"You know, I'm starting to like the cast," Gates said as she leaned against the wall of Dr. Noraa's office. "It fits you."
I looked at the navy blue synthetic cast encasing my arm. The sling was made of the same material as our specter suits, just in case I was called to duty. I'd been off for a week and hadn't needed to don my uniform once. My charcoal grey turtleneck and slacks had been a hassle to get on one-handed. The uniform would have been worse.
"Glad your black eye healed up," I said.
Gates flashed her fangs and turned to the glass door to study her reflection. I picked up the copy of The Howler's most recent issue sitting on the doctor's desk. A picture of Tyson Brewster graced the cover. The headline read: Justice Cometh in the Morning. The article gave a brief biography of Ty's life and his wrongful death. The official story claimed two overzealous and overworked officers, Zimmerman and Wilson, were the cause of Brewster's accidental death and covered it up. The Gorgon City Thrones made a formal apology and the Vampire Council vowed to open an internal investigation.
No mention of House Agatha, the Raving Moon, or his mad wolves. Ty's parents were rewarded four million dollars for their silence. Ariane had to convince the Brewsters to take the money. The alternative was being treated as loose end's. Enough people had died because of Magaven's powerplay. Earl helped them relocate to somewhere quiet outside of Gorgon City, away from the unhappy memories and outside of House Agatha's reach.
I put the magazine down as Dr. Noraa entered the room. He smiled as he sat behind his desk. He took a few minutes conferring with information on his computer and entering information from his notepad.
"Good evening, officers."
"Good evening, doctor." I was encouraged by the warmth in his tone.
"We've been waiting for almost thirty minutes, Noraa. Just tell us. The suspense is getting old." As usual, Roddy didn't mince any words.
Dr. Noraa nodded.
"With the bullet you provided we were able to get a much better understanding of Carlito's condition. We were even able to communicate with a representative of Tanner & Bones. Despite the legal red tape, we've made substantial progress and we think we'll soon be able to remove him from stasis. By then we hope to have found a magic practitioner who can help with the curse."
The temperature in the small room increased.
"So you called us here to tell us you might soon be able to take Carl off ice?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Gates," Dr. Noraa replied, tugging at his collar. Sweat dripped down his forehead. "The two of you call at least once a day to inquire. I thought it best I explained things in person to alleviate your concerns."
"And ease the stress on your phone lines," I joked.
"Yes, that too."
Roddy made to stand and I grabbed her hand. She turned to me and the fire building in her eyes quelled. I smiled apologetically at her and the doctor.
"Poor timing," I chuckled.
"Look. I know how close the three of you are. Believe me when I say I understand. When we remove him from stasis, thaw him out as people like to say, you'll be the first people I contact." Dr. Noraa gave us a reassuring look. "Lord Hawkins has also insisted I contact his office when Lieutenant Cano's status changes."
"Lord Hawkins..." Gates looked down at my hand, dark brown on pale white.
The council had made it official that morning. The mayhem in Gorgon had all happened under Lord Clovis's watch so he was the one made to fall on his sword to please the public. Clovis was stripped of his title and blacklisted. No Great House would ever accept him and he could never claim a seat on the council. Disgraced. Seraphs came to collect him the night before. I intended to contact our mutual friend and put in a good word, but I doubted there was much I could do. The powers that be were making an example of him.
Gorgon City lost a good man and received Hawkins in his place. I suspected his allies in the American Vampire Congress pulled strings to help him take the vacant position. If I didn't know better I'd have wondered whether it was all part of those schemer's plans all along.
"Thank you, Dr. Noraa," I said. "Please keep us updated."
"I will."
We left the doctor to his work and went to the elevator. We waited. Gates tried to appear stoic, but she continually clenched and unclenched her fist.
"What bothers you more," I asked, "the Council giving Hawkins Lordship of Gorgon City or him promoting Sybil to captain over you?"
"Don't start," she said.
"I mean..."
"C'mon, Shelly."
I cringed. "Don't call me that."
"No problem, Shelly," she chuckled.
Wheeler waited for Gates in the parking lot. Idia sat in the passenger seat of his van.
"Looks like your girlfriend is here."
"I think she's sweet on Khaleel, Roddy."
"She's using him to get close to you," she chuckled.
Idia hopped out and held the door for Gates.
"Lieutenant."
"Thank you." Gates jumped in. "I'll call you later, Shelly."
I shook my head. She winked as Wheeler backed out of the space and drove away.
"Hey, Idia." I admired how good she looked in her specter suit.
"Hey, Lieutenant." She smiled and brushed a pair of braids from in front of her eyes. "Can I offer you a lift?"
She gestured to the black sudan beside us. I raised an eyebrow.
"Did Ariane send you?"
"Kind of." She laughed at the expression on my face. "She asked if anyone wanted to harass you until you let them drive you around. I volunteered."
"Thanks, Partner..." I mumbled under my breath.
"I feel like I'm always thanking you for something, but I really wanted to thank you for putting me on your team."
"One of Clovis's last wishes was for Ariane and I to beef up our team," I explained as I moved around to the passenger side door. "You and Duran were the first names that came to mind."
"Well I'm glad." She blushed and I looked away.
She really was beautiful.
"Where to?" she asked as she unlocked the doors and climbed in.
"The Island. I need to see a friend." I fastened my seat belt.
"Kraken Island it is, Lieutenant."
"I'm off duty. You can call me Michele."
From the corner of my eye I saw a sly smirk slide cross her lips.
