The Bloodsuckers: Vampire Lawyers of Middle Tennesse

Episode 6: Cleaning Up

Scott was getting antsy. The paramedics had been dismissed, but the police were lingering in the office. There was a chalk outline on the hardwood floor and yellow arrows pointing at shell casings on the floor and the hole in the large painting behind Josie’s desk. Pictures had been taken, and the gun and casings and Scott’s bloody shirt were carefully bagged and labeled.

He had been vaguely interested in watching the procedure—considering that such crime scene investigations could potentially make or break a case for him in the future—but as the hours had stretched by, he had become bored, then anxious. Dawn was not too far away.

At last, the officer in charge told Scott and Josie that they were free to leave.

Scott looked at Josie. “Would it be too much to ask if I could use your shower really quick?”

When he had moved into the basement, he hadn’t worried about the fact that the office didn’t have a bath; he neither sweated nor produced body oils, so there was no real reason for him to need to shower, or even wash his clothes. But now he had blood dried all down his arm, and while he could wash up in the bathroom sink upstairs, he really wanted a shower.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, it’s too much to ask?”

She almost smiled. “No, you can use my shower.”

Josie normally walked the few blocks to work, but Scott wasn’t sure he had time to walk to her house and back, so he offered to drive. She accepted without hesitation. She seemed so weary, Scott would have offered to drive her home regardless; he didn’t think she could have made it walking.

Josie’s house was small and looked to be from the ‘40’s. It had recently been remodeled, though, and it looked quite neat with its gray vinyl siding, red shutters, and decorative rockwork around the front door. Inside, the living room was painted a deep peach color, with the thick trim in white; the honey-colored hardwood floors were warm and gleaming. Everything was tidy and clean.

“You have a nice house,” he said, as she tossed her house keys in a bowl next to the door.

“Thanks, but it’s not mine; I rent.”

She lead him through the house and showed him the bathroom. It was small, but had a large, claw-foot tub. “There are towels up there,” she said, gesturing to the cabinet hanging above the toilet.

Scott was surprised to find that a hot shower still felt nice, even though his body was permanently room temperature. He wished he could soak in the big bathtub for a couple of hours and relax away the night’s stress, but he didn’t have the time.

He washed up, then dried off and put his clothes back on. He was just tying his shoes when his phone—in his pants pocket—started beeping.

“Damnit,” he muttered. Sunrise.

He really wished they’d alter the app so it gave him a ten minute warning--not that sunlight would kill him, but it did burn and it made him slow—both physically and mentally.

He hurried out of the bathroom. “Thanks,” he said to Josie, as he breezed through her living room

“Scott?” she asked timidly.

He stopped and looked at her. She was curled up on her couch, her eyes still wide and face pale. “Would… would you stay here with me? I… don’t want to be alone.”

He hesitated. “I would, but I can’t be in the sun,” he said, gesturing to the large, old windows in the living room.

“My bedroom is dark. I have the windows covered so I can sleep during the day.”