Vivienne

Wendy had just turned on the water for the shower when her phone started to ring once more.  Rolling her eyes and sighing, she stepped over and saw the call was coming from Brian. “What’s up Brian, I was just about to shower and come over there.”

“Police are everywhere, Wendy! Oh, god…oh god…What is going on?”  Brian panic spoke over the phone.

Pressing the button to divert the water to the shower, Wendy placed her phone down on the marble counter close enough to the shower that she understood what Brian was saying.  “Calm down.  Tell me what is going on, Brian.  I can’t help you unless I understand what’s happening.”  Wendy dunked her red locks under the hot water.

“Fuck, fuck…They have a body on a gurney….oh lord no, no…no.” Brian voiced uncontrollably.

Wendy picked up the soap and started cleaning herself, “Brian.  Again, Calm down and tell me what’s going on?  A gurney? Police?  Where?”  She calmly asked while watching the red water drain down the tub.

“Y-your right, okay…okay.  I um…Since it is winter…Oh lord…Um.”  Brian started and suddenly switched the conversation, “Wendy, the police are walking up to me.”

Wendy began to scrub the blood from her hands and face, smiling as the evidence washed down the hotel drain. “Don’t say anything to them.  Don’t identify yourself, you don’t have to.  They might not even say anything to you.  Say nothing.  Not a word Brian.”  Wendy applied shampoo to her red hair and watched the suds turn blood red as well.

“Okay, right.  I - won’t…say.”  Brian stopped talking for a couple minutes. “W...Wendy?  They, they, they only asked me to move back.  I-I can see they were…are in Casey’s dorm.”

“Okay.  Brian.  Calm down, make your way to the cafe where you and I talked last night, I will be there as soon as I get last night's grime off of me.”  Wendy chuckled to herself, “Since I left you, it has been bloody torture.  I could use a cup of coffee.”

“Right, right.  Oh god Wendy, What is going on?  Should I call Casey?  See if she’s alright?”  Brian asked, still half panicked.

Watching as the last of the blood drained from her, Wendy blew a kiss to the last vestiges of the blood. -Perfect.- Wendy shut off the water and wrapped her curly hair into a towel. “No, Brian.  No need to call her right now.  Just text, see if she responds.  Wait for me to pick you up at the cafe.  We will figure something out from there, okay?”

“Right.  Okay, okay.”  Brian asked one more question, still audibly shaken. “Do…do you think that was…was Casey on the gurney, Wendy?”

“Just text her and see what you get, Brian.”  Wendy inspected the scratches on her cheeks and neck quickly and then looked down at the phone, “Something in my gut tells me she will reply.”

“Thank you, W…Wendy.  I..um, cafe.  Right.  You want me to get you a…what you had last night?”  Brian offered.

Snickering internally as she applied foundation to her scrapes, Wendy lightly answered the concerned guy, “That would be sinfully delicious, Brian.  Thank you.”  She paused for a moment, “I will be there very soon, trust me.”  Wendy disconnected the call and walked into the main part of her hotel room and turned the television to her station's morning news.

Wendy saw a huge banner on the screen with the scrolling text, “Med student found dead overnight at local university, police describe the scene as ‘horrific’.”

Wendy sat at the edge of her bed and slowly brushed her hair clear of knots. -Beautiful work, Wendy.- She heard the tiny voice in her head praise her. “I know. I know.” She praised herself and got dressed.  Wendy walked around her hotel room gathering all of the sheets and towels she’d used, then walked out on the small balcony. -Leave nothing behind.-  She told herself and summoned the same fire she’d used to burn Gemelli’s notebook, reducing the cloth to black powder in nearly a flash.   Kicking the black soot over the edge, Wendy gathered her things and left the hotel.

Arriving at the cafe close to thirty minutes later, Wendy pulled up beside the window and honked the horn on her news van.  Brian looked up with a worried look on his face and came running to the driver side window. “Get in, I brought you breakfast.” Wendy held up a brown paper bag and pointed to the other side of the van.

Brian handed Wendy the coffee he’d promised her, then hopped in the passenger side. “She answered my text but not my call.”

“I thought I asked you not to call her, Brian.”  Wendy rolled her eyes, partly annoyed before pulling off from the cafe.

“I had to know, one way or another.  Anyone could have been answering the text.”  Brian added and opened the bag. “A cheeseburger and fries?  For Breakfast?”

“Leftovers from dinner, I wasn’t very hungry at the time.”  Wendy half-smiled and kept driving. “However, I am ravenous now, so if you aren’t going to eat it, I will.”

Brian had the burger in hand and had swallowed a bite, “Sorry.”  He tried to hand the sandwich back to Wendy, “I eat or workout when I am nervous.”  He took another bite when the reporter held up her hand.

“It’s okay, I will pick something up as we head out.”  Wendy pointed to her phone. “Brian, I do have some disturbing news though.  Punch in the numbers 4311 and take a look at what is being reported.”

Brian placed the burger on the dash and opened Wendy’s phone to an ongoing feed for the morning coverage.  He looked up, the shock clear on his face. “Is this true?”

