Chapter 2 James Dean
Monday: 9:15
Inside the Victorian house, the members of A.D.A.P.which consisted of Buffy, Victor, Jocelyn, Paavo, Charity, Burke, and Dudley, gathered around a table in the conference room. The conference room was originally a dining room. It still carried the dining room furniture from the previous owners. The table seated twelve. The whole house had maintained its original structure, but over the years and several owners later, who each had put in their own individual style, the house had become a mish-mash of several designs. And the dining room reflected it, with its cherry veneer paneling and toile wallpaper.
"What do we have," asked Connor after calling the room to order. At fifty-five, he was still lean and fit thanks to a sensible diet and daily exercise in the gym. But the stress of the job was taking its toll on him, with the strands of gray weaving its way into his sable brown hair and goatee.
"The D.B. is one James Dean," said Victor, looking through his notes. Although he has a photographic memory, he likes to have his thoughts written on paper. "He is a college student, originally from Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was attending San Francisco State University. The youngest child of four, his roommate called in a missing report on him when he hadn't come home for four days.
"How long had he been missing before his roommate reported him?" Connor questioned.
"Three days," said Victor, in his element. He loves police work; sometimes he thought he was born to do it.
"Why did he wait so long to call the police?" asked Jocelyn.
"They were not the best of friends, just shared a room, according to the roommate. He told me and I quote, 'He just faded into the background man.' The roommate never knew he was missing, until several of the teachers were concerned because he was missing class."
"Is he the type to party?" asked Connor with a puzzled frown.
"No," said Buffy. "By what I gathered, he was a nerd. He was the captain of the math league and the chess club. He didn't date much. But for the last couple of days before he was missing, he was seen in the company of a beautiful woman."
"Is that unusual?" asked Charity looking around the room.
"Yeah, here is a picture of the guy." The picture showed a studious young man wearing glasses. Buffy looked at Victor, who nodded. "We are not saying he's ugly or anything. But he doesn't seem the type beautiful women fawn over."
"Do we have any idea who this woman is?" asked Connor in a cool voice.
"No," Buffy said shaking her head.
"Do we have a description of her?" he asked, again in the same cool tone.
"Yeah," Buffy said looking at her own notes"The woman was described as five feet tall, blue eyes and brunette with pale skin."
"You think she is the one killing these men," Charity asked concerned.
"Yeah, I think so," Buffy said in a dull and troubled voice. "If it were a straight Kindred killing, they would have been killing women too. But they are only killing men, young college students. The only thing in common with each victim is that they are male and they were college students, plus they were all found in the same position as Mr. Dean."
"Have you been to the site?" Connor questioned Jocelyn.
Jocelyn's job was to commune with the dead. She was a medium. She fought the gift her whole life. From an early age, she could see dead people. It sounded like a cliché or the title of a movie, but there she was, still seeing Aunt Sally or Uncle John. During her late teens, she was able to focus her talents, and help the newly departed continue on their journey. She was an average woman, with average brown colored hair and an average sized build. In all, she was average. Because she looked average, she faded into the background, but she made up for it with her psychic abilities. "Yes," she said, answering Connor's question.
"Do you have a sense of why she's killing these men?" he asked.
"…and humiliating them," Buffy chimed in.
Turning to Buffy, Connor asked, "What do you mean?"
"Draining blood is easy. You just grab a person by the neck and drink. But she took their clothes off. Why?"
Turning to the Medical Examiner, Buffy asked. "Was there anything unusual about Mr. Dean?"
Dudley Biddle, an export from Britain has been an M.E. for twenty-five years. While he was younger, he couldn't see himself as a doctor, the way his father wanted him to. He wanted to become a dancer, and for several years, he was in the royal ballet, until one fateful day, he broke his ankle. After several weeks of healing and therapy, doctors advised him that he shouldn't dance professionally. Upon hearing that, his dreams of being a dancer were dashed; he migrated to the United States, followed his father's advice, and became a doctor. "There was not anything unusual about Mr. Dean, except his unfortunate moniker."
"Uh," said Connor staring at Dudley baffled.
