Chapter 2
Dawn was almost finished a short shift at Joe's. In an hour, she'd be having supper with Richie, Simon and Jade before going to the movies, but for now there were tables to clean. She placed the empty glasses on a tray, wiped the tabletop and tucked a forgotten newspaper under her arm.
After taking the glasses to the bar, she was about to put the newspaper in the recycling bin when an article caught her eye, "Halloween Homicide".
"Nothing like wasabi to clear the sinuses," Jade smiled as her eyes teared up.
Richie chuckled as he dug into his salmon teriyaki. He didn't know how she could eat a plateful of raw fish. Then again, he wasn't sure how his girlfriend could eat tofu. "So Dawn, how was work?"
"The usual," she said smiling distractedly. "Nothing very exciting. Um, did any of you hear about that murder that happened on Halloween?"
"Oh yeah, that was definitely one for the case files," Simon said referring to his forensic science assignment. "Severe neck trauma and massive blood loss. Some of the guys in class were dubbing it 'the vampire kill'."
Richie watched as Dawn paled slightly. When they were ready to leave the Japanese restaurant, he took her aside. "You sure you want to go the movie?"
"Yeah, why?"
"It's just you seem to have something on your mind. Are you worried that Simon's classmates might be right about the murder?"
Dawn blinked, a little surprised by his insight. "A little. I'm not sure."
"But you want to find out," Richie concluded.
"You wouldn't mind taking a raincheck?" she asked.
"If finding out the truth about this murder makes you feel better, no problem."