Discovery of Death Read Online Free Page A

the vehicle, went up to the front door, grabbed the junk mail from the box, then entered the six-digit security code on the keypad above the door handle. He went in, dumped the mail on the lacquered oak bench by the door, then proceeded to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Shelly should be along shortly and they’d have the “Minutes,” as he liked to call them, when one would update the other on the previous night’s take.
    Once the coffee brewed and a cup was poured, Marcus leaned against the countertop and mentally separated himself from his day as a real estate agent to the man he truly was underneath: a vampire slayer.
    The cut on his jaw still stung when he opened his mouth wide enough. That rotten punk from last night had gotten a clean shot in with those sharp nails of his before a stake was driven through the young man’s heart.
    He took another sip, then glanced toward the front door when he heard it open.
    His wife clapped twice upon entering, a signal that it was indeed her and not someone who had found out about their secret home.
    She entered the kitchen, gave him a kiss on the cheek. She accidentally kissed his cut and he pulled back with a wince.
    “ Rough night?” she asked, taking his coffee from his hand. He almost didn’t notice as he was too lost in her rich brown eyes to pay attention to much else. Even after all these years of being together, Shelly was still his princess and had him wrapped around her little finger. She knew it, too, and sometimes used that soft pouty face she made to get what she wanted.
    “ Hm?” he said.
    She took a sip of his coffee and brushed her auburn hair away from her eyes. “I said, rough night?”
    He touched the cut on his face. “Oh this. Yeah, I suppose. Little bloodsucker was quick, quicker than usual. Probably because he was younger when he turned.”
    “ And is he—”
    “ Yes, done. There were also three others. Two had been together, wandering the Forks, searching for late-night strollers. The third was in the Exchange, probably preying on the homeless.”
    “ Cop out.”
    “ Maybe, but I was only able to take him down. Don’t know if he infected anybody or killed them altogether. He had fresh blood around his mouth and the front of his shirt was soaked, so I suspect he had bitten at least one person. Maybe more.”
    “ Seems each one we take down only brings forth others.”
    He took his coffee back, raised the mug high as if in a toast. “Ah, but if we didn’t catch them, they’d be everywhere by now. The city would have been overrun a long time ago.” He brought the mug to his lips and took a long, hot sip. The cup was now empty. “Care for more?”
    “ I’ll get my own,” she said with a smile, then went to the cupboard and got her own mug. As she prepped her cup, she said, “I’ll take tonight. Alone.”
    “ I thought we’d be going together?”
    “ That was the plan, but I’m worried about Rose. She’s taking Zach’s disappearance really hard.”
    “ Ah, she’ll get over it.” He got to work making another cup of coffee for himself.
    “ Maybe one day, but right now he’s all she thinks about.”
    “ Puppy love. She’ll be fine.” He added a shot of sugar to his coffee. “Besides, how do you know he’s all she thinks about? Has she said anything?”
    Shelly shook her head. “No, but she doesn’t need to. I can see it in her eyes. Half the time she’s a million miles away.”
    “ Hm,” he said, and tapped the edge of his spoon on the mug’s rim. “Want me to talk to her?”
    “ Maybe, but right now I think it’d be best to just give her some room and let her do whatever she wants to make herself happy. Safety in consideration, of course.”
    “ Of course.”
    “ It also means we should wait on telling her.”
    “ About us?”
    She nodded and brought her mug to her lips.
    “ Agreed.” It had seemed Rose was at the perfect age to be told about her special heritage, was old enough to handle the truth.
    The