Eran sat staring dumbfounded at her laptop screen, as the cell phone blips disappeared. She poked Kevin in the ribs and he grunted. Her mouth hung open, as she kept refreshing the screen. The blips disappeared and never returned.

She looked at Kevin and yelled, "What just happened? We lost the gang members cell phones. Where did they go? We need to find them."

Kevin assured her, "If they are in that house we will find them. They won't get away that easily."

Eran felt better, as she heard Kevin and watched, as the gate opened and the teams entered. The big van from the Vampire Justice System pulled in around to the back of the house. The team quickly descended to the dungeons and found the four coffins. After verifying the identities of the occupants, the coffins were sealed and brought to the truck. The truck left and the rest of the house remained surrounded.

Teams entered from the front and rear and quickly spread through the house. The security team stood by under guard and handcuffed, while the teams verified no one remained in the house. The head of the security team stood quietly off to the side with a smirk on his face. The gang members escaped and the teams never found the tunnel entrance in the theater room.

Eran sat in the command center and reviewed the GPS locations of the gang members. They centered in the theater room of the estate and never left. After the teams secured the house, Eran and Kevin entered. They went to the theater room and took a small team of three men with them. From the map layout, Eran determined that the gang members sat in the middle of the room. As she played back the history, she walked across the room following the phone blips. What she faced was a cloth-covered wall, which appeared solid.

She instructed the three-man team to search the wall for any gaps or false doors. In five minutes, they found a panel that was a door, which opened into a small room. Lights blazed leading down a spiral stairway. At the bottom of the stairs was a tunnel that led to the back of the estate. As the group descended, they heard three motorcycles start way down the tunnel. The leader of the team radioed the commander, but the tunnel blocked all radio signals. The roar of motorcycles getting away filled the tunnel.

When Eran, Kevin and the team reached the end of the tunnel, they climbed up into a small cabin and garage, which contained two cars and space for three motorcycles. The human gang members got away. The radio crackled to life, when they entered the cabin. The team made a report of the escape of the humans. The team exited the cabin and discovered a small dirt car path, which led into a construction site at the back of a housing development. Eran and Kevin went down the tunnel back to the estate. The team searched the area around the exit looking for any evidence left behind by the escaping gang members.

As Eran and Kevin exited the false panel in the theater, Slade and the SWAT Commander met them. The SWAT Team arrested the security team and placed them in a secure van. The team that was in the tunnel sealed the garage and the apartment to prevent anyone from entering. They sealed the house and locked down the security station. Once they drove out the gate, it closed and no one was inside to open it.

Kevin left Eran and Slade and returned to the Vampire Judicial System Headquarters. They promised to meet at the warehouse where Connie and Leona slept after the sun went down. Slade and Eran had a lot of paperwork to do to book the security team for their part in allowing the human gang members to escape. Even though the infractions seemed minor, it might be possible to tie them all back to the murders. It was a long shot, but it might scare someone into talking. So far, the security team was quiet and had not asked for a lawyer.

The squad room was abuzz with the news of the captured vampires. No one seemed to care that the humans escaped. The detectives in the squad room congratulated Eran and Slade for a job well done with the Vampire Judicial System. They knew the humans fled, but their capture was imminent. The descriptions of the gang members were in every police car along with pictures and the newspapers carried the story of the capture and the fleeing humans. Praise came from all areas of the city because the two cultures mixed well and solved a very difficult crime.

Eran sat at her desk and listened to the chatter in the squad room. Even though they captured the vampires, she felt the raid was a failure and she was responsible for it. She wanted to get out of there, meet Kevin and spend the night with him. Slade and the SWAT commander filled out all the paperwork, as Eran sat around and waited. She got up from her desk and walked to the windows overlooking the city. The mountains in the west helped spray the rays of the setting sun over the city. She saw the sunset and knew Connie and Leona would wake soon. She wanted to be there to tell them the news of the raid and arrests.

