Partners In Crime (Eternal Flames Book 9) Read online

  “It’s not very noticeable but you can see how the flesh has an outward pull with a lip. Now look closer at the holes in Carlin’s neck. That outward flaring is not present. The skin is smoothly pushed inward.”

  Vik moved closer, examining the holes, and saw exactly what Doc was referring to.

  "That led me to believe another object was used, so I started going through a database of known puncture weapons to check against my findings and came up with the two-pronged cork puller. As you can see here from a picture of the item, the two prongs are of different lengths and the difference matches up perfectly with the difference in depth on the victim. Also, the smooth edges of the prongs and the flatness of them, while pushing flesh inward as with anything puncturing the skin would, when wiggled about and pulled back, the flesh is not pulled outward.”

  “Wiggled? Why would it be wiggled?” Nash questioned.

  “Do you see how flat the prongs are?” Doc asked and waited for everyone to nod. “When they are forced into flesh they would make holes that are also flat, but these holes in the victim are more rounded and larger in circumference, like fangs would be. So, as I looked deeper, I noticed tearing inside suggesting movement. Which would not be there if from a bite. A bite would be smooth on the inside. Just one downward motion and one back up.”

  “Shit. Okay, so if this cork puller was used, then how did the perp drain the bodies? I mean, there is what… a gallon or so of blood in a body?” Vik asked.

  “Actually, we estimate the volume of blood in a human body to be approximately 7 percent of body weight. An average adult body with a weight of 150 to 180 pounds will contain approximately 4.7 to 5.5 liters, which is equivalent to 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood,” Doc replied.

  “So, if we look at all the victims so far they are all in the average build you described. That’s a lot of damn blood, Doc. And we assume from the crime scenes that the victims were attacked and drained at a different location, then dropped where they were found, so where the hell is all that blood?” Baldwin asked.

  “And what is this sick fuck doing with it?” Illan said absently as he stared at Carlin.

  “You do know what all this means, right?” Justice mumbled.

  “What’s that?” Avery asked.

  “It means that whoever is doing this, is human,” Vik stated.

  CHAPTER 5

  “How do you know that?” Doc asked defensively. “Nothing I have found says that it’s a human.”

  “It’s not a paranormal, Doc. If it were a vampire they would just use their fangs and drain the body, the way as we originally thought. Other paranormal could do the same,” Nash argued.

  “Not all paranormal. We do now have pixie and fairy and those other new men in town. The gargoyles. None of them would be capable of biting like this and draining. Although, I think the gargoyles would. But still, this is not from any bite as I stated. But I also cannot say with certainty who is responsible,” Doc replied.

  “He’s right. It’s not necessarily a human. A paranormal could have done this to make it look like a vampire,” Illan said.

  “To what end, Illan?” Justice asked.

  “Maybe someone doesn’t like vampires, or that they are now part of our alliance? Who knows the exact reason right now.”

  “Illan’s right. It could be anyone looking to pin this on the vampires, including someone working for Fallon,” Baldwin agreed.

  “Although I agree with what you’re all saying, there’s just something off here,” Vik said absently as he stepped away from the group and started pacing.

  “What are you thinking, mate?” Baldwin asked.

  “Mate?” Illan, Justice, and Avery gasped at the same time.

  Vik stopped and looked at them with a small smile. “Yes, mate. Baldwin is my mate,” he announced proudly.

  “But…how? You guys have been working together for so long. You should have told us before now,” Justice said, his voice tinged with hurt.

  “We didn’t know until today,” Baldwin answered.

  “How the hell did you not know until today?” Illan asked.

  “It’s a long story―” Vik began, but Orion cut him off.

  “And a very interesting one at that. Very unique, I might add,” Orion said as he chuckled.

  Vik could feel the blush rise on his cheeks and he looked down as he turned away again. “Yes, but we can get to all of that later. Right now, let’s stick with this. As I was saying, I agree this could have been anyone and our list of suspects just rose, but my gut is telling me this is a human, and I have always listened to my gut.”

