all right! another update! This chapter marks the shifting point to solving Mick's case.

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Enjoy!

Placing The Pieces

Three weeks later...

Beth entered the main news floor of Buzz Wire, with a cheerful bounce in her step. She felt like nothing could bring her down today, not even the fact that Steve, her usual cameraman, had been out sick the past week, and she had been stuck with a new guy. He was an extremely nervous sort, and kept starting and stopping all his shots off time. But none of that mattered. She was seeing Mick tonight.

She sat down in front of her desk, pulling out her USB port, so she could upload some of her work. She hummed to herself under her breath as she went over her edits to her story. Her boss spotted her, and walked over.

"All right, spill it. What high are you on? What's with all the sunshine?" Mo raised an eyebrow.

"I got a date tonight, is all."

"What, with Mr. Steamy Private Investigator? You do realize that you and Josh have only been broken up for three weeks? Don't you think you're moving on a little fast?"

Beth shook her head, "Nope. I love Mick, Mo. He's just such a gentleman. He opens doors for me, pulls out chairs...Do you know he asked me on our date tonight face to face? Instead of just picking up the phone and calling, he drove all the way—"

Mo held up a hand, "Whoa, slow down. You got a case of new boyfriend pretty bad I'd say. But that's not what I want to talk to you about. I got a body for you."

Beth felt her heart jump at the chance to cover another story. "Male or female?" she asked.

"Male. It's pretty weird too. According to the report, the body was found with these bite marks all over him, face, neck, arms. My contact says the police would have called it an animal mauling, except for two disturbing facts."

Beth raised an eyebrow, "And they are?"

"One, the bites don't match up to any animal, not dog, not even coyote."

"And...?"

"And apparently, there was no blood whatsoever. None at the scene, none in the body. It's completely missing." Beth's eyes widened.

Mo didn't notice the change in Beth's expression, "It sounds like that guy from your old story is back, remember the convenience store murderer?" Beth did remember, it had been her first case working with Mick, knowing what he was. Mo continued talking, "What did we name him? Bloodsucker or something like that."

"I think we called him L.A.'s Vamp."

Mo nodded, "Oh, right. Yeah, that was genius, that name. The vampire angle is hot. Be sure to mention his name in your report, 'Is the L.A. Vampire returned for more'...so on, so forth. Go with your gut on this story."

"I'm on it." Beth grabbed her bag and the print-up of the address Mo handed her, and headed to her car.

She was slightly worried. Knowing what she did about vampires and their existence, she had a feeling about this crime scene. The blood being completely gone, it had to be a vampire. And if so, she knew Mick would want to look into it.

She and Mick had been together now for three weeks, and they had been the best three weeks of her life. After her initial push for them to be together, Mick had seemed to come to terms with the fact that there was nothing he could do to change her mind, or convince her it was a bad idea. Granted, the way Mick looked at her these days, she believed he no longer thought them being together a mistake. She believed he had come to fully embrace their relationship. They had already gone out on a couple of dates, mostly dancing, since Mick didn't eat. But that was fine with Beth. She loved to dance with Mick, and every time they went, Mick would waltz with her. She was really getting very good at it. She hardly ever missed a step anymore.

Her friends had been surprised at hearing the news that she and Josh were over, but that surprise had been nothing compared to their exclamations when Beth told them that she was actually already seeing someone else. Mick still hadn't really met any of her friends. Beth was putting off introducing him, as she was a little nervous of what her friends might think.

She got in her car, she would head to Mick's first. She checked her watch, it was 9:45, middle of the morning. He was probably sleeping. But this was important. As she drove, all she could think about was Mick and how lucky she was.


Mick was seated behind his desk. He was wearing nothing but his dark red pajama pants. A glass of blood sat next to the computer, which he would pick up and sip from time to time. He was studying photos of a crime scene that had been posted online, by some amateur photographer. Mick knew it wouldn't be long until the police found and removed the photos, and so he was studying them while he had the chance.

He had been woken half an hour ago, just barely after he had gone to sleep, by his cell phone ringing. Looking at the caller ID, he saw it was Josef. Mick, feeling curious, wanting to know why Josef was calling so early in the day, had answered. Plus, he wanted to talk to his friend. Since he and Beth had gotten together, Josef had stopped coming around Mick's apartment. Mick knew it was because of Beth. Unfortunately, he couldn't always drive out to Josef's home to visit his friend. As a result, he hadn't really had an in-depth conversation with Josef for three weeks.

But now, maybe he could get that chance..."Hello?" he said, his voice groggy with sleep.

"Mick, you awake?"

"Thanks to you. What's up, Josef?"

"I've got something you need to look over. Don't know if you've noticed lately, seeing as you're off in neverland with her," Mick bristled, but Josef didn't give him a chance to cut in, "but I've been seeing some unusual patterns. L.A.'s discarded body count is rising."

"Rising how fast?"

"Too fast. Some kid has posted crime photos on the net, and another scene is being taped off as we speak. It was only a matter of time before the humans noticed. The Cleaner can't be everywhere at once."

"And you think vampires are behind this?"

"Yes, does that really surprise you?" Mick didn't say anything. "I thought so. A body count rising this fast usually means vampires, and the photos...you'll see what I'm talking about. Just keep your eyes open. Check out the pics. Do that detective sniffing around thing that you do."