Eran's phone buzzed with a text from Kevin, "Where are you? I am at the warehouse."

Eran sent a text, "I am still in the squad room. I have to wait for Slade to finish the reports and we will be on our way. I will text when we leave."

Kevin sat in the warehouse and waited for Eran and Slade. Leona and Connie emerged from their rooms and saw Kevin on the couch. They approached Kevin carefully not sure, if he was awake. He moved and both women squealed in fright. Kevin wore his work uniform, complete with gun and baton. He looked as if he was ready for a fight. The women sat with him and looked at him for news, but he went back to sleep instead. The women looked at each other and sat wondering what happened.

Kevin's phone buzzed, "We are on the way. Have the women awakened yet?" The message came from Eran.

Connie took Kevin's phone and texted back, "Yes we are awake and want to know what happened. Please hurry, we are so curious and Kevin is sound asleep. :)"

"We will be there in 20 minutes," Eran returned the text.

Leona put Kevin's cell back down beside him. Connie and she got up, walked to the kitchen area and made a pot of tea. As they waited for the water to boil, the loud report of motorcycle mufflers echoed through the warehouse. The mufflers slowly quieted as the engines sputtered and stopped. A rattling sound came from the walk-in door next. Someone wanted to enter the warehouse. Connie ran to the couch and roused Kevin from his sleep. As he woke, the door rattled louder and longer. He quickly sat up and grabbed his phone.

He opened it and quickly texted Eran, "Someone is trying to enter the ware house. Please approach with caution. Connie told me they are on motorcycles. These may be the missing gang members. I am armed but they do not know who is inside."

"We are five minutes away. Can you keep them busy while we approach and get help? Call your boss for help too," Eran replied.

"I will do that, just get here fast," Kevin replied. He called his boss and got some troops dispatched to the warehouse and the transport company. He wanted the troops in both places in case the gang members escaped to another hiding place.

Kevin had the two women duck down behind the kitchen counter, while he set up on the couch away from them. He drew his gun and un-hooked his baton. He wanted to be ready, if they broke through the door. He knew the gang had guns, but they were not ready to be fired upon from inside. In the back of his mind, he thought, "Why did they come here? This is not a good place for them."

Footsteps echoed through the warehouse, as someone climbed the external steel stairs leading to the roof. Kevin followed the sound, as it echoed across the rooftop to the skylight entrance. The hinges creaked loudly, as the door opened and the sound of feet thumped on the interior catwalk. Soon, the footsteps continued down the stairway from the roof. Whoever came was unaware that there was anyone inside. The stairway gave a broad view of the warehouse, but Kevin moved into hiding as best he could. He waited cautiously for the person to get on the floor of the warehouse, before he showed himself and captured the intruder.

Everything proceeded as planned, but the teapot on the stove started to whistle, which alerted the intruder. As he turned to look into the kitchen area, Kevin jumped up and yelled, "Put up your hands and get on your knees."

The man turned quickly and fired at Kevin. He missed and Kevin ducked down behind the couch. This gave Leona time to spring from her hiding place and fly at the man knocking him over. As he fell, his gun skidded across the floor at Connie. She picked up the gun and pointed it at Leona and her captured intruder. Leona held the man on the floor, while Connie walked over with some nylon tying twine from the kitchen. She tied the man up and sat him under the counter next to the stools. That was one captured, two more waited outside for their partner.

When the shot rang out, the remaining gang members outside listened for more shots or any loud noise. They heard the scuffle between their friend and Leona. They waited a few minutes in case their friend needed help. When he failed to appear, they went to their motorcycles, started them up and roared off toward the transport company.

Shortly after the gang left, Slade roared into the warehouse followed by a black and white squad car. The two patrol officers from the car exchanged the twine for a pair of handcuffs and put the intruder in the back of the car. Slade verified that the prisoner was one of the wanted murderers and told the patrol officers to take the prisoner back to the station and book him into a holding cell. Slade looked at Connie and Leona and saw they were fine. He walked to Kevin and greeted him with congratulations. Eran ran to Kevin and grabbed him in a tight hug.