  “As you should. It’s the base of all good policework. So, what are you thinking, Vik?” Nash asked.

  “The victims are all human. Except for Doris, and as we surmised she was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time, so let’s start there and go back to that crime scene. I think the key starts with Doris.”

  “Why is that?” Avery asked.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe it has something to do with her lingering scent in this room, I’m not sure,” Vik replied with a heavy sigh as he ran his fingers through the top of his hair.

  “Doris’s lingering scent? I don’t smell anything and Doris was in here weeks ago so there should be no trace of her left,” Doc replied.

  “No, he’s right, I smell Doris in this room. It’s not strong, but it’s here,” Justice said.

  “Well, she did come by to pick me up for our poker night. Maybe that’s why?” Doc responded.

  “Her scent wouldn’t still be here from that, either,” Illan stated.

  “You played poker with Doris?” Justice asked.

  “Yes, once a week. Doris, Jim Farmer, mailman Lenny, and others, once in a while,” Doc answered. “Although, Doris never did come back here. She said this room gave her the creeps and usually met me out in the waiting room,” Doc added.

  “Well, whatever it is, I still think that’s where we need to start,” Vik said and moved across the room, facing away from them. “I think we need to look closer at the evidence and pictures from the crime sce…” Vik stopped short and took a whiff. Doris’s scent was stronger over here, like the woman was standing in the room.

  “Vik?” Baldwin asked and Vik could hear the concern in his voice.

  “Where was Doris kept when her body was brought in?” Vik asked.

  “Her body wasn’t brought in, remember? Her phoenix rose back at the crime scene and she was turned to ash,” Doc answered.

  “Then why do I smell her so strongly over here by the drawers?” Vik said and moved closer to the wall. His gaze roamed around the area and settled on the broken light bulb he had seen earlier. He stared at it wondering why it kept calling to him. Vik moved closer and inspected the item.

  “I’ve been meaning to fix that. Um…damn thing broke a while back,” Doc said.

  “How far back?” Vik asked, clenching his jaw as he stared at the bulb before him.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Before or after Doris’s death?” Vik asked, never taking his eyes off the bulb.

  “Um…I’m…not…sure,” the Doc answered nervously.

  “With all the chemicals in here, it's hard to tell, but there’s blood here on this broken bulb and if my sense of smell is correct, it’s Doris’. There is also a string of hair that looks like Doris’ color,” Vik announced.

  Everyone came closer to look, their gazes zeroing in at the dried blood there. “Shit, I never noticed that. I’ll take it right away and run tests,” Doc said as he pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket and tugged them on. He went to his desk and grabbed a tray before returning and unscrewing the bulb from its socket, placed the bulb on the tray, then went back to the counter. “If someone can get me a hair sample or something with her DNA on it I can match this sample against Doris’ first to make sure,” the Doc said.

  “I'll get someone to get that immediately. When you get it, please put a rush on it. Even though all of us who stand here can smel
l that it belongs to Doris, we need confirmation for the case files,” Nash replied.

  “I’ll get to it the second I get the comparable sample.”

  Everyone moved to leave, when Baldwin stopped and turned back to the Doc. “Hey, Doc. One more thing.”

  “Of course.”

  “You said the human body holds all that blood, and what made those holes was a pronged cork puller, then how did they get all the blood out? There is no blood anywhere else found on their bodies leading to draining them by letting the blood all leak out. So how?”

  “You’re right, Baldwin. Which was the other thing I was going to talk to you about, but with all this talk of Doris I forgot,” Doc said and turned away, then grabbed the same file he held before. After turning a few pages, the Doc turned back to face them. “Here are the findings for that. I also had the same question so I checked each body over thoroughly and found no trace that they had been left to bleed out. With the placement of the holes that wouldn’t have happened anyway. At some point the blood would have coagulated and stopped the flow. The same if they were hung upside down to drain. And if that was the case, I should have found blood evidence in the hair at least, but nothing. And there was no indication that any of the victims were washed.”

