A/N: A new chapter! That's always a nice thing to hear. I hope you'll enjoy Chapter 2 and that it makes up for the last week's chapter, which was very short.
Also, I want to thank NifadaDraculEadredfor giving me my first review! Yay! I'm so happy.
Kaithlyn climbed the marble stairs which lead to the entrance of the police station. Walking up the steps, she couldn't help but examine the exterior of the building. The red brick used for the walls created a nice contrast with the foundation. Three huge columns supported two wide arches on top and shaded the marble stairs. As a result, the simple double wooden doors looked way fancier.
The exterior of the building wasn't what made it special, though, it was the people inside. Sure thing, there was a lot of action going on, police officers buzzing in and out of doors.
She took a break from admiring the building and stepped inside. The room she entered was huge and she could recall it resembling a hall due to the activity and the number of mysterious dark pine doors.
The light wood paneling beneath her feet squeaked as she moved out of the path of the oncoming officers. Nobody was using the dark wooden staircase before the door and it seemed more deserted than she'd expected it to be.
Kaithlyn had to admit, out of all the police stations she had seen, this one had some style to it. However, she wasn't so fond on the big, wide windows near the entrance.
Weren't police stations supposed to be more secretive? She raised her shoulders. She wasn't in the place to question Mystic Falls' architecture anyway.
Kaithlyn peered at the sight before her. How do I go about finding the office? I could try to look for it, but that would take too much time. She acknowledged how inefficient it would be to do that, so she just picked a random cop and asked for directions.
He was silent for a minute, slowly rubbing his black mustache. He was probably debating on whether he should reveal the information or not, she guessed. Giving in a shrug, he explained, "Facing the stairs, you take a left, then walk down the hallway and then another left."
Quickly registering the directions, she saluted him with a brief 'Thank you' and headed for the office. Soon enough, she found herself in front of dark wooden doors. She knocked a few times and when she received a 'Come in' from the other side of the wall, she entered the room.
It wasn't very big, but big enough to serve its purpose. As the other places in the police station, it was decorated with a noticeable variety of flowers, flags and cabinets. This one also had a desk where the secretary sat waiting for her.
She firstly noted the woman's white shirt, which seemed to reveal a significant amount of cleavage, and her short dark hair, which embraced her features wonderfully.
Her hazel eyes followed Kaithlyn as she sat down on one of the chairs before the desk. She occupied herself with arranging a few loose papers on the desk, waiting until the guest settled down.
"So, what brings you here, Miss...?" Her voice was calm, collected, steadier than Lisa's soft voice when she apologized. The woman before her had a hold of herself.
The office worker didn't give Kaithlyn a chance to answer as she excused herself, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Oh… I'm so sorry, where are my manners? My name's Addison Ellis and I'm the secretary at the police station."
Kaithlyn was tempted to raise a brow at the woman's urgency to present herself, but she didn't because it would prolong the useless conversation. Instead she greeted, "It's nice to meet you, Miss. Ellis. My name's Kaithlyn Downright and I…"
Addison cut her off. "Kaithlyn Downright? The actual Kaithlyn Downright from New York? The Kaithlyn Downright who imprisoned Diablo?" The shock in her voice was accentuated by the way she leaned her body forward supporting herself on the desk.
Kaithlyn was taken aback by her sudden excitement and the memories those questions awoke in her. Were people never going to let go of her fifteen minutes of fame? Now people rarely brought it up, but back then… when she was eighteen, that was all she ever heard. Kaithlyn just nodded in response, trying to minimize the situation as best she could. After receiving the confirmation, the girl before her startled considerably.
Finally, after some moments of silence and inner-fighting, Addison managed to mutter, "H-how can I help you? Is there anything you need?" She was freaking out and the only way they were going to get somewhere was if she calmed down.
Taking a few deep breaths and realizing how childish the previous moments had been, Addison begged her pardon, "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from."
Kaithlyn sighed at Addison's moment. Just because she had that one successful case didn't mean she had any place with the truly amazing detectives out there. She was just a one hit wonder, but people were expecting more of her because she was young. Little did they know she had no interest in being a detective. Right now there were other things on her mind. Still, she continued, "I want you to give me a list of all the deaths that occurred in the last month."
