Again no copyright infringement indented!!! All credit goes to Tanya Huff and the creators and writers of the show.
Vicki was beyond irritated. First, all their possible leads on the girl were hopeless-Mary hadn't been by in days, her other clients were becoming frustrating and to top it all off, Henry was clouding her mind, again. She couldn't help but smile at his charm, his alluring smile, and his cool hands sliding up and down her body.
Nelson, get your thoughts together.
Vicki went to her desk and scattered out all her cases so she could get to work. She thought about the two cheating husbands and the missing kid. Soon, her mind drifted, and her thoughts soon became mini fantasies of Henry.
Of his gentle stroke
"Vicki I think we may have a lead…"
His soft lips caressing her
"…Johnson and I think he may know our- Vicki, are you even listening to me?"
His beautiful alluring eyes staring down at her body.
"Vicki!"
Kissing all the way down to her…
"Fantasizing about having sex with Henry again?
That comment snapped her out of her concentration, feeling embarrassed for a moment.
"Yeah, I thought that'd snap you out of it." Coreen giggled at her boss, who was in her office fantasizing about her partner, but she'd never admit it. Coreen knew mentioning Henry would instantly get her boss's attention. Despite how Vicki tried to hide it, her assistant knew somethin was going on with her boss and her partner by the way Vicki hardly paid attention and dreamy smiles on her face.
Vicki rolled her eyes and turned away, not wanting Coreen to squeal and smother her with hugs if she knew what happened the other night. "So what have you got for me?"
Coreen brought in some papers and sat down in a chair, while Vick went to her desk to listen what her assistant had for her.
"Well, I think I finally got something. I searched Ashley Bennett's name in the database, which at first wouldn't show up. So, I tried scanning the picture and it gave me an address, no name though, which I'm guessing has changed it once she turned. I checked it and the address seems to be in Toronto; 1462 Cherrywood Ave.
"That's not that far from here."
"The address is listed as owned by a Holden Johnson. Maybe there cousins or distant relatives, or a…" Coreen didn't finish as Vicki knew what she was referring to. Maybe their missing vampire ran away from Mary to be with a man and was hiding there, as anything was possible in this case.
"Well its four-thirty now and my five o'clock cancelled, so let's go find out what Holden Johnson knows about Ashley Bennett."
"I'll get my coat." Coreen gathered her coat and purse, and exited the office behind her boss, locking everything up.
The taxi arrived at 1462 Cherrywood Ave, a two-story red brick home. The hose looked old, but well kept, as fresh paint covered the balcony, and the steps weren't squeaky, well not as loud.
"Vicki, what if I was wrong about this? Maybe this isn't th-" Coreen said, while knocking on the door; she was extremely anxious and worried. This may be another dead end, she thought and with another body found outside a club, time was running out.
"Coreen, you did fine. If Mr. Johnson doesn't know who Ashley, maybe he can lead us to someone who does in fact know her."
The two hushed, as a click sounded and the door opened wide. A young woman, who looked no more than twenty, answered the door, warmly greeting Coreen and Vicki.
"Hi. Can I help you ladies with something?" She looks awfully familiar, Vicki couldn't put her finger on it…
Coreen was the first one to speak, breaking Vicki's concentration. "Uh yes, is there a Mr. Holden Johnson here?"
"Oh yeah, hold on," she closed the door partially and turned her head towards the stairs, "UNCLE! SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOR FOR YOU! She turned back around to smile kindly at the two, being as hospitable as she could, "You guys can wait in the living room for him; he'll be down in a minute. Would guys like something to drink?"
The two answered yes, entering the warm home, while the younger woman disappeared into the other room. The living room was filled with photos of the family and a few portraits of African American woman on the walls. The room seemed to be a show room, filled with crystal in curio cabinets and a grandfather clock in the corner. Vicki was afraid she would mess up the elaborate room, until the young lady came back in.
She sat down the bottles of water on the table in front of her guests and started to speak. "You guys can have a seat, I'm sorry. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I brought some water, hope you don't mind."
Both ladies warmly replied that water was fine, and Riana took that as her cue to speak again, extending her hand to her guests. "I was rude not to introduce myself, I'm Riana."
Coreen and Vicki extended their hands to greet the young lady. Now that they were sitting down, Vicki took a good look at the girl, as a detective none the less. Riana was definitely a young girl of style, yet her gesture suggested simplicity. Her hazel eyes stared at the women curiously, then back into the other room waiting for her uncle. When Coreen asked the girl about the antiques in the room, she smiled saying her mother had a unique sense of style. She had a beautiful smile, which was identical to the smile of the woman in the photograph, which made Vicki curious to find out more about the Johnsons and their connection to her missing vampire.
Yeah, I think I'll keep the whole vampire thing out for the time being.
Heavy footsteps from the stairwell broke Vicki's steady absorption, and in came a large, well built older man and a woman, stunning as a woman who looked in her mid-thirties. It was probably his daughter, Vicki thought, but the similarities among the older woman, Riana, and Ashley Bennet had Coreen worried they were all somehow connected.
"Hello, I'm Holton Johnson. How can I help you pretty ladies?"
"Mr. Johnson, my name is Vicki Nelson, private investigator and this is my assistant Coreen Fennel. I'm here to ask you a couple of questions ab-"
"Private investigator? Is this about my taxes, because I paid them people! The Man is trying to put my down, you see that Lizzy, Riana!"
The older woman came to his side and touched his shoulders to release the tension. She chuckled lightly, patted his shoulder and spoke in a soft voice. "I'm sorry ladies; my uncle is a bit-"
Riana cut her off, nearly mumbling her next words, and took a swig of the bottled water. "A bit senile maybe? Or crazy, take your pick."
Vicki looked confused, but realized the man thought she was trying to audit him and quickly wanted to clear up any misunderstandings between them.
"No sir, I am not here because of your taxes. I'm here because we have this address listed as the last known residency for a woman my client is looking for, Ashley Bennet. My client believes she disappeared."
"Ms. Nelson, this house has been in our family for many years, and I think I would remember niece or relative by that name, even if I am becoming senile", he said glaring at Riana, who rolled her eyes at her uncle. "Do you have a picture of this young woman? Maybe she lived next door on; they usually get our addresses mixed up all the time."
"Uh actually yes I do." Vicki reached in her coat pocket to hand the picture to the old man. When he looked at the picture, his eyes widened in shock.
"Wh-where did you get this?" He found that he could barely function, let alone speak about the unknown woman in the photo. Chills ran up his spine as he remembered that night; the police, the blood, and the deepest pain they all felt in their hearts.
"My client is looking for this woman; she disappeared about a week ago from New York and is believed to be in the city somewh-"
"A WEEK! You must be out of your mind!"
"I beg your pardon sir? This photograph was taken months ag-"
"Like hell it was! This was taken nearly fifty years ago!"
"What? Sir I think you may ha-"
"No, Ms. Nelson, I think your client is lying to you. I know this woman in the photograph and she damn sure didn't take this picture months ago."
"You do? I thought you said you didn't know an Ashley Bennet?"
"That's because I don't. The woman here is not Ashley Bennet Ms. Nelson and Ms. Fennel. The woman in the photo is my sister, Rae Andrews and this picture was taken fifty years."
Coreen's eyes widened in shock as the words of Mr. Johnson replayed in her head. She knew something was fishy about Mary Delacroix and now she had her proof. She looked at her boss, who face was filled with uncertainty, confusion, and shock.
Why couldn't this have been a normal case?
Well besides the fact that my client is a vampire witch looking for another vampire.
Wait till Henry hears this…
