

True Visions

By Ashley Armholtz

Published By Ashley Arnholtz at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Ashley Arnholtz

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is dedicated to my husband, Tommy, who encouraged me to finish it when I felt like giving up. I love you; forever and always.

Acknowledgments:

I want to give a huge thanks to my friends, Toni Gallegos and Dena Guralnick, for helping me proofread this book and offering suggestions. Thank you to Heidi Shamberger for my cover design since when it comes to things like that I'm totally confused and frustrated. Thank you to all my friends and family who kept encouraging me to just give it a shot and publish my work. And finally, thank you to all those who read this book. I hope you enjoy it!

All the mistakes in this book are my own. Although some of the places in this book are real, the characters and events are of my own making.

I was sitting in the sunroom of my Victorian style house waiting for my one, and only, client of the day. This is my favorite room and has been since I was a little girl. The walls are painted a light yellow, and there are two, old wicker couches with overstuffed, dark blue cushions facing each other, with a small glass top table in between. The windows overlook the rose garden, providing a beautiful and rather peaceful view during the summer.

I use this room for client meetings because most find it to be a peaceful place, which is a good thing considering most of the people I see are grieving in some way.

I'm not a counselor, psychologist, or anything like that. What I do isn't that normal but I do help people find insight, solve some problems, and I try to help provide closure to those who have recently lost a loved one.

I am what most people would call a psychic, although I don't really like the term. It's a very broad term that covers many gifts. I can't see the future, I don't read tarot cards, and I don't know the winning lottery numbers. When I touch an item, or a person, I get images; kind of like pictures or scenes from a movie that play in my head. Sometimes I am able to pick up on strong emotions as well.

I used to be a police officer with the Corvallis PD but I didn't last long. I didn't make it more than a year. I thought I could help use my gifts to solve cases without really being questioned as to how I knew this or that, but I didn't realize the toll that many violent visions would have on me.

Within a few months of being on the force I was getting near blinding headaches on a regular basis and I wasn't sleeping very well. Most cops don't let the violence get to them but I experienced it on a whole new level.

About the time I was ready to quit my mom got sick. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and needed someone to help take care of her. It gave me a reason to leave the force without anyone knowing the truth.

When most people find out what I can do, they either think I'm a fraud or crazy. Very few people actually believed in what I can do; my mom Donna, my best friend Mona, and those who seek my help; normally as a last, desperate resort.

After my mom died two years ago, Mona moved into this old house with me. My mom and dad bought it before I was born, but my dad hasn't been back since he left my mom when I was five. He couldn't deal with having a daughter who was different. I haven't seen much of him since he left. All I really know about him is his name is Jim O'Reilly, he works for the Oregon State Police, and I get my black hair and deep blue eyes from him. Part of why I became a cop was to somehow prove that I was good enough to be his daughter. Stupid, I know, but part of me has always thought that if I could prove myself, he would love me.

Shortly after Mona moved in we decide to open up shop out of the house to try and help others. Mona, thank God, handles all the client appointments, the accounting, and even a website that people can use to contact us and read about some of the cases I've helped with.

When we first started doing this I thought most of the people who would come to see me would be looking for little things like; "This is the shirt my husband wore last night. I think he is cheating on me, I need to know." Or "This is my missing dog's favorite toy. Can you find him?" Of course that was rather naïve of me. I should have known that once word got around of what I can do, everyone with an unsolved murder or missing persons case would come knocking at our door. This is one of the reasons why I only see one client a day and why our fee depends on the type of help someone is looking for. The headaches make it hard for me to do this more than once a day and even then, I have to make sure Mona doesn't book more than a few clients a week.

So far I've managed to just give my clients information to help without actually coming to the attention of, or having contact, with any police officials. I like it better that way but Mona seems to be getting more insistent that I work directly with the police with every new client. I love Mona, she's my best friend, but she can be a real pain sometimes.

I checked my watch and looked outside at the dark rain that had been pelting down most of the day. It was rather depressing out but not surprising. It rains in this part of Oregon most of the fall, winter, and spring with only a few months of dry, warm weather in the summer. At four-twenty-five in the afternoon mid-October, this gloom pretty much expected.

I got up to light the few vanilla scented candles we had in the sunroom when I heard Mona's voice coming from the front of the house.

My four-thirty appointment was early. Oh, well. Better to get this over with.

I ran my hands through my long black hair, tucking part of it behind my left ear. I also looked down to check that my dark purple blouse was still neatly tucked into my black slacks. I decided I looked decent enough just as Mona was shepherding in my client.

The woman with Mona looked like she was on the other side of forty, but it was a good late forty. Her blonde hair was perfectly styled, falling softly around her shoulders; her make-up and expensive blouse and skirt all added to the look of perfection.

Once again, I was glad Mona insisted we dress professional when meeting clients. Left to my own devices I would wear jeans and whatever top I grabbed from the closet. I normally dressed for the weather and for comfort, not to impress.

Mona's red curls bounced as she walked into the room. "Ella, this is Mrs. Garret,"- Mona said motioning to the blond woman next to her- "Mrs. Garret, this is Ella O'Reilly."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Garret." I said, reaching out to shake her hand. She took my hand in hers softly, looking me in the eyes. It was then that I noticed the sadness in her light blue eyes.

"Please, call me Samantha. I've heard a lot about you Ms. O'Reilly. Can you really do what you say? Can you help me find out what happened to my daughter?" Her voice shook with the last question, and gave me some clue as to why she was here.

"I can try," I replied, "Please, have a seat." I said, motioning to one of the couches. I took the other one on the opposite side of the coffee table. Mona went to sit in the overstuffed chair in the corner, facing the windows. She tried not to hover during appointments but she refused to leave me alone while I worked. It doesn't happen often but I have passed out before from being on overload. If the images I get are too violent, or too many at once, it's like my brain screams "Too much!" and shuts down on me.

I started, "I don't want you to tell me anything about your daughter or what you think happened to her. I want to see what the touchstone has to show me." I took a deep breath. "Now, do you have something that belonged to her?"

Samantha's hands shook a little as she dug through her leather purse, pulling out something in a small baggie.

"Here, this was her necklace. She always wore it." She said as she handed me the baggie containing a small gold cross on a delicate gold chain.

I took the baggie and tried to gain the courage to open it; I knew what was coming and that always made me hesitate for a moment. I took a deep breath, opened the baggie, tipped it over, and let the cool metal fall into my palm.

I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths. In through my nose, out through my mouth and with each breath I lowered my shield down slowly. For me, the shield that I learned to build to keep everything out looks like a smooth, thick, metal wall inside my brain. I have to visualize it going up to block things out and I have to take it down to let my abilities free.

With that final breath, my shield came down and images slammed into my brain like a ton of bricks...

... A young woman with light hair and beautiful features was sitting alone at a bar. Next image that flickered through was of the same woman sitting in a bar talking to a handsome, dark haired man; flirting with him. Then she was lying on what looked like a table in the middle of a basement or some sort of room with concrete walls. Candles were lit everywhere, casting their flickering glow around this barren room. The girls head rolled from side to side, as if she were really drunk or drugged. She appeared to be wearing a gown, kind of like an older style nightgown; it even had lace trim.

The vision expanded to let me see there were two others in the room with her; the man from the bar and a petite woman with dark curls that fell to her waist. They both moved toward her with a strange sort of grace, almost feline. It looked like the girl was trying to say something but she was having a hard time getting the words out.

The woman went to where her head was and bent over her as the man went toward her left side. He picked up her left arm and stroked the large vein at the bend of her elbow. As he was doing this, the woman with long hair turned the girl's neck to side and kissed it. The man was watching this like he was waiting for something. The woman looked up at him and with a slight nod; they both barred their teeth, dainty fangs glistening in the candle light, and bit the girl; one sucking at the pulse point on her neck, and the other at the bend of her elbow.

As the girl in my vision died, my sight went black. I've never been able to see past someone's death. It took a few moments for me to rebuild my shield and make sure it was tight, letting nothing else come through.

Mrs. Garret was staring at me like she'd seen a ghost. I was used to clients looking at me like that. I straightened myself, took a deep breath, and handed the necklace back to her while trying to figure out how to explain what I saw.

"I saw your daughter at a bar. She was flirting with a dark haired man. She left with him and that's how she ended up in the concrete room. It looked like a basement to me, but I supposed it could have been anywhere. There was a woman in the room with your daughter and the dark haired man..." I paused because I wasn't sure how much I should tell her. Judging from the scared look in her eyes she didn't seem strong enough for the gory details, but that's why she came to me and it's what she paid for.

"This is going to sound strange, but the man and the woman bit your daughter, on the neck and the bend of one of her arms. It looked like they were... drinking her blood or something. Were there bite marks on her body? Like bite marks with sharp points?" I struggled to say the last part because even to me it sounded nuts. I know there are a lot of ways to kill someone, but drinking their blood? That just sounded like some cheesy vampire story. And did I really see people with pointy, fang like teeth?

Samantha had to clear her throat a few times before she was able to speak.

"Ummm, yes, actually there were two...bite marks on her body. The autopsy report said her body was drained of all her blood. They couldn't tell if she bled out or what happened. There was no blood around her when she was... found."

I frowned, trying to think but the headache starting to pound at the base of my skull was making it hard. I've never seen, or heard, anything like this happening. I mean sure, everyone has heard of some type of vampire legends but that's what they were, right? I had heard of a few out there who took it a little too far, thinking they were real vampires but even then I don't think they actually drank blood. I believe those "vampires" said they fed off people's energy, like psychic energy or emotions. This was all a little too weird for me.

"That's interesting," I said, not really sure what else I could say. "I didn't see anything else. I've never heard of people actually drinking someone else's blood outside of fiction and horror movies. I didn't recognize the two people who killed your daughter either. I think the bar they were in was somewhere downtown here in Salem. Ask the police if to check the places downtown and see if anyone remembers them, maybe someone else knows the dark haired man."

I closed my eyes for a minute, rubbing my temples. The headache was moving to the front of my head and increasing in pain. I didn't know what else I could tell Mrs. Garret that would be helpful.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I really have nothing more to add and my head is killing me right now."

"Thank you for your help, Ms. O'Reilly. You've given me more information than the police have been able to give me. Nothing can bring my daughter back, but maybe her killers can be found. Good bye." She said in a soft voice, looking as though she was on the verge of tears.

Mona came over and offered to walk Mrs. Garret to the door, leaving me to sit and nurse my growing headache. It was a relief to hear the front door close. I slumped back into the couch cushions and listened to the sound of Mona's heels clicking on the hardwood floors as she made her was back to the sunroom.

"Well, that was...weird." Mona said, flopping down on the same couch Samantha Garret had been sitting on. "Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "I'm fine. Nothing some Excedrin and sleep won't cure."

I watched as her arched brows knitted together over her bright green eyes, and a frown played on her lips, a sign she was thinking really hard about something. She sighed.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

She looked up at me, turned a little red, and smiled sheepishly. "You're going to think I'm nuts, but do you actually think that maybe, just maybe, vampires are real and what you saw killing that girl was the real deal?"

I laughed, a quick burst because that was so Mona. One of the reasons we've been friends for so long is her willingness to believe in anything supernatural, which is why she has always accepted my gift. She loves ghost stories and anything to do with vampires, werewolves, witches, you name it. She had even gone so far as to become Wiccan, even though we were both raised Irish Catholic. Of course she would believe there were real vampires out there.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to laugh, but I should have expected you to ask something like that. I have no idea if there are real vampires out there, like the stuff legends are made of. I suppose there could be. Who am I, with my own gifts, to say there is no such thing? Honestly though, I have no idea. I didn't see any coffins or anything like that. All I saw was two people with fangs that were probably fake, bite and possibly drink that young woman's blood. They could just be two nut jobs who think they are vampires. I'm not going to say there is no such thing but, until I meet one, I won't believe it."

Mona shook her head in disbelief. "You know what, Ella? Sometimes you are just as bad as all those people who don't believe in what you can do. I would think that you, of all people, might be more inclined to believe that vampire, ghosts, and other 'legends'"-she said making air quotes- "are real."

"I'll admit you may have a point but I do believe in ghosts because I've seen them. I just have a harder time believing in things like real vampires. I'll believe it when I meet one. In the meantime, I'm going to assume they are not real, and the two people who killed that poor girl are just..."-I turned my palms upward-"I don't even know what they are. What is in your hand?" I asked, finally noticing she was holding something.

"Oh, yeah," She said, handing it to me from across the table. "It's the card for the detective working on the Garret case. Mrs. Garret was hoping you would go to the police with the information from your vision."

I rolled my eyes but looked down at the card anyway. "Detective Alexander Gambini," I said out loud, and then snorted. "Oh, yeah, I'll get right on that. I'm sure this guy would love to hear that I saw two people sucking the blood out of the Garret girl. You know as well as I do that he will never believe me."

"You never know. I'm seeing more and more stories about police working with psychics..." I shot her a glare, "I mean people with gifts when they have an unsolved or strange case. Maybe this guy will be one of the open minded cops."

I tried to wrap my mind around the possibility of going to this detective with what I saw but couldn't think very well when my brain felt like it was going to explode.

"We'll talk about this later but for right now I'm going upstairs, taking some pain killers, and lying down. I can't think with my head pounding like this." I said, climbing to my feet and walked toward the stairs before Mona could say anything else.

I woke up to a soft knock on my bedroom door. I opened my eyes and looked around my darkened room. I reached for my lamp on the nightstand by my bed and said, "Come in."

Mona opened the door and stuck her head inside just as I was sitting up on my bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked with a worried look on her face. I know it's hard for Mona to see me suffer these headaches; she worries about the possible long term effects my abilities could have on my overall health.

I thought about it for a second before answering, giving myself a little time to fully wake. "I'm okay. The headache has mostly gone away, a dull echo of what it was before. What time is it?"