"I'm sure that can be arranged, but if I may ask, what do you need those for, Miss. Downright?" Addison inquired –to Kaithlyn's surprise and as well as hers– in a solid, cool voice.
That was the part Kaithlyn was dreading. She didn't want to raise suspicion just by asking for Jeremy's file and she also wanted to take a look at how many 'animal attacks' had occurred. She didn't want to lie, but there was no other way around it.
"This must be kept a secret," she whispered, lowering her voice as she muttered each word. The girl nodded her head and leaned forward while the detective continued, "I'm doing a research on the deaths that occurred in more reclusive areas. I think that they might lead to a piece of the puzzle to find… a certain criminal."
A wave of worry was gridding up in Addison's chest. If they had such an exceptional detective on the trail of a criminal, then that meant somebody horrible was out there roaming free.
She didn't stay too much on thought before she raised up from her chair in a definitive matter. She was determined to help. "I'll bring a list with the names of the people who died, the date and the cause; it will be focused only on last month, as you requested."
Well… that was quick, Kaithlyn thought and examined Addison's serious side. She was surprised by how she took the situation, despite freaking out a few moments ago.
She assumed that was one of her weak spots, her inner giddiness for the people she admired. She bet that, apart from the little incident, Addison was calm, smart and even funny. Of course she couldn't show the last trait because of her job, but she still saw it in the way she smiled.
Kaithlyn tightened her arms around her body and inspected Addison closely. The way she was so fast to believe everything she said was quite intriguing.
She just brushed it off as a mistake on the girl's part. Is this the way the police staff handles things around the place? I guess I'lll have to change my mind about it…
In a few minutes Addison presented her with a new paper, which had all the information she needed. Kaithlyn took it and skimmed through the pages before inspecting them one by one. She was searching for one name and one name only.
She barely passed the first page when she heard Addison mumble from the other side of the desk. "I don't want it to seem like I'm not trusting you, because I am, but..." She stumbled with her cheeks on fire as she managed to spit out the question. "Can you give me your ID card?"
Kaithlyn leaned back in the chair and raised her chin with a cocky smile. "I was actually wondering when you'd ask me that…" That attitude didn't help at all, it only made Addison bow her head and let her hands fall silently to her sides. "It's okay; here it is." She took the card out of her purse and handed it to her.
Kaithlyn went back to studying the papers, but she gave Addison a quick glance to see what she was doing, only to find her inspecting the ID, probably to make sure it wasn't fake. Clever girl…
She looked through the pages, noticing the big number of animal attacks rising as she got to the current day. Lisa was right. How come no one looked through the pages and noticed something weird? Was the town even doing anything about the animals? She thought before switching her gaze to the secretary.
"Is there a team assigned to hunt these animals? Is the mayor or sheriff doing anything to find out what animal's causing the problem?" The number of the deaths disappeared into the back of her mind and she crossed her arms over her chest, gazing at the girl before her.
"I don't know. We didn't even hear the new mayor talk about this problem in public and as for the Sheriff, she has more important things to do." Addison answered and, as the words left her mouth, she realized how disrespectful the last part sounded. "I didn't say she doesn't care, she just has… a lot of work. For instance, she's trying to figure out who stole blood from the hospitals."
She shrugged it off with a nod. "That sounds understandable."
Kaithlyn sat there for a few seconds, mind fiddling with something else. There was something Addison said that piqued her interest, but she couldn't exactly place her finger around as to what. She revealed that probably no one is dealing with the animals, that the Sheriff is busy looking for the thieves and that the new mayor never talked... wait... New?
"Did you say 'new' mayor?"
Addison narrowed her eyes, slowly putting the pieces of the conversation back together. "I... did. Is there a problem?" she added slightly furrowing her brows before she stormed in a defensive tone, "Mr. Bennett isn't a bad person. He's just been away from the town and his daughter for a long time."
"I'm not trying to say anything bad about Mr. Bennett, but I want to know, for how long has he been in this position?'
Addison tapped the pen on the corner of her mouth and then slowly tugged her shoulders up. "For about two months, I don't know for sure."
And with that the conversation between them died off.
