Why kill here? At the UNLV - Thomas & Mack Center?
That thought barely registers when Elena glances toward the rear entrance and spots him standing on the perimeter of the yellow tape not far from Elijah. A uniformed officer halts her car and brusquely asks for her ID at the Center's front gate. While he's checking it over, she notices a cluster of news vans lining the drive to the secondary road leading to the back of the stadium. The crowd of reporters begins to disperse, allowing her to park her car near a familiar Camaro.
After killing the engine, she sits motionless for a few moments, holding her breath and taking in the sight of him. His tousled, raven hair, the hint of stubble on his jawline, his eyes- the blue of every dancing sky- there is nothing not to like.
Quickly checking the rearview mirror, Elena curses at her appearance, regretting how hastily she put herself together. She'd practically flown out of the door as soon as she heard the 420 come across her police scanner and had barely enough time to throw her hair into a messy bun much less apply make-up.
She glances at Elijah just as he looks up and catches her eye through the windshield. He smiles half-heartedly and beckons her over with a nod of his head.
After acknowledging him, she ducks under the tape barrier, listening to the gravel crunch beneath her feet as she makes her way to Elijah. He's standing with Officer Donovan and someone else she doesn't know.
"We have another one?" she asks and looks over her shoulder to see Damon give her a nod.
"Yes, Elena, it would appear we do," Elijah speaks up, pulling her aside.
"Do you have a name? Anything?"
"Lenore Shaw."
"Did she have a connection to this place?" Elena queries, raking her eyes over the area.
"She was a concessions manager."
"She was killed here?" Elena's eyes focus in on the drape-covered body; only looking up when Elijah pulls her out of the way, allowing the coroner's van access. "Sometimes I don't know how you do this, Elijah."
"It's my job," he replies matter-of-factly.
"How are you holding up? After all of this, anyone would be frustrated."
"We need to catch this guy," he grits out.
"So, do you believe she was killed here?" Elena asks again, as she watches the coroner's van drive away with the body.
"It would seem so."
"I can't help but notice there's no blood..." Elena mentions, perusing the area as forensics does their work.
"Fits the pattern, but I think you've been privy to enough information. We wouldn't want people asking questions about your sources..."
"Okay," Elena agrees. "I'll leave you to it then." With a nod, she ducks under the tape barrier a short distance from where Damon's standing. Her arm brushes against his and electricity shoots up it. Sucking in a startled breath, she takes a step back.
An awkward stillness falls over the air between them.
"What? Did you think I wouldn't be here?" Damon quips and follows when she starts toward her car.
"I have no fucking idea what to expect from you. You tell me you didn't have anything to do with these murders and yet here you are, and this time, the victim isn't some cocktail waitress or prostitute whose body was left in a seedy alley. How do I know that you aren't responsible for this woman's death?" Elena counters as she watches Damon take a drink from his flask.
"I always take credit for the killing I do."
Elena continues to stare dubiously at Damon.
"Seriously, stop looking at me like that! If I was going to kill all these women, I'd have a dinner party."
"Will you be serious?" Elena snaps, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I am being serious. I didn't do this. If I want a snack, I snatch, eat, and erase. It's as simple as that," Damon rebuffs her, a fresh swell of irritation rising within him.
"What do you mean 'erase'?" Elena asks, her mouth setting in a hard line.
"This is not the place," Damon cautions, looking over his shoulder as the crowd begins to disperse.
"I guess not. Wouldn't want the public to know a vampire is standing in their midst, now, would we?" Elena replies sarcastically.
"When you're ready to have a serious talk, you know where to find me," Damon counters and rakes his eyes over her slowly before blurring away.
"That went well," Elena mumbles to herself. Returning to her vehicle, she paces back and forth alongside it for several minutes. Damon's in her every thought, but what's she supposed to do with that? With annoyance pricking at her, she slides behind the wheel, resolutely repeating to herself not to go to his hotel.
After a good hour of driving around aimlessly, simultaneously talking herself into and out of going to see Damon, she is thrilled when an alternate idea strikes her, taking her mind off him completely – at least for the moment.
Elena enters the Clark County Library with one thought in mind. She strides determinedly to the information desk, barely waiting for the clerk to offer a, "Can I help you?"