"His name, man. I am talking about his name, James Dean." All around the room, there was confusion. "Rebel without a Cause and East of Eden," he said, astonished that the group didn't recognize these titles. "I see that you guys don't watch late night cinema."
Connor sighed in exasperation. "Mr. Biddle, please."
Dudley bit his lip to stifle a grin. "Okay, here's what I have: Mr. Dean was an ordinary human being. There was nothing special about him, at least what I could find. And let me tell you I looked. There wasn't anything I could find that distinguished him from us. But I did find one thing pretty interesting."
"What!" said Connor, now fed up with the M.E.
"I found out Mr. Dean had sex recently."
"He did?" asked Burke shocked. Burke Levy looked like all the victims. He didn't socialize and computers were his life. But there was one thing going for him the others didn't know, with the exception of Buffy. And that was that Burke Levy was a second-generation sorcerer.
"What?" said Connor climbing quickly to his feet in astonishment. For the first time in years, this night kept bringing surprises after surprise. When he received the appointment from the President, and was told, yes that vampires really existed, he thought nothing would top that. Finding out that a young nerd had sex before he died still shouldn't have shocked him, but the combination of the portfolio of Mr. Dean's life and the description of the mystery lady didn't seemed to gel.
Whoa, thought Burke. What a way to go.
"What about the other victims," Buffy asked. "Did they also have intercourse before they died too?"
"I wasn't there to examine the bodies personally," Dudley answered with an impersonal nod. "But the Medical Examiners did exemplary jobs. And they kept immaculate records. So, yes indeed, each victim had sex before they died."
A thought came to Victor, "Did you remember to wipe those records clean?" He asked the computer expert.
"Of course," said Burke annoyed. "We can't let the world know that vampires and demons exist," he retorted in cold sarcasm. "I couldn't forget something important like that. I downloaded each record, and then I created a small virus to attack those records and a few nonessential ones."
Victor gave Burke a black look.
"Alright," said Buffy placatingly.
"Did anyone besides this roommate see this mystery lady," asked Connor, studying Buffy intently.
She hesitated a moment. "No," she said. From the moment she had heard of the mystery woman, she knew that she was the one. The killer. She could feel it in her gut. And when it comes down to it, she always trusts her instincts. Her instincts had saved her life numerous times.
"So, we are only taking this roommate's word that there was a mystery lady?" Connor asked blinking in surprise
"Well, kinda yes," Buffy said, blushing furiously.
"Why don't you go back and find some corroborative evidence. And I hope you do much better investigating than you did before."
"Yes, sir," Buffy mock saluted. She went crimson with resentment and humiliation. She knew that Connor didn't like her, and she had detected a slight condescension in his attitude. Connor had resented that he didn't have control over Buffy. And he resented the fact that Buffy answered only to the President and not to him, especially since he thinks Buffy is a maverick. As a touch telepath, Buffy had no idea what Connor was thinking. At times like this, she wished she could read him, liked she could Julian.
For a minute, there was an awkward silence.
Dismissing Buffy shortly, Connor sat back in his chair. He turned to Jocelyn and asked. "Since you have walked the crime scene, did you sense the victim at all?"
"I-I couldn't see James," Jocelyn stammered. "But I could sense pain."
"Pain?" Buffy questioned startled.
"Yes," she said. She hesitated, blinking with bafflement. "Why, is it important?"
"I don't know," Buffy said thoughtfully. She looked at the M.E. "You said there wasn't any mark on the body except the two teeth marks on his neck?" Buffy asked with an edge to her voice.
"Yeah, what have it?" asked Dudley, his brow furrowed.
"That shouldn't have caused any pain," she said, her mind reeled with confusion.
Everyone turned to look at Buffy, each with varying degrees of puzzlement on his or her face.
"What do you mean?" asked Connor now curious. He never knows how her mind works.
Blushing Buffy said, "Kindred bites are erotic. Tell them," she demands of Paavo. She didn't mean to blurt that out. What's wrong with her lately? It seemed like she couldn't concentrate. Now they might wonder how she knew about the erotic effects of a Kindred bite.
