Eugene

It had only taken Cassius around an hour to ring him back, he wasn't known as a genius for nothing. "Eugene, I found some basic files on her death, but there's nothing there," he explained. Eugene frowned, if there wasn't anything there then it must mean- "Someone's tampered with them," Cassius explained.

"What do the files say? The ones you can find." Eugene asked, as he moved the phone to the other ear, so he could run a frustrated hand through his hair.

"That the body was discovered a day after the incident took place, the body itself seemed to be in pristine condition and that it was ruled a suicide," Cassius said over the sounds of typing, "There wasn't even a court case,"

Eugene tutted, sometimes he could see why his Sire disliked humans so much. It was unjust and unfair that Annalise didn't even receive a trial, or further investigation. She deserved so much more than that, even if she had passed. "Is there anything else you can find?" He demanded more than asked.

"I can't tell you with 100 percent surety that this is correct, but in some of the files a USB is mentioned. It doesn't say anything other than, it has more information stored on it." Cassius said. "However, Eugene, there is something wrong here. Files like this, they're not tampered with for no reason. I wouldn't have known anything was wrong, if i didn't-." Cassius cut off, there was a pause which Eugene understood clearly.

He knew why Cassius didn't want to talk about their clan, neither did Eugene quite frankly.

"Its okay, do you think it could be the work of him?" God, he prayed that it wasn't. It didn't make sense, why would he be involved in the death of a seemingly normal woman. He never had people killed for no reason. It was always political, a reason to further his cause. Not just a woman, not Annalise.

"It smells of it. The way the files have gone, it reeks of him. I can't think of anyone else it could be." Cassius said solemnly. "Be careful Eugene. I don't know why this has happened, but you know what he is like." Eugene nodded, momentarily forgetting he was on the phone.

"Yes I know. I know what he's like. But I can't drop this right now, I made an oath" he spoke, fingers tapping on his leg."Can you tell me about this USB?" he asked. There was the clacking of typing once again, before it stopped.

"I can't tell you much, all I can find out is where it's located." There was more typing, before Cassius spoke again, "Its located within the mortuary where her body was held before she was buried, it's on Kesington Willows Street, the 4th building down. Its called, 'Start To Finish Services'"

"Can you give me more information than that? Specifically, where is it located?" Eugene questioned.

"No there's nothing, I can keep searching however." Cassius offered.

"Yes, please. In the meantime, I'll break in tonight to see if I can find anything more in person. You know how to reach me if you find anything more. Thank you Cassius."

-------

He was standing outside a relatively small conjoined building. There were large glass windows, displaying an array of headstones, and even one coffin. Above the windows was a large white sign with green lettering 'Start To Finish Services'. It looked like it had seen better days, having been splattered with mould, and dirt.

First thing first, was to check if there was any CCTV on the shop and around it. Eugene glanced around, eyes fluttering over the shops and street. He found one CCTV camera, on the street lamp that was on the opposite side of the road. Using vampiric speed, he ran across the road and jumped up. Using his fist, he punched the camera, breaking it with the force.

Landing back down, he shook his hand, a bruise starting to bloom on his knuckle, colouring it a dark blackberry. It faded just as quick, one of the few benefits of being a vampire he supposed. Cracking his knuckles, he ran back to the mortuary. It had been a long time since he lock picked anything. 50 years to be precise. He only hoped that his skills hadn't gotten rusty.

Rolling his shoulders, he took the picks out of his pocket and inserted them into the lock of the door. He moved them this way and that for a minute, before finally the tell tell 'click' resounded. Slowly, he opened the front door, stepping into the reception. It was eerily silent, as he glanced across the room.

He paused, and went over to the reception desk. It was loaded with papers, knick-knacks and pens. He winced his nose against the smell of mothballs. Eugene looked at them for a moment, memorising their position before digging around for anything that looked like a USB. It felt like hours had passed, of searching every nock and cranny of the reception before his phone buzzed, echoing in the silence.

Eugene jumped at the unexpected noise and rushed to answer it. "Cassius?" He asked.

"I know where the USB is. But you wont like it," the man in question replied.

"It better be in this mortuary." Eugene threatened, using his shoulder to hold his phone to his ear, while he continued to search.

"It's in the second down body fridge, in a notch at the top," Cassius explained. Eugene stopped searching, his body frozen.

"And you're one hundred percent sure of this?" He said.

"100 percent." Cassius confirmed, "Good luck," and with that he hung up. Eugene threw the pencil he was holding onto the floor in frustration.

"Dammit, Cassius," he muttered under his breath. With that he headed to the door marked 'Mortuary'.

It opened to reveal a blinding white tiled room, that smelt of harsh chemicals. If he could, Eugene would plug his nose, his heightened sense of smell making him want to vomit. But he swallowed it down, breathing out of his mouth in a vain attempt to stop the smell of bleach giving him a migraine. Along the far wall was a cluster of draws, pristine and silver, in rows.

Reluctantly, he went to the second draw of the body fridge and pulled it out. He grimaced, as it revealed a body hidden under a white sheet. While he was a vampire, had killed, and seen enough bloodshed to spread over lifetimes, he still winced whenever he came close to dead bodies. The putrid smell, and unnatural stillness reminded him of days gone. Where he had to fight to survive each day.

With a sigh he lent over the body, it was a frail old woman probably died in her sleep, no sign of foul play. His fingers brushed over the top of the inside. Eventually, his fingers reached a bump, and he was basically sitting atop the body when he pulled on it. The notch opened, and out fell a small grey USB. It bounced off the body and onto the silver draw.

Leaning out of the fridge, he grabbed the USB, and pushed up the notch so it closed. "Sorry," Eugene muttered to the body, as he pushed the drawer back inside the fridge. With vampiric speed he rushed back to the reception table, putting everything where it was originally.

He held the USB to his face, looking at it with disdain. Cassius was right, all of this practically reeked of him. Even hiding the USB in a body fridge. Likely so that if it was found, it would be pinned on one of the workers there and not him.

Eugene could only pray to a god he didn't believe in, that Vitus wasn't involved.