"I hope so. I'm looking into the supernatural. Vampires, specifically," Elena informs the woman at the desk, cringing internally when the lady peers over the top of her glasses.
"Section 14, A side. Right through there," she divulges, pointing Elena in the right direction.
Elena thanks the woman. Walking amongst the bookcases, she finally finds the section she's looking for. Running her fingertip over the books, she finally finds one on vampire lore, truths, and myths. "Truths?" she mumbles. Sitting down, she starts to thumb through it, stopping with a gasp when she reaches mind compulsion.
Mind Compulsion is an ability thought to be exclusive to vampires. Theoretically, it allows a vampire to control another person's mind through simple eye contact. Most often thought to be used to provide basic instructions, there's some speculation that it can be used to erase or alter memories. Some believe that a truly powerful vampire may even have the ability to use compulsion to astral project into another's dreams. If real, then needless to say, this ability would go a long way in keeping the existence of vampires and, by extension, other supernatural races hidden. The only repudiated prevention for vampiric compulsion is vervain.
"What is vervain?" Elena asks herself, already looking for it in the index.
Vervain is a rare, purplish herb similar in appearance to lavender. Now mostly eradicated, it once grew abundantly in the southeastern region of the United States. In recent years, the herb has gained notoriety for being a purported weakness to vampires. Supposedly, physical contact with the plant can cause burns to a vampire's skin, while ingestion is said to cause internal damage as well as a weakened and feverish state. In order to protect themselves from vampires, believers claim to drink-infused liquid or to wear the herb hidden on their person, often embedded in jewelry.
"Ma'am, the library's about to close," comes a voice from above her.
Elena glances at her watch. She's been in the library for hours already. "I lost track of time," she explains, wondering if vervain really exists and, if it does, where she can find some.
Still debating if what she read about vampires is true or not, Elena stays at home for a few days, not wanting to cross paths with Damon. In the meantime, however, she does attend another press conference about the Las Vegas slayer. After the conference, she shares the update on her podcast.
"On August 13th, a male voice called the police emergency number. "Listen. And listen carefully," the man stated. "The person who attacked Lenore Shaw was seen."
"Who's calling?" the operator asked.
"No way you're getting my name," the man answered and hung up. This information came courtesy of Chief Forbes.
The woman's current and former boyfriends all volunteered to take a lie-detector test- and all passed without question. The Las Vegas Police crime lab has a pitifully short list of physical evidence to work with. No blood for DNA. They did recover a partial fingerprint at one of the scenes, a subsequent AFIS search yielded nothing.
To solve a homicide- or homicides as in this case- detectives must find some common threads, something linking the victim to the killer. Here, they are stymied. The only connection seems to be the fact that they're all women, and they've all been drained of blood. None of the girls knew each other.
The hue and cry from the public to produce some answers grows every day, and the impact on the Las Vegas Police Department is tremendous. Chief Forbes said that one person has come forward under the condition of anonymity.
Research has found that eyewitness testimony can be very unreliable because it is based solely on memory. The problem with this is that human memory has a tendency to be biased, especially when a third-party uses trigger statements. These statements are often purposefully used by defense attorneys to cloud witness memory of what really happened in order to procure reasonable doubt. In this case, however, investigators are desperate.
Police artist Dana Winston was tasked with listening to the witness describe what he or she saw and use that knowledge to draw a composite picture of a man said to resemble the stranger seen at the latest crime scene. Trying to capture on paper what is in the mind of the witness is already a very tedious process. In this instance, it was dark when the alleged killer was seen, making it almost impossible for the artist to capture a good image of the suspect.
Still, the rendering was released to media outlets, and as soon as the composite appeared on television, hundreds of tips came in, the vast majority of which, unfortunately, turned out to be prank calls. The profile image shows a man with dark hair. No outstanding features or differences that might set him apart from thousands of young men that inhabit the Las Vegas Metro area. Most of the killings have taken place under the cover of darkness. It would be impossible to identify a tattoo or anything else that might narrow the suspect list.
What else, you might ask? There is nothing else...
"And so, the search for Las Vegas's fiendish killer goes on. I'm Elena Gilbert and this is 'Someone Knows Something'.
