Chapter 20

Lydia moved to the dumpster, pulling on her gloves she lifted the lid and sighed. "So young and pretty." The petite blond was discarded like yesterday's trash. Her body appeared to have been exsanguinated and she showed only from preliminary observations to have two punctures to her neck. Frowning she shook her head, she did not need another Collinsport Creeper report circulating the city.

Turning as the paramedics arrived she nodded to Colin Northrup who had been specially trained by her brother. "Hey Colin we have to wait for Tim, he should be here shortly, then when you get ready to pull her out, I want to make sure we don't disturb anything for the forensic people. I know they are still in town from Rucker's Rampage."

Colin snickered, "Yeah funny catch phrase huh?" She nodded her agreement and stepped back and felt a momentary weakness and dizziness slip over her and using the back of her gloved hand she pressed it to her forehead and closed her eyes as she stood still for a moment and then she felt the comfort of Colin's supporting arm. "You ok?"

He looked at her with some concern and turned to his partner, "Hey Basel, get her a chair from the bar." The young intern rushed through the door and moved out carrying one of the metal framed chairs and sat it down behind her.

"Hey isn't she the one that was hit last week had a skull fracture?"

Colin nodded, "Yeah, she was released. Why don't you go get the body bag and wait for Doc Stokes and show him back here? He should be here anytime."

Lydia felt her stomach roll and she was feeling weak. "Colin I will be ok. Just give me a minute."

Colin stooped down and peered up into her face. "You are in a sweat and I think you are still trying to do too much."

She looked into the kind blue eyes in a boyishly handsome face with a shock of blond hair that was clipped close to his head. She remembered when he first tried to grow his mustache and he had been made fun of by the other paramedics and EMT's. Telling him to wait until he grew up to be a man and to shave that pitiful peach fuzz.

He had taken the cajoling in good form and knew it was just the guys' way of accepting him to the group. He did shave and she liked him better without the mustache. "I like your face." She had said it before she realized she had spoken and he laughed.

"Well I like your face too. Now you gonna be ok?"

She nodded. "Just needed a little break. You gotta do me a favor and make sure Tim does not see me like this. Can you get me to the bathroom and keep civilians away from here until I get back?"

He nodded and helped her stand, setting the chair back against the wall of the bar. Then letting her lean on him he led her to the restroom. Waiting with his back to the rear door so he could watch the crime scene and the bathroom door he waited. Lydia appeared from the ladies restroom with a fresh washed face and looking a little better. "Color is back." He smiled holding the door for her and let her pass him.

Tim walked around the building with Basel in tow pulling the gurney with a body bag on the cot. He stopped when Colin joined him and glanced to Lydia, "Feeling better?" she nodded and grimaced and noted Tim had not missed the comment.

He chose to wait to address her appearance at a death scene. Tim turned and took a biohazard suit from his pouch and then pitched one to Colin. Lydia took the suit from Colin and shook her head. "My death scene."

She whispered softly and began to unfold the suit with Colin's help she put the suit on and walked to Tim. Tim had been preoccupied with getting into the dumpster hefting his muscular body into the open bin, he was studying the female's nude body. "Looks like possible sexual assault and exsanguination for the body. Two puncture wounds. Here help me turn her."

He glanced up fully expecting to see Colin and froze, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Lydia rolled her eyes and then bent down to help roll her. "I am doing my friggin' job." He bent over and took the body by her arms.

"This is not over Penny, you and I are going to discuss this later. You are non compliant."

Lydia sighed and helped him roll the body and they found a purse, and her clothing under her. "Evidence bags Colin, in Lydia's case, we have evidence here."

Lydia called, "Two medium and four big ones." She was looking over the area under the body and knew that forensic would comb through the whole dumpster and was glad she did not have to do that part of this job. Picking up her purse she leaned over and tucked the purse in the large brown paper bag, then the dress, in another bag and her bra and panties followed. "Where are her shoes?"

She did not want to disturb any more of the area for fear of destroying vital evidence. Tim noted, "Maybe the perp has a shoe fetish."

Lydia considered the possibility and then looked to Tim. "Ready to bag her? " Colin and Basel had opened the bag on the gurney and now stood to receive the body over the dumpster. With as much gentle care as he would have given his living patients, Tim without waiting for Lydia's help lifted the young girl's body and handed it over to the two paramedics.

"Respect is important for anyone whether living or dead."

He turned and with as much care lifted Lydia over the side of the dumpster and handed her over to Colin.

"Thanks Tim, Colin."

Colin set her down and stepped back and followed her to where the bags had been set. "She pulled the tape from the bag, bending the top of the bags over closing the bags that held the clothing she placed a strip of evidence tape and dated the tape with her marker. Taking care she opened the purse and looked around inside and saw a billfold.

