It took yet another long shower and several minutes of standing in front of the mirror talking to myself to get my body and my mind back on track after such a horrific night of dreaming.  I was still very tired, but felt a few cups of strong coffee would change that.  Having three showers within a twenty-four-hour period was an excellent way to dry out my skin, so I took the time to slather on body lotion before getting dressed and going downstairs.For the first time since I’d moved to Wolf Junction and set up my office, I was thankful for the light day that I had scheduled with patients.  I rarely felt as tired as I had over the last few days.  I decided that I’d let my immune system weaken with all of the stress over a lost corpse and other things, like rolling on the ground in a lover’s embrace right next to that corpse with the sheriff and having sex on my kitchen counter and then my examination table with a fellow physician. What go

The two of us sat in silence for an undetermined amount of time while we struggled to absorb and understand what was happening.  As the official county coroner, I’d declared Jacob dead along the roadside.  He’d been transported from the scene of his death to the funeral home and then from the funeral home to my examination lab without showing any signs of coming back to life.  How could he come back to life?  He was dead.  He really was.I finally came to my senses enough to check his vitals.  He had none.  He wasn’t breathing, he had no heartbeat, he was as cold as one would expect a dead man to be and his skin was a pale gray like a dead man’s would be.  Since he was barefoot, I could even see the black around his ankles that happens when the person’s blood stopscirculating and settles in pools. I looked at Max with unbridled confusion. “He’s got no vitals.  He’

I am not big on breakfast, so I was surprised to discover that I had an appetite.  I assumed it was because I’d been up for so many hours.  I fixed myself scrambled eggs and toast, wondered where Peter could be while I ate it, and then headed downstairs to get the autopsy out of the way. I made a detour to my office to get another syringe with GHB in it as a safety measure. My hands shook as I inserted the keys into the two padlocks Max insisted on locking the door with.  I’d used enough GHB in that syringe to keep him out for some time, but it had been a few hours and he was a big guy.  I also wasn’t sure how it affected dead people verses live ones. Was it morepotent, or less?I slowly pulled the door open far enough to peek in and make sure the body was still on the gurney.  I was glad we’d taken the extra measure of strapping it in.  He looked still and very dead.  I just hoped that was the fa

My brows knit together as I tried to remember if he’d mentioned knowing her.  I’d met Angela through her and he was friends with Angela, so it wouldn’t be an odd thing if they were friends.  I decided to make it a point to get a bit more information out of my lover before I crawled back into bed with him.It was Megan who spotted me first and waved her greeting.  I couldn’t help returning the broad smile she wore as she waddled up the drive.  Watching her struggle to get her arthritis riddled legs to walk, I was reminded of how old the woman truly was. Her witty and youthful conversations made it something that was easy to forget.I rushed to spare her more walking than necessary.“What a pleasant surprise, Megan,” I said as I gave her a quick hug. “What brings you here?  Is it an official visit or just friendly?  Are you well?”Megan’s eyes sparkled in the late afternoon

The county was filled with zombies that passed themselves off as your everyday person and my boyfriend was a vampire. I waited all those years to date and then, when I finally did, he was a blood sucking vampire!  Such was my life.I lay on the top of my bed with my fingers to my temples.  What was happening?  Looking back at my childhood on the farm, I realized what a sheltered life I’d led.While growing up, I’d whine about how boring life was and how I couldn’t wait to get to the big city.  Now, what I wouldn’t give for a bit of that boredom.Peter’s quiet knock on my door caught my attention.“Vickie, can I come in?”I rolled onto my side and curled intothe fetal position. “I’d like some alone time, Peter.”“I understand.” There was a sad tone to his voice. “I just want you to know that I’ll leave if you want me to.”