Page 6 of Isabelle’s Forbidden Love

Isabelle knocked at the door of the small conference room next to Samson’s office and entered without waiting for a reply. Inside the room, the assembled stood, talking casually. Samson stood talking with Mike Donnelly, the police chief, who’d been their confidante for over two decades now. He’d been a police detective, when he’d been apprised of the existence of vampires, and had subsequently acted as a police liaison to funnel vampire-related crimes to Scanguards, rather than having the police investigate something they weren’t equipped for. Now in his sixties, Mike was still one of the few among the police force of San Francisco who knew what went bump in the night. He still kept their secrets.

Cooper and Benjamin, both vampire hybrids and accomplished bodyguards just a couple of years younger than herself, whose parents also worked for Scanguards, glanced at her. Isabelle acknowledged their presence with a nod, then allowed her gaze to drift to Amaury, Benjamin’s father, who was talking to a vampire she hadn’t met before. He was tall and had a full head of blond hair and piercing grey eyes. The man looked to be in his thirties, or perhaps early forties, though his true age could be anything. It only meant that he’d been turned into a vampire when he was in his thirties or forties in human years.

“Isa, you’re here,” Samson said with a gesture to the oval table. “We can start.”

As everybody took their seats, Samson pointed to the blond vampire. “Have you guys met yet?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Isabelle replied.

“I would have remembered,” the vampire added, his eyes directed at her.

“Isabelle, this is Nelson Sarduni,” Samson said. “He’s our new liaison with SFPD. Nelson, this is my daughter Isabelle.”

“Nice to meet you, Isabelle,” Nelson said with an easy smile that made him look younger.

Isabelle greeted him with the same polite words. “So, you’ve just joined SFPD?”

Mike patted Nelson on the shoulder. “Nelson was working for the police department up in Seattle. I managed to get him transferred to us six months ago. We’re very lucky to have him. It’s kinda hard to be police chief and liaison for Scanguards at the same time. My day only has so many hours. And I’m not getting any younger.”

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” Nelson said.

“And we really appreciate it,” Samson added, before his facial expression changed. “Let’s get everybody up to speed about this case. Mike? Nelson?”

“May I, sir?” Nelson asked with a look at Donnelly.

Donnelly nodded, and Nelson opened the file in front of him. “This morning, the dead body of Wayne Hong was found in his house in Glen Park. He was brutally murdered.” He lifted several photos from the file and passed them around.

Isabelle looked at the crime scene photos with the body of the Asian man still on a sofa in his living room. His throat had been ripped out, and there was blood everywhere. His eyes were open. Fear was reflected in them. His clothes were torn and drenched in blood.

“Mr. Hong was a mailman. He was in the middle of a divorce and lived alone. His sister found him when she arrived in the morning to borrow his car, because hers was in the shop,” Nelson continued.

An icy shiver ran down Isabelle’s spine. She couldn’t even imagine what the poor man’s sister was going through right now. If anything happened to her own two brothers, Grayson and Patrick, she would be devastated.

“Any signs of forced entry?” Isabelle asked automatically.

“None. We assume he knew his killer, or the killer used mind control or a ruse to be let inside,” Nelson replied.

“Is it already confirmed that this was the work of a vampire?” Cooper interjected.

“Not confirmed,” Donnelly said quickly, “but from the preliminary forensics it’s clear that the wounds weren’t inflicted with any kind of knife or blade.” He pointed to one of the photos. “Those are claw marks. And given that there are no bears, tigers, or mountain lions roaming San Francisco, I’d say it was a vampire.”

Samson nodded, his expression serious. “I agree with Mike. That’s why we’re taking this case. Isabelle, you’ll be the lead on this.” He motioned to the two hybrids. “Cooper and Benjamin will assist you with everything you need. Nelson will be getting you access to the crime scene, the body, and the forensics the police have collected so far.”

“We’ll need to do our own forensic examination,” Isabelle said.

“Not a problem,” Nelson replied quickly. “We’ll transfer the body to you, so Scanguards’ forensics team can make an assessment and confirm that Hong was killed by a vampire.”

“And the city’s medical examiner? What are you gonna tell her?” Isabelle asked.

“Let that be our problem,” Nelson said with a look at Donnelly. “Right, sir?”

“It’s good to be chief,” Donnelly said with a wink, before he turned serious again. “Unfortunately, the press has already gotten wind of this case. I’ll deal with them. But needless to say, we need to find the killer quickly. We can’t have an out-of-control vampire running around in our city. I need to be able to assure the mayor and the residents that they’re safe. I’ll come up with a cover story that’ll satisfy the press, when it’s time.”

“Well, you’ve got plenty of practice when it comes to that, don’t you?” Amaury added.

“Wish I didn’t, but it is what it is.” Donnelly rose.

“I’ll see you out, Mike,” Samson offered and rose too. Amaury did the same.