Chapter 7 Revenge

• [Tabitha’s POV]
• “Are you sure you’re fine to be alone?”
• Bonnie’s question lingers between us as I fumble for my keys.
• After leaving Morte Diem, my mind had been a mess. I still couldn’t believe that I came so fucking close to screwing around with vampires and then just simply let them get away after they placed their marks on me!
• What in the world had gotten into me? Why did I even let my guard down? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t stop replaying the scene in my head again and again.
• “I’ll be fine,” I assure her, making my voice sound light. “I’m just going to shower and go to bed. Don’t forget that we still have to work tomorrow.”
• Once I’m inside, I look down at my wrist again, taking in the mark that marks my skin while my anger comes to a boil, but before I can let it slowly devour me, my phone begins to ring.
• Sighing, I pull it from my pocket and take in the number of the precinct on it.
• Frowning, I swipe to answer and bring it to my ear.
• “Tabitha!” Dale, our overnight chief, booms, nearly deafening me. “We’ve got trouble!”
• “You got that right,” I huff. “Why in the hell are you calling me so late when I’m off the clock?”
• “Because there’s a case that requires your expertise.”
• My expertise was seeing flashes of what happened to a victim before they were either attacked, killed, or even kidnapped. It was my odd quirk that started to manifest itself after my brother’s death. However, even to this day, I wasn’t able to see full scenes, but it was enough to solve all but one case that has come my way.
• “Fill me in,” I sigh, turning around and making my way back out. “And give me a location.”
• “Female, around thirty years of age, found with her neck slit open.”
• “Sounds like a normal case,” I point out, beginning to move. “Why did you call me for..."
• “It looks as though her organs have been harvested.”
• “Harvested?” I hiss, my eyes growing wide. “What the hell?”
• “I’m not sure,” he admits. “That’s why we need you.”
• “Sure, give me the address, and I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
• “It’s at Mount Auburn Cemetery.”
• “Got it; be there soon.”
• When I arrive, I’m greeted by many flashing lights and then Dale, who is pink-faced and beelining for me.
• “About damn time!” He snaps, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the back of the cemetery. “The coroner was trying to go ahead and take her.”
• “He could have,” I point out. “Whether she is here or there, it wouldn’t matter.”
• “Will your mojo work if someone else’s energy is present?”
• It would, but it would also risk leaving me with glimpses of other people's day-to-day lives. However, I knew that the coroner had an issue with me since he was always made to wait for my arrival before continuing with his job.
• “There you are,” she hisses when she sees me. “Could you please tell your partner to stop interfering with my work?"
• “Aren’t you interfering with ours?” I counter with a smirk. “I think you forget that cases like this fall under the jurisdiction of BPD’s supernatural department.”
• “How do you know it is supernatural in nature?”
• “You see that empty torso?" I sigh, motioning to the body on the ground. “If you look closely, you can see telltale signs of claws being used.”
• Kneeling, I look closer, trying to determine exactly what kind of creature they could belong to, but they don’t match the ones I’m used to.
• Furrowing my brows, I lean even closer until I find something odd resting just beneath the rib cage.
• “Glove,” I snap, holding up a hand to Dale.
• “What is it?” He asks as he digs out the glove. “Did you find something?”
• “Not sure,” I admit, slipping the glove on. “Just let me..."
• Reaching beneath the ribs, I grab the small square that at first looks like a piece of paper, but as I remove it, I realize that it is a picture.
• Frowning, I turn it over and then let out a hiss of shock as I take in the one in the photograph.
• “This,” I growl, unable to believe what I’m seeing. “What kind of sick fucking joke is this?”
• “What’s wrong?” Dale asks, leaning over so he can peer over my shoulder at what I’m holding. “Holy shit, is that you?”
• It was… It was me at my most recent investigation, but the area was supposed to have been cleared of all bystanders, so how...
• “Is that the Burgess case?” He continues when I remain silent. “Why would someone leave a photo of that?”
• “Dunno,” I admit, until I look beneath the photo.
• Immediately, I feel my heart begin to pound in my chest as my eyes start to scan the cemetery, looking for the one responsible.
• “What is it, Tab?” Dale murmurs, clamping a hand on my shoulder.
• “This,” I respond, handing him the photo so that he can see the tiny words that rest on it.
• ‘Run Far Away.’
• This wasn’t a coincidence; someone intentionally brought me out here to warn me, and if they thought I was going to heed their warning, they were wrong. If anything, I would push harder to figure out who the fuck they were.
• “Sick bastards,” Dale grumbles. “Tab, who the hell have you pissed off recently?”
• “Who haven’t I pissed off?” I counter.
• In my line of work, I was constantly having members of the supernatural world sent far away where they couldn’t be menaces to society anymore.
• “Anyway, this isn’t the reason I’m here.”
• As shaken as I was over the picture and warning, there were more pressing matters to attend to, and that was figuring out exactly how this poor woman ended up like this.
• Pulling off my glove, I gingerly reach out and touch the woman’s arm and then close my eyes, reaching out slowly until I can feel the familiar string of memories that remained in the deceased even after they were gone.
• Snagging onto that little piece, I allow myself to begin to get sucked in until a flash of a man with glowing green eyes and a reptilian nose starts to appear.
• His face is handsome and probably the reason the woman even came to this place with him, but as he continues to stare at her, his body shifts and contorts until he is a large crocodile-looking creature with sharp teeth that drip venom.
• Opening my eyes, I look to Dale, who is watching me expectantly as the images continue to come, one after another of the creature attacking and the woman’s fight to escape.
• “Get a list of all shifters for me,” I announce, getting to my feet. “The ones who can shift into reptiles in particular.”
• It looked like it was going to be a long night, but at least it gave me a distraction from the twin vampires for the time being.