Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight. Same song and same feeling…..I wish I had the rights to this wonderful show.
Thanks to all who still hang in here with me and read and review.
Chapter 13
"Has Savannah been assigned to these two murders as well?" Moriah asked calmly.
"Yes, she and Chaz have been given this case as well as the other."
"And how is she handling the daylight? I'm sure Scott told you that," the older woman enquired.
"He said she was doing well and was prepared," Tyson said proudly.
"I expected nothing less," she replied with satisfaction. "So we must concoct a story that will keep the humans from thinking of us when they learn the girls are drained of blood, is that correct?"
"It is. I think we should have Rayna and Beth work on a cover story. Those two are very clever when it comes to plausible misdirection," Tyson told her.
"An excellent idea boy," Moriah approved. "I have no doubt that they can create a believable story."
"I hope Granny. There are two other girls out there and I'm afraid we will be seeing their bodies soon. This is escalating fast, too fast."
"I agree and I also feel there is no hope for the other two women. We have to increase our efforts to find the harvesters before they take any more women," Moriah agreed with him.
"Call Josef and Mick and fill them in. I need a cold shower to wake me up more. Tell them I'll be out there shortly," Tyson instructed as he ran his fingers through his thick hair.
"I will do that," Moriah assured him. "I will also call Robert, perhaps he has some ideas of what we can do."
"Sounds good," Tyson told her and disconnected. He headed to the bathroom and dialed his shower to its coldest setting. With a groan of pure pleasure, he stepped into the spray and let the icy water wash away all traces of tiredness.
Once he was fully awake and dressed, Tyson went to his car and headed out to Josef and Rayna's home. Mick stepped outside as Tyson brought his Mustang to a stop in front of the house. There was concern etched on his face.
"Two more bodies?" he asked seriously.
"Yes, Felicity Jenner and Marla Kemp," Tyson responded, having received a text from savannah identifying the victims. "So Moriah did call and brief you?"
"She did," Mick confirmed. "The minute Rayna and Beth heard what was needed they headed to Josef's office and went to work. Next to the plan to grill Blake Winters, Beth is thrilled to be involved in creating this story. I think I've created a monster," Mick laughed.
"She has found her place in the community. You have guided her well," Tyson told him. "Mick, you might not have chosen to be a vampire but you can be proud of being a good one."
"Thanks Tyson, I've tried to find balance," Mick said seriously then he face lightened. "And we had better get inside before the ladies come looking for us. Rayna warned me to bring you in immediately."
They went in to Josef's office where everyone was waiting on them.
"Glad you are here Tyson, I think Beth and I have an idea that will work," Rayna said confidently.
Before Tyson could respond, his phone rang and he answered quickly when he heard Savannah's ringtone.
"Hey cherie, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine; this is the first chance I've had to call. Did you talk to Scott?" she inquired quietly.
"I did and I'm at Josef and Rayna's right now. The girls are working on a cover story to explain the drained bodies."
"Chaz called our killers "wannabe vampires" at the scene. I went out on a limb and said that is an angle we should investigate. I know that lies often make sense when you stick close to the truth," Savannah said quickly. "It might work if we make it look like a human who fancies himself a vamp."
"That is playing with fire Savannah," Tyson replied. "Given your position in the department it would be prudent to avoid the word vampire."
As he spoke he noticed both Beth and Rayna grinning and shaking their heads. Josef let out a snort of annoyance and rolled his eyes.
"I didn't know what to say when he sprung that on me," Savannah tried to explain. "I went with my gut."
"And from the signals I'm getting here, your gut might be right again," Tyson said as the two women in the room nodded.
"Great minds think alike," Savannah laughed. "I've got to go, Chaz is returning."
"See you later cher," Tyson said as the phone went dead. He looked at Beth and Rayna who had been able to hear most of the conversation. "So you approve of this crazy suggestion? We should not be linking the work "vampire" to this case in any form. Chaz is all ready overly suspicious. Why risk the truth coming out? And what about Winters, we don't know what he knows," he exploded.
