34: The Unlikely Duo – Pt. 1

“Hey, Vik, someone’s here to see you,” Lou yelled from the bullpen towards the lounge. It was another hectic day at work and the precinct was a flurry of activity. Police officers dressed in their blues milled about shuffling papers back and forth to different departments as several conversations shot off in every corner of the building concerning one case or another.

With twenty-one active homicides and another three aggregated from burglary, the detective’s bureau was stretched pretty thin. Victoria had been working longer nights, some shifts totaling 48 hours without breaks and she was doing all she could to stay on her feet and get her desk cleared but it wasn’t easy. Between the gallons of coffee and tea she consumed she had about a dozen witness testimonies to sift through and a handful of interrogations to conduct.

Poking her head around the corner she saw the tailored shirt and well managed mane belonging to none other than Derrick and he turned with a smile and waved at her before dropping into the chair beside her desk. Victoria finished pouring herself a cup of coffee, her fifth already this afternoon, and slowly meandered over towards him with a scowl she didn’t try to hide. “I have seven cases that need my attention right now and a partner who so far today is a no show, Derrick. I don’t have time for whatever it is you’re about to tell me needs me more.”

“And a very good morning to you too, Victoria, I AM doing well thanks for asking,” he responded to her abrupt comment. He smirked trying his best to weave through the tension he felt pouring off of her in spades but Victoria’s glower remained. “Fine. I guess I will just reschedule ‘World Destruction’ for a time that’s more convenient for you. When do you think? Next Tuesday, 2pm?”

“Derrick…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Loretta called and said she got a lead on one of the talismans. She asked me to let you know because it appears that either your cell phone is dead or you’re just ignoring her calls. I told her it was the latter because well...she made it no secret I was her favorite and you were obviously a little jealous of that.”

Victoria glanced at the device on her desk and sighed. “Great!” she huffed finally noticing the blinking red light on the top right corner. “When did that happen?” Grabbing the cord from her bottom right desk drawer, she plugged in the phone and listened to its merry beeping before dropping into her seat beside Derrick with frustration.

“Bad day?”

“Bad week. Mike has been out sick since Monday so I had to tackle the first three cases that crossed our desks alone not to mention this ongoing serial thing. He was supposed to be back today but apparently that’s not going to happen and I’m at my wit’s end on these things,” she growled and pushed a stack of folders in front of her, watching them fall aimlessly around her already cluttered desk.

“Well what are they? Maybe I can add some perspective for you,” Derrick offered and began sorting through the file folders sitting on Victoria’s desk.

“You know that’s not exactly legal right? Rifling through my desk.”

“And who’s gonna tell? You? Are you finally gonna put those cuffs on me, Detective? I know you’ve been dying to since we met.” Finally Victoria smiled and Derrick laughed in his throat as she leaned back and dropped an opened folder onto her keyboard.

“You’re not going away are you?”

“Nope! Not until I get what I came for.”

“Which is?”

“You.” He smiled wide and leaned back in his seat with his arms behind his head. 

“Tell you what, you help me get through all seven of my case files and I’ll gladly give you my time.” Derrick gestured with his hand in a ‘bring it on’ fashion and Victoria nodded towards the top folder on the stack. “This one is a domestic that turned homicide. A woman claims her ex-husband broke into her house threatening to kill her so she had no choice but to shoot him first.”

“Oh well that one sounds easy enough and I’m sure we’ll be able to sort through the who, what, where and why in no time. So that’s, six more to go?”

“Minor problem, her ex-husband’s been dead for three years.”

“Oh. Oooh this isn’t a um, supernatural thing is it?” Derrick leaned over and whispered as an officer brushed passed his arm.

“No, it’s a ‘this woman belongs in a looney bin somewhere’ thing. Seriously I think she’s cracked. If you heard the way she described him breaking into her bedroom; like something out of Poltergeist. There was blood on the scene which has been sent to the lab for testing but no disturbance around the husband’s grave. No eyewitnesses to back up her story. No one heard her scream, only the gunshots.”

“And what if it turns out to be this guy?”

“Then it’s insurance fraud and possible homicide only how do you convict someone for killing a person who was already supposedly dead? There was enough blood on scene to indicate a fatality but no blood trail leading out of the house. So unless the guy sprouted wings and flew…”

“Well it’s been known to happen,” Derrick grinned facetiously. “And you’re sure you can rule out the supernatural?”

