Grim Realities :Part 6

***** If you're new here, Hi!!! You can jump back to the beginning here --> Grim Realities: Part 1 *****




Smoothing the surface of the deep purple cushion face Bradley starts "I was upstairs getting ready for work; I work at the Voodoo Bar in on the edge of the historic district." he glances at Chess, the explanation for her more than me.

"The otherworld bar? I didn't think they employed humans." Chess asks surprised, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

"Yeah that's the one," Brad confirms, nodding quickly. "There are a couple of us, all with ties to your world so the supes don't mind so much; especially when we help keep up appearances when another human stumbles in." He pauses to take another deep shuddering breath, and clutches the cushion he has been petting close. "Once a month I have to do a morning day shift; there's a local business group, that's all human except for the group president who's Fae. They have a monthly business meeting in the bar and we get paid double time to work it for inconvenience. The humans know something is off about the place but not quite what. It's kinda funny in a way, but I guess that's the point. The Fae will do anything to mess with the humans." Chess and I roll our eyes at this before turning our attention back to Bradley. "Anyway when I have to do these shifts I sleep through the night and in the morning just before the sun comes up Clive makes me breakfast. He'd sit and watch me eat before seeing me off to work and going to bed himself."

There is a smell of burning herbs coming form the kitchen now, indicating the Nico is starting to work his magic. After a second Nico can be heard faintly casting his spell in an unnaturally deep resonating voice; the sounds too low and too quiet to make out the actual words.

"Was there anything that seemed different today?" I ask in an attempt to distract Bradley from what is happening in the next room.
He looks down at the sheepskin rug beneath his feet, no doubt taking a moment to go over the morning in his head. After a long moment he looks back at me tears shining in his eyes.

"No, it was just like any other." his fingers dig into the cushion.

"Did you see or hear anything? What made you come downstairs?" Chess asks.

"I didn't see anything. I was in the master bathroom shaving, when I heard what sounded like the clattering of pans falling onto the floor. I didn't think much of it though. Clive could be a bit of a klutz at times." A small sad smile makes a brief appearance, only to disappear as Bradley looks away to wipe the tears from his face. "He used to joke that of all the traits to keep once being turned it had to be that one." Bradley's brows pinch together as he says "I'm sure I heard the flick of a lighter, but that could have been Clive too. The cooker has been causing problems lately, a repair company was coming in at the end to the week to fix it."

Over Bradley's shoulder I notice a thick purple fog creeping out from under the kitchen door. Chess sees it to and gets up taking a heavy throw with her, that she lays in front of the door confining the fog to the kitchen and Nico. Absorbed in his thoughts Bradley doesn't see Chess retake her seat and carries on recalling the morning.

"I called down to Clive to see if he wanted me to have a go at lighting it, and that's when I noticed something was wrong. Clive didn't answer, and I heard the french doors open. That couldn't have been Clive. The sun was about to come up, he wouldn't open them that late for anything.  I ran down as fast as I could, b-b-but it was to late." His voice starts to crack at the end and he takes deep shaking breathes in an attempt to calm himself.

I edge closer to Bradley, as if that will somehow made my next question easier to ask.
"I hate to have to ask, but, did you touch the body?"

Wide eyed, Bradley quickly shakes his head "No, I just ran back round the island and shut the doors then came in here to call you guys."

I nod thoughtfully and glace over at Chess who fields the next question.
"Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt Clive?"

Bradley thinks for a moment before shaking his head again "No. No-one." He turns to me, eyes wide and wet with even more tears, "You know how he was Tayla; no matter what job you have, how much money you have, no matter the kind of person you are, Clive would treat you as an equal, always ask how your day had been, take an interest, get to know you and genuinely care." I nod my agreement, as I give his hand a light squeeze with one of my own.

He's not lying. Clive was the one to convince me that this new life wasn't so bad, and that Death wasn't the monster to be feared as most humans make out in the religion and fairy tales. Although seeing Clive lying in his kitchen floor has made me question that.

Chess has become thoughtful and follows up with another question.
"Hmmm. Okay. What about this last week? Have you noticed anyone new hanging around, have you been anywhere different or new?"

"Err, nothing that springs to mind right now." Brad answers, his voice hoarse. Chess and I share a look, a silent agreement to go on and ask the next question. Bradley looks back and forth between us, waiting. I nod at Chess, letting her do the honors.

"Does the name Micheal Blake mean anything to you?"

Bradley looks from Chess to me and back again. "No. Should it? Who is he?"