Kaithlyn returned her attention to the papers in her hand. Sure enough, Jeremy's name was on the list with the specification that his death occurred this week because of a fire starting in his house. She didn't even look to see if there were other people in the same circumstances. She didn't care. She came to the police station to find out what happened to Jeremy, not some random person.
To see his name on the list made the reality of the situation sink in harder. He was dead. And he wasn't coming back, not as a human at least. Every sole breath seemed deceiving, as if it was not her place to inhale when Jeremy wouldn't be able to. But no matter how unbearable the aching in her chest became or how tight her heart felt, she was sure that on the outside she was as cold and concentrated as the minute before.
It was a skill she mastered… one she had to master.
The worst part was that Kaithlyn didn't even know what caused his death. She was sure that the report was a big fat lie. She couldn't even contact him on the other side because he was human. Humans don't get stuck on the other side.
However, I will find out. I will get the information out of the witch or Galen, no matter the price.
After staring at the table for mere seconds, she finally requested, "Can you bring me the folder for… Jeremy Gilbert?" She nodded and went to one of the light green cabinets.
Soon enough, she had the document placed in front of her.
The file was neat and organized. The first page consisted of a photo of him and general information including his name, address, phone number and so on. On the second page there was a full report from the doctor who examined his body. In the next page there were declarations from witnesses and on the last page there were a few referential names.
After skimming through the contents of the file, she began examining it in more detail. However, before passing to the second page, she traced her hands over his picture, eyes gazing at it. He looked so young, innocent and alive.
It's been a while since I've seen you, Jeremy; I just wish it wasn't through a photo.
Kaithlyn let that thought slip as she turned the page. The medical report wasn't that long. It explained the different levels of burns he had on his body. It also mentioned that they checked his blood and other parts of the body to identify the cause of death. He was perfectly healthy, so the problem was indeed the fire.
The report was written by Meredith Fell, a doctor at Mystic Fall's hospital. Kaithlyn made a mental note to check the hospital's report on Jeremy.
The witnesses' declarations were about how they noticed the fire not too late after it started, how they called the police and firemen and how no one neither saw nor talked to Jeremy that day. In one of the articles it was also disclosed that the firemen were still researching, trying to find the cause of the fire.
When she got to the last page, she read the listed names: Elena Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore, Damon Salvatore and Elizabeth Forbes. She had no idea who those people were… well, maybe, except for Elena Gilbert, which was his sister. When she and Jeremy had spent time together in Denver, he talked a little bit about his family in Mystic Falls.
Kaithlyn couldn't spend much time wondering around, so she got straight to the simple, but very important question: "Who are these people?"
"Elena Gilbert is Jeremy Gilbert's sister. She is in her senior year at the same high school Jeremy went." Kaithlyn was surprised by Addison's knowledge, but she guessed it was normal in a small town like Mystic Falls.
"Where does she live now?" Kaithlyn asked although she could clearly see the address on the file; it was the same as the other two guys'.
Addison responded quickly, fully captivated by the subject. "She lives with her boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore." By the look Kaithlyn gave her, it seemed like she had just told an unknown fact. To clarify the subject, she added, "The Gilbert family is a real tragedy. Elena lost all her family in the course of less than two years. The people in this town feel really bad for her, but a few months after her parents had died, she seemed to have come back to life."
Kaithlyn appeared surprised by how strong the connections were in the town. Addison continued proudly, "We saw them together a lot, walking and holding hands, but that's not the main reason why we believe that they're dating. The way Elena smiles since she met him is."
She smiled delighted to have the chance to talk so fondly of her town, but she realized that she might have exaggerated a little. "I don't know how many of us noticed, but I did." Kaithlyn watched her amazed by the solidarity between the citizens of Mystic Falls. And what was even more surprising, was Addison's depth in character.
"That and I also saw them make out at the Mystic Grill."
Never mind.
That answers that question. But there still were two more people she didn't know anything about and she would like to know more details about Stefan too.
"What's the deal with this guy, Stefan Salvatore?" she asked hoping that the gossip girl Addison would know that too.
Luckily enough, she did. "Stefan is Elena's boyfriend. He's part of one of the founding families. He's at the same high school with Elena and I think he's also in his senior year."
Interesting.
