FYI, there is some mind control coercion in this for those who might be turned off by it. Thanks for all the support from people who wrote, sorry for the hiatus. I had some grad school interviews to prep for and it took me longer to bounce back than I thought. Enjoy!
*****
The entire trip back to Sakeena's home was silent, Melissa's vision bringing a solemn mood that kept them all distracted. When the doors opened, Melissa hurried Sakeena out, not even giving her a chance to say goodbye to Kirstin. Even with the terrible news, Kirstin still reminisced about how close she and Sakeena were earlier that evening, bodies pressed against each other as she almost reached the edge. The only consolation to the night was Sakeena looking at Kirstin before disappearing into her house.
"I don't know how, but I'll free you from that bitch." Kirstin said before turning her car on driving away. Her mind raced as she reviewed her options. Interviewing Matthew Varnes' coworkers seemed pointless now that she knew it was a vampire like Melissa. Kirstin dug her nails into the steering wheel, wrestling with the fact that she would be driving in circles while Melissa got closer.
Tension eased when she recognized one question that still needed answering, why Matthew? It was clear to Kirstin that humans didn't seem to matter to vampires, as everyone Melissa dealt with seemed to be a means to an end. What made Varnes the exception? That night, Kirstin slept easier than before, finding comfort in being able to do what Melissa couldn't, ask questions during the daytime.
****
The office of Human Resources for University of Michigan's stadium was as Kirstin expected it to be, self-congratulatory. Framed pictures of the football team was on each wall, along with an old newspaper that listed the U of M Wolverines as victors. This was despite the fact that the person sitting at the desk was someone who was not an athlete, a barrel chested man in his 50s named John Cramer.
Kirstin and Alan sat on the other side, both of them dressed in casual business attire with their badges hanging around their necks. They analyzed John's body language as he rifled through his folders of old employees, listening to the sighs under his breath as it was clear they were taking time out of his busy schedule.
"There he is, Matthew Varnes." Cramer mused as he pulled a manila folder out from his cabinet. "I thought you caught the person who killed him."
"We're still establishing motive." Kirstin began, "We meant to get in touch with you earlier so this is simply us following up on being late. When did you hire Mr. Varnes?"
"Right before September when the semester started." Cramer answered, eyes on the application. He flipped through the pages and squinted. "No resume. Oh that's right." he rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. "This was another daddy-gets-me-a-job situation.
"How so?" Alan asked, leaning forward to try and read the application.
"U of M requires the applicant upload a resume with their application online. This guy is missing one which means, one of the higher ups asked me to let this kid in."
"Do you know who?"
"Probably a guy with the last name Varnes." Cramer gave a smirk that lasted for two seconds before fading. "In all honesty, I do remember other staff saying Varnes' father was some big entrepreneur pharmacist. That's pretty important at U of M since it's a medical college."
"Because where there's legal drugs, there's research." Kirstin said to Alan. "Where was Matthew from originally?"
"It says here. But maybe his father was from somewhere else." Cramer said.
"Who tells you to hire people when they don't want them to go through the proper channels?"
"That would be Mr. Heyman." Cramer held his hands up, "Excuse me. Dr. Heyman. He's a faculty member of the Ross School of Business. I met him just a few times, usually when the big wigs throw parties in the skybox at the Stadium. Everybody likes him, which is why I hate him. He's friendly and charming and shit, so that's why it bugged me when he asked me to just give this Matthew Varnes kid a job."
"Did he say why he wanted you to?" Kirstin asked, writing Heyman's name down in her notepad.
Cramer shrugged. "Just said, a friend wanted his son to have a job and could the kid have one with low responsibility. It was a ticket seller position which was why I didn't care. I just don't like the guy." Cramer looked to Kirstin, his gruff demeanor fading as his eyes locked onto hers. "You think this has something to do with the dad more than the son?"
Tucking the notepad in her coat, Kirstin nodded to Alan and rose to her seat. "Probably not." hopefully not she thought. "But it's better to be clear about this sort of thing." if something was special about Matthew Varnes, Kirstin would need to ask Sakeena about the father.
*****
"You need to let this go, Melissa has things handled." Sakeena said to Kirstin as she let her inside the house. " Sakeena had just come home from work, still wearing her black dress pants and white button up.
"That still doesn't rescue Helena from taking the blame for a crime she didn't commit."
Gesturing to one end of the couch, Sakeena waited for Kirstin to sit down before doing the same. "You need to learn that vampires don't care. And the more you try to mess up their plans, the more likely they'll just kill her." Sakeena hugged herself as she stared at the ground, she was trying to be casual about the facts, but it was clear to Kirstin it bothered her as well.
Kirstin slid across the couch, inches away from touching Sakeena, wanting to wrap her arm around her. Instead she waited for Sakeena to look up. "If Melissa can find this person, that means I can too and I can arrest them."
Sakeena's lips tightened. "No they can't! Don't you get it? The person who did this is a vampire, and vampires aren't supposed to exist." Nostrils flared, "If humans know vampires exist, then vampires make sure they die. It's a rule they live by, stay hidden from humans as a means to survive."
Kirstin felt a hand on her knee and caught the scent of Sakeena's perfume, a thick smell of violet and jasmine. "Please Kirstin, drop this. I don't want you to get so deep that Melissa will have to kill you."
Kirstin smiled, rubbing Sakeena's leg in return, enjoying that touching each other became so casual.. "Sakeena...I'll be fine..but you have to let me do my job. Aren't you curious why a vampire wasted their time killing Matthew?"
Sakeena hunched forward on her knees, pressing her hands to her temples.. "To be honest I don't. Vampires live forever and that means they take decades to carry out their plans, one death could mean the start of something huge. That's why I want you to let Melissa to handle it."
"Fine then. Let me tell you what I know so you can tell Melissa." Kirstin said, not wanting to upset Sakeena any further.
Sakeena opened her mouth but stopped herself from speaking. She let Kirstin stare at her wide eyed, knowing that her duties would never let her back down. "Fine...what is it?"
Exhaling, Kirstin relaxed as she leaned back into the couch. "Matthew got his first job at U of M stadium's ticket office through the help of his dad. He asked some big wig to pull some strings. It could be nothing, but if Matthew didn't have enemies, maybe his dad did?"
Sakeena pinched the bridge of her nose, elbows on her legs. Kirstin felt like a child asking her parents about sex, something that would be much easier to dea l with than this. "Matthew Varnes' father is Richard Varnes. He's a pharmacist who moved to Michigan."
"I figured you'd know who he was. Is this your client confidentiality being violated?"
"Heh. It is, but I guess that ended with the scapegoating of another mortal." Sakeena said. "His father was involved with several clinical studies that were testing new drugs. You say someone from U of M pulled strings?"