"A little past seven, you needed a few hours to rest. I came up to tell you I made dinner if you're hungry. I also did a little research on the Garret case and found some pretty interesting things if you want to come down I'll tell you about it."

I smiled. One of the best things about Mona is she likes to cook. She got a lot of practice growing up the eldest of five kids. I don't know what I'd do without her. Probably starve since I'm not much of a cook myself.

I got off the bed and we headed toward the stairs. Mona was pretty quiet as we walked downstairs to the kitchen. She already had two plates of pasta sitting on the little breakfast table in the corner of the kitchen. We had a dining room with a large oak table that seated six but since we don't entertain much we normally have our meals at the smaller table in the kitchen.

As we sat down I noticed that Mona had her laptop sitting on the side of the table in between our plates. I was curious about what she found out but the mouthwatering smell of her homemade pesto made me realize how hungry I was. I wanted to get some of the food down before we started talking about the murdered girl again.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the bliss of the comfort food.

"Okay, what did you find out?" I asked.

Mona hit a button on the laptop, bringing it out of sleep mode. She had several newspaper articles pulled up on the screen. I took a few minutes to sift through what she found. It didn't take long for me to realize that they were not just about the Garret murder, but two other women who had been killed the same way.

I sat back in shock. "How did we miss, not only one murder, but three? It's not like we live under a rock."

"Well," Mona started, "we don't have cable or get the newspaper. You try really hard to avoid anything that could possibly influence your visions. From what I can tell Jennifer Garret, 21 years old, was the first victim. She was found in one of the older cemeteries in town about three months ago. She was reported missing about a week before her body was found. The two other women; Kristy Molloy, age 22, and Jamie Walker, age 21, were killed the same way as the Garret girl. Jennifer Garret was found in July, Kristy Molloy was found in August, and the Walker girl was discovered toward the end of September."

I frowned, thinking about the other women who had been murdered, probably by the same two people I saw killing the Jennifer Garret. It also made me wonder if there would be more.

"I bet the only reason Mrs. Garret came to you today was because other women are being killed." Mona said, breaking the brief silence, "Maybe you should go talk to that detective."

I glared at her. "Mona, I know firsthand how skeptical cops are about anything supernatural. I thought we already discussed this? The only thing me going to the cops will accomplish is having one more person think I'm crazy."

She sighed. "Yes, we did talk about this but that was before we knew two other women had been killed in the same manner as the Garret girl. You see things other people don't and you were a cop. I think that little fact right there might get him to listen to you and..."

I felt my temper flare. "And? What are you suggesting? That I walk right up to him and say, 'Hi, my name is Ella O'Reilly and I get these visions and can see how people died when I touch objects they had on them at their time of death. Oh, and I've touched Jennifer Garret's necklace and know she was killed by a man and a woman who sucked all her blood out.' Yeah, I'm sure that'll really get me far." I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms under my breasts.

Yeah, sure I could probably convince this detective Gambini I was the real deal by touching him and giving him some information about himself. I cringed at the thought; I'd done that a few times with those who didn't believe in me but it didn't make them suddenly like me or listen to me. If anything all that normally accomplished was getting me called a liar, or I scared them so badly they wanted nothing to do with me. My gifts have always been a struggle for me, especially at times like this. I knew I could help with this case. Mona had a point about my being an ex-cop giving me an edge when trying to get other cops to take me seriously but...I also hated to put myself out there. I couldn't let that get in the way from doing what was right, could I?

Mona was probably reading the thoughts and emotions flickering across my face. She must have realized that I would do it her way because she suddenly grinned at me. I couldn't help but smile back because she knew me too well.

"Okay, fine!" I said, "I'll go see this detective in the morning but, when this blows up in my face, I don't want to hear about it again or even the suggestion I try working with the cops again, deal?"

"I promise," Mona said, actually pretending to cross her heart, "but, when you are taken seriously and you do help solve this case, I think you should consider agreeing to consult with the police on a regularly bases. You could do a lot of good Ella. You can control when you receive visions now, it's not as overwhelming as it was a few years ago. You liked being a cop and you were good at it. You also like helping others, which is the only reason I was able to talk you into using your gifts like you are now. Just think about it, okay?" She paused for a second, "You can't keep hiding who you really are. You're abilities are a gift. Don't let what others think stop you from helping people."

I nodded at her, knowing there was no way to convince her I didn't miss being a cop and that I didn't want to help solve mysteries because I did. I just didn't know how to use my gifts to do it and be taken seriously by other cops. I didn't think she was totally right about hiding who I am. I mean, we did advertise my gifts and I was helping people but at the same time I wasn't very open about my abilities. Maybe I did need to change that.

I got up from the table, grabbed our plates, put them in the sink and started the water. Unfortunately we had no dishwasher so Mona and I took turns doing the dishes. Whoever cooked didn't cleanup which meant I was almost always the one doing the dishes. I didn't mind it though. For some reason I found the warm, soapy water to be relaxing.

As I washed the dishes I stared out into the rainy night and thought about what I was going to say tomorrow. How can I get this detective to even take time to listen to me? I inwardly cringed because I knew the only way was to show him and make him a believer. Just because I knew what I needed to do, didn't make me feel any better. I hated using my gift like that but I couldn't come up with a better plan.

I woke up the next morning to find the sky dark and overcast but at least it wasn't raining...well, not yet anyway. Even though I was dreading going to the police station I decided it was best to just go first thing this morning and get it over with.

I showered quickly, slipping on a pair of blue jeans and a red sweater. I took the time to blow-dry my long, wavy dark hair even though it would probably get ruined not long after leaving the house. I also bothered with a little mascara and lip gloss. I don't normally wear make-up but I decided I would try to make a good impression, for all the good it would do me. I knew I was pretty and could clean up well but most of the time I didn't bother. Mona, so much more girly than me, was forever trying to get me to try new clothing styles and spend a little more time on my hair and make-up. I didn't see the point. I didn't date much and most men didn't want to be with someone who wasn't "normal"; whatever normal is, I know I'm not it.

I put on my black boots with a small heel before heading out my bedroom door and downstairs for a quick cup of coffee. My headache was gone but I still needed a good dose of caffeine to start my day.

By the time I got to the kitchen I noticed that coffee was done but Mona was nowhere in sight. Maybe I would get lucky and get out the door without seeing her. I love Mona to pieces but she can be a little pushy sometimes. All I wanted right now was to enjoy my coffee and prepare myself for what I was about to do.

I grabbed my favorite blue mug from the cupboard and poured some of the rich, dark coffee in it. Later in the day I would add cream and sugar but for the first cup I always drink it black.

I walked over to the kitchen window and looked outside as I sipped my coffee. God, it was good and just what I needed. As I drank my coffee I began to wonder how I would approach Detective Gambini. Should I tell him I had information on the Garret case? That was probably the best way to get him to take two seconds and listen to me. Maybe Mona is right and he will be open minded to what I can do. Maybe I'm being nervous and getting worked up over nothing. I chuckled softly at that last thought. Of course I was nervous and had good reason to be.

I drained the last of my coffee, washed the mug and decided I just needed to leave. Like ripping off a Band-Aid, the quicker you do it, the less painful it will be. Or at least that's what I told myself as I gathered up my purse, jacket and headed out into the crisp October morning. I walked down to the driveway where my dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee was parked. I got in, buckled up, turned the key in the ignition, and said a quick prayer for the strength to do what I needed to do and that I would find this detective to be receptive.

The Salem Police Department was located downtown near City Hall and the Public Library. It looked like many of the police stations: a reception area, desks, a few cubicles and offices spread out in a very large room. The sound of ringing phones, many voices talking all at once, and the clicking of keyboard along with the smell of stale coffee made me suddenly miss the bustle of my old station.

I stopped looking around and turned back to the receptionist; a plump middle aged woman with short graying hair and wire rimmed glasses.

"I'm sorry," the receptionist said hanging up the phone, "Detective Gambini isn't answering. He may be away from his desk but if you want to leave a message I'll make sure he gets it."

I sighed. "Okay. My name is Ella O'Reilly. I have some information on the Garret case and would like to speak to Detective Gambini when he gets a chance."

I started digging through my purse looking for a business card. As I was doing this I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I jumped and turned around to find a tall woman with dark blonde hair pulled away from her face looking at me.

"I'm sorry," she said "I didn't mean to startle you. My name is Melinda Conway, Detective Conway actually. I couldn't help but over hear you inquiring about Detective Gambini? He is my partner."

I looked at her a little more closely and noticed that she did have a badge next to her sidearm on her right hip. I also noticed that she was strikingly beautiful, even without a trace of make-up.

I smiled and stuck out my hand. "Hi. I'm Ella O'Reilly. It's nice to meet you."

She took my hand and smiled back. "Yes, I know who you are. I've read about you. Mrs. Garret mentioned recently that since we had no new leads that she was going to see you. I was wondering if you'd show up. If you want to follow me we can go find Gambini. He's probably in our office."

I signed in as a visitor and followed Detective Conway through the maze of desks and into an office toward the back of the station.

Conway opened the door without knocking and went in. The room was pretty small with two desks facing each other, a filing cabinet with a plant on top that had seen better days shoved in a corner next to two straight backed chairs. Sitting at one of the desks was a tan, good looking man with dark brown hair. He was talking on the phone but looked up when we walked in. My breath caught in my chest as the man, Detective Gambini I assumed, looked at me with brown eyes so dark they were almost black. He looked good from the profile but was even better looking with a full view of his face and dark eyes.

He looked away from me after a second and shot his partner a look I couldn't decipher. Conway motioned for me to have a seat in one of the chairs next to the filing cabinet. I took one more look at Gambini then went to over to a chair and sat down. Now I felt really nervous. Why did he have to look so damn good? I had been hoping he'd be balding and over-weight, not this attractive. More than ever I wished I didn't have to do this but I promised Mona I would try and I was already here.

I sat in the chair and tried not to fidget as he finished with his phone call. He hung up the phone but before he could say anything Conway started to speak.

"This is Ella O'Reilly," she said motioning to me, "I found her in the reception area. It would seem she has some information for us about the Garret case."

Something, maybe knowledge of who I was, flickered across his face before going blank once again. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and just looked at me for a minute. I could feel the heat creeping up my neck and spreading across my cheeks under his gaze.

"Well, Ms. O'Reilly," he said in a deep voice, "what kind of information do you have for me?"

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I'd been around good looking men before and never been this affected. What was wrong with me? Maybe I was a little bothered by my attraction to Gambini since I wasn't here on a social call and he'll probably think I'm crazy by the time I leave anyway.

I told Gambini and Conway about Mrs. Garret seeking my help; I explained my gifts as best as I could and then I told them about the vision I had.

Conway took notes in her little notepad while Gambini listened and studied me. I knew the look on his face; he was trying to decide how much of what I was saying was real and what was a crock. I knew the look because I used to have one just like it. While interviewing suspects and witnesses you learn to look for facial cues, body language and everything else along with the words that are coming out of their mouth. It was different being on the other end of that look. It made me want to squirm a little.

Once I was finished I slumped a little in my chair. I couldn't tell if I was relieved that I'd said it all and it was over with, or if I was terrified of what this gorgeous man was thinking about me.

As the silence continued I looked at Conway, who had a slight smile playing on her lips; and Gambini, who was still staring at me with that blank cop face. He started rubbing his hand along his strong jaw, which had at least a days' worth of beard growth on it. Maybe that's what he did when he was thinking hard about something. Who knows?

He cleared his throat and straightened in his chair a bit.

"So let me get this straight." He said "You saw, in a vision or whatever, a man and a woman with fangs drinking blood from Jennifer Garret?"

I sighed. "Yes, Detective, that's right. I know it sounds crazy but it's what I saw. I'm also willing to bet that there are bite marks exactly where I said because I noticed your shock when I mentioned them." Guess I never stopped watching people like I did when I was a cop. His shock when I mentioned the placement of the bite marks was very quick but I still noticed.

His eyebrows shot up at that and he threw a look at his partner. Conway just shrugged and went back to her notes. That look from my comment made me feel a little stronger and surer of myself.

"Look," I said, "the only reason I'm even here is because Jennifer Garret wasn't the only woman killed like this. I read the news articles about Kristy Molloy and Jamie Walker. None of them mentioned bite marks, or that the victims being drained of their blood, but I'm going to assume they were. I would like to help if you're willing to let me. I can see things that the police can't. I know that Jennifer was killed in what looked like a basement and not where she was found," I felt a smile play at my lips, "but I bet you already knew that none of them were killed where their bodies were found."

Gambini nodded his head and said, "You're right about the bite marks and the fact that none of the victims were killed where they were found but this is a police matter. Let us handle it."

He stood up from his desk, signaling my time was up. Standing he was at least six feet tall. I stood as well, got a card out of my purse and handed it to him.

"Here is my card if you change your mind. My cell number is on the back. Thank you for your time detectives." With that I gave a nod to Conway, and walked out the office door without glancing back.

I stopped at reception to sign out before heading for the parking garage.

Why did I let Mona talk me into coming here when I knew this detective wouldn't believe me? Oh, yeah because I had to at least try and I did. Conway looked like she believed me but Gambini? Ha! Not a chance in hell did think I was for real. Probably thought I'm one of those nut jobs that come out during big murder investigations.

I unlocked my Jeep and slid behind the wheel telling myself that I tried and it wasn't my fault if he didn't believe me. Besides, by the look on Conway's face as I was leaving told me that they would be talking about me. I was also pretty sure that she was going to do whatever she could to convince her partner to let me help. Cops hate having this many dead bodies that look like the same doer with no real leads. I suppose I could have mentioned that I used to be a cop but I figure Gambini will research me and he'll figure it out.

I backed out of my parking spot and headed toward the exit. I didn't have any clients today but I wanted to get home for a little research of my own. It would probably take forever to sift through all the information but I wanted to see what I could find out about vampires. I wasn't sure if I should pray that I wouldn't find anything more than make-believe, or find some real information that would help explain these deaths and my vision.

