Bamboozled

 

‘Lothario’ Jack Wisetail is looking for a different kind of female to romance and one afternoon while playing pool with his cousin, he thinks he finds her.  Emily Woodward stumbles into his local bar for a rest stop on her road trip and instantly attracts Jack’s attention.  He turns on the charm and successfully woos the feisty redhead.  

 

Through Jack, Emily learns that she’s a North American Werewolf, which explains her blackouts and waking up to traumatic murder scenes.  Since Jack is part European Werewolf and part Lokoti Werewolf, he understands Emily’s bloodlust.  He offers to help her try to control her dangerous nature.  However, when he brings her home to meet his family, both Emily and Jack are in for a surprise that leaves him bamboozled…

Coming June 2025

The good looking boy who looked like he could be part Native Alaskan, waved his hand towards the vacant seat.

 

(Excerpt Alma Chapter 1)

 

            After I signed in, I was told which classes I would be in.  I was given a map to download onto my phone of the school building, with my class time table.  I was relieved to see on my schedule that I was placed into the Home Science and Music classes that I nominated as my electives.

            The school bell sounded and hurriedly I left the office.  I walked down the now empty corridor looking for Room 306 for my first class of the day which was English.  To be honest, I didn’t find the school map that helpful.  I kept losing my place by having to check the ‘key’ at the bottom, to work out what all the different colours meant.

            Merde! I'm going to be late for my first class! Now I’m really going to stand out!

            At last, I found Room 306 after walking up one staircase and down another corridor.  Nervously, I approached the closed door where I knocked once before slowly opening it.

            The English teacher was a red-headed woman, who was standing up the front of the class.  She was writing on an electronic board with a sensor pen before she paused to look on my lateness, unimpressed.

            “I’m – I’m new,” I tried to explain.

            I heard some snickering from the students who were all staring at me.  Most of them eyed me analytically and looked unimpressed with what they saw.  Their expressions mirrored the look on my teacher's face.

            “You’re new?” the teacher raised her eyebrows. “That would explain why I’ve never seen you before.”

            There was more snickering as the whole class stared at my appearance.  I stood there, like I was stuck in the mud, wondering if I was supposed to say anything else? The teacher didn’t ask for my name nor did she offer hers.

            “Well, unless you want to stand there and help me teach, you can find a seat," she said at last.

            My face burned in embarrassment as I looked for a place to sit down and hide, but there were only two places.  Beside the vacant seats, sat fashionably dressed boys or girls who looked like they were secretly hoping I wouldn’t sit beside them. But if they didn’t want me to, where else am I supposed to sit?  I’m going to have to sit in one of those seats whether they like it or not.

            I moved towards a seat beside a boy who was wearing a sports team jacket, when abruptly he put his foot on the chair to stop me from sitting down.

            Mon Dieu!  This day was worse than I could have imagined!  Not only does nobody like me, but they already hate me!  I froze in terror as I didn't know what to do, when out of the blue I heard this…

            SMACK!

            …a good looking boy who was sitting behind the mean boy who'd stopped me from sitting down, had just slapped him on the back of his head!

            “Don’t be a dickhead, Johnson! Move your frickin’ big foot!” he snapped.

            The other kids who'd witnessed this, burst out laughing, whereas I wished I could turn invisible.

            The good looking boy was sitting next to a broad-shouldered girl with a very pretty face.  But her physique was what made you notice about her first, as she was one of the strongest looking girls I'd ever seen.  Truly, she looked like she could have been a weightlifter!  She had bright blue eyes and long, wavy, dark blonde hair, and was looking at me with a curious expression.

            She was sitting next to another boy, who was the exact opposite to her as he was very thin.  He had faded blue eyes and his pallor was so unnaturally white, his lips were almost blue.  To say he looked sickly would have been an understatement. 

            The good looking boy who looked like he could be part Native Alaskan, waved his hand towards the vacant seat. 

            Immediately, I sat down and busied myself by taking out my laptop.  I tried to ignore the death stare by the sports jacket guy named Johnson.  He glared at me then the good looking boy and back to me. 

            Mon Dieu!  That's it, tomorrow I’m not coming back to this school!  I’m never going to come to this school again!

