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Chapter 26

Mick braced himself over Beth's body, protecting her as Calvin Simmons' headless body struck his back, splattering them both in blood.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he struggled to keep his vampire under control. The blood scent was so very strong and even though it was vampire blood it did bring his beast out.

"Yes," Beth reassured him as she looked up at him from her back. She smiled at him confidently. "I'm fine Mick."

Nodding, Mick levered himself to his feet and then reached down to assist Beth back onto her feet and into his arms. She clung to him for a moment, relieved that her faith in him was once again justified.

Laslo had dropped the axe and gone to where Darla stood hugging herself and looking like she was ready to go into shock. He gently drew her into his arms as he stroked her hair and tried to calm her tears.

"Darla, my brave girl, you were incredible," he murmured. "Thank you."

Darla didn't utter a word and just burrowed into Laslo's arms, her face pressed into his chest. She had swung an axe into another person's back to keep him from killing someone else and it was difficult to process what she had done. She felt her legs would not support her if she let go of him.

Mick still held Beth in his embrace but he looked off to the shadows where he had last seen the shadowy cameraman. Neville Trask came forward, out of the shadows and looked down at the mess at their feet. He held out the camcorder to Mick, as he let go of Beth and positioned himself between the two.

"I have Simmons' confession on video," he announced gruffly. "The man was an idiot playing with that little freshie like that. I told you she was no good. And don't worry St. John; I muted the part where he mentioned your "freshie". It will satisfy the humans."

"Did you record the whole thing?" Mick asked as he accepted the camcorder.

"Enough to show what went down. I cut it just after Laslo dropped the axe. I love dramatic editing," the vamp chuckled. "Tell the police whatever you want just keep my name out of it. I like Laslo but I will not sit still for a human interrogation." With that Trask walked away heading out of the building.

"Can we actually turn this over to the police?" Beth asked, looking at the recording device.

Mick considered her question carefully and then smiled.

"I think we can and should turn it over. Do you think that Talbot will accept a video confession?"

"He'd better because he's not getting a chance to question the killer personally," Beth pointed out as she looked back at the headless corpse. "The four of us can validate it. We had no choice but to kill him." She paused as one part of this situation still bothered her. "Mick…how do we deal with the fact that we didn't call the police ahead of time?" Ben's warning that Mick should not to act alone rang in her head.

"You didn't know Darla was going to name the killer when you came here, right?" Mick asked. Beth shook her head. "And you didn't tell me anything other than the fact that you were going to speak with Darla. I was with Laslo and we knew nothing until we found Simmons holding you hostage," he said with an innocent smile.

An answering smile spread slowly across Beth's face as she followed his reasoning. It was the perfect answer for any argument Talbot presented.

"Perfect," she agreed and looked over at Laslo and Darla. The vampire was still trying to calm his freshie as she wept in his hold. "She is pretty shook up."

Mick nodded and they walked over to the couple. Laslo nodded to the two as Beth touched Darla's shoulder lightly.

"Thank you Darla," she said softly.

"I….I had to do something," Darla said tearfully. She shuddered slightly. "I wasn't sure if I could actually hit him."

"You did fine," Laslo said looking down at her in awe. "You were so brave. Why didn't you tell me that you knew it was Calvin who hurt Tammi?" he questioned.

"You didn't want to see any of us privately after Tammi disappeared. We only saw you on the set and Calvin was always there. I was scared," Darla explained.

Guilt flashed across Laslo's face as he saw the truth in what she said. He had withdrawn from the other girls when Tammi had vanished. He had been too caught up in his own concerns to pay attention to his freshies.

"I'm sorry, I didn't keep you safe," he told her gently and kissed her on the forehead. "Perhaps you should go to the house and rest."

"She has to stay here Masterson and talk to the police," Mick said pulling out his phone. "We have to report this to the humans, we can't cover it up, it's too high profile. Trask filmed Simmons' confession and it has Darla swinging the axe."

"Oh my god…..I will be charged with murder," Darla cried, one hand over her mouth. Tears flowed harder as she considered what the police might think.

"You didn't kill him Darla and you were trying to help me," Beth assured her. "The video will prove it."

