Jack Kursed (18 page)

"And who says the state is
slow?" he said with a laugh. His humor faded as his patience slowly
eroded. "What are you saying, Officer?"

"I'm saying something doesn't add up.
I'd like you and Tiffany to come down to the station with me. We'll
straighten everything out, figure out what's going on."

"I'd rather not. Tiffany's
seen enough police stations for a while. We're getting ready to eat
dinner, enjoy a nice night in. We finally got her room together, if
you want to see it. Spongebob Squarepants."

Thomas smiled, but it was for
appearance only.

"Please, you can follow me
down."

"Shouldn't you be worried
about other things? Like a crazy woman with guns and drugs in her
house? Or maybe the two displaced girls she nearly
killed?"

"The guns were legal. They were
registered in her name."

"Wow. They let fosters carry
guns?"

"It's in the
constitution."

"Is it now? So that makes it all okay?
You know, maybe you should go back to cop school, instead of
bothering me. Tiffany told you she was abused, many times. You
didn't believe her."

"She also said she saw a
monster in the alley. We were wrong. It happens. Even a dumb girl
can be right sometimes."

Jack's hands froze as he sprinkled
shredded cheese. Victoria shifted uncomfortably on the couch,
telling him silently to control his temper.

"Excuse me?"

"Please, get Tiffany and
let's go to the station."

Jack smirked and looked down to hide
his rage, staring at his pizza. His lip twitched only for a moment
as he looked Thomas in the eye.

"If I'm not under arrest, then I will
politely decline your invitation to the station."

"I can always make up a
reason to arrest you."

"Officer Thomas, you seem
like a good man. Maybe not a good cop, but a good man. So, I'm
gonna give you the chance to turn around and walk away. I'm sure
you've got other things to worry about than messing with a young
girl's life."

"Did you...just threaten me? You've
got thirty seconds to get Tiffany and get moving."

"Jack," Victoria said, rising to her
feet. "Just go with him to the station. I'll make a few calls,
clear all this up in no time."

He shook his head as he
reached for his phone.

"Not necessary."

Victoria smiled as she listened to
Jack's conversation. Thomas couldn't hear, but she heard every
word. Jack engaged in small talk with a man named David for a
minute or so before getting serious.

"Look, about why I called," Jack said.
"Remember what I said might happen?" He smiled as he held out the
phone to Thomas. "It's for you."

Thomas had a look of
confusion as he accepted the phone. He was lucky to get five words
in the conversation as his expression changed from surprise to
fear. His hand shook as he handed Jack his phone.

"That was the chief of police," Thomas
said. "I've just been suspended."

Jack faked a look of
concern. "That's terrible. Maybe some time off will do you good.
Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get on with dinner. The door's
right over there."

Thomas said nothing else as he slowly
left the house, walking like a zombie. Victoria shook her head at
him as he slid the pizza in the oven.

"I warn people all the
time," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "I say, 'Don't
fuck with me.' And they do. Then they end up with a bloody nose.
Not my fault."

Victoria laughed and joined him in the
kitchen. "You're on a first name basis with the chief of
police?"

"I like to enjoy the
quiet, and be left alone. But I know a
lot
of people. Plan ahead. That's
what I always say."

Tiffany ran down the stairs. She'd
been listening at the top of the stairs and watching out her
window, waiting for Thomas to leave.

"We don't have to see Miss
Simmons?" she said. "I can stay?"

"Yup."

The girl grinned and ran
at Jack. He didn't have the chance to turn or move away as she
tackled him around the waist, giving him a hug. Victoria burst out
laughing at the pained expression on Jack's face.

"Thank you," Tiffany said, over and
over. "Thank you, thank you."

"Okay, fine. Whatever. You're
welcome," he said, looking at Victoria. "Could you get the hose and
squirt this child?"

"I'd love to," she said,
holding up her phone. "But I gotta run. Just got a text from one of
my many employees."

"The case is moving?"

"Yeah. The guy finally left his hotel
room. He's just been settling in so far, but I want to follow him,
study everything I can."

"Tiffany, go hug Victoria
goodbye."

Jack stretched with relief when she
finally let go of his waist and ran to Victoria. She knelt down and
hugged the girl, mouthing words to Jack he read easily.

Be nice to her.

He rolled his eyes and
nodded. After walking her to the door and saying their goodbyes he
turned to see Tiffany sitting on the couch. She turned on the TV
and scrolled through the channels.

"Hey! You've got your own TV upstairs.
The whole second floor is yours. This is my TV."

"But I want to stay down here with
you."

He sighed.
"Whatever."

She settled on a cartoon
on the Disney Channel, and Jack did his best to hold in a groan,
collapsing on the couch next to her. He glanced at the child as she
laughed at the TV. She looked up at him with eyes full of life,
checking to see if he saw the same funny thing she did. She
definitely had an infectious energy.

He tried to put himself in
her position, but found it impossible. He was too selfish and
self-centered to be able to effectively empathize with others.
Victoria was the closest person he could relate to. They had been
friends for a long time, and shared agelessness, even though their
conditions were different. But an eight-year-old girl would be
impossible.

"I know things have been
crazy the past few days. But things will settle down a little now.
That room upstairs, it's yours. You do whatever you want to it.
Well, ask me first. Tomorrow, we'll enroll you in school. You'll be
with other kids your age. I'll drive you to school, pick you up.
"

"It's okay. At least Miss Simmons
can't hurt anybody anymore."

