He had his doubts from the moment he stepped out from the station. Shouldn't he wait for back-up? Ask for somepony to go with him? It was standard protocol always being two officers participating in the questioning of a witness or an arrest. He could always bring that young sergeant, Takeraway, with him. He was the youngest, he should be easy to boss around. Or Detective Liuetenant Getemm. She thought he was crazy, that was true, but sho would probably come with him if he actually asked her.
He had been going for half an hour now, and His doubts didn't go away. Every step took him closer and closer to this nights events. Further and further away from the safety of the Police station. Closer and closer... to what? To danger? When he looked up, and saw that he had reached his destination, he couldn't help but snort at his fears. What kind of danger would be lurking here?
The house was a ordinary house in Canterlot suburbs. Not that posh, but not poor. Upper middle class, he’d say. The lawn was neatly cut, and a couple of fruit trees and rosebushes ornated the small garden. Not to much or bragging, just classy. It wasn't the first time he looked at the view, but he couldn't help dwelling at the sight for a while longer. He had been outside the house many times before, but this time was arguably the most important.
He was here to save a life. "Well, then, I'd better get on with it." He tought.
He walked up to the door, and knocked three times. The door opened to reveal a grey earth pony with a black mane, and a clave cutie mark. He knew that she would be the one at home at this time. He had seen her before, though they never before had been talking to each other.
“Good evening, Mrs. Melody. My name is DI Buckem from The Canterlot Police Squad. May I come in?”
She looked surprised. Perhaps visitors were not that common in this household? But, she smiled, and said “Well, I certainly don't mind helping the police, but I must ask you what your business is.”
From his experience, very few ponies enjoyed the idea of police in their houses. There were many ways for him to gain entrance to her home. He could use the superiority of the badge and play the "official" card. He could use force. He could be insolent and just walk inside, using the chock effect for his purposes. But he prefered to gain ponies trust and respect. That usually got him what he wanted more often than anything else. So he decided to take it slow.
“Well,my business is quite... delicate." He had chosen his words with care, and paused slightly for effect. "If you don't mind, I prefer to discuss it with you inside.”
“Oh. Well, ok. Let’s talk in the kitchen.”
They sat down at a table, she offered him coffee, which he accepted. Then she was silent, waiting for him to talk. He cleared his throat and hesitated. It was not an enjoyable subject. She would probably protest. But it had to be done.
“I belong to a special branch in the police force. We specialize in the…strange, uncommon and overall, fantastic cases.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, but... what does that mean?”
“Let me put it this way. When you are robbed, or harassed or something, you call the police. But when you suspect that a GHOST is stealing your money, or an invisible pony harassing you, then it is our business. We deal with crimes on both sides of the grave, so to speak.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“That sounds… almost too good to be true.”
“Trust me, I wish it was.” Over the years, his experience was that he should use his most serious face at this part of the conversation. She looked a bit taken back by his manners, but her curiosity soon took the lead.
“But why are you here? I have not been robbed, nor have we had any burglars”
“Ah, I will get to that. You are married to a Vicenza “Vinyl” Scratch? The famous DJ?”
“Yes, I am. Did you come all the way to tell me that?”
She smirked. He realized that it was a pretty clumsy introduction, so he took a breath, and proceeded.
“Mrs Melody. I have been doing this investigation for over three years. It is my belief that your wife is a Vampire.”
She dropped her cup on the floor, and stared at him.
“Vinyl… a vampire? What makes you think that?”
“I will tell you everything. I hope that you will cooperate with me, so that I can take her with me to the station tonight. You better get yourself a new cup of coffee, what I have to say will not be easy to hear.”
She nodded, but in her nervous state, she accidently tipped his cup on the floor as well.
“Oh…I’m so sorry…let me give you a new one.”
“Oh, it’s not necessary!”
“Oh, but please…I insist…”
Well, he could always go for another coffee. Whatever calmed her down, he thought. She returned soon, with two steaming mugs. She took a sip, so did he. It tasted strong, with a light bitter touch. This lady knew how to make coffee.
“Well, let me take it from the beginning. The first victim was found over three years ago, in Baltimare. There were no traces on the body, and no witnesses.”
“But…without witnesses…why…”
“Please, let me finish. You see, vampires are not that common. They always leave a unique mark, which is shown in a blood test. We weren’t sure if this was genuine at first, but we performed the test, and there it was. The mark, clear as this cup!”
“Oh…I see.”