I walked through the door of my house, set my purse on the hall tree next to the door just as Mona was coming to the stairs. She was wearing blue sweat pants and a pull over hoodie with her hair pulled back in a mess knot at the top of her head. She didn't seem to notice I was home because she continued reading from the stack of papers she held in her hand.

I could only shake my head at the sight of her. One of these days Mona is going to trip and fall down the stairs if she doesn't quit reading while walking down them.

"Don't fall!" I yelled. Mona jumped and nearly dropped her papers but managed to glare at me as she made it down the last few steps. I started laughing. I couldn't help it; she looked so funny when I scared her. I suppose it's not nice to laugh at your friends when you almost cause them to trip down stairs but I did and it felt good. Laughing made me feel better and released some of the tension I'd been feeling since last night.

"That wasn't funny, Ella!" Mona said, "I could have fallen down the stairs and broken something."

"The look on your face was funny and it's not my fault you were reading while walking down the stairs and didn't notice I was home. I keep telling you're going to fall one of these days if you keep that up. So what are you reading anyway?" I asked, hoping to get her talking about something else instead of giving her a chance to ask how it went with the police.

"I happen to be reading about vampires." She said, glancing at me before heading to the living room.

I hung up my jacket and followed her because I knew she wanted to share whatever she found. By the time I got in the living room, Mona was already seated on one of the overstuffed couches near the fireplace. I sat down next to her and watched as she spread the papers on the coffee table.

After she had everything set out across the coffee table she started to talk. "Okay, it took hours to sift through all the Hollywood junk and fictional characters. I was looking for as much as I could that had to do with how the vampire legends got started. Almost every country and culture has their version of a vampire, what they are, how you become one, how you kill them, etc."

Mona picked up two pieces of paper and handed them to me.

"I'm sure you've heard of these two legends; Prince Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler, and Elizabeth of Bathory. Both are out of Transylvania. Most believe that the Dracula legend came from Vlad, although I couldn't find any creditable evidence that he actually drank blood. He seems to have just been a strict ruler who impaled his enemies and had a bit of a blood lust. Elizabeth on the other hand is a different story. Legend around Elizabeth says that she was punishing a servant girl one day and happened to get the girls blood on her skin. She noticed that her skin looked more youthful where the blood touched and ta-da! She thought she'd found the secret to everlasting youth. Long story short within in a few years she had killed a lot of young girls and bathed in their blood, some say she even began to drink their blood. Local authorities got wind of this but because she was a Countess, she wasn't put to death she was just placed on house arrest for the rest of her life."

Mona sat back while I looked over her print outs on Vlad and Elizabeth, trying to absorb the information.

"Most of the other stuff I found just covers the other legends saying that vampires sleep all day, sun light kills them, wooden stake to the heart, garlic and crosses are bad, you know? That type of thing." She paused for a second, and then jumped up. "I'm going to make some tea. Do you want any?"

"Sure." I said, not really paying attention to what Mona was saying anymore but trying to read and sift through the rest of the print outs.

Most of the information on how to tell if someone was a vampire dated back several hundred years. Things like digging up the body and finding the hair and nails longer than at time of death, bloating of the body, and blood on the mouth have since been proven to be a normal part of decomposition.

I sighed and sat back against the couch as Mona walked back in the room carrying two cups of tea. She handed one of them to me, and resumed her seat.

I blew across my cup, closed my eyes, and took a sip of the calming chamomile tea. I opened my eyes to discover Mona studying me while she held her cup in her hands but didn't drink.

"So," she finally said after a minute of silence, "what do you think?"

I thought about it for a moment before I answered because I wasn't sure what I thought. Most of the information she gathered wasn't really new to me. It was most of the vampire legends I'd heard about over the years, stuff of Hollywood's Dracula movies. Nothing helped to explain what I saw in my vision. Maybe I was right and the people I saw were just nutcases taking the vampire legends too far.

"Well, I already knew most of what you found. The garlic, crosses, stake through the heart, blah, blah, blah;" I smiled at Mona rolling her eyes at that last part, "nothing helpful to explain my vision though. What did you find about the more modern 'vampires'? You said there were a lot of websites dedicated to vampires today."

Mona took a sip of her tea and rolled her eyes again before answering. "Oh, that. Let's see..." she paused and looked up as if she were trying to remember. I was pretty sure it was just for effect; Mona likes to add a little drama to things. "Most of the sites I read through are people, or groups of people, claiming they are vampires. They claim that although they do drink blood, they don't have fangs; they eat normal food as well, crosses don't bother them, they don't sleep in coffins, can come out during the day, and they are not immortal. Some claim they are super strong and drink human blood because of the 'life'" –she made air quotes- "that is in the blood. Like it's some kind of spark they need and without they get weak; pretty much stuff that is the opposite of all the older vampire legends. I figure that most of the so-called vampires are just people who are really into it." She shrugged, "You never know though. A lot of the times if it is real for the person who believes it then it is real. Does that make sense?"

I nodded. "Actually it does. I would bet though, that real vampires, if there is such a thing, are not out there advertising online. Like I said yesterday, until I meet the real live vampire, fangs and all, I'm going to assume the people I saw in my vision are just over zealot pretenders." "Okay. I see you point. Nothing I found online made me believe in vampires either. It was actually pretty disappointing because I think it would be awesome if vampires were real. Maybe even werewolves too." Mona said, suddenly very animated.

I smiled and shook my head. "Maybe they are out there. Who knows? Most legends and fairy tales do have some truth to them. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Moving on,"

"How did it go at the police station?" Mona asked.

I took a long drink of my tea, and then stared into my cup. I knew she would ask eventually and I didn't mind telling her what happened but Mona is very perceptive and would pick up on my attraction to Gambini. That was the only part I was dreading. I don't really date because of my gifts so Mona tended to get a little over excited when I expressed any type of interest in a man. She doesn't see my being gifted as a problem when it comes to finding love. I, one the other hand, think it's really hard to have a relationship when you have to hide part of yourself for fear of being seen as a freak.

I took a deep breath and launched into my narrative of what happened at the P.D. I worked hard to keep my face calm, blank and my voice devoid of too much emotion as I told Mona about Conway and Gambini. When I finished I drained the last of my tea and set my cup on the coffee table. Mona was frowning and staring into her cup like she was disappointed, which she probably was. Going to the police had been her idea and it didn't work out as she'd hoped. I waited a few minutes for Mona to say something but she just kept staring into her cup.

"So anyways," I broke the silence "it may not have been a total loss. What I saw in my vision was correct. Jennifer Garret was bitten, two different places, and drained of blood. I'm guessing that the other women died in the same manner. Gambini may have thought I was a nut but his partner seemed more inclined to believe me. She said she knew who I was. How much she knows about me, I don't know but I figure she'll talk Gambini into seeing if I can actually help. We'll just have to wait and see."

Mona finally looked up from her cup and straight into my eyes. "But why didn't you tell them that you were a cop? It's not like you're just some regular civilian."

"I could have said something but I don't think it would have changed anything. Besides, I'll bet they already knew I was a cop, or at least Conway might, but I'm not anymore. There is a huge difference. If I were in their place I wouldn't be sharing information, or asking for my kind of help. I don't know if I can explain it but I get it which is why I didn't push. If they get desperate, or if Conway gets her way, they'll contact me. Let's not worry about that right now."

"Okay, then what do we do now?" Mona asked, and then took a drink of her tea.

"Well...we could do as Gambini suggested and leave it up to the police or..."

"Or... what?"

"I was thinking we could go downtown tonight. Grab some dinner then check out some of the bars, see if we can at least find the bar from my vision. It's a Friday night so there will be a lot of people out. If we're lucky we will come across the guy from my vision. If we don't, then maybe we can at least find the bar. It's not much but it's a place to start."

Mona smiled and suddenly looked excited. I knew what it was about. She liked the idea of playing detective but I think the thought of going out for the night excited her more. I knew that if we actually came across anything relating to the case we would have to turn it over to the police and let them do their job. I knew it was dangerous to go looking into an active murder investigation but I told myself I was just looking for information and whatever I found, I would go right to Gambini with. Hmmmm....that's what I told myself but I knew myself a little too well. If Gambini wouldn't let me help them, chances of me doing my own investigations were pretty good.

I smiled back at Mona and knew she was totally on board for tonight. Oddly I felt just as excited as she looked. Mona was right; being a cop was part of who I was. I may not have a badge anymore but I missed it, a lot. I missed the thrill of figuring out a case and closing it.

Maybe now that I was better at controlling my gifts I could use them like I had originally planned when I first became a cop. I don't think that after this case I'd go back to regular police work. No, that probably wouldn't do but maybe I could become a licensed private investigator?

I felt my smile get bigger at that last thought. If I could help solve these murders then I would definitely look into what I needed to do to become a P.I. But first things first; I had to start somewhere and looking for the bar from my vision seemed like as good a place as any.

We had eaten at one of the Thai restaurants downtown and were now on our way to yet another bar. This would be the third bar located downtown that we'd been to in just a little over an hour. Mona seemed a little disappointed that we weren't staying long at them but every time we walked into a new bar and I realized it wasn't the right one, I wanted to leave.

Mona had been hoping this would be a girl's night out as well as a fact finding mission. I didn't see it that way. I'm not a huge drinker and I really don't like crowds; any bar on a Friday night means a crowd.

Mona sighed heavily as we walked up to the door at Copper Johns, one of the nicer bars downtown. "What's wrong?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. She was almost as disappointed in the lack of fun tonight as my outfit. I was wearing a royal blue top with a little scoop that showed some cleavage, dark blue jeans, and black boots. I thought I looked nice; Mona seemed to think I should be wearing something more revealing, or at least a dress. It may not have been raining but it was still pretty chilly out.

Mona stopped walking just a few feet from the door and turned to me. "I want to actually stay at this bar, at least long enough to get a drink. I mean look at me," she opened the black jacket that was covering most of the short dark green dress that was tight enough it looked painted on to her tall, slim body. "I didn't go to all the trouble of looking this good to just walk into a place then back out five minutes later. You may not be interested in having any fun but I am."

I sighed and said, "Fine. One drink but if this isn't the right bar we keep on moving."

"Deal but I think you should have a drink too." I opened my mouth to protest but she held up a hand and started talking before I could. "I know you're our DD tonight but I think you can have one drink and be okay to drive us the five miles back home."

Before I could say anything Mona walked through the door. I caught up with her just as the bouncer was handing her I.D. back to her. I slipped mine out of my pocket and handed it to him. He looked at it quickly then handed it back.

Mona grabbed my hand and we started to weave our way through the crowd. I looked around the bar. A chill went down my spine as we approached the bar to get drinks; this was the place. I spun around quickly to make sure I was right.

Yep. This was it. I didn't know if I should be glad the search was over or freaked out. I'm not a wimp but you have to admit that being in the same place as you know someone met their killer at is just a little creepy.

Someone tapped my shoulder and jumped, a little scream escaping my lips at the same time. My heart was knocking wildly against my ribs and adrenaline coursed through my veins as I spun back toward the bar to find Mona was the one who had tapped me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

She took one look at my face and her smiling face turned into a mask of concern. "What's wrong?" Before I could say anything she answered her own question. "This is the right place, isn't it?" Mona had to yell a little because the music was so loud.

I nodded then walked up to join her at the bar. Suddenly that drink Mona was trying to talk me into seemed like a good idea. "Can I get a Bloody Mary, please?" I asked the bar tender.

The bar tender, a good looking man with blonde hair, nodded and turned to make our drinks. A few minutes later he returned with my Bloody Mary and whatever Mona had ordered. She handed him her credit card and told him to keep the tab open.

We left the bar and went in search for a table. It was only about nine-thirty and even though there was a crowd, it would get a lot worse in about an hour or so. We snagged one of the smaller tables near the dance floor. I took the chair that faced the door and the bar area. I wanted to be able to watch the crowd and those coming in to see if the guy from my vision would show tonight. You would think he wouldn't come back to the same place but you never know; some people use the same hunting grounds, over and over again until they are caught. I doubt this guy was worried about being caught since him, and the woman, had dumped all their victims' bodies in pretty public places.

I took a long drink from my glass and closed my eyes for a second; I had almost forgotten how good these were. I opened my eyes and started scanning the crowd. Most of the people in the bar were in groups; some all men, some all women, and a few couples scattered around. I didn't see anyone I recognized and I sure didn't see anyone who looked like the dark haired man from my vision.

I leaned in close to Mona so she could hear me over the music. "I don't see the man from my vision but this is where Jennifer Garret met him. I guess we could stick around for a while and see if he shows."

Mona just nodded, smiled and took a sip of her drink. After a few minutes of people watching, Mona leaned toward me.

"So, tell me about this Detective Gambini. What's he like?" Mona asked. I silently cursed because I was hoping she wouldn't ask. I don't really lie well and Mona would pick up on my interest in him if I talked more about him. The way she was looking at me let me know that I wasn't going to get away with changing the subject. She tired brining him up at dinner but I managed to get her talking about something else.

I sighed and took a very long pull off my drink, trying to think of what I could say that wouldn't make me sound like some school girl with a crush because that was how I felt when I thought of Gambini. Stupid but true.

I shrugged. "He's okay. Like most cops I guess; all business. I got the feeling that he is his job."

Mona shook her head. "That's not really what I was asking about. I mean; what's he look like? Is he young? Old? Good looking?" She actually gave me a wink after she asked if he was good looking.

I rolled my eyes. "He has brown hair, brown eyes; I would say at least six feet tall, fit, and probably early to mid-thirties. He's not bad looking, I guess." I could feel the heat climbing up my neck and into my cheeks as I thought about Gambini and prayed it was dark enough in the bar that Mona wouldn't notice I was blushing.

Mona took a sip of her drink, probably giving herself time to analyze everything I'd just said. She put her drink back on the table and just looked at me. I was about to try and change the subject when she said, "Sounds like you like him."

