Twilight homicides Prologue | A forest of death | Charlie Swan
Last night I dreamt I stood at the edge of the forest again. Everything from the trees to the grass was covered in frost and glittering in the pale moonlight. As I entered the forest I felt as if some unseen force was leading me along the path. I could feel a sense of unease as the moonlight disappeared behind the trees, leaving only darkness. I was afraid and wanted to run in the opposite direction, but my body betrayed me. My feet and legs moved on and on as if they were no longer mine until finally, I reached the meadow. I stood looking out over misty frozen land and for a moment the mist and air appeared to take the form of a spectre. I could feel my heart pounding with fright as my limbs locked in fear. As the distant figure turned to face me I could have recognised her anywhere. Her deathly white skin was hard to distinguish from within the mist, but those menacing yellow eyes glinted at me like headlights in the distance. I knew then that there was no longer any trace of humanity in this creature, only a hollow shell of what remained. As she slowly crept towards me, my limbs and chest filled with a terrible pain and I made a mad dash back the way I came. I could sense her presence like the devil at my heels as I bolted for the moonlit entrance to the forest, but no matter how fast I went she was always there, and suddenly I felt an Icy cold hand grasp my wrist as I awoke from my dream. None of us can ever go back or undo what's been done, I know that much, but sometimes I think of what I could have done, and how things might have been different from the moment I received those fateful case files.
It was late November of 2008, Forks Washington when I and my team of officers gathered in the police station meeting room. They seated themselves, browsing through the new case file, as I pulled over the glass drawing board, pinned to which was a map, pictures and notes. "The victim's name is Jerry Myers. He was a farm owner in Seattle who was out working in the fields and somehow ended up being attacked at this spot not far from his home." I said, pointing to a picture of Myers, and then to the area where he died on the map. "The cause of death was Hypovolaemia. Blood loss, from bites."
"Bites? From what? An animal?" Said Officer Trent Hobson. He was a tall spindly man with light brown hair and our newest member of the team.
"That was what the coroners thought, but upon further examination, they discovered that the bite marks were made with human teeth. The victim's massive loss of blood also points to murder. The man lost several litres of blood, but there was little to none of it anywhere at the crime scene." I said. For a moment there was only silence, as the team didn't seem to know how to react. Luckily Officer Barnabas McQueen broke the silence.
"Are we talking about wannabe vampires?" He asked with a stunned tone of voice. His already wrinkled face seemed to grow older with the worried look in his pale blue eyes.
"It looks that way. The coroners are combing through dental records, but so far there has been no match."
"Wait, if this happened in Seattle why are we being put on the case?"
"Because last night the body of Lacey Corwin was found at Mill Creek. She also died from blood loss due to numerous bite marks. Inspector Clearwater was called to the scene. He's at the coroner's office right now." I said, taking a picture of the young woman from the file in front of me and pinning it beside one of Myers. Corwin was a young woman in her early twenties. She had long brown hair that emphasised her pretty face and green eyes. Myers was a large, muscular man in his forties, with light ginger hair and bold blue eyes. I felt a little uneasy as I looked at the pictures before turning to face my team.
"Is there any idea as to the motive, Chief? Do the victims have any connection?" Asked Officer Regina Jepson as her dark eyes scanned the notes in the file. She was a petite woman with almond skin and dark hair which she always kept tied up in a bobble.
"Not that we know of. The family and friends of both victims are still being questioned, but so far no one seems to know of any connection between them. We also checked their records and credit card details, and they don't give any indication that these two even met each other." I said.
"Whoever did this would have to have some brute strength on them. It says here that Myers was weighed at 345 pounds, and according to this he was quite the athlete in his youth." Jepson said as she held up a picture of Myers. In the picture, he was holding a very impressive Wrestling trophy. "Who in their right mind would dare to take a chunk out of this guy?
"I spoke to Chief Reagan of the Seattle police department an hour ago. She's currently looking for anyone who checked in to the hospital or health centre with suspicious injuries. She said she'll contact us once she's done going over the evidence from Myers case." I said, wondering if Reagan had any success. Octavia Reagan and I went to the police academy together. It was just before I married my high school sweetheart, Renee.
As we carried on working I sent Regina and Trent to The Blakeslee's Bar & Grill. That was the last place Lacey Corwin was seen alive. Perhaps someone could provide us with some clue as to the identity of her murderer. As for Barnabas and the others, I sent them to investigate any newcomers in town. Whoever did this had been in Seattle three days ago and arrived in town sometime between then and last night. Anyone looking for a new home, to people paying a flying visit were now suspects. Even the residents of Forks who had left town at the time of Myers murder were to be questioned.
After everyone had left, I tidied up the interview room and headed to my office. I had a lot to do, and for a moment I didn't know where to start. I sat at my desk and looked at a small picture of my daughter, Bella. She was sixteen now and soon she would be coming to live with me. It was the best news I'd had in a long time. I never saw much of my daughter thanks to my ex-wife. We were very young when we got married and had Bella, but after only two years of marriage Renee suddenly told me she'd had enough. She told she hated life in Forks and that she no longer loved me. Then, as if that wasn't painful enough, she had already packed her bags and took our daughter with her then and there. The next morning I tried to contact her, but she was already in Phoenix. She'd boarded the last plane just a couple of hours after walking out the door.
