A date with a super-sexy succubus

The next day, Drayce occupied his desk and waited for the inevitable circus to commence. Several hours had elapsed since Frank led his team to search Markus Santana's house. They would not find what they were looking for there, but they were certainly in for a few surprises if everything went to plan.

Penny, the cute young front desk receptionist, approached Drayce. "Hello, Detective Knight! I brought you some fresh coffee."

Drayce looked up to see the blonde bob cut-girl in tasteful gray suit-pants, suit jacket, and white button-up shirt. She had the look of a successful, confident lawyer, not a receptionist. Drayce accepted her offering, hooking the warm styrofoam cup from her hand.

"Thanks! What brings you up here?" Drayce asked.

"Well, I heard about the search this morning and thought maybe you could use a little something to perk you up. I know it must be very stressful," Penny said, smiling innocently at him.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. I hope they find what they need so I can have closure. This whole thing has haunted me for far too long."

"They will, I just know it! The good guys always win, right?" Penny said reassuringly.

Drayce shook his head, "Not always, Penny."

Just then Frank barged through the door with a dark haired woman in handcuffs, her eyeliner smeared with tears. Vince hound-dogged the pair, stopping at the Drayce desk while Frank took the woman to an interrogation room. Drayce glanced up as Frank led the woman past his desk.

"Is that the woman? The one from the nightclub?" Vince asked.

Everything was going exactly like Fiona had planned. All Drayce to do was play his part.

"Yeah, that's her!" Drayce said, lying through his teeth. "How did you find her? I thought you were after Markus?"

"Interesting story," the pathologist said. "When we got there, we searched the place but couldn't find the revolver. What we did find was a full confession supposedly written by his brother, Antonio. I still have to check the prints on the letter as well as cross-reference the handwriting to be sure."

Vince sat on the edge of Drayce's desk. "Anyway, Markus said his brother should have the gun. We got the go-ahead from the judge to search his house. We found the gun there, but we also found another dead body like the one you found at the night club. Completely dried out, except for his penis. We found that woman, Antonio's wife, lying on the bed next to the corpse, passed out from too much alcohol. I think the victim is Antonio, but I'll need to perform an autopsy first before I can confirm that."

"Interesting is an understatement," Drayce said. "That's a strange change of events. Think there is any connection between him and Phoebe's murder?"

"Hard to say at this point," Vince said. "But we now have more to go on than ever before. Though it still remains a mystery how she killed the victims. Hopefully when I examine this new body I'll find some new clues."

"It's going to be an open-and-shut case!" Frank said, returning from the interrogation room. He turned his gaze to Penny. "Well, hello there, beautiful."

Penny scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Frank stepped in closer to her. "You know, me and some of the guys are going to hit up the bar later tonight to celebrate. You should come join us."

"I'd rather not," she replied bluntly. "I'll see ya around, Detective Knight."

"Thanks again for the coffee," Drayce said as Penny walked away towards the elevator.

"It was my pleasure," she said, smiling over her shoulder.

"Would you look at the ass on her," Frank said after Penny disappeared behind the elevator doors.

"Are you always a douchebag like that?" Drayce asked. "It's a wonder how you get as many women as you claim."

"Don't hate the player, Drayce, hate the game," Frank said arrogantly. "Besides, she's a virgin, not really my type."

"And how do you know this?" Vince asked.

Frank stood with a smug look on his face. "If you two were in the game for as long as I have, you would know these things. First of all, no woman who looks that good dresses so conservatively for a receptionist unless she is a virgin. Secondly, the only person she gives the time of day to, is Drayce. An attractive single woman who wasn't a virgin would be flirting with everyone."

Frank turned to Drayce. "Speaking of, she has the biggest crush on you. You should ask her out. Maybe it's finally time for you to move on with your life? It could take your mind off things if nothing else."

Yeah, right. Like anything could take his mind off the fact that Phoebe's killer was still out there, or off the demon succubus who invades his every thought. The less people in his life right now, the better.

"Nah," Drayce said. "I'm not ready to date again just yet."

"It's your call," Frank said. "Personally, I think it's an offense to the 'man code' to pass up such prime pussy."

Frank walked towards his desk and then turned back around. "Oh, I almost forgot. Due to the nature of this suspect having possible connections to Phoebe's murder, Captain Finnegan has turned the night club murder case over to me. I'll need you to sign an affidavit stating she was the one who you saw that night. You understand, right?"

Normally Drayce would have a huge problem with someone else taking over one of his cases, especially if that someone was Frank. On the other hand, this should keep the CPD chasing their tail while he and Fiona found the real killer.

"I totally get it, Frank. It's all yours," Drayce said.

Frank cracked his smug smile once more, then returned to his desk.

"Well, I have a shitload of work piled up so I better get to it," Vince said. "Before I go, listen -- I was planning on hitting up a strip club this weekend. Do you want to come along? It'll be like our old college days."

"I don't know if I'll be up for it, Vince," Drayce replied.

"Oh come on!" Vince pleaded. "You've got to start living a little. Seeing some tits would do you some good."

He has already seen some tits recently -- Fiona's perfect pair. But yeah, he did need to liven up some, he admitted to himself.

"I'll... think about it," Drayce answered.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Vince said as he left for his lab.

Everything turned out as planned; even got a free coffee out of the deal. He looked at his watch -- end of his shift already. He grabbed his trench coat and headed for the main exit. He passed Penny at the front desk. "Detective Knight!" she waved for him to come over. He walked to her, curious.

"I didn't want to ask earlier because of all the guys around," Penny said bashfully. "But I have no plans for tomorrow night and was wondering if you'd like to go see a movie with me."

Drayce was caught completely off guard and unsure of how to respond. He had not been on a date since before Phoebe's death. Plus there was the not-so-little matter of Fiona.

"Well, I may have plans then, so..."

"It's okay, Detective Knight," Penny said as she scribbled on a piece of paper. "Here's my number. Just give me a call if you're ever free or just want someone to talk to, okay?"

Drayce took her note and smiled. "Thanks. I'll do that."

She smiled back as he left for his car. He did not have time to chat with her more -- he already had a date with a super-sexy succubus.

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