Marty pulled up to Charlie's Tavern. Mike had said he didn't want him to go alone but Marty didn't think Mike could handle what he thought he was going to find out. He got out of the car with a wince of pain and headed in. It was a hole. The place stunk of stale sweat and loneliness. There were just three people in the place. Two bikers playing pool and drinking beer and the bartender. Marty approached the bar.
"Gimme a Bud." he said
"We don't get many cops in here." the bartender said "Who you lookin' for?"
"I didn't think I was that obvious." smirked Marty. He saw that the bartender didn't have a sense of humor about it. "Do you know a guy named Stott. Jeffrey Stott?"
"Yeah, I know him. What's he done?" replied the bartender.
"Nothing. He's missing. Someone said he hangs out here so we thought we'd have a look."
"Missing, huh? Probably on a bender somewhere. He's a heavy drinker. Jack and coke. He'll turn up."
"Just the same I want to do my due diligence." Marty said before the bartender could turn away.
"Do you know who he hung out with? Maybe they've seen him somewhere and we can call off the search."
The bartender looked at Marty for a long time not saying anything. Marty waited him out. It was several minutes before the bartender finally gave in thinking he was on the up and up.
"He started hanging out with the goth types that just popped up here. He was always looking for under the table work and goths always had sneaky stuff going on. I saw him here with one named Kimberly just a few days ago.
Looked like serious talk. Not just hanging out. They didn't exactly look like they were friends, if you know what I mean. She was young and gorgeous; long blonde hair, great stems. She didn't notice anyone gawking because she's used to it. Most beauty I've ever seen in one person."
"Do you see a lot of the goths here? I didn't think they'd mix with your ambiance."
"They started piling in a few weeks ago. Haven't seen any in a few days though. Sucks. It was good for business. Do you really want that beer or are we done here?"
Marty thought about it for a minute. He could use a nice cold beer but, he refused.
"No, I'm on the clock. Maybe another time."
"Yeah, sure." said the bartender turning away. He was certain he'd never see that cop again.
`
O utside in the car Marty's head was spinning. Kimberly, that's all I have to go on he thought and started the car. He checked traffic and headed toward the station. I hope the forensics team found something.
He walked in to his partner smiling broadly.
"What's got you grinning?" he asked.
"Forensics says that there was a shitload of blood recently cleaned up in that loft of Stott's. Say there must have been gallons of it."
"Any of it belong to Stott?" Marty asked, sitting down.
"Not sure" said Mike looking at the forlorn face of his partner "Didn't find anything at that bar, did you?"
"Just a first name of a goth that Stott was working for. Kimberly. That's it. No sign of him or the goths for a few days."
Marty sat forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the desk. Mike was talking but Marty wasn't listening. He was convinced Kimberly was a vampire, not a goth. And Stott did her dirty work during the day. He got sloppy and she took him out.
"Hey, are you listening?" it was Mike.
"Yeah. No. Listen, we need to talk. And not here. Let's get a coffee."
Mike studied Marty's face. Something in his look made Mike realize there was something serious on his partner's mind. "Yeah. ok." he said sheepishly.
They both grabbed their coats and headed out of the station.
`
After they each got a coffee and a donut Marty led Mike over to a corner and sat down. Far from any ears.
"What's on your mind, partner?" Mike asked, serious.
"I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to believe but I promise you it is true. You're going to think I've gone off of the deep end but I swear on my mother's grave that what I'm about to tell you is real."
Mike sat dumbly staring at his partner. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. Marty took a bite of his donut, chewed slowly, swallowed and took a sip of coffee.
"Vampires exist." he said
Mike sat there for a moment studying Marty's face waiting for him to smile. Then Mike smiled.
"You're joking."
"No." was Marty's reply, zero emotion, stoic face.
"There's no way vampires are real. We'd know about them. We investigate murders, we find killers. We investigate missing persons. If there were a race of vampires loose we would know about them."
"They have rules."
"Rules? What the fuck does that mean?"
"Yeah, rules. They don't kill any good humans. Only the bad ones. They take out the garbage of society, the ones we can't get off of the street. And they're careful how they dispose of the bodies after they drink the blood. They take out people who aren't really the type we look for and they have ways of getting rid of the bodies so we don't find what we aren't looking for. They're very careful and very regimented about their rules."
Mike was still waiting for Marty to tell him he was joking. After a couple of minutes he didn't think Marty was joking.
"How could they...? How could we...? But ..." he trailed off.
"Believe me partner, they're real. I dated one, a couple lifetimes ago, it seems.. That's how I know. Obviously I couldn't stay with her knowing that she killed people but I looked the other way. I loved her." And then added. "Still do."
"You dated a vampire? How do you know? Did she bite you? How do you know she was a vampire? I don't understand." Mike shook his head.
"I don't know everything but I'll tell you what I know." Marty sipped his coffee again. His throat was so dry. "They drink blood to stay alive. They can live on animal blood, and some do, but human blood is best for them. They have super strength and speed and heal almost instantly. They are burned by the sun but I know some of them are immune somehow. I think it's because the older they get, the more powerful they get. So maybe the healing gets better so they can tolerate the sun? I know that they can turn a human by drinking from them but not draining them dry. I know that they can't turn anyone under the age of 21 or so, depending on maturity, no matter if they drink or not but they can kill them if they drink them dry. The only way to kill them is to cut off their heads or drain their blood completely."