            However, I noticed the good looking boy didn't bother with Johnson's threatening looks, he was too busy staring at me.  And he wasn’t just staring, but he looked completely transfixed.  Then I noticed so too were the blonde girl as well as the pale guy.

            The good looking guy had scruffy, dark brown hair which sat just below his ears and dark brown eyes.  Although he and the girl were sitting down, I could tell they were both tall.  Their pale, thin friend wasn’t as tall, or anywhere as built-up as the other two.

            These three weren’t dressed as trendily as their classmates and seemed to have their own style.  The good looking guy was wearing blue jeans, a grey t-shirt and a brown suede jacket.  The girl was wearing brown jeans, a pale blue shirt and a black suede jacket.  The pale guy was wearing black jeans, a white shirt and a black, pin-striped suit jacket.

            What’s more, it wasn’t just the good looking guy that was staring, but it was all three.  Whereas the first guy’s mouth hung open, the girl and the pale guy looked very curious.  Then, the two smiled in a friendly way, but the first guy continued to stare.  When the girl noticed her friend’s mouth was hanging open, she whacked him on the arm to make him snap out of it.

            “What?” he looked back in surprise. “Oh yeah.”

            He straightened, closed his mouth and gave me a goofy grin. 

            I liked his smile, it told me that he was a nice person.

 

*****

“But Mama, look at their clothes! Look at my clothes! I won’t fit in here! I fitted in, in my old school in Nara!”

(Excerpt Alma Chapter 1)

 

            We sat in our vehicle and looked at the kids who appeared to be my age or older, all stream through the front doors of the large school building.

            The students were a mix of Caucasians, Asian-descent or Native Alaskans. I spotted a couple of African-American kids, but their hair was treated so it looked smooth and straight, not like my frizzy hair.  All of their clothes looked like the latest fashion and they all carried the latest models of laptops or tablets or mobile phones.  I saw how they pretended to look busy by messaging each other using their technology, as they checked their class schedules on their tablets. Some of them even wore large earphones to listen to loud music and block the world out.

            I knew I was going to stick out with my old clothes. My laptop was second-hand and used to be Mama’s and my mobile phone was old so it didn’t have all of the extra features of the newer models.  In Nara none of this mattered, but here I was worried that I wouldn’t be accepted because of it.

            “Can I move back to Mali and live with Uncle Bouren and Aunt Menaka?”  I passed her a pleading look.

            “No," she was quick to glare. “Your father left me for another woman and now you want to leave me too?”

            “But Mama, look at their clothes! Look at my clothes! I won’t fit in here! I fitted in, in my old school in Nara!”

            “Then make them fit in with YOU!” she flared and next, she hit the control for my door to make it open. “Now go to school!”

            With a huff to show my unhappiness, I climbed out of the vehicle.  Then as I slowly walked up the concrete path towards the large building, I looked back.  Mama powered up the hover-car and I watched the vehicle rise into the air.  Lastly, she threw me a wave before she flew off down the road.

            Merde! I’m all alone and I’m going to have to ask one of these fashionable kids where the school office is to pick up my class timetable.  I walked through the doors to find a crowded school corridor with lockers lining the walls.  The students stood with their friends in front of them, either putting things in or taking them out, as they all talked loudly.

            There weren’t any signs that I could see for the school's office, so I was going to have to ask for directions.  I started to walk over to two girls who appeared to be my age, who were touching up their made-up faces using small mirrors.   Mama would never let me wear make-up to school.  Now there’s another reason why I’ll stick out like an elephant next to a giraffe.

            “Pardon," I smiled as warmly as I could. “Could you please tell me where the school office is?”

            “Down the corridor and turn left," one of the girls answered without looking away from her mirror.

            “Merci - er - I mean thank you," I replied awkwardly.

            Merde!  They were like the neighbour Mama and I encountered.  Only worse, the teenagers here won't even look at you.

            I walked down the corridor and I turned left just as the girl directed only to find another long corridor.  Mon Dieu, please don’t make me have to ask for directions again!  Feeling lost, I started to walk down this hallway past more lockers and kids chattering loudly.  I still couldn’t see any signs of any school offices so I stopped and looked about, confused.