“Yep, it would appear that your girlfriend is wanted for the murder of a few people.” Wendy pointed behind her, “I heard the initial APB go out over the police scanner.”  Wendy pulled into a McDonald's and ordered a couple things to eat.  “As of right now, Casey is the sole and prime suspect.”

Brian tapped Wendy’s phone and read the rest of the little headline article. “Your own news station is saying that she’s wanted.  Man, this can’t be happening.”  Brian put the phone back in Wendy’s purse and looked at the woman beside him. “This is crazy, Wendy.”  He added, “How are we going to help her out with all of this?”  He pointed to her phone.

“First, We are headed to see The Darla.  See what you can do and how you can help the rest of us.”  She pointed at his lightly pulsing rune. “I heard the shock in her voice when I told her that you were born with the mark.  She typically is the one to awaken us, you presented something new.”  Wendy thanked the person in the window and took her food, driving off. “Ultimately it might come to just you and I to save Casey.”

“Who said I was going to help anyone but Casey?”  Brian raised his fist like he was going to punch the dashboard, but stopped and picked up the cheeseburger and took another bite. “I feel like I am chasing a carrot on a stick, Wendy.”  Brian mumbled through the food in his mouth.

“You really want me to spell it out for you, Brian?”  Her brown eyes gleamed at Brian, “I thought you were a fairly smart guy.”  She picked out a small sandwich from her bag and took a healthy bite. “Put the pieces together.”  Wendy looked back to the road and merged onto the highway, headed west towards Petersburg.  She picked up the coffee cup and took a sip to wash down what little she’d eaten. “Tell me everything that has happened in order.  I am sure you will come to the same conclusion I have.”

“Fine.”  Brian chomped on a few of the fries in the bag, “First she was obsessed with that stupid band.”

“Drake’s band, right.  You knew that last night when I showed you the video.”  Wendy broke another chunk of her breakfast off and ate it. “Go on.”

“She and I got in a fight the next morning over the phone, she came home.”  Brian sighed and smiled lightly. “She was in a couple of bandages and told me she had a rough evening.”

“Which turned out to be a lie, if what you told me is true.”  Wendy carefully added.

“Yeah.”  Brian sighed defeatedly and watched the cars pass them going in the other direction. “She came home smelling terrible, like she’d been in a fire or worse.  Talked about a little girl and how she did and didn’t kill her.”  He scratched his head and then looked at Wendy, a sudden realization coming over him. “Oh…god.”

“I see you have finally started filling in the blanks.”  Wendy weaved through slower traffic. “Let me fill the gaps with what I know.”  Pointing to her phone once more, “The rest of the puzzle is there and I plan to show it to The Darla as evidence.”  Sipping more of her coffee, Wendy kept talking. “The reason she smelled like she did was because she was in the hotel when it came down.  You heard her voice talking to the paramedics.”  

“Yeah, you played it for me.”  Brian sighed.

“What I didn’t tell you was that I followed the ambulance to the hospital, after they dragged ‘Karen Collins’ out of the rubble.  The two paramedics that were fished out of the water last night, were the two that took your girlfriend to the hospital.”

“You can’t be serious!”  Brian shook his head trying to wrap his head around the information. “Casey is lots of things, but she isn’t a killer.”

“I have been all over her from the beginning, Brian.”  Wendy watched the big man internally struggling and continued to weave the puzzle for him. “My crew washed up on shore that morning.  That is how I met Nick Gemelli.”

“Are you telling me that Casey killed four people, Wendy?”  He shook his head, “No, no. Not possible.  She was with me in the morning.  I woke up beside her in the bed after the nightmare and the screaming.”  Brian looked at the red head, “She was coming apart at the idea of a little girl, this isn’t possible.”

“Are you sure she was with you all night?”  Wendy queried, “Everything concerning a vampire is a lie.  You confirmed she lied to you about being at her mothers house when you called.”  She paused for a few seconds and added, “Do me a favor and refresh the page.  Let’s see if fourteen news has any updates.”

“Why would there be any updates this fast?” Confused, Brian opened the website as asked. “Oh, god…no.”  He looked up at Wendy. “Her roommate Linda and the cop, the guy you..you were with?”  Brian started shaking and dropped his phone. “I…it can’t…no…”  He mumbled to himself as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

“I promised that you would learn about your girlfriend.”  Wendy replied solemnly, “I know this must be tearing you apart, you seem to really love her.”

Brian wiped the tears from his soft green eyes, “I do..did…How do you love a killer?”  He sniffled and rubbed his temples. “It..this…all because of the vampire?  Can she be saved, Wendy? Please tell me we can save her.”

Patting his big thigh softly, Wendy attempted to sooth Brian’s worry. “We can save her, Brian.  Let’s see what we can learn about you from The Darla and go from there.”  Wendy reached over, gently turning Brian to look at her. “I will be with you every step of the way, Brian.  Trust me.”  Wendy’s heart fluttered with excitement as she watched and listened to Brian torment himself.