I tried to keep my face blank but must have failed because Mona sat back in her chair with a smug smile on her face. Damn! That was the trouble with being best friends since we were kids; we knew each other too well to hide much of anything. Most of the time she could read me like a book and I could read her just as easily.

The only thing I could do was fess up and pray she wouldn't make a big deal about it. "Okay, fine! Yes, he is a good looking man but I don't know anything about him and he probably thinks I'm nuts. It's not a big deal for me to find a man attractive."

Mona shrugged, "Whatever you say." Then she picked up her drink and drained.

I was shocked she wasn't insisting on going into more detail or trying to convince me to go for it. Huh. Maybe Mona was finally learning I didn't want her pestering me about my love life, or lack thereof.

Mona stood up and announced she was getting another drink. I declined a second one because I was driving us home. Mona walked off into the crowd and toward the bar. While she was gone I let my eyes wonder the crowd of people.

Most were laughing and enjoying themselves, a few were playing the video poker machines; nothing out of the ordinary for a Friday night.

I sighed. I had no idea what I'd hoped to gain from tonight but I still didn't know much. Okay, I guess that wasn't true. I knew that this was the bar Jennifer met one of her killers at. I guess it was asking too much for the guy to show up while I was here. Even if he did I'm not sure what I do. Probably call Gambini and hope he'd listen to me.

Mona came back to the table with her drink and we managed to keep the chit chat simple; how her family was doing, how the business was doing and anything we might want to do this weekend. It was nice, relaxing.

I was actually beginning to enjoy myself when I got a sudden chill. You know the kind; like someone walking on your grave, the kind that gives you goose bumps and raises the little hairs on the back of your neck. The kind of chill that makes you look around suddenly because you just know someone is watching you.

Of course when you're in a crowded bar it's harder to tell if someone was watching you; everyone looks around at a bar, people watching is half the fun of going out.

I rubbed my arms, back and forth, as if I were trying to warm myself while I looked around. At first I couldn't tell if anyone was actually staring at me but on my second glace around I noticed a man with light brown hair staring at me.

He wasn't the man from my vision but it was almost as if they had certain sameness to them. Kind of like how most people who are in the FBI are alike; even though they come in different shapes and sizes, you just know they belong to the same group.

A chill went down my spine as I looked back at him. He was very attractive with pale skin and he wasn't doing anything threatening, but I got the feeling I wouldn't want to find myself alone in a dark alley with him.

He was sitting alone and had a drink in front of him that didn't look like it'd been touched. I was surprised I hadn't noticed him before because aside from the few loners at the video poker machines, everyone else in the bar was with at least one other person.

A slight smile played on his lips as he picked up his drink and nodded at me. I tore my gaze away and looked back at Mona. She was watching the few people who were on the dance floor so she hadn't noticed the strange man, or us staring at each other.

I reached over and put my hand on Mona's arm to get her attention. "We have to go." I yelled, "Go close out your tab, now."

She opened her mouth to protest but I held my hand up to silence her. She actually shut her mouth and got up. I stood up as well; we both put our jackets on and headed back to the bar so she could close her tab.

I didn't know if I could explain the feeling that we needed to get away and get away now to Mona. I wasn't sure I even understood it but I learned a long time ago to trust my instincts and not second guess myself.

I didn't look back toward the man's table as we walked out the doors and into the cold October night. I didn't want to know if he was still staring or if he had gotten up. I just prayed he'd stayed where he was and we would get to my Jeep safely.

We finally made it to my Jeep and we both got in. I locked the doors, buckled up and started the car.

"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Mona asked, looking a little frightened. "Why did we have to leave so soon and why were you practically running to the car?"

"First off, I wasn't running..." she shot me a look that said otherwise, "I was just walking really fast. Second, there was this man staring at me and before you say anything; no, he wasn't the man from my vision but he was similar. Not in looks or anything, just..." I tried to think of how I could explain my feeling, "I don't know how to describe it but there was just something about him that I think is similar to the killers. He just had the same feel as them...if that even makes any sense. I just felt the sudden need to be away from him and his gaze. I can't really explain it better than that."

I took a deep breath and focused on driving. Thankfully it didn't take that long to drive the few short miles from downtown to our house. I parked in the driveway and we both got out. I went ahead of Mona and unlocked the door. After we were both inside I threw the deadbolt and locked the handle as well. It might have been me being a little paranoid that the guy from the bar could have followed us but better safe than sorry.

We headed to the kitchen and Mona started to make us some tea then stopped. "I would rather have a glass of wine? How about you?" she asked, already walking toward our small wine rack on the counter.

"Sounds great to me," I said and sat down at our small table.

Mona got two wine glasses, poured a little white wine in each glass and then joined me at the table.

I took a drink from my glass and felt myself starting to relax. We were home and safe.

We sipped our wine in silence for a few minutes, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Mona was the one to finally break that silence.

"So you're sure it wasn't the same guy from your vision?" Mona asked frowning.

I thought about it for a minute, remembering the details from the vision and from tonight. "No," I finally said, "it's not the same guy but like I said, he felt similar to the man in my vision. I really don't think I can explain it."

We both finished our wine about the same time. I got up, took our glasses to the sink, rinsed them out and set them on the counter. I'd wash them later because suddenly I felt exhausted and the only thing I wanted to do was put on my pajamas and go to bed.

"I'm going to bed." I said as I starting walking out of the kitchen.

"Okay, I think I'm going to stay up for a bit and read or something. I'm a little too wired for bed right now. Good night, Ella."

"Good Night." And with that I walked out of the kitchen, up the stairs and to my room. I changed into my flannel pajamas and crawled into bed.

I was tied to a table in the middle of a room with concrete walls. Candles flickered everywhere. My heart was suddenly in my throat as I realized that I was in the same room from my vision. Oh, God, this has to be a dream.

I closed my eyes trying to wake myself but I couldn't. I opened them to discover I was no longer alone in the room.

I saw I figure standing in the shadows; it looked like a man. I struggled against the ropes that held my arms and legs in place but I couldn't get free.

The figure stepped into the candle light so I could see his face. I had been expecting it to be the man from my vision but instead it was the man who'd been staring at me at the bar.

As he started to walk closer to me I fought the overwhelming fear and panic that racing through me. I closed my eyes again and told myself that if I were truly dreaming I could change it.

With that thought the panic subsided a little and I visualized the ropes disappearing. Suddenly the ropes were gone and I was no longer tied to the table.

The man stopped walking as I sat up.

"Who are you?" I asked but was rewarded only with silence.

After a moment he started walking toward me again. I tried to make myself get off the table and run but I couldn't move. It was one of those dreams where you're suddenly paralyzed with fear and you can't move a muscle.

He closed the gap between us and slid his arms around my waist, pulling my close to his body.

An electric thrill like nothing I'd ever felt before shot through me at the touch of his hands and it wasn't entirely from fear either.

My breathing was coming faster and a little ragged as he leaned his face toward mine. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, all I could do was stay still and wait while staring into his blue-green eyes.

With his face close to mine, he smiled broadly, flashing fangs. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out.

"Wake up." He said softly, and then he brought his lips down on mine.

I gasped and bolted up right; my heart beating, an erratic tattoo in my chest. It took a second for me to realize it had only been a dream and I was safe in my own bed.

I pushed my hair out of my face and went to reach for the lamp on the bedside table but stopped mid motion.

There was a shadow near my window.

I closed my eyes, counted to ten and told myself it was just my imagination, a leftover from my dream.

When I opened my eyes again and looked around my room there was nothing there. I let out the breath I'd been holding and was about to settle back down in my covers when I saw my window was wide open.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I flung the covers off and got out of bed. I hadn't opened the window before I went to bed.

I walked over to the window, slammed it shut and locked it. I looked out on to the street and thought I saw a figure standing near one of the street lights.

My pulse began to race as I remembered the shadow in my room. Had there really been someone in my room? That was just crazy, I mean my bedroom is on the second story of the house and there was no large tree near my window to climb up to even get in.

I blinked, looked back at the street light but there was nothing there. I wrapped my arms around my chest, suddenly chilled. The clock on the bedside table said it was just after four in the morning. I thought about trying to go back to sleep but knew it would be impossible. I went to my closet and took down a box I hadn't touched in a while.

I brought the box over to my bed, turned on the lamp, and put in the combination to open it. The lock sprang open and I lifted the lid. Nestled inside was my hand gun; a GLOCK 19 9mm compact pistol.

I hadn't used it in a long time, I hadn't felt the need, but suddenly the gun seemed like a good idea. Even though I was no longer a cop, I still had a concealed weapons permit.

I picked up the gun, ejected the clip, noticed it was still loaded, and set them on my bed. I stared at them for a minute, then picked them up, popped the clip back in, and went downstairs.

Everything to clean my gun was down in the basement and even though the thought of going down there after my dream chilled me; the desire to clean, oil, and make sure my gun was in perfect working order was more overpowering than my fear of the basement at night.

I was shutting the door in our kitchen that lead to the basement just as Mona was coming in the room. Her red curls were out of control and her eyes looked like she was still half asleep.

She stopped as she entered the kitchen and gave me a questioning look. Before I could say anything her eyes widened as she finally woke up enough to realize my gun was in my hand.

"What the hell are you doing walking around with a gun this early in the morning?" She asked, looking slightly panicked. Mona knew I wouldn't have my gun out unless I thought I might need it.

I took a breath then put the gun on the counter and walked over to the coffee pot. This was the second pot of coffee I'd made but I decided I could use one more cup. "Want one?" I asked Mona as I reached for the coffee pot.

"Sure." She said, heading to the fridge for the creamer. I poured us both coffees, handed her a mug, and then took my mug and the gun over to our small kitchen table. I sat down and Mona joined me. She took a few sips of her coffee and you could almost see the caffeine working, making her more alert.

"So, are you going to tell me the deal with the gun?" she asked, nodding to where I set the gun on the table.

"Yes. I suppose I better." I said, and then told her about my dream and the stranger I thought had been in my room.

When I finished talking, I took a drink of my coffee and waited for Mona to process everything.

"You think someone was actually in your room?" She finally asked.

"I think so because I didn't leave my window open, although I have to admit I have no idea how someone could have gotten in." I said frowning.

Mona smiled, "It could have been a vampire."

I rolled my eyes but I had to admit between the vision, my dream, and my visitor, the idea of vampires didn't seem as crazy as it did a few days ago. I'd tried to come up with other explanations while I was cleaning my gun and thinking about everything, but I came up blank. Maybe vampires were real after all.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I don't know. What I do know is that you and I are going to practice shooting today..." I put up my hand because Mona had opened her mouth to cut me off, "I know you're not a huge gun fan but I would feel better if you practiced a little. I know you learned the basics of gun handling from your dad, but it's been years since you've even held a gun. I could use a little brushing up myself."

"Okay, fine!" Mona sighed, "I know I won't be able to talk you out of this but I don't even own a gun, nor do I have a permit, so I don't know why you think I need to practice. Where did you want to go?"

"It's a bit of a drive but one of the ranges in Portland, I know the owner."

Mona nodded and went back to drinking her coffee. I couldn't decide if I was excited or nervous. It'd been awhile since I'd shot my gun but I did miss it; as well as being in the middle of trying to solve a mystery. I had a feeling that thanks to Mrs. Garret seeking my services, I'd just been thrown into the biggest mystery yet.

The knot in my stomach tightened a little as I thought of everything. If vampires were real, and I wasn't totally convinced yet they were, but if they were real, then how many other things and creatures of myth were real as well? One thing at a time, I decided.

I finished my coffee, washed the mug and went upstairs to shower and get ready for the day. One way or another I had a feeling I was going to get the answers to a lot of my questions, but would I like the answers? Probably not but I had to know.

"Damn it!" I yelled, as I ejected the clip and slid another one into place. Although shooting my gun helped relieve a great amount of stress and tension I'd been feeling the last few days, I was still frustrated that my aim wasn't what it used to be. I wasn't a bad shot now, just not as good as I'd been a few years ago.

I retrieved my latest target and was about to put a new one up when I could hear Mona yelling something. I took off my shooting earmuffs and turned around so I could see Mona, who was standing a ways behind me.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I asked if we could leave yet. We've been here for at least two hours now. I've shot the gun, like you asked, and you've gone through several targets already. I think you did pretty well, especially when you compare your targets to mine." She said, blushing slightly.

I had to smile, feeling some of my frustrating go away at the thought of Mona shooting. She really wasn't a great shot and if it ever came down to her using a gun to protect us, I was pretty sure we wouldn't have a chance.

I finally sighed and agreed we could leave. I packed everything up and said bye to Joe, the owner, then we headed out to Mona's little blue Honda. I would have rather driven but Mona's car got much better gas mileage than my Jeep.

As Mona drove back toward Salem we talked about the things that needed to be done around the house. No matter what was going on in our lives things like laundry, shopping, cleaning, and paying bills still had to be done. Oh the joys of adulthood.

It was Sunday evening; Mona and I were both in the living room reading while listening to the fire crackle and pop. Yesterday and most of today had been fairly uneventful; cleaning, errands and most of today we'd been lazy, trying to relax and unwind. I didn't have any nightmares last night, nor did I wake up to anything out of the norm. No one in my room and my window was still closed and locked when I woke up this morning. I almost felt a little silly having slept with my gun in the shoulder holster hanging from the head board of my bed but, someone had gotten in my room so I didn't think I was being paranoid...just cautious. Aside from it raining all day, things seemed to be looking up.

Mona got up to add another piece of wood to the fire when the doorbell rang. I looked up from my book and asked, "Are you expecting anyone?"

Mona shook her head. "No, but I'll go see who it is." And she walked out of the room to the front door.

I heard her open the door, and the sound of muffled voices but I couldn't tell what they were saying. I guess I was going to find out because I heard two sets of feet walking back toward the living room.

