This takes places after the events in the opener (3.0)

With James passed out, Max, Carmen and I decide it's a good time to head home. The parking lot is on the other side of a small, wooded area and I volunteered to carry our unconscious friend. Somehow I'm the only one getting whipped by branches but hey, it's not like I have a free hand to push them away. Once we arrive, two individuals approach us and stop us in our tracks.

"Good evening sirs and madams," a woman with tan skin and hazel eyes says while showing us her badge. It's similar to the one used by the Metropolis police department, however there was a hexagram instead of an upside down pentagram beneath the crescent. "Detective Shiri Avital and Officer Rasima Njaim. We're with the Supernaturals unit in the police force."

"Wait a sec," Carmen says with her hands raised, "there's a unit that keeps an eye on supernatural activity?"

"We handle cases concerning Supernaturals as it's quite complex when certain situations occur," the woman, Detective Avital, replies. After she puts her badge away she continues, "Human dies from being a vampire victim, we handle the paperwork for it so the vampire gets a proper sentence. A witch puts a curse on another witch that results in her or his death, we arrest said witch."

Carmen nods as she lowers her hands. "Makes sense."

"Recently our department has received a case regarding a missing vampire--" Detective Avital stops in the middle of her sentence and turns to her partner, Officer Njaim. "You agreed that she was a vampire, didn't you, Ras?"

Officer Njaim nods while tucking a lock of hair underneath her navy blue headscarf. "She looks more like the ghost from The Grudge but I'll go with what Vonner says. Let me see if I brought the photo." She pats down her pockets until she fishes the photograph out of her left breast pocket. "Ah yes, this is her."

Max takes the photograph as Carmen turns on the flashlight on her phone. Once the light shines on it she nods. From what I can discern, the photo was taken in the nineteen twenties from the style of dress Li Meng wore. I remember receiving a cheongsam, I think that's the name for the dress, from my mother. She stayed in Hong Kong during that time and wished I could join her there if not for me being in hiding. But that's not important right now.

Anyway, the three of us focus on the image presented. With James in the way I lay him on the ground to better see it. I agree with Carmen that it looks like Li Meng, but it could easily be someone else. Because of doppelgangers some vampires would have them pose for photographs in the age before digital photography and video cameras. A nifty trick when you need to pass oneself as human and not look like some horror movie monster. I'm sure he has photos of himself together with her to prove her identity even further, but who knows when the House Special's effects will wear off.

"Wasn't she the one who turned to ash when I arrived to rescue you?" Max says for the entire world to hear.

Carmen's eyes pop as she scowls, ready to strangle him. I, however, slap my forehead.

"Did I say something out loud again?"

Max's exclamation catches Avital and Njaim's attention go figure. Avital snatches the photo from his hand. She glances down at James and says, "Li Meng's family has informed us that she was seeing someone. It's him, isn't it?"

Carmen folds her arms, the light from her phone now shining against a tree. "What makes you suspect that?"

"They claim it was an individual who has no legs." She crouches and takes a peek by tugging at James' pant leg. "Prosthetics. No legs indeed."

"I'm sure he's not the only double amputee in the Metropolis." I too crouch but to pick James up.

"Double amputee witches are rare." Avital rises up and circles Njaim. "We believe in order to cast spells one must be connected to the Earth. Without that connection, one can do at best is manipulate spells already in existence."

"Basically they're the equivalent of your average human reading a spellbook," Njaim adds as she takes out what appears to be a notepad. "I've seen my fair share of that happening."

Avital stops pacing and stands next to Njaim. She too takes out a notepad and flips open the cover. "Now, what is your connection to the legless individual?"

Carmen, Max, and I looked at each other. She turns to Max and whispers, "Not a word and let us handle this. If they ask you anything, don't exaggerate. You weren't there for the whole thing."

Max opens his mouth about to say something, but then closes it and nods yes.

"We're friends of his," I answer.

"For how long?" Avital asks after she finishes scribbling something.

"I've known him from my younger years," Carmen replies. "Recently I've introduced him to Lena who's cradling the eediat, and my pawdie, Max." She points to each of us as she identifies us to the police.

"Did you get that?" Avital turns and whispers to Njaim.

"I think she's calling the man Lena's carrying an idiot, and the black guy her close friend," Njaim whispers back. She scratches behind her head and adds, "Banton Eddie haunted my bedroom thinking he was murdered there."

"Yeah, you bring him up many times in our investigations." Avital clicks her pen and resumes writing. After clearing her throat, she asks us, "Now, has he mentioned to you before about any previous relationships?"

"He mentioned that he recently broke up with Li Meng." Carmen tilts her head up and scratches her chin. "If I can recall, they called it quits on their relationship. As far as I know he showed no antipathy towards her."

I shake my head yes, but then remember that I mean to nod instead. One thing I have to stop doing as it confuses one too many people here. And speaking of confusing, the cops now focus their attention on me.

"You don't seem to agree with your friend," Avital addresses me. She flips a page in her notebook and scribbles something.

"Oh, I agree with her." I shift my arms to accommodate James' weight. "James has told us he ended his relationship with Li Meng."

"Then how did she ended up as ash, quoting Max here?"

