Vampire Shift - By Tim O'Rourke Page 0,16

the window and looked out. After a few moments, he appeared below and made his way to his car. Unaware that I was watching him, he climbed into the front seat. Then he did something so strange and unexpected, I gasped aloud. Taking the sweatshirt he’d wrapped around my wrist, he raised it to his face and sniffed the bloodstains that I’d left on it.

Starting the engine of his car, he sped off down the country lane and disappeared from view.

Chapter Seven

I slept to just before six, and when I woke, my room was in darkness. Still wearing my jogging bottoms and T–shirt, I remembered crashing out on my bed after Luke had left earlier. I’d only intended to doze but was grateful that I’d slept well, as I had my first nightshift starting in just over an hour.

Crossing to the window, I looked out at the cold December evening and could see that it was raining again. Didn’t it ever stop raining in this town? I wondered. After a quick bath, I got dressed into my uniform and went downstairs. Before leaving my room, I snatched up the tiny silver crucifix and stuffed it into my shirt pocket. For luck, I thought to myself. As soon as I stepped onto the landing, I could smell roast beef wafting up from downstairs. The smell of it made my stomach somersault with hunger, but I didn’t have time to stop and eat, I’d have to grab something later while out on patrol.

As I made my way down the stairs, I pulled my mobile phone from my pocket. The signal bar was still glowing red – telling me there was no reception. I was still keen to contact Sergeant Phillips – if nothing more than to update him to how I was settling in. As I passed through the bar area, the old woman was shuffling back and forth behind it.

“Do you have a phone I could use?” I asked her.

“Phone?” she said.

“Yeah, I need to make a call and don’t seem to be able to get a signal on my mobile,” I told her.

“Sure we have a phone,” the old woman said.

“Do you think I could you use it please?”

“You could if it worked,” she said, eyeing me with her glazed stare.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked her. “Is the phone broken?”

“Not broken,” she cackled. “This god-darn weather we’ve been having has brought down all the lines in the area. God only knows why we even bother to pay for line rental in these parts – they’re always coming down.”

Looking into her watery eyes, I said, “Not to worry – I’ll use the phone at the station.”

“Good luck dear,” she half-smiled as I turned away.

Throwing my hat and utility belt onto the passenger seat, I made the drive to the police station. As it had the night before, rain and wind lashed onto my tiny car, and I gripped the wheel, hoping that I could keep it on the road. Leaning forward, I switched on the radio and was met with the deafening sound of static. Switching it off, I sat back in the seat and began to feel that the world outside The Ragged Cove was fast disappearing.

Parking my Mini outside the station, I grabbed my kit and hurried inside. Sergeant Murphy was sat as I’d found him the night before, slippered feet propped up on his desk, pipe dangling from the corner of his mouth. Potter was on the other side of the desk and was filling out some paperwork, a cigarette smouldering away in an ashtray in front of him. Again, I looked at the No-Smoking sign fastened to the wall. Potter caught me looking at it and he just grinned at me.

The door leading from the front office opened and Luke stood on the other side of it.

“Evening Kiera,” he smiled.

“Hello Luke,” I said, and thought of how I’d seen him sniffing the sweatshirt with my blood on it.

“You okay?” he asked me.

“Sure,” I said.

“It’s just that you look a bit apprehensive,” he said.

“First night nerves,” I smiled back.

“You’ve got nothing to be nervous about,” Sergeant Murphy said. “We’re one big family here.”

“I’ll show her where everything is,” Luke said, guiding me to a door set into the far wall. Leading me into a narrow corridor, he pointed out the female bathroom and locker room, the mess room, and exhibits store. At the end of the corridor was a secured cabinet. Taking a key from his