Chapter 34

“I’m going to ask again Ms. Lewis. Who were you supposed to meet the night that you were abducted?”

Agent Sally Roux was frustrated as she attempted to interview Joelynn Lewis about the events that had occurred three nights ago. Joelynn wasn’t talking. She refused to give Sally any information with a stubbornness that rivaled that of her cousin Eva’s.

Jacob Torres, Joelynn’s friend, sat beside her, “C’mon Joelynn…just tell her what she wants to know.”

Joelynn looked at Jacob with a silent stare that spoke volumes. He sighed and gave up. He knew she wasn’t going to speak.

“If you refuse to cooperate, I could charge you with interfering with an investigation,” Sally threatened.

Joelynn rolled her eyes to that warning.

Jacob cleared his throat and said, “Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?”

Sally looked from Jacob to Joelynn and exhaled a deep breath of irritation. “I’ll give you five minutes.” She stood up and walked towards the coffee machine.

Sally was annoyed and not just because she had been trying to get some information about the Demon King from Joelynn Lewis for the past few days. Sally was tired of having to work out of the local police department’s headquarters. It was old, cramped, and she was sick of all the attitude she was getting from the local officers.

One of their detectives, a Jerry Gonzales, had committed suicide. Rumors around the water cooler indicated that he was so distraught about not being able to find the Demon King, that he killed himself with Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Apparently, he had been engaged to one of the victims. Sally wasn’t sure how accurate that rumor was but she did remember Gonzales being very forceful in his need to be involved in her case and he was pissed when she had taken over.

Sally had to mentally shrug at that. If an officer wasn’t mentally intact, then he shouldn’t be doing any kind of police work. It wasn’t her fault that he killed himself. To top it all off, Gonzales’ partner, David Wilson, was now in the hospital. Taking charge as the temporary senior detective was a Detective James Smith. He seemed to be the ringleader of her anti-fan club. Sally saw him working at his desk and frowned. He had been going to the hospital to spend time with Detective David Wilson. He looked exhausted and irritated…just like her.

Sally looked up from her Styrofoam filled cup of bitter coffee and saw Eva Lewis walking through the door.  “Great,” Sally thought, “Another person to ruin my morning.”

Sally was going to ignore her when she suddenly had an idea about how to get Joelynn to talk. “Ms. Lewis!” Sally waved Eva over.

Eva looked a little surprised and then cautiously walked over to Sally Roux. “Can I help you, Agent Roux?”

“As a matter of fact, you can. I’ve been trying to get your cousin Joelynn Lewis to give us a statement but she refuses to talk,” Sally explained.

“I’m sorry to hear that but I believe it’s her right to not provide you with anything.” Eva didn’t want to deal with Joelynn right now.

“Actually, it’s her duty to help us find the man that abducted her and stop him from hurting any other women. If it truly was the Demon King that did this, she’s the only victim that was able to escape. That’s big. It’s important. The longer she holds on to that information, the longer it takes us to find him.”

Eva asked, “Have you told this to Joelynn?”

“Yes, but talking to your cousin is like talking to the wall. I need your help.”

“I just came here to get more information on the vandalism that the Demon King’s fans are doing around town. Apparently they’re tagging buildings with the words Demon King. I didn’t even know that she was here today. Remember how she acted at the warehouse? She still wants nothing to do with me. I’m sorry. I wish I could help, but I can’t get her to speak to you.” Eva was about to walk away when Sally’s next words stopped her.

“I’m not asking you to try and convince her to speak to me. I want you to upset her so that she lets her guard down. I know you want to help her in some way and getting her to talk about her abduction is something she needs to do.”

Eva nodded, “Fine. I’ll do what I can.”

Sally smiled and looked around. She noticed Detective Smith watching her and Eva. She asked Eva to follow her. As soon as they entered the room, Joelynn asked, “What is she doing here?”

Eva smiled at Jacob and Joelynn, “Hi Joelynn. How are you doing?”

Joelynn stayed quiet and looked straight ahead.

Sally decided to join the conversation, “Well this isn’t awkward.”

Joelynn gave her a disgusted look.

“Joelynn I know you’re probably too scared to talk about it, but you need to tell Agent Roux what happened that night,” Eva told her cousin.

Joelynn crossed her arms and refused to speak.

“Do you think this is a game? That you can act like a brat and it’ll all go away?” Eva asked.

Jacob gasped, “Eva!”

