Drown Under Earth - Shadows of the Night 3

Chapter 1

Hi,

Sorry for being absent from wattpad - I was on vacation, but now I'm back. Time to get this book started! I read all your comments and I'm just so excited about the new book. I hope you all like it - if there's anything you think needs revising, please let me know! Thanks for sticking with Shadows of the Night.

Lara

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Chapter 1

The house sat at the top of the street, benign and old-fashioned, and it was one of a kind. It was the only one that wasn't attached to the rest, almost as if it had set itself apart, displaying the identity of its owner on the outside for everyone to see.

The crime scene tape stuck out like a beacon – a garish line of yellow against the dark red of the brick wall. As if the sight of the yellow tape was not offense enough, the blue light of the police cars was screaming murder in a mute flash-concert. It had been a long time since this neighborhood had seen anything like it. In fact I wasn't sure it had received that kind of attention before.

Here the houses were greater, their exterior polished and unique, while the gardens seemed bigger and greener than usual. You could almost believe that you weren't standing in the middle of the city but in a small parish at the very outskirts of New York. This part of town was for one type of New Yorker, and one type only: the superrich and those that pretended to be. They could buy houses and mansions, fortify them with white picket fences and surveillance cameras as much as they wanted, they died just like the rest of us.

The call had gone to the human police first and the news reached the TF3 only hours after the human forces arrived at the scene. In fact we were the last ones to be called in. The human police forces had done their work. The forensics were already about to leave. That was the conduct that had been established in the last few months and weeks – a tacitly accepted operating procedure. The human police would come in, do their job no matter what the crime, and leave the scene to the TF3, or the CF – i.e. the Force. Unwillingly, most of the time. The procedure had the side effect of making our forces dependent on the human police's forensic investigations. It gave them some sort of power over us. Apparently, they seemed to like that.

It wasn't any different this time. The members of the TF3 got out of the car and made it as far as the crime scene tape. I don't know why the officer addressed me out of all people. Maybe because I didn't really look threatening.

Size issues? Yeah, that was me.

"Sorry Miss, but no one is allowed to go through here."

I reached for my identification badge and held it in front of the police officer's face.

"We're from the TF3. I would like to talk to your superior," I said calmly.

The officer simply frowned at me.

"Is there a problem?"

I turned my head, trying to locate the source of the remotely familiar voice. I heard it before. Damn.

Detective Gremer was walking towards us. He looked just as grumpy as he did the first time we met. I had the pleasure during our investigation in the drug case last month. He hadn't made a lasting impression. In fact, he had no effect on me at all, apart from me developing a general dislike to the cops. By now I knew well why Force members kept complaining about the human police force.

Gremer was too tall to be overlooked. It made me wonder how he pulled off sting operations. I put him at forty-something, simply because he looked like it. His face already showed first traces of wrinkles, his chin marred by a jagged, teeth-like scar. He was wearing his trench coat again. It was way too tight and did little to hide his bulky muscles. Hell, it looked like the sewing on the sleeves and shoulders would burst any second.