"What about the other guy, Da..m…on Salvatore?" she said struggling to pronounce his name. It's much more complicated when I say it from memory, rather than just reading it!
Addison looked at her, eyes sparkling from the thought of him. She closed her eyes as she spoke, "Damon Salvatore is Stefan's older brother. He doesn't go to high school. He's very hot and there was even an article about him in the newspaper called 'Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelor'."
Kaithlyn eyed Addison because of how she has acting. What's so special about this guy?
"He lives with his brother and now Elena at that address. Many women have tried to win him over, but…" she trailed off before taking a deep breath.
Kaithlyn stopped her from continuing, because she wasn't in the mood to hear about a cocky guy. "I don't need that piece of information, but thank you anyway." Addison had already opened her eyes and she was watching Kaithlyn as she said, "And Elizabeth Forbes?"
"She's the sheriff in the town. 'Sheriff Forbes', we call her."
Kaithlyn leaned back in the seat, trying to assimilate all that Addison had told her. It all made sense. Elena was Jeremy's sister, so contacting her made sense. Stefan is her boyfriend and Damon his brother, contacting one of them was probably another way to get to Elena. And as for Sheriff Forbes, it was pretty self-explanatory.
Kaithlyn's eyes slipped over the clock on the wall which read 3:50 PM. It was only then that she noticed the time she spent at the police station. It was time to go. However, there was still a thing she wanted to ask Addison.
"Well, it's 03:50 PM and I have to go, but I want to ask you something. Can you please make me a copy of Jeremy's file and add some photos of the people I can contact, because I don't know any of them?"
Addison smiled and nodded. She raised from her chair, but before she went across the room to the printer, she solicited, "While I do that, can you please sign this paper? It's a notification that you asked for the table and as well as Jeremy Gilbert's file."
Kaithlyn blinked a few times not understanding what had just happened. It didn't seem right that after Addison had agreed to keep it a secret, she would ask her to sign such thing. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know when she had wrote it.
Probably when I was looking at Jeremy's file…sneaky girl!
She didn't address the problem, not until she returned with what she wanted. "I thought we agreed on something, that this would be a secret."
Addison widened her eyes, resembling a confused puppy. She didn't expect Kaithlyn to react so harsh to her request, so she mumbled, "I-I will, but this is my job. Can't we just send the notification a month later so you have enough time to research, Miss. Downright?"
Kaithlyn ran over the tactic for a second. It would be a good maneuver if she was really trying to catch a criminal. "Sure, we'll do that."
Kaithlyn got up from the chair, taking the copy, pictures and as well as her ID card. She put the card in her jacket's pocket and folded the remaining papers to hold them in her hand.
"Thank you for helping, I really appreciate that you shared not only the files with me, but your knowledge of the town too," Kaithlyn concluded while smiling softly. Addison returned her smile, holding her breath. It seemed like only a minute ago the detective was stepping into her office and now she was leaving.
Addison was arranging her collar with the purpose of leaving a presentable imagine in Kaithlyn's mind when, suddenly, the door of the office flew opened, only to reveal a woman with short blond hair dressed in a cop outfit.
"Is everything alright over here?" she asked with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her eyes were narrowed, quietly analyzing the papers in Kaithlyn's hand.
"Everything's fine; I was just about to leave," Kaithlyn answered in a serious, monotone voice despite the out of the blue question. She stepped towards the door and as she put her hand on the door's knobble, she added, "Thank you and goodbye."
Surprisingly, it wasn't hard for Kaithlyn to find her way out of the police station. As soon as she did, she started to make her way towards her car and soon, the hospital.
˜.˜
Sheriff Forbes eyed the girl as she left. What was she doing in here?
She didn't like the situation, not a bit, and there was only one source she could get information from. "Who was that woman and what did she want?" Her voice might have been a little too strong, because she found Addison clasping her hands together before mumbling an answer.
"She was Kaithlyn Downright and she came here to do some research." Sheriff ignored the fact that a detective like her had been in a town like this. What's the deal with this? she wondered.
She got the answer as Addison, who was currently looking at her hands, continued in her mindless mumble. "She wanted a table with all the deaths that occurred last month and also she took a particular look at Jeremy Gilbert's file."
