Page 26 of Grave Beginnings

A handful of cops blocked off the children’s book section which was separated from the rest of the store by giant, fake Legos and plastic Crayons. The blood spatter dripped off a section of picture books. Arterial spray? What a strange, low angle. And the volume of blood made me think it wasn’t a kid who’d died, despite the low spray. I bent to get a feel for the angle, the scent of blood heavy in the air and a weird sensation of being watched itching beneath my skin. A shadow stepped in front of me and I looked up, focus broken from the blood to follow a firm body in a well-fitted uniform up to a handsome but unhappy face.

“Hi,” I said, straightening. The SED logo on his pocket said he was one of ours. The gloves, booties, and full-body uniform made me think maybe from the ME’s office, if SED had one.

“He’s with me,” Angel said, stepping up beside me and handing over gloves and booties.

“This is what they gave you for a new partner?” the man asked. “Feels a little like a demotion, don’t you think?”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Angel tugged me away. “Them’s the rules, Victor. Talk to Sergeant Hanna if you don’t like them. Variants are paired now. The rest of you NHVs do your own thing with your bad selves.”

“NHV?” I whispered, tugging on the gloves and sliding the covers over my shoes.

“Non-human variant.”

I glanced up and noticed he had no band on his arm. What was he? Victor caught my gaze and something flickered through his eyes that had me taking an unconscious step forward. Angel caught my arm and stepped between us. “Stop messing with him, Victor.”

“I adore baby SVs. So untainted and vulnerable.”

I shook my head to clear the haze and realized he had done something to me. “What the hell?” I asked Angel.

“Vampire,” Angel said. “Don’t meet their gaze. Maybe someday, since you’re SV, you’ll be able to look them in the eye. Legends speak of necromancers who could control the vampire undead, too. I’d like to see a few of them yanked around like puppets on a string.” I didn’t miss the menace in his tone directed loudly at Victor.

“Fairytales,” Victor said. “Anyway.” He waved behind him. “We’re ready to move him. Would have already if we weren’t waiting on you. But I guess no one told the Sarge that you were babysitting today.”

“Whatever,” Angel said as he tugged me past Victor and into the play area.

9

I tookin the scene as a big picture first: blood painting the books like a bad horror flick, chunks of pink that meant a body in pieces, and a few tiny handprints. Fuck, was this the kid zombies again?

A quick overview of the body, the size of a visible femur, and a partial jaw with flesh and hair attached likely meant adult male. “Did he bend down to help a kid and it tore out his throat?” I asked absently.

“It seems the victim was alone in the children’s section when it happened.” Angel flipped through something on his phone. “No direct witnesses, though someone said he bent down and there was a cut-off scream, and then blood.A lot of blood.The last part is a quote.”

“Employee?”

“Customer,” Angel corrected. “There were only two female employees scheduled today.”

A soft giggle made me whip around thinking someone was behind me, but I found only a wall of blood-sprayed books and Angel’s questioning gaze.

“Did you hear that?”

“What?” Angel asked.

Was someone messing with me on my first day? I looked around for anyone who might be watching with interest, but Victor was up near the front door with a few other SED uniforms who didn’t have armbands either. Any non-SED enforcement had been cleared, and Angel and I stood alone in the back with the body and a growing chill that arched up my spine.

“Spidey senses,” I grumbled, studying the shadows. The heavy feeling of being watched lingered.

“Yeah? What are they telling you?”

“Nothing. Never mind.” I sucked in a deep breath. It was probably just the day and the stress of the new job getting to me. “Cause of death, bleeding out?” I asked out loud. There was enough blood for it. I really hoped he was dead before the rest of the trauma was inflicted.

“Won’t know until we get him to autopsy.” Angel stuffed the phone in his pocket, tiptoed around the body, and carefully lifted the remaining part of the man’s jaw. There wasn’t enough of the neck attached to determine if it had been the initial attack that killed him. “Tore his head near clear off. That requires strength greater than most NHVs.”

“Are zombies strong? The tiny handprints make me think of those kid zombies again, like the daycare,” I said, pointing toward a small print near a display of Disney titles. Odd that it wasn’t marked off with evidence stickers.

“What handprints?” Angel asked.

I blinked and looked back at him. “Uh, right there?” I pointed to it and then put my hand beside it. “Half the size of my hand. It looks like a print to me.”