It was a brisk November day, and you could smell snow in the air. Catherine walked into her apartment shaking off the chill as she let her briefcase and purse fall to the floor. Removing her scarf and coat, she laid them gently on her couch and headed to the kitchen. Noticing her answering machine blinking, she clicked the play button and continued on to get a glass of water.

*beep* Hey, Cath, it’s Brenda. Aaron and I were wondering if you’d like to join us for the annual hospital benefit next Saturday night. We’ve got a seat at our table just for you! And since Charles can’t make it, if you’d like to bring a date, we’d love to meet him, too. Let us know, all right? It’s been too long. Bye!

Catherine smiled to herself, crossing her arms and leaning against the entryway to the kitchen. “I actually think I’m free, Brenda,” Catherine said, finishing her drink and setting the glass down on the table. She walked back across her apartment toward the door and picked up her tossed belongings.

*beep* Miss Chandler, this is Mike down at Precinct 54. I forgot to tell you when I gave you those files earlier that we have one of your priors in here. I think her name is Lucy. This hooker wants her attorney, so she asked for you. We told her she can’t use someone from the D.A.’s Office as a defense attorney, but she still wants to talk to you. Anyway…give me a call after you’ve looked at those files. This whole city is goin’ crazy. I’ll be here late tonight doing paperwork.

“Lucy.” Catherine sighed. She had hoped that Lucy had turned a new page in her life since the last arrest. Catherine staggered back to her table to sit down, arms full, then slipped out of her high heels and rubbed her aching arches. It had been one of those days where she regretted leaving her gym shoes at home.

Pulling out several files from her briefcase, she sighed and opened the first of many. The details in the police reports were grisly and the pictures matched. Seven young women attacked, beaten, and bloodied from numerous puncture wounds. Two dead from blood loss, and four more in critical condition at the hospital. Catherine’s forehead wrinkled as she studied the reports and looked over the locations of the attacks. It was believed that these crimes were committed by several people, but as to the actual number, who knew? Mike was leaning toward groups and cults that were into vampirism, the latest niche reoccurrence since films like Fright Night and The Lost Boys came out.

Catherine squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at the wounds on one of the victims from a photograph. She quickly flipped through some pages of information until she got to the detailed report written by the coroner. Her fingertip traced down through the information, looking for something specific in the lines. It appeared that the cause of death was blood loss from both internal and external bleeding.

The puncture wounds in her neck weren’t the only ones on the body of the victim. There were multiple points on the girl’s body that had been lacerated with whatever had been used to cut those 1-inch-plus holes that had ripped into her. Catherine started to feel a little nauseated as she read the details of how the assailants had seemingly bitten into her and torn the flesh: the neck, the collarbone, the wrist, the ankle. She closed her eyes and could picture the girl struggling and fighting to get free and being beaten down for it. She laid the papers down on the table and sat back, rubbing her eyes. She needed a break.

Catherine pulled her date book out of her purse and turned to the date of the hospital benefit. Nothing written. So she grabbed a pen and wrote the words Hosp Ben. With a deep sigh, she jumped up from her chair and grabbed her nearby phone, dialing a number from memory.

“Brenda? It’s Catherine…. I’m good…. Well, I stay pretty busy…. (laughing) Yeah, right…. Hey! The Hospital Benefit sounds great, count me in for another year! … Okay. 7:30…. All right…Give my love to Judy, too…Bye.”

The hours of work rolled on as Catherine moved to the couch and poured herself a glass of wine. She sat for a moment and thought again about the locations on the map. None of the attacks seemed uniform or in any certain pattern. Glancing over at her mantel clock, she noticed the hour and knew that rest was needed to have a productive day tomorrow, so she slid photos and paperwork back into the necessary file folders and placed everything neatly into her briefcase.

She felt guilty that she had forgotten to call Mike, even though she hadn’t finished analyzing his files. As for Lucy…there was nothing she could have done for her after working hours except give her some names of defense attorneys she could trust. Tomorrow was soon enough for that.

Before turning out the lights, Catherine made sure to rinse out her wine glass and put fresh coffee in the ‘maker for the morning.

