January 30th

"Do you know what Malikan stands for?"

Jackie raised an eyebrow at the question. It was a simple one, nothing loaded, but it seemed out of place. Both she and Edwin were standing inside her lab, alone with the corpse of her newest corpse; the detective had indicated that he wanted "to talk;" Jackie assumed it would only be about it Matthias.

"Sorry, I don't," she quietly said, checking her wrist watch. Ten to midnight. She let out a tired sigh—she and Detective Edwin Yuma were the only ones in the west wing of the Office of the Medical Examiner, and two of the few remaining people throughout the entire building.

Jackie hoped she wouldn't have to stay long.

"Devils."

Jackie blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Malikan. It comes from his long-extinct language. Don't know much about the people, but Malikan was the name of the rulers of the underworld. A basket full of supernatural beings who ruled over the damned—naturally, the Malikan was defined as devils," Edwin calmly explained, pulling out a seat from under a stray desk and a cigarette. Smoking wasn't allowed in the facility, but Jackie made no efforts to stop him.

"Over the years, Malikan became less about religious folklore, and more about a way to describe the prowess of an army. See, people feared armies that boasted their... uh, ability to get things done. The founders of this great city we live in admired the name because it represented might. Military might. You know the docks downtown? Those used to house the largest colonial navy the world has ever seen..."

Jackie nodded. She hadn't expected to receive an etymology lesson from the detective. She realized what she could only do was listen; there was a reason behind Edwin's monologue. "Thank you, but—"

"I think, during the past few decades, especially the past couple of weeks, the meaning of Malikan’s returned to its roots. Devils." He scoffed, taking a drag. "Nothing but devils."

"What are you—"

"That man on your examining table. Matthias. Pretty Boy Matt. You can't rule his death as a homicide."

Jackie glanced at the body bag containing Matthias. She shook her head.

"What do you—" Jackie stopped. "That was murder. The way the bullet entered his--"

"Inconclusive," Edwin interjected, straightening up his posture. "You need to rule is as inconclusive. Or suicide. I don't care, but it can't be a homicide."

"Edwin. Detective Yuma, you know I can't do that," Jackie explained, although she shouldn't have to. Edwin knew the rules; he had been in MPD long enough to know the rules. He had to know that she couldn't just forge an autopsy report. That was downright unethical. That was downright illegal. "That's perjury. I can lose my—"

"I'm not asking you to lie under oath."

Jackie threw her arms up. "You practically are!"

"I'm asking you to downplay any suspicions of a murder. Rule it inconclusive..."

Jackie let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, yeah, lying by omission. I'm sure the ethics committee would love that defense."

“Jackie—”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but if you think that I’m going to jeopardize my career over something so trivial, then you have another thing coming. Goodness, Edwin, are you hearing yourself?”

"Oh, I hear myself quite clearly," Edwin defended through gritted teeth. He dropped his used-up cigarette onto the floor and crushed it under the toe of his boot. "Listen to me, Jackie. Do you think I want to do this shit? Do you think I like letting them run the streets? No, I do this because it's my job to help keep the peace in this damn city.”

“Them? Who’s them?”

Edwin dropped and shook his head, mumbling under his breath. His frustration was growing; his patience was wearing thin. "If you rule this man's death as a murder, you're going to fuck up years of negotiations. Do you understand? Years. Years of trying to maintain peace."

"What is so important about this guy?" Jackie asked. "He's not even a goddamn boss."

"Jackie, you got to work with me.”

“I’m not doing it,” Jackie decided, crossing her arms. She couldn't. She just couldn't risk her reputation for Edwin, even if he was her sometimes-acquaintance. She wouldn't live with herself.

Edward fixed a cold gaze on Jackie as he shot up from his seat. He began pacing around, running a hand through his short black hair, grumbling under his breath.

Jackie watched in amazement as the man's demeanor shifted from annoyance to aggravation. She held her breaths as she heard the man's breathing become heavy, his shoulders tense, his hands ghosting along his holster, his gun.

She didn't allow herself to think much of it. She remembered Teresa mentioning about her husband’s temper during one of their rare, albeit short, conversation. Edwin was a good man, and even a better detective, Teresa had explained, but he had issues (but so does everyone else, Jackie thought).

Jackie held her breath seconds later when Edwin stopped in his track, turned his body to her, and pulled out of his Glock-22, immediately aiming it straight at her.

Nothing believing her eyes, Jackie took a couple of steps back, and swallowed. She wanted to running, but her legs couldn’t allow her. In the back of her mind, she knew Edwin wouldn’t harm her. After all, they were in her lab. They had security down the hall, and from the looks of it, the weapon didn’t have a silencer.

Edwin did not intend to pull the trigger. This wasn't something he wanted to do. All he wanted was for Jackie to understand—he couldn't let this woman, one who had been blind to the workings of this goddamn city for far too long, ruin everything. Jackie had to have her eyes opened; she needed an incentive to do his bidding. And this, what he was doing right at this moment, would be it.