I stood up from the couch I'd been lounging in as Mona was walking in with someone I hadn't expected to see.

"Detective Gambini...what are you doing here?" I asked, letting my shock show on my face and color my tone of voice.

He ran a hand through his damp and looked a little nervous. I was betting coming here hadn't really been his idea. Even wet from the rain, in blue jeans and a flannel shirt he looked better than I remembered. It made a suddenly aware of the fact that I was wearing a hoodie, sweat pants and had my hair pulled back in a messy knot. I tried not to touch my hair, signaling that I even cared what I looked like.

His serious brown eyes looked from me to Mona and then back to me again. He actually looked me up and down, like most men do when they see an attractive woman. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks.

He cleared his throat then said, "Could I talk to you for a minute?" he paused, and then added, "Alone?"

I looked a Mona and nodded. The look on her face as she walked out said she'd leave, but she'd be within ear shot in case I needed anything. That was fine with me. Not only did I not know what Gambini wanted from me but I also didn't want to have to repeat our conversation.

"Please, have a seat." I said motioning to the loveseat Mona had been sitting on not that long ago. "What can I do for you?"

He sat down and just looked at me for a second, as if he were trying to reason with himself as to why he was at my house in the first place.

"Okay," he finally said "I won't lie to you. I'm here because Conway talked me into giving you a chance. She said she'd done some research on you and had read about a few of the missing persons cases you'd helped on."

I shrugged because I honestly wasn't sure which cases he was referring to. I mean, yeah, over the last few years I'd had a few people come to me looking for missing loved ones. I gave information where I could but didn't check up to see if they'd been found or not. Even the people whom I knew had been found I wasn't aware my name had been attached with helping in locating them. Huh, maybe I needed to start doing follow ups with some of my clients.

"I also did a little research of my own," he continued "You were a rookie cop with the Corvallis P.D. but you quit before making it a year because your mom got sick. She died a few months later but you didn't return to any type of police work. Instead you started doing private consults using your gifts." He said gifts like he didn't really believe.

I just stared at him, keeping my face blank and hoping he would tell me what he was doing here. So far he hadn't told me anything I didn't already know or that wasn't a matter of public record.

We stared at each other for what seemed like forever before he finally started talking again.

"I talked to a few of your old co-workers in Corvallis. Most of them said you had a lot of potential, being a cop was in your blood. Your dad is also a cop." He made it a statement, not a question.

I nodded, "Yes, he is but I haven't seen him since he walked out on me and my mom more than twenty years ago." I tried not to let my temper get the best of me but I still didn't know why Gambini showed up at my door so I decided to be blunt. "What exactly is it you want from me? Why are you here?"

He looked down at his hands for a minute then back up at me. "Before I do what Conway wants, and ask for your help with this case, I need to know if you can really do what you claim you can. I'm the type of man who needs to see it with my own two eyes to believe it."

I sighed, got up from the couch, walked over and sat down next to him. He looked surprised and started to move away from me but suddenly stopped and his face went blank, like he remembered he was a cop and cops aren't supposed back down or show their fear.

I smiled but I knew it was a sad smile. So many people are afraid of what they don't understand. "Give me your hand." I said.

He hesitated for a moment then slowly reached out toward me, and stopped again, just shy of actually touching me.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to take your hand, lower my shields a little, and see what kind of information I can get. It's not a perfect science so I can't tell you how I do it or even if it will work. I may see something, or I may just pick up on what you're feeling right now. Humans are always more difficult than objects." I tried to make a joke with the last part because his blank cop face was starting to crack a little around the edges.

His hand was still hovering between the two of us. I sighed, reached out and took his warm hand in mine. I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths and lowered my shield a little so I could use my gift without taking on the full force of it like I do with objects. Like I said, humans are very different to read compared to inanimate objects.

At first I got nothing. I was able to pick up on his nervousness and then I felt him relax. Suddenly a vision hit me.

A woman was in a hospital bed, she had a mass of dark curls spread around her pillow. She looked enough like Gambini that I knew it was his mother. A man came up behind a little boy, about the age of seven or so, squeezed his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. The little boy when up to the woman in the bed kissed her cheek and started to cry.

I heard a sob come out of my own throat as I broke from the vision and pulled my hand out of Gambini's. The nice thing about only lowering my shields a little and working with humans is I can break the visions on my own, instead of waiting for them to end.

Gambini was looking at me a little wide eyed as I tried to blink back the tears that were forming behind my eyes. I knew it wasn't my own sadness I was feeling but his and the sympathy I felt for the little boy who had lost his mom at such a young age.

A small headache was forming at the base of my skull and I had to clear my throat a few times before I could finally speak.

"I saw a woman in a hospital bed. She had dark curly hair and looked a lot like you. I'm guessing she was your mother. There was a man with you, your father? And I would guess you were around seven, no more than eight years old at the time. You went to her bed, kissed her cheek and then started to cry. I broke the vision after that. How did your mom die?" I asked.

I searched his face, waiting for him to answer. The look of shock was so apparent that I knew I was right.

While looking at his hands in his lap he said, "My mom died when I was seven. She had a bad heart and back then there wasn't the medical help there is today. What you saw was right; my dad took me to see her when they knew she didn't have long. As much as I miss her, I try really hard to block the memory out. How is it that that's what you saw?"

He finally raised his eyes to meet my gaze. There were unshed tears making his dark brown eyes look like glass; the flames from the fire reflected in them.

I wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him and the little boy who lost his mom too soon but I fought the urge. I still wasn't sure how he felt about me now that he knew I wasn't lying, that I really did have a gift.

I shrugged. I never knew how to explain how I saw things or even how I only saw certain things. I had no idea how my abilities worked, all I knew was that I had them. My gift for visions just happens to be the strongest.

"I honestly have no idea how it works. It's possible that you were thinking about that moment, even if you didn't mean to, but I really don't know. I'm so sorry you had to go through that at such a young age." I said with meaning. I had some idea what it had been like for him growing up. My father may be very alive but he's been dead to me for years, hadn't even wanted to see me growing up. At least Gambini knew his mom didn't want to leave her son. Sometimes it's almost harder to know your parent didn't want you than to have lost them the way Gambini did.

I waited for him to speak again. I've discovered that sometimes it's best to let someone process everything, especially a skeptical cop.

After a few moments he nodded his head, like he'd been having a silent conversation with himself and came to a decision.

"Okay, I believe you can do what you say. I'm sorry if I came off as a hard ass when you came to the office but unless I can see it, touch it, I have a hard time believing it. Maybe I've been on the force too long."

I smiled. I wasn't expecting an apology. I wonder if he was really shook up from what I'd seen or if under all that tough cop exterior, there was a really nice, sweet guy. Part of me hoped that I'd get to find out one day and not on a professional level.

I almost laughed out loud at that last thought but managed to keep it in. It was crazy to fantasize about a man I just met.

"Does this mean you'll let me help with the case?" I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

He thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "Yes, you can help. I'm going to trust you to keep everything to yourself. This is an ongoing investigation."

"I know the rules. I may not have been a cop for long but I do remember what it's like." I sighed. That last part sounded sad, even to me. I guess I didn't want to look too closely at what I've been missing these last few years but now, having the chance to do it again, even unofficially, made me realize just how much I missed it.

He nodded again then stood up. I got up as well and we walked to the door together.

"I need to clear this with my Caption before I let you come down and see some of the items from the other victims. I don't think it'll be a problem though; the Caption is pretty open minded about stuff like this but I want to clear it with him so I don't have any backlash down the road. I'll call you later and set up a time for you to come down."

I nodded, "Sounds good. Just let me know and I'll work it out. Thank you for giving me a chance." I said.

He smiled and reached for the door, "If you can help us stop more women from being killed then I'm willing to give it a shot. I want these people caught and soon. I'll call you tomorrow."

And with that he opened the door and walked out. I stood in the doorway, watching him walk down the path that goes from my front door to the street, trying not to notice how well his jeans fit over his butt. Mona appeared next to me as he was getting in his truck.

"Wow." She said, "He is too good looking to be a cop."

I laughed, shut the front door and threw the deadbolt.

I reached over and slapped the snooze button on my alarm clock but the ringing sound didn't stop. It took me a second to realize that my cell phone was ringing and it wasn't my alarm clock that had woken me up. I looked at the clock as I reached for my phone and groaned. Who would be calling me at eight-fifteen in the morning?

"Hello?" I answered sleepily.

"Hello Ms. O'Reilly. Did I wake you?"

The voice on the other end made me bolt up in bed. It was Detective Gambini. I knew he was going to call me today but I didn't expect it to be this early.

"No, no," I said, "I'm awake. What can I do for you?"

"I got the okay from my Caption for you to come down and see a few of the personal belongings from the other two victims. I was wondering if you could come down to the station this morning."

I had to think for a minute before I could answer. I didn't think I had any clients today so it shouldn't be a problem.

"Yeah," I finally said, "I can make it in this morning. What time would you like me there?"

"How soon can you be here?" He asked, sounding slightly impatient but then again he had a string of unsolved murders and I might be able to give them new information. I guess I couldn't blame him for not wanting to waste more time now that he'd decided I was the real deal and might be able to help.

"I can be there in an hour, if that works for you?"

"That's fine. I'll let the secretary know I'm expecting you. See you then." He hung up the phone without so much as a bye but that was okay; I had known several cops in the past who just hung up the phone when they had nothing else to say.

I flung off the covers, got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. If I hurried I could get at least one cup of coffee in me and still make it to the station on time.

An hour later I was sitting in Gambini and Conway's office but it was a more comfortable atmosphere today. I was here to help, not to explain myself which made me feel more confident. I had jumped through the hoops for Gambini and he believed me now.

Gambini pulled up one of the extra chairs to the side of his desk. Conway was sitting at her desk, notepad and pen in hand and ready. She had her hair down today, just brushing the tops of her shoulders. Not having her hair pulled back made her beautiful features a little softer.

Gambini had shaved this morning but the dark circles under his eyes showed his lack of sleep from the night before. I wonder what kept him up. Had he been thinking about his visit to my house? The case? Or was it a combination of the two that robbed him of sleep?

On his desk there were two items in plastic evidence bags. One contained a watch and the other a charm bracelet. Gambini already explained that forensics had already processed these items so it was safe for me to touch them and handle them.

Before I left the house I found Mona dressed and waiting in the kitchen. She said she figured that she'd better be ready in case I needed to go see the police so she could drive me. When I started to protest that I didn't need her to, she reminded me that I was going to try for not one, but two visions today and chances were pretty good that I wouldn't want to drive myself home. I couldn't argue with her logic so Mona got to drive me but she was waiting in the reception area for me to get done.

Gambini handed me the bag with the watch in it first.

"This belonged to Kristy Molloy, the second victim." He said, settling back into his chair to watch me.

I took a deep breath, trying to center myself, and opened the bag. After my only lowering my shield down a little last night and still getting a full vision I had been wondering if I could do the same with objects. I had only tried it with people but if I could do it with objects as well, I might be able to save myself some of the pain that comes with lowering them down all the way because it's not just visions I'm susceptible to when my shield is completely down but emotions as well.

I decided that now was as good a time as any to try lowering my shields a little because I really did not want to be subjected to a violent vision and all the emotions and psychic residue that can cling to a police station.

I took the watch out of the bag, held it in both of my hands and lowered my shields, just a little.

At first I didn't think I had lowered them enough because I was seeing nothing but the inside of my eyelids. I was about to lower them a little more when the vision started to come on slowly.

It was much the same thing I had seen in the Garret vision only this girl had darker hair and she met the man at a different bar.

I was able to pull out of the vision before she fully died. That was something new. Normally I'm stuck in this kind of vision until it ends but then again, this was the first time I'd tried to read an object without my shields fully down. Nice to know I could do it and the headache wasn't too bad.

"I saw pretty much the exact same thing as I did with the Garret girl. The only real differences are the girl looked different and she met the dark haired man at a different bar so I don't think they are getting their victims from the same spots. I guess that makes sense."

Conway was busy writing away and Gambini just nodded. I put the watch back in the bag, sealed it and handed it to him. I rubbed my temples for a second; the headache was starting to move to the front of my skull.

"Are you okay?" Conway asked, looking up at me from her notepad.

"Yeah, I'll be oaky. Headaches are a side effect of the visions but it's not too bad right now. I would like to try the other item now though, before it gets worse."

Gambini didn't argue he just handed me the bag containing the charm bracelet.

I opened the bag and spilled the bracelet into my left hand. It was silver and had a music note, heart and violin on it. The bracelet reminded me more of something a little girl would wear and not a twenty-one year old but oh, well. It wasn't my place to judge, especially since the owner was dead.

I felt a shiver down my spine and fought the urge to shake. I took three deep breaths and lowered my shields a little. Once again, the vision came on more slowly than normal.

Jamie Walker was short and plumper than the first two victims but like the others she was alone at a bar. It was a different bar but it was the same man who met with the other victims and led them to their death.

The scene changed from the bar and I was suddenly seeing the outside of what looked like an old, white, two story farm house in the middle of nowhere. There were large trees surrounding the house. As they approached the house I felt the numbing fear that Jamie Walker had felt. She wasn't as out of it as the other two victims had been and she seemed to sense the danger as she looked at the dark house ahead of her.

The man turned and smiled at her before he opened the door and suddenly the scene changed again. Jamie was in the basement wearing an old fashioned gown, like the other two had worn, with her arms and legs bound to the table. She looked terrified as the petite woman with dark curls enters the candle lit room.

I pulled out of the vision faster than ever before and dropped the bracelet on Gambini's desk as though it burned me.

My pulse was beating in my throat and sheen of sweat had broken out on my forehead. My breath was came a little ragged and I felt like I might be sick. I put my head in my hands and focused on slowing my pulse and controlling my breathing.

After several minutes I lifted my head and winced at the pain pounding in my skull. God, I needed to get out of there and into my bed but first I had to tell the detectives what I had seen. Damn my sense of duty.

