Hey again, back for more! This novel has a slow start, sorry about that! I swear the mystery and action does pile up eventually, but the set-up is oh-so-important that i needed to write it out this way.

My apologies, and i hope you can enjoy all the same!

EDIT: Chapters 3,4,5,7, and any others i look into will be edited eventually, so sorry to all the new readers about the clogged read!

Chapter 3 should be done in two weeks time, but no promises. New chapters come first!

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“So what do you think it is, Rosemary?”

“...Huh? What?”

“Not listening? I asked you if you had any idea what had made this...mess.” The lab tech gestured to what lay before him as he asked, who Alex had yet to remember the name of. The tech was a giant of a ‘man’, hovering at eight feet tall in his lab coat as he jotted down notes onto a tiny clipboard; Well, tiny to the man himself. His ‘skin’ looked to be made of dark brown stone, and his wide and flat face was almost always in a frown. Thankfully, there was no hair to speak of on his head, as otherwise it would be a strange sight.

“No, i’ve been combing through all the possibilities...but this...” Alex stated somberly, as he looked at the gory mess before him. He scanned around at the location he was now at, a lone park next to the river that separated the city, with nothing but benches and water faucets to speak of besides the trees. Then there was this random section of a wall erected in the dead center facing the water, crumbling from the weather that had hit it so many times. This wall, the park, all of it; he knew it all down to what lay beneath the dirt. It was the location of the ‘Ruby’ killer, after all.

“All i can tell you is i’ve looked into everything and it’s still a mystery...” Alex stated, sighing at how inept this killer made him feel. Every week, the ‘Ruby’ killer strikes at the same spot every time, this wall. No matter how many people watch the spot, or even if they cover it up with a tarp, ‘Ruby’ always gets past it all to set this scene up. The dead body, unidentifiable; the blood on the walls and in pools, changed into an unknown substance. It had been a thorn in his side since he got the case, and in the departments for an even longer period of time. He was all but fed up with the headaches it induced.

“Well, yea. Everything about it is a damn mystery. Everyone watching this place twenty four seven, and can still set the same scene up in almost the exact same way? Gives me chills, Rosemary.” The giant stated, his head shaking slightly. “Gives me chills.”

“I hear you, big guy. It’s not pretty at all.” Alex stated, staring at the wall before him in contemplation. He noticed something slightly strange on the victim's arm, so he motioned to the big guy for gloves. He felt the gloves in his hand without even having to ask for them, so he put them on quickly and walked over to the body carefully. Bending down to get a better look at the disfigured bodies arm gave him a view of what caught his eye peeking out of the sleeve. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and lifted the sleeve slowly, revealing a gold watch with engraved vines along its length.

He grunted and leaned down on one knee as he pulled the watch off, and brought it up to look at it closer while it dangled from his fingers. The middle section that told time has the small and large hands that ended in the same place, what he guessed was either midnight or six thirty depending on what sides the top. The glass covering had shattered form a violent impact, and the gold vine embroidery had been shaved off a bit from a struggle of some kind; scratched off by another metal most likely. The thick chain links that held the golden vines were rather untouched, besides the blood of the victim smeared on them. Alex took a glance at the wrist of the dead, noticing the lines on the skin form long-term wear of the watch always being worn. Alex sighed, knowing the victims likely gender and wealth now at the very least; though it brought a worry to his mind as well. A grunt nearby brought him out of his stupor, and the chief's eyes met his own. He coughed a bit, leaning back up out of his crouched position to give the chief of police, Harold Ruger, a salute with his empty hand. The chief motioned lazily back, eyeing the scene of the crime.

His eyes returned to Alex and the watch in his hand, an inquiring look in his eyes.

“What have you got?”

“Most likely male...” Alex stated solemnly, giving himself a pause at his worries. “...Also likely very wealthy.”

The chief cocked an eyebrow at him, then look at the gold watch dangling from his left hand.

“Your evidence?”

“Yes, chief. Watches this old are usually family heirlooms, and passed down amongst the males in the family. In this day and age, it would take a special kind of woman with special circumstances to ever wear this all the time.” Alex stated, bringing his thoughts to light. “The reason they are likely wealthy is by how much it would cost to fix such an antique, as the chain to it looks brand new for such an old thing. It’s likely real gold.”

The chief grunted again, eyeing the unrecognizable body before him.

“How’d you know all that so easily?” The giant lab tech asked behind the chief, his eyebrows crooked in what Alex hoped was surprise. He stopped for a second to think if he wanted to say something, but decided it best to get it off his chest and just speak.