Jackie didn't know how to react. In all of her years as a medical examiner, she never had a detective, a man she was supposed to be solving a crime with, pull a gun on her. And not only that, but also demand that she go against her morals, and lie and forged an official document so pertinent to her career.

Maybe it was her own damn fault for being so naive.

She took another step back, holding out both arms for hopeless protection. She looked passed the gun and straight into the detectives’ eyes. "Edwin..." she breathed out.

"Inconclusive!"

“Edwin, for fuck’s sake, stop!”

Edwin abruptly seemed out of his trance and dropped his arm. He glanced down at his gun loosely handing from his hand, and his eyes grew wide. He gulped, cursed under his breath and carefully returned the weapon to its rightful place. Shit, shit, shit, shit...

Moments later, when he finally gathered enough courage, Edwin looked up at Jackie was still staring at him horrified, but surprised and confused. And sad--His gaze shifted to the titled-ground. "I—I—" he choked out; a million thoughts rushed through his mind, most of them apologies, but he couldn't voice not one of them.

"I gotta go," Edwin eventually said in a quiet, but frantic voice, quickly gathering things. For a moment, Jackie could see a glint of fear in his usual stony eyes. "I gotta go."

Jackie did not move or utter another word, not even a sound, as the detective rushed out of the lab. She would only move when she could see the detective, through the small door window, enter the elevator, finally leaving her alone.

Jackie gulped, took a step back, rubbed her hands and glanced around the lab, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to say. Should she call someone? The police? 911? Should she reach out to Marcus? Or even Teresa? After all, she was Edwin's wife. She should know about this—

She gulped again, and shook her head. No, she wasn't going to tell anyone about this. She was going to make believe that the past several minutes simply didn't happen.

Jackie was going to move on and do the job the taxpayers were paying her salary for.

***

January 31th

"Can we talk?"

Jackie nearly dropped her coffee all over her files when she recognized the loud voice at the door.

She glanced up, eyes focused on the double doors that separate the lab from the outside world. And that he was, Detective Edwin Yuma, peering through the small door window.

She didn't move a muscle as she considered her options. She thought about calling security and have them drag the man off the premise. She thought about causing a scene, but of course, there was doubt lingering in the back of her mind, suggesting that she should just give the detective a chance to explain himself.

Last night was bizarre.

Jackie slowly rose from her seat and approached the double doors. She opened one of them, hand tightly around the knob, ready to slam it back in the detective's face (and call security). "Morning," she curtly said.

"Good morning," Edwin quietly greeted. His eyes were glued to the floor as he entered the room and walked the short distance to Jackie's table. He sat down in front of the doctor, after the seat was offered.

He spoke up when Jackie sat down. "There are no words—"

“Can we just drop it, please, and get straight to business,” Jackie sharply replied, leaning against the back of her chair, staring at the man intently. She vowed to watch his every move. “Detective Yuma, I have ten bodies in my lab that require an official cause of death by the end of the day. So, I don’t much time to talk.”

Edwin straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat. He glanced up at Jackie—he knew he had fucked up last night. Jackie hadn’t deserved his behavior, and he would understand one hundred percent if she told Khan that she refused to work with the detective any longer.

“Of course.”

“Now, that we have an understanding,” Jackie started off, putting on her lab coat and her gloves. “It’s obvious that you want to potentially sacrifice my career and reputation for you—“

"It's not for—"

"I think I deserve the truth. And I don't want any bullshit. Just the truth. So, Detective Yuma, do you mind tell what the fuck is going on?"

Edwin swallowed and glanced behind him. "When is Vince coming back?"

Jackie huffed. "He's taking a late breakfast."

Edwin nodded, stood up and approached Matthias who was still lying on the examining table, covered by a white sheet. Jackie carefully followed, maintaining her distance, keeping a keen eye on the man.

Edwin peered down at Matthias' corpse, an aging corpse. "So, that do age after death," he remarked, seemingly surprised. "Do you believe in the supernatural?" He asked when Jackie stood at the other side of Matthias.

Jackie found the question foolish, but still chose to entertain it. "Like ghosts?"

"That's the paranormal. I'm talking about the supernatural: vampires, werewolves, witches and whatnot."

"No," Jackie said, and then asked. "Should I?"

Edwin didn't immediately reply. Instead, he pointed at the gunshot wound in the victim's temple. The bullet was still inside as evident by the faint light still emitting from the wound. "Pretty Boy Matt died from a shot to the head. From a bullet me of light— they call it lucerns. The force of the bullet didn't kill him, what was inside did."

Jackie leaned over and studied the wound. That was something she had never seen before in her life, let alone her career. "Meaning?"

"Whose weakness is light?" Edwin asked, and then answered before Jackie could open her mouth. "Vampires."