Wide awake, and not yet ready to face the nightmares that she knows will arise when she closes her eyes, Elena is startled to hear the phone ring. Setting her book face down, she stretches to reach for her cellphone.
She sees Damon's name and questions race through her mind. Why would he be calling at this hour? Her thumb swipes the screen to answer, easing across the large 2300 on her lock screen. She got in the habit of using military time after dating a former marine when she lived in Atlanta, but it mostly stuck because of her work, since using military time in hospitals is the standard…
It's probably not all that late for creatures that go boo in the night...
"What?"
"I need to talk to you," he answers gruffly which only serves to escalate her irritation at his brusque manor.
"What could we possibly have to talk about at this time of night, and if you can't be nice, I'm going to hang up," she growls back at him.
"I thought I caught a glimpse of someone...he could be your killer. Or at the very least he might have some answers."
"Another vampire?" Elena asks, trying not to laugh, although her attempt is woefully inadequate. "I mean, you told me you killed people, so what makes this vampire eviler than any other vampire? Or you, for that matter?"
"Fine! If you're not interested, forget I called."
"What do you want me to do, Damon?"
"Meet me in my hotel lobby in a half hour."
"You promise not to do that mind control thing with me?"
"You've been doing your homework!" Elena can almost see him smirk.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Yes, Elena, I promise I won't compel you."
"I don't know why I listen to you... I'll be there in a little while," she adds, ends the call, and drags herself out of bed...
Elena strolls into Treasure Island and is immediately waylaid from behind by strong arms. "Geez, scare me to death," Elena stammers out, pressing her palm over her chest.
"Sorry," Damon apologizes and drags her farther into the shadows. "See that guy at the blackjack table?"
"There's a lot of guys at the blackjack table. You need to be more specific."
"The dark-haired guy. Six foot tall, maybe 170 pounds. The one with a crazy look on his face."
"Aside from the 'six-foot tall', you're describing yourself," Elena retorts, smirking at him.
"Aren't we witty tonight?" Damon scoffs, glowering at her.
"Seriously, Damon, what makes you think he could be the killer?"
"That's Kai Parker. A real psychopath and all-around asshole... We have a history."
"A history? Ooh. Did Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome break your heart?" Elena quips, her eyes twinkling as she gives Damon the once over.
"Not that kind of history. Get your mind out of the gutter."
"Well, you put it there, darlin'." she mocks.
"Stop! When he was younger, he murdered most of his siblings. Six years ago, his sister was supposed to marry my best friend, but he killed her, too, on their wedding day."
"That's horrible. What happened to your friend?"
"I don't know where he disappeared to. He's human. After what happened, he wanted to get as far away from the supernatural as possible. I didn't try to talk him out of it."
"So, what do you suggest we do?" Elena questions, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We follow him."
"And what if he doesn't leave the blackjack table?"
"Well, if you could snuggle up to him, maybe you could find out his room number, and I could do a little sleuthing?"
"You want me to snuggle up to a murderous vampire! Are you crazy?" she snaps indignantly.
"First of all, he's not a vampire; he's a siphoner."
"What the hell is that?"
"Long story, no time. And I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me," he says with a chortle before giving her his classic Damon smirk.
She reels her arm back to smack him, but he catches her wrist, stopping her from doing anything. "Here's my room key," he offers, pressing it into her palm. "Go upstairs and change into the dress. I'll keep an eye on him."
"You have a dress lying around in your room?" she looks at him in consternation.
Damon lowers his mouth to her ear, causing goosebumps to erupt where his warm breath touches her skin.
"You never know when you might need one... Let's just say I always come prepared," he adds with a wink.
"What the hell am I doing?" she asks, staring at the key in her hand.
"You're helping me to help your cop friend. Detective Mikaelson, is it? Do you have a thing for him?" Damon asks, raking his eyes over her.
"How in the hell is that any of your business?" she practically growls at him.
"Just checking. That would be a 'no' then."
"You know nothing. And just so you do know, if anything happens, I'll stake you myself," she threatens.
"Nothing's going to happen. Now scoot!" he teases and gives her backside a nudge toward the elevator.
"Don't make me regret this," she calls over her shoulder.
Damon doesn't take his eyes off of her 'til the elevator doors slide shut.