“...My dad wears the same watch all the time.” Was all he said, looking down at it now resting in the palm of his hand. He thought of the times he saw the watch on his father's wrist, the times he asked to wear it; All the memories came flooding back of the time before he turned ten. Fond memories as they were, they sprouted a seed of doubt in his mind if his father was still alive.

“Alex.”

A calm and serene voice close by lightened his heavy thoughts, but brought more questions to his mind almost immediately. He look up in the chief's direction to see him walking away, likely to check on something, and the lab tech was scratching his face with the pen while eyeing his notes. Alex turned to the new figure next to him, Victoria, and could only heave a sigh.

“What are you doing here, Victoria?” He asked, eyeing her new getup that seemed to cause the lights around them to dim. Tight fitted, black clothing wrapped her body while her hair danced in the wind untamed. Her face was set in a serious mood in contrast to her earlier look, the upbeat and happy girl he was so used to. He felt a chill at the drastic change, knowing she was in ‘business’ mode for a client at the moment.

“I’m here for my new client. She knew the dead, and wants information.” She stated emotionlessly, staring at the dead clump of flesh against the wall.

“Nothing i can give you that you don’t already know.” Alex stated just as emotionless, not in the mood for this charade. He gestured to the corpse nearby. “...But feel free to try. If you think you can get through all the officers here.”

She looked at him with her dead eyes, now black in color, and then turned and disappeared as Alex blinked. He sighed in relief, not very good with stressful situations. He always felt the need to reflexively attack back when pressure was put on him, something he tried to suppress to no avail; a bad habit of his he needed to work on containing. His eyes drifted past the crowd of officers to find a limousine parked in the lot, with Victoria now standing by it’s back window. The window was rolled down just enough to see a pair of eyes meet his own, sending a chill up his spine.

Whoever it was, they had been watching him; Setting his instincts on edge ever since Victoria suddenly appeared.

“Rosemary, there’s a call for you.” The chief called in his direction, which ended the staring contest between him and the unknown observer. He scratched his neck as he glanced back at Victoria one more time, before walking over and picking up the phone from the nearby car.

“Hello?” Was all that escaped his throat, which caused him to notice he hadn’t had any sleep in a while. He was far more tired than he thought he was. The other person on the line sighed, and soon Alex found out why.

“Alex, honey. Why do you never call me?” Was all he had to hear before confirming it was his mother on the phone. He hadn’t talked to her since he was ten, practically half his life, but he figured vampires were long-lived and wouldn’t care about that short a time. His parents had to be nearing their second millennium in age, at the very least.

“It’s nice to hear your voice too, mother.” He stated, hoping his voice wasn’t shaky from the sudden reintroduction back into his life she had just made. He heard a pause on the line for a moment before she continued.

“...Yes, it’s nice to know your alive dear. How...How have you been lately?” She asked him, and he could hear some concern leak through her voice a bit.

“Living.” Was all the escaped his mouth.

Smooth, he thought, really smooth.

“Good, good.” Was all she said, the line going dead again. He sat for a full minute waiting for her to say something.

“Alex, dear. Now that you're back in town...”

His thoughts went to ‘please, no, don't invite me back to the house.’

“...W-Would you like to meet up with me and your father and get to know each other again?” Was all she asked, the line going quiet. Alex sighed in relief with the mystery of his father's life or undeath now settled. He was very much alive by how his mother was speaking.

He thought over what she asked, and that it hadn’t been an immediate push to come back to the family. They seemed more like strangers to his memories now, so he knew it’d be awkward, but the desperation in her voice… He couldn’t bring himself to say no. His mom had been the softer side of his family to him, keeping him mostly sane in that brand of hell he lived as a child.

“Yea, mom. Where do you need me to go?”

“Really!? Oh, i mean… okay. Could you come to the mansion's gate and wait for us there? No need to go inside, just wait outside of it.” She stated in a hurry, most likely scared he’d throw a fit and end the call.

“...Yea, that’s fine. I know where it’s at already.” He stated, with the knowledge he’d been avoiding that area in his work as much as possible.

“Okay, great! I’ll see you tonight, dear.”

“Yea, see you.” He stated as he heard the call end. His only thought was on how busy she used to be, and how much time she had just taken to call him at his own work. He hoped that it showed how much she loved him as well, so it did warm his heart a little. She was the head of the Rosemary family, one of the seven most powerful in the city. That should go to show how little free time she had to spend with him as a child.

Alex looked around at the scene and sighed, knowing there wasn't much more to be done here. Not that he could do, as it was just evidence retrieval, eyewitness statements, and pictures to be taken of the scene. So he told the chief he had some family business to take care of while they clean up, got in his car, and started off toward the mansion he so dreaded going near again.