The Holy Death

Chapter 19

"Who was that lady? Why did she take Doug? Why is my house ruined? And why is there a dead ninja in my living room?" Irene demanded. "Answer me now, Scott Douglas Campbell!"

Gresham Police had already responded to the house, called by Scott's mother when Dawn had become otherwise occupied. Scott advised the responding officer that he could make no statement until he spoke with his attorney. Preventing Irene from blabbing about Doug's kidnapping at gunpoint, however, was a bit more difficult. To top things off, Irene used Scott's full name when addressing him. That is never a good sign.

"Now, mom, I'll explain everything," Scott said as the officer became more insistent.

"Mr. Campbell, if someone was kidnapped, you'll need to tell us all you know, and you'll definitely need to tell us how the guy with the sword through his chest got there!"

"Right, but I'd rather wait for my attorney."

"Oh," Irene said, "You better talk, attorney or no!"

"Mom, please!"

Scott noticed that Jeremiah was being questioned by a female officer. He seemed to be having a better time than Scott, as the lady officer was a bit friendlier than would be considered professional. She was even laughing. Tim and Dawn had not yet been approached and were huddled together, Dawn gently telling Tim that everything was alright; Tim was telling Dawn that he needed to go home soon so he could change his underpants, which was probably a bit more information than Dawn needed at the time.

Scott was surprised when the gold-colored Lexus pulled up. He really didn't think he'd take the time to come out, certainly not at this hour. Despite his misgivings, Scott's vampire attorney parked, then waded through the police cordons, arguing with some of the officers as he made his way to the Campbell residence. He stopped at the front porch as Scott's interrogation continued.

"Oh! There he is!" Scott cried, "Please, come in!" Sinner remained standing on the porch, shaking his head. He was mouthing some words that Scott couldn't quite make out. It seems lip reading isn't one of those fancy vampiric abilities. Eventually he got tired of the hints Scott took as too subtle.

"I can't!" He said. Well, of course he couldn't. He'd never been invited in, and Scott was not able to invite him in.

"Mom, could you invite Mr. Sinner in? He's my attorney."

Irene's brow furrowed. Why in hell would a guy need to be invited in? After all, they didn't really have any doors or windows now. "Oh, very well. You and your weird friends!"

"I thought you said my friends were polite!"

"Well, they're too polite! Please, come in, mister?"

Sinner stepped across the threshold, "F. Scott Sinner, Attorney at Law." Sinner then approached the officer. "And I'll need your full name and DPSST number, please."

Sergeant Lang gave the information requested. "And you better tell your client that if he is withholding evidence, we will charge him, is that clear?"

"Don't you tell me what my client needs to do! In fact, tell you what, Sergeant, you look me in the eyes!"

Uh oh. Sinner was going to use his vampiric powers of suggestion on the police officer. No wonder he was such a highly sought-after and successful attorney – he was a vampire. Yes, it was cheating, but was it any worse than what most other lawyers did without special supernatural abilities? Okay, so it was. Still, he was helping Scott out, which is what Scott cared about most at that point. "Okay, so you will take your officers out of this house immediately. Is this clear?"