Police Station,
Salem

THE MAN STOOD AWKWARDLY in the middle of them all. Evelyn didn't blame him for his unease, as being surrounded by fifteen people he'd never met before was surely worrisome. Evelyn was feeling weird around just him, so she didn't judge him.

He was a handsome fellow, something even a blind person could tell. Blonde hair fell lazily around his eyes, which were a bright green color. He wore a gray light hoodie that was rolled up to his elbows and had some slightly faded distressed black jeans. A deep frown was burned into his face, his eyes scanning the room. It was almost as if he was following something but she couldn't tell what. Whatever he was looking at was invisible to her. She swirled her fingers around. His gaze immediately snapped to them and a look of something close to fear filled his face. Was he scared of her?

Evelyn carefully pushed her fingers into her pockets. The man looked away from her and back to Jacob. He was a surly man, his hair thick and black. It curled around his head and spread down his jawline, creating a beard he often cut. His eyes were a muddy brown while his skin was pale. Evelyn often thought of him as three different shades: black, brown, and white. A gradient of colors, even in his outfits. He was one of the few humans permitted to work in the police department solely for the reason that he was dense and distant. A perfect example of that was him hiring an outside consultant that was human to come and investigate a crime that he wasn't even assigned to. Evelyn let out a huff at the man.

"So, what exactly is it that you're expecting?" Leslie suddenly said, snapping Evelyn out of her thoughts.

Lawrence frowned. "Not sure. Detective Adams mentioned that thoughts of potential cult activity was a running theory—"

"But?"

"'But' what?" Lawrence asked, his voice hard as he gave Gene a glare.

Gene smirked. He was riling the poor guy up. "Obviously you wanted to say something else. What is it?"

"Nothing. I don't have enough information on what occurred here so first I have to see the details of the case before I make a hypothesis." Lawrence adjusted the glasses on his face as he said this.

The vampire chuckled. "Alright, you win, blood-bag."

Lawrence frowned but didn't comment on the absurdity of the nickname. Evelyn was tempted to reprimand Gene for even using that derogatory term in front of two humans, but then they'd be suspicious. It wasn't bad to them, usually. "Anyways, as I was saying, I think the most likely culprit was a cult of some kind, perhaps one driven towards sacrificial rituals in order to grant them something? Whether that be immortality or the extension of the world's lifespan, they typically do show up in areas like this. Forests, already has a creepy vibe, you know."

This is a compelling theory. Too bad all of the victims are already dead, Evelyn thought, her eyes taking in Lawrence. He seemed so sure of this theory. She was almost tempted to tell him he was wrong, but she held back. If she did that he'd question her on why and the only explanation was witchcraft. That was expose them to the public, so that was a no-no. Evelyn sighed, pulling her fingers out of her pocket. Lawrence's eyes darted back down to them again, but he didn't seem as fearful.

Evelyn carefully pushed her dark hair behind her ear. She wanted to get this guy out of here as soon as possible, but then the humans would get suspicious. There was something about him that made her uneasy. Maybe it was his shifty eyes. But something else told her it was something far more sinister.

Lawrence crossed his arms. "Of course there's the more absurd theory of it being scientific testing, perhaps done by an elite government level agency. However, I value my life far too much to even delve into that realm of conspiracy."

He had no idea. He wasn't connecting it to magic or witchcraft, which made their lives much easier. Lawrence sighed before he looked towards Jacob. "Detective, do you have a job for me to do at this current time?"

Jacob nodded. "Come and take a look at the body. Maybe it'll be easier for you to identify the motive."

Lawrence followed the burly man out of the room, leaving only supernatural. Leslie groaned, rubbing his face. Gene laughed. "He's a fool. Honestly, all humans are idiots."

Leslie looked towards the vampire. "You should be kinder to him. Calling him a 'blood bag'? What were you thinking?"

Gene shrugged. "It's not as if he knows what that means."

"But it's suspicious nonetheless!" Leslie growled, his eyes glowing yellow.

The vampire stepped back, obviously noticing the change in the alphas attitude. He would've shifted bad Gene not backed down. Evelyn gulped before walking in between the two. "Let's calm down now, alright? There's no reason to get so angry, okay?"