There are ways I can go about this and getting James back to his condo, and me to playing MMO's. I can hypnotize Avital and Njaim, but Avital may have a few tricks up her sleeve. The other option is to bend the truth in hoping to buy us some time, and what seems logical right now.

"James told us he put up a barrier to keep away a stalker. Another vampire was after him."

Avital nods as she says her notes aloud while jotting them down.

"We were smoking something, all legal I might add," I continue while making sure I don't drop James.

"It's nothing to worry about," Avital says waving her hand like a paw, "We sort out marijuana possessions too."

"Who would've guessed that it's used in magic spells?" Carmen rolls her eyes and shrugs.

"You'd be impressed at how psychedelics can be used to treat spiritual possession. Isn't that right, Rasima?"

"Please don't," Njaim sighs. "This is our night off. Can we please hurry this up?"

"Alright, alright, no more side stories then." Avital says something in Hebrew then resumes, "What happened to Li Meng?"

Finally, I'm itching to just throw James at them and run away. "James was too high to remember he had the barrier up. He forgot that Li Meng had a key with her. My best guess would be she thought the place was empty and let herself in --"

"Through the balcony door," Max interjects. "Her ashes were by the balcony door."

"Ya raas! Let her answer Max!" Carmen glares at him.

"Max is right by the way," I inform both Avital and Njaim. "She turned into ash the moment she came through. We didn't see how it happened but heard the barrier go off like a bug zapper."

Avital jots down her final notes as she repeats the last few words I've said. After tucking away her pen and pad, she whispers to Njaim, "You buy all this?"

Njaim shrugs. "If Ted joined us he'd be able to tell if they're bullshitting." Whoever or whatever Ted is, I don't like the sound of that.

"Why didn't you invite him to come?" Avital places her hands on her hips.

"You said we were having a girl's night out."

Avital slaps her forehead. After shaking her head she says to us, "While I'd proceed to ask your unconscious friend, even wake him up, we'll carry on. We'll just say to her family that her death was accidental." She waves and arm and leads Njaim over to the wooded area.

Once they have left, James stirs and I nearly drop him.

"Finally!" He sits up and stretches. "Thanks for covering for me." He leaps out of my arms and lands on his prosthetics. He almost falls flat on his face but is able to regain his balance.

Carmen's jaw drops, and it's not from his balancing act. "Talia's house special knocked me out for nearly a day. How's it you recovered so quickly?"

James chuckles. "I've taken far stronger concoctions before. Ye sort of develop an immunity for these things."

Max raises an eyebrow. "So, this entire time, you were awake for the whole conversation?"

"I've been pretending to be unconscious since we left the Tavern. Supernatural police force showed up to my door but Ramsay informs me whenever I'm about to get into trouble."

"Now it all makes sense why you wanted to go tonight." Carmen scoffs. "You'd rather embarrass yourself doing parlor tricks then having to explain why you killed a vampire."

"Ach, I didnae kill Li Meng." He presses his index and thumb to the bridge of his nose. "Lena was the one who intimidated her into passing through the barrier uninvited."

"Excuse me, James," Carmen says taking up all of his personal space, "but if it weren't for your incompetence, you wouldn't be in this mess. Lena did nothing wrong."

"To be fair," I interjected, "she would've castrated him at some point. She seems like the type who'd tear off a man's penis if it meant no one else should have it. James would've bled to death and died."

James, Max, and Carmen mumble amongst each other and nod in agreement.

"Yer right Lena." James says as he scratches his back. "Thanks for saving my life and my sanity."

But before he can land his right arm around my shoulders, I add on, "This doesn't excuse you from telling the proper authorities. The least you could've done is told us you were being investigated."

"And hae ye throw me under a bus to save your own arses?"

"Jimi, man," Carmen says laying a hand on his shoulder, "had you told us earlier we'd help you." She grabs his other should and shakes him. "They're in the Tavern and right now is the perfect opportunity to give them your side of the story."

James sports a nervous grin and his cheeks redden. His embarrassment washes away the moment he looks to the path leading to the Tavern. "No need to escort me. I see them coming over right now."

Carmen, Max and I turn our heads to see if they are coming. Now how is it possible James spotted them before I could?

"Do you see them, Lena?" Carmen asks.

"I don't see anyone. How about you Max?"

"I can't see very well, but enough to know James hightailed it out of here."

I face Carmen and she is puzzled as to how he left. "Why didn't I feel him disappear?"

More importantly, why didn't I expect that he would vanish?

"Are invisibility spells a thing?" Max asks.

"They certainly are," I answer as we follow Carmen to the car. "There's a good chance he used one on himself and hid behind a tree."

"It'd be nice to know a spell like that when I was in high school." Max comments upon the revelation. "Not just to hide from the bullies but to sneak into school whenever I was running late." He swings his left arm and right when he swings it back we all hear someone curse out loud.

"Shite!" the voice says.

"Did I hit someone?" Max looks around. "A ghost maybe?"

"Is your hand tingling from the cold?" I ask him as I open the side door.

He examines his hand then shakes his head. "It's not cold, but I definitely hit something."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Carmen says as she opens the driver's side. "I've hit invisible things before. If you hit someone, they deserved it anyway."

Max says nothing and enters the car.

I too enter the car and sat down at the same time as Carmen. I do wonder if she gets in trouble for hitting invisibles with a car, but chances are they make themselves visible to avoid a lawsuit.