Free Enduring Service by Regina Morris

blood, or anything!”
    “We can check medical records and see what biohazards were being shipped out and if there is a missing container,” Ben offered as a desperate straw.
    Raymond’s eyes grew wide as he watched the video in slow motion. “Oh, my God!” He placed his hand over his mouth. “Rewind,” he said as he leaned in closer to the smart board. “That woman. I know who she is.” He sucked in a deep breath and stared directly at Sterling. “She was the midwife during your birth.”
    “What?” Sterling asked, taking a good look at the woman.
    Ben’s eyes darted over to Raymond. “That was a long time ago. Are you sure?”
    “The memory of the birth of my son and the death of my wife are burned into my memory. I’ll never forget her. Her hair is shorter, different style of clothes and makeup… but that is her.”
    “She’s a vampire.” Dixon said.
    “I had no idea. It occurred before my Jahrling Year. I couldn’t detect anyone as being a vampire.” Raymond studied the frozen face on the screen. “But she must be a vampire.”
    “Who is she?” asked Sterling.
    Blinking a few times, Raymond answered, “I thought only a midwife.”
    “Do you have a name?” Ben asked, but Raymond only shook his head.
    Ben unpaused the video feed and the team members watched again as Sulie was placed in the back of a van. Her hands were tied, and she was forced to wear a hood over her head.
    Ben stopped the video as the van moved out of camera range. “I’ll tap into the city street cams. We can trace where they went.” The process took a few minutes, but Ben eventually cracked into the security feeds. They watched as the van left the hospital and traveled down to the highway.
    They sped up the film, enabling them to view a two hour journey in a quick fifteen minutes. Dixon suspected the kidnappers feared Sulie would recognized smells and sounds from a town she had lived in for decades. They had backtracked and drove needlessly in circles, obviously to confuse her.
    The van eventually turned down some streets that had no cameras. “That’s as far as we can go, Raymond,” Ben apologized. “There is no more video footage to tap into.”
    “We know they traveled south and that’s a good lead.” He nodded nervously. “It’s a long shot, but the men’s faces are clearly shown. We may be able to get more information when the facial recognition software completes.” Raymond looked down at his computer and let out a frustrated sigh, suggesting the process may be a while.
    Dixon typed into his computer following a lead, but then frowned. “I just ran a check against the license plate and make of the van. It was reported stolen over a month ago. I’m afraid it’s a dead end.”
    “What was Sulie’s schedule for the day?” Sterling asked.
    Dixon scanned through Sulie’s online personal calendar. He’d inspected it over and over at least a dozen times already and found no clue about why anyone would have taken her. He shook his head, “Only routine stuff.”
    “They want her for something — something other than money because there’s no ransom note,” Sterling said.
    Raymond shook his head as he glanced over to his son. “Sterling, Sulie wasn’t there during your birth. She never met the midwife, so she may not be the target. She may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They may not even know who she is, other than her being a doctor.”
    “All roads are leading towards this being deliberate and planned. I simply took the shortest route, Dad.”
    Dixon closed down the day planner and glanced at the group. “If the midwife wanted to find Sulie, I’m sure she could.” Dixon stood so he could pace across the floor. He needed to do something other than just sit — even if it meant wearing a hole in the carpet. “They asked over the phone if she was a vampire and she had said yes. Whether Sulie knew them, they knew her. So who the hell is this woman? What do they want with Sulie?”