"You are the one telling the story," said Paavo, his tone coolly disapproving. He wasn't angry per se, he thought, but he was annoyed to be put on the spot. He sighed and turned to look into Charity's eager face.
"Is it true?" Charity remarked pleased at how nonchalant she sounded as heat was stealing into her face.
A half smile crossed Paavo's face. He looked at her enigmatically for a moment. "Yes, little one," he said smoothly, with no expression on his face. "It's just as my queen said. Our bites are erotic. That is why we have some people willing to donate blood." He did not tell them that he could mesmerize victims into donating blood. Some things about the Kindred should remain a mystery.
"Okay," Charity said her flush deepened to crimson. She put a hand up to her face, trying to hide her blush, hoping no one had noticed. From the first day she had met Paavo, she'd had a major crush on him. Even after finding out he was a vampire. A Kindred. She raised her eyes to find him watching her; her heart jolted in response and her pulse pounded. She had no way of knowing that the supernatural beings in the room could smell her desire and hear the acceleration of her heart.
"Well, you see what I mean," said Buffy with quiet resolve. "If there were no marks other than those two bite marks, then Mr. Dean should have died feeling pleasure, not pain." She turned to Jocelyn who was doodling absently on a white note pad. "Are you sure that was what you sensed? Pain?"
"Of course", said Jocelyn, making the statement a fact. Although, Buffy had recommended her for this job, she resented her. One of the reasons in her mind was because their skills were similar, and because of that, sometimes she would second-guess he self, especially when Buffy was around. And the other reason was Buffy seemed like 'Miss Know it All.' Example, how did she know that Kindred bites were erotic? They are evil. They should be hunted down and killed, she thought. Why should we socialize with them? They're all freaks: Victor, Paavo, and little Miss Buffy. Buffy, what kind of a name was that to name a kid? She's not human, I can feel that she's not human. And Charity, the least charitable person I ever met, look at her cozying up to the vampire. They all deserve to die. "I am not empathic," she said to Buffy's question, annoyance in her voice, "but a medium; however I am able to distinguish pleasure from pain."
"Look," said Buffy placatingly. "I am not trying to tell you your business," she said her lips thinned with irritation. "But what I do know of Kindred is that they don't give bad neck."
"Yeah, you should know," Jocelyn retorted, fed up in what she perceived as Buffy's condescending attitude. "I have known you for three years, and I can see how comfortable you are with the monsters."
"Monsters?" Buffy said, her jaw literally dropping open in shock.
"Yeah, monsters," she said sneering.
"Do you think I am a monster?" Buffy asked, her tone had become chilly.
Jocelyn avoided her gaze. "Well," she said speaking with a light bitterness.
"That's enough!" said Connor, grounding the words between his teeth.
"No, it's not enough," Buffy said, her nostrils flaring with fury. "If little Miss Priss here," she said heading towards Jocelyn at the other side of the table, "wants to continue to work for this group, she has to learn who are the true monsters," she said almost choking on her words.
"Uh oh," said Victor, and with supernatural speed, he rushed to cut Buffy off. But he was too late. "You are in deep shit," he said growling.
Buffy had opened her shield and let out a small blaze of power.
Jocelyn squeaked, her body stiffening in apprehension. It was as if all of the air was being sucked out of the room. She gasped, her face turning an alarming shade of red.
"Buffy!" Victor yelled, fighting his way towards her. Panic he had never felt before started rioting inside him. His body felt as if it was in quicksand; he could barely move. He had to stop her; she could kill them all.
"You have been working here for three years and you have seen some truly weird and disturbing things, yet you have the nerve to call me a monster. If you think I'm a monster," she snapped, "you truly haven't seen any thing yet," Buffy said her voice rising an octave. Slowly she started levitating and an invisible wind floated her hair behind her back, giving her the illusion of flying. Her eyes turned a murky gray mimicking a storm and her voice deepened as if echoing from an empty chamber. It was like dripping icicles. "You think Paavo is a monster?" she asked blasting more power. "How about Victor?" she asked floating towards Jocelyn.
"Oh no," Paavo moaned, his face turning pale. He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead as if pain. "My Queen," Paavo pleaded, holding Charity up in his arms that had collapsed towards Buffy as if in supplication.