I took a deep breath and began to explain, "Jamie Walker saw more than the other two did. I don't know if it was because she wasn't as drunk or drugged as they were but I was able to see the house where he took her. If I was able to see it then she saw it too. The house was a white, two story farm house. There were a lot of trees surrounding the house but I don't think there were any other houses nearby. Or at least I didn't see any. The house was dark, no lights on. Possibly abandoned? The house and property looked to be in pretty bad shape. There is a basement in the house and that's where the victims are killed." I paused, "Maybe look for abandoned houses on the outskirts of town, or maybe even houses that belong to a recluse?"

Conway and Gambini looked at each other for a long moment before looking back at me.

"I suppose it's possible that they killed the owners." Conway started, "If the house doesn't have any close neighbors or if the owners didn't have any family close by then it's possible no one has noticed they were missing or a change in their routine."

Gambini nodded at his partner, "Why don't you start searching and see what you can come up with. We have a basic description of what the house we're looking for so let's see if we can find it." Gambini turned back to me and I could see worry in his eyes. That one look made me wonder if I looked as bad as I felt.

Gambini stood up and offered me his hand. I was pretty sure I could walk out of here on my own but he was offering to help and I would take it. Besides, the thought of holding his hand, no matter how brief, was appealing than it should have been.

I gave him a small smile, took his hand and he helped me to my feet. As soon as I stood up the world started to go black and I felt my knees begin to buckle. If Gambini hadn't grabbed my waist I probably would have ended up on the ground.

The dizziness passed and my vision cleared. Yay for not passing out!

"Are you okay?" Gambini asked in a soft voice next to my ear.

I took a deep breath and nodded, not quite trusting my voice yet. I looked to my left to see that Conway had gotten out of her chair and was standing next to me but not quite touching me.

I waved her off. "Really, I'm fine but I would like to go home now." I said and stood up straighter.

After saying bye to Conway, Gambini lead me back through the maze of desks and to the reception area, his warm hand never leaving the small of my back.

Mona was on her feet the instant she saw us, her face was a mask of concern. I tried to smile at her but the pain in my head was beginning to be too much and I was starting to feel sick. I so needed to get away before I lost what little I'd eaten this morning in front of Gambini.

I realized that Gambini was talking to me so I turned to face him. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" I asked.

He smiled, "I said thank you for doing this. We finally have new information to work with. If you think of anything else, please, don't hesitate to call." He handed me another business card, "My cell number is on the back."

With that he turned his heel and walked back toward his office.

"Oh my God, Ella, are you okay?" Mona asked as we made our way to the parking garage.

"I'm fine. My head feels like it is being split in two but I'll live. Just get me home so I can take some medicine and go to sleep for a while."

"Okay." Mona said. We got into her Honda and she started the engine. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about anything but home and my bed.

The next morning I woke up grateful the headache that had kept me in bed most of yesterday was finally gone and I could move without feeling like I was going to be sick. I knew I shouldn't have tried for two visions back-to-back but I had hoped that not taking my shields down all the way would take some of the strain off. Guess I was wrong.

I found Mona in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of coffee and bacon frying made my stomach grumble, reminding me that the last time I ate was early evening yesterday when Mona insisted I eat some soup.

"Good morning." I said, as I got a coffee mug out of the cupboard and poured myself some coffee.

"Morning," Mona replied, glancing at me before turning her attention back to the stove. "You look like you're feeling better."

"I am. Sorry I spent all day in bed. Yesterday just took more out of me than I was expecting." I sat down at the table and I took another drink of my coffee, feeling the caffeine working to clear the cobwebs from my brain. I don't know how non-coffee drinkers function in the morning. I'd be a mess if I didn't have at least one cup of coffee every morning.

Mona shrugged. "It's okay, you needed to rest. Do you want to talk about it?" She asked looked over her shoulder at me.

I shook my head. "I can't now that I'm actually working with the police. I told Gambini that if I helped with the case, I wouldn't share information with anyone else."

Mona nodded, turned off the stove burners and got two plates down. I drank my coffee while I watched Mona dish each of us a plate with eggs, bacon and fried potatoes. She deposited both plates on the table then went to the fridge for catsup before joining me.

We ate in silence for a few minutes before Mona said, "I got a call on the business line last night." She paused and frowned before continuing, "It was a man named William. He said he wanted to see you as soon as possible but he wouldn't really say what he wanted. All he said was he just wanted to talk to you, not come to you for the normal kind of help, ya know?"

I nodded and swallowed the food in my mouth before responding.

"What did you tell him?" I asked, curious about whom this person was. Most people that called our business line wanted me to use my abilities to help them, not to just have a meeting with me.

"I told him the best I could do was this evening and he would still have to pay an appointment with you. He agreed; said money wasn't a problem and to just name the price. I don't know why this bothers me but it does."

I sighed, "Tonight is fine. I feel okay and maybe he just has a problem he wants to talk about. Maybe he is gifted, like me, and is struggling. Who knows? What time will he be here?"

"He asked for an appointment after dark so I made it for six. I know we don't normally do appointment after five but we could use the money."

I nodded. I did know we could use the money. The house was paid off but living in an older house meant things always needed to be fixed. As much as I love it, sometimes I wondered if it was worth it.

We finished our breakfast and I started to fill the sink to do the dishes, all the while wondering what on Earth this William wanted from me. Just to talk? I doubted that but I would find out soon enough.

It was a quarter to six; Mona and I were both sitting in the sunroom making small talk. The day had been pretty uneventful; Mona spent some time in the spare bedroom we'd made into the office catching up on paperwork, updating the website and making a few appointments for the coming weeks. I spent most of the day cleaning up the house and doing laundry. Nothing too exciting but I found myself feeling anxious the closer it got to six and my mystery appointment. Mona and I already agreed that no matter what this man wanted, she wasn't going to leave me alone with him. She also had her cell phone in the pocket of her gray dress slacks in case we needed to call for help. You never know what some people want and we are two women living alone. What I didn't tell Mona was that I had my gun behind the pillow next to me on the couch. She would probably think the gun was overkill but between murdered women, my dream about the stranger in the bar and my nighttime visitor a few days ago, the gun seemed like a good idea.

The doorbell rang just as the grandfather clock in the hall started to chime, letting us know it was six. Mona looked at me and I nodded. She got up and went for the door. I could have gone for the door but there was a good chance I would have brought the gun with me; I didn't want to scare the man in case he really did want to only talk to me.

Before Mona and the man, William I assumed, were all the way in the room I was on my feet with the gun in my hands, pointed directly at his chest. Son of a bitch! William, aka the man from the bar and my dreams, stopped, slowly raised his hands in the air and actually smiled at me. Mona looked too shocked for words.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself. If I was going to shoot him, it'd be on purpose and with good reason. So far he hadn't done anything but come in my home and smile at me.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, keeping the gun steady and pointed at him.

"Are you going to shoot me?" He asked his voice held no fear.

"I haven't decided yet. Did you come in my room the other night?"

He sighed and looked down at the floor before bringing those startling blue-green eyes back to my gaze. It was then that I felt something. I didn't know what it was but it felt like a cool wind playing upon my skin. I shivered but didn't lower my gun. I needed to decide soon if he was a threat or not because my arms and shoulders were starting to cramp; you can't hold a shooting stance forever.

"If you lower the gun we can talk. I swear to you, I mean you no harm, or to your friend." He sounded sincere but... I nodded and lowered the gun but didn't let go of it.

Mona seemed to finally get ahold of herself long enough to join me by the couch and gesture to the man that he should take the one across from us. I sat down and held the gun in my lap. I wasn't pointing it at him anymore but knowing that I could if need be was comforting.

He sat down on the couch across from us and just stared at me. I had to admit he was very good looking. His light brown hair was loose and almost touching his shoulders, he had pale skin and the most beautiful eyes I'd seen for a man. They were a deep blue-green fringed with dark lashes. He was wearing black slacks and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his strong forearms and open at the color. He didn't seem to have a jacket despite the night being a chilly one. I looked back at his face but I was having trouble concentrating.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and redid my shields. I don't know what was wrong with me or if it was something he was doing but every time I looked in his eyes it got a little harder to focus.

I opened my eyes and looked at him again. This time I was able to make eye contact without any problems. That made me smile.

"What do you want?" I asked.

He smiled and just looked at me for a minute before he answered, "I want your help."

"Okay," I said cautiously, "What exactly do you want my help with?"

"I know you are helping the police with the recent murders; the women who had their blood drained? I have some information that I think could be of great help to the police but I am unable to go to them."

I cocked my head to the side and asked, "How do you know I'm helping the police and why can't you go to them? Or is it because you're involved with the murders?"

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter how I know, and no, I'm not directly involved with the murders."

I didn't like the way he said that. "Yes, it does matter, at least it matters to me how you knew I was helping the police. You never answered my previous question; did you come into my room Friday night? I saw you staring at me at the bar and don't try to give me some crap about just finding me attractive because I won't buy it. Either you start being honest and straight with me or I call the cops and you can give them your so-called information yourself!"

He tensed, just a little, as if preparing for a fight. I could feel my shoulders beginning to tense as well. He suddenly took a deep breath and relaxed, as if he finally made a decision.

"Okay," he said, "Are you sure you want honesty? The whole truth about who I am and what I know about the murders?"

I nodded, "Yes I do."

"Alright, you're right. I did come into your room the other night but not to harm you; if I wanted to I could have easily done it while you were sleeping."

Mona gasped beside me.

"How did you get in?" I asked, "My window is on the second story and there are no trees near it."

A slight smile played on his lips. "That is part of whom, or I guess I should say what, I am. I understand you get visions when you touch people or objects." He made it a statement, not a question. I nodded and waited for him to continue.

He looked down at his hands in his lap before looking back at me. "I was wondering if you could touch me and know what I am."

"You keep saying what you are, like you're implying you're something other than human." That's when I realized that is exactly what he'd been hinting at and he wanted to see if I could figure it out.

I wasn't sure I wanted to touch him but at the same time he made me curious. I had yet to meet someone that I couldn't get something from, be it a vision, impression or emotions.

I looked to my right at Mona. She looked a little shell shocked like she had no idea what to make of all of this. She turned to me and shrugged. She didn't have a clue what I should do either.

I got up from the couch and went over him. "You told Mona your name was William, is that your real name?" I asked while looking down at him.

He looked at the gun still clutched in my left hand. I didn't plan on shooting him but I felt better holding it if I was going to be this close to him.

He looked back up at me and nodded. "Yes, my real name is William but I prefer Will. Do you really need your gun? I told I wasn't here to hurt you."

"I won't shoot unless you give me reason to," I said, "but I won't be this close to you without it. I don't know what it is about you but being close to you makes me feel uneasy."

He nodded, "That's because you're smart. I won't harm you but you have strong enough psychic abilities to know there is something different, maybe dangerous, about me."

"Yes." I said, "Let's get this show on the road. Would you please stand up?"

He didn't say anything; he just did what I asked. Standing so close to me I realized he was a good five inches taller than my five-five height, not quite as tall as Gambini but he was still a big presence.

I held out my right hand to him. He hesitated for only a second before placing his hand in my. I bit back a scream as he placed his cool hand in my warm one because a shock so similar to my dream went up my arm when he touched. I couldn't tell if it hurt or if it felt good. If he could do this to me from such a small touch with my shields full in place, what would it be like if I lowered them?

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the electric hum that was traveling from his hand to mine. I had never felt anything like it before. I took a few deep breaths and lowered my shields just a little. I waited for a moment, got nothing, so I lowered them more but still got nothing. I took one last deep breath and lowered them completely and waited; absolutely nothing but that small humming currant. I had never had that happen before.

I opened my eyes and pulled my hand out of his grasp. "What are you?" I whispered.

"You couldn't see?" he asked.

I shook my head and walked back to the other couch. I had a feeling I was going to need to be sitting for whatever he was about to explain.

He resumed his seat opposite to me and started talking.

"I'm not human." He said, in a calm voice.

Mona leaned toward him a little, riveted by what he was revealing. I just raised my eyebrows and gestured for him to keep going.

"I am what most would call a vampire..." He looked from me to Mona then back to me again, trying to gage our reactions.

Mona whispered "I knew they were real!"

"Prove it." I said.

He smiled wide for the first time, giving us a good look at his upper canine teeth. Well, shit! I know some people can have pointer canines than others but his were a little longer and looked to be pretty sharp.

"So...you're a real vampire?" I asked.

He nodded. "I was born in England in the late eighteenth century. My parents were farmers and I was the middle child of seven." He paused, "I was twenty-two and out hunting in the woods near our farm at dusk when Elizabeth, my maker, found me. At first I thought she was lost and needed help. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen; she was small and had rich dark curls falling down her back." I felt my mouth open slightly as he described the woman from my visions.

"Your maker...? She is the woman I've been seeing in my visions, the one who is helping to kill all those young women, isn't she?" I asked.

"Yes, that is Elizabeth's doing." He said without emotion.

"Who is the other man with her?"

A look of disgust came on his face, "That is her latest pet, Rick. I don't like what I am. I don't like being a monster and had been growing increasingly unhappy. Elizabeth has a flare for the dramatic and likes her blood young and untainted..."

"Untainted?" I asked, cutting him off.

"Yes, untainted. She likes virgins."

"So that is the link between the victims. All of them were virgins, right?"

He nodded, "I believe so. Let me go back a little. After almost two hundred years with Elizabeth I couldn't take it anymore. I don't like killing the innocent so I can live, if living is what I am. I started looking for new ways to feed. I would go to the rougher parts of whatever town we were in and only take those who were evil, those who deserved to die. Elizabeth didn't understand why I wanted such tainted blood. It was then I began to think about leaving her. After a while most of us break from our makers and go out on our own but it is a lonely life. Elizabeth must have sensed this for night she came back to the cottage we were staying at with Rick."