The moon shone so brightly through her drapes, Catherine changed into her silken pajamas without turning on a light in her bedroom while her thoughts turned to Vincent. She hadn’t spoken to him or visited him in nearly a week; how awful that felt! While tugging up her little shorts with the lace trim on the bottom, she wished that he was there, awaiting her on the veranda. She smiled brightly as she thought of eagerly darting toward her balcony doors, grabbing both handles, and swinging the doors open to rush into his arms. She could almost feel his warmth against the brisk night air and yearned for it so. But alas, he was not there. And yet, somewhere inside her, she felt the assurance of his love and his longing.

Catherine snuggled down into her covers and, squeezing her pillow, whispered, “Goodnight, Vincent.”

 * * *

Morning came all too soon. Catherine rushed out of her apartment, swinging her purse across her as she ran into the elevator. Lucky to grab a cab right away, she had time to write some notes on the way to the office. She brushed her bangs aside as she stepped out of the cab and started for the door of the office building where the D.A.’s Office was located. But Catherine stopped short when a street musician started playing loudly just as she was passing him to get inside. She turned to look at the saxophonist. Her gaze met his. Then she searched her wallet for a five.

As she reached out her hand to give him the tip, he reached his hand to hers and clasped it. “Very kind of you, ma’am. I’m Ernie. Does the pretty lady have any requests?”

Catherine smiled and replied, “You sound great, Ernie. Anything.”

As their hands parted, Catherine pulled a small, rolled up note out of Ernie’s hand. She nonchalantly pocketed it, continuing into the building. The five stayed with Ernie as he began playing a jazzy rendition of When the Saints Go Marchin’ In.

Catherine waited anxiously for an elevator, but once it arrived and she was on her way upwards, she felt giddy like a schoolgirl opening that note from Below.

A gift awaits you from your admirers.  ~ Vincent.

As much as Catherine wanted to bask in the excitement that she felt, the doors opened to her floor, and she was off and running.

* * *

The day went quickly by as Catherine made her way through the pile of work waiting for her on her desk. She knew Mike wouldn’t be happy that she hadn’t returned his call last night. Now the workday was almost over, and she still needed to get out on the streets and interview businesses and residents living near the “vampire attacks.” That might need to wait for tomorrow.

Catherine picked up her phone and called Mike down at the precinct. After a few minutes, he retrieved the call. “Juarez here.”

“Mike, it’s Catherine Chandler. I got your message last night. A little bit ago, I tried to schedule a time to come and counsel Lucy but a lady named Madge said that Lucy had already received visitation with an attorney so I wouldn’t be able to see her. Do you know what’s going on?”

Catherine could hear some type of wrapper opening on the other end as Mike cleared his throat.

“(cough) Give me a minute.” Mike was talking to people in the background but, unfortunately, she couldn’t understand what they were saying. As Catherine started to thumb through her file drawer, she heard Mike return to the call.

“Yeah, someone listed themselves as her attorney and came in to see her a couple hours ago. I don’t know if she went with whatever public defender was assigned today or what…Looks like she already saw a judge about an hour ago and is back out on the street.”

Catherine pursed her lips. “Huh… Is there a name listed on the log?”

She heard a big sigh on the other end, then Mike got a little quieter. “You know I shouldn’t give you that information, Chandler.” Catherine thought that it was a lost cause now, until Mike quipped, “Especially after you stood me up last night.”

Catherine smiled into the phone. “How about I drop off some calzones for you tomorrow night to make up for it?”  She could sense him smiling over the phone and knew she was going to get the info she wanted.

“You know Lorenzo’s down the street has the best,” Mike gruffed into the receiver.

Catherine smiled brightly. “All right.”

“MacLaren. R. MacLaren. At 1:25,” Mike said.

“Okay. Thank you, Mike. Don’t buy dinner tomorrow,” she remarked before they both hung up.

 * * *

Catherine signed documents and, bit by bit, got through almost everything on her desk; the pile had diminished before her eyes. After writing a few final notes, she happily left, catching a cab and hurrying home. The excitement was building in her once again.

Upon returning to the apartment, Catherine threw her things onto the couch and reheated a bowl of pad thai from two days prior. Then, after eating too fast, make-up got reapplied, hair brushed, walking shoes engaged, and she began an anxious journey down the many floors to the basement of her apartment building.

Catherine entered the world Below and saw a figure awaiting her in the dark. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard her name.

“Catherine.”

Rushing into Vincent’s arms, Catherine eagerly accepted his strong embrace that almost lifted her off the ground.

