Page 22 of Isabelle’s Forbidden Love

And that was the truth, but it changed nothing. He still had to do what he had to do. And he hated himself for it. But the suffering had to end.

“Drink from me, my love,” Margarite demanded.

He did as she commanded and sank his fangs into her neck. Like every night in the last three years since they’d bonded, Margarite’s blood nourished his vampire body.

But tonight, everything was different.

I love you, Margarite. Please forgive me.

Orlando’s vision blurred, and he realized that tears were streaming down his face, the little rivulets turning into streams as powerful as the St. Lawrence River, while he did what had to be done.

14

Scanguards’ makeshift morgue was located right next to the small medical center led by Dr. Maya Giles, a female vampire, on one of the lower levels of the Scanguards Headquarters building.

Isabelle and Cooper entered the two-room suite with the refrigeration chamber, where dead bodies could be kept, though it was rare that this happened. They were done speaking with those of Hong’s neighbors who were at home. Nobody else had seen or heard anything useful, however, the neighbor to the left of Hong’s house hadn’t been home. They would have to come back for him or her at a later time. But first, Isabelle wanted to see Hong’s body.

Isabelle saw Maya standing next to the body, which lay on a steel table, a white sheet draped over his lower half. Next to Maya, Buffy Grant, a young black human woman of barely twenty-two years, was bent over the body, examining the victim’s throat. She was the stepdaughter of one of Scanguards’ long-time employees, John Grant.

“Hey, Buffy,” Isabelle greeted her, “didn’t know you would be here.”

“She’s assisting me,” Maya said. “She just started her training in the clinic.”

Cooper raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were interested in medicine, Buffy.”

“I spent the last year doing a bunch of different internships to see what I like, and turns out I like playing doctor.” She grinned and winked at him. “Even with dead patients.”

Isabelle chuckled. “Good for you. So you’re gonna go and study medicine at UCSF?”

“I don’t wanna waste a decade to become a doctor so I can have a fancy title, when all I want is to work at Scanguards. What’s the point? Maya can teach me everything I need to know. After all, in the clinic, we only treat vampires, or humans who were injured by vampires. They don’t teach that at UCSF.”

Maya smiled. “Buffy’s got a point. And it’ll be good to mentor somebody.”

Isabelle nodded. “So, what can you tell us about Mr. Hong here?”

“I can tell you with certainty that it was a vampire who inflicted these injuries.” Maya pointed to the victim’s neck. “See this?”

Isabelle stepped closer and bent over the body to see what Maya was pointing at.

“This mark was left by a fang. See the shape of the impression it left right under his ear? It tells me that he first drank from his victim, while the victim was still alive, before he began to tear on the flesh and rip his throat out.”

“The attacker must have been covered in blood the moment he ripped the carotid artery open,” Isabelle suggested.

“That’s right. It’s very likely that he had to get rid of all his clothes after the attack. Probably burned them,” Maya added.

“Any fingerprints on the body itself, or maybe on a belt or a button?” Cooper asked.

Maya looked up. “We checked for that when they transferred the body to us, but there was nothing. Whoever did this, probably knew enough about forensics to be careful not to leave any clues behind.”

“Can you tell us the time of death?” Isabelle asked.

“The coroner already determined that, and given the body temperature, the state of lividity, and when the body was found, I would agree with her. Mr. Hong was killed between nine o’clock and midnight Tuesday night.”

Isabelle exchanged a look with Cooper, who nodded.

“That’s around the time the neighbor heard Hong argue with his wife,” Cooper said.

“His wife?” Maya asked.