            Just then a pretty girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes noticed me standing in the middle of the corridor.  She was standing with a similarly looking friend and I think they were Native Alaskan. The first girl walked up and smiled which immediately made me like her.

            “Hi, you look lost," she laughed, but not meanly.

            “I’m trying to find the school office.” I told her.

            “It’s just down the end of this corridor," she pointed.  "The door is hidden, so I’ll show you.”

            “Thank you!” I gushed in relief.

            Next, both girls walked me down the corridor and as they did, they openly examined my appearance.

            “Where’s your accent from?” the second girl asked out of interest.

            “I just moved here from Mali.”  I answered.

            “Mali?” the second girl echoed in surprise. “That’s a big change coming to Alaska.”

            “Where’s Mali?” the first girl enquired.

            “In Africa," the second girl answered for me.

            “Wow," the first girl sounded impressed before she stopped and pointed out a door.  “There it is.”

            “Thank you very much,” I said gratefully to the two.

            “Good luck on your first day," the first girl smiled then she and her friend walked on.

            I gave them a wave as they departed and I wished I could be in their classes but unfortunately they were younger than me. 

 

*****

How could we make the Detective and Forensic Scientist understand that this was a war between Werewolves and Vampires?

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

It took me a minute or two to regain my bearings and recognize physical sight instead of my gifted sight.  I blinked then I blinked again as my mind returned to Alaska.  I lay on my back, breathing deeply to slow my racing heart.

            Eventually, I turned my head to look at the digital clock sitting on my bedside table and saw the time read as 7.49 AM.

            Were the Sabre’s awake, especially Aunt B and Uncle Dec?  I wanted to run into their bedroom and deliver my warning.  I knew they'd believe what I had ‘seen’ in my sleep, but what would their reaction be?

            Would they harm the Moscow Police Officers?  I've seen what Uncle Dec can do to protect his family.  Could we think of a peaceful solution instead that prevented his arrest?  How could we make the Detective and Forensic Scientist understand that this was a war between Werewolves and Vampires?

            The smell of bacon and eggs cooking filled my room, indicating that he was awake and preparing food for the family as usual – which now included me.

            Uncle Dec wasn’t really the cold-blooded murderer the Officers thought.  But how to make them see this, without exposing the Sabre family and the Lokoti Tribe’s secret?  Now that would be tricky. 

            Oh dear Mama in heaven, what do I do?

            Anxiously, I jumped out of bed and flung open my bedroom door.  I raced down the upstairs hallway in my flannel pyjamas then slowed as I approached the staircase.  But just as I started down the stairs, I stopped.

            I saw below the Sabre family congregated around the table with Uncle Dec carrying people’s plates out from the kitchen.  He and Aunt B were dressed but their children were still in their pyjamas.  Susanna was wearing her ‘Scooby Doo’ set and Sophia was wearing dark purple satin.  Lucia sat in her usual seat in a white singlet top and grey pyjama bottoms.  They looked just like a regular family preparing to eat their Saturday morning breakfast.

            “Mali, you’re right on time.” Uncle Dec greeted, as he carried out a plate and put it down at my spot.  “Pull up a seat.”

            But I couldn’t eat, not with the bad news I was carrying inside.

            Aunt B noticed my hesitation and she asked, “Mali, what’s up?”

            I opened my mouth to answer but I couldn’t find my voice, I was so nervous.

            Lucia and Sophia noticed this as they looked up from their food whereas Sues seemed oblivious and kept on eating. 

            “Mali, are you OK?” Lucia looked on concerned.

            “Spit it out!” Sophia prompted.  “Our breakfast is going cold!”

            My wide eyes met Uncle Dec’s curious ones as he stood beside his seat at the head of the table, holding the last plate of food which was for himself.

            “I had another storm dream.” I uttered out.  “They’re coming for you.”

            His eyes narrowed as he squared off his shoulders defiantly as if he thought I meant more Vampires. 

            “Who Mali?”  Aunt B stood up in alarm. “Who are coming?”

