Chapter 24.

  Hank arrived at the Point After with Eleanor, Kramer and Scott were sharing a beer at a booth, “Did you fill her in?” Scott asked.

  “I know everything,” Elanor said, “You two were very brave, I can’t believe what you’re saying. And with the samples of the, I still can’t believe I’m saying it, with the Vampire blood, both Susan Collins and some of Amelia’s I got from a friend at the hospital, I can start researching it. If we can break that there's actually a genetically unique strain of the human genome with the abilities that these Vampires had, it could lead to ground break discoveries in biology, phlebotomy, the possibilities are really endless,” Eleanor said taking a seat as Filmore came up to the group.

  “A round on the house for the hero cops, heard you stopped some psycho who went on a killing spree, been reading all about it in the Beacon,” he said.

  “Gin and Tonic,” Eleanor said.

  “Hey, that’s Mom’s drink,” Scott said, giving Hank a wink.

  “It’s a popular Drink,” Eleanor said, blushing as she looked over to a smiling Hank, “Round of whiskey for me and my boys,” Hank said.

  “To the most fucked up scene we’ve ever had the honor of cleaning up,” Kramer said as their drinks were brought to them. The four raised their glasses and clicked, taking a toast and drink of their victory.

  “So now that we’ve had some time to relax, why don’t we look over that cracker jack report the Beacon has written. Penned by Jennifer Whitemore, that bitch, once again she’s scooped me it would seem,” Scott said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of newspaper torn out of a gas station copy when the $7.75 an hour clerk wasn’t looking.

  “Hero Cop Stops Role-player Murder Spree,” Scott said, “By Jennifer Whitemore,” he said, flicking the paper, “I notice she left me out of the title, which is bullshit, I did about ninety percent of the work,” Scott said. Before turning back to the article.

  “The Depraved Covenant used to meet every Friday, enjoying their role as one of the most mysterious social clubs on the Charlotte scene. However, on the night of April the first, no one was fooling around,” Scott shook his head, “Why does she make more money than me, she is such a fucking hack, day one lesson in school, just the facts,” Scott said.

  “They used to date,” Hank said, leaning towards Eleanor.

  “Oh,” Eleanor smiled, instantly understanding the sarcastic demeanor that Scott had as he read through the article.

  “There was a full moon the night of the party, when the creatures of the night convened they expected a night of Drinks and Grim merriment, but were shocked when a former member arrived at the party,” Scott looked up to the group, “And while high on PCP, she rampaged through the party, she was armed with a knife,” Scott shook his head, “That’s another fucking lie,” he said, “Stabbing people in the neck and even murdering people with her bare hands. One of the party members, a Sally Wendover, called for police as one Amelia Stoker continued her rampage through the party.” Scott shook his head, “Really, this is how I’m learning what her real name is,” he said.

  Eleanor raised her eyebrows, “You didn’t know her last name, and you were dating her for how long?” she asked.

  Scott got defensive, “Well obviously she had a lot of shit she wanted to keep close to the chest,” he said, “She was a fucking Vampire, she cast a spell on me, I was powerless to question her,” Scott shrugged his shoulders, “Powerless until I rammed a crucifix down her throat, threw some garlic in her face, and stabbed her chest with a wooden stake,” Scott said.

  “You still owe me for that chair,” Hank said, “It was from Ikea, so you’re going to have to pay up,” he said.

  “You stabbed her with a chair leg?” Eleanor said.

  “When you’re fighting a Vampire, you find a stake. It was the only wood I could find,” Scott said, “Moving on,” he looked back to the article.

  “Detective Hank Tavares had arrived on the scene after a call that there was a woman killing members of the party,” Scott rolled his eyes, “Another fucking lie, she is bending over backwards to not mention me, and my crucial fucking contribution to busting this bitch,” Scott said.

  “Charlotte Meck PD could subdue the suspect with non-lethal methods, she was arrested and processed at two A.M., April second,” Scott looked to the group, “Get a load of this, because this is where the real bullshit starts,” he said, “The suspect, Amelia Stoker, after receiving medical attention at Atrium Health Mercy, committed suicide by morphine overdose. The Doctors of Atrium Health tried to save her, but unfortunately she won’t be seeing trial and won’t be available to testify against disgraced tech millionaire Trevor Ellis regarding his connection with other members of the Vampire party who are allegedly involved in the McMansion Murders he has been accused as an accomplice of,” Scott said, laughing, “Anyone else notice how there is no mention of me, not even mention of a CSI tech helping the apprehension,” Scott laughed, “I knew she wouldn’t let me grab something out of this,” Scott said. “This is nonsense, PCP, killed herself in the hospital, we all know that’s not what happened, right?” Scott said.

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  “I know what happened Scott, I do, I’ve talked to the officers that saw Amelia being transferred, people know. But people have been told that their job hangs on verifying the official story. You were right, this is bigger than any of us, something’s happening, and I don’t know how we can expose it,” he said.