"I'm the one who beheaded him," Laslo added. "You only did what you had to do."

"And you kept him from stabbing Mick," Beth pointed out. "That's what happened. We just need to tell the truth except for the vampire part." She looked at Mick. "Call them, let's get it over with."

Mick nodded and dialed.

"This is Mick St. John and I'm at Dark Nightmare Pictures. We had a confrontation with Tammi Montgomery's killer and he's dead. Send a crime scene unit to the studio and inform Lt. Carl Davis, it's his investigation," he reported and broke the connection. His face was grim. "I'm sure that Carl will inform Talbot."

Beth slipped an arm around his waist.

"You did nothing wrong. As long as we stick close to the truth we'll be fine. Calvin surprised Darla and me in her dressing room. He killed Tammi because she was using him to advance her career. You and Laslo found us and the rest is on the video. It will be fine," she assured him.

"I am confused about one thing," Laslo commented. "Why did Calvin dump Tammi's body in that dumpster? He wasn't stupid; why not just call the Cleaners?"

"He didn't put Tammi there," Darla stated as she remembered what he told Beth and her in the dressing room. "He said he left Tammi in your office here on the lot."

The two men exchanged confused looks as Beth nodded in confirmation.

"But then who moved her?" Laslo asked.

The building's outside door slammed shut and an older man in a security guard uniform hustled over to them. Looking to be in his sixties, he glanced around at the others and then anxiously focused on Laslo. He wouldn't look at the body on the ground.

"Boss….I saw Mr. Trask outside and he told me what happened," he said quickly. Finally he let his gaze go to the headless body on the ground. "I…..I never knew that Mr. Simmons killed that girl. I found her body Saturday night while doing my rounds. I know I am not supposed to go into your office but the door was open….so I had to check. I'm sorry….I knew she shouldn't be found there, it would mean big trouble," the older man said breathlessly. "You've been good to me so I moved her body. I didn't want any trouble for the studio Mr. Masterson."

Laslo's surprised look gentled as he saw how upset the old man was.

"Don't worry Truman, you aren't in trouble. I'll take care of it," he assured him.

"You've been so good to me sir. You gave me a job when no one else would. I didn't want anything bad to happen to you or the studio…..I wanted to help," Truman Jones babbled on. He looked ready to cry.

"It is okay Truman," Laslo soothed him, placing a comforting hand on the older man's shoulder. "You did what you thought was right. I appreciate it."

"Thank you Mr. Masterson, thank you," the man said still visibly shaken. "I just didn't want anyone blaming you."

"That was very thoughtful of you Truman," Laslo answered, patting him on the shoulder. He had known the older man was rather simple when he hired him but he felt Truman could handle the easy job of night patrol at his studio, there was rarely problems here until this business. And he never doubted the man's loyalty. "I want you to go back to work and don't talk to anyone else about it. No one Truman, understand?" The old man nodded. "Good, I'll take care of everything."

Nodding some more and looking very relieved, the man hurried off and Laslo met the others surprised look with a slight smile.

"I guess that explains how Tammi's body got moved," he said mildly. "Poor old Truman, he really thought he was protecting me. Do we have to tell the police what he did?" he asked Mick. "He had nothing to do with her death."

"I think we can keep his name out of it. There is no reason to let the police think anything other than the fact that Simmons dumped her," Mick replied, his respect for Masterson growing when he saw how kindly he treated the older human. He looked at Beth who nodded in agreement.

Sounds of sirens announced the arrival of the police. There had been a cruiser nearby and within fifteen minutes there was a crime scene unit and Carl Davis' team at the studio. The four of them told and retold their stories, answering s honestly as they could without revealing the vampire connection. Mick had turned the camcorder over to Carl.

"There happened to be a crew member who filmed what went down," he explained.

"How convenient," Carl said skeptically. "I will need to talk to this person."

"Of course Lt. Davis," Laslo promised. He had no intention of telling them Trask's name. He'd have someone else admit to the filming.

"And why didn't you alert us you were going to confront this guy?" Carl asked Mick pointedly.

End chapter.

So….now we have to cover up the truth to protect the community. I do hope that you liked how this is finishing up. Please share your thoughts, it makes my day. Thanks.