"All right. What's the web address?"

Josef gave him the link and hung up before Mick could continue the conversation. Mick snapped his cell shut, frustrated. Josef had managed again to avoid talking with Mick about Beth. Mick wondered if his friend would ever be ready to talk about her. He knew Josef still hadn't forgiven Beth. Mick hadn't really expected him to in three weeks, but he had hoped that Josef might be able to forgive Beth as more time went on. But with each conversation with Josef, Mick began to think that possibility more and more unlikely. Something drastic would have to happen in order for the vampire to forgive Beth. Josef never mentioned Beth, and if he did, it was only to express his annoyance at Mick's relationship.

But Mick knew when he agreed to be with Beth that he would be simultaneously signing up for a lot of crap from Josef. It was fine, he could handle it. Being with Beth made it worth it. He remembered Beth's nervous face as she confessed her love to him. It had happened so out of the blue, that Mick had been unable to react at first. And when he found he could think again, his thoughts had been running along exactly what Beth had been arguing, It's too dangerous...I'm a vampire, and she's a human. Too dangerous...

But as his listened to Beth, he felt his resistance weakening. Why are you down here, with her, if not for this? You knew that this was going to happen. Admit it Mick, it's what you want. She's willing, she's not scared...give being together at least a chance... That was when he had interrupted her with a kiss. Beth's surprised, yet incredibly happy expression had made his heart fly. It felt right to be kissing her. He still had a few doubts and worries, but maybe it would be possible to work through them, as Beth had said.

After Josef's call, he knew he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep for the day, and so had dragged himself out of his freezer. Pulling on his pajama bottoms, his thoughts remained on that moment three weeks ago, when he had gone from just existing, to living. Sometimes he still woke up at twilight, thinking it was all just a wonderful dream, nothing more. But then he would remember the last three weeks and smile, because he knew Beth was his at last, just as he was hers.

He had quickly found the photographs Josef was talking about. Instantly, he could see why Josef was so concerned. It had to be a vampire's victim. It was one of the more violent drainings Mick had seen for a long time. The body was of a young woman. She had short brown hair, and her face...her face looked as though it had been eaten off. What was left of her skin was jagged and raw, covered in huge ripping wounds, as though the vampire had furrowed his or her fangs deep into the skin. It spoke of a desperation for blood that gave Mick chills. How could the vampire have allowed himself to become so hungry? There was absolutely no sign of blood anywhere in any of the pictures.

He looked up from his computer, hearing someone punching in his override code. Smiling, he leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head. He watched Beth enter his apartment.

"Mick! You're awake. I thought for sure you'd be in bed?" Beth smiled at him. Mick loved the way her face lit up.

"Yeah, well, a phone call from Josef took care of that. He thought I needed to see something." Mick indicated his computer with a sweep of his hand. Beth came over to stand behind him, looking curiously through the photos. Mick heard her heartbeat rise with excitement.

"What is it Beth? You know something?"

"Not exactly. But Mick, these photos look a lot like a description of a crime scene I've just been assigned to cover."

"Not this crime scene?"

"No. My victim is a male. But Mo said it looked as though someone had tried to eat the body, and there was also no blood on site. I figured it had to be a vampire, so I came to get you."

Mick sighed, "Yeah. I can't know for sure, till I go down to the scene, but it's a vampire, I'd say." He tried refreshing another photo, but an error page appeared. Damn, the police had discovered the pictures. He turned off his monitor, and rose, stretching a little. He finished the last of his drink, then turned to Beth, who had been eyeing his chest.

"Are you going to the scene now?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Give me a moment to dress, and I'll come with you."

"I thought you'd want to."

Mick hurried upstairs, and changed into jeans and a dark gray shirt. He pulled on his duster, and grabbed his sunglasses for when they'd be outside. Too bad we can't go at night, he thought.

He went back downstairs, sitting on the bottom step to put on his shoes. Beth was watching him, and she asked, "How did Josef come across those photos?"

Mick finished with his last shoe and stood. He and Beth left his apartment as he answered her, "Josef didn't survive 400 years by not paying attention. He hires specific people to watch for things exactly like this and to report any information back to him."

"Really? Don't you think that's a little paranoid?"

"Better safe than staked. It's obviously worked for him. He's still alive, isn't he?"

"I suppose." Beth paused slightly, then asked, "Josef's still angry with me, isn't he?" Mick looked down at Beth. Her expression was troubled. "I've tried apologizing to him..."

"Won't work with Josef. I'm afraid, Beth, that you blew it big time with him when you opened the door. It's going to take a long time, before Josef trusts you again, if he ever does."

Beth looked sad at this, and Mick put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a little squeeze, "Don't let it get to you, Beth. There's nothing you can do to change it. Like you said, you tried to make things right, and couldn't. Don't worry about Josef." Leave that to me...

They left Mick's building and got into his Mercedes, the top raised to help block the daylight. Mick asked, "So where is this crime scene of yours?"

Beth gave him the address, and Mick pulled out into traffic, his thoughts focusing ahead on what they might discover at the scene. He was a little worried. Hungry vampires who drained bodies and dumped them for the police to discover, were never good. Never.

Finis


Hope you liked it! : P I'll be posting the next update when I can! Again, I beg for reviews... : D