.”
    “For a second maybe.”
    “No, no. We had him. But they can hear things that we can’t. After he had trouble breaking into the garage, he got spooked for some reason and ran. I had twelve eyes on him, and no one saw which direction he took off in.”
    “And there’s been no trace of him around my condo in the meantime?”
    “I haven’t checked in since we left, but there wouldn’t be. Not while the sun is still up.”
    I felt the urge to mock him again, but chose not to. I needed to play it cool until I’d heard their Captain out. I may not have bought into their blood-sucking supposition, but it was impossible to believe the department would go to this kind of effort unless there was something to it. Jessup was in no way normal when I fought him, that I did know. The truth was, my only option at the moment was to keep an open mind.
    I tugged on the hem of my shirt and pulled it down over my hips. I was suddenly aware of how I looked, dressed like a civilian in jeans and a pale blue tee, and about to meet a ranking officer.
    “Do you have an idea why Jessup’s so interested in me?” I asked.
    “Let’s wait on that,” Douglas said. “That’s what the Captain wants to speak to you about. I think it would be best if we left that to him.”
    I had no problem with that, but this Captain sure was taking his sweet-ass time. Racine had been gone five minutes, and then ten. I was getting fidgety, and Douglass was having less and less to say to me, which was pissing me off. He delayed the answer to every question I brought up. It was just like the van ride over here, dull and tedious, capped by the distinct feeling I was being lead around by nose.
    A minute later, Racine and a scrawny Latino fellow with balding hair and a pencil-thin mustache emerged from the corner office and strode in our direction. Douglass stood up behind his desk, so I did the same. Racine entered the room with his boss and introduced us. “Captain Ricardo Castellano…this is Officer Grace Kimble.”
    I extended my hand so it could be shook, but Castellano waved me off.
    “Your wrists are hurt,” he said, stepping sideways. “There’s no need for pleasantries.” He sauntered over to the