I looked down at the files on my desk and began to doubt that Bella moving to Forks was a good idea. I didn't have long to think about it, unfortunately, as the phone started ringing. It was Inspector Harry Clearwater on the other end. "Charlie, you better come to the morgue as soon as possible."
"What did you find?"
"match's to those teeth marks. Three in fact. We're looking for three people." He said.
"Three? Who are they?"I asked.
"That's the problem. The teeth are on the system but the people they belong to were never caught, mostly because they seem to have moved around a lot. These cases are all over the place, and some of them go back a few decades." His tone was becoming more frantic.
"I'm on my way. We need to know everything we can about these people." I left the station and got into my car as quickly as possible. As I drove along the road I remember having this awful feeling, like I was being watched, but there was no one there with me, at least that's what I thought.
It was late November of 2008, Forks Washington when I and my team of officers gathered in the police station meeting room. They seated themselves, browsing through the new case file, as I pulled over the glass drawing board, pinned to which was a map, pictures and notes. "The victim's name is Jerry Myers. He was a farm owner in Seattle who was out working in the fields and somehow ended up being attacked at this spot not far from his home." I said, pointing to a picture of Myers, and then to the area where he died on the map. "The cause of death was Hypovolaemia. Blood loss, from bites."
"Bites? From what? An animal?" Said Officer Trent Hobson. He was a tall spindly man with light brown hair and our newest member of the team.
"That was what the coroners thought, but upon further examination, they discovered that the bite marks were made with human teeth. The victim's massive loss of blood also points to murder. The man lost several litres of blood, but there was little to none of it anywhere at the crime scene." I said. For a moment there was only silence, as the team didn't seem to know how to react. Luckily Officer Barnabas McQueen broke the silence.
"Are we talking about wannabe vampires?" He asked with a stunned tone of voice. His already wrinkled face seemed to grow older with the worried look in his pale blue eyes.
"It looks that way. The coroners are combing through dental records, but so far there has been no match."
"Wait, if this happened in Seattle why are we being put on the case?"
"Because last night the body of Lacey Corwin was found at Mill Creek. She also died from blood loss due to numerous bite marks. Inspector Clearwater was called to the scene. He's at the coroner's office right now." I said, taking a picture of the young woman from the file in front of me and pinning it beside one of Myers. Corwin was a young woman in her early twenties. She had long brown hair that emphasised her pretty face and green eyes. Myers was a large, muscular man in his forties, with light ginger hair and bold blue eyes. I felt a little uneasy as I looked at the pictures before turning to face my team.
"Is there any idea as to the motive, Chief? Do the victims have any connection?" Asked Officer Regina Jepson as her dark eyes scanned the notes in the file. She was a petite woman with almond skin and dark hair which she always kept tied up in a bobble.
"Not that we know of. The family and friends of both victims are still being questioned, but so far no one seems to know of any connection between them. We also checked their records and credit card details, and they don't give any indication that these two even met each other." I said.
"Whoever did this would have to have some brute strength on them. It says here that Myers was weighed at 345 pounds, and according to this he was quite the athlete in his youth." Jepson said as she held up a picture of Myers. In the picture, he was holding a very impressive Wrestling trophy. "Who in their right mind would dare to take a chunk out of this guy?
"I spoke to Chief Reagan of the Seattle police department an hour ago. She's currently looking for anyone who checked in to the hospital or health centre with suspicious injuries. She said she'll contact us once she's done going over the evidence from Myers case." I said, wondering if Reagan had any success. Octavia Reagan and I went to the police academy together. It was just before I married my high school sweetheart, Renee.
As we carried on working I sent Regina and Trent to The Blakeslee's Bar & Grill. That was the last place Lacey Corwin was seen alive. Perhaps someone could provide us with some clue as to the identity of her murderer. As for Barnabas and the others, I sent them to investigate any newcomers in town. Whoever did this had been in Seattle three days ago and arrived in town sometime between then and last night. Anyone looking for a new home, to people paying a flying visit were now suspects. Even the residents of Forks who had left town at the time of Myers murder were to be questioned.
After everyone had left, I tidied up the interview room and headed to my office. I had a lot to do, and for a moment I didn't know where to start. I sat at my desk and looked at a small picture of my daughter, Bella. She was sixteen now and soon she would be coming to live with me. It was the best news I'd had in a long time. I never saw much of my daughter thanks to my ex-wife. We were very young when we got married and had Bella, but after only two years of marriage Renee suddenly told me she'd had enough. She told she hated life in Forks and that she no longer loved me. Then, as if that wasn't painful enough, she had already packed her bags and took our daughter with her then and there. The next morning I tried to contact her, but she was already in Phoenix. She'd boarded the last plane just a couple of hours after walking out the door.
I looked down at the files on my desk and began to doubt that Bella moving to Forks was a good idea. I didn't have long to think about it, unfortunately, as the phone started ringing. It was Inspector Harry Clearwater on the other end. "Charlie, you better come to the morgue as soon as possible."
"What did you find?"
"match's to those teeth marks. Three in fact. We're looking for three people." He said.
"Three? Who are they?"I asked.
"That's the problem. The teeth are on the system but the people they belong to were never caught, mostly because they seem to have moved around a lot. These cases are all over the place, and some of them go back a few decades." His tone was becoming more frantic.
"I'm on my way. We need to know everything we can about these people." I left the station and got into my car as quickly as possible. As I drove along the road I remember having this awful feeling, like I was being watched, but there was no one there with me, at least that's what I thought.