"Yes, sir."
I shook my head. Phillippe and Ariane were going to have a field day gossiping about Idia.
I walked up the pathway, not really seeing the immaculate lawn or the identical homes which screamed gated community. An elderly woman across the street watched me with curious eyes. My white hair might have fit in, but very few of the residents had skin darker than a light summer tan. I shook my head. If she knew I owned a majority share in the management company she'd probably have a heart attack.
I knocked on the door and a young man answered. Average height and wide shouldered, he looked like he'd tacked on some muscle since I hired him.
"Mr. White, it's good to see you. She's been waiting." He lowered his voice. "I haven't seen her this excited in a long time."
"Good to see you too, Troy." We shook hands.
He stepped aside and gestured for me to enter. I hesitated. Despite owning the house and not needing his invitation, it was becoming a habit to wait. The place looked like a shrine to the late 70s and early 80s, shag rug and orange-colored furniture. Troy led me to the back study where huge bay windows looked out on the backyard. Manicured grass and huge philodendrons created a picturesque background accentuated by the bridge in the distance. Tiffany sat in a rocking chair facing out. She listened to an audiobook on a pair of vintage headphones.
Troy tapped her on the shoulder. She stopped the book and removed the headphones, turning blind eyes in his direction.
"Ms. Chaloote, Mr. White is here."
"I can smell his cologne. Musky, but sweet with a hint of coconut." She looked in my direction. "You can leave us, Troy. Maybe you can run to the store and grab those items I've asked for."
"Good idea, Ms. Chaloote." Troy bowed to her and gestured that he was leaving.
I nodded and he departed. She waited until the front door opened and closed.
"You just going to stand there and watch me, handsome?"
When I'd met her, Tiffany's long black hair had been permed straight and tied up in a ponytail. Thirty years later and she'd gone all-natural, but her salt n' pepper curls were still tied up at the back of her head. The bright-eyed sixteen year old who'd wandered into the wrong club in the dead of night had become a poised woman with the kind of features sought after by hollywood. She'd wanted to be a star...
"You're brooding again."
I entered the room and sat in the straight back chair against the wall.
"I'm not brooding, just reminiscing."
"For you, that means brooding."
I laughed. She knew my moods better than I did sometimes. She saw a lot for a blind woman.
"I'm glad you came."
"I said I would."
"You've said a great many things over the years. Don't go quiet like that. I can't hear you breathing and it makes me feel all alone."
"I'm sorry," I said. "For everything."
"Guilt is going to tear you apart."
I thought about Sky and my mother. I wondered if they agreed. There were countless others I'd outlived, but their memories and my mistakes haunted me.
"The doctors say I have cancer."
My heart dropped. I'd taken care of her for thirty years. Knowing she was sick felt like a physical blow.
She laughed a bitter laugh.
"Intraocular melanoma. Eye cancer. Isn't that funny. The same part of my body continues to fail me..."
I didn't know what to say.
"You used to make me laugh. I miss that."
"Is there treatment?"
I crossed the room and knelt beside her, taking her hand. There were wrinkles and lines there I'd watched grow. Her touch wasn't as hot as Ariane's or as gentle as Idia's. Her's was the warmth I'd longed to comfort and pamper, like a child or younger sibling. Things I could never have, but found in a girl I'd wronged. Fate and irony often walked hand in hand.
"Surgery, to remove the cancerous tissue, then Chemo." She raised my hand to her nose and took a deep breath. "You know its this stupid cologne that led me to you all of those years ago."
"I sometimes think that's why I still wear it."
"Probably as some kind of sick way of torturing yourself," she chided. "If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else. I knew what I was doing."
"You were just a kid." I looked up at those cloudy eyes which reminded me so much of Ifa. Those eyes which had called me from across a crowded nightclub. "You shouldn't have been there. I should have stayed away."
"Someone had just told me vampires were real and I was determined to find out for myself. It wasn't your fault. My fake ID had gotten me through the doors three nights in a row." She kissed the back of my hand. "You weren't even the first vampire to dance with me, but you were the most handsome." Her sultry voice grew wistful. "I remember your white hair and smooth brown skin. I thought you were a pretty Richard Roundtree."
We both laughed.
"I really did."
"You wanted to dance with Shaft."
"I wanted to do everything with Shaft."
I shook my head, stood up and walked over to the window. The lights of passing cars illuminated the distant bridge and highway. It was that sultry voice and forward attitude which lured me in. A meal was always better when you didn't have to use your dominance. I hadn't even thought to ask her age.
"There you go again." Tiffany joined me at the window. She snuggled close as I wrapped my arm around her. "You'll never find forgiveness out there."
She seemed to alway know what I was thinking.
"I'll cover your medical bills of course," I said, kissing her scalp.
"You know I've never asked you for that."
"I know."
"The one thing I have asked you for is the one thing you refuse to give me." Tiffany ran her hand along my cast. "You promised."
I had promised, but it never seemed the right time. First she was too young, then she was in college, then I was busy, then she'd went and gotten engaged... there was always something. Always an excuse.
"What if I can't? What if I can, but it doesn't fix your blindness?"
"What if the cancer eats me alive? What if I wither and die, waiting forever for the right time? Turn me."
I watched the distant traffic. The raving moon wasn't the only one creating monsters.
The End.
AN: Thank you for riding out this case with Michele and me. I hope you enjoyed it. Please don't hesitate to comment and share your thoughts. Leave a like and tell your friends about the vampire detective protecting Gorgon City.
Lem