Pulling the billfold out of the purse, she opened the top and looked for a driver's license. The victim's whole wallet had been rifled and all forms of identification were no longer present. She noted the impression of a driver's license had once been pressed against the plastic area generally used for the purpose of displaying an ID.

She could barely make out an impression but one was there. She would have to ask forensics to see if they could do something to get the image of the imprint from the plastic sheeting. She frowned. Taking the wallet she put it in another bag and stood back "No identification in the purse."

Tim walked over to her and rested his fingertips on his hips. "Do you think its hers?"

Lydia looked over at the bagged body and sighed. "I would think if those are her clothing and we can hope they belong to her."

Lydia again had a momentary sense of feeling weak and reached for Tim's arm. "Now we talk, come here."

He moved her back to the chair and pushed her in it. "Now you have a concussion and skull fracture, why the hell are you here and don't give me any bullshit about it being doing your job."

Lydia leaned forward and cradled her forehead in her hand. "Look Thom had been up for at least 36 hours, he looked far worse than I feel right now. I sent him home to get some sleep and something to eat. I was not going to do anything except ride my desk. Then this call came in and there was no one qualified to cover for me."

Tim stooped down and glanced up at the woman that was twenty years his senior and looked like she was only a couple of years older. He had admired her when she would baby sit him or he would run into her at the Collins estate and he had come to look upon her as an older sister.

Now he was worried, "Penny, you and I know you have to rest or you are going to fall face into a body and it won't be pretty. You have to promise me that once you are done here, you will go back to your house and get some rest. This town operated just fine without you before you became a ball bustin bitch of a cop it will do that again. As a matter of fact I saw your Dad in uniform patrolling earlier."

Lydia groaned, "That means that Thomas activated the Reserves. Crap."

He shook his head. "Your Dad looked as happy as a pig wallowing in mud. I think he is reliving his glory days and UT OH, you are in deep shit because looksee who is here."

Tim had glanced up to see George Patterson round the corner of the bar. He did not look happy seeing his daughter appearing pale and in pain. "Penny?" He walked to her and hitched his gun belt up on his hips and sighed. "Been a long time since I wore this thing. I had forgotten how uncomfortable they were." He grumbled then bent down and groaned as he rested his weight on his knees, ankles and feet.

"Your brother told me to come and check on you and imagine my surprise at not finding you in the office."

Lydia sighed, "Dad, we had a call and no one to cover."

George looked over to Tim, "And she is trying to prove to Nora Johnson she can do her job."

Lydia snapped her head up. "Who told you about that?"

George sighed, "With a hospital as small as Collinsport Memorial I will hear about it when it involves my kids and my family. Collins family thinks they are too good and someone is going to set us right blab, blab, blab. Nora Johnson whose son is a criminal and wanted to play cop. Were you afraid of getting her as your nurse?"

Lydia sighed and looked at the medics as they pulled the gurney by her and she looked back at her Dad. "Daddy, it had nothing to do with Nora she was being Nora and trying to bait me. I did not take he bait but I did decided to leave the hospital they could use the bed for other more serious patients and from the looks of things around here and from what Thom told me its not about to let up. I swear all I was going to do was cover my desk until he got some sleep and then this call came in and who would you get to cover this?"

George had to admit she was right. "But your health is as important too Lydia."

Forensic showed up from the State lab and looked from George to Lydia. "We can take this part from here."

Lydia stood briefly and nodded to her evidence bags. "The wallet has an impression pressed into the plastic area but no identification."

Bill Cook the head of the forensic team took the bags and nodded. "We will see what we can do with it Lydia."

Tim looked around for someone to help with the cars and saw no one qualified. "Give your Dad your keys. He is going to follow us to the station and then I am going to bring him back to get your car. Once you get to the office, I do not care if the world catches fire, you delegate someone else to cover for you and you sit."

Lydia opened her mouth and Tim held up his finger and said, "Ah, ah, no, I mean it. Otherwise I will have your ass hauled to Wyndecliff and put on lock down ward. I will take care of Nora and her pie hole problem."

Tim helped Lydia stand and helped her to his car; she paused long enough to hand over her keys to her father, then slid into the coroner's car and felt utterly helpless. "I want to file my verbal protest."

She muttered to Tim as she sat in the front seat. "Duly noted and over ruled. Penelope Patterson, you have no idea how dangerous this could be, just do as I say and we will be on equal respectful footing again."

Lydia sighed and looked down, "Do you think we have a psycho thinking he is a vampire working the area?"

