Here is the next chapter, and thanks again to all of you who reviewed. I'm happy ML fans are still out there. Now, the DA is continuing to investigate…

Chapter 5

The place was musty and the lighting dim as Rob Hemmings wheeled a metal cart down the aisles of stacked boxes. It was almost creepy if he had allowed himself to think about it. Rob was looking for a labeled box that contained evidence from the Monahan case. Checking the directions written on a slip of paper, he thought he was close. There it was, numbered and dated, with 'Emma Monahan' written on the side. He eased it down and was startled when something clanked inside.

He pushed the cart to the end of the shelves where there was more light. The evidence room in the basement of the LA police department didn't provide many amenities. Rob had the investigation files and some DVD evidence but was curious as to what was in the box. Opening it, he peered inside and was surprised to find chains with one end cut and the other attached to shackles. There was also a folder with pictures of a wrecked van. A short report attached told of the accident the night Emma escaped. Rob put the folder aside to read later and examined the chains. It was obvious they had been removed from the prison transport van after the accident and kept as evidence. The chains were normal steel, but the manacles had been broken somehow. It looked like they had been wrenched apart at the lock, without a key.

Rob looked around and found an old stool and dragged it over under the light. He sat down and looked at all sides of the damaged restraints but saw no sign of bolt cutters or saws, just broken metal. How had Emma escaped? She couldn't have snapped the steel, it would be impossible. Rob sat under the meager light for quite a while, studying the fetters before taking several pictures with his cell phone. He quickly memorized the short report and pictures before returning the box to its place on the shelf.

Rob headed home, thinking the more he looked into this case, the more mysterious it became. He was still trying to get in contact with the guards that were in the van, and hoped they would be able to help him piece it together. He would try again tomorrow.

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"That's all you can tell me?" Beth asked in a disappointed tone. She was talking to Allison, her friend from the lab, who called with the analysis on the pills they had received from Europe.

"Sorry, Beth. As I told you, I can only do so much because the blood sample was degraded. Most of the botanicals in the pills also showed up in the blood sample, although it was a much higher concentration."

"If there was so much in the blood, would it have done any harm?" Beth asked carefully.

"No, I don't think so. Of course, too much of anything isn't good but it shouldn't have caused any issues, except maybe some digestive upset."

Any issues in a human—but what about a vampire? Beth thought. "Can you let us know what exactly was in the pills as well as the blood?"

"Sure, I'll email it over to you."

"Thanks, Allison," Beth said and hung up. She sighed and went to find Mick. He was in the office, going through some paperwork. He smiled when he scented her coming in.

"Hey, babe. Did you talk to Allison?"

Beth slumped into a chair across from her husband. "Uh huh, but she can't tell us much."

"What did she say?"

"The pills contained the same chemicals that were in the Fletcher's blood. She said he had a much higher concentration, but it most likely wouldn't be dangerous."

"But she's thinking about humans, right?" Mick asked. He got up and paced around a moment and picked up the bottle that contained the pills. "It says take two a day. What if Fletcher took more?"

Beth sat up, nodding. "He must have. You know some people think if a little is good, more must be better."

"Or, maybe it was a cumulative effect," Mick replied.

"We just don't know. I wish we could find out where he got the stuff. Could Logan hack into something and find the source?" Beth said, frustrated.

"I don't know. We've got him watching the DA, although there's not much information coming from that."

Beth could feel Mick's concern and put her arms around his waist. He responded by holding her close. They stood that way for a moment, taking comfort in the contact.

"Could we ask Rider to help? I know Josef would want to find out where these drugs come from."

Mick smiled, "My thought exactly. I'll give him a call."

"Good. I'm not too busy at work so I can help if you need me."

He bent down and kissed her softly. "I always need you, beautiful."

Mick was rewarded by a kiss from his wife. "I suppose we should let Josef know what we found out."

"Or what we haven't." Mick grabbed his phone and called his oldest friend.

"Yes?" Josef answered.

"Hey, how are you?"

"Trying to make money, I have a wife who likes jewelry."

Mick rolled his eyes and Beth suppressed a giggle. "Well, I won't keep you, but I thought you'd like to know what we found out about Fletcher's death."

"What?"

"According to the lab, the pills we found were the same as the toxins in Fletcher's blood, only it looks like he took huge amounts."

"You think that killed him?" Josef asked.

"I don't see what else could have," Mick responded.

"We need to find out where the stuff comes from."

"I know. Can we borrow Rider to check it out?"

"Of course," Josef said. "I'll tell him to call you."

"I don't know if he'll be able to find anything, all we have is an email address."