"What did she do?"

Her laughter faded slightly. "I don't
want to talk about it. No one believes me."

"I will."

"You don't believe me
about the monster."

"Well, you got me there. Can I ask you
a question?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you remember anything about your
real parents, what happened to you?"

"I said I don't want to talk about
it."

"Okay, okay. I know you've
had it tough. But I've gotta ask, how are you so chipper, so
happy?"

"I used to be upset all the time. I'd
hide in my room and cry. It was just as scary when Miss Simmons
gave discipline to the others, because I never knew when she'd look
at me."

"That doesn't exactly
answer my-"

"I prayed. I prayed to God all the
time. And then you came, and I know you won't hurt me. So now I'm
happy."

Jack laughed heartily. It
had been a long time since he'd been a child, and in an entirely
different time. He wondered if he was as naïve as
Tiffany.

"That's it, huh? You prayed, and all
is well?"

She nodded, and tilted her head to the
kitchen.

"Is that the pizza? It smells so
good."

Tiffany jumped off the
couch and ran to the kitchen to watch the pizza bake through the
oven window. Jack watched her. Her enthusiasm, toothless grin, and
energy almost brought a smile to his face.

"You're something else,
kid."

*****

Victoria smiled as she
left Jack's house and slid behind the wheel of her car. She thought
back to Officer Thomas' face as he left the house, humbled and
humiliated. Jack was ruthless, cunning, intelligent, not afraid to
get his hands dirty, and would never hesitate to pull the trigger.
For reasons she still wasn't clear about, he decided to make an
orphan his pet project.

She could think of no one better to
care for her.

Jack hadn't changed over
the past century. It was almost refreshing, knowing there were some
things that stood the test of time. Victoria, on the other hand,
had changed a lot. She valued her privacy at one time, but now
enjoyed spending time with her close friends. She missed Alex,
Cindy, Alicia, and Jake. She looked forward to Alex and Cindy's
wedding as much as anyone. Her thoughts even drifted to Kevin and
his girlfriend Rachel, wondering how their graduation
went.

She wanted to get this case over with,
so she could go back to her mansion and enjoy life.

She was less than half a
block away from the hotel. Dr. Collins left the lobby and climbed
into a cab. Victoria couldn't ask for better timing. She quickly
deleted a text from her contact giving her the cab license plate
number.

She followed the cab
through town for ten minutes until it finally dropped him off at a
bar. Groaning as she parked her car, she made a mental note to
scream at Bradley the next time she talked to him. He told her this
was an important case, but didn't have any other information. She
left Baltimore in a hurry, and while it was great to reconnect with
Jack, this case didn't feel all that important. It wasn't really
even a case. So far, she watched Collins have sex with a prostitute
and apparently stay in his hotel room all day.

The bar wasn't too
crowded, being a weeknight. Victoria didn't mind crowds or parties.
She actually enjoyed the energy, the scent of blood, interacting
with humans. She met her best friend Alex at a club. But the scene
was sometimes an assault on her senses, even the small places.
Conversations, heartbeats, the scents all mixing
together.

She sat at the end of the
bar and asked for water, the one liquid she could drink if she
paced herself and went very slowly. The bartender enjoyed an
eyeful, but the other patrons kept to themselves. Collins sat at
the other end of the bar, drinking alone. She was tempted to sit
next to him, maybe turn on a little of her charm, but decided it
was better to hold back for now. After what she'd seen the night
before in his room, distance was probably the best
thing.

Out of the corner of her
eye, she watched another man enter the bar and sit next to Collins.
They didn't look at one another, but did talk. She locked away the
man in her mind, memorizing every detail. A little over six feet
tall, somewhere in his forties, graying hair, steel blue eyes,
dress pants and a checkered shirt. It didn't look like he belonged
in a bar, but he blended in well enough.

Victoria focused on her
glass and concentrated her hearing. She tried to tune everything
out, which wasn't an easy task. The blood pulsing in the man's
veins next to her, the aftershave of the bartender, the lesbian
couple kissing behind her, these were all distractions. Slowly,
everything faded away, and two voices were all she
heard.

"So, where did you find this thing?"
Collins asked.

"You know the deal,
Stan. Need to know, and
you
don't."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to
contribute to the project if I don't know where it came
from."

"Yes, you can. You just
keep doing what you do, and we'll bring you in soon enough. Believe
me, you'll want to see them with your own eyes."

"Them?"

The nameless man simply
smiled.

"I'm not sure how long I can live out
of a hotel," Collins said.

"We'll cover your
expenses. Well,
most
of them. You hire a hooker or anything like that, and you're
on your own."

"I wouldn't do something
like that."

"Sure you wouldn't. Anyway, we liked
what you've sent so far. It's been a real help. I'm telling you,
we're gonna change the world, and make a lot of money doing
it."

"Hey."

It was a third voice,
directly behind Victoria. She managed to ignore it, until she felt
a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm talking to you."

Collins and his mysterious
friend's conversation faded. The noise of the bar once again filled
her ears. Her cheeks burned red in anger. She turned on her stool
and looked into the eyes of suspended police officer Derek
Thomas.

"I'd like to have a word with you," he
said.

He grabbed her arm and pulled, but she
didn't budge. His eyes went wide for a moment, surprised at
Victoria's strength. She met his gaze and yanked her arm
away.