“Wha…?” Jackie drew in her breath and then held it. She breathed again, holding her hand to get chest, stepping away from Yuma and Matthias and proceeded to pace around. Her eyes grew wider as she began to digest the gravity of the situation. Vampires. Edwin was talking about goddamn vampires and he was dead serious.

“Jack—“

“Are you telling me that he,” Jackie pointed at the body. “Is a vampire?”

“Yes.”

Jackie had to take a seat. After doing so, she stared at the top of the desk, full of files, and tests result as she began to accept the fact that Vince might have been right after all. She didn’t fully believe Edwin—the whole thing surrounded so surreal, but the man wasn’t known for his jokes.

"Holy..." Jackie finally said. "How am I only finding out about this now?" She was the medical examiner, for goodness' sakes. She examined the dead for a living; she worked with the police and the feds all the time. Perhaps this was something someone should have mentioned to her.

"Their existence is supposed to be a secret, for obvious reasons," Edwin explained. "The government, certain police departments, and the feds had decided several decades that revealing their existence to the general public would be a threat to national security."

“So, they’re living among us?”

“Yes.”

“And people who killed Matthias, they’re—“

“Yes.”

“And that’s why—“

"Pretty Boy Matt's death cannot be ruled as a homicide. If it's a homicide, we are obligated to investigate it thoroughly. To find suspects, bring them to court-- the whole nine yards," Edwin finished, and then added, "Look, all I'm asking you to do is to maintain what little peace we have left in this city. The fight between rivaling covens and whatnot have nothing to do with us. If those people want to kill each other off, then that's their problem. Not ours."

“You’re essentially endorsing a gang war.”

“They can fight their own battles without dragging all of Malikan City into it,” Edwin said. “We have enough problems to worry about as it is.”

“You’re letting them get away with their crimes,” Jackie accused.

Edwin didn’t see it that way, but he couldn’t blame the doctor for her opinion. This situation, it was complicated. Way above his pay grade. “No, we’re going to handle them. Just not in the normal way.”

Jackie snorted. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“That’s nothing for you to worry about,” Edwin quickly said. This was once again above his pay grade and his jurisdiction. “So, we got a deal?”

“Coercion is usually not involved in making deals,” Jackie spat, crossing her arms.

“I’m not forcing you to do anything—“

“So, what was last night about?”

“That—“ Edwin paused. There were no right words to make last night better. “That was a stupid mistake.”

“Yeah, stupid...”

Jackie retreated to gather her thoughts. What Edwin was suggesting was wrong. Insane, even. But vampires?

She couldn't believe that after everything she was considering Edwin's request. It was a reckless plan that could end them all. But she had a sinking feeling that the police and others had their own set of rules on dealing with the supernatural, and she just needed to play along.

"Damn it," she gritted out, and then, "Fine. I'll see what I can do." She paused. Goodness, this decision was probably going to bite her in the ass. She could practically feel it, but didn't know how. "But it's your responsibility to make sure the crime scenes looks inconclusive. I suggest you should start by locating the murder weapon."

"Already working on that."

Jackie reluctantly nodded and adjusted the lamp so that the light shined brightly on Matthias. She checked his extremities, and stopped when she studied the man's wrist. She raised an eyebrow. "This Pretty Boy-fella, was he suicidal?"

Edwin shrugged. "I dunno. Didn't know the man. Why do you ask?"

Jackie returned the corpse's arm to its side and directed the detective's attention to the slashes inside of Matthias' wrist. Multiple slashes with multiple stages of healing. A telltale sign of numerous suicide attempts or torture.

Edwin stared at the wound, surprised. Generally, any wound a vampire endured (not caused by light) would have healed in no time. But the markings were very visible which only proved that they had been made while Matthias was still human.

"Is that helpful?" Edwin asked.

"It's convenient," Jackie admitted. The single bullet to the temple and the slashes made the scheme a lot easier to execute. "I can point out that he had suicidal tendencies."

"Which can close this case?"

"May close," Jackie stressed. "Whatever happens, you need to make sure this case doesn't go to trial. And lawyers, under any circumstances, can't be involved. I'm not in the mood to get convicted of perjury."

Edwin nodded.

"Is there anything else?" Jackie asked after a few moments of silence.

"No, we're good."

"Good."

Edwin shrugged, looked down at doctor and let out a tired sigh. "So, I guess I'll be going. Have to meet up with Parker. You know, to solve our murders."

"Good luck," Jackie said, letting out a soft scoff. She headed to the exit with Edwin following behind. She held a door opened as Edwin zipped up his jacket, and said in a flat voice, "It was nice clearing things up with you."

Edwin nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

“And Edwin?”

Edwin stopped and faced the doctor. “Yes?”

“If you ever pull that stunt with me again, you will regret it,” Jackie warned. “I may not be a cop, but I have my ways. Do you understand?”

Edwin visibly swallowed. “Yeah, of course. Jackie I’m really—”

Jackie raised a hand, effectively cutting the detective off. "We'll keep in touch. Have a nice day, Detective Yuma."

"You as well, Dr. Farris."