Vicki Nelson sat at her desk thumbing through old case files. Her mind wandered to what Henry was doing at this very moment then decided it was best not to wonder as he'd more than likely had awakened for the evening and was feeding off of some pretty young thing. Sighing, she walked toward her window and peered out into the night, squinting as she tried to get a better view of the nothing she could see. Vicki jumped when Coreen walked into her office and called her name.
"Hey Vicki.." Coreen saw her jump and apologized, "sorry, didn't mean to scare you. We've got a new case," she said as she handed Vicki the folder. After scanning it quickly, Vicki flipped it shut and said, "Oh joy, another missing persons."
"Well this one might be a bit interesting, more than usual." Coreen said in a rather hushed tone.
"Why is that? Is it a demon, vampire, werewolf.." Vicki was somewhat animated while she talked.
"Not so much," Coreen made a face wondering what the hell had gotten into Vicki, "more like a missing baby."
Vicki froze. She hadn't noticed a date of birth the first go around. Grabbing the file again, she pushed her glasses up and squinted in the dim light as she held the folder toward her lamp. Vicki frowned as she read that the mother had called in to say her boyfriend had taken off with their baby.
"Why didn't she report this to the police?" Vicki asked as she sat back down.
"She did. They said he was the baby's dad and there was nothing they could do. She said they told her that the baby had to be in danger and she couldn't say that he was or wasn't endangering the baby."
"But..??"
"But what?" Coreen tried to look innocent.
"There's a but, spill it Coreen," Vicki said as she clasped her hands over the folder and waited.
Coreen toyed with her hands before clearing her throat and responding, "Her boyfriend is a shapeshifter, is that a werewolf you think?" Coreen waited for Vicki's response. To her surprise, she pulled her glasses off, pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "oookaay.." as she leaned back into her chair.
"Okay? That's it?" Coreen was shocked.
Vicki smiled, got up and came around her desk to sit on the edge putting herself closer to Coreen.
"A year ago, I might think it strange. Hell," she laughed, "I might take you in for a psyche eval if you had said something like that but now," Vicki shook her head, "just okay. That's all I got." She threw her hands up and let them hit her legs.
"Should I call the mother in so you can find out everything?"
"Yeah, that's a great idea," Vicki felt a swoosh of air and knew Henry had arrived.
"Did I miss anything fun?" he smiled at both women. Coreen gaga'd over him and Vicki stiffened, in effect, walling herself up.
"Not yet," Vicki said as she handed him the file. Henry read quickly and frowned upon reading the young age of the missing child.
"What's this about?" Henry asked as he laid the file down.
"My dear vampire friend, what do you know about shapeshifters?" Vicki slapped Henry on the back playfully.
"Depends."
"On what?" Vicki asked.
"On what kind, the clan, pack..just depends," Henry shrugged.
"Not helpful Henry, I need more than "depends" Vicki used her fingers to make quotation marks around the word depends. Henry gestured her to her small couch to get more comfortable and began to tell her a story most would find unbelievable. Vicki, however, took it all in and listened intently. Shapeshifters, Henry explained, were many things. Depending on the animal, they could shift anytime whereas werewolves were a totally different thing. They changed during the full moon and had no control of themselves. They hunted and ate when they changed, sometimes mating as well. Coreen found that extremely interesting.
"And, shifting is inherited, werewolves have to be..turned, like vampires," Henry finished. Coreen sat wide-eyed, taking it all in before heading out to call the mother.
"So..werewolves and shapeshifters are different..huh..who knew?" Vicki said thoughtfully.
"You don't seem shocked by it all," Henry was absentmindedly twirling Vicki's hair with his finger and suprisingly, Vicki either didn't notice or didn't mind. Either way, Henry was enjoying it.
"No I don't but what's the motive? I mean, why would he take the baby from it's mother? Is that something within the community?" Vicki pondered aloud.
"Not really, that is strange. Maybe the mother can provide some insight," Henry offered. Coreen bounded in and announced the mother would arrive in about ten minutes.
"Shapeshifters? Werewolves?? I LOVE my job!" Coreen said excitedly.
Rolling her eyes, Vicki reminded her that things weren't always rosy.
"Yeah, yeah..but come on Vicki! You gotta admit, it's kinda cool." The little goth's eyes sparkled as she talked.
"I suppose, either way, we need to find the baby, that's the whole point of the case right?" Vicki said. Henry hadn't said much but his furrowed brow revealed he was deep in thought.
"Hellooo??" Vicki snapped her fingers.
"Finding the baby is key but finding out why he took her, that's even more important," Henry said.
"Why?" Coreen asked.
"Fathers don't take children from their mothers without just cause," Henry told her.
"That's for damn sure," Vicki mumbled.
Henry turned toward Vicki's open door and within a few seconds, the child's mother entered.
"Are you Vicki Nelson?" the young woman asked.
"Yes, you must be.." the woman stuck her hand out and finished, "Amelia, you can call me Mia."
"No last name?" Vicki noted she didn't offer one.
"No..I dropped it," she said cryptically, "anyway, I need you to find my baby and her father, please." The woman's eyes were pleading but underneath, Henry sensed something. Henry nearly jumped when he heard her voice in his head.
"....I know what you are..."