Slade drove to his office and entered the basement of the building looking for the Coroner's office. As he walked, he mentally questioned, why do they place them in the darkest place of the building. It was so tough to bring next of kin or other people down here. He turned a corner and the light was so bright, he squinted until his eyes adjusted. He arrived at the offices and walked in where the intern sat at her desk. Sh...

When Leona gasped, Slade stood up, spun towards the door as the lone dark figure ran out. Rather than chase the person, he opted to stay with the women and assist the wounded officer. Leona pushed the emergency button, nurses came running to the room and security arrived shortly behind them. As the door flew open, Slade stood up pointing at the wounded officer. The nurses moved as if they were a swarm of bees and hovered...

Leona stood in the warehouse watching Gustaf walk to the car with Sam, his bodyguard driver. They left her behind to fume some more and make her appeals to Slade. She flipped open her phone, dialed Slade and waited for him to pickup. The phone on his desk rang and went to voicemail. She hung up not leaving a message. She tried his other number, which was his cell phone. He answered on the first ring, gave his typical gree...

Slade noticed Leona relax, when she closed her cell phone. The tension drained from her body, her posture went from sitting up straight widely alert to comfortable. He wanted to know what happened, but decided this was not the time and the place to ask questions. Leona took Slade's hand, picked it up and nuzzled it against her cheek showing how relaxed she really was now. She kept his hand not wanting to let go. They fini...

Slade sat at his desk, looked over the squad room and thought of his missing partner. Connie was not there, she was in the hospital in a coma caused by an explosion when she visited The Main Artery's owner Gustaf. It appeared the explosion concentrated on his office and destroyed his sleep chamber. Gustaf was the master vampire of the city and had many friends and just as many enemies. This explosion targeted him, but onl...

Connie wondered why Slade left so early. He usually waited until she was ready to leave, walked her to her car and said goodnight. Tonight he left, never said goodnight and was very secretive about it. She went to her locker, grabbed her workout bag and left the squad room quietly. She had a post midnight rendezvous with Gustaf, the master vampire of the city at his club The Main Artery. She headed home now where she show...

Connie sat at her desk staring at the words on her screen while shock and surprise washed across her face. She pushed the print key and printed four copies. The data was there, she read and re-read the screen in disbelief but computers do not lie. Connie took the four copies, filed three where they belonged and carried the fourth over to Slade. She silently handed the fourth copy to Slade, watched as he read it and waited...

The day was coming to a slow end, as Slade and Connie came back to the squad room. After they filled out their reports earlier, they left until their duty shift began in mid-afternoon. The weather took a downward turn with the sun blocked by dark clouds and the threat of rain. To Slade, it seemed as if every time he went to see Leona or Gustaf, the weather was foggy or rainy. At least now, Slade was back in the squad room...

Slade and Connie headed back to the squad room. Instead of going home back to bed, they had to report on what they saw and file the appropriate paperwork. For every incident a detective covered, there was a corresponding paper trail in quadruple copies. One copy went into central files, one copy to the evidence locker by case number, one copy to squad files and one copy to the officer. It seemed like a lot of work, but it...

Slade caught up with Connie as she sauntered down the alley to the street. She was still euphoric from her first meeting with vampires. They controlled her easily and kept her out of the direct exchange between Slade and Gustaf. As far as she knew, the vampires were lovely people and could be trusted. When Slade got beside Connie, she wrapped her arm around Slade's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Slade went along...

Slade and Connie finished with the body and scene, headed back to the car and sat inside reviewing what they had. Laid out in the car was not much stuff. There was not much room in the car with all the computers and firepower. "Let’s go back to DD's. We can spread everything out there and review it." Connie said. Her car was still there and she needed it to get home. Slade agreed, "OK, we need more coffee to stay awake to...

It was a very dark cold night, the air was heavy with rain. The alley was narrow, the cobble stone walkway glistened from newly fallen rain and continuing mist. The walls of the buildings held the sound of my heart and my shoes, as I walked slowly toward the only light. I pulled up my collar to warm my neck and protect it from the people I saw. It was a red light above a small non-descript sign that read 'The Main Artery'...