Tim had slid behind the wheel of his car and paused before inserting the keys into the ignition. "I think we have a psycho and he likes to bleed his victims out, we will see if there are any saliva cells around the neck. Look Lydia, I know you are thinking we are going through the Collinsport Creeper syndrome again. I just think we have a serial killer that has moved into the area and if it is a pseudo vampire then it likes men and women. Because your dead body from the other day had the same types of basic injuries."

Lydia sighed, "I have nothing so far. No suspects, no idea of exactly what I am dealing with or who. I feel like a two-day-old turd and I am not on my game and now you are threatening me. I will need to be at the autopsy Tim. You know that is procedure."

Tim navigated the car around the small crowd that had drawn due to the pretty flashing blue and red lights and headed towards the Sheriff's Department.

"Here is the deal, your Dad drives you to the morgue, you sit for the autopsy and I drive you back to the office and no more than that."

Lydia held up her hand. "Fine, as long as I can get my pictures and witness what you find."

Tim pulled the coroners van around to the back carpool area and parked. "You might consider getting a change of clothing and a shower, you smell like the dumpster and that is the third time I have seen you in that outfit. Damn girl, I remember when you used to cringe if you wore the same outfit in one day."

George pulled in behind Tim's car and then backed up and parked the car in the sheriff's slot. Lydia unsnapped her seatbelt and got out letting her Dad have her seat. "Sure thanks Tim."

She moved into the back entrance of the Sheriff's Department and moved to her office and collapsed in her chair. Leaning back she closed her eyes and sighed. Then reaching for the phone she called Carolyn, "Hello?" Carolyn's calm soothing voice sounded like a godsend.

"Sis, its Pen. Can you do me a huge favor and pack me a beauty pack, go to my place and pick up my Grey three piece pant suit and bring it by the office?" Carolyn was so upbeat and happy; she had been that way since she had married Tony Pederson.

Tony had been her life savor, she had become so obsessed with her first husband's consequential death that she had lost any direction and had become just plain down right weird. Now she was back to the high school version of Carolyn, bouncy happy.

"Sure just let me know what you need in the beauty pack?"

Lydia involuntarily smiled as she thought a moment. "Ok, how about some shampoo, conditioner, hair dryer, eye make up, and . . ." She thought hey look under my sink counter and there is a ditty bag it has all that stuff in it, if you grab that and my hair dryer, my 3 piece grey pant suit and oh, the deep blue blouse next to it."

Carolyn agreed and said she would be there in about twenty minutes. Lydia closed her eyes and looked down at her shoes and sighed. Kicking her shoes off she studied the beginnings of the tear in her stockings and opened her bottom drawer of her desk and found a back up pair and sighed. "Good, now I need to clean these up and then maybe I will look halfway decent before Gerard sees me again." With a possible date in mind she moved to take her shoes to the locker room and clean them.

Finishing she heard Carolyn in the main hallway. "Penny! Hello Penny?"

Penny stepped out from the back and called, "Here Sis, come on back!" Carolyn trudged into the back women's locker room, which consisted of a converted Janitor's office that had a small shower one locker, sink and bathroom.

"Hey sis!" She took the clothing and the bag from her and nodded to the one chair that occupied the room. "Welcome to the ladies locker room."

Carolyn sighed, "Vicki was right, we need to build a new station and get you a proper locker room, this place is a dump."

Carolyn sat down while Penny disappeared behind the bi-fold doors to the shower area. "Yeah, I know and it gets older every day." Penny stepped into the shower and washed her hair and showered and it felt wonderful. Finishing up, she stepped out and toweled off, then wrapping the towel around her body she moved to the dressing area and saw Carolyn sitting in the chair talking on her cell phone.

"Sure mother I am here now, okay, I will see if Penny can get Dad to meet me here. No mother I need you to sit tight and do not leave the drawing room. You sure you saw someone looking in the windows? Did you call Barnabas or Willie? I see, well Penny just got out of the shower and I will be heading that way with Tony in about 10 minutes. Oh wait, call Vicki and have her send Danny over to meet us. Okay mother just make sure the house is secure and stay in the Drawing Room."

Carolyn glanced up looking at Penny standing next to her. "What is going on?"

She reached for her under clothing and began to slip them on. "Mother is home alone, David is in Boston with Uncle Roger and Hallie and she says she saw a man peeking in from the Drawing Room windows."

Penny grabbed her blouse put it on then put on her pants. "Give me a couple of minutes to finish dressing."

Carolyn stood up, "Its ok, Penny, I will go ask Karen to call Dad to meet me there, I will go get Tony, Dad can run by the house to check on mother, Danny is on his way over and will probably take mother back with him to the old house." Penny began to button up her blouse.

She was in hyper mode. "Where is Barnabas or Willie?"

Carolyn folded the oversized phone and looked up, "Oh they are at the Blue Whale meeting with your friend Gerard."