“At this point, I’m not sure about anything. On top of that I’m dealing with what I think is a mental break with my partner, a boss who’s riding me for results because his superiors are riding him and coffee that is only working towards more bathroom breaks than keeping me awake.”

“Which is why NOW would be the perfect time to get away from it all. Take a small break and go scavenger hunting with me; it’ll be fun.”

That smirk crossed his lips once more and Victoria growled inwardly and closed her eyes. “Fine, fine. You win. Let’s get out of here.” She stood from her desk, grabbed her cell phone and the top files from her inbox and started towards the door. 

Looking around the parking lot she didn’t see his motorcycle and turned to him with furrowed brows. “Did you…”

“Sprout wings and fly? Yes. It’s the fastest way around town. Plus I figured we could just use your car; my bike’s not workload friendly,” he remarked, motioning towards the folders in her hands.

“Here, you drive,” she replied, tossing her keys in his direction. “I don’t want to be responsible for harming other people on the road if I fall asleep behind the wheel.”

“Well then, feel free to take a nap; I’ll wake you when we get there.”

“Where are we going exactly?” she asked and slid into the passenger seat. Shutting her door, she buckled her belt and let the seat down into a comfortable position.

“My place first. There’s some stuff I need to pick up before we head out to Sunset Valley.”

“Whoa backup, what’s in Sunset Valley?” Derrick’s response was just a smile as he started up the jeep and pulled out of the lot. “I just have to grab a few things and I’ll be right down,” Derrick spoke as he pulled into his yard. “If you’re hungry you can grab something from the kitchen.”

“You mean the box of stale cheerios and botulism green peas? Thanks but no thank you.”

“No, I mean I went shopping for actual edible food.”

“What? Aww you went shopping for me? That’s very thoughtful of you, Derrick.”

“Yeah I figured if you were gonna come over often it’s the least I could do. So I took the liberty of stocking the kitchen with some essentials. There’s strawberry, chocolate chip cookie dough and rocky road ice cream. Hershey’s kisses with almonds, Snickers bars, homemade chocolate chip cookies, um, Chai and Green teas – perfect herbal blend, you’ll love them and pickles.”

“Essentials? What am I five? That’s like a candy store for a kid.”

“I just wanted to make you a bit more comfortable around my place.”

“Oh so you’re buttering me up with sweets. Trying to get me nice and stuffed so you can shove me in the oven is that it?”

“Well, you ARE a witch,” Derrick grinned. “And well last night I kind of um…I can sense you’re…well I read somewhere that women liked sweets when Mother Nature…”

“Oh my God, Derrick!”

“What? It’s not bad. It’s just…blood and I am a vampire.” Victoria quickly turned and started for the upstairs bathroom. “Where are you going?”

“To shower, a lot.”

“That won’t help. I have a strong sense of smell.” Victoria looked at him in shock and Derrick shrugged, trying his best to keep himself from smiling. “Really it’s not bad. You smell like orange blossoms. I just also smell that you’re…”

“Ok, Derrick, I get it,” she growled putting her hands up to stop him from repeating himself again. “You think we can maybe NEVER mention this again? I mean EVER. It’s a normal monthly thing for me and I don’t want to have this conversation again.” Derrick made a zipper motion across his lips and shoved his fingers into his pocket. “Well…thanks for the chocolate,” Victoria responded mildly and pulled her arms against her chest protectively.

“You’re welcome, Victoria. You think I can ask what exactly chocolate does for you this time of month? No?” Derrick smiled and excused himself, rushing along his house. Victoria watched him disappear up the stairs before showing herself to the living room and dropping down on the couch. She listened to him move around the many rooms of his large home gathering various items he believed were necessary for the trip.

After a while the cabinets stop slamming and Victoria pulled herself from the sofa and entered the kitchen to satisfy her growling stomach. “Ham, cheese, mayonnaise…bread, bread, bread where’s the bread?” she asked and opened the several cabinets in the enormous kitchen. Victoria laughed to herself as she realized her undead host left off a vital part of sandwich creation as she made her way up the stairs in search of him.

“Derrick, where do you keep the…oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Victoria quickly turned her back as she found herself faced with a naked vampire just stepping into his bedroom from a shower. “I didn’t mean to uh…sorry.”

He laughed as she covered her eyes and apologized profusely. “Relax, Detective, I’m not upset you wanted to ogle me again, I get it. It’s perfectly natural, you being a woman, me the ideal model of man. I understand you wanted to see the goods.”

“What? I sooo did not! I had NO idea you were even in there and…”

“Right because you didn’t hear the water running from downstairs? Really it’s ok. Here, take a gander, I’m sure your eyes will thank you for it.”