Liz sighed. The last thing she needed was a detective researching his file, especially after the way he had died. She didn't stress herself out too much, though. Kaithlyn wouldn't find anything.
"She also requested to keep this a secret because she is doing the research to find a connection with a criminal." Addison peeked from underneath her bangs and when she saw what face Sheriff Forbes had made, she added in a much higher pitch tone, "It's real, she's trying to figure out the 'last piece of the puzzle'."
Liz was tempted to laugh at the detective's strategy. Researching the deaths in a place secluded like Mystic Falls didn't seem like the best way to approach the problem. However, it wasn't up to her to do it. After all, she was known for a reason.
Her eyes trailed over to the desk on which the notification was sticking out like a sore thumb. "So what is she going to do about that?" she said while pointing at the piece of paper.
The answer came quickly. Addison wasn't used to this kind of pressure; she wanted everything to be back to peace and quiet. "She said we could send it next month so it will throw people off her track."
Liz nodded. She had to admit, it was a smart approach. However, she let that problem go; after all, it wasn't her case to win. She quickly took the day's notifications from Addison, said 'goodbye' and returned to her office up the main stairs.
She was supposed to meet Stefan there to question him about the missing blood bags from all the hospitals. What they were doing was dangerous and she wanted to put a stop to it before it exposed all of them, including her daughter.
She settled down and arranged some papers around her office, including the notifications for the day. She didn't forget to set aside Downright's.
Liz was trying to calm herself down and to think logically about the situation, but who could when their daughter's life was at stake?
A few minutes later, Stefan entered her office, carefully closing the door behind him.
"What did you call me for, Liz?" Stefan said as the Sheriff rose from her chair. Needless to say, he was suspicious about the whole meeting.
"Let's get straight to the point. Do you know who stole all the blood from not only the town's hospital, but also from the towns in the surrounding area?" She was looking him straight in the eyes, searching for any traces of guilt.
The time was ticking; every wrong move could mean the end of her daughter. If the situation got even worse, they might reach a point where Caroline would have to leave for a long time.
Liz despised the thought.
"Wait, are you accusing us?" Stefan retorted a little surprised. He thought that after all that had happened between them, they reached the point where they wouldn't question each other.
"No, Stefan, but with a humanity-less vampire walking around anything can be possible.," she added, voice hoarse. Did she really have to say those words out loud?
Stefan jumped to her defense. "Elena didn't do anything, I'm sure of it. None of us did."
Resting her hands on the desk, she added, "I'm worried, Stefan. If blood bags keep disappearing and houses keep burning, things are going to get bad. There are only so many animal attacks until people realize what's really going on." She stopped, letting the words sink in. "Everyone will be in danger, including my daughter."
Stefan was taken aback by her reaction. The rough emotion played before his eyes made his chest tight. She shook her head, avoiding Stefan's glance, and said, "I am sorry, I know it's not your fault, it's been a rough week." Liz took a deep breath as her eyes met Stefan's. "Miranda Gilbert was one of my best friends in high school and seeing what is happening with her family is just..."
Stefan stood there wordlessly. He wanted to take away some of the worry Liz was feeling, he wanted to reassure her everything would turn out okay. But how was he supposed to fight her maternal instinct?
He couldn't.
He sighed and gave her his reassuring shoulder. "Look, Liz… if there's anything I can do to help, I promise I will."
The corner of her lips turned up a little at his offer. He really wanted to make things right. "Thank you; it's just that Jeremy died, there is someone stealing all the blood and, on top of that, a detective decides to research Jeremy's file. This is quite a lot for just a single week." Liz exhaled as if she was letting go of something. Maybe letting it all out wasn't just a bad idea. She was only grateful that she had such an amazing partner to witness it all.
Stefan perceived a small sensation of lightness start to envelop his limbs. However, he didn't get carried away by the moment as he followed Liz's short monologue with a question, "Detective?"
Liz shrugged and explained, "It's nothing important; she isn't going to find anything anyway." Downright wasn't their problem then, it was someone else. "Who do you think would be so reckless to steal all the blood bags from the hospitals?"
Stefan's mind traced over the potential suspects, only to find none. "I think that some rogue vampires are passing through town. It happens all the time. If they get out of hand, we'll take care of them."