  “One of the other Lab Workers, the one who took Amelia’s DNA, she told me right away she knew something was off about her. But I enjoy having a job and all the research I’m excited about doing, I going to have to do on the down low,” Eleanor said.

  “I like my job too, I’m not one to ruffle any feathers, if the brass say that Amelia killed herself, she killed herself,” Kramer said, “We stopped the killers, you said most of the people at the party were just these dorks, and it doesn’t matter, Amelia ripped through all of them, the line is dead, nothing else to find out,” he said.

  “Scott, we did good, I know things are fucked, but there are bigger things at play here than either of us,” Hank said, patting his brother’s shoulder.

  “I got some bad news Hank,” Scott said, “I put my two weeks in today,” he said.

  “Wait? With the station?” Hank asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t know if I’m ever going to see anything more fucked up than what I’ve already scene, but there’s something here that needs looking into, and I intend to look into it,” Scott said.

  “So, I take it you’re planning on surfing my couch for a bit longer?” Hank asked.

  “For a while, if you’ll have me. I’m not above living in my car, but I would really appreciate the luxury,” Scott smiled, then took a drink of whiskey, “I got an idea, I’m going out on my own. This story is going to be big, Vampires in legal trouble, that can generate a lot of clicks, I think I can take advantage of it, we know Vampires are real, I would wager other people do too, never mind the few survivors from the party I can interview. I’m a reporter, and there’s a story here, a story it seems no one else wants to chase, and I’m going to chase it,” Scott said, “Like you said, I got to get back to ripping the lid off something, and I think this is my chance,” Scott took a deep breath, “The Vampire group was big, they have other clubs all over the country, lots of members I can find, interview them, find out more about this, might even uncover another one we have to kill,” he raised his drink, “You’d have my back right?”

  “You’re fucking crazy, crazy about truth,” Hank said, clicking his glass with Scott’s.

  “So that’s what you’re going to do with your life,” Kramer said, “You’re going to be a Vampire hunter?” he laughed.

  “I already am a Vampire Hunter, Amelia said as much, that’s what she called us, the Hunters, in fact I think that’s a good name,” Scott said, “I’m going out on my own, my site, my paper, digital grant it, but it will be my source for the real story. The Hunter, what do you think?” Scott asked.

  “It has a ring to it,” Hank said.

  “All the Crazy shit Hank has shown me, makes me a bit more confident knowing he’s the sane brother,” Kramer said.

  “I like it,” Eleanor said, “You know if you’re going to have a respected publication, you’re going to have to get your science right, I’ll always be available to consult,” she said.

  “I’ll find out how deep this Vampire hole goes. From the cover story Amelia got, there’s obviously something bigger at play here, right?” Scott asked.

  “I’ve talked to a few of the officers who were escorting Amelia, the Brass came down hard on us to keep up the official story that it was a morphine overdose, I don’t know if they’ll put their names on the story, but if you talk to them, you can get a few anonymous sources, might turn that into something,” Hank said, “Whatever you can do to take down this Dark One character, I’ll do whatever I can to be behind you,” he said, putting a hand on Scott’s shoulder, “Find the truth,” he said.

  “I’ve been keeping a private file on my work computer, has all the information from the blood found at the crime scenes, and what I got from Amelia, I don’t know if I can give it to you officially, but there seems to be an inhuman element in all this, I’ll probably have to meet with both of you a lot, if we’re going to pursue finding out the truth behind this Vampire party and this Dark one you talk about,” she said.

  “I’d need you to tell Hank everything you know, need you meet up again, get some dinner, have a nice conversation,” Scott said.

  “Oh,” Eleanor blushed, looking away.

  Hank reached over and took her hand, “We’re actually going to Red Lobster next weekend,” he said, “Unofficial capacity,” he turned to Eleanor and smiled, “We solved our case, we deserve a chance to relax,” he said.

  “We do,” Eleanor said, looking at him smiling.

  Scott leaned over the table and whispered into Hank’s ear, “When you two get married, you have no idea how bad I’m going to lay into you when I make my speech,” he smiled, raising his glass.

  “Here, here,” Hank said, tapping his glass to Scott’s, “Just remember that next time you meet a pretty girl, try to find out if she’s a blood sucking monster first,” he said.

  “Don’t worry about me, no more letting red flags fly just because my Dick says it’s okay, that lesson has been learned, learned the hard way at that,” Scott said.

  “Find the truth,” Hank said, “That’s your job, that’s what Dad told you had to do,” Hank said.

  “I find the truth, you bring the strength,” Scott said, “Might find myself in a situation I need some muscle to back me up, deal,” Scott reached his hand out.

  “Sounds like a deal,” Hank smiled and his brother’s hand in a firm handshake.