"Ms. Pennington is right. Let's all just relax and think of how to get the human out of here as fast as possible." Evelyn looked towards the voice. Standing there was her best friend, Noah. His dark hair was parted down the right side of his head, and his almost black irises scanned the crowd of faces.

Evelyn sighed. "I've told you, Noah, there's no reason to call me that. We've been friends for years."

He chuckled, a cheeky grin spreading across his handsome features. "I know, Evie." Her mood soured slightly. She didn't like being called that, and he knew it. The intense dislike towards that nickname must've shown proudly on her face because her friend chuckled slightly. "I'm kidding, Evelyn."

She relaxed, her gaze drifting towards the morgue. Something about the human, Lawrence, was it? Something about him bugged her. Like cold fingers brushing her bare back, a feather trailing over her spine. A base instinct telling her to be wary of him. Yet, something warm bubbled up in her stomach, battling against the cold of her fear. It spread through her chest and to the tips of her fingers and toes. She didn't understand the feeling at all. Was it good? Bad?

"Miss Pennington?"

Evelyn was snapped out of her thoughts by one of the rookie police officers. "Yes?" Her voice quivered slightly. Why was that? Was she scared? Or maybe—

"Mr. Boone wishes to see you. The human is busy in the morgue and the others followed."

She smoothed her clothes down. "Thank you. I'll be right there in a second."

The police officer nodded at her before turning away. Evelyn let out a sigh. How had she managed to fall so deeply within her thoughts she hadn't realized they had left the room? This Lawrence fellow was tricky, and she didn't like it. Something about him made her spine tingle and her fingers buzz. She just had to figure out what before anything happened.

He would leave soon. They would force him away, but Evelyn wanted to know before then. Was that too much to ask? Figuring out what this bizarre man had in him that made her so on edge? She hoped the goddesses would grant her this one wish and let her find out what made him tick.

She pushed open a door, and immediately the cold air of the morgue hit her. Not to mention the smell. Her nose wrinkled. This was just the entrance hall. They had several layers to keep the smell at bay, but it would just get worse from here on out. Rotting flesh permeated the room. The poor receptionist sat there, her face crestfallen and filled with regret. Evelyn nodded at her before covering her nose with her sleeve and continuing on.

Evelyn pushed open the door leading the examining room, noticing everyone watching Lawrence as he stood by the coroner. She was buzzing around the body, gesturing to every single laceration and noticeable mark, explaining the absurdity of each one. Leslie had a mask on his face, mint leaves most likely stuffed into it. Werewolves were super sensitive to smell, he would've gone insane if he was in here too long with the rotting body.

For the first time, Evelyn had a chance to look at the corpse. Its skin was a sickly gray, blended with a green that reminded her of mold she once found in her dormitory's bathtub drain, one of the many reasons why she left college. Cracks covered the flesh, revealing the tissue inside that was probably once red but now held none of the blood that should pump through a human body. Its eyes were a cloudy gray, which meant it had been dead for some time. The whites of its eyes were yellowed and she could see those same cracks in them. Its fingernails were cut down to the quick with the top layer peeling. Wrinkles covered every area where a joint resided, almost looking more like the skin was falling off. The most bizarre part was its missing hand. The bones that held the hand in its place stuck out, and instead of being cleanly cut, they were shattered, looking more like a spear than a bone.

Evelyn shuddered, looking back up at Lawrence. He looked completely impassive. Why was he not at all shocked at the absurdity of the creature in front of him? Thank god the coroner was one of them. She was just way too overly excited about showing the human the body. Rosemary Martin, a member of a relatively small supernatural group. She came to Salem as a young woman, battered and bruised from attacks due to her species. Her dark hair was pulled into a bun right now, trying to keep it out of her face as she worked. She wore her lab coat with latex gloves gracing her hands. Her dark eyes sparkled as she pulled out a folder. "Now, this is probably the most bizarre part. We have pulled a psychological profile on him and—"

Evelyn sighed. Would Rosemary just flat out say this was a walking corpse, something deemed impossible to the human? Besides, why were they showing him the actual body? Wouldn't that raise suspicion?

"Why aren't we showing him a fake cadaver?" Evelyn whispered to Noah, leaning in close to his ear so it'd make it harder for Lawrence to hear.