"Calm down big boy," Josef said with a dry chuckle. Mick patted Tyson consolingly on the shoulder. "As long as the threats turn out to be very human then the rest of the population will write off the vampire connection as crazy."
"Believe me Tyson, we've gone down this road before," Mick said with a warm smile for Beth.
"It's how Mick and I met," Beth added smiling back at her sire. "I was reporting on a girl's death and labeled it a vampire killing to sell the story. Turned out it was a crazed teacher's assistant but that was my first step into this world."
"Aren't you forgetting that in this case it really is the work of vampires?" Tyson pointed out, not sold on the idea.
"We aren't forgetting that," Josef spoke up. "And trust me, I feel as uncomfortable with this approach as you do. But as I was shown once before, it is useless to panic every time the humans get close to our secret. There is always some group of romantics that want to believe in us. What we have to do is make absolutely sure that there is a human element who takes the fall for this crime," he warned, staring at the women.
"We will make sure of that my darling," Rayna assured him. "I remember from my time living here that there are pockets of people who practice some strange rituals. I have a feeling that things have not changed, am I right Tyson?"
The Cajun vamp nodded as a small glimmer of hope blossomed inside him. New Orleans had always had more than its share of cults and superstitious practitioners. The shedding of blood was often tied into their rituals. Linking the girl's deaths to some nasty group would make perfect sense.
"I think we're winning him over," Beth commented as she watched him relax. "We just need your advice on which nasty group of devil worshippers we can point the finger at."
"I think I can help you with that," Tyson agreed. "Tell me more."
"Well, we need a group that needs blood for their rituals and preys on young women. Once we have shut down the harvesters we can find a way to implicate a particularly unsavory cult and eliminate two problems at once," Beth told him. She had no trouble pointing a finger at a cult that was not guilty of this crime if they also liked to prey on innocents.
"It could work," Tyson said thoughtfully. "I don't like these groups but they're careful and I usually have my hands full keeping our secret without going after them. When I have solid info, I pass it on to the NOPD. But what does this do about deflecting Winters?"
"Tomorrow Moriah is hosting a "meet and greet" for some of her media stars. It will be open to the public for three hours and she's invited other members of the media in the city to attend. She made special mention of Beth attending and told of her special friendship with Savannah in her bio. We're hoping that Blake can't resist the invitation," Rayna grinned.
"Too bad we can't arrange for this cult to take out Winters," Tyson muttered.
"Now that would be tidy," Josef reflected. "Too bad the harvesters only seem to target women."
"I've wondered about that," Mick said as he seated himself in a chair near Beth. "We know that two men were recruiting the women but there could be more."
"Were there any missing men that were drained in the previous cities?" Josef asked.
"I don't know," Beth answered. "We can check."
"I'm on it," Rayna said turning to the computer on the desk before her. "I love research," she grinned.
"That's my girl," Josef approved.
"But people go missing in big cities every day," Tyson observed. "How do we know if they're connected other than by blood loss?" He took a seat in a nearby leather chair.
"First I have to find someone," Rayna muttered as she worked.
"Look for a man who vanished right on the heels of the last woman," Mick suggested. Rayna nodded and did just that.
Tyson decided he should contact Scott and let him know what was going down. He placed a call and briefed his friend on the cover story they had decided on.
"Thanks man, I can keep things vague for now but drop some hints that the wounds on the wrists look like injection sites," Scott told him after hearing the plan. "Please pass on my thanks to the ladies."
"Scott says thanks," Tyson announced as he hung up. Both Rayna and Beth smiled at him.
"We aim to please," Beth responded.
"And Mick…..you are right," Rayna spoke up. "In each of the last two cities there was a young man who vanished the day after the last girl. In each case the body did not show up like the women but was discovered in an abandoned house and their throats were slashed," she reported.
"Well that is downright ugly," Beth sighed.
"Very interesting," Josef mused. "I wonder why they were not disposed of like the women were? Could there be more to this gang than we know? We really do need to find this crew fast."
End chapter.
We have our cover story. I agree with Savannah, lies work the best when they stick close to the truth. Thank you for reading, please give me feedback.