He raised an eyebrow, but shrugged his shoulder, and continued. “The next victim was found one month later, this time in Las Pegasus. We tested, and found the mark again. I will not give you every little details, but I will tell you, over that year, we found bodies in Trottingham, Appleloosa, another in Baltimare, three in Canterlot, one in Ponyville, and even one in the Crystal Empire. And I started to see a pattern.”
“Oh?”
“First of all, this was a vampire that had the possibility of traveling a lot. He or she had the bits. So we began to suspect that our vampire was in the more wealthy classes of ponies. But not only that. The timetable was interesting, you see.”
She sat still, frozen on her chair. There was almost no emotion in her voice. “Please, proceed.”
“Yes. Between the murders in Trottingham, Appleloosa and Baltimare the amount of time passed was only three days between the first ones, and two between the seconds. Now, there is nothing suspicious in ponies traveling, but traveling that much… That leads to suspicion, doesn’t it?”
The grey mare looked up from her cup. “Not really. I travel a lot as well.”
“Yes, we know. With the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra. And that is the point!”
“What is?”
“This vampire did not raise any suspicion, because everypony in his or her surrounding were already USED TO him or her travelling a lot, and there would be no raised eyebrows at a week’s travel from one corner of Equestria to another. Do you know how I got the eyes on your wife?”
“No. Please tell.”
He felt the satisfaction of having an audience eating his every word. He smiled, and went on. “By chance, we found a poster. ‘DJ-PON3, FALL TOUR’. Just by incident, the seven dates matched perfectly with the murders in Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Appleloosa, Baltimare, Canterlot and Ponyville. It COULD be a coincidence, but…”
Until now, he had been wondering about her -mostly- calm and controlled demeanor, but now he apparently struck a nerve. She interuppted him, heat and anger in her voice.
“It could, yes! The one in the crystal empire, by example! You have no poster for that, do you?”
“No… but I know something else. The symphony orchestra had a concert at the crystal empire that day. That means YOU were there. And I know for a fact that she travelled with you! And that could hardly be a coincidence.”
He could see Mrs Octavia shiver. Her anger decreased, but it was not entirely gone. She took a deep sip on her coffee, probably to calm herself down. So did he, taking a break to let his words sink in.
“We were lucky, of course. This was a trace we just stumbled upon, but when we saw the pattern, it was easy to follow. Over the last year, every time DJ-PON3 has been performing, there has been a victim. And occasionally, when the symphony has been performing as well. You see now, what I see? Do you have any doubts, that my words is true?”
She shook her head, looking like a mare who just found out the world would end in thirty minutes.
“No. I believe you.”
“I hoped so. I hope this will make it easier for you to cooperate. Because, well... there is a bit of a catch here.”
She looked up, with a strange spark in her eyes. “A Catch? What kind of catch?”
“We don’t…I don’t have a definite proof. I need your help.”
“YOU need MY... Oh. Well, tell me, and I'll see what I can do.”
“Oh, your help will be extremely valuable… you see, I took a bit of a liberty before… the thing about the mark…it’s not accepted as evidence in court just yet. Actually…I am the only one that believes this will work. And as you said, the evidence is mostly circumstancial, but tonight, with your help, I will have a sample of a real vampire’s blood! Then I can bring it to the station, test it, and there I will have my evidence! And a new method of revealing vampires will see the light of day! So, what do you say, will you help me?” His muzzle started to feel a bit funny, but he didn't pay any attention to it. Probably just the excitement of the situation. And the, everything fell apart with her next reply.
“Well, to be quite frank…no.”
He stared at her.
“What do you mean, No?”
“Well… First of all, I don’t want you to hurt my wife. And if I’d let you take Vinyl, you would. Even if she were to be proven innocent, her carrier would take too much damage. If the press found out…And I do not delude myself that they will miss such a juicy piece of hay. And second of all, once you’ve realised you got the wrong pony…”
“Wai... Wait a minute, what do you mean, got the wrong pony?” His mouth almost refused to speak the words.
“Oh, but detective… I must give you my compliment, you have indeed done a good job. And you have come closer than any other pony would, I think. But you did one fundamental mistake, an easy one, but still. It wasn’t Vinyl that travelled with me, it was ME travelling with her.”
Her eyes shifted colour to a bright red, and two small fangs grew out of her mouth. He tried to move, but all of a sudden he found his limbs frozen. The funny feeling he had in his muzzle had spread to his whole body.
“You’re feeling a bit stiff? Yes, I took the liberty of spiking your coffee with a bit of poison from the red-eyed tiger frog. Very concentrated. Makes your limbs cramp, but keeps your head clear. I want you to listen to what I have to say, but I don't want any type of struggle. I do not like having blood on my carpets, you see. I knew the moment you told me your case, that I couldn't let you get out of here alive. In spite of your mistake, I don't believe you to be a total imbecile, and when you'd realize Vinyl was innocent...you'd come for me."
