Page 22 of Fated Surrender

Connor grinned back at him and watched the sneer disappear.

Wendall turned to Griffin. “Did you know someone in your department has been leaking information by sending Arkadion photos?” he demanded.

Griffin nodded and looked Wendall in the eye.

“Yes, because it was me. We needed him on this case from the beginning, but for some ridiculous reason it was decided that this case fell under the Agency’s jurisdiction. I had to lose a man to finally get Arkadion called in. Now, stow your shit and let the man speak,” Griffin roared.

Connor looked down at the table to hide his grin. His commander was a gruff, no-nonsense bastard most days, but he had the loyalty of every single Sentinel that served under him and that was because he always had their backs.

“You…” Wendall started.

“Just shut the fuck up already. Arkadion, what do you have?” Davidson snapped.

Connor looked up and smiled at Jeffrey Davidson before turning to his boss. He picked up the manila folder and started flipping through the case notes.

“Sir, I have been tracking the locations where the bodies are found.”

“Found. You are implying that they are not killed in these locations?” Wendall interrupted.

“That’s exactly what I am saying.” He turned back to Griffin, ignoring Wendall’s sputtering indignation.

“Each scene where the bodies are found, at the beginning anyway, they were almost clinically clean. No blood splatter, no loose hairs or fibers. Each location seems to have been chosen to somehow mock the happiness in the life of the victim. The first was found in a playground. He was an elementary school teacher. The second was found at a café table where the victim days earlier had confessed to friends, that it was the planned location where he was going to ask his mate to marry him. The list goes on. Each victim is completely drained of blood, with two open holes in the neck, yet there is no evidence of blood being spilled from the wounds or any of the victims clothing. All the victims are healthy shifters in their prime. Of the males taken, every single one show signs that they had been severely beaten, all the females were repeatedly raped.” Connor sighed and continued.

“None of the victims are children, nor have any of the victims been parents with the recent exception of Stanton, but I’ll get back to him.” Connor spread out the photos and stood to go to a pinned map. He examined it for a second before turning back to the table.

“The red pins show where the bodies were found, the green ones show where they were taken from. I believe that he takes them to a third location, where they are tortured and drained. I think that his base of operations is central to all three locations,which would put him somewhere around the warehouse district,” Connor said, pointing to the map.

“I don’t think you have a rogue vampire on a killing spree. I think this is the work of a drainer collecting blood, the holes in the neck are from pick lines,” Connor said, sitting back down.

“Arkadion, all you did was restate some of the facts that we already know,” Wendall said.

“I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. But, before I go on, where was Stanton taken and where was he found?” Connor asked.

“He was taken from a stakeout van at Purgatory last week. He was found yesterday in his kid’s tree house, his Sentinel windbreaker was shoved down his throat,” Griffin said sadly.

Connor took a steadying breath and felt a warm hand take his under the table. He looked over to Madison. There was warm sympathy in her eyes. He nodded and pulled his hand free, taking out his own notes from the folder.

“Here are my conclusions based on his actions thus far. We’re looking for a white male between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five. I am leaning toward the high side of his late forties. He has had years of being pushed around to fuel his anger. He will be small in size and his animal will also be small, probably a prey animal. He blames others for his own unhappiness, which he attributes to a lack of respect, which in his opinion is due to his height or animal.”

“He probably works in a medical field. He is draining and storing blood, which takes medical training and equipment. He was probably bullied or abused as a child. I have no proof, but I am willing to bet that the first victim was an accident, the elementary school teacher. I believe that he saw the teacher either hit or abuse one of the children, which made him a target. It also explains why none of the victims are children or have children with the recent exception of Stanton.”

“He is using these deaths to support his Shifted Death habit. He kills the shifter, drains them, and takes the blood to a local dealer for processing. He only gets a fraction of product for the quantity of blood he is taking. But, he is a user, and he is starting to make mistakes, which is why you found traces of vampire blood at the last scene before Stanton. It wasn’t the blood of the attacker, but blood from the drug. He is experiencing highs and lows, manic and depressed states. In his manic state he rages and loses control, consumed in jealousy. He feels as if the victim has somehow taken something from him. He either beats or rapes his victim to extract revenge, to put himself above them, to control them. It’s a power play. In the depressed, paranoid state he removes all traces of himself from the victim. He is working outside the drug ring operations. There aren’t enough bodies for this to be a small faction. He is doing this to support his own habit. One, maybe two kills a week, I estimate.”

“That just leaves Stanton. The anomaly. The statement. The killer knows he has our attention. Stanton was part anger and part satisfaction, as if he feels like he is finally being seen. I hate to ask, sir, but was Stanton raped?” Connor asked and held his breath. He really didn’t want to know. Tears filled the older man’s eyes and he nodded.

“How could you possibly know that? We have kept that under wraps,” Davidson asked.

“Because if I were him, that’s what I would do. It was a message to us. He is saying ‘Fuck you. You can’t beat me. I am better than you, Iownyou. Look what I can do and you can’t stop me’,” Connor had to take a deep breath. This was the part of the job he hated. This was the part that scared him. He feared how he well he understood these monsters.

“He’ll be celebrating tonight. Manic state. Flying high. He has stuck it to ‘the man.’ Literally. We may get lucky and catch him at a bar or club. He may get sloppy and start bragging,but it’s a long shot.” Connor let his head drop back. He was exhausted.

“Griffin was right. You should have been called in at the beginning. Wendall, I will also be including that in my report to the council. I will also take Ms. Claybourne-Arkadion’s advice and make the suggestion to Elder Ora that your cases be reviewed. Your narrow-minded bigotry has gotten a lot of people killed. Connor Arkadion is under vampire control about as much as I am.” Davidson looked at the director of the Agency in contempt.

“Now, see here,” Wendall began.

“You are dismissed, Director. I am moving this case where it should have been all along. Under Sentinel jurisdiction. Pull your agents from this case immediately,” Davidson ordered.

“Blood fuckers!” Wendall snarled and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

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