Footsteps thundered through an alleyway. Dark shadows flickered against concrete walls. Moonlight slipped in and out of clouds. A cold wind was blowing, and the sound of the chase was carried off into the night. And long moments passed before being followed by a gut-wrenching scream.

Red cinders fell gently to the ground. Dark shoes stepped around a small pool of blood. A glint of a long, sharp knife was tucked away into its sheath. Cold eyes took in the night as a lid was popped open, and gasoline was poured downward. And after a long drag, the cigarette was plucked from a thin smile and dropped onto the body, enveloping it in fire. A look of satisfaction crossed a dark face, and an arm was pressed against the chest in attempt to stop its wound from bleeding. And as the fire continued to rage, the shadow silently slipped away.

"What do we have?"

ADA Benjamin Talbot slipped under the yellow police tape. He surveyed the crime scene before him. His attention turned to the charred remains of a body and then a small pool of blood nearby. A knot turned in his stomach, but he pushed the feeling to the side. But he knew something wasn't right.

"Hey, Talbot." Lieutenant Carl Davis turned toward him. "It's disturbing, I know." He understood the look on the ADA's face. "No id. Nothing, but the coroner believes that this… Person was decapitated before being set on fire."

"What about the blood?" Talbot tried to keep his voice steady, but that knot was twisting hard. "Is it the victim's or their attacker?"

"We're having the lab test it now." Davis spied Beth Turner and Mick St. John entering the crime scene. "We should have the results soon."

"Keep me posted." He watched Davis walk away.

"Beth. St. John. Any reason why you two are here?" Davis crossed his arms over his chest. "There's not much of a story here to report on." His attention fell on Beth.

"Well, we were in the neighborhood anyway and heard about what happened here last night." Beth gave the lieutenant a small smile.

"Maybe we could help."

"I doubt that." Davis turned toward Mick, and he knew that these two were not going to go away. "Fine." He let a long sigh. "This better not make the news."

"It won't." Beth glanced at Mick before following Davis over to the remains.

"Late last night, one witness reported a woman being pursued by a big man."

"A big man?" Mick stared down at the remains.

"That was all the description that we could get. The man pursued the woman here, and the witness called 911. Before the first squad car could arrive on the scene, it was all over."

Kneeling down toward the body, a thick smell of sulfur filled Mick's nose, and he began to choke. He stumbled backward as Beth went to help him, but he signaled that he was okay. Stumbling to his feet, he tried to clear his throat, but that taste of sulfur lingered in his mouth. "Sulfur."

"What?" Davis leaned down toward the body and slowly sniffed near the remains. "It's faint, but you're right. How'd you know that was sulfur?"

"He just does." Beth laid a hand on Mick's shoulder. "You alright?" She watched him slowly nod.

"Lieutenant," an officer called to Davis.

"Excuse me." Davis walked away from them.

"She was a vampire." Mick noticed Talbot approaching. "I'm okay." He wiped his eyes.

"Horrible sight." Talbot looked at the body before staring at them. "Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know, but I think it's personal."

"What makes you say that?" Talbot looked at Mick.

"Just the way she was murdered." He noticed the small pool of blood nearby. "She put up one hell of a fight before she died." He leaned down near the red water. "He was too strong." He was tempted to sniff the blood, maybe taste it, but Talbot was watching.

"Think it's the attacker's blood?"

"Yes." Mick stood up. "Did the lab results come back?"

"No. Not yet, but I do have a question. What's your interest in this case, St. John?"

"No interest, but I like to offer my help with the investigation."

"Well, I think we got it covered." He looked at Mick and then at Beth. "Okay?"

"Okay." Mick led Beth away from the crime scene.

"What do you think?" Beth looked over her shoulder to see that Talbot was still watching them.

"I don't know yet." Mick rubbed his jaw. "Someone knew a lot to kill one vampire." His brow creased. "I think something's up, but I don't know what yet. I need to talk to Josef."

"I'll go with you."

Talbot watched Mick and Beth drive away from the crime scene. His eyes moved over to the body, and that knot grew tighter. He remembered the list of names and wondered if this woman was on that list, but he didn't want to say anything yet. He needed more time for his investigation especially with Mick St. John being one of those names.

II

"You're sure it was a vampire?"