"You have yet to truly see what a monster can do," Buffy said, cutting off the blast of power. "Monsters don't hide in the shadows with disfiguring faces. Most monsters live next door like ordinary people. So when you actually see a monster, then you can talk," she said her voice fading, losing its steely edge.
Breathing in shallow, quick gasps, Jocelyn nodded yes, her eyes swallowing up most of her face.
Eyeing Jocelyn with a lethal calmness in her eyes, Buffy floated back down to the ground. She turned to Connor, who was slowly getting his breath back. "I am going back to the crime scene to see what I can find, and I will get you some corroborating witness to Mr. Dean's mystery woman. Then I am going home," she said. "Who's with me?" she said to the room at large.
Connor nodded and let out a long, audible breath.
"Coming partner?" she said to Victor, her green-hazel eyes meeting his brown eyes, as she walked out of the conference room.
"Right behind you," Victor said, taking a deep, unsteady breath as he followed her. Looking around the room, his eyes touched everyone, nodding goodbye to Paavo. His mouth was tight and grim as he walked out the front door. This job had been his salvation. Without it, he doesn't know what he would have done. And the members of this group had become his friends, family. But to find out that they thought he was monster, hurt him more than they would ever know. Yes, he and Paavo were more than human, but that didn't mean they should be treated any differently. Having been a werewolf for several years, sometimes he would forget and think of himself as human. But he cannot change who he really is, even if he wanted to.
A part of him understood, where Jocelyn was coming from, but the other part understood Buffy. To call her friends and family monsters was asking too much. As a cop and a werewolf, he had seen his share of evil, both human and supernatural, so he understood Buffy's point of view. And there was Jocelyn. Even as a medium for several years, she still hasn't seen a truly evil person, even working for A.D.A.P.
Nearing the car, Buffy glanced at Victor who was walking beside her, she frowned thoughtfully at him. "You are not saying much."
"I don't have anything to say, except I'm driving," Victor said, his hands on the driver's side door.
"Are you scared of me," she asked from the other side of the car.
Frowning he looked at her over the top of the car, his hands out. "Why shouldn't I be scared of you, you almost killed me?" he said.
"You know I wouldn't do anything to deliberately hurt you," she said, her eyebrows shooting up in amazement, as she handed him the keys.
"That's not what it felt like," Victor retorted, starting the car. He wasn't really angry; he understood the moment had got out of hand.
"I'm sorry," Buffy said quietly, reflecting back on that moment in the room, how angry she was.
"Thank you," said Victor. And there was a calming silence as he drove down the street.
"Friends?" Buffy burst out; she couldn't take the silence any longer.
"Friends," he said, giving her a sidelong glance. "What was that?" he finally burst out.
"She gets on my nerves," said Buffy her lips twisted into a cynical smile. "I recruited this woman thinking she could contribute to this squad, and this is how she paid me back. With this stupid prejudice."
"Be fair," Victor said, surveying the road judiciously. "She hasn't met a true monster."
"But to question my motives," she said tersely.
"She's young," he said matter-of-factly.
"That is no excuse," Buffy said, detecting a hint of censure in his tone. "She's not that young."
He stared wordlessly at her.
Raising her fine arched eyebrows, she protested, "She's 30."
"Yeah, but remember when you recruited her she wasn't a cop," said Victor. "But three years have passed, and she now knows how to handle herself in a fight. Remember the first couple of weeks?" he asked laughing in remembrance."
"Yeah," she said, a flash of humor crossing her face as she also remembered the other member's first week on the team.
"She's gotten a lot better," said Victor in a low voice.
"If you say so," Buffy said mockingly.
He studied her thoughtfully for a moment. "Where are we going?"
"Didn't I tell you?" she asked startled. "I told Connor that I was going back to the crime scene. Something out there is bothering me."
"What was it?" he asked, confused.
"Even though Miss Priss is on my shit list right now, she told us she had sensed pain. Plus, she is a good medium. I wouldn't have recommended her for the job if she wasn't good."
"Okay, back to the crime scene it is," said Victor, making a u-turn on the side street.