Noah grinned, before leaning in as close as she had been. "It's enchanted. Only those who are supernatural can see the real body. He's probably seeing some rando with stains of Cheetos left on his fingers, the perfect suspect who'd go insane at a coffee shop. Maybe even a hipster who had one too many dollops of cream in his coffee, and finally snapped after years of pretending he was emotionless and ahead of the trends."

Evelyn chuckled. Her best friend never failed to make her laugh. The idea was great, actually. Made it harder for him to actually uncover the truth. Their secret would remain safe.

"May I inspect the body?" Lawrence asked, already moving towards the latex gloves.

Rosalie frowned, looking towards him. "You...want to touch the body?"

Lawrence nodded as he pulled the first glove over his hands. Evelyn hasn't had a chance to realize how slender and long his fingers were. They were smooth, like he hadn't done a single thing since birth. "I want to see if there are any identifiable marks, as well as specific spots where something could've happened, etcetera. I'll only be a few moments."

Evelyn watched as he began moving his right arm, tracing his fingers over the underside of his arm. He then ran it over his armpit and to his chest, pressing down in varying areas. He copied the movements on his left arm before moving down to the man’s stomach. He pressed his palm down and massaged it slightly. Evelyn grimaced and a gurgle escaped the body. "Out of curiosity, why haven't you begun the autopsy yet?"

Rosalie seemed taken aback. They hadn't planned an autopsy because this was a zombie, no need to find a cause of death. "Why?"

"To check to see if he was under the influence of something. He looks like an alcoholic, and I'm sure there's some track marks on his arm." Lawrence said as he ran his hand down the man’s thigh. How awkward, to be rubbing a man as you tell the coroner he was a drug addict.

"I was planning on doing that after you finished. An open body is not that fun to look at, trust me." Rosalie lied, nodding assuredly at Lawrence.

He didn't answer as he finished checking the man’s other leg. That's when he moved up to his head. He placed his index fingers and thumbs around his neck, squeezing it slightly. Evelyn watched as the man’s jaw flexed and some black liquid oozed out of his mouth. Lawrence then began touching his face. Evelyn's eyes widened as the black goo smeared on his gloves, causing him to smear it on the zombie's face. If only he could see the mess he was making, and the grotesque being he was caressing. Lawrence then pressed his fingers to its temples, before rotating around its head, pressing in various areas. Finally, he pulled his hands away, taking the gloves off. "I didn't really see any bizarre markings, so I don't know if he was a part of a cult, but it could easily be a simple victim. I'd recommended scanning the system if you haven't already done that, take fingerprints, etcetera, just to find out his identity. Anyways, I'm going to head back to my hotel room. It's been a long and very stressful day, and I would love to shower and rest while I run this...dilemma through my mind. Thank you for having me."

Noah stepped forward, smiling. "May I show you out?"

Lawrence frowned, but didn't object. Noah grinned as he herded him out of the room, smiling brightly and striking up a very mundane conversation.

Evelyn sighed. "Well, that was...bizarre. At least he didn't know what the body actually looked like."

Rosalie nodded, pulling off the glasses she had on. "Now, I can actually look at the body. It's a zombie, that's for sure. But, he completely messed with the face with this weird, black ooze he pulled out. Not to mention he felt some bizarre parts of this guy’s body."

Leslie frowned. "What do you mean, 'bizarre'?"

"It's just...well, in the case of magic, there's specific ports magic is created and stored in in the human slash humanoid body. Lawrence applies pressure to these areas, though I can assure you this man was human. I did a tissue sample already, human. But Lawrence...I don't know, it seemed very calculated the way he examined it." Rosalie muttered, eyeing the corpse.

Gene scoffed, waving his hand at the coroner in dismissal. "Impossible. He smells of human. Besides, if he did know about us, we'd be able to sense his fear. And, he wouldn't have been searching for magic inside this guy. I'm sure he was just doing his due-diligence and making sure he had no identifiable marks."

"I don't know, Rosalie might be right. We should keep an eye on him, just in case." Leslie said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Evelyn frowned, looking back down at the body. Something told her that this case wouldn't go down easy.