            “The Moscow Police.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Legal Department of Hodge Endeavor may be protecting their real identities, but it doesn't mean you can't simply interview them."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

This gave Griggori an idea and he turned to Julia with a hopeful expression.

            "What about their daughter... this Lucia Grace Sabre...was a birth certificate created for her?"

            "Da," she nodded.  "But like her father, there are no medical records for her with any of the hospitals in Alaska or the rest of the US."

            "Where was she born?" he quizzed.

            She wandered back to her computer and pressed in a few commands before announcing, "It was a home birth, at their address on Lokoti Tribal Lands, overseen by the tribe's Medicine Man."

            "Well, he would have medical scans or blood work for the family," he brightened.

            "Again, we would need a subpoena to get that information," she said unhappily.  "What would we say to your Lieutenant to get him to issue the order?"

            He deflated in a defeated manner by bending over his computer and covering his face with his hands.

            "If only we could scan this Declan and Bianca Sabre and then we would have the evidence we need to solve this case," he sighed.

            Julia opened her mouth to say something but then she hesitated and closed it again.

            "What?" he noticed.  "What were you going to say?"

            "The Legal Department of Hodge Endeavor may be protecting their real identities, but it doesn't mean you can't simply interview them."

            "It doesn't?"

            "You've talked to numerous witnesses at the nightclubs the murders happened," she drawled.  "They all described a huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly.  So why not talk to another witness who's seen the same thing?"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Two hundred years is a long time to be married."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

"What do we know about Hodge Endeavor?" he postulated.  “The company began in the early 20th Century, starting out as a Pharmaceutical company which branched into Medicine and Engineering.  It made its money with cutting-edge technology in the field of medicine and computer science.  After World War Two, the company began a Finance division which worked on the Stock Market, known as The Hodge Endeavor Shares and Stock Exchange.  They have never made a bad investment.  Numerous times over the centuries the company has been audited but it has always come out clean.  It's politically connected, it helped organise the ‘Apology Admission’ that was signed by all of the world’s governments.  It did it by sponsoring financial, medical and educational aid to the former Third World countries, putting them on par with the First World’s economies.”

            "Politically connected, da," she deflated.  "Imagine telling your Lieutenant that your chief suspect is centuries old, has human and canine DNA, is OO Positive which shouldn't exist in nature, and has false birth certificates created for him by the most powerful company in human history."

            "What if our Mr X, or we should call him Declan Sabre, has a passport?"

            Next, he headed back to his computer, sat down on his stool and returned to work.

            "What are you looking for?" she pondered, as she came over to look.

            "Da, I was right, he does have a passport," he spoke excitedly.  "Now let's see if he's visited Russia on the dates the recent murders were carried out."

            Julia looked over his shoulder as he pressed a button here or there on the touch-screen however, he couldn't find anything.

            "Declan Sabre does have a passport but he hasn't used it yet."  Griggori groaned.  "According to this, he's never left the country."

            Tiredly, he rubbed his face and Julia gave his shoulders a sympathetic rub.

            "Da, he hasn't used his new passport yet," she pointed out.  "But what if it's because it's new, like his latest driver's license?  What if we did a search on his previous passports under his previous incarnations?"

            "It wouldn't hold up in court," he shook his head.  "His Defence Attorney could argue that it's a different Declan Sabre with a different date of birth."

            "Who've all lived at the same address with the same woman?" she arched her eyebrows.  "Two hundred years is a long time to be married."

"Once the US Government reorganized itself and law enforcement was re-established, the multinational corporation Hodge Endeavor protected Declan and Bianca Sabre by issuing fake ID's for them."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

“So, what do we know about the year 2101?" she sat down on her stool.

            "It was the year all of the world's governments signed the Apology Admission for World War Three," he shrugged.

            "So between the years 2062 when the Third World War occurred up until 2101 when the Admission was signed, we had chaos and lawlessness, da?"

            "Da," he verified.  "The US including Alaska would have had the same problems as Russia and many other countries did."

            "Nuclear fall out causing birth defects and radiation sickness, riots, governments collapsing, the media in disarray, looting, neighbour fighting neighbour over food and unpolluted natural resources," she listed off.