Standing before a large window, Josef gazed out at the view. He loved looking at the city from this height. It did give him a sense of power, but it also gave him a feeling of connection. And it was something that he had lost a long time ago, and even the drink in his hand hardly gave him comfort as it once did. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure, Josef." Mick stood a distance behind him near Beth. "I just don't know why someone would go through all that trouble to kill one of us."

"Does it matter?" His gaze shifted from Mick to Beth. "There's something different about you two?" He took a step toward them, but Mick stepped in front of Beth. "I see." A soft chuckle escaped his mouth. "Good for you." He raised his glass in a toast to Mick before polishing off the remains of the drink. "It's about time." He stared at the now empty glass.

"This isn't about me, Josef."

"You're right, Mick." He glanced over at Beth. "I'm sorry." He smiled at the red color rising in her face. "Now, what about this witness, who claimed to see the whole thing go down?"

"I don't know. Davis was very tight-lipped about it." Beth cleared her throat. "I could do some digging."

"That would be great because if you could find the witness, it might lead to some answers." Josef placed the empty glass on his desk. "Otherwise, we're at a… Dead-end."

"Unless another vampire is murdered." Mick and Josef exchanged looks.

"If she was a vampire, why didn't she turn to ash?"

"Because, my dear, if you pump a vampire full of sulfur, it would prevent our bodies from turning into ash. Like Mick said, someone knew a lot to kill a vampire." A sigh slipped from his lips. "There is something to this, something that I don't like. I would be careful, both of you."

"You too."

Josef watched them leave his office. His finger lingered over the empty glass. Slowly, he moved over to his desk and sat down in the large, leather chair. He pushed a few papers aside until he found what he was looking for. A sad look crossed his face as he leaned back in his seat and stared at the list with Mick St. John's name on it.

III

Time dragged its feet like it did so many days. Paperwork piled up on the desk. The phones never stopped ringing. People walked by him without a hello or glance, and some even bumped into his chair. Luckily, there was only a few minutes left before lunch.

"Hey, Green."

A moan nearly slipped out, but he caught himself. The last thing that he needed was to be seen talking to Beth Turner or Mick St. John, but here they were. And lucky for him, Davis was not in the building. "What do you want? You're going to get me into trouble."

"I thought I collect on that favor you owe me." Mick stood a short distance away from her.

"Look, I owe you for saving my life, but don't you think I'm paying for it being stuck behind this desk?" Beth leaned closer to him, and already people were now beginning to look his way.

"I helped you, Green. Now, I need you to help me."

"Like I said before, what do you want?"

"Did you hear about that crime scene this morning?" Green nodded. "I need to locate the witness that Davis spoke to."

"Why don't you leave this one to Davis?"

"Because we can't." He didn't like the look in Mick's eyes.

"I guess I don't have a choice." He looked at Mick and then at Beth. "I'll see what I can do."

"Great." Beth gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you could also get us a copy of that 911 call, that would be great." She moved away from him.

"Anything else you want? Yankee tickets, perhaps?" He watched them leave the office. "Just my luck." He noticed that more people were staring at him. "What are you looking at?" He rose from his chair and grabbed his coat. "I'm going to lunch." He stormed out of the office.

IV

Thoughts tumbled over one another. Fingers tapped against a wooden desk. Eyes narrowed as they focused on the list of names before them. A sigh escaped out into the air as a hand released the paper, which floated down onto the smooth surface.

Talbot sat back in his seat and pushed a button on the intercom. He waited patiently for his intern to enter his office. His eyes shifted between the door and the list. As he shifted in his seat, the door opened, and a young intern stepped into view.

"Sir?"

"Yes. Anything on those names I gave you?" The intern looked confused for a moment and then nodded. "What did you find out?"

"A lot of them are missing, and there is one or two that I can't find a record on. And then there is Mick St. John…"

"I said to leave him for last."

"Right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Candice. I just don't want to draw any attention to the investigation as of yet." Talbot rose from his chair. "What about next of kin?"

"None."

"What?"

"There is none. As it is, their records are kind of empty."

"What do you mean?" Talbot leaned against his desk.

"I mean that before, maybe the last ten years or so, these people did not exist. No social security card, no residence, nothing."

"Witness protection?"

"For all those people?"

