The Lead

Author's note: Hey folks, Pie here. I'm sorry about the extended absence, it took me much longer to build a chapter buffer up to a state I was happy with. If you're still here and interested in this old branch, I'm humbled and flattered, truly. In any case I should be uploading fairly consistently every Friday. That's all for now, and happy reading~

John was left with an uncanny sense of dread as Detective Lee stepped into the bedroom. A grimace spread across his face as he first caught sight of the semen-splattered room and the pungent smell wafted through his sinuses. He briefly cast a sidelong glance of pure loathing John’s way before snapping a pair of rubber gloves on and getting to work.

“So you’ve examined the victims?” the detective asked deadpan.

“Yeah.”

“And what did you find?”

John took a moment to collect his thoughts before responding. “Well, they’re alive —thankfully— but stuck in a comatose state. Whatever did this to them left them all in a state of, uhm… **** arousal while physically and mentally they’ve been drained of almost everything.”

“Yes,” Moira agreed. “What’s more, everyone else involved in the… uh-”

“Orgy,” Red chimed in.

“R-right, the… well, they’ve all been affected, though it was only the weakest of them that suffered the worst of it.”

“I see,” Lee nodded as his eyes coldly scanned Emelia’s pale figure. “And explain to me the presence of vampire bites.”

“Apparently that was me,” Sam offered. “Today’s been full of unpleasant surprises.”

Lee glanced to where she stood by the bedroom window, unaffected by the midday sun. “A dhampir,” the detective grunted. “It’s been a long time since I met one of your kind.”

“Hey,” Sam frowned. “Until this morning I was pretty certain ‘my kind’ was human, so maybe put a stopper on the labels and tone, yeah?”

Lee’s expression remained neutral. “I do not understand what tone you’re referring to, this is my normal voice.” He did not wait for a response for resuming his work, his interest in Sam evidently waned.

“Uh… so is there anything you need help with?” John asked.

“You will all recount to me what you remember of the previous night,” Lee ordered. “And please, only tell what you have to; I’m not at all interested in hearing the particulars of how the walls came to be stained white.”

“See, the thing is none of us can remember anything past the first few hours,” John explained.

“Interesting,” Lee nodded. “It seems unlikely **** affected you all equally in such a manner, which would imply something more nefarious was involved; there are certainly spells and magical reagents with the capability to tamper with memory.”

“What about ways to undo them?”

“It depends; such effects can be undone provided the original data is still present,” Lee replied. “But if, like in your cases, a period of time has been wiped entirely, it cannot be restored. Nonetheless, what you do recall may still be of use. Do you remember any strangers, perhaps anyone showing up uninvited?”

“Uhh… Red and I didn’t know most of the people here,” John replied. “So we’re not much help on that front.”

“Well, Red was the only stranger last night…,” Sam added. “Although, Frank and Vanessa certainly showed up uninvited.”

Lee paused in his work as his gaze swung back to Sam. “Would that ‘Vanessa’ happen to be the Hawthornes’ daughter?”

“Yup, why? Is Vanessa actually a hag like I’ve always suspected?” A mild grin played out on Sam’s face.

“No, but I have had to deal with that family… and their associates in the past. It seems unlikely the Red Witch is involved in… this kind of matter, but it is an avenue to investigate.”

“The Red Witch?” John voiced curiously.

“Oh, yes, well I suppose you ought to know attending Ashcroft and all,” Moira coughed. “There is a powerful witch teaching at the school going by the alias-”

“Victoria Wentworth?” John guessed.

“Yes,” Moira’s tone dropped to that of concern. “You haven’t had dealings with her, have you?!”

“I mean… she’s my history teacher, Moira,” John shrugged. “But not really, no. We mostly just ignore each other.”

“...Good,” Moira nodded. “She cannot be trusted.”

“Your family isn’t really a trusting bunch, are they?” John shook his head wryly.

“Trust is dangerous when 90% of the Abyss will steal from you, kill you, eat you, or defile you,” Moira replied steadily.

“Well, when you put it like that, it’s hard to argue back,” John replied, before turning his attention back to Lee who had reluctantly begun collecting fluid samples from around the bedroom, trying his damndest to mask a sour expression.

“So, any solid clues on what did this?” Sam cleared her throat.

“At present I suspect something demonic was involved,” Lee replied. “Given the apparent involvement of sex in the crime, an incubus or succubus seem likely, but you say nobody unusual was present?”

“That’s right,” Sam replied.

“Hmm…” Lee’s eyes drifted back to the pattern of small scars lining Emelia’s arm. “What kind of narcotics were circulating around the party?”

“Umm…” Sam shifted uncomfortably and cast a sidelong glance John’s way.

“Girl, I do not care whether you or your friends possess or consume substances deemed illicit under American law. I am not an American police officer, I am an Abyssal Investigator whose sole interest lies in ensuring murderers and monsters suffer the consequences of preying upon the innocent; scolding teenagers on their recreational use of narcotics is not my concern or responsibility.”