I take a deep breath before breaking the news. "Clive isn't the first victim." Brad's jaw drops and the colour drains from his face, so I pause a second to let that sink in. "Micheal Blake was a werewolf who's body was found a few nights ago. I hope you don't mind, but John Oakland-"

"The alpha!?" Brad interjects.

"Yes." I continue, "He is on his way over here now to see if he can track the killers scent. With any luck we'll find something, and put a stop to all this. I hope you don't mind."

"Sure anything to catch who did this."

With that there are three heavy knocks at the door.

Grim Realities: Part 5

The address we were given was of a small but well kept house that sits on the south side of Salem Common. Before the other harbinger had finished telling us where we had to go I already knew who the victim was.
Clive was my friend; one of the first people I met outside of Grim Realities, that was something other than human. He was a vampire. A small fact that seems to have gotten him killed.
Turned at the end of the eighteen hundreds, at thirty three years young, Clive is... was, surprisingly modern. He always had a sense of class about him, without being snobby. The designer suits and top shelf bourbon that he favoured, evidence of the wealth he had accumulated over the last hundred plus years.
Almost as if we had choreographed it and performed the routine a thousand times Death, Chess and I set into motion.
Chess goes to the Veil to get Nico. The bodies of vampire don't last long, so we have to take Nico to the body this time. Death drives to the address while from the passenger seat I call John Oakland. If this has just happened then the killers scent will be fresh; perfect for the werewolf to track and with any luck to bring an end to all of this. Or at the very least give us something more to go on.

We arrive just as the sun is starting to peak over the horizon. The world is calm. If a human had died here there would be so much noise; cop cars, nosy neighbours, forensic vans. Sirens and chatter and feet on pavement. A cacophony of sound announcing to the world something bad has happened. Instead we pull up quietly in front of the house. There are no flashing red and blue lights, no sirens, nosy neighbours, or cops pounding the pavement in their heavy boots.
Death and I open our car doors, the sound of the catch releasing echoes in the still air of this quiet street. Its six in the morning and even though there has been a death here the birds sing their cheerful morning wake up call. We both get out and I walk around to Death on his side of the car where we both take a moment to look up at the lemon yellow shiplap siding of Clive's house, preparing to deal with what is inside.
From out here by the car everything looks just fine. The paint work on the siding is clean and fresh looking. The steps leading up to the cherry red front door are swept as is the front porch. One either side of the door are hanging baskets full of pretty blooming pansies.

After a moment of staring up at this otherwise normal house on an otherwise normal quiet street, I let out a breath, murmuring "Why did it have to be Clive?"

"I didn't know you two knew each other." D looks down at me with an apology in his eyes, "I'm Sorry." 

He says as he lays a hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring light squeeze before returning it to the front pocket of his faded out blue jeans.

Just as we both let out a heavy sigh, Chess rounds the corner with Nico hot on her heels and medical bag in hand. Unlike the rest of us, Nico has changed his clothes; baggy blue jeans with rips where the knees should be, a navy blue long sleeve Henley's shirt with the sleeves pushed up the elbows and well worn Etnies trainers on his feet. This outfit hints more at the toned muscled torso and slim waist that make up Nico's frame than the scrubs I've previously seem him in do.
Its odd seeing him out of that clinical environment.
As the pair get closer I notice the bandanna that Nico is wearing: light grey with cartoon raccoons on it, depicting various scenes on mischief.

"Is that really appropriate, given the reason we're all here?" I mutter once he's in ear shot.

"Huh?" at that I point to his head. Nico rolls his eyes skyward as if to look at the offending piece of fabric.

Letting out a frustrated huff  he pulls the bandanna from his head before reversing it so it appears to just be grey without a single raccoon in sight.
We can't avoid this anymore so, gathering ourselves, we all start up the five concrete steps that take you to the front door with Death and I leading the group.

I knock on the door rather than ringing the bell, it just seems more respectful and less intrusive somehow. A heartbeat later the door is opened by red and teary eyed Bradley Fairway, Clive's human boyfriend. Wordlessly, as if his doesn't yet trust his own voice, he opens the way and gestures with a head tilt that we should come in. We do, like animals to the arc, two by two; me and Death, Chess and Nico each offering a sad smile to Brad on our way past. The house may be cute with it's lemon yellow exterior, but Clive had taste, both of style and the expensive kind. Bradley leads us through the opulent, yet masculine living room, the walls a soft warm grey, made warmer by the light spilling out form the copper lampshade that sits on the very modern and elegant glass side table. The thick cream rug absorbs the sounds of our foot falls until we reach the other end of the room where we step off onto the dark stained hardwood floor and follow Bradley through a sliding barn door that will take us into the kitchen.

