First Case, Part 1

First Case, Part 2

First Case, Part 3

Second Case, Part 1: Fangs for Nothing

A crowd of people blocked the way to the building. They clustered around the door and windows, staring within and muttering darkly to each other. The words were filled with suspicion while their body language screamed fear and anxiety. More than a few had hands on knives or guns and it would only take a spark to light the threatening fire.

“Alright folks, let’s just all take a deep breath and calm down.” Heads turned and gaped at the speaker. The man had his arms spread and hands up, patting the air in a calming gesture. “No need to get all bothered by nothin’. I’m sure we all have things we could be doin’ on this fine sunny day.” His smile was cheery and he stared at the crowd until they started to drift away.

Sheriff Edwin sighed and wiped his face as the last of the crowd disappeared sheepishly. “It’s gonna be a long day.” After adjusting his badge and removing the cover from his holster, he mounted the steps and walked into the bar.

The Watering Hole was apparently the second building built when InTween was founded. A fact Edwin could believe. The building looked like a beaver’s demented experiment. Many of the boards refused to touch each other for one reason or another, and the paint was more chips than coating. The building looked like it would go up in flames with a heated look. However it brought blessed relief from the sun and the heat at least.

Edwin was prepared for the remains of a fight such as broken furniture and senseless bodies. He had broken up a few since becoming the Sheriff a few weeks ago. He was also expecting a tense stand off, angry drunken people pointing weapons at one another over a slight or accusations of cheating. In fact he had thought of several possible scenes when one of the waitresses had come to the Sheriff’s Office screaming for help.

The interior was the quietest he had ever seen the bar. The barkeep was wringing his hands and hiding behind the bar. The barmaids cowered together in a corner. Several townsfolk were standing facing a seated man. Their faces were a mix of angry red to pale fear.

The seated man however was the picture of serenity. He was incredibly well dressed, showing that he was a stranger to the town. His skin was marble white, untouched by sun or wind. One hand rested on a plain mug of steaming liquid and the other had an open book. He appeared to be ignoring the townsfolk glaring at him, fully engrossed in his book.

“Sheriff! There you are!” a dwarf exclaimed when he saw Edwin. The barkeep relaxed visibly behind the bar with the barmaids following suit. The other members of the mob nodded with satisfaction at his arrival. The stranger closed his book and folded his hands, looking up at Edwin with calm appraisal.

“Gentlemen,” Edwin addressed the crowd and the barkeep. “Ladies, good day.” He then made a point to nod to the stranger. “So, I hafta say I was expecting a little more trouble when I was called for. What can I do for y’all?”

“Arrest him!” the dwarf said pointing at the stranger.

“For what?” Edwin asked.

“Because he’s a leech, a blood sucker!”

Edwin sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. He saw a momentary flash of irritation appear on the stranger’s face before disappearing, a remarkable example of self control.

“Well did you hear me?” The dwarf and the other townsfolk looked confused when Edwin did not move. If anything they looked confused at his inactivity.

“Yeah I heard you Burke.”

“Then why ain’t you arresting him?”

“I can’t arrest him for being a vampire.” Edwin made sure to emphasize the word. Another sigh, deeper than the last, appeared when the people looked at each other nonplussed.

“Why not?”

“‘Cause it ain’t illegal being a Vampire. Even if he is a vampire, and I’m not sayin’ he is-“

“I am,” the stranger said plainly.

“Oh, uhm, alright.” Edwin looked dumbfounded for a moment. “Okay, so he is a vampire. Like I was sayin’, these days it ain’t illegal to be one. Plenty of folk these days are vampires and are functioning members of society just like you and me.”

Burke snorted and spat. “Maybe in those other places, not here though. Not in InTween.”

“It ain’t illegal here neither Burke. Nowhere in the law does it say that Vampires are to be arrested for being vampires. That’s just un-neighborly. How’d you like it if someone told me to arrest you cause you’re a dwarf?” Edwin could not keep all the sarcasm from his voice.

An ugly flush filled Burke’s face. “You’re saying you won’t do your job?”

“I am doing my job Burke. In fact, I’ll prove it to you.” Edwin turned and smiled at the stranger. “Mister…”

“Sable. Phineas Sable.”

“Mister Sable, to the best of your knowledge, have you broken the law since you’ve came to InTween?”

A flicker of amusement appeared on Phineas’ face. “If being a vampire is not a crime here, then no. I have not. All I have done since arriving on the train is to come here and sit down. These gentlemen came in soon after and started this...unfortunate confrontation.”

Edwin looked at the barkeep. “Is that right Mister Hendricks? Mister Sable came in and caused no trouble before Burke and the others arrived.” The barkeep shook his head jerkily.

“No Sheriff, he was nice and all,” one of the barmaids piped up. “Then Burke came in and started calling him out and causing a ruckus, that’s why we sent for you.”

“So let me get this straight.” Edwin turned and crossed his arms, staring at a suddenly sheepish Burke. “This here gentleman, just arrived from out of town, just came to the Watering Hole for some rest after his trip. Then you come in here and harass him over nothing more than what he is. Did I get that right?”

“Well, yes Sheriff but you see-“

“How’d you even find out he’s a vampire in the first place?”

“One of the hands at the steam station told me. Said he heard it from someone on the train.”

Edwin hissed with annoyance. “I’ll have to talk to the head of the station. Can’t have folk blatherin’ other people’s details like that.” He held up a finger. “Let this be the end of it then. If and when Mister Sable breaks the law then I will do my due diligence and arrest him. Until then, he ain’t to be harassed or bothered. Do I make myself clear?”