He stared at her, the eyes was the last part he could move.
"You just told me that without you, there is no evidence against me. So, whatever your game was, you’ve lost." She paused, and looked at him. He could do nothing but stare back. "Oh, don't look at me like that. And whatever hopes you have, I'm afraid they all will turn to gravel. You think they will look at your papers. You're thinking they will come searching for you. But you forget that I am a trusted member of society, I just tell your colleagues that you waited two hours, then left. They will believe me, of cource. They will never find your body. And your files… I have friends that takes care of those things. But you, I will take care of personally. I don't have anything against you as a pony, but you see...” she paused, leaning closer to him. “I do not like ponies trying to take my wife. And I definitely do not like ponies trying to kill me."
She opened her mouth slightly, let her tongue lick her fangs, and lowered her head against his neck.
“Good night, Mr Buckem. I hope you enjoyed your coffee.”
The moment later, he felt the pain of two sharp teeth pressing in to his jugular vein, and then everything went black.
A bit nasty, yes. (optional)
It was in the office of Police Squad early the day after. Sgt Takeraway walked in through the doors, a very black morning coffee in his magic grip. Except for him, the only one present at this hour was DL Getemm. She was staring into her computer screen and greeted him without looking up from it.
"Morning, newbie. Not getting used to the early mornings yet, or is that hot marefriend of yours making you stay up late?"
The young officer blushed. He wasn't accustomed to the blutness of DL Getemm yet, and he didn't have a witty comeback either. He just sipped his coffee, hoping there would be no further comments. His hopes were in vain. DL Getemm laughed and pointed at him.
”I knew it! The department got its own stud! Now this will be something to talk with Cayenne with at lunch!" Suddenly she became serious. "But get your sexy ass over here, we have work to do. You know DI Bookem?"
The young Sergeant was surpriced at the sudden change of topic, but he welcomed the focus being shifted from him to somepony else. "Of course I do. He's a bit....strange."
The DL rolled her eyes. "More of a total nutcase if you ask me. Stubborn as a mule, but this time I think he actually got something."
Takeraway took another sip. He tried to remember what DI Bookem had been working on, and after a minute, he found it. "That vampire case?"
"Yep. And though I hate to admit it... That mark theory. It may actually work. I talked to the lab. They talked all that fancy scientific jibberish, but the bottom line was, that if they get a sample from the vampire directly, and compare it to a sample from a victim, it’s more than probable that they will find a connection. The thing Bookem called 'the mark'."
Takeraway wasn't especially versed with DI Bookem's theory, but he had been taking chemistry classes at the university, and he knew what a breakthrought this would be. "Wow! Great! Where is he? We must tell him!"
The Lieutenant's face suddenly got a worried look. The bantering tone was gone completely when she spoke.
"Well... that’s the catch. He hasn't arrived here yet. That isn't an issue but apparently he never signed out yesterday either. I checked the records just now. And he doesn't answer his cell..."
"You think something happened to him? That he decided to act alone and... got caught?"
"Yep. That's why I'm sitting here at his computer. This is the files of his case. And there is one name that comes back. Vinyl Scratch."
The sergeant whistled low. "DJ PON-3? He aimed high"
"Yes... but her name keeps coming up in his notes. It may be a coincidence but..."
"Probably not. You think he went there last night?"
"That's what I think. Let’s go visit Mrs. Scratch. She lives at... 54...Brookland ...road."
A strange green mist floated in through the ventilation. The eyes of the ponies went blank, and the computer screen went black. After just a few seconds, the mist withdraw, and all was silent. Sgt Takeraway was the first to speak.
"You were saying?"
"Eh... 54 Brookland Road."
"Who lives there?"
"Let me see... stupid PC, its dead. Have to use the Dumbphone... ah, a Mrs. Octavia Melody and her wife Vicenza Scratch."
"The famous cellist and DJ PON-3? Why did you check their address? ...are you stalking them?"
The lieutenant had that confused look that makes one look as one just got hit by a brick.
"No... We had to find... DI Buckem."
"Who's that?"
"Who's who?"
"The name you just said"
"What name?"
"I dunno."
They stared at each other in silence for a minute. Then the Lieutenant spoke again.
"Let’s get more coffee. We probably need that."
Author's Note
What did just happen? You better read the sequel to find out...
Crossroad/The Last Crusade
