I came to slowly. My head felt like something the size of an SUV plowed into it. The white sheets and pink walls, combined with a delicate pink comforter made it clear this is not my own bedroom. While frilly curtains framed a window with a heavy blind over it. Gingerly, I got up and try to raise the blind. It looked like it may be either dawn or dusk but I couldn’t be sure. Either way, I have been out cold for quite some time. My jaw hurt. Getting up out of the bed took all of my strength. Whoever got me into the bed had dressed me in dark blue silk pajamas. Moving towards the dresser, I saw myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. A big bruise was purpling half of my face as if I had smacked into a brick wall. Examining the damage closer, I could actually make out the shape of a handprint in the darker areas of the bruise.

“Just think what would have happened if she hadn't hit you with an open hand!” said a lovely soprano voice from behind me. In the mirror, I could see a shapely redhead in her 20's leaning languidly against the door frame. She seemed to be holding back laughter at my look of confusion. “Sally has quite a temper. If she had wanted to kill you, they never would have found all of the parts when she was done with you. I think an apology would be wise."

“Thanks for the advice. Hi, I'm..”

“I know, detective James Frederick Hendricks. Hero of the flaming skull gang siege. Four times decorated and on the captains shit list for the last six months for working cases he was told to drop.” she interrupted.

“Well, you seem to have done you research.” I replied, ”And what is your name?”

“The name is Rachel. I work here as the medical services manager. I am also working on some research.”

“Nice to meet you. How do I find my clothes and get out of this place?” I responded.

“Iris will be by soon. She rises before the others. This is her house. She will explain everything, I think she has a bit of work for you.” she stated. “just stay here. I'll see you a bit later.”

With that, she turned and left, closing the door behind her. The door closed with a very final click that told me that the door had locked tightly behind her. The delicate floral scent of her perfume mixing with a slight medicinal scent of the chemicals from her lab. As the sound of her footsteps faded down the hall, I considered that she might be worth getting to know her a bit better.

Glancing towards the window, I wondered what time of day it was outside. Walking over to the blinds, I pulled them to the side as much as I could. It was hard to move the tightly latched blind, but it moved eventually. A beautiful sunset greeted me from that window. I stood there for a while longer to see the sun fall below the horizon. Just as I was pulling away from the blind, there was a polite knock at the door.

“Please come in” I said. After all, it was not like I could refuse access.

I heard a key turn in the lock and the door swung slowly open to reveal an elderly Asian woman of regal bearing. Somehow, at a mere 5 feet tall, you could tell that she was in charge. My best guess at her age was around sixty-five to seventy-five years old. She wore a silk robe embroidered with exotic flowers and delicate birds. “I am Iris. This is my house. All who reside here are under my protection. Please, walk with me. I am sure you have a few questions. I will do what I can about answering the ones I can. Then, we will talk of the work I need you to help me with.”

Propping the door open, she gestured for me to pass through the opening. I walked over and stepped out into the hall. Iris was waiting patiently with a sly smile on her lips. I could not miss the graceful way that she stood waiting. I could easily imagine that she was quite seductive in her youth. She had that catlike sinuous bearing that would have turned heads even into middle age. A part of me wished that I could have me a younger version of her.

“Now that you have given me a complete assessment, shall we proceed,” she asked with a teasing tone that told me that my thinking was quite transparent.

“I’m sorry Mam. I don’t know what came over me. Can we chalk it up to my head injury?”

“Oh no. An old lady like me cherishes the lustful thinking of a younger man whenever it comes by… Still, we need to get to business.”

Se began leading my down the hall to a large staircase. The wide and opulent stairs were in the middle of a log hall that was apparently on the second floor. They lead down to a huge foyer that was decorated with beautiful rugs, vases, sculptures, and tasteful busts of important looking men. Each bust had a brass nameplate. The marble of the walls was accented with dark red wood I couldn’t identify. The furniture in the area was all of the same beautiful, dark, red, wood. As we walked down into the foyer, I realized that it was at least forty feet across and fifty feet long. I could not get a good look at the nameplates on the busts, but many of them seemed not to be in English.

Crossing the foyer, Iris opened a large, ornate door to reveal a large office, also furnished in  the rich, dark wood. The cushions of the two chairs in front of the desk were snow white leather of some kind. The floor was a white marble with expensive looking carpets that were covered in intricate and vibrant patterns. The large desk matched the chairs and had a white marble top that must have weighed an incredible amount. The desk was at least eight feet long. As I walked into the office, I noticed the matching couches on either side of the room. Both couches were flawless matches to the chairs. The door closed silently and latched with an audible finality as I stepped past it. The curtains behind the desk pulled open to reveal a massive glass bay window. The view was of a lovely garden that extended at least an acre to a massive eight foot tall hedge.

“Now, young man. You seem to have a gift for digging holes for yourself. Your boss was very hard to calm. She even gave me permission to kill or enslave you.”

“Excuse me?!?!?”

“We have her on, what you might consider a retainer. We have certain ‘needs’ that she ignores us fulfilling, in exchange, we dispose of problem cases.”

“Needs? What kinds of needs?”

“You saw Sally fulfilling her needs last night. We are…” she cleared her throat with a look of distaste. ”What is known as vampires.”

Doubting this woman’s sanity, I looked at her while steeling my features to avoid showing my doubt of her sanity. “So, Sally was feeding on my suspect?”

“Yes. Although, he was absolutely guilty. We found all of the evidence. He even kept pictures of his activities,” she replied with a look of abject disgust. “We would have acted sooner, but we had to prove he was guilty. You see, we must feed, but we choose to only feed on those who are the real monsters. We take those who escape human justice and will continue to destroy innocent life.

“You must understand, we must kill, but we will not take the innocent.”

“We? Is it just you, Rachel, and Sally?”

“Oh! Heavens no. We have five other girls here. Kind of like a sorority if you will. Rachel is part of the household, but not a vampire. My little pet name for us is ‘The Winter Butterflies’. Beautiful, but cold and dead,” she smirked sinisterly at her little joke…