I couldn't tell what William was feeling or thinking as he discussed this. He was stating everything as if he were talking about the latest baseball statistics, just a fact, and no real emotion.

He frowned, "An exchange of blood is required for the makings of a new vampire. I've never done it to someone else, and I don't remember my own transformation, but she made me watch while she changed Rick. She said he would replace me and be better than me. I stayed with them for a time but it was clear that Rick was more like Elizabeth than I would ever be so I left. I've been on my own for about fifteen years now but I kept track of Elizabeth. She has gotten too bold as of late. Most of us don't leave bodies in the open for the authorities to find. We value our...privacy."

"If you value your privacy so much, why come to me?" I asked.

He seemed to think about it for a moment before answering. "I am here because Elizabeth and Rick need to be stopped and I cannot do it myself. We seem to be incapable of killing our makers. I don't know why this is, but it's not in our nature to harm them."

"Okay," I sighed, "what do you need me to do?"

"I can lead you to them before they kill again. I can also tell you how to kill them."

"By doing that, you give me the knowledge to kill you as well; why would you do that?"

He shrugged. "I want them stopped more than I value my own life, I guess. By Elizabeth being so careless we can no longer remain in the shadows as mere legends. I believe the time is coming for us to step out of the shadows and...be out in the open." He said the last part slowly as though he were testing himself on the idea.

Mona spoke loud enough for us both to hear for the first time in a while. "I think he's right. I did some more digging last night and someone leaked the details about the bite marks on the victims. No one has come right out and said 'vampire attacks' but if there is another body they might."

William nodded, "Elizabeth has a flare for drama and only feeds during the night of the full moon. Of course by feeding only once a month she starves herself, and Rick as well, but she seems to think it helps her to savor the moment, the enjoyment of the blood."

"What about you?" I asked. "How many people do you kill every month?"

William gave me a hard look. I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting me to ask him that but I had to know. If I was going to believe him and help him, I had to know.

He shook his head. "I don't." he simply said. My face must have showed that I didn't believe him because he quickly said, "Well, not anymore I don't. Over the years I've learned that I can drink a little from humans at a time without killing them, or even leaving them weak. We have the ability to cloud our victim's mind if we choose to and take the memory of what we did away. Most don't bother because they intend to kill them anyways. I don't want to kill so I don't. I have to feed more often but at least I've found a way to live with what I am and not kill."

I thought about everything this man had just told me; it was a lot to take in and digest. I couldn't totally dismiss everything he had said; it was obvious that he was different and he had a lot of knowledge of the two murderers the police were looking for, but it bothered me how willing he seemed to share information. Was he telling the truth, that he really wanted them stopped and to be free of Elizabeth, or did he have another reason? I decided to go out on a limb and trust him. If what he told me stopped another young woman from being killed then I'd owe him one. That thought made a little uncomfortable; I mean, how do you return a favor to a vampire?

I pushed that thought from my mind. I didn't want to know and maybe the only favor he wanted from me was to help him gain real freedom from his maker.

"Okay. I believe you." I said.

He suddenly relaxed and slumped lower in his seat. I don't think he expected me to believe him. Hell, when he first started talking, I wasn't sure I was going to believe him either. Mona is right, I am just as bad as all those who don't believe in what I can do. Maybe it's time I start taking the lead from Mona and be more open minded about the possibility that some myths are real.

"So where are they hiding?" I asked, "In my last vision I saw an old two story farm house out in the middle of nowhere but I have no idea where the house is actually located."

"Yes, that is the house. I don't know how they came across it but its way out on South Liberty road, on the outskirts of Salem. Tell the police to go in while its daylight and do not try to arrest them, just kill them."

"Why during daylight? Is it true that vampires can't go out in the sunlight?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

He smiled for the first since he started his tale. "No, sunlight doesn't harm us but we are nocturnal by nature. During the day we get very tired, the closer to dusk and night, the better we feel. Most of us spend the day sleeping and don't come out until full dark, that's how the legend started that sunlight kills us."

"Okay," I said, "so if sunlight doesn't kill you, what does?"

He was quiet for a few minutes and I started to wonder if he changed his mind about telling us everything.

"Fire can kill us. Taking our heart, or at least destroying it, will kill us as well. For the very old ones, like Elizabeth, you want to destroy her heart, remove her head if you can, and set them on fire, just to be sure."

My mouth popped open, and then I quickly snapped it shut. No way was I going to chop someone's head off and be able to sleep at night. If I was in danger I was pretty sure I could shoot someone, hell if it was a choice between me or them, I'd pick me any day, but what he described was pretty violent. I was also trying to figure out how in the hell I was going to convince Gambini that the people they were looking for were real vampires and they needed to kill them on sight. I shook my head and sighed. God, this was such a mess.

Mona gasped, and we of us suddenly turned to her. She was white and her mouth was hanging open. At first I thought she was finally reacting to everything William had told us until she started talking really fast, "Oh my God. Do you guys realize how close it is to the full moon? Its tomorrow, I just remembered because I'm supposed to meet my coven for the full moon rituals. Ella, you have to call Gambini, like now! You have to tell him what you know before they find another victim." She turned to William, "Do you know if they find their victims on the night of the full moon or before?" She asked, her voice holding more than a thread of panic.

"I don't know for sure but I think the night of. It would be too much of a risk to have someone with them while they're down for the day. Too many things could go wrong."

I took a deep breath and stood up. William and Mona stood up as well.

"Okay," I started, "I'll call Gambini but you should leave." I said to William. "I doubt he'll want to talk to me in person, but you shouldn't be here if he does."

William nodded, looked at me with those beautiful eyes and for a second I couldn't breathe. I don't know why I felt the need to protect him but he affected me in a very strange way. There was an attraction I felt to him but I didn't know what it was. It was nothing like the heart pounding and butterflies in my stomach I felt when I around Gambini, but it was just as real.

"How can I get ahold of you if I need to?" I asked, softly.

He smiled and shook his head, "I'll be around when you need me. Good luck, and remember, kill first, don't wait for them to attack."

"I don't think the police will go for that. If they attack then the police will fight but they're about saving lives, not taking them." I said.

"Trust me, if Elizabeth and Rick are allowed to attack, the police will lose some of their own. You don't fully understand what you're dealing with here, how dangerous they, we, are."

I sighed. "Okay, but I still don't think the police will listen to me and I won't be allowed to go with them; I'm no longer a cop. I might be able to talk Gambini into taking SWAT with them but even that might be a stretch." I paused as a new thought popped into my head, "Can they shoot them or do they have to use a wooden stake to destroy the hearts?"

William laughed; it was that good deep laugh that only men seem to have. Suddenly I felt stupid for asking, but hey, I was new to all this vampire stuff. I wanted to give Gambini as much information as I could and hopefully he'd take it as truth.

William finally got himself under control enough to answer my question.

"I am sorry, I'm not laughing at you but no, you don't need to use a wooden stake. Pounding a wooden stake through to someone's heart is difficult and you wouldn't want to get close enough to try. Bullets will do the job," –he nodded more to himself than us- "but make sure the heart is totally destroyed. Shooting them in the head will help but please, please make sure you burn their bodies. I don't know if Elizabeth would be able to heal that much damage so it's safer to burn them, just to be sure."

"I get it; kill first, ask questions later." I said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

William smiled back at me and my heart was suddenly in my throat. What was wrong with me these days? I could go months without being attracted to a single man, and suddenly I've got two in less than a week? One being a cop and the other a vampire...oh, lord, there must be something wrong with me.

William said his goodbyes to Mona, who just stood there looking mildly shell shocked, and I walked him to the front door.

I opened the door; he stepped out on to the porch and then turned to face me. He reached a hand toward me and I had to force myself not to back up. Lightly he ran his fingertips down the left side of my face, tracing the line from temple down to my jaw. I shivered and not from fear or the cold of the night.

His eyes darkened slightly in the porch light. He swallowed hard and said, "Be carefully, Ella. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

And with that he turned and melted into the night. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen; one second he was standing in front of me and the next he was gone.

I shut the door, locked it and headed back into the house to find Mona and my phone. She was right; I needed to call Gambini and tell him what I'd found out. I prayed; God, please let him believe me.

I was pacing in front of the fireplace in the living room with my phone held to my ear trying to explain everything to Gambini for the third time. Mona was sitting on the couch, not looking at me but lost in her own thoughts.

"I told you, I can't tell you my source is, you're just going to have to trust me on this." I said, again, letting some of my anger seep into my voice.

As I expected, Gambini didn't fully believe me and wanted to know who I got all this information from. I wasn't going to give my source up but he kept asking. He also made me repeat the story again and again, as if it were going to change or I'd let a name slip.

I had told him everything William had told me, only leaving out his name. Gambini didn't like it and I could tell he was getting angry at me too.

"Ms. O'Reilly,"-

"Please, call me Ella." I said, trying to be friendly.

"Okay, Ella, I can't just go into someone's house and kill the people living there; it doesn't work that way. Hell, you were a cop, you, of all people should know better. Just like I can't get SWAT involved without permission. My boss is going to want to a lot more than 'I got the information from an unidentified source'."

I sighed, I understood his frustration but it didn't change the fact that I wouldn't give William up to him. Gambini would waste time trying to find William instead of organizing a team to check out the farm house tomorrow.

"Then tell your Caption you got the information from me. Tell him I had a vision or whatever you need to tell him to get a SWAT team and get in that house during daylight tomorrow! I'm trying to help you keep another innocent woman from dying and you're arguing with me about my source of information! Are you going to tell me you'd rather let a fourth woman die instead of bending the rules a little bit? Well?!" I demanded.

"Damn it, Ella! This isn't just 'bending the rules a little bit', it's bending them a lot and you know it." He was quiet; I wondered if he was counting to ten, trying to calm himself down...nope too much silence for just ten, maybe more like a hundred.

He said something too quietly for me to catch before he said, "Fine. I'll see what I can do. I have no idea what I am going to tell my Caption but I'll figure it out. We also have to get a warrant; we can't just go in without one. I'm not sure we'll be able to get everything squared up before late afternoon tomorrow."

I sighed, "That might be too late. My source was adamant that you go in while it's full daylight."

"I know you said that but these things take time. We also just can't go in there killing, we can't. You know the drill, if they attack then yes, we'll defend ourselves but the police don't murder people."

"My God, I've told you several times already; these things are not human! They are vampires. I know that sounds crazy, and I wouldn't even believe it but I've met one and they are real. They will have no problems killing you guys before you can get them. I feel like you don't really believe me or are taking me seriously." I said in exasperation.

"I just told you I would make sure I went in with SWAT, even if I have to lie to get the help. What more do you want from me?!" he asked, sounded just as frustrated as me.

I counted to twenty before I spoke again, "I want you, and everyone you take in with you, to come out alive. I believe the only way to do this will be killing the two vampires in that house." I paused, "We don't live in the world we thought we did. I'm just now accepting that some creatures of myth may be real after all. I think you need to accept this too, or you will not make it out of that house alive tomorrow." I said, softly, wishing I could just force him to do what needed to be done.

I heard him sigh, "Okay, I will do my best to stay alive but you have to promise me something."

"And what's that?" I asked.

"You have to promise me you won't go anywhere near that house; that you'll stay away and let the police handle this."

I didn't answer right away because I wasn't sure I could promise that. I try to not lie if I can help it but I knew if I didn't promise he would probably have someone watching me, just to make sure I stayed put.

"Okay, fine." I said, thankful that he wasn't standing in front of me to see the lie in my eyes. I wanted Elizabeth and Rick stopped, even if that meant I had to go in earlier than the police. Maybe I could put a hole in their chests and set the house on fire before anyone else got there...maybe.

"Thank you, I'll be in touch. Take care, Ella." And with that the line went dead.

I flopped down on the couch next to Mona, totally exhausted. It was not even nine yet but the night had been too long already and I just wanted to change, climb in bed and forget everything, if only for a short time.

"What's up?" I asked Mona, "You've been awfully quiet during all this. What are you thinking?"

Mona looked at me, cocked her head to the side and said, "Oh, I'm just thinking about everything. Wondering how all of this will end. Do you think I should skip meeting with my coven tomorrow? I told my High Priestess I would be over in the afternoon to help get everything ready but..."

I shook my head. "No, you should still go. There isn't anything you can do and you'll be safe with them. Don't worry about it."

She smiled at me, "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

I pretended to be shocked. "Me? Do anything stupid?"- I winked- "Of course not!"

Mona reached over and grasped my hand, "Just promise me you'll be safe. I won't make you promise to stay away from there but just be safe. Do what you have to do to get out of there alive."

I squeezed her hand, "Of course I will." I let go of her hand and stood up, "But for right now all I want is a hot bath and to go to bed." I leaned down and gave her a quick hug, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Ella." She said, and with that I turned away and headed up stairs.

I glanced at the digital clock in my Jeep and cursed. Three-forty-five! I was a lot later than I wanted to be but I was finally on Liberty Road, following the curves of it outside city limits.

The morning had started off overcast but now the sky was darkening by the minute and my wipers could barely keep up with the rain that was pelting down from the sky.

I had spent most of my morning at home with Mona trying not to jump out of my skin. She didn't leave the house until after lunch. I could have headed straight for the old house where Elizabeth and Rick were holed up but I wanted a few extras before I went in by myself.

I fought the urge not to look in my back seat where the brand new Remington 870 Express pump-action shotgun lay along with an extra box of ammunition. I also bought an extra clip and rounds for my GLOCK, which was currently tucked into my black shoulder holster.

Lost in thought about what I was about to do, I almost missed the house on my right. I slammed on the breaks and skidded a bit, thanks to all the water on the ground, but finally turned down the weed choked gravel driveway.

The house looked just as it had in my vision, only now I could see how destitute it really was. I could see the white paint peeling away from the sides of the house, a few windows were boarded up and the yard looked like no one had touched it in years, like the house had been empty for quite some time.

