How to Elude a Vampire (VRC Vampire Related Crimes #2) - Alice Winters Page 0,26
receive blood, we know he almost has to be in the system somewhere. They’re referencing data from overseas now to see if the vampire came over here and isn’t registered yet,” Finn explains.
“Okay,” I say as I head to my own chair. As I go to sit down, Finn’s phone rings.
“This is Hayes… yeah… we’ll be right up, thank you.” He hangs up and looks at me. “Foster wants to talk to us about the recording.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
I follow him to the stairs as I realize something. “Why is it everyone calls you now? I’m head of this, shouldn’t they call me?”
Finn grins as he bumps his shoulder into mine. “It’s because they love me.”
“Why, though? Why don’t they just want to eat you?” I ask like this is a real concern.
“Because they’re scared to even look at me wrong. Everyone heard what happened to Wren when he threatened me.”
I growl. Just hearing the name irritates me. “I should have crushed his bones.” I mime crushing his throat which only gives me minor satisfaction.
“And you question why everyone calls me instead of you.”
I think about that for a moment. “I still don’t get it.”
Finn starts laughing, which is ultimately my goal in just about everything. Since we’re on the stairwell, completely alone, I reach over and tip his chin up before giving him a quick kiss.
“What’s that for? Do you think I’m cute or something?” he teases.
“Or something.”
He snickers as he reaches over and squeezes my hand.
On the second floor, we head over to Foster’s area where we find her seated behind her computer—a location she rarely leaves. Seeing as she deals with analyzing anything that has to do with technology, her ideal spot is behind a computer, working away. Since desk jobs like this one don’t require the vampire to be exposed to excess blood, we end up with more analysts than people who can work in the field. Foster has been working for us for years and has an eye for things that most look right over, so I’m optimistic she has something for us.
She smiles when she sees us. “Hey, guys. Thanks for coming up here. Sadly, I don’t have anything perfect, but hopefully, something I do have can help.”
Foster waves us over to her computer and plays the video again. This time it goes slow enough that we can see the man, although it’s blurry as fuck. “From the comparison pictures you took of Hayes, we’re aware we’re looking at someone about six foot one. Body structure tells me it’s most likely a male. From what little I can depict from the picture, we have someone who has darker hair. Black, brown, or even a dark red. The shoes look like Nike by this smudge here.” She trails over the “smudge” with the tip of a pen she’s holding. “I believe that’s the symbol, but the camera was meant to pick up wildlife, not vampires rushing past. In his arms is something large. Even though he’s holding it on the far side of his body, it’s safe to assume that this is the body of Tonya Everest. But I’ve been over the surveillance videos for days in order to compare our nightly terror to everyone who’s gone past this camera at any point in the past week.” She moves to a clip of another video, this one during the day. It’s of a man jogging with what looks like a Labrador. She has a compilation of him, every day, jogging with his dog right at his side.
“You think that might be him?” Finn asks as he scrutinizes the video again.
She taps the air in front of the screen with her pen. “What stands out is that he only missed one day of jogging: the day she was found.”
“Do we have an ID on him?” Finn asks.
“We do. A Mr. Barnett Adler. He’s from England and moved here about four months ago. That means he would also match our theory on DNA as well, seeing as he wouldn’t have to get registered until he’s been here six months or is planning on living here. We’ve contacted someone in England to run the DNA and see if we can find a match from their vampire database. Let’s hope we have an answer shortly,” she says with a smile.
“That’s excellent news,” Finn says. “If we’ve already pinned the guy, things will be looking up. We need to stop him before he has a chance to strike again.”