“I don’t know. I won’t know until I call in the lab. I can’t get a hold of Liz, so I called you in.”
I pressed my lips together. “My boss has me on desk work only.”
“I’m not calling you in as PIB. I’m calling you in as one of Levi’s people. With his permission.”
“Is there a vampire connection?”
“We believe that there are vampire victims. I’m waiting for Levi to confirm it.”
It would be hard to explain to O’Donald if I was caught, but if there were actually vampire victims, I wouldn’t get my ass chewed out. I removed my badge from the front of my belt and put it in my back pocket. “Then catch me up on what’s going on.”
“Third scene like this, strange marks at each scene. Liz showed you the symbols, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s all she told me though. She was adamant that I couldn’t work the case because of O’Donald. She didn’t want him to suspend me.”
“I don’t plan on telling him that you’re here because, again, I want you here as Levi’s person.”
“So three scenes, all like this, strange markings. What else do we have?”
“Only a few bodies were recovered.”
I glanced at him. “At this one scene?”
“Between all of them. There’s too much blood for the number of victims. And if this scene is anything like the last two, the bloodstains are so mixed there’s not going to be a clean sample.” He motioned. “Any ideas?”
Not off the top of my head, but I really wanted to know where Liz was now. What on earth had she stumbled into?
My mind flashed to the scene in the files that I had just sorted. “I’ve seen something similar, but without victims, there’s no way of knowing.” I needed to get my hands on that file.
I knew the case file, and it was digitally archived already. I could pull it up when I got back to the office.
“Get the information, and we’ll see if we can match any of the evidence. Was it a solved case?”
“Cold case, a while back.” I rubbed my shoulder as it ached. “Look, get the lab people in here and let me know what the oldest and the newest blood spots are. Keep trying to get a hold of Liz if you can.” I had a feeling that she wasn’t undercover, but she was wrapped up in this. “I’m going to get that file and go over it tonight. If you can send me copies of your files from the other scenes, that would be a huge help.”
He nodded. “I will. Watch you back, Abigail, I don’t like this.”
I snorted. “I’m always watching my back now, Mason.” I turned away from the scene and walked out of the building to my car. The scene had been a bit further off the beaten path, and it’d take me about an hour to get back to the office.
I started the car and turned on some loud music. I didn’t want my brain overthinking what was going on while I drove. But in the back of my mind, a little voice said that Liz was going to need help, and that little voice wanted me to go into O’Donald’s office and start demanding answers.
I tried to tell that little voice it needed to calm the fuck down, because if I did that right now, O’Donald would fire me. And I really liked my job.
Most days.
CHAPTER FOUR
I got back to my office to a sticky note on the door. ‘Come see me when you get back- O’Donald’
I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t want to go see him. I wanted to pull the file for Mason. But if I didn’t go see him, I’d be in more trouble than I really wanted to be in. Especially if he knew that I’d gone out on the case. I sighed, hiked my bag up on my shoulder, and trekked up to his office.
“I don’t fucking care that you can’t find her. People don’t just disappear. You find her, and then you tell me where she is.”
I hadn’t been eavesdropping on purpose, but he was loud enough to hear through the door. I waited until his voice lowered before I knocked.
It took a moment for him to answer. “Come in.”
I walked in. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Where were you, Collins?”
I blinked at him. “I wasn’t aware I was confined to the building. I went out on personal business.”
“On the clock?”
“I’m salary. Is there a reason you’re determined to get me into trouble?”
He seemed taken aback by that. “Look, I’ve seen your close rates. I’ve seen the shit you’ve dealt with. I’m trying to give you a break from being on the field. Psychologically you should be a mess.”
“I’ve passed all my psych evals.” I crossed my arms. “I’m born to be on the field.” My mind started to spin, trying to figure out how to use this to my advantage. “But, if you think I need a break, I have some paid time off to burn up. I could take a small vacation for my birthday.”
He seemed to perk up at that idea. “Why don’t you do that, Collins. A week.”
“A week,” I agreed.
He smiled. “Enjoy your vacation time, Collins. I’ll put you in the field when you get back.”
If he had alternative plans for while I was gone, a week would be enough time for him. It would me time to find Liz, help Mason, and survive my birthday party.
It all sounded so easy.
“In that case, I’m going to head out then.” I gave him a little wave and left his office. I walked down the hall