Mike couldn't believe what he was hearing. He sat numbly trying to wrap his mind around all of this.
"So, all of those books and movies ... they were about real vampires?"
"Well, I don't know about that but I know they're real. And I think they're the ones behind all of those murders and missing persons." he cleared his throat and took another sip of coffee.
"When I went to that bar the bartender told me a bunch of goths started showing up right when the murders and missing persons started and disappeared a few days ago. I think this Kimberly was the leader of a pack of vampires. I think she paid Stott to do her cleaning up and he got sloppy. When we started noticing, she took him out to cover herself and probably skipped town."
"Okay, assuming I believe any of this, which I don't, what's the plan from here?"
"Well, we have to try and find this Kimberly, if she is still in the city. We have to find out why she was breaking the rules and report her to the vampires so they can take care of her."
"Why bring her to them? We can just lock her up and let the sun cook her. "
"Good luck. Even if she is a newer vampire, which she probably isn't if she's running a pack, you and I couldn't take her down. Shit, the whole force couldn't, she's too strong. She'd kill us easily. If we find her and report her to the vampires they will deal with her. They have their own government."
"Their own government?!? Listen to what you're saying. Have you lost it, man? Not only are you saying that vampires exist but that they have a shadow government that we don't know about and they operate completely under the radar."
"Well, not completely. Obviously Kimberly was breaking the rules and Stott couldn't, or wouldn't, cover it up for her anymore. That's when we noticed." He gave Mike a minute to process it all. "If I'm right we have to find her fast before she skips town forever."
Mike sat there silently for several minutes struggling to process all of this. Finally, he leaned forward on his elbows and looked deep into Marty's eyes.
"Okay. I'm in. Let's get her." he said. "What's the plan?"
"Well, the first thing we have to do is go to the vampires' Magistrate and tell them what we know. Then they'll start looking for her, too. If we find her first, we tell them where she is and they take her down."
"Okay .... do you have any idea how we do that?"
"Yeah, I know where they are. I have for a long time."
`
The brakes squealed to a stop in front of nondescript office space. There was a sign for an accountant's office and a lawyer's.
"This is it?" asked Mike "I was expecting ... well, I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. I guess I expected to go down a long, dark road to an old gothic building."
"Nope. They hide in plain sight. This is it, let's go." said Marty and he got out of the car. They walked into the foyer of the office building and Marty led Mike up a flight of stairs and off to the side. They went down a hallway and entered a door marked simply "Magistrate".
Inside it looked like a doctor's office. A small waiting area in front of a counter. Marty flashed his badge to the receptionist and asked to see the Magistrate.
"Of course, Inspector. Please have a seat." replied the girl behind the counter. As they took their seats she made a quiet phone call. A few minutes later an officer appeared from the back and asked for the Inspector.
"That's us." said Marty and stood up. Mike was apprehensive, even a little scared. He just kept thinking that all of these people were vampires. He hesitated. Marty turned back and smiled.
"Relax, partner. Nobody here will hurt us."
Inside the Magistrate's office Mike was still on high alert. He kept his hand close to his piece. It made him feel better. They sat in the two chairs facing the desk and the Magistrate began.
"Would you gentlemen care for a water?"
"No, thanks, we're fine" said Marty "We're here on serious business."
"Yes. I believe I know why you are here inspector. The recent killings and missing persons in and around San Francisco. Correct?"
"Exactly. We have some information that may be of use to you."
"Well, we would certainly welcome any assistance, and we will share what we know in return."
"Our investigation led to a man named Jeffrey Stott. A human, we think, but tracking him led to a name. Kimberly.
I think that she is a vampire and I think that she has been breaking the rules."
"We were investigating the same murders and missing persons." said the Magistrate and offered a dish of candy which Marty waved aside.
"Kimberly is a vampire. Well, she was. She has been killed. She gathered many vampires from this area and made a move. I'm sure you noticed how things became suddenly quiet a few days ago? There was a battle. We won and Kimberly and her army were killed, save but a few who escaped. The danger here in San Francisco is over."
"Well, that's certainly good news but I have a job to do. I have to explain all of these deaths and missing persons. As you can see I am inclined to work with you but I need something to bring to my bosses. And that certainly cannot be the truth. Unless you don't provide me with a good explanation I'm going to keep tracking this and it leads where it leads."
The Magistrate studied Marty. He could see that Marty was unafraid and serious.
"Give me two days. I will find a suitable explanation for you and your bosses and we can put all of this mess behind us. Is that acceptable to you?"
"Two days. The clock starts ticking when I walk out of here." Marty said "C'mon Mike." Marty stood up and turned just before the door. "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."
"Not at all. We welcome the help of the human police whenever they appear."
`
Outside Mike was still reeling. He had no idea what had just happened. He thought he saw Marty threaten a vampire but couldn't believe it. They got in the car and Marty started it up but didn't move.
"So now we sit on our hands for two days and wait?" asked Mike.
"No. We find Stott. If they can't come up with some explanation we still have to. We will wait until tonight and go back to that bar. Someone saw Stott and knows where he is. Right now we are headed to that warehouse he used for an address."