Ed returns to his seat and scribbles something down on his notepad. He looks up atme.
"Anything else? Take yourtime."
I flip through the file once more, peering at the autopsy photographs, then back to the coroner'sreports.
"Given the 9-1-1 calls directing police to the dumpsite, and the fact that they were all decapitated, it sounds as if these are executions meant to send amessage."
I glance at Ed but his face is poker straight, as is Terri's. Only Michel is smiling as he looks down at his own file. That must be good. He wouldn't be smiling if I was doing a badjob…
"Anythingelse?"
I shrug. "That's all I have," I say and close the file. "These victims didn't put up a fight. There are no restraint wounds." I look up at them. "They were drained, and then decapitated and bound postmortem like animals forslaughter."
"Did you note anything unusual about the autopsy photos?" Michel reaches into his briefcase and pull out a small magnifying glass, handing it to me. "Take anotherlook."
"Give me a moment," I say and bend over, passing the lens across the photographs. I wipe the surface of one where I see a small mark like a brand beneath the ear. A LorraineCross.
Then I examine another victim'sneck.
"The scarring," I say, looking up to see if I've got it right. "It's a brand of some kind. Looks like a crusadercross."
Michel doesn't even bother to suppress a smile – just looks up at me, beaming. I feel a rush of elation at his expression and can't help but smile back, feeling a littlegiddy.
"Well done," Ed says and leans back. "What do you think a tattoo like thatmeans?"
I shrug. "A cult of somekind?"
He nods. "Good job. Now, just a few words about our work. We track vampires, and do whatever we can to keep any information about them from the public. You'll be what we call a 'blood witness'. You'll help search for evidence on cases where a vampire might have been involved in an illegal kill, and if we get a suspect, you'll read them, use your telepathy to search their memory for kills. You'll be working nights from now on, and Michel will be yourpartner."
I nod, trying to keep my expression professional, but of course, the notion of being Michel's partner makes my heart beat a little faster. He'd called me his 'Adept' and I wonder if there's a disconnect between what Ed thinks and what Michel thinks about my relationship tohim.
"During the summer, you'll work for us. In the fall, you'll study once more, and work only part-time. You can use our resources to help find who killed your mother. In fact, we're hoping you succeed because her case is stillcold."
Terri takes up the narrative. "Now, just a few things to get straight about the SCU," she says. "We rely on the utmost secrecy and work off the books. We're both clandestine and black. Our cases, if revealed, would cause widespread panic and threaten the very fragile truce between vampires and mortals. Now, to the difficult part," Terri says. She turns to Michel and nods. "Agent de Cernay has to read you, make sure that you're not working with or under the influence of any rogueelement."
"What?"
"As representative of the Council, he has to certify that you're not in league with the enemy. Just let him read you, briefly and then he'll show you how towitness."
Uh oh. He's going to readme?
All I can think of is that he'll know I have a translated copy of the manuscript and he'll freak onme.
"He's already read me," I say, hoping to prevent this. "He knows I'm not involved withanyone."
"I know, Eve, but this is a formality. It won't take long. Just relax and follow hisinstructions."
Michel pushes his chair back and panic rises in me as he leans over me, his hands on the armrests of mychair.
"Do you have to do this?" I say and cringe, pulling away fromhim.
"Relax Eve," he says softly. "You have nothing to fear from this or fromme."
With his face just inches from mine, I can smell his scent again – sandalwood. It reminds me of him being so close in his office, of the feel of his body against mine when he lay on top of me on my couch, of his kiss and already, my body warms from the thought. He takes one of my hands in his and of course, a thrill runs through me at his touch – a thrill of fear and of desire. I try to blank my mind, closing my eyes, pressing my lipstogether.
"This won't take a minute," he says, his voice a little breathless, as if he's already felt my attraction for him. "Look at me, Eve." I open my eyes. "First, I'll check to see if you're compromised. Then you can read me, see my last illegal kill because that's what you'll do when you witness. Try toconcentrate."
Of course all I can think of is how beautiful his eyes are. I try to focus on the color – they're so blue – pure blue. Soft blue. I think to myself that he shouldn't be so beautiful, that a vampire should look feral, evil, dangerous. I think of anything but what I don't want to think about. But that just brings up exactly what I don't want to think about and my heart aches for him. I try to blot out the images that pop into my mind's eye but fail – I see him on the altar with the vampire above him, then him back in the castle, the women trying to undresshim.