I felt better knowing that Elizabeth and Rick hadn't killed the previous owners; they just set up shop in an abandoned house. Probably an odd thing to be thinking about when I was about to go into a house with vampires in it by myself but it helped me to stay calm.

I pulled around to the back of the house and parked near a line of trees about fifty yards away from the back door. I cut the engine, turned off the lights and just sat there; listening to the rain beat down on my car.

My pulse began to race and the palm of my hands began to sweat. I wiped my palms on my jeans and told myself to stop being such a coward. I still had time; dusk was almost an hour off and if I hurried up, I could do this, hopefully before Gambini and his team showed up.

I pulled my long, black hair into a quick knot at the base of my skull, reached for my dark blue windbreaker, and put it on. The jacket wouldn't do much to keep me dry since I wasn't going to zip it but it did help to hide the shoulder holster and gun, in case the police did show up.

I got out of the Jeep, went to the passenger side door and opened it. I had loaded the shotgun before I put it in the car so all I had to do was swing the strap over my left shoulder. I grabbed some more shells out of the box and put them in the right pocket of my jacket; the left pocket already held the extra clip for my GLOCK. The last things I grabbed were a bottle of lighter fluid and a book of matches.

I was about to step back and close the door when I felt a hand clamp over my mouth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, huh? I told you to stay away."

I almost collapsed with relief when I realized it was Gambini behind me. The rain was so loud outside; I hadn't heard anyone else approaching.

He took his hand away from my mouth and I turned around slowly to face him. He was wearing a black bullet proof vest that said POLICE on it, and had his own tactical shotgun over his right shoulder, as well as a hand gun in an inner pants holster.

I looked away from him and noticed Conway, dressed much the same as Gambini was, as well as several others gathering around the house. It looked like he was able to get a warrant and help from SWAT after all.

I looked back at Gambini the rain soaking his hair and running down his face. His anger was more than apparent on his face, in fact his dark brown eyes seemed to burn with it.

He stepped closer to me, so that his face was only inches away from mine, "You promised me you would stay away and let us handle this." He said slowly, as if he were trying to keep from yelling.

I looked up into his face, trying to blink the rain out of my eyes, and said, "I can help. To be honest I didn't think you'd take my advice so I figured I could get here before you and take care of this myself. I planned on being here sooner but I needed a few things first."

He eyed the shotgun on my shoulder and then noticed the lighter fluid and matches.

"And what, exactly, were you planning on doing with all that?" he asked.

"Well, I figured I'd have a better chance for putting a hole through their chests with a shotgun than a handgun, now wouldn't I? After that, I planned on setting the house on fire." I said it all calmly, point for me, considering I was scared to death and shaking inside. I never been a coward but I had to admit, I was glad Gambini and SWAT were here.

He threw his hands up in the air and said, "Christ, Ella! You realize you just told me that you came here with the intention of killing two people and committing arson?" he asked me like he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I do. But I already told you that they are not people; they're vampires and will kill you, if you don't kill them first. Destroying their hearts and then lighting them on fire is the only way to be sure they're really dead."

He clenched his jaw so hard it looked like it hurt. "Get back in your car and leave; now!" he said through clenched teeth.

I stood a little straighter, "No," I said firmly, "I'm not leaving until this is over with. Arrest me if you have to, but I-am-not-leaving."

He made a sound of frustration and said, "Fine, damn it, come if you insist but you stay right behind and you leave the damn shotgun here, do you understand? The only reason I'm agreeing to this is because you're an ex-cop and I don't have an extra man to spare to make sure you stay in the car."

I nodded, took the shotgun off my shoulder and put it back in the Jeep. I tried to hand the lighter fluid and matches to Gambini but he waved them off. "We have that part taken of."

I let the shock show on my face.

"Believe it or not, I do believe you so we came prepared. I just can't shoot someone unless they attack us, do you understand that? We're going to try and take them alive." He said.

I opened my mouth, and then shut it again. I just shrugged and put the lighter fluid and matches back in the Jeep, then locked it. I didn't want to say anything else to piss him off; after all, he was breaking some major rules by letting me come along. He also hadn't noticed I had another gun so I wasn't totally unarmed. The day was looking up.

I followed him back to where Conway and the SWAT team were gathered. Gambini explained that I was coming in too. Most protested, Conaway looked mildly amused, but in the end, Gambini was in charge, so I got to go in with the rest of them.

It shocked most of us that the backdoor was unlocked, but then again, I doubt the vampires were worried that anyone would try to get into an old abandoned house in the middle of nowhere.

Two SWAT members went in first, followed by Gambini, me, and Conway, with two more SWAT members bringing up the rear.

The house was dark and smelled of mold, dust and general disuse. We moved as quietly as possible using flashlights to we see where we were going.

Gambini had already told everyone to look for the basement door, because that's where I figured the suspects mostly likely were.

The backdoor opened into a mudroom and from there, the kitchen. Cobwebs and dust covered ancient appliances but other than that the room was bare.

One of the SWAT members in front of us signaled that they found the basement door and he started down the stairs, followed by the rest of us.

As we walked down the rickety stairs to the dark basement, I fought the urge to pull my gun free from its holster and hold the cool steel in my hand. It would probably be smart to have it out but they didn't know I was armed and since I was a civilian, I wouldn't take it out unless shit hit the fan and I needed to.

My heart was beating fast and sweat was dripping down my spine by the time I reached the bottom of the stairs despite the chill of the dark house. I stayed right behind Gambini, as everyone else spread out through the room.

I looked around and my breath caught. Yes, this was the right place; the room from my visions where all three women had died. A shiver of dread crept down my spine as I spied the wooden table and I fought to keep my breath even.

I turned looked to the corner of the basement where most of the flashlight beams were pointed.

Holy shit!

Sitting in the back corner of the basement, away from the old wooden table surrounded with candles, were two coffins; real coffins with the wood gleaming in the beams of light.

As we got closer, Gambini nodded to the SWAT team. Two of the SWAT went to the lids on each of the coffins, while two more crept up next to them, shotguns already pressed to their shoulders.

The two SWAT near the lids looked across from each other and nodded in sync; one-two-three, and with the third nod, they threw back the lids and stepped back.

My pulse jumped as the lids were thrown open and I held my breath.

No one moved for a second then Conway and Gambini started to edge closer to the coffins.

Before we could reach them and awful screeching sound filled the room. The SWAT with their guns pointed and aimed at the open coffins fired but all they hit was an empty coffin.

"Shit!" I yelled, and pulled my gun. Everyone had their guns poised and ready, searching the darkness for the missing vampires.

One second everything was quiet and then the next, gun shots exploded all around me. I crouched down next to the wall in a corner, away from the coffins and from where most of the shots were being fired.

Someone started to scream, but the scream was abruptly cut off and guns were being fired again. Too many guns in too small of a place; most of us couldn't hear anything anymore but the roar of gunfire. I started to feel my way along the wall when I was suddenly knocked over.

I landed on hard on my back, getting the wind knocked out of me but before I could recover someone was on top of me.

I had a split-second to look into the face of Elizabeth and put my right arm under her chin, trying to keep snapping jaws from tearing into me.

She was so small, her pretty face transformed from the graceful woman in my visions to the rabid monster, struggling to sink her dainty fangs into my neck.

I didn't have time to think but acted on instinct; while I struggled with my right arm under her neck, I brought my left hand and my gun up, pressed in into her stomach and fired.

She was jerked back by the force of the shot, and I took the chance to fire again. Before I could fire a third shot, she picked me up and threw me into a wall as if I were nothing more than a rag doll.

I hit the cement wall with a sickening thud and saw starbursts in my head as I sagged to the ground.

I heard more gunfire around and screaming around me before darkness enveloped me and I could hear no more.

Someone was calling my name. I could hear them but I couldn't respond. Was it Gambini? I couldn't tell. I felt like I was being pulled under water and I couldn't resurface.

Gasoline...I had a second where I thought I could smell gasoline and then everything went black again.

The first thing I noticed was a dull pain at the base of my skull. I moaned and tried to move my head, dumb idea, just made the pain worse.

I opened my eyes slightly but closed them again against the bright lights.

"Ella?" I heard a soft voice and then felt a hand on arm.

I tried to answer by my throat felt like sandpaper and my mouth tasted disgusting.

"Water," I managed to croak, after clearing my throat a few times.

I heard a small sob and then felt a straw being put to my lips. I took a sip of the cool water, letting it quench my thirst and wash away some of the bad taste in my mouth. A few more sips and I felt somewhat better.

I opened my eyes again and found myself looking into Mona's face. Her green eyes were rimmed in red as though she had been crying a lot.

She sniffed as new tears began to form in her eyes and spill down her cheeks.

"Hey," she said softly, "How do you feel?" she asked; her voice full of concern.

I looked away from her and around the room; of course, I was in the hospital. The room was pretty standard and there were even a few card and flower arrangements on a nearby counter.

I turned my head back toward Mona, closed my eyes and winched at the pain that small movement caused. "I feel like I've been hit by a bus." I said, "What happened?"

Before Mona could answer the door opened and a short middle aged nurse with short blonde hair walked in.

"It's good to see you awake finally! I'm Jean and I'll be your nurse for the next few hours." she said as she started checking my vitals and the I.V. tube that was running into the back of my left hand. "Are you in a lot of pain?" she asked.

I started to shake my head no but stopped, wincing mid-motion.

"It looks like you are. I'll be back in a second with some more pain medication. The Doctor will be in to talk to you shortly." She said making her way out the door.

I swallowed hard and looked to Mona. "How long have I been out?" I asked.

She gave a small smile, "A little over forty-eight hours." She said as Nurse Jean was walking back in the room, holding a syringe full of clear liquid. She plunged the needled into a place on my I.V. tube and patted my shoulder, "There. You should start to feel better soon."

Right after the nurse left a tall, balding man with glasses entered the room.

"Hello, Ms. O'Reilly, my name is Dr. Jameson. How do you feel?" He asked, stepping up to the bed.

Whatever drugs the nurse gave me were starting to work so I replied, "A little stoned, I think. What was in that thing?"

Mona tried to smother a laugh, and the Dr. just smiled at me. "Morphine," he said, "you've suffered a minor concussion and a few cracked ribs but overall you're going to be just fine. I would like to keep for one more night, just to be sure, but I don't see any reason you can't go home tomorrow. I'll be in to check on you later." He said, nodding to Mona before taking his leave.

"You should rest," she said, as the door swung open again with Gambini walking through this time.

I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open but I wanted to know what had happened after I passed out.

"Are they dead?" I asked.

He looked down at the floor and then back up at me. He had a bruise on one cheek and he looked dead tired but other than that he looked pretty good standing there in his gray slacks and light blue dress shirt.

He shook his head, "You wake up after being in a coma for two days and the first thing you ask me is 'are they dead?'"

I shrugged and smiled, happy that I didn't feel any pain.

He sighed, "Yes, both of them are dead. They attacked us, just like you thought they would. Avery, one of the SWAT members, is dead and a few others are scrapped and bruised but they'll live. The...vampires' stopped attacking after we blew holes big enough to see through in their chests. We couldn't get you to wake up so I carried you out while the rest of the team set the place on fire. It's over now."

"Thanks for saving me." I said smiling as my eyelids started to droop.

I felt a large, warm hand run across my forehead. I heard Gambini says, "Get some sleep, Ella," before the drugs finally took over and I was forced to sleep.

I felt a cold wind blow across my face and I opened my eyes, adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream as I panicked because I couldn't remember where I was. It all came back in a rush; I was in the hospital.

I looked around the darkened room and realized there was someone who wasn't Mona sitting in the chair beside the bed. My heart began to beat erratically then the figure leaned in toward me and I could see William's face in the small pool of light above the bed.

I forced my breathing and heart rate to slow. He didn't say anything; he just looked at me with a pained expression on his face.

We stared at each other for a few minutes before I finally spoke. "What are you doing here?" I asked, but before he could answer I said, "Can you get me some water, please? My mouth tastes horrible."

He smiled at me and did what I asked. After taking a few sips of water, he set the cup back down on the tray by the bed.

"I had to make sure you were okay." He shook his head, "Stupid, girl. I wasn't expecting you to risk your life. You're much more useful to me alive, than dead."

I swallowed hard, "Useful?" I asked, "What do you mean by useful?"

He let out a sigh, "Don't worry about that right now. Thank you for helping me. You have no idea what it feels like to finally be free of Elizabeth and her horrors. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough."

"It wasn't really me. The police and SWAT did most of the work. All I did was pass on information and get myself hurt." I said, trying to sit up in the bed but stopped because of the stabbing pain in my ribs. Right...the doctor said I said some cracked ribs, I was going to have to remember to move carefully for a while.

I settled back down in the bed and just looked at him. It was like I couldn't help it. I was drawn to him but I didn't want to be. I didn't want to be attracted to him, I mean; he was a vampire for crying out loud.

He stood up, leaned down, and laid a soft kiss on my forehead, sending a thrill throughout my body. I actually angled my head up toward his lips for a real kiss when he pulled back, with a soft chuckle.

"I think perhaps that should wait for a time when you're not full of pain killers." He said and started to back out of the room.

He was right; I don't know what I had been thinking. The adrenaline that had pumped through my bloodstream when I first woke up was receding, and the pain medication was taking over again.

"Does that mean I will see you again?" I asked.

He turned to face me, his hand on the door, "Yes, you will; probably sooner than you think." And with that he was gone.

I don't know where I will take things from here, but I do know I will no longer hide who I am.

My name is Ella O'Reilly, and I am a psychic. I'm not the only one out there who is different, and it's about time I accept that there is a lot more to my world than I used to believe.

Thank you for reading my first novella. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. This is not the end of Ella O'Reilly but the beginning. Stay tuned for future Ella O'Reilly novellas.

-Ashley Arnholtz

About The Author:

Ashley Arnholtz lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their three children.

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