  “It would take quite some time, wouldn’t it, for the body to fully drain from those wounds and hung upside down? But the rigor mortis of the bodies didn’t show that they were dead that long, correct?” Nash asked.

  “Very true, Nash, or the lividity. But then again, with no blood left that was not anything I could use to judge time of death. As you know, lividity and rigor are two of the things needed to determine time of death and with blood not present, they and body temp were all thrown out the window. Once the blood was drained it has a different effect on the muscles of the body to accurately use rigor, and without the blood the body temp lowers quicker. Because of all of this, I haven’t been able to pin point an accurate time of death.”

  “So, what were you using to determine it?” Illan asked.

  “In all honesty because of the lack of using normal methods, I can’t. I can only give a window of a few hours.”

  “So, if you were going to drain a body, Doctor, how would you do it?” Orion asked.

  “Me?” Doc Clayton asked in surprise.

  “Yes. If you were going to drain someone what course of action would you take? You do drain the body of humans upon death, right?” Orion questioned.

  “Yes, of course, but that is usually left up to the funeral home and done during embalming. Here the body is placed on the exam table as you can see with Carlin. If you look at the table it is more like a large sink so it can collect any blood or bodily fluids that leaks,” Doc Clayton answered.

  “But to remove all the blood, how is that done?” Vik asked.

  “There are arterial & jugular tubes that would be used. Placed in small incisions in the body.”

  “Do you think those same tubes could be placed in those holes and the body drained?” Nash asked.

  Doc stood silently for a moment just staring at them, then he looked down at Carlin on the table. “Yes. The holes are placed right over the jugular so, technically, the victim could just bleed out all over the floor, but not all of the blood would be lost that way. The body would die long before that happened and the flow would stop after a time, leaving some behind.

  “But with these tubes, they could draw out all the blood?” Vik asked.

  “Yes,” Doc said softly.

  CHAPTER 6

  Baldwin adored everything about his mate, but when Vik was in deep thought and his brows furrowed like they were now, and one eye kind of squinted as Vik slanted his lips to the side with that tiny pucker, and his tongue would swirl and peek out from time to time, it just made his dick hard, thinking about what lovely things that tongue could do to him.

  "Calm the libido down, Baldwin. No one wants to see you two go at it here," Justice whispered from behind.

  Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Baldwin focused on what his mate was asking.

  "Doc, did you send any samples in for a tox screen and what about stomach content? Did they eat or drink anything and if so how long before their time of death?" Vik asked.

  "I know we keep saying the bodies were completely drained of blood, but that isn't really possible. I was able to extract some from the heart. It wasn't much, but it was enough for testing. I did get some urine samples as well as tissue from the liver, kidney, brain, and eyeball chamber," Doc replied walking to the table with his lunch and grabbing his sandwich.

  Baldwin's stomach churned as the man took a big bite and started chewing. His mate, however, didn't seem fazed one iota. "So, what did the reports say?"

  Shrugging the doc muttered with his mouth full, "Don't know." Swallowing what he had in his mouth, the man sipped his coffee, then said, "The reports haven't come in yet."

  "What do you mean? It's been over three months since the first murder. How the hell have no reports come in yet?" Vik argued.

  Doc Clayton, smacked his cup down, saying, "Ask the damn lab in Denver! It is not unusual for tests to take weeks if not months to get back. There is usually a back log and that means we wait. I could have had some of the tests done here, but,"―Doc Clayton turned to look at Justice, ―“if you recall, Mayor, my lab assistant quit on me three months ago and no one has been hired yet to take his place. I've been running things here alone and doing the best I can."

  Justice sighed, "You're right, Gary, I should have been more vigilant about getting a new assistant. With everything we've been dealing with lately it just completely slipped my mind."