            "There were no longer functioning government departments which would have distributed driver's licenses, birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates or passports.  So our Mr X could have easily slipped through the cracks with no-one to identify him."

            "Once the US Government reorganized itself and law enforcement was re-established, the multinational corporation Hodge Endeavor protected Declan and Bianca Sabre by issuing fake ID's for them."  She agreed.

            Griggori stood up to stretch his legs again and he slowly began to pace up and down as he thought aloud.

"He's supposed to be in his forties, too? Like his wife, he looks like he's still in his twenties!"

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

Griggori pressed a new command into his computer which displayed the driver's license complete with a photo of a woman named Bianca Sabre.

            "She's attractive," Julia noted, as she looked on the woman's long, black hair, smooth white skin and dark blue eyes.

            "If you like that sort of thing," he shrugged back, before looking appreciatively at his girlfriend's blonde hair.

            "She looks good for her age, too," she remarked.  "Her date of birth has her in her forties but she looks like she's still in her twenties."

            "Let's see what her husband looks like," he hit a new command on the touch-screen and a new driver's license came up.

            "How do you know that she's married?" she arched an eyebrow.  "Perhaps she's a single mother."

            "Alma Sheriff's Department reported that after each mugging/wild animal attack, the husband arrived at his wife's side."  He said simply. 

            "Alma?" she echoed.

            "The name of the town in Alaska where the attacks took place," he brought her up to speed. "The husband was this man, Declan Sabre."

            Julia leaned in for a closer look, "He's supposed to be in his forties, too?  Like his wife, he looks like he's still in his twenties!"

            The Detective and Forensics Scientist stared at the male on the screen with handsome features, bright blue eyes and wavy, blonde hair down to his ears.

            "The couple are definitely in their forties because their eldest child is 16 years old and has a driver's license."  Griggori hit another button on the computer.

            Next, they were looking on a pretty teenaged girl with bright blue eyes and long, dark blonde hair.

            "Lucia Grace Sabre," she read the name off the screen.  "Where do the Sabre's live?"

            He enlarged the section of the license which displayed the address and read aloud, "5 Hill Road, Lokoti Tribal Lands, Lokoti National Park, Alaska."

            Just then Julia leaned back with a grave expression on her face which she turned on Griggori.

            "But how long have the Sabre's lived at this address?" she wondered.

            "Hmm?" he passed her a puzzled expression.

            "Declan Sabre and Bianca Sabre look young for their ages, da?" she began.  "Our Mr X doesn't seem to age, either.  Perhaps there's a connection between the Sabre's and our suspect?"

            His face took on a determined expression, "I'll do a background check on them."

            "And I'll check their medical histories and see if they've had any blood tests or scans, which will give us a sample of their DNA and blood type."

            Then the two went to work on their different computers with a renewed sense of purpose.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I have the case file open and what's interesting to note that on both times, Mr. X rescued the same woman."

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

"The huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly sounds like what our Mr X might be," Griggori continued.  "In 2364 there was a 'wild animal attack' in Alaska where witnesses described this creature as the one who did the attacking.  Three victims were mauled in a supermarket car park with their heads being eaten through.  It appears to be the preferred way our Mr. X kills his targets."

            "I saw this case file too," she nodded along, before returning to her Forensics notes.  "This creature has the same DNA as our Mr X and look at the blood work, Griggori.  The victims were OO Negative, but they're a different type of OO Negative."

            "So they're not the same species of OO Negatives from Scotland and St Petersburg?"

            "Nyet," she shook her head.  "Did you see there was a second attack in the same place again?  In 2372 Mr X mauled another three victims in the supermarket car park, who were also OO Negatives, but they too were another species.  Their blood work doesn't match the previous OO Negatives in the first attack nor the OO Negatives in Scotland or St Petersburg."

            "Da," he pointed at his computer screen, "I have the case file open and what's interesting to note that on both times, Mr. X rescued the same woman."

            "Huh?" she blinked, as if she misheard him.

Again, she left her computer with its Forensics reports and went to his to look on his which the InterPol reports were on.