"You're right, but they have to have something in common. Why group them together?" He was asking himself more than his intern. "What connects them?"

"I don't know." He smiled at her response. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." He stepped away from his desk. "Keep researching. See what you can find." He watched her walk toward the door. "I'm sorry to place this burden on you, but there is nobody else that I can trust." He wasn't sure if she heard him or not as she disappeared out into the hallway.

Sensing someone behind him, Talbot turned to see a young woman staring at the list of names. He wondered how she entered the room without him noticing. Was he that distracted? No, he would have seen her for sure, so how did she get into the room? But when he looked again, she was gone. "Candice."

His intern reappeared by his office door. She noted the concern on his face and wondered if she did anything wrong. She needed this internship to work out especially since the last one didn't, but after a moment, she realized that this wasn't about her. "Yes?"

"Did you see a young woman walk into the office while we were talking?"

"No."

"You sure?" Talbot watched her nod. "Okay. Thank you." He watched her leave. "I must be seeing things." But he was sure that he had seen her, so where did she go?

IV

The room was dark. A dim light bulb swung from its chain. One chair decorated the empty space, and a large shadow moved across the wall. Wooden floors creaked under heavy footsteps, and all the windows were painted black. And someone walked into the room.

"Well-done." A grin spread across the large man's face. "Here's the next name, Ravin." A small piece of paper was handed to him.

"When do I get paid?" Ravin pocketed the paper. "You said I would get paid."

"Money for the first was already deposited into your account. Collect the rest, and the rest of your money will be released. Do we have an agreement?"

"We do." Ravin watched the shadow move across the room toward the exit. "Why did you pick me?"

"Because you're the best." The cold breeze carried the voice back to him before the darkness swallowed it.

V

A cool breeze rustled through the trees as cars continued on with their drive. Gas station pumps clicked as the fuel flowed into waiting vehicles. People moved back and forth in the sun and into the small mini-mart store, but others remained tucked under the shade. And a police squad car pulled up near the spot, where Mick and Beth waited.

"Here you go." Green handed Beth a large envelope. "Everything you asked for."

"Thank you, Green." Beth took the envelope from him. "I appreciate this."

"Just tell me that we're even."

"We're even."

"Thank you." Green turned and walked back to his car.

"Friendly guy." Mick remained standing in the shade.

"He warms up after awhile." Beth moved over to him. "He just hates his new assignment."

"If I were stuck behind a desk all day, I'd go crazy too." Mick watched her open the envelope. "What's wrong?" He noticed the look on her face.

"Nothing, but… According to the report, Davis found a young woman near the scene, asked her a few questions, but before he could ask anything else, she was gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah. He said he turned away for a moment, but when he turned back, there was no sign of her. Odd." Beth pulled a tape with the 911 recording out of the envelope. "At least, we have this."

A few moments later, they were in the car, and the tape was playing in the tape deck. There was a lot of static, and a voice was barely heard. But someone was speaking and saying something about a man chasing a woman into a dark alleyway. But then the recording stopped.

"Well, that helped." Beth pulled the tape out of the tape deck. "So, we have a witness that disappears before they could be questioned more, and we have a recording that is barely audible. That's just great."

"Is there a description of the witness?"

"Yeah. Late twenties, long, black hair, and brown eyes. Nothing that stands out, though, and the only name given was Lily."

"Not much to go on." Mick looked at Beth. "At least, I know someone that can analyze that recording. Maybe he could help us get more answers."

"I hope so." Beth was quiet for a long moment. "Do you think someone is hunting vampires?"

"I don't know. This could have been a random act, but… Unfortunately, I don't think it is."

"Do you think you're in danger?"

"I don't know, but if someone is hunting vampires, then none of us are safe." Mick stared at Beth for a long moment. "Maybe it would be safer, if you kept away from me until this is over."

"No. Forget it. Like you said, you are not in danger, so I'm not going anywhere." She saw a look cross over his face. "Don't give me that look."

"Okay, but if it gets dangerous…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Mick." She stared into his eyes. "I'm with you." She touched his hand. "No matter how bad this may get." Her grip tightened over his.

"Okay."

"Okay." She watched Mick put the car in drive and pull away from the gas station. "All we have to do is find this Lily." A knot slowly tightened in her stomach, but she quickly pushed the feeling away.