“I’ve missed you,” Vincent said happily, releasing her.

“I’ve missed you, too!” Catherine replied, immediately taking his arm as they strode.

As they walked, they talked of what had been happening in their worlds. Vincent mentioned the new chamber that they had dug into and the work they had been doing there. Catherine mentioned the work that she’d been doing and the new vampire cult murders that had been going on. She talked about the ways that the girls were attacked and killed and how it upset something deep inside her.

“You’re a survivor, Catherine. Is it any wonder that you would be upset for those who were not as fortunate?”

Vincent paused for a moment and looked into Catherine’s eyes. She squeezed his arm in reply with a slight nod.

Ambling further towards Vincent’s chamber, Catherine saw Geoffrey and Eric standing in the passageway in front of them.

“Hello, Geoffrey. Eric. How are you?” Catherine asked kindly.

Eric and Geoffrey traded sneaky grins like they were up to something. Boys their age likely were.

“Hi, Catherine. We’re good,” Geoffrey said.

“Yeah, we were just on our way somewhere,” Eric replied as the boys started backing away.

Catherine looked at Vincent inquisitively, then back to the boys. “Where are you headed? Maybe we can walk together?”

Geoffrey and Eric shuffled backwards even faster, like they were trying to get away. “Uh, we don’t think that you’ll be able to keep up. We gotta run. See ya!” Geoffrey shouted before running down the tunnel with Eric.

Catherine and Vincent looked at each other. “Well, that was interesting!” Catherine chuckled.

“And not very subtle,” Vincent added.

Mary, Nazarene, and many others stopped Catherine to inquire about her life as they continued through the tunnels. Upon finally reaching Vincent’s chamber, they heard the sound of shushing coming from within. Catherine smiled at Vincent and Vincent held his arm out, insisting that Catherine walk in first. As Catherine walked in, she was greeted with cheers from many children’s voices and lots of hugs. The children led Catherine to Vincent’s chair, which was turned to face his bed, where most of the children were sitting now. Through excitement and giggles, Kipper presented a small gift wrapped in newspaper and string.

“Thank you, everyone. What is this for?” Catherine inquired, starting to carefully unwrap the string.

“Your birthday!” rang out from numerous voices all at once.

Catherine was taken aback. Whatever the gift was, it couldn’t compare to the love that was wrapped around her in that little room. Catherine fought back tears as she struggled to open the present.

“You wrapped it well!” Catherine laughed. She finally opened the little package and saw a darling bracelet and matching necklace made from glass and wooden beads, each on sparkling navy-blue yarn. She lifted them out so delicately and marveled at how lovely they actually were.

“Vincent told us that your birthday was a few weeks ago and we felt bad because we missed it,” Kipper said.

“You’ve done so much for all of us, we wanted to give you something special—just from us,” Samantha said as she stood beside Catherine’s chair. “So, everyone helped. Someone worked on finding the right dark yarn. Some carved beads. Some traded Up Top for the glass beads and chose just the right ones. Others put these pieces together.”

“But we all wanted to wish you a happy birthday and say thank you for all that you do,” Eric said, stepping forward.

Catherine couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.

The whole group shouted, “Happy Birthday!” and covered Catherine in a massive group hug.

“Thank you, everybody. You’ve made me feel like I have another home. I’ll cherish this always,” Catherine uttered, wiping away happy tears.

The children clapped and then slowly left Vincent’s chamber, leaving Vincent seated on his bed and Catherine sitting across from him, putting on the bracelet.

“They are beautiful, Vincent.”

Vincent smiled. “The gifts or the children?”

“Both!” Catherine grinned. She attempted to tie the necklace behind her neck but was having trouble.

Vincent recognized her plight and, leaning forward, asked, “May I?”

Catherine smiled in agreement, handing him the two sides of the necklace. Instead of standing up, Vincent leaned into Catherine and placed his hands around the back of her neck. Catherine’s heart started to race as she felt the heat of Vincent’s breath rolling across her ear and neck. She felt goosebumps rise and wished that he was having trouble tying the necklace, as well.

Vincent slowly started to lean back; he let his hand glide down the beads and release the necklace to lay against Catherine’s heart.

There Catherine and Vincent sat in his chamber, knee to knee, leaning toward one another.

“How does it look?” Catherine asked quietly, taking his hands in hers.