Chapter 1
”We’re really glad to have you join us. We’ve had a ridiculous number of applications this year and I must say that your CV has exceeded our expectations. And your hobbies? As soon as I saw you’re a fantasy lover, I knew you'd fit right in.”
Her high heels made a clicking sound with every step she took, echoing through an empty corridor they were walking through. Lucinda Fern was a beautiful woman in her 50s, with brown hair in a sleek bun, eyes in the colour of hazelnut and lips so red, they reminded Mia of blood. She was also the owner of a lucrative “Stan and Lucy” law firm, a dream place to work. They handled everything, from divorces through white-collar crime to murder, but there was one thing all cases had in common - they were all high profile.
Mia still couldn't believe her luck. Stuck in the first law firm that accepted her after uni, she gained experience but felt extremely unchallenged. When the position at “Stan and Lucy” opened up, she applied immediately but didn't have much hope. Yet here she was, two months later in a new costume that she spent her last savings on, feeling excited and nervous at the same time. So excited in fact, that she decided to ignore her bosses' weird remark about her passion for fantasy. She was told by her career advisor to add hobbies, so she did but she did not think that anyone cared about that.
“Here's your office. Do you have any questions?”
Lucinda rinsed her eyebrows, almost as if she expected to be flooded by them.
“Actually, just one. What's my first assignment?”
Lucinda’s expression remained the same, but for a second Mia thought she saw fire in her eyes. Mia, you silly cow, she thought, you’re letting your imagination get the best of you.
“I love a woman who doesn’t waste time, Amelia. We were going to give you some time to settle in, but why don’t you assist me on a case?”
“I’d love to.”
“Drop your bags and familiarise yourself with the case, please. Our client will come in tomorrow morning for the first meeting, and I wish you to be up to date with certain things.”
“What’s the crime?”
Mia was growing more and more curious. She felt honoured that Lucinda asked for her help. She could have stuck Mia with the most mundane tasks, but instead took her on her case. And it must’ve been a big one if Lucinda Fern herself was taking it.
“Murder. But don’t worry, Amelia, he is not a killer. We just need to find out who is.”
Mia turned around in her new swivel chair and took a deep breath. The chair was leather, of good quality and she could already say that he back would be grateful for that. Her office was small, but she didn't mind. Big windows let in the sun, though it was muted and weak. It was only October, but Mia already missed the never-ending days of summer, filled with light, laughter and warmth. She was not looking forward to leaving work when it was still dark outside, but she had to admit that something was refreshing about the array of colours all around her as nature prepared for winter.
“Enough of this nonsense, there's work to do,” she scolded herself and grabbed her old black leather bag. Her new employers kindly provided her with stationary, but some things were missing. She took out her calendar, and put the highlighters, pens and pencils in the drawer, neatly organised. Her notebooks were also hidden, and the only things that stayed on her desk were a writing pad, sticky notes and a golden pen, with a small bee decoration on top of it. As professional as she tried to be, she still felt the need to express herself and the pen was a way to do that.
She made herself a cup of tea, two sugars and milk, before starting up the laptop. Her email was already filled, mostly with introductions, some marketing and a couple of trainings she still had to do. But one, that she was the most interested in came when she was away, making her tea. Shaking with excitement, she stretched her neck a few times to help her relax.
First things first, introductions. Lucinda and Ann Stan, who preferred to go by Amanda, send a company-wide email welcoming her to the team and setting up an after-work event to help her meet colleagues. It was only fair that she addressed that.
“Hello everyone,
I'm extremely grateful to both Lucinda and Amanda for the very warm welcome and I'm very excited to be working alongside you. A bit about me, I've worked the last few years as a criminal defense lawyer and I'm looking forward to getting more challenged. In my free time, I love to read and climb, I'm also big on musicals. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone on Friday!
Mia”
She clicked send and took a sip of her tea. It was a simple email, but she felt really nervous. Did she come across as too friendly? Stuck up? Will they hate her? Her stomach started to churn, typical for her when she felt anxious, but this time she decided to let the feeling last. She had all of the right to feel that way, a new place, a new job and colleagues she's not had a chance to meet yet.
Right now though, only one thing mattered. She still couldn't believe that her first case in the new firm would be to assist Lucinda Fern, especially straight after starting. It made Mia feel like Lucinda saw something in her, a potential Mia herself was not aware of yet. But whatever it was that got Mia so far, she was determined to prove herself. A good record only gets you so far, now it's the time to grind. She grabbed her bee pen, a favourite blue highlighter and a new notepad and clicked on the email from Lucinda, ready to make notes.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Case #666
Dear Amelia,
please find the files I need you to familiarise yourself with in the attachment. This case was taken pro-bono; the client is very important to Amanda Stan, the co-owner of our firm. Due to the conflict of interests, she is unable to lead the case, so she's asked me to step in instead. I appreciate that this is a big assignment, but I've seen your resume and I have seen you in court, I know that you can do it. The client's name is currently on a need-to-know basis, so I will introduce you to him tomorrow.