Penny began to slow down as she slipped on her vest, "You know that would look great with a grey tie." Penney looked at her stepsister and pointedly nodded to the door. "Karen, Dad your mother peeping tom?"

Carolyn chuckled. "Oh yes, right." Carolyn moved from the locker room and Penney went back to finishing cleaning up and once she was done she was happy with her over all look, professional and crisp.

Sliding on her clean shoes she actually felt human again and moved to the dispatch area. "Karen is my father responding to Collinwood?"

Karen who had been hired under the old administration nodded, "Yep, said he should be arriving."

George called off at Collinwood. It was only a short time later that George called back on needing back up and Penney heard her father's weapon being discharged. "I am in route. Who is out there that can back up!"

Karen checked her board, "We moved Reynolds to cover west end and State had been covering east end. Call Thom have him meet me at Collinwood code three, shit! Tell him I am swinging by to get him."

Lydia grabbed a shotgun and her duty weapon, Thom's keys to his Bronco and headed out the door. Running to the car she felt her adrenalin rushing at full speed. Throwing the shot gun in back, she jumped in shoved the car into reverse and pealed out of the parking lot with lights and siren.

Lydia just barely stopped for Thom to dive into the car, and she hit speeds of about ninety miles per hour. Thom reached for the microphone and called off, when Lydia slammed the car into park, reached for her shotgun and rushed to the open double doors of Collinwood.

Lydia found her father bleeding from a wound on his throat and shoulder; Thomas was rushing through the house screaming out for his stepmother. "MOM! MOM!" He found her lying in the den also suffering from a head wound. "PEN! Where's Dan?"

They had seen Danny's car when they had pulled next to it. His father's car was sitting door opened and lights going under the Porte concher.

Penney had radioed for an ambulance for two to transport then she realized Danny was missing. Panic seizing her, she sprang up and racked a shell into the chamber of her shotgun. "Time to go rabbit hunting."

With grim determination she went out the front door and looked for signs of Daniel her nephew. Seeing flashes of light that emanated from the area around Widows Hill, Lydia made her march towards the one place on this earth that had seemed to be designed for the destruction of life and before this night was over she was going to be one of those forces. She was focused and mad, she had never felt so much anger collected in one spot of her being as it was in the middle of her chest.

Vicki had sent her son to Collinwood to check on her mother and as soon as he had left she felt it a whisper and a breath and it stank of death. Rising up her eyes fixed she moved to the front of her house. It had been a long time since she had felt the need to call upon her innate abilities and it was here.

Moving to the front doors of her home she stood and looked to the woods and there she felt the evil and could smell the stench of something vile that watched and waited and it waited for her son. Grabbing her coat, she pulled it on as she ran from her house and followed where her instincts had summoned her.

Hair blowing wildly about her face and head, her nostrils flaring she neared the area she knew she was about to do battle. Widows Hill had not changed much over the past two hundred years. The rocky path was still jagged and rutted, the trees had grown bigger and were wider, the leaves of the season were as they had always allowed, fresh and full of the beginnings of life for spring, full and lush for the summer, colorful and enchanting for the fall and barren and looking for hope for the winter's end dormant and waiting.

This season they were lush yearning for a hint of change to bring about the enchantment for fall. There was no yearning in Victoria's heart nearing the edge of the pathway that led to Widow's Hill. Stopping she held out her hand palm forward eyes fixed, "Locate Daniel." When the rush of the wind blew over her body she felt his essence and she closed her hand. "Send home." Her words drifted on the wind like a soft seductive whisper.

Daniel had seen the thing covered in matted fur it had bent over his grandmother's body and caressed her face, then smelling him it stood like a man with a wolf's face and it growled and then charged him. Daniel turned and ran from the den and to the foyer where his grandfather stood. "Run Grandpa!"

George did not have time to raise his shot gun before the beast knocked the gun spinning from his hand. George had reached for his walkie-talkie and shouted a need for back up and drawn his service weapon and fired at the beast. The beast just kept coming. The last Daniel had witnessed before he hit the front lawn of Collinwood was the beast advancing on his grandpa.

Then he knew it was after him. Daniel had strong legs, he had run track and won ribbons for his athletic abilities and his football feats had been legendary but now fear was threatening to strangle his breath from his body and he was afraid. With his heart pounding in his ears he ran for the pathway that would take him to safety Widow's Hill.

Then as quickly as he was running towards the place his parents had called Widow's Hill, he was in his room lying on his bed breathing hard and sweating profusely. "What the . . ." Appearing in his room, so had his sister Jeanette. She wore an odd colored suit with some type of high tech design with a mesh ninja styled mask pulled up from her face revealing her features, the head gear was the same webbing as her suit.