Elena approaches the lobby, taking in the bright lights, the crowd, and the striking Chinese jade sculptures. She notes the security guards peppered throughout the building. She knows they're usually vigilant, and whatever they miss, the security cameras usually catch.
In the gaming areas, the ceiling lights are muted, allowing the glow of a thousand slot machines to fill the room. In the center of the casino, guarded by rows and rows of slots, are the gaming tables: craps, poker, blackjack, and roulette. The slot machines sound more or less the same as they do everywhere; jangly music, the whir of spinning reels accompanied by loud beeps and cha-chings. The gamblers are serious, each laser-focused on their vice of choice.
Elena shakes her head, not understanding the allure of throwing money away when the odds are so stacked against winning. She's wearing the backless, black dress and heels that Damon left in his room. Looking around, she spots him just in time to catch a glimpse of his eyes widening at her appearance. Her lips purse together to show her disapproval, although she can't deny that she likes it when men look at her like that - Damon, in particular.
What are you thinking, Elena? He's a vampire!
Damon's nodding to the blackjack table. Her heart is beating in her chest like a freight train as she approaches their target. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Elena inquires, smiling at the man. He is rather handsome after all.
Kai's forehead puckers as he rakes his eyes over her.
"Is there a problem with me sitting here?" Elena asks, tilting her head.
"Nope," he answers without looking at her again. Instead, he signals to the dealer for more cards.
"Do you want some cards, ma'am?" the dealer posits, ready to include her.
"Oh, no. I'm just watching this handsome man for now," Elena explains while running her fingernails up his bare forearm.
"Do I know you?" Kai asks, turning his head to the side to scrutinize her.
"No," Elena says, giving what she hopes is a bashful smile. She can tell she overdid it with the arm thing. Gosh, she's just not used to playing seductress, especially not in a situation like this. She needs to fix this, so she tries another tact. Channeling Caroline, she says, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. I just saw you from across the room and thought you were cute. But then you didn't seem interested. And, wow, now I'm babbling."
Kai examines her carefully before a smug smile appears on his face. "My good looks tend to make women babble," he gloats.
"Nice shirt," Elena mentions, fingering the edge of his sleeve.
"Well, thanks. Yeah, somebody burned my other one. Which was awesome, by the way."
"I'm sure it was," Elena acknowledges, nervously fisting a handful of her dress under the table.
"You are crazy-pants. Oh, it still sucks about that shirt, though."
"Only for you," Elena bluffs, shifting in her seat. "And I'm sorry about your shirt."
Kai takes a drink of soda. "Is this going to be like an episode of "Ellen" where I come face-to-face with my demons and change for the better?"
"I don't know what you mean? I just thought we could have a good time," she clarifies, forcing a smile.
"They have plenty of restrooms," he points out, using his head to gesture at a nearby one.
"I was thinking more like your room?" Elena comments, feeling her cheeks begin to burn.
His stare is as uncomfortable as a chorus-girl's corset and has the same effect on Elena's breathing, constricted and shallow. His piercing dark eyes are sinister, sending a chill up her spine. Every move he makes betrays his intentions, and none of them are noble. Sucking down her revulsion, she leans closer to him, brushing their arms together.
"I'm cashing out," Kai tells the dealer before standing up and pocketing his chips. ""Honey, you better be prepared to put out... Let's go," he adds, taking Elena's arm and leading her to the elevators. The wait is interminable. Elena fidgets as she tries to surreptitiously look for Damon. He's not going to leave her alone in an elevator with this tool, is he? By the time the elevator arrives and a group of people pour out, Damon is still nowhere to be seen. She and Kai enter the enclosed space even as Elena's breath goes ragged with panic.
As the door starts to close, however, a hand stops it and a familiar figure steps inside. Pushing the 'door close' button, Damon turns with a smirk on his face, and asserts, "Well, hello, Kai. It's been a long time."
Huge, huge thanks to all of you. You're the best.
Massive thanks to jmfangs and siberia21. They're both amazingly talented writers. Eva did just update her 'Christmas Carol'.
AFIS: Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
Chapter title: 'I See You' by Mika. If anyone still watches DE videos- 'Damon & Elena Vampire Diaries I See You by Russian Angel. My all-time favorite is DE 'Timeless Love' by ShatteredxDesires.
Have a fantastic day and we'll see you next time.