Liz sighed, maybe she really was exaggerating. Stefan was probably right; the culpable one was just a simple vampire passing by…
˜.˜
The hospital in Mystic Falls was an impressing building. It had huge steady walls, white of color, accompanied by a remarkable amount of big windows. Their sole purpose was to let the sunlight shine in the rooms and hallways, lighting up the deadly atmosphere in some way.
It seemed like a typical day for the hospital. People were moving from room to room, doctors and nurses were rushing down hallways and some unfortunate souls were kept in the waiting room.
The citizens probably already got used to the big number of patients in the ER. A tiny part of her wondered just how much time was left until the residents would unite to fight against those 'animals'.
Even though it was an interesting concept, Kaithlyn let it slide as she made her way to the main counter. A lady with short flattery hair and dark brown eyes greeted her.
"Hello, with what can I help you?' Her voice was light, very optimistic, probably to raise the mood for those who needed to be there.
"I'm detective Kaithlyn Downright. Currently, I'm doing a research for clues that might lead to a certain criminal." The woman's eyes examined her. With her lips pressed tightly together and her shoulders moved firmly back, Kaithlyn had her full attention. "I want to take a look at Jeremy Gilbert's file."
The woman rested her chin upon her hand. Eventually, she remarked, "How do I know that what you're saying is true?"
Kaithlyn sighed on the inside; she didn't really expect any questioning. Damn, she is shrewd, but it doesn't hurt to improvise a little, does it? This doubles as practice.
"I think this is enough proof to show you I'm not lying," Kaithlyn responded as she handed her the copy of Jeremy's file along with her ID card.
The nurse analyzed the papers thoroughly: they had the same structure as the usual file would and, on top of that, the Mystic Falls' police station stamp. The possibility of robbery crossed her mind, but knowing Sheriff Forbes, no one would gain any information that she wasn't aware of.
After she checked the copies, she threw a quick look over her ID: Kaithlyn Downright. Seems oddly familiar, she thought, but couldn't place where or when she had heard the name before.
"Very well then, I'll lead you to the room," she concluded as she returned Kaithlyn her possessions. When the woman went ahead of her, Kaithlyn couldn't help but smirk. Everything is going just as I wanted.
After roaming the white corridors with no evident direction, they found their destination in front of a navy metallic door. The woman pulled a key out of her pocket and she unlocked the door with a swift move. The room was dark, but it wasn't too dark for Kaithlyn to notice the big cabinets with shelves full of files.
"Wait right here, I'll bring the file to you," she stated as she ventured inside, already knowing the layout of the place.
It didn't take too long before she returned with it and locking the door back up, she motioned to Kaithlyn to follow her.
A few doors later, they stood straight in front of a room that the woman claimed as her office.
It was nice. Upon entering, they stood face to face with the wall with big windows and the neatly done bed nearby. The desk was big and indigo of color with two grey chairs in front. The office seemed fresh and light, just like the owner; even the air felt fresh.
Kaithlyn walked inside and took a seat on one of the chairs while the nurse looked out the window. She noticed a small nameplate on the desk with 'Lillian Espinoza' carefully written on it.
So that's her name. Definitely has a Spanish ring to it.
Anyway, she decided it was time to focus on researching, not minor things. She opened the file and the first page was almost identical to the one from the police station. This particular one also had the name of the team assigned to do the autopsy.
Kaithlyn recognized the first name, Meredith Fell, but the other three were unknown. She started to read the first guy's report, but was interrupted by Lillian's voice.
"I don't have time to stay here, I have to be at the main counter. I could ask someone to come stay with you."
Kaithlyn weighted her options. Maybe she could get to talk to one of the three doctors in person. "It would be very helpful if you could get someone from the crew listed on this file."
Lillian looked at the list closely, thinking if she had seen one of them that particular day. One familiar face appeared in her mind. "I can get David to come."
Kaithlyn nodded and added a 'Thank you' before the nurse got out the door.
Why do I need to be supervised anyway? She sighed. At least it gives me an advantage.
Nonetheless, when she checked one the doctors' declarations, she noticed it wasn't very different from the one before: it explained the burns and the other tests. However, at the end, it was mentioned that his neck was broken and that he was asleep or unconscious. There was a long explanation as to why, but bottom line was that he wasn't awake.