Any questions, let me know.
Thanks,
L.
Mia felt her curiosity rise. A need-to-know basis, personal connection to her boss... Who could it be? She started by looking at the standard files she received. At approximately 4 am on Friday, 15th September, a body drained of blood was found in an alley behind a nightclub “Onyx” by the staff taking out the trash. There were no witnesses who saw the crime and the CCTV stopped working between 3.15 and 3.45 am. Grace Hardy, as she was later identified, came to the club with her husband John, and was seen arguing with a dark-haired man, with a tattoo of a spinning wheel on his arm. In the argument, witnessed by multiple people, he was heard to say “Your deal is not gonna last forever. You're either going to give me what you promised, or you're gonna die. Remember that. You brought this on yourself.” The man disappeared after the argument, and Grace left for the bathroom shortly after him, around 3 am. That was the last time she was seen.
Mia made a note of those words and highlighted them. She gathered that the black-haired man was the client, but what she saw didn't bode well. Last seen arguing with the victim, threatening her... She noted that not only do they have to find out about his whereabouts but also what actually was said. The report made it sound like the quote was verbatim, but is there a chance that it was misinterpreted? She had to know what exactly was said. Maybe cameras had the sound? She knew someone who could isolate sounds from the noise if they were so lucky, so she made a note to find out if that was possible.
Once she was done with the report, she moved away from the desk. The office was new, and modern and her desk had an option to be a standing one. Bearing in mind her next task, standing was the most appropriate thing. The autopsy.
She had the utmost respect for the victims but knew how people saw her. Defender of the monsters. The devil. The vampire, sucking out the money. No respect for the dead. Mia knew that it wasn't true. She loved justice and firmly believed, that that's why her role was important. There was nothing just about locking up innocent people, or not giving everyone a fair trial. Any case she took has been resolved, and if her clients were guilty, she always managed to get them to confess, to tell the truth about their crimes. She always felt like getting people to tell her their deepest, darkest secrets was her superpower, and she decided to use it for good.
She took a deep breath and opened the file. Grace was thirty-two years old, a beautiful, black woman, healthy and in great shape. The cause of death was listed as exsanguination; she was drained of blood in a manner that brought vampires to mind. Whoever did that, had a sick sense of humour or was part of some cult. Mia knew of cases, where people convinced themselves to be vampires, but never did she think she'll be working on a case like that.
After writing some questions and notes, and making a to-do list of things she needs to prepare for the meeting, she clicked on the last file, titled “important_info_intro_for_new_starters.pdf”. Fully expecting to see a standard code of conduct, ways in which she's expected to behave and things about the company she should know, she put her desk back down and got comfortable. But to her surprise, this was nothing but standard.
“Excuse me, I must've misheard. They made you read what?” Vera Naiad, Mia's best friend was sitting comfortably in a high chair in their favourite cocktail bar.
As always, they were like day and night. Vera's long mahogany-coloured hair was in a neat braid, her hazel eyes accentuated by dark eyeliner and her full lips covered in dark red lipstick resembled Selene, goddess of the moon. Mia, with her blonde, short hair with fringe, and freckles stubbornly present on her nose and cheeks despite the make-up she used in void hope of covering them up looked more like a mischievous elf. Both stunning, each in her own right, they became close in the university, joined together by the rock climbing club, and continued their weekend climbs and Tuesday's drinks after graduating.
“I wish I was kidding,” Mia took a sip of Cosmopolitan, her favourite drink. “I got the witness statements, police report, autopsy report and an in-depth article about different mythological creatures and the customs and traditions associated with all of them. I swear that it must be a mistake.”
“You don't know? Didn't you ask?” Vera was laughing so loud, that people from the table next to them glanced at them curiously.
“Well...no,” Mia felt the blood rush to her cheeks, which made Vera laugh even more. “Listen, it was a fairly interesting read! And I'm sure that there was a reason for it. Plus, if I ever meet a water nymph, I'll know exactly what to do.”
“Sure you will, sweetheart,” Vera rolled her eyes, but stopped herself from making more comments, sipping on her margarita instead.
“You can't tell Mike that,” Mia whispered. “He already makes fun of my choice of books, I definitely can't have him make fun of this as well. I have some dignity left.”
Vera moved her eyebrows funnily, but her smile was reassuring. “No funny business, I promise. Speaking of Mike, where is he?”
