Blood Mother. A Vampire Tale

Ch. 3: Tessa

Tessa sat beside Hoyt in the blue sedan. She tried eyeing him from the side but it caused her eyes to throb. She knew she should be focusing at the task at hand. But that wasn't what was eating at her.

It wouldn't be the first time she had stood in front of grieving parents, but she knew it was never easy. Truth is, she knew there was no getting ready, some things you just roll up your sleeves and dive into.

"So," she started with the statement she had wanted to get out since transferring here three months ago. "My dad used to talk about you, the famous Stone Hoyt. Do you miss those days?"

She saw Hoyt's jaw clench and unclench. She wondered if she should've waited until after. But that wouldn't really be any better, and she had been waiting months to get a shot at him.

She noticed him take a moment to squeeze his eyes and rub his right temple. Sure signs he was having a headache, or she was stressing him out. He took off his sunglasses and placed them in the visor before looking her way and finally speaking.

"I used to. Profiling was my passion. I was good at it and it felt pretty damn great to be right. But, I paid a hefty price for it. My body, my family, my reputation. Now I make choices based on my gut, and don't worry as much about hierarchy".

She nodded and continued with the questioning. It was just too tempting having him locked up here in the silence of the car where she finally had his undivided attention.

"According to my dad, you were the best. Better than he was or would ever be. You still good?"

Tess couldn't help herself. He'd been her competition around the dinner table forever. It seemed her whole life he had one up'd her, and she'd never even met him. Now that he was here, and cornered, all those competitive feelings came back.

He glanced her way and smiled. "I can hold my own".

Tess took it up a notch. She just couldn't stop now, not this close to what she had to know. "What do you think about this case? I mean, I have my ideas, and I'm sure you have yours. Care to collaborate?"

Hoyt shook his head and laughed. He looked to Tessa as if he were about to reveal the secrets of the universe just for spite. His jaw worked itself back and forth and she could tell he was doing his best to play nicely. The crease in the center of his forehead deepened and relaxed.

"Why don't you go first Montross? Give me the amazing insight of a prodigy. It's in your genes no doubt. You were probably born profiling your mother".

The car came to a stop beside the curb of a large blue home. Tessa looked out the window and took a moment to survey the property. Colonial style home, Perfectly manicured lawn, toys scattered but enclosed in the actual white picket fence. It was a picture of the American Dream. The yellow crime tape and police presence on the porch made it almost seem like a scene from the latest movie of the week.

Tess turned back toward Hoyt. The pit in her stomach increasing from the conversation as much as the job at hand. "My mother's dead." She said it quickly before she could think of a way to spin it.

"She suffered silently. Holding on to her pain and depression. My dad and I, both well known profilers by trade and reputation, missing the obvious. We found her in the tub on a Friday morning. Years of suffering behind a smile, screaming for attention finally wore her down. That, we were unable to ignore."

She waited for the judgement. The one she had always felt when the truth rose to the surface. It was a running joke in Tessa's mind. She was working so hard to be the 'golden boy' for her father. To replace the stories of Hoyt and create a place where she was a hero, trying to be his prized student, that she had stopped looking at her mother and her depressive state long before it all came crashing down around them.

She waited for the scorn, the chastisement, the judgement of her past sins. But that never came. Hoyt looked at her, straight at her for once, maybe the first time and said "I'm sorry. We don't profile family. It's protective, we can't see what's always there. And it's unproductive looking for the answers to the past. We've all been there."

He said nothing else, but began staring out the window. Tessa found her eyes wandering as well, toward the house where dreams and hopes would end with a single sentence. Where a boy with curls would always remain innocent. Where everyone living would remain in a shadow too big to get out from under. This she knew too well.

Tess unbuckled her seatbelt and took a large breath. She would remember the look in the eyes of the child's mother today and carry it with her. Someday she knew, she would need that look. And if she were lucky, it would be soon, with Hoyt at her side. She just needed to get through today, and to convince Hoyt to be her partner.

She put her hand on the handle, and opened the door. It was warm and sunny. If she were somewhere else it would have been the perfect day. But she wasn't. Today the warm breeze and sunshine almost seemed like a mocking.