“That’s ok I’m good.” Victoria smiled in spite of herself as the sight of his nude body dripping wet replayed vividly in her mind. It was almost as great as the first time she saw him topless; rippling muscles and a toned physique. The only difference is this time she didn’t have to imagine what was below his belt; this time she saw the whole package. And what a package it was. Though soft, she could tell that when he got excited, he stood at an impressive length. Victoria started for the door but Derrick swiftly stepped in front of her blocking her hasty retreat, his nude torso brushing against her arm as he posed in the doorway. “Derrick!”

“What’s your hurry? This is what you came for after all or was there another reason you barged into my bedroom?” he glanced over at his bed and watched Victoria’s cheeks fill with color.

“I, no, what, NO! I came for bread now let me out of here.”

“Fine. But this might be your last chance for a show,” he winked seductively and stepped forward.

Suddenly the sound of skin hitting skin struck her ears and she noticed he was rotating his hips. He was successfully slapping his dick against his thigh and smiling the louder it got. Helicopter dick really? She thought and did her best to keep her eyes on his. “Do you think I can finish my sandwich sometime this century, Derrick?”

“What? You have an incredibly sexy vampire with a rocking bod standing in front of you completely naked and you’re pretending like you don’t want to at least peek at my third leg?”

“Geez all that ego! How do you keep your hair looking so nice with such a big head?”

“A-ha so you DID see it!”

“That’s not the head I was talking about! Seriously we just had this discussion downstairs about Mother Nature and you think I want to hop into bed with you?”

“Like I said, it’s just blood. What part of me being a vampire slipped passed you?” 

“Wow. That’s just…I can’t even comment on that, Derrick.”

Making a motion with his eyes he tried getting Victoria to look down but she wasn’t going for it and he sighed. “The bread is in the pantry, outside kitchen wall. I got both white and wheat because I didn’t know what you preferred.” Now it was Victoria’s turn to smile as Derrick growled his discontent.

“Thanks.” Stepping to the side, he allowed Victoria to exit the room and she quickly moved into the hallway. She stopped just on the other side of the door and turned back with a grin, “Nice butt,” she laughed and headed back downstairs. A phantom smile grew on his lips as he shut the door to get dressed.

“So what did that guy say to you anyway when he came into your bedroom?” Derrick asked once the two were on the road leaving Avondale.

Victoria looked over at Derrick in confusion at first and he met her gaze as he clarified his question. “I don’t know, Derrick, I was being choked to death. I wasn’t at all focused on what he was saying I was just trying to stay alive. I told you it was in Latin, that’s the best I can make it out.”

“Think on it, Victoria, it could be important,” he switched lanes, merging onto the freeway heading towards Sunset Valley. His passenger sighed at him before sitting back in her seat and closing her eyes to try and focus.

“Corpus terram exterminatore…vivet rursum…this is stupid. There’s no way I’ll be able to remember that.”

“Alright then let’s talk about something else. Tell me about this case you’re working; the serial thing.”

“I don’t know,” Victoria shrugged and looked out the window. “It seems to be some vampire with a real hatred for women. He drains them dry and leaves their bodies in random places; the last one was thrown out with the trash, sickening.”

“Is anything taken from them? Besides the obvious I mean.”

Turning the radio down a bit, Victoria pulled a file from the box on the backseat and glanced at it a moment. “They’re found without ID, no purses, money or jewelry; sort of like he’s trying to make this appear like random muggings.”

“But you know better than that,” Derrick smiled showing off his fangs as he did.

“Indeed I do. There’s something rather strange about them too. Each victim found had gold flecks on the tips of their fingers.”

“You mean like glitter?”

“Yeah sort of like glitter just a bit larger. Mike and I haven’t been able to figure out its significance yet though.” She dropped the file back in the box with a grunt and rolled her hand over her face. “So you never told me what was in Sunset Valley.”

“I know,” he grinned devilishly and Victoria’s eyes narrowed towards him. “Talisman #1, Moon Beam, said to have the ability to harvest the moon’s energy. Its last known location was with a man named Tony Ridgedale. I was able to glean some information from his personal aide that will help us.”

“Help us do what exactly?”

“You and I are gonna liberate it.”

“You mean steal it.”

“See. I told you this would be fun! Sit back and enjoy, Detective!”

“What am I letting you get me into?” she asked with shaky confidence and listened as Derrick laughed and took the exit for Sunset.

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