Aden followed Captain Paul Solace down to the basement, making a left at the bottom of the stairs. They stopped at the glass wall that separated them from the morgue. Rose was standing inside, alone with the female victim under the watchful eyes of her escorts. Her left hand rested lightly on the girls forehead while the right hand traced an invisible line down the center of the girl's chest; sunglasses perched atop her head. Her lips were twisted into eerie grin as if she was enjoying what she could see.
Belinda stood just inside the door, jaws tight, eyes narrowed in on the vampire with a contemptuous glare. Brian stood between her and the door, seemingly blocking the entrance, or exit maybe. The tiny beads of sweat that danced down Belinda's face went unnoticed; as did Brian's unusually loud breathing. Paul knew how this day would end yet it seemed as if Rose was getting too much pleasure at watching the others squirm. Her attention was drawn the victim's abdomen momentarily erasing the grin from her face, a slight mist veiled her irises. Her head snapped up and her misty red eyes bore into the Captain; she nodded her head, answering the question he held in his stare.
The color drained from his face. "I was afraid of that." He sighed.
Aden just looked at him in bewilderment. "Afraid of what?"
She put the sunglasses back down in front of her eyes and stepped away from the body. Her attention was on Aden. With a finger, she gestured for him to enter the room.
"You'll see." Paul answered, his eyes fixed on the dead girl's body. Sadness seemed to deepen the lines in his brow. "She wants you in there."
*
Aden took a deep breath and reached for the door. He forced his nerves into submission, entering carefully behind Brian who shifted ever so slightly to allow him in. He hated morgues. Every creepy feeling he could imagine crawled through his skin. Horror films couldn't cause the wave of fear and nausea that morgue could in his mind, nor could they do the place justice. It was much scarier in person. There was a stale scent of formaldehyde in the air mixed with a sweet floral perfume. His stomach flipped over on itself in disgust. He brought his hand to his nose, grimacing at the odor.
Rose snickered at him. "Don't like the smell, huh? I can't say I blame you." She sighed leaning against the drawers behind her. "Death is just so..." She didn't finish. Her jaw tightened as she straightened up. "How well do you know your co-workers, Aden... er... Agent Christopher?" .
"Well, I... I've been on force for three years now."
"That wasn't the question. Was it? Rookie." She stepped close enough to him to allow him to feel her breath on his face. He forgot to breathe. "I asked, how well do you know them? I mean... do you know why they don't like you?"
"I'm afraid..."
"Yes, I'm sure you are." She sauntered around the body lightly tracing the girls face with her right index finger. "Well, I'm gonna do you a favor... Agent. I'm going to tell you something about who you are working with."
"I don't see how tha..."
"You will." She tapped her head. "I know things."
"I'm aware of your abil..."
"Are you? Really?" The question was rhetorical. "Let me start with your dear Captain." She turned to face the man on the other side of the glass and waved. His eyes grew wide but he made no attempt to stop her. "He doesn't like you because you're too good at what you do. You make him look bad. You remember the case of the twelve-year-old boy found dead behind the school three years ago? Your first case, wasn't it?" He did. She continued. "You solved that case in less than a week. You found evidence that the old man overlooked without even breaking a sweat or working late. That kind of thing gets under his skin." She circled him now with her hand hovering just over the skin of his arm, careful not to touch him causing the hair on his arm to raise. "Then there's those cold case files you keep cracking. Every one a case he couldn't solve at the time they happened." She crossed back over to the window to face Aden's superior; flipped her sunglasses back atop her head. "How many Aden? How many criminals have you put away in the three years you've been here? Criminals that should have been put away a long, long time ago?"
He left the question hang in the air. She answered it for him. "Almost as many as I have." She faced him, her eyes hard as steel. "Be careful, Agent; good deeds are rarely rewarded." Confusion flashed in his eyes, then faded to understanding.
She sauntered back over to where Brian stood. Sweat glistening on his balding head. "Then there's good old Brian here." His eyes winced at her voice. "He's not a bad guy, per se. Hasn't broken an laws. Well, not man's laws anyway. Doesn't pay much regard for God's. But then, who does anymore. Sad really. He loves his wife and kids and works hard to provide for them. But like many selfish men, one woman just isn't enough. So, naturally, he's having an affair. It amazes me that any woman would even find this tub of lard attractive, yet this middle aged behemoth seems to have two vying for his affections." She made a face. "Purely grotesque, if you ask me."
"Now, Carma is my favorite." Giddiness could be the only word to describe the jubilation behind the statement. "But I'll keep that one to myself. Wouldn't be nearly as much fun if her story got out."