"If there's something to be found, Rider will do it," Josef said, grimly. "Anything new on the DA?"

This was the question Mick had been dreading. Logan had been monitoring Hemmings but they hadn't found much of interest. "Nothing so far. Logan hasn't heard him discussing the Monahans at his house, so maybe he's hit a dead end."

"Fine, keep watching him. I want to know if he gets too close to us."

"Josef—" Mick started, warningly.

"Don't worry, just watch him…for now."

"All right."

"Why don't you and Beth come up for a swim? Simone would be glad to see you," Josef said.

Beth heard and nodded her head, smiling. "We'd love to," she said, loud enough for Josef to hear.

"Great, any time after midnight. We'll be expecting you."

Mick hung up and turned to Beth, "We can go swimming, but you have to wear a suit this time."

She shrugged. "I suppose so. I don't need Josef gawking—it would annoy Simone."

"Simone? It would annoy me!" Mick came over to her and kissed her possessively.

"Hmmm," she murmured, contentedly. "Come upstairs and help me find a swimsuit."

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Robert Hemmings looked up at the building located on the outskirts of Los Angeles. He had no idea his home had been compromised, but he only worked on his computer at night so there was little for Logan to hear. If Rob needed to make telephone calls, he did that during the day at work. He had made an appointment and was visiting the offices that oversaw the county and city prisons. He was on his way to talk to Warren Tyler, one of the guards who had been in the transport van when Emma Monahan escaped.

He found Warren in a small office at a desk piled with papers. "My boss said you wanted to see me," Warren said.

"Yes. I'm Robert Hemmings, the new DA for Los Angeles County."

Warren got up with a bit of difficulty and reached for a cane. "Let's go into the conference room, it's more private."

Rob noted the former guard limped as he led them to a sterile room with a few windows and the usual table and chairs. Warren put aside the cane and said with a bit of humor, "I hope I'm not in trouble. The DA doesn't usually want to talk to a staff scheduler."

Rob replied, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the Monahan case. Do you remember it?"

Warren frowned and said, "I sure as hell do, that's what wrecked my leg. I had to transfer to a desk."

"Sorry, I didn't know," Rob responded.

"I told them everything that happened at the time. Has something new turned up?"

"Not really, but I was looking over the unsolved cases and had some questions."

"They thought we could have done more to stop the escape," Warren said, bitterly. "If I hadn't been injured they probably would have fired me."

Rob shook his head. "From what I saw of the pictures of the van, it's amazing you survived. I know the driver was also hurt."

Warren shifted his leg and said, "Yeah, Matt was wearing a seat belt but it messed up his back and broke his arm. He took early retirement and went to Florida."

"I've read your statement, but I'm looking for something different. Like any little detail or odd incident that you might remember."

Warren's eyes became guarded and Rob knew he was onto something. "Anything you tell me is just for my personal investigation. Even if we find the suspect, you wouldn't need to be involved."

Warren sighed and said, "All right, I'll tell you as long as I can stay out of it. I got into enough trouble about this case."

Rob nodded, encouraging the other man to continue.

"We were on our way to the county lock up. It was dark but the streets weren't too crowded. We hit all the green lights until we saw an accident a couple blocks ahead of us and I told Matt to hit the lights and go around it. The prisoner said she felt sick," Warren shrugged. "It happens you know—drug addicts crashing and drunks with the DT's. She claimed her restraints were too tight and asked if I could loosen them. I said I'd take a look and felt her hand. She was really cold and I thought she might need medical attention."

Warren broke off and hesitated. "This is the part I didn't put in the report. When I looked at her, I thought I saw her eyes turn bright, almost glowing."

"A color?" Rob asked.

"No, just shiny, like a light reflected. It was only for a second, then the van swerved and we rolled."

Rob could tell there was more, and was intrigued at the former guard's story. "Go on, what else happened?"

"When the van came to a stop, I was thrown into the front and wedged between the seat and the door, or so they tell me. I could see into the back of the van, but I was in and out of consciousness. That's why I never told what I saw—or thought I saw."

"Yes?"

"The back doors of the van were hanging open and the prisoner was on the floor. A man leaned in and pulled off her ankle cuffs and he and another guy got her out of the van. I passed out, and don't remember anything until I woke up in the hospital."

"You say this man just took off the cuffs with his hands?" Rob asked, trying to hide his excitement.

"Yeah, that's why I never mentioned it. They'd think I was crazy or something."

"Can you describe the man?"

Warren leaned back and closed his eyes. "Um, he was Caucasian with dark hair. He wore a long black coat, I think."