  Doctor Clayton pursed his lips, and wiggled his finger at Justice. "You forget who votes for your ass, Mayor Abruzzo. There have been a lot of things slipping your mind around here. Like the equipment you promised me six months ago, and the fact that with all these new paranormals coming in, us regular doctors aren't exactly equipped to take care of them. Your lack of interest in us mere humans is becoming more and more evident.”

  "You watch your tone with my mate," Avery snarled.

  Justice placed his hand on Avery's forearm. "It's alright, Avery. Gary's right. I've been so focused on the threats from Fallon, I have let my duties as Mayor slip."

  "If not for those slips, Gary here, might not be alive," Avery argued.

  Justice eyes seemed to dull, as he softly replied, "I'll get you that assistant, Gary, and I will work on those other details you mentioned first thing in the morning."

  Avery turned to Justice in disbelief, but Illan placed a hand on the young shifter, whispering, "Let it go for now, Avery."

  Avery turned to face the doctor, his anger clearly written on his face, but said not a word.

  Vik walked closer to the coroner. "You said that you and Doris played cards once a week. What day is it you play?"

  "Every Tuesday night," Doctor Clayton replied automatically.

  Orion stepped closer to the doc. "Each murder victim has been found on a Wednesday morning."

  "Yeah, so?" Doc said in confusion.

  Baldwin stepped forward. "You said that Doris would come here to pick you up. So, you were with her the night she was murdered?"

  Shaking his head, the man said, "No. Doctor Rob called me to the hospital on a suspicious death." The coroner gave a funny look, saying, "You know, the funny thing about that was when I got to the hospital Rob wasn't at the hospital, and when I called him he said he had no idea what I was talking about."

  "And you didn't think to mention this?" Vik snapped.

  Gary did that lip pursing thing again. It was really starting to get on Baldwin's nerves. "Vik is right, Doc, why the hell would you not mention the fact that Doris came here once a week or that you were called away on false pretenses the very night she was murdered?"

  "I didn't think about it. I mean, I figured it was a kid playing a practical joke, you know us humans do those things to each other," Doc Clayton said sarcastically. />
  Baldwin looked at his mate, and could see Vik was trying to tell him something with his eyes. The coroner turned around and Vik motioned with his head towards the door. With a slight nod, Baldwin said, "We should go talk with Doctor Rob and see what he says about that night."

  Nash looked at Vik like he sprouted his wings in the room, but Vik just shook his head. "I want those test results as soon as they get in, Doc."

  "Fine," Doc Clayton huffed.

  Baldwin turned to the doctor, before following everyone out the door. "You may not like us much, Doc, but we are the only thing keeping you, and the other humans, safe from Fallon and his army. You might want to think about that before you bite the people trying to help you."

  "If you all had never come to Crystal to begin with, we humans wouldn't have this Fallon and his army trying to kill us to begin with. Why don't you think about that?" Doctor Clayton stated and then turned back to his lunch.

  "Oh, and, Doc," Baldwin called out.

  Without turning around the doctor asked in frustration, "What?"

  "I better not hear anything we discussed in this room out on the streets, or I might have to send Orion back here to have a chit chat with you."

  Baldwin smiled when the smell of fear penetrated his nostrils. Turning around, Baldwin left to catch up with the others.

  Nash, Illan, and his mates were already getting in their car when Baldwin got outside. "Where is everyone going?"

  "Twixie's, we need a change in plan," Vik said pulling out his phone.

  "Hey, Destrain, Vik here, can I get you to meet me at Twixie's? I think I'm going to need your help. Thanks, see you there in five."

  Baldwin looked at Vik in confusion. "What's going on, Vik?"

  Holding his finger up, Vik dialed once more. "Hey, Suneth, can you meet me and Baldwin at Twixie's?”

  “I’m a little tied up for the moment, but I’ll get there when I can,” Suneth replied.

  “Thanks, I'll see you there."

  "What's going on? What the hell do we need Suneth for?" Baldwin asked angrily.