Page 21 of The Rising Dark
Michelle acquiesced immediately and closed the cupboard as if she’d been caught red-handed.She shuffled from behind the kitchen counter, hovering beside Lavinia.
“Come on,” Lavinia said.“I’ll show you the pictures.”
“Please,” Michelle answered, the tension only leeching from her shoulders once they left the kitchen.
“Damn humans.They’re even worse than vampires,” Mrs.Frost muttered after they’d left the kitchen, too low for Michelle’s ears to hear.
Lavinia led Michelle to the large study.It was a sizeable room at the front of the house.Four generous desks lined the walls, allowing the Sisters to collaborate when necessary.Lavinia usually shared with their ninth Sister, but as she was currently on a long-term assignment, Lavinia could simply spread out the papers relating to the warlock/rogue case where she wanted.She laid out a couple of photos across the desk that she had printed out.In his email, Arran had included photos from the crime scenes as well as brightly lit pictures taken from the victims’ various social media profiles.
“These are the victims of the warlock,” she said.Michelle bent over them, carefully studying them in turn.
“Do you recognise any of them?”
“No,” she said, after putting down the last photo.“I don’t think I’ve met any of these people.”
Lavinia nodded, not particularly surprised.“Thank you for having a look regardless.”
“What about the other photos?”
“Excuse me?”
Michelle pointed to the neatly arranged pile of documents on the corner of the desk.A sticky note sat on top, the wordscrime scene photosscribbled on it.
“Don’t mind those,” she said.
“I want to help,” Michelle insisted.“Show them to me.”
“They’re gruesome,” Lavinia warned.There was no need to expose her to images of what could have happened to her if Lavinia hadn’t been at the right place at the right time.Even vampire civilians didn’t have the stomach for this kind of thing.Although vampires weren’t squeamish about blood, many abhorred severe violence.The handiwork of a demon wasn’t easy to look at.Although Lavinia had been a Sister of Twilight for over a century, she still couldn’t fully detach herself from the suffering the victims must have experienced in their last moments.
“I can handle it,” Michelle said firmly.“Before paediatrics, I did two years in the emergency department.The things I’ve seen… And those people were right in front of me, flesh and blood.A couple of pictures aren’t going to be worse.”There was a glint of determination in her eyes.
Silently, Lavinia handed over the second pile.Again, Michelle’s gaze roved across the pages, taking in every detail.With the eye of a professional, she glanced beyond the injuries, studying the backgrounds of the photographs.She didn’t blanch at the blood, the torn flesh, or the organs that spilled from the bodies.Michelle was a stranger to the hidden world of the supernatural, but now Lavinia started to appreciate that she wasn’t a stranger to violence.
Michelle went through all of the photos for a second time but lingered on one page.The victim, a middle-aged man, lay in a pool of his own blood.His jumper had been torn by the demon’s claws, which had raked through his skin as if through butter.
“Anything?”Lavinia asked.
“It’s nothing,” Michelle said, leaning back, placing the page with the others.
“Something caught your attention.”
“Well… I don’t think it would help with what you’re trying to do.It’s just the logo on the jumper.It’s the logo of the animal shelter where my parents met.”
Lavinia leaned across the desk, studying the photograph again.Splattered with blood, the dark green jumper sported an embroidered logo of a dog leaping into the air.No text accompanied it.
“It probably doesn’t matter,” Michelle continued.“It just stood out to me, that’s all.”
“It might be nothing,” Lavinia agreed.There were bound to be commonalities between the victims that were just the result of coincidence.They all lived in roughly the same area, so their paths might have crossed in a myriad of ways that weren’t what tied them together in the warlock’s eyes.But still, even the smallest coincidence could set them on the path towards finding the murderer.
“Could you please write down the name?I think it might be worthwhile to have a look at it,” Lavinia said, sliding a pen across the desk.
“Sure.”Michelle picked up the pen and scribbled a couple of words on a sticky note.“But I’m coming too.”
Chapter Twelve
“It’s not safe,” Lavinia insisted.They’d moved their argument to the foyer, where Quintia leaned against the staircase banister, smirking.At least someone found this all amusing.
“I don’t care,” Michelle countered.