Burke gaped like a fish. “But Sheriff!” He quailed when Edwin pointed at him.

“No buts Burke! Or else I’ll arrest you for breakin’ the peace and harassment.”

“What’ll you do if folk turn up dead then because of him? What’ll you do when we have to deal with our own blood sucking problem?” Burke snarled.

“Burke, on my word as a Sheriff, I give you permission to tell my “I told you so” if we get someone that has been killed by a vampire. Does that make you happy? Goodness me Burke, you’re givin’ me a headache and I promise I’ll be payin’ you back for it.``

Before Burke could reply another townsperson interrupted. “What is he even doing here though Sheriff? It’s mighty suspicious having a lea-uh vampire appearing in town.”

Edwin took off his hat and slapped his leg with it, the snap of heavy leather on leather made the townsfolk jump. “That’s his business for pity’s sake! I never thought the people of InTween would be this inhospitable to visitors.”

The words made all of them shuffle, looking down at the ground like scolded children. “His business is his and if his business endangers the town, then it will be taken care of. Until then, I expect y’all to act like adults and as the type of people we want to show the world.”

He waited until they left, expressions tinged with shame, and shook his head. “I do apologize for that Mister Sable.” He put his hat back on ruefully, turning to face the vampire. “Please try to understand them, the town was very secluded for a long time till just recently.”

Phineas smiled, keeping his lips shut. “Oh, be at ease Sheriff. I bear them no ill will. Their reactions are not new to me. I am used to it.”

“Well, still, it ain’t friendly.” Edwin removed his wallet and placed a few coins on the counter. “Let me buy you a drink and a meal. To make up for the unpleasantness.”

“That is quite kind of you.” The vampire’s flat white eyes watched as Edwin started to leave. “Are you not going to ask me?”

“Ask you what?”

Phineas’ smile turned wry and he tilted his head slightly. “What I am doing here?”

Edwin rubbed his chin. “Well, I did say your business is your own. I try not to question people without reason, respectin’ privacy and all that.”

“How courteous of you.” Phineas inclined his head in a lordly nod. “I give you this information freely. I am here for personal reasons as well as business related. However neither directly impacts the citizens of this town, at the moment anyways.”

“Well that’s good enough for me,” Edwin replied with a grin. “Thank you kindly Mister Sable. Let me give you this, just in case.” He removed a card from his pocket. “If you need help or if anyone is harassin’ you, just tear it slightly and throw it up. It burn bright and I’ll come runnin’.”

“Thank you, I am sure it will come in handy.” Phineas inspected the card closely before slipping it into his coat pocket.

With a wave good bye to the barkeep and the barmaids, Edwin left the Watering Hole. Once outside he shooed away a couple of stragglers trying to peer through the windows and then started to walk back down Main Street. As he walked, he felt his left eyelid twitch. He rubbed at it, knowing what it meant. “This ain’t the end of it,” he murmured to himself. “It’s only gonna get worse.”

The next morning a rattled ranch worker banged on the Law Office door, calling for the Sheriff. The worker was visibly frightened, shaking and pale. He could not describe what the problem was, saying they needed Edwin to come to the Ranch close to the town.

When they arrived, there was a crowd around one of the corrals. All the cattle within the corral were clustered at the opposite end, heads low and tails whipped with anxiety. Plaintive moos undercut the crowd of workers and townsfolk that surrounded the end of the corral.

“Pardon me, Sheriff Edwin, here.” Edwin pushed his way through the crowd with some difficulty. “Come on folk, let me through here. What’s the matter? What’s got all of you...so…interested.”

He came to a stop at the corral fence, eyes widening at the sight. A large bull had been killed in spectacularly messy fashion. The throat was torn open wide, legs broken into odd angles. Drops of dried blood dotted the ground around the dead animal, but no blood pooled beneath the beast itself.

“I told you so Sheriff!” Burke stomped his foot and a look of horrified satisfaction was written clearly on his face. “I told you!”

“Settle down Burke,” Edwin replied, slipping through the corral fence. He settled to one knee and inspected the carcass. “You didn’t tell me nothin’.”

“What’re you talking about?” the dwarf sputtered. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”

“I am and I told you that you can say “I told you so” when someone dies from vampire attack, a person. This ain’t a person, this is a cow.” He winced a little at the rancher’s look of outrage. “No disrespect sir, you know what I mean.”

Edwin rose and brushed the dust from his legs. “This beloved bovine member of the family was killed, but I ain’t convinced it was a vampire. Most vampires are more economical when killing. They want blood with minimal effort. This is too messy, too feral.”

“It is,” Burke conceded. Then a sly glint appeared in his eyes. “But why is the body drained of blood? Blood scattered around, but none dried beneath it or pooling? Don’t that look suspicious?” He crowed in victory at Edwin’s reluctant nod. “Well then I think we know who’s to blame.”

“Not yet we don’t.” At Burke’s crestfallen look he continued, “I checked with the hotel before comin’. Mister Sable been in his room all night. He asked for a few things cause the train lost one of his luggage.” Edwin gently nudged the dead cow with his foot. “Besides, not only did the hotel manager tell me that, I know for a fact that he didn’t leave the town limits. No way he coulda came out here and back without us knowin’.”

“Alright Sheriff, you keep defending that blood sucker.” The dwarf ground his teeth and ignored the Sheriff’s look of reproach. “Before this is all over you’ll admit I was right. I only hope we all don’t come to regret it.”