            "On both occasions our huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly mauled the OO Negatives who were reportedly mugging a woman.  On the first occasion she was pregnant and on the second she had two small children with her.  Mr. X would suddenly appear on the scene, the security camera outside the supermarket would be disrupted by static so there's no footage of the animal attack, he would maul the three OO Negative muggers and then run off.  It's the same MO of our recent murders and the same description of the attacker."

            "Who is this woman?" she enquired.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A large creature which was supposed to look like a huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly but DNA analysis put it in the canidae family.

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

“Tell me in linear order.” Griggori requested. 

            “In China in 2226 AD, a large group of grey wolves were found dead in a remote area of the country.  Some of them had been killed by a silver sword, evident by the traces of metal in the singed flesh around the cuts. However, most of them had been mauled by a larger animal.  The DNA in the animals' wounds belonged to Mr. X but the animals also had OO Positive blood type.”

            “Wolves with OO Positive blood?" Griggori pondered.  "Why would Mr. X eat the wolves, especially if part of his DNA is canidae?"

            “As I said before, Mr. X is not a particular eater.” Julia said coolly. “May I also remind you that motive is your department!”

            “Yes, of course Babushka," he rubbed her back affectionately.  "Please continue.”

            “In Scotland in 2236, there was a report of a break-in," she began. "When the Police came to investigate, they found large amounts of OO Negative blood splatter as well as two different types of OO Positive blood.”

            “Wait, I remember this case, I read about it tonight.”  He moved over to his own computer.  “Nothing was stolen but the house was trashed.  It appeared to be the scene of a fight from the large amount of blood on the walls and floors.”

            Julia remained at her computer as she read out the results which had been uploaded to the InterPol Forensics Database.

            “Several samples of OO Positive saliva were found mixed in with the OO Negative blood.  From analyzing the DNA in the saliva, it appeared that there were two different kinds of OO Positives involved.  Mr. X appeared to work in conjunction with another type of OO Positive.  You see the differing third and fourth sequences here in the DNA?  Whoever fought with Mr. X was also OO Positive but they were a different type of species of OO Positive.  But the OO Negative victims must have fought back, because upstairs in one of the bedrooms there was a large blood stain which belonged to the different type of OO Positive.”

            "So our wolves in China had OO Positive blood and there's another kind of OO Positive in Scotland, which brings us to three different types of OO Positives."

            “In New Orleans in 2240 a ‘wild animal attack’ was blamed for three human deaths," she went on.  "Mr. X’s blood and saliva were taken from the crime scene.”

            “I looked at this case as well," he pressed his touch-screen computer to bring up the Police Report.  “A large creature which was supposed to look like a huge, hairless, mutant, albino grizzly but DNA analysis put it in the canidae family.  Several security cameras caught footage of the anomaly.  US Police couldn’t fathom how this mystery animal vanished in the middle of a city, while leaping across rooftops running at 300 kilometres per hour.”

            Julia left her computer for Griggori's to see what he had, which he put on ‘replay’ to show her.  Her eyes widened as she watched a blurry image run on all-fours across the New Orleans city skyline.  The 'animal' deftly leapt from rooftop to rooftop as it bolted in an impossible speed, which accounted for the blurriness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How can you link Mr. X to the murders today and to the ones 236 years ago?”

 

(Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

Reluctantly, she set aside her cold Chinese food and together they congregated around her computer so she could explain the readouts.

            “I have been able to isolate several saliva samples in the victims’ bites to allocate them to specific members of the OO Negative and the OO Positive species.  I believe I have even found the perpetrator of your latest crime.”

            “You have?” his eyes bulged.

            “But Griggori, I must warn you," her voice dropped.  "I do not think you will be able to take this information to your Lieutenant.”

            “But why?”

            “Your OO Positive murderer in our latest OO Negative killing spree, is the one and the same.  It’s the same OO Positive who killed his own kind as well as one of the OO Negative victims found 236 years ago.  I will call this particular member of the OO Positives, Mr. X.”

            “Very well," he gave a nod. “How can you link Mr. X to the murders today and to the ones 236 years ago?”