Slade walked to the kitchen counter and sat on a stool. He looked at Leona who seemed to wait for something. He shook his head and said, "We captured the four vampires and they are at the Vampire Justice System headquarters. The human gang members as you saw got away. We are hunting them."

Kevin and Eran approached the kitchen and sat with Slade. "I had my commander dispatch some troops to the transport company, in case the two remaining murderers went there." Kevin added.

Leona poured tea for Connie, Eran and herself and she started a pot of coffee for Slade and Kevin. They sat around the kitchen counter in silence. When the coffee was ready, Leona filled Slade and Kevin's cups and put her elbows on the counter, as she leaned in to join them. They waited for some news about the missing gang members. Slade walked around the counter, opened a box and took out the remaining Danish rolls he made earlier. Kevin grabbed one, quickly followed closely by Eran. Connie and Leona cut one in half and Slade took the remaining one.

Slade's phone rang and he quickly answered it. "Slade here, what is going on commander?"

The commander told Slade, "The two gang members are trapped inside the transport company. They are trying to fight their way out and escape. We took their motorcycles and blocked all the exits from the building. We are on the roof too. I dispatched more men and we will storm the building in thirty minutes. Feel free to join us and bring Kevin and Eran with you. If Connie is there with Leona, they are welcome to watch."

Slade hung up, turned to the rest of them and said, "The gang members are trapped in the transport company and we are invited to go there and watch their capture." Everyone cheered.

They went to Kevin's SUV and piled in as the door opened to let them leave. Kevin turned on the siren and flashing lights and drove quickly to the scene of the capture. As they drove up, a man stepped out and stopped them. He waved them over and made them park and walk to the scene. Slade observed that there was an extremely high level of access control to the area.

As they approached the building, the staccato sound of gunfire bursts echoed off the surrounding buildings. Most of the sound came from inside the transport company. Outside the building, the new forces marshaled in anticipation of storming the building to capture and subdue the gang members. The commander saw Slade approach and signaled him to join him. Slade and Kevin went to his side. Eran, Connie and Leona stayed behind the perimeter of vehicles set up to contain the violence.

The commander and Slade looked over the shoulder of a technician who watched the interior of the transport company. The gang members were in the warehouse in the back among the shelves and moved around easily. When the troops stormed the building, it would be difficult to get near and subdue them. A row-by-row search would have to be done because of the layout, not an easy task and fraught with possible casualties. Looking down from above had several blind spots where the two could hide.

The commander turned to Slade and spoke to him, as the troops outside stormed into the warehouse area. The level of gunshot noise increased as both sides fired at each other. The staccato of gunfire bursts ran in waves, as groups fired and reloaded. The search proceeded slowly as the troops moved in a sprawled out force. As they went through the warehouse, they narrowed the scope of the search and forced the gang members into a very small area. Two snipers set up in the rafters. Their job was to keep the murderers pinned down to allow their capture. It worked well as long as the troops kept away from the gang members. In one final effort, the gang members tried to break through the line. They ran at the line, while their AK-47s with extended banana clips spewed bullets wildly. As the snipers shot around them, it became apparent that they would be shooting at their own men.

The commander turned to Slade and asked, "The two men are rushing our troops. We have snipers trying to pin them down, but now they are too close to the troops. Can we take them down?"

"Take them down. This ends here!" Slade strongly replied.

Two shots rang out in the warehouse louder than the rest. Suddenly the sound of gunfire stopped. Reports from the different squads came over the air as the troops gathered. The two men lay on the floor of the warehouse dead. The manhunt was over and the investigation and capture completed. The commander turned to Slade and offered his hand in congratulation for a job well done. The search for the murderers ended.