The kitchen before us is modern with gloss white cabinets, and black granite counter tops. There is a four foot by three foot island in the middle of the space and the floor is paved with what look like some kind of white marble tile. It is immediately obvious that something happened here. The wire fruit bowl is on it side with its contents scattered across the island and the floor. An orange has rolled through the blood and left macabre trail in its wake.
Until this point no one has said a word, but Bradley breaks the silence.

"He's....Clive is..." deep shuddering breathe, "....He's b-be-behind the island." his voice is hoarse and tears begin to well up in his eyes, I suspect not for the first time this morning. 

He stands propped up against the wall, his usually smart work attire disheveled; the crisp white shirt he wears normally neat and tidy, today has the cuffs rolled up unevenly, with the starched square ends sticking out this way and that, his top button is undone and the collar not quite folded down right at the back and his marl grey waistcoat, although a match for the dress slacks he wears, is unbuttoned and doesn't quite hang straight. I'm a little surprised to see he has his shoes on even if the laces still trail along the floor untied. He runs a shaking hand trough his strawberry blond hair before folding his arms as the rest of us walk tentatively around the island to take a look at the body.

You know, I should have stayed with Brad by the wall. If I ever have to look at one of my friends lifeless and bloody ever again, it'll be too soon. 

Nico is the first to get down to business; crouching down and opening his bag with quick, efficient movements. He snaps on a pair of blue nitrile gloves and starts to peel back the ripped edges of the black vest the Clive had been wearing; the material so sodden with blood it makes a wet sucking sound as it's lifted away, making me wince in discomfort. Underneath, a wound identical to last victim's is revealed. However, the edges of the wound look more burned than just discoloured this time, the heart is still missing though. I continue to look over the body while Nico pokes and prods. I stay standing, not having the stomach to get any closer. Death has sunk into a crouch looking pensive, his eyebrows drawn in slightly. Chess has drifted from the group, looking around the room, out of the windows, subtly taking in the rest of the scene.

Remembering something from Micheal Blake's body I quietly ask, "What else is missing from the body besides the heart?"

Nico takes a pair of forceps from his bag and lifts the body's upper lip, "His fangs. They took his heart and his fangs." He looks up at me, face grim, before quickly looking back to what is in front of him. "This kill was more rushed than the last. The cuts are form more a hacking motion than the precision cutting and care we saw with the werewolf. So this was either done by a different person, or the killer was just in a rush, or he was interrupted. The fangs were removed after the heart-"

"How do you know?" I interject, not quite knowing why I think it's important.

"There is a lack of blood in the mouth and around the holes where the fangs would have been. Meaning that his heart wasn't pumping any blood at the time." 

I don't know what to say to this, so I just give a slight nod of my head, acknowledging that I had heard what Nico said. I can't quite decide if it's a good or a bad thing that Clive's fangs were pulled second. I guess the pain is over quicker if you're stabbed in the chest first. Nico breaks me out of my morbid train of thought.

"I'm gonna do my magic thing now, and see what else I can learn. Why don't you and Chess, have a talk with the human over there, and Death-"

"I'm sticking with you bro. I'll make sure you're not interrupted."

"You read my mind. Okay lets do this." 

Nico takes a breathe before grabbing a bunch of church candles, which he passes to Death, and chalk from his bag. As Nico starts to write runes and symbols on the floor, D starts placing the candles in a circle around the body, avoiding the blood that has pooled and is now congealing on the tiles. 
Knowing that I don't want to watch what comes next I head back over to Bradley, who at some point, has been joined by Chess at his spot by the wall.

"Hey Brad, why don't we go talk in the living room; let them do their thing?" I say quietly as I usher them both back through the doorway. On a side note, do vampires still call it a living room?

Brad collapses onto the sofa, pulling one of the deep purple throw pillows onto his lap. 

"Clive always called this the 'lounge'. He said calling it a living room sounded like a bad joke." Guess that answers that question. Brad smiles to himself at that, remembering. Now I have to be the one to bring him back to the present.

"Brad, Bradley" Hearing his full name brings his eyes up to meet mine and away from his hands stroking the cushion. "Can you tell us what happened this morning?" I ask, sitting down at the other end of the sofa. 

Chess perches herself on the edge of the arm chair across the room. Brad looks from me to Chess, who gives a small nod of encouragement. Bradley takes a deep breath, and lets it out before he starts to tell us how this morning turned into a horror show.