“Well…” Sam relented. “We already discussed the **** angle before: I’d love to say we were sniffing magic dust from unicorn horns, but we were pretty tame really. It was just weed. Hell, I didn’t realise Em was taking it straight to the vein until I saw the scars this morning, but she was always a pretty soft-spoken and private girl.”

“What about that ‘Rapture’ stuff?” John voiced as he recalled the contents of the bathroom bin.

“What are you talking about?” Sam’s brow furrowed.

“There was an empty canister of something called ‘Rapture’ in Em’s trash,” John gestured behind himself to the bathroom door.

The recently discovered dhampir crossed her arms. “And you didn’t think, ‘Hey I don’t know what that the hell that is; that’s suspicious’?”

“Fuck off,” John replied crossly, his composure slipping under her condescending stare. “In case you didn’t realise, I’m not the kinda guy that gets out much. Parties… ****… all of it is pretty new to me, and I definitely don’t know what kinda shit’s popular these days. For all I knew it was just an off-brand ecstacy. And besides, I was looking for needles at the time…”

“Right… sometimes I forget you were just a reclusive dork a month ago... given what you are now and all,” Sam mused, her stance softening once again and her tone switching to playful as she delivered her light-hearted if mildly offensive compliment.

“Rather than standing around arguing,” Lee interrupted, handing them each a pair of gloves and several plastic sleeves. “I want the contents of that trash can bagged and brought to me.”

John nodded in compliance and snapped on the gloves before heading into the bathroom. His three friends followed soon after. Digging through the trash, he quickly found the canister of ‘Rapture’ again and spent a moment to examine it. It was fairly innocuous among the other empty pharmaceuticals he had found in Em’s trash, a simple, plain white canister listing the name, instructions on how many pills to take, and a few other warnings and regulations.

“Huh…” Sam hummed as she looked it over herself. “Well, it looks about as legit as any other pharmaceutical I suppose - not that that means much. But I’ll concede it doesn’t seem like the kinda shit you get in a doggy bag from a sketchy dude under the freeway.”

“What about you, Red, Moira? Seen anything like this before?” Sam asked curiously.

“No, of course not! I would never involve myself with such substances!” Moira said quickly, causing Sam to roll her eyes.

“Don’t think so,” Red shrugged. “I usually just stick to fermented fruits and Saccha’s faery dust when I want to stick my head in the clouds.”

“Well, maybe Lee’s police contacts will know something,” John suggested as they finished bagging evidence.

“I hope so,” Red responded, pulling off her rubber gloves and tossing them into the recently emptied trash can.

Lee was writing in a notebook when the group returned to the bedroom. It had a dusty and battered black cover with no visible markings, and, as far as John could see, the inside pages were blank, even in the places were his pen directly touched paper.

“That’s a neat trick,” John observed.

“A trick at best,” Lee replied, snapping the leather-bound book closed and pocketing it. Clearly it wasn’t something Lee was willing to chat about. “Show me it,” he said sternly.

John nodded and handed him the Rapture canister, now safely sealed in a forensic bag. Lee’s cold, grey eyes scanned the label before simply storing it in his briefcase.

“...So?” Sam voiced expectantly.

Lee’s brow arced at the girl curiously. “Yes?” he asked, his voice as vapid as usual.

Sam let out a frustrated sigh. “Is that what we’re looking for?”

“Perhaps,” Lee replied. “Though I do not dare say its certain, it’s a lead nonetheless.”

“So what now?” John voiced.

“These girls need to be hospitalised,” Lee explained. “It will have to be the Apothecaries; a mundane hospital won’t be equipped to deal with any magical related complications and the Order simply doesn’t have the resources to spare. In any case, I have a contact among the Apothecaries that may be able to assist - Dr. Arzt, whom I believe you’re acquainted with, Newman.”

“Yeah,” John nodded. “He’ll help?”

“For payment, naturally,” Lee replied. “But he deals with hundreds of patients daily, it’s possible he’s encountered Rapture or its effects before.”

“Gotcha.”

“Um… if need be, the Order will, of course, share a portion of medical expenses,” Moira voiced.

“I can’t ask you to do that, Moira,” John gave her an appreciative smile as he turned the offer down. “Your family is doing so much for me already…”

“It isn’t an issue!” Moira insisted, a rose colour returning to her cheeks. “I mean… it is also in our interest that this **** be investigated. We can’t allow for innocents to be affected by Abyssal matters.”

“But-”

“I’m not going to take no for an answer, Newman,” Moira interjected. “Just accept it.”

It was rare she was so forceful with him. “Fine,” he sighed. “Thank you.”

“I have a question,” Sam declared. “Who are the fuck are the Apothecaries?”

“...Right, there’s going to be a lot to fill you in on,” John sighed. “And to be honest I don’t know that I’m the right person either, I’m still pretty new to the Abyss as well.”

“That’s okay,” Red smiled at Sam. “We’ll do our best to help you acclimatise…