Chapter One: Murder at Midnight

Cecilia was more than happy to stay after closing hours to finish filing the firm's paperwork and get paid an extra fifty dollars. What else was she going to do with her time? It wasn't like she was busy or anything…oh, except for that one minor thing – college.

She worked a part-time job and went to college full-time, unable to resist trying to graduate as soon as possible but also unable to afford full-time college without a job. That, along with an apartment and a car, meant that her wallet was never really full.

In fact, it was very rarely that she could afford her wake-up coffee in the morning, which she could quite honestly not survive without. So, she settled with the cheap homemade kind that made her more often than not sick to her stomach and devoid of any kind of appetite. As long as she was awake, that was all that mattered.

Cecilia frowned as she went through the firm's paperwork. It seemed like there was an odd, unexplained influx of money to some of the bank accounts Mr. Leiston and Mr. Rex owned. She knew that she wasn't actually supposed to read the papers she was going through – she was only supposed to skim enough to find out what each document was about in order to alphabetize it.

"Well, that's odd," she mumbled as she flipped through another page she was supposed to 'skim over'. "It seems…Mr. Leiston received a one million-dollar check on Thursday…and he hasn't been in the office for almost a week…"

The biggest problem with the check was that Leiston wasn't even a defense attorney. Mr. Rex was one of the best defense attorneys in the city – the state, even. So either someone was paying Leiston to sway a case for the worst or the check was meant for Rex, who had been very busy.

But Cecilia was sure Leiston wouldn't do that. He was one of the most honest men she knew – he always sought the truth. That, he had told her, was why he became a prosecutor in the first place. He had wanted to put criminals away, to find justice for the world in any small way he could.

Cecilia shrugged and continued filing. If she thought too much about it or asked any questions, should the firm's main attorneys lose interest in her abilities or become suspicious of her snooping, she could lose her job. She couldn't imagine what she would do without her job. It was necessity over curiosity.

Finally she finished filing the last document and began to pack up. It was late, probably about 11:30pm. Grabbing her purse and her school bag, which was heavy with textbooks, she began to make her way out the door. She was supposed to take the front door, she remembered absently, as it had an alarm set for it specifically and automatically locked itself after six at night, when the firm officially closed.

At first it was just a quiet night, easily passing for normal. Cecilia began to make her way around the back to get to her car, but as soon as she rounded a corner, she came across one of the more frightening scenes she had ever experienced.

A man had another man pinned to the wall of the building, raising him up by his shirt collar. The attacking man hissed very darkly to the other some inaudible words. Despite the fact that the offender was quite obviously threatening the other man, the man raised by his shirt said strongly, "I will not rig a case for you. I'm sorry, but no."

Cecilia was finally able to put face and voice together, despite the dark atmosphere. There wasn't a streetlight for another half and block – the only thing that allowed her to see was the full moon and the small light illuminating the 'Rex & Leiston Associates' sign around the corner.

She watched with wide eyes as the man dropped Leiston abruptly and caught him, baring his neck for attacking. It seemed as though he was biting down so harshly that Leiston immediately paled and froze, seemingly paralyzed.

Then, to Cecilia's dismay, a trickle of blood began to make its way down to Leiston's pale yellow collared shirt. It wasn't much, but Cecilia needed to do something quick. Otherwise, Leiston would die.

She immediately pulled out her cellphone and began to dial, but unfortunately it wasn't on silent so it was loud, and more importantly, audible to the attacking man. From the corner of her vision Cecilia saw him perk up and then…sniff the air? Then he immediately looked in Cecilia's direction. She turned and immediately began to run. Knowing sufficient knowledge about legalities, if she was a witness she could possibly put the man who had attempted to kill Leiston behind bars.

Vaguely hearing a grunt and a thump from behind her, she moved to get into the building, tugging on it before cursing it for locking. She then ran for her life, abandoning her text book bag so she could move faster.

She had made it past a couple of buildings before harsh, cold hands suddenly grabbed her and whirled her around. Without thinking about it, self-defense kicked in and Cecilia deftly kicked the murderer in his groin, which didn't have as strong of an effect as she would have liked. However, he released her just enough to allow her to escape and continue running.

As she ran she screamed as loudly as she could, trying to attract attention to her situation. Cecilia didn't dare turn around, lest she slow down for even a second. The odd thing was, she didn't hear even the slightest sound of footsteps. That bothered her, for some reason. Maybe this murderer had some sort of power?

No, she was going crazy in her fear. She kept screaming, but for some reason no one was coming out. Was everyone that asleep? There might not have been any houses, but there was an apartment complex nearby…perhaps not close enough. They were in a business district, catered to not much else than corporations and small companies, but she had no other real hope.

Finally, the chase came to the end. The man suddenly appeared in front of her and caught her in the chest with a knife. Gasping, she fell back, crumpling into a mass of a broken human. He pulled the knife out of her body, seeming to admire his work. With fuzzy vision she saw him lick the knife. As his tongue tasted the crimson fluid, Cecilia vaguely saw his eyes perk up and turn red.

She could only barely feel it as she faded in and out of consciousness – the avid pressing of tongue and lips against her neck. If her brain hadn't been so muddled and in pain, she would have been fearful and shocked – as it was, she couldn't process much.

However, she could understand the sirens wailing and the sudden lack of a mouth on her neck. When her bleary eyes opened for the last time, there were flashing lights and no shadowy man standing over her.

Cecilia could barely feel being lifted onto a stretcher and taken into an ambulance. However, she couldn't help but feel that it was too late.