Page 37 of Blood Moon
“That gives me plenty to think about. Thanks for meeting me here. Let’s take a look at where things were taken from, shall we?” I followed as Scott led me to the different bays within the warehouse. The items that had been stolen seemed random at best. I knew there was a connection, even if I didn’t see it yet. It was a puzzle and I knew that I would figure it out.
Once we’d reviewed every area, I sent Scott home and headed back to my place. The sun was rising and I needed rest. I planned to discuss this with Viktor in the evening. I needed to find out if he’d had any issues with his warehouses being broken into. I made note of it before dropping into bed and passing out.
When I woke, the sun was setting. I felt as if I hadn’t slept at all. It was a fitful rest at best. I showered, wrapped myself in a towel, and grabbed a blood bag before settling in on the couch. I turned on the news and pulled my laptop onto my lap to check my email.
The first email I opened had me calling Scott again. “What’s going on at the docks now?” I started as soon as he answered.
“We’re not really sure. The alarms just started going off and it looks like there might be a fire. I’m on my way there now. Do you want me to pick you up?” He offered.
“Thanks, but I’ll meet you there. I need to take care of a couple of things first. It should be about an hour.” I didn’t wait for his response before hanging up the call and dialing Viktor.
“Strain? What do you want?” He snapped at me the moment he answered. I heard Delilah get after him in the background, then his tone changed and he said, “I’m sorry, Eli. Do you need something?”
“Yeah, there’s something going on down at the docks. I wondered if you’ve had any problems lately with your properties.” I figured I would start there, then see where it led.
“I’ve not been told of any. I assume if there were any issues, Jones would keep me apprised. What kind of problems are you having?” I actually had to give Viktor credit, he seemed genuinely concerned. I wondered if it was because Delilah was there, or if he was as sick of our feud as I was.
“Someone broke into one of the warehouses a few days ago and stole random items. Tonight, someone tripped the alarm and may have set a fire at the same warehouse.” I explained.
“We should go check it out. Do you want to pick me up? I’m at Midnight right now.” He was offering to help me, with no strings attached. It was a strange feeling, but I liked it.
“I can swing by and pick you up, sure. Bring Delilah, too. It’ll be safer for her to be with both of us. I feel like there’s more going on here than we’re aware of right now.” I said, standing and walking to my bedroom to get dressed. “Be ready in ten minutes.”
I disconnected the call and dressed quickly. I was outside the bar within seven minutes. I hated waiting, but because I had told them ten minutes, I wasn’t going to press the issue. I didn’t have to wait long before Viktor was strolling out the front door, holding it open for Delilah.
She climbed into the back seat and Viktor took the passenger seat next to me. It was definitely a tense situation and I wondered if I had interrupted something with my call. “I’m sorry for bothering you during your time with Delilah.” I figured an apology might smooth things over.
“It’s fine,” he responded. “What do you think is going on at this warehouse? You have to have a theory.”
I nodded. “The things that were stolen seemed random, but when you look at all of it together and include a few incidents I originally thought were unrelated, it looks like they’re gathering equipment to start making Powder.” I glanced at Viktor. Powder was an extremely potent drug that vampires used to get high, since human drugs didn’t process the same way after the change.
“That’s a serious accusation. Any ideas of who’s behind it?” He glanced at Delilah, who appeared to be lost. There was no time to explain it all to her right now. We’d have to take care of that after we checked out the damage. I shook my head in response and he understood that we’d talk about it later.
We pulled up to the warehouse at the same time the police arrived. I knew it was serious if Scott had involved the authorities. An officer walked over as we climbed out of the car.
“Excuse me, sir, this is an active crime scene. You’re going to have to leave.” the officer said as he approached.
I growled in reflex and Viktor grabbed my arm. “Officer, my associate is the owner of this building. An incident was reported and we’ve come to check things out. You’re doing a great job, but you need to let us through.”
The officer nodded and gestured for us to continue. “I’ll never get over how you do that,” I whispered to Viktor as we approached the building.
He shrugged and kept walking. Delilah had snaked an arm through his and mine. It was a little awkward and I would definitely be answering questions about this later, but I would worry about that when it happened.
She let go of my arm when Scott walked up. For some reason, she seemed to shrink back and try to hide under Viktor’s arm. I wasn’t sure if it was Scott or if the awkwardness of our situation finally sank in. I’d have to remember to ask her about it later.
“You called the cops? How bad is it?” I started before Scott held up a hand to stop me.
He gestured for me to follow him, moving away from Viktor and Delilah. “There’s a body, sir. And it looks like they were murdered right here.”
“Why would you call the police for that?” It seemed odd to me that he would have contacted the authorities when we had a department specifically for cleaning up this type of mess.
“The stiff is the mayor’s kid. I didn’t think we could exactly take care of this one ourselves. He was obviously high when it happened. The M.E. said as much when she examined the body. Even with the kid being an adult, I thought it would be better to let the mayor have closure. I’m sorry if that was the wrong call, sir.” Scott looked at me apologetically.
“Not at all. If it had been a homeless person or someone without a family, it would have been different. At least we all have alibis for tonight. They always suspect the property owner first. What can you tell me about what happened?” I listened intently as Scott explained what he’d learned from the police investigators and the security feed.
There wasn’t much to go on. It looked as if the kid had broken into the warehouse and got jumped by someone else with the same idea. I agreed it was a matter for the cops to handle.
After explaining the whole thing to Viktor, we headed back to Midnight. The repairs were coming along slowly, but the place was inhabitable. He had the plans hanging on the wall behind the bar. I couldn’t resist taking a quick look as we walked past.