"Would you recognize him?"

"I might, but it was a while ago and I only saw him for a moment. I was pretty out of it."

Rob kept his face blank, but inside was elated to hear this information from an eyewitness. After a few more questions, he felt he'd gotten all the information he could from Warren and thanked him for his time.

Rob left the building feeling he was finally on the right track. When he got home later he'd email and find out if his friend made any headway in deciphering the traffic DVDs.

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The pounding on the door was becoming annoying, so Coraline reluctantly left the work on her desk to answer. She had taken up residence in a luxury apartment in a building on the Avenue Foch in the heart of Paris. With the proceeds from her pharmaceutical venture, she now had enough money to separate herself from her controlling brothers and have some independence.

Coraline could scent Henri in the hallway and sighed. She opened the ornate door to find her brother frowning at her.

"Oui Henri, what do you want?"

Stepping into the flat, he looked around with interest. The room was decorated with the finest antiques and an Aubuson rug. "Nice place, ma petit," Henri said as he sat down.

Coraline gave him a bored look and followed him to the settee opposite. "Why are you here, Henri?"

"You disappear for weeks with Cynthia, then the next thing I know you've packed your things and moved from our chateau without a word."

"I wanted a place on my own," she said, airily.

"An elegant establishment, I see. I know you have some money from the family, but not enough to provide this," he gestured around the room.

"It's none of your business," Coraline growled.

He stood up and wandered around the room for a few moments before turning to his sister. "It's my business if what you're doing can cause me trouble."

"What are you talking about?" Coraline asked in genuine surprise.

"I know that you and Cynthia are selling drugs on the internet to vampires across the world."

She gave a Gallic shrug. "So? It is not illegal to sell herbal supplements."

"It's illegal if your customers die the true death."

"What are you talking about," she replied, angrily.

"I've heard from someone in Los Angeles that a prominent vampire there died, and the cause was some pills he took to stay in the sun. Sound familiar?"

Coraline stared wide-eyed for a moment. "That is a total lie," she cried. "Cyn and I took the formula for weeks and we were fine. We were able to tolerate the sun and even get a tan."

"Pale skin suits you better, sister," Henri smirked.

"Never mind. How can you possibly know how some vampire died in LA?" she snapped.

"Let's just say I have friends living in the area who owe me favors. They have freshies who socialize with Josef Kostan's ladies. You know how humans gossip and the freshies love to talk about their vampires."

"You're having someone spy on Josef?"

"Not at all. Kostan would suspect a stranger asking questions about him. But no vampire pays attention to what their freshies talk of with each other."

Coraline began to pace. "Why do you think it was our formula that killed the vampire? It could have been anything."

"Apparently, he'd been ordering your pills and was taking large amounts."

"What? The instructions are to only take two a day!"

"It is clear he did not pay attention to the directions. Too much of your miracle formula killed him. And how much have you sold to vampires all over the world? What if they all decide to take too much?"

Coraline's head was spinning. She and Cynthia had tested it—they had! It was safe at the dosage prescribed. She needed to talk to Cyn. She was the chemist and she would know if Henri was right about the vampire's death. She decided the best defense was a good offence.

"It can't be proved that our formula caused this vampire or any other vampire's death. And even if it did, it's their fault for taking too much. I don't know why you're involved as it's clearly not your business," Coraline said, affronted.

"It's my business if Kostan decides I'm responsible for your dangerous decisions and holds me accountable."

"I thought that was only if I went near Mick. I swear I haven't seen him since he left France," Coraline said.

"That was our arrangement, but if Kostan finds you are behind the death of this vampire, I don't know what he might do. It wouldn't be beyond him to send someone to kill you as well as me."

"Bah, he wouldn't dare," Coraline said with more confidence than she felt.

"Ah, he would and I don't wish to be a target and live in hiding." Henri looked at her shrewdly, "Is there any way you can be traced to your product?"

"I don't think so…..we have an accommodation center that takes the orders and then the warehouse ships it. The product is made at a processing facility that is licensed and meets all the human regulations. Payments are made into our accounts in Monaco. It's all done electronically and only our corporation name is on the paperwork," Coraline finished.

Henri sat up and gave her an approving nod. "I see you have learned business well, little sister." He was relieved there wasn't a trail that could lead to Coraline, and most importantly, to him.

Henri left and Coraline called Cynthia. They needed to do some damage control for their formula. Coraline had no intention of losing her immense income—she had plans for it.

TBC

Coraline is up to something. It looks like the DA might be getting too close, and our vamps don't know it. Things will get more complicated soon. Thanks for reading!