“Ask, and ye shall be heard,” a deep voice sounded behind them, and the girls turned around at the same time. Mike was the missing part of their trio, notorious for being late. He shook his head like a dog would get rid of the rain stuck on his hair, and Mia and Vera laughed, trying to cover themselves from the water. “Sorry I'm late, my beauties, I bumped into my old friend on the way here and simply had to bring him with me.”
Just now Mia noticed a man standing behind her tall and bulky friend. He was muscular but shorter than Mike, who was almost 6 feet himself. His hair was black, and his eyes were green, a shy smile showing a dimple on his right cheek. His chin and cheeks were covered by 5 o'clock shadow and his black, waterproof jacket was opened, showing the navy cable-knit jumper he was wearing.
“Just to make it clear, I was dragged here against my will,” his voice is soothing, and Mia can imagine that he's a great singer. “One word and I'll disappear.”
“Don't be silly,” Mia rolled her eyes and pointed out the space opposite to her. “Any friend of Mike's is a friend of hours. Although, considering that he's both late and he brought you here, I think it's only fair for the next round to be on him.”
“Hey!” Mike said playfully, knowing full well that he was not going to win this argument anyway.
“Cosmo and margarita for the beautiful ladies, beer for me and Stiles?”
“Old Fashioned,” the stranger said smiling at Mia, and she smiled back.
“I know that you are, but I meant the drink,” Mike taunted Stiles, but he gave up when Vera flicked his nose.
“Hurry up, Mikey,” she asked, and Mike made his way to the tills. “So, Stiles, is it?” Vera's full attention was now on the man, and Mia started to feel weirdly jealous, but she decided to dismiss the feeling.
“Stiles Rump, actually,” he reached across the table to shake Vera's hand. “Pleasure's all mine.”
“That remains to be seen. I'm Vera,” the woman acted colder than Mia expected her to be. Vera was the bubbly soul of the group, it was unlike her to act so unfriendly.
“And I'm Amelia. Mia,” she reached for Stiles' hand. It was big and warm, soft to the touch and Mia felt herself blush again. “It's so warm here, isn't it?”
She reached toward the collar of her fluffy, white turtleneck trying to hide the embarrassment she felt.
“Hello, Mia,” his eyes were fixed on her, friendly expression not leaving his face. “So how do you two know Mike?”
“Uni,” Vera's reply was short, and Mia opened her mouth to add to that when she felt a kick to her shin. Surprised, she looked at her friend but decided to play this little game. Even though Vera was rude for no reason, Mia knew better than to doubt her.
“We worked together for a few years before I left the country,” Stiles answered an unasked question. “I've had some business trips and things that needed my attention, so I kinda disappeared on everyone. But you know how it is... sometimes things happen and you struggle to survive. It's only now that I feel like I have the space and mindset to reach back out to old friends and hope to repair whatever I still can. Because I guess that's the reason for your attitude?”
Mia gasped at the question, shocked that Stiles would be this direct to someone he just met.
“Attitude? Guess that's how you could call it,” Vera was suspiciously calm. “Michael was worried sick about you. He thought he did something that ruined your friendship. He deserves better than this.”
“I agree, wholeheartedly,” Stiles nodded. “But I feel like I deserve some slack as well, I did tell him that I'll be unavailable for a while. Guess I didn't specify that I meant emotionally unavaiable too. But I'm not leaving anywhere, so I'll make it up to him. And you I guess, so let's start over?”
“Start over what?” Mike set the drinks on the table, and Mia immediately took a big swing, earning raised eyebrows from him.
“This meeting, now that we're all together,” Vera smiled at Mike, a full 180 from her behaviour just a second ago. Stiles winked at Mia, making her a secret accomplice to the weird exchange that just happened.
“Allllright...” Mike seemed unconvinced, but he raised his glass. “Here's to starting over.”
The rest of the evening went without a hitch, and though Mia was worried about the tensions between Vera and Stiles, her friend seemed to stay through to her word about starting over. Stiles seemed like a great guy, and she enjoyed getting to know him. She told him about her work and passions, he said that his a freelancer and loved to swim. They both agreed that musicals are great, action movies are boring and Mexican food is superior. He told her about the best Mexican in town, and she expressed that she'd love to try it, so they decided to meet up the next day for dinner. She notices smiles and a few raised eyebrows from her friends, but both of them seemed happy for them, even Vera, who at the end of the night started to warm up to Stiles, giving him a goodbye hug. Going home, Mia felt drunk with happiness - here she was, with a successful career, dream job, fantastic friend and a date set with a handsome man she just met organically. She felt like a star of a lifetime movie, beautiful and unstoppable. Full of optimism, she turned to bed, ready for her first case to fully start tomorrow.