Rose stood inches from Belinda, staring into her frozen blue eyes. "Now as for the good doctor here;" she continued. "She's as ugly on the inside as Brian is on the outside. Too bad really; to waste such a pretty face." She traced the edge of the doctor's face with a gentle caress of her fingers Taking notice of ire and pain in the doctor's eyes.
She waved at the men behind the glass who had arrived at Paul's request and suddenly there were eight men including the captain and Carma standing in the morgue; circling Belinda and the body. Rose squared her shoulders as she faced her audience. "Amanda Benning. Born in Hartford, Connecticut to Rachel and Demetri Benning, December18th 1989. This girl is not the seventh; but rather the second of only two... er... three rather. She's three months pregnant. Not the victim of your bloodsucker. For one thing, she still has her fingernails. Unlike the others. Feel free to take notes as I won't be repeating any of this." A few people withdrew notepads and pens and began scribbling away as she continued her assessment.
"Secondly, she's still wearing her jewelry. Also unlike the others." She held up the left hand of the girl showing off a rather large diamond ring. "She got engaged three nights ago on her twenty-first birthday. Her last memory was making love her fiance' after the proposal which means two things. One, she accepted the proposal. And two; she died that night."
"So we're looking for her fiance'?" Aden posed.
She humphed at him in mild frustration. "Try to keep up boy. I don't do repeats. He couldn't have killed her because he himself was already dead. He met his demise when he returned home that evening to tell his wife he wanted a divorce." She let the sudden gasps fade before continuing. "Using the drug Ketamine Hydrochloride while the victim was asleep, the killer was allowed to murder the girl without a struggle. If you look at the right arm, you'll find the puncture mark inside the fold of her elbow. A toxicology will show lethal amounts of the drug in her system. She then drained the blood to make it look like your bloodsucker did the dirty deed, but she fortunately she didn't do a very good job. The girl still has a couple of pints. Her blood was then drained to make it look like your... what does the press call him? Oh yes, the "Nail Clipper Killer", stupid name if you ask me. It was made to look as if your nail clipper killer did the dirty deed."
"But how was she able to dispose of the body without leaving any traces? Footprints? DNA?" Again, Aden.
"Still waiting for the cab, I see. I'll let you ask her." Her eyes turned to Belinda noticing the sweat forming on her brow. "Hello, Belinda darling. Are you feeling okay? Should someone call a medic?" She gave that eerie smile and turned to the row of body chambers in the wall. Two fluid strides brought in front of the last compartment. "Shall I?" Her question directed to the doctor. Ignoring her pleading eyes she opened the drawer and pulled the sheet off the male victim. "I give you the girl's fiancé; the father to the child in her womb and the reason you are all here."
"But that's the John Doe that was brought in last night. The drowning victim. He was homeless." Agent Fitzgerald complained.
"John Doe?" She snickered. "I think you should start investigating the bodies they bring here, yourself Car-ma. His name is John. I'll give you that much. But not Doe. Rather, Madsen. John Henry Madsen." She let them cast their accusing eyes at the fair doctor for a moment. To Carma, she continued, "You can check his prints yourself this time and find that I am right. Age? Thirty-seven. Married fifteen years until, of course he asked for divorce three nights ago." It was clear she was enjoying this way too much.. "You see, Belinda. Nothing escapes my sight. You were one of the first on scene which would explain your prints and DNA being there, wouldn't it." Her face softened a bit a a single tear escaped the doctor's steeled blue eyes. "I guess the saying is true then, about Hell having no fury like a woman scorned."
Aden was dumbfounded. The young agent certainly didn't see that one coming. He watched in stifled amazement as the medical examiner was read her rights. Her eyes never moving from the red-eyed vixen who exposed her secret. He reminded himself to breathe while he let it all soak in. Belinda was taken into custody as they filed out of the morgue.
Aden pulled up behind Rose in the hallway; it was her that wore the floral scent. So much sweeter than death. Unable to resist he breathed in her aroma in an attempt to dispel the odor of death that was lodged in his sinuses. She stopped to face him causing him to nearly smack into her. His shoes squeaked against the smooth floor as he braked. "You're a brave man, Agent Christopher." she snapped. "Very brave indeed."
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you Miss... um... er... Rose."
She pulled her glasses to the end of her nose to stare into his eyes. "Captain?" she demanded without looking at him.
"Yes, Rose?" his voice quivering a bit.
"Will you be needing the services of this rookie anymore today? Or tomorrow for that matter?"
"Um... well..." He paused before answering with a simple, "no."
Aden eyes widened with uncertainty. "Good." She smiled still staring at the young agent. "I need a ride home. My previous escort, I fear is currently... shall we say... unavailable. Oh, and Paul?"
"Yes.?"
"I want to see the next body before it's moved. Can you make that happen? Paul?" He nodded.