The new information piqued Kaithlyn's interest. It wasn't really his unconsciousness, but the fact that his neck was broken.
Who uses to break the necks of their prey? Vampires.
She skimmed the second report and soon realized that the burns part sounded the same. However, what made Kaithlyn smirk was the fact that the broken neck was mentioned in the second report as well.
A tall man entered the room, Kaithlyn noticed but payed him no mind. She didn't want to be disturbed. He silently sat on the chair next to her. Good, she thought, he's letting me be.
Although, when he caught her smirking, he said, "Hello Miss., I'm David Smith. Lillian told me you were reading the reports for Jeremy Gilbert's case."
Kaithlyn slowly raised her head, accentuating her interest in the papers in her hands and her disinterest in the supervisor.
"Yes, that's true. I just finished the second one," she said as she locked eyes with him. He wore a typical white robe and his hair was sort of messy.
They were staring into each other's eyes, waiting for something. She just wanted to make sure he was out of questions so she could get back to work. But he kept his gaze in place and Kaithlyn found herself asking, "Who writes the report for the police station?"
David responded with a calm voice, "Every member of the examination writes a report. The head doctor of the crew takes them and writes another report based on them. That's the one that gets sent."
So this means that Meredith got to change what she wanted, excluding the broken neck. Kaithlyn raised a brow slightly. The doctor was protecting the vampires.
"What can you tell me about Meredith Fell?" she asked in order to get more incriminatory information on who was serving the vampires to the benefit of the civilians.
David smiled and politely answered her question, "She's a member of one of the founding families: Fell, Salvatore, Bennett, Forbes and Gilbert. She's an ambitious doctor who truly loves her job." He took a small pause before he excused himself, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about her."
Kaithlyn accepted his apology with a smile.
She had all the information she needed and she wanted to leave, but she couldn't; at least, not before checking the last report. This one was different; it was shorter and more organized.
However, before she got the chance to start reading it, David said, "That's my report. It refers to the level of burns on his body, the broken neck and the unconsciousness present before the accident happened."
Kaithlyn was surprised that he would offer to summarize the report for her; she assumed he noticed she was in a hurry. "Thank you for giving me a short summary, I really need to leave," she said while getting up from the chair.
"It's my pleasure. If you need anything else, you know where to come," said David with a flirty smile on his lips.
This guy was creeping her up, so she quickly said 'Goodbye' and walked out the door.
Okay… I don't want to see him again.
It wasn't long before she found herself in the car ready to go to the hotel. The hospital was much easier to navigate than the police station.
˜.˜
When Kaithlyn reached the hotel, she headed straight for the bed in her room. She just wanted to lay back and put all the puzzle pieces together. These puzzle pieces would lead her to the truth about Jeremy's death.
The first thing that crossed her mind was the conversation she had with David about Meredith. He didn't tell her much, but there was something very important in what he said, but she couldn't make out what.
Meredith's a member of one of the founding families: Fell, Salvatore, Forbes, Bennett and Gilbert. His gentle voice still remained fresh in her memory. Founding families… Fell, Salvatore, Forbes, Bennett, Gilbert. Where did she hear those names before?
Kaithlyn skipped through the copy of Jeremy's file. The contacts' page held the answer to her question. She read three of the listed names: Salvatore, Forbes and Gilbert. The doctor's name was Fell, but who was named Bennett?
She laid down and stared at the ceiling, mindlessly replaying the conversations in her head, when Addison's voice suddenly ringed in her mind: Mr. Bennett isn't a bad person, he's just… Bennett was the new mayor.
After a few minutes of tying the final knots, everything clicked. Jeremy was a Gilbert and he died. His sister was in a relationship with a Salvatore and when he died, she immediately went to them. Doctor Fell protected the secret by excluding the broken neck in the report. Sheriff Forbes never ordered for a team to hunt the 'animals', because she was 'busy' and Mayor Bennett never brought the subject up.
And all of those are founding families.
Kaithlyn smirked. There was nothing like the thrill of finally turning the corner on a case. The vampires' presence in Mystic Falls was already confirmed by the excessive amount of animal attacks, but what she didn't expect was the involvement of the foundering families. By the looks of it, they were the only ones that knew too.