            “Mr. X’s DNA was found on one of the twelve OO Negative species killed in 2145.  His DNA was also found on the younger male and female OO Positives ravaged necks.  It would appear that Mr. X and these two OO Positives were also of the same species.  From the blood found in the stomach of the older male OO Positive who had been impaled, as well as the younger male whose neck had been ravaged, they too killed two of the twelve OO Negative victims.”

            “The same species of OO Positives attacked the twelve OO Negatives together and then they turned on each other?” Griggori summed up.

            “Da.”

            “Can you postulate why?”

            “Forensics can uncover a lot, but not everything," she said haughtily.  "Motive is your job, Detective!”

            “My apologies Babushka, please continue.”

            “Mr. X’s DNA turned up in several more crime scenes over the years," she frowned.  "He does not appear to be selective in his victims, as he has fed on OO Positives, OO Negatives, humans and animals."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The tissue samples taken from their skin showed extreme photosensitivity and several of their major organs weren't functioning. Their bodies appeared to be in a form of biological stasis.”

  (Excerpt Alma Introduction)

 

Next, he asked, "If the OO Positive victims were strong with amazing immune systems, what were the OO Negative victims like?"

            "Quite the opposite," she announced.  "The tissue samples taken from their skin showed extreme photosensitivity and several of their major organs weren't functioning.  Their bodies appeared to be in a form of biological stasis.”

            “What?” he blinked in disbelief.

            "What Forensics discovered in their autopsy 236 years ago match what I've discovered today," she began. “The tissue samples that were taken from the organs such as the liver, those cells were necrotized.”

            Griggori frowned, “You mean my victim had liver disease?”

            “Nyet," her voice dropped and she looked uncomfortable saying this. “Her liver was dead and from the preserved state it was in, I'd say it as well as several other organs hadn’t worked in some time, perhaps even years.”

            “But that's impossible!” he stood up from the stool in shock.  “When I ran a background check on her, I didn't find any medical records showing visits to hospitals for organ failure.  If this woman was dying, she would have been in a hospital, not in a nightclub!  A nightclub, that's in the middle of the city yet eyewitnesses claim they saw a large animal mauling her.  A large animal which suddenly appeared in the middle of Moscow and nobody knows how it got there.  Yet when we checked the security cameras to see the attack, there was unusual electrical interference which created static..."  

            As he vented his frustration at this nonsensical case, his voice trailed off as if he heard how ridiculous all of this sounded.  She watched him rub his forehead with his hand, giving away his stress.  Sympathetically, she put her hand on his arm and gave it a supportive squeeze.

            “You can see why the first case 236 years ago was simply dismissed as a wild animal attack, da?” she said ruefully.  “Who can seriously investigate a case such as this when abnormal seems to apply.”

            “Or paranormal," he muttered, while looking away.

            “Hmm?”

            “Julia," he turned back to his amore.  “Can you do something for me?”

            “Of course, Griggori.”

            “Are the Forensics records from 236 years ago accurate enough that you can use the original blood sample taken from our OO Positive friend and compare it to the OO Positive sample you found on our latest OO Negative victim?”

            “I believe so," she frowned thoughtfully.  “Why? What are you thinking?”

            “I’m betting that aside from our latest victim from two days ago, we’ll find many more cases that have been 'swept under the rug'.”

            "You want me to comb through Forensics reports for the last 236 years?” she blanched at the idea.

            “Please Julia, I’ll help!" he pleaded.  "I will look through the InterPol Database for wild animal attacks, or murders where the instrument of death was a sword.  Can you go through the Forensic Reports, looking for OO Positive and OO Negative samples?  You said so yourself, that with the OO Positive blood samples, their DNA had canine aspects.  What if we're looking for humans can turn into canine-like creatures?”

            She faltered at the idea, it was nearing her shift and she was looking forward to getting out of the lab and besides, his idea did seem farfetched.

            “I’ll have dinner delivered and consider this a date," he took out his mobile phone.  "Does Chinese sound appealing?"

            He knew it would as it was her favourite food.

            “Grigorri…” she smilingly shook her head, “…you'll owe me for this later on in the bedroom.”

            “Fair is fair," he gave her a grin.

            “We're talking candles, Griggori!" she waved her finger in his face.  "Scented candles and massages!"

            “Of course, Babushka.”

 

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