So it turned out that the reason why Volasko asked me to meet Kowalski at Central Park was because there was another 'dog' attack.
Twice in two days. That had to be a record, even for New York.
Everything was a mirror image of the first one. Shot in the head and the throat was ripped out. But this time, it was a woman that was attacked.
There was not much for Kowalski and me to do at the scene and we quickly returned to the office.
"So nice of you to get out of bed this morning and join us at work," Kowalski said sarcastically as we entered the homicide unit's bullpen.
Talk about hostility first thing in the morning. I got that I was late, but still, it didn't require that much attitude.
"Sorry," I said as I walked past him and over to Momma Bear's office.
I knocked on the door and waited for him to acknowledge me before opening his door.
"Hey Bossman, sorry about this morning," I said as I sat down in the guest chair across from him. He was as close to a father as I have had for the past 200 years and it really killed me to disappoint him.
He set down the file he was reviewing and looked at me.
"You're sure you're ok, Nads? If you need a few days off, you have the hours banked. Just let me know," he said, studying me.
"Yeah, yesterday was just a shit day and then it was one thing after another until I just couldn't deal. I will try not to let it affect me again."
"Nads, you are only human, of course, things are going to affect you. But you need to know that I am always here if you want to talk. Don't keep things inside, let me know what is going on." The sincerity in his eyes caused my walls to start to crumble.
I took a breath and told him as much as I could.
"Kowalski and I went to Knights Securities to interview Viktor Singer about a possible connection to The Specialist," I started.
"Is this the same Viktor Singer, CEO of Knights Securities, whose house you slept in and whose phone you borrowed this morning?" Mike asked, leaning back in his chair.
"It is," I confirmed. "But there is a long… story… to this all."
"Ok, you can tell me slowly what is going on."
"So, we go to Knights Securities, and I quickly realized that there was no way Viktor Singer was involved with The Specialist. I told this to Kowalski, and we got into a big disagreement over it." I stopped and took a breath of air. I needed to get this out.
"He told me that I must have a crush on the guy and that is why I refused to look at the evidence that he was involved. I argued with him and told him all the points as to why Viktor couldn't be in it, and he ignored everything I said." I looked at Mike to see how he was taking all this information.
He gestured for me to continue.
"To add insult to injury, I found out last night that Kowalski went to Knights Securities without me. And that was the whole start of everything. Throw in no peanut butter ice cream, little sleep, and a harsh trip down memory lane and I collapsed."
"Right, so can you tell me why you think that the information that we have on Knights Securities is inaccurate? Do you have a personal connection to Mr. Singer?" Mike asked.
"I don't know Viktor personally, but I do know OF him. His family and mine go way back, and because of that, he feels like he needs to protect me. That is who he is, he is a protector. He probably knows every legal code of every city and state in this country and every other one," I stressed
"He lives and breathes law and order, and for him to willingly or unwillingly commit a crime would drive him to insanity," I say trying to be as honest as possible without telling Mike too much.
"In addition to his strict moral code, the man is richer than God and has no need to sell weapons to The Specialist because whatever money he would earn from the sale would be pennies to what he normally earns in a day. As a criminal, The Specialist would be considered to be the scum of society by Viktor and beneath his notice."
"Alright, that is a convincing case for why Mr. Singer is not involved, but he has a big company. Is it possible that someone is selling the weapons behind his back?"
I shook my head. "His men have all gone militaristic training and have pledged loyalty to the company. They would not be able to go against Viktor."
Mike sat silent for a minute. "I can see where Kowalski might have concerns, but you also make a good case. I'll have to meet Mr. Singer sometime and have a talk with him."
I smiled at the man across from me and I was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. White stuck his head in and looked at me.
"Sokol, there is someone here asking for you," he said before he closed the door behind him.
Mike looked at me, put his glasses back on, and smiled. "You better go deal with that. I'll start thinking about pairing you up with someone else. I think Kowalski would do better with another partner."
I stood up and went around the desk. Giving Momma Bear a hug, I realized that maybe I wasn't as alone as I had originally thought.
-------------
I felt him even before I could see him. My blood sang as I came across another Pure-blood, but I had no idea who or what he was.
"Hello, I am Detective Sokol. How may I help you?" I asked as I approached the 6'5 man with shaggy brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and he seemed to think that he was the top dog in this office.
"Is there a place we can talk?" He replied, eyeing me up and down like he was trying to figure me out.
I nodded and took him into an empty conference room. Kowalski quickly followed. "If you need to talk to Miss. Sokol, I could probably answer your questions better," he said.
The unknown man shook his head. "Get out," he growled. Kowalski stiffened and left the room.
"You are a Gypsy," he started when we were once again alone in the room. "With all your pride intact."
"And you are a Pure-blood with no pride left," I snipped back.
How was it that I could go hundreds of years without meeting another Gypsy and yet, in the space of two days have met three of them?
He chuckled, "The Van Helsing has told me what is going on with your case. I'm here to tell you that it has nothing to do with me."
Okay, there were a lot of bombs in that sentence that I needed to unpack first.
Smiling as if my life depended on it I asked him, "You mean a Van Helsing. Not the Van Helsing. A…a..Van Helsing." Please, please, please don't tell me that I just spent the night in the arms of The Viktor Van Helsing, world-famous Monster Hunter, and head of the Knights of the Holy Order. Please tell me that my luck was not that bad.
The stranger tipped his head back and howled in laughter. "Oh, you are an interesting little thing, aren't you? What? V didn't tell you that he was the Van Helsing?" His laughter continued until I wanted to smack him to shut him up.