The work of Slade, Connie, Leona and Eran still went on, as they worked with the lawyers. The remaining human gang member pleaded guilty to all six murders, kidnapping Eran, trying to kill Slade and Leona twice and the arson at the warehouse. His sentence was life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the end of that trial, Slade turned over all the evidence used to the Vampire Justice System.

The night that the human gang members died and surrendered, the vampires woke to a prison cell surrounding their coffins. They tried to compel the guards to release them, but failed. Gustaf and Andrei visited them, interrogated them and told them of their gang member's deaths and surrender. Leona took each one of them to a special interrogation chamber where she used her special talents to elicit confessions and more details about the six murders. The male vampires resisted her vigorous questioning, but the women gave up the men very quickly.

As the case built against the human gang member, the cases against the vampires progressed slowly. The major differences in the cases were not the facts but the punishments. The punishment for the vampires was the same in almost all crimes, DEATH. The vampires knew this and resisted until their trial.

While the human trial preparation went on, Kevin spent most of his time working with Eran laying out all the evidence. He gathered all the data catalogs and copied them for Gustaf. When it was time to turn over the actual evidence, it was a very easy transfer. The transfer took place the day after the pronouncement of the human sentence. Eran went with the evidence and stayed with it, while the case proceeded against the vampires. She and Kevin became constant companions and ended up living together in her apartment.

The verdict of the Vampire Justice Magistrate was guilty of all charges. The vampires protested loudly in the court, but no one heard them. The sentence was death with no appeal. The sentence fell to Leona and Andrei to perform. The vampires all died the same day within minutes of each other. The prison guards carried the bodies to a crematorium, where they burned for hours until all that remained was fine ash. The witnesses to the burning gathered the ashes and returned them to the magistrate's office for disposition. Leona took delivery and put them in a vault for later handling.

Gustaf and Slade officially closed the Vampire Murders case. A small celebration took place at The Main Artery club the night after the burned bodies' ashes delivery. All the people directly involved with the case were there. Steve and Maria appeared and joined the group. The party went on until early morning when everyone split up and went to their respective sleeping places.

Over the next few months, Leona trained Connie to handle living as a vampire. They grew very close and became inseparable friends. Connie assumed her duties as the liaison between the police department and vampire community. She worked the night shift with Slade in the same desk she had as a detective. She spent more time with Slade, but the romance between them faded, as she got closer to Leona and Eran.

Slade became the Senior Detective of Vampire Affairs and the homicide division. He hired Eran to become the replacement for Connie. He continued to date Leona and spent many nights with her at the warehouse where she slept. Slade spent more time at the warehouse and soon sublet his apartment and took up permanent residence with Leona. With this relationship, more vampires encountered humans and the community slowly absorbed and melded the two cultures.

Eran finished her degree studies and graduated with a degree in Criminology, as number one in her major. As soon as she graduated, she received her shield, as a detective in the Homicide division and Vampire Affairs. She worked very closely with Connie and they became best friends. Many nights when Kevin worked at the Vampire Justice System security desk, Eran stayed with Connie. They grew very close and a bit of romance grew between them. Kevin saw this but did not mind. Eran liked having the love of both of them. It made her feel like a complete woman.

Gustaf and Andrei took control of the transport company and distribution systems. It grew to handle more of the transport requirements of the vampire community. The estate fell into the control of the Vampire Justice System and Gustaf used it as his new residence. Whenever, any master vampires visited from other cities and needed a place to stay, they stayed at the estate. The latest equipment upgraded security at the estate and the dungeons became open rather than locked.

In the months following the imprisonment and punishment of the vampire murderers, the city returned to its carefree ways. More businesses opened to and for vampires and their families. Rather than being isolated to certain areas, the vampires moved into homes and apartments all over the city. The police connection to the vampire community grew and flourished. There were more success stories of high visibility cases solved by this group of dedicated detectives.