Dear founding families, your secret isn't that hard to crack.
Now that she finally got a grip on things, she could focus on other problems. Lisa said that the animal attacks were always present, but recently it got worse. All of this happened in the same time span when the new mayor was chosen. What could have he done to make the vampires in town act so aggressive?
First of all, what causes a vampire to be aggressive?
When someone is hurt, they act aggressively, but she figured out that whatever he had done couldn't hurt the vampires directly. A direct hit would mean something physical. However, that would be too hard to pull off and would probably scare people off.
He probably did it indirectly, but how? She stood there, crossing in her mind the things that could hurt vampires, but they lead to stakes, sunlight, vervain and so on. Then, it suddenly hit her. Hunger!
Hmm…I wonder… she thought as she got up from the bed and went in the kitchen. For some reason, they included kitchens for the expensive rooms. They weren't anything fancy, but good enough to boil some water for tea and such. She took a small pot and poured some water from the sink in it. She put it on the oven and let it boil. It wasn't a fancy set up, but good enough for a rudimentary distillation.
Kaithlyn waited for a long thirty minutes. After the time passed, she went and looked into the pot and smirked at the sight. The water gained a greenish color, like vervain; it wasn't obvious to the normal eye, but to someone who knew what they were looking for, it was crystal clear.
Kaithlyn was proud of herself for finding out yet another piece of the puzzle.
She took a look at the clock on the wall and decided that she still had time to research on the field. If there was anyone who knew more stuff than the people listed on the contact list, it was Jeremy's group of friends. Of course she wanted to talk to his sister too, but not before gaining some information from a neutral source.
˜.˜
After what seems like a long time, Kaithlyn was done dressing up. She wanted to go with the simple, laid back but still elegant look. That was the look Kaithlyn had when she was with Jeremy in Denver, so she had taken plenty of those clothes with her.
She wore a simple black tank top and short light blue jeans. She paired the outfit with black leather booties. All her clothes fitted together, creating a perfectly innocent look.
Her make-up was basically the same only that it had been freshened up. Her curly hair was still caught up in a high ponytail. However, there was a big change that would guarantee that she would go unnoticed by the people who might recognize her.
Kaithlyn wore contact lenses, which turned her dark brown eyes into adorable light green. She loved the color when she picked it up at the shop. The reason why she bought them was to be able to get around people in case she didn't want to be recognized. Not many people knew about her, but she was still cautious about it. She never left home without them, no matter what she was doing.
She made her way to her car, eased about being able to walk around in the comfortable clothes and not think about being noticed.
Kaithlyn got in the car and drove to a place called 'Mystic Grill'. It was the busiest bar she had seen while driving around town.
By the time she got there it was 8:00 PM and the sun was already gone. She parked her car somewhere close to the bar and went towards it.
As Kaithlyn entered, she saw a lot of action going on inside. Looks like the hotspot… She picked a table and soon a waiter came by to take her order. She didn't want to drink, so she just picked a lemonade. The waiter was a tall boy with sky-like eyes and blond hair. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with the bar's logo on it and black pants.
It didn't take long for her lemonade to arrive, brought by the same blond waiter. He looked young and she wondered if he knew Jeremy.
Sipping on her lemonade, the only thing that preoccupied her was who should be the first person she asked about Jeremy. Her eyes trailed over the people at the grill. Most of them were young, but some adults were there, drinking their sorrows away.
Eventually, someone caught her eye. She looked at him only to realize that he was the guy in one of the pictures Addison gave her. He had lighter hair, so he must have been Stefan, Elena's boyfriend. And he wasn't alone. Near him sat another man with black hair, which Kaithlyn could only assume was his brother, Damon.
Biting the inside of her cheek, she decided that she wouldn't get another opportunity like this. She got up and put some money on the table, enough to pay for the drink and as well as a tip.
Kaithlyn stepped towards the boys, not knowing what to expect…
A/N: The ending is such a tease, I know!
This chapter is so long because I really wanted to get the research out of the way. This is the last time Kaithlyn will spend a whole chapter not interacting with any of the main characters.
Review for a sneak peak of the next chapter.