“What?” Eva asked, “So she was abducted…big deal! At least she wasn’t killed. Those other women were tortured. Their skin was removed from their bodies…a few of them while they were still alive. You expect me to feel sorry for you? Why? Because you lived? Bad things happen to people every day. Get over it Joelynn.”

Everyone in the room was in a shocked silence from Eva's insensitiveness. Finally, Joelynn spoke, “How dare you! You have no idea what I went through.”

Eva scoffed, “No idea? Yeah, I have no idea what it feels like to be tied up and scared shitless. I have no idea what it feels like to have someone threaten you. Give me a break Joelynn. I know exactly how that feels. How dare I? No cousin, it should be me asking you that. How dare you hold on to information when there could be another woman out there being killed as we speak!”

“You think I actually know anything?” Joelynn exclaimed. “What could I possibly tell you other than he threatened to kill me if I got near you? I told you that! I went to my blind date at the coffee shop but he didn’t show. Then I walked to my car and that’s the last thing I remember before waking up with a blindfold on and my hands and legs tied up. What the hell else do you want me to say?” Joelynn was standing now.

Sally intervened, “Who were you meeting?”

When Joelynn realized what happened she cursed and sat back down.

When it didn’t look like she was going to answer, Jacob answered for her, “It was a dating app. She was supposed to meet some guy but she didn’t know who. You schedule a date in a public place and meet.”

Sally felt the hair on the back of her neck rise, “What was the name of the dating app?”

Jacob struggled to remember, “I think it was called Love Match or Love something…I don’t know.”

Sally stood up, “Do you still have your phone?”

Jacob shook his head, “No, she lost it after she left the coffee shop. She lost her purse and phone.”

“Do you remember who your date was? His name?” Sally asked.

Jacob answered for her again, “They don’t use names…everyone has a username. I think it was King something.”

It became quiet again at the mention of the word king.

“Oh no,” Eva whispered.

Sally looked at her notes, “King27 is the name I have that Stella Meyers met with.”

“So one of the other victims met with the same man that Joelynn met with?” Eva asked.

“It seems that way,” Sally got up and started walking towards the door. She stopped and looked back at Joelynn, “I know it’s none of my business, but you shouldn’t let the man that abducted you rule your life.” Sally looked at Eva and back to Joelynn, then she quietly left the room.

“Well I have to go,” Eva said after a few minutes of silence had passed. “If you want to talk, feel free to get in touch with me Joelynn. I'll understand if you want to wait until after they catch him. Just don’t cut me out completely, okay?” When Joelynn didn’t answer, Eva left the room. Her phone rang and she picked it up.

“Eva?” she knew it was Tom McDaniels from the number calling her.

“Hi Tom. It’s me. Did you get any news?”

“Yeah, I talked to Kevin. It’s a long story but I also had the DNA checked out from the handkerchief you gave me.”

“What did you find out?” Eva asked.

Tom answered, “I’ll tell you later. I’m going to meet with my father today. I think we should meet after.”

Eva agreed to meet Tom later. She hung up the call and heard someone calling her name. She looked up to see Detective Smith, “Hey Eva. I saw you in there with Agent Roux. Any news on the Demon King?”

Eva shook her head.

He continued, “I wonder if they’re any closer to finding out who he is.”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” she was about to ask him about the vandalism related to the Demon King when he asked, “Have you gone to see David yet?”

“No, I haven’t met with him yet.”

“I overheard you were going to see Tom. That wouldn’t be Tom McDaniels, would it?” he asked.

Eva didn’t understand why Detective Smith was asking her so many questions, “Does it matter?”

“That guy’s the FBI’s number one suspect to be the Demon King and you’re going to meet with him?” James asked.

Eva sighed, “What business is it of yours? Look, I’m sorry but I have to go.”

He wasn’t giving up that easily, “David’s worried about you. He's my friend and I'm worried about him. At least go visit him.”

Eva raised her hand up as if to say, “I got it.” Then she walked away.

~AT THE POLICE STATION~

Sally was telling her partner and a few other agents what she needed.

“I want you to find out who was using the username King27 last. I know that Tom McDaniels used it as did Kevin Landers. I need you to put a trace on the IP addresses of any other phones, computers, anything else that could give me an electronic footprint for this guy. Get it and give it to me ASAP!”

“We did. Whoever else was using it…hid his IP well. IT is still working on it. It’s why they didn’t deactivate the account to begin with.”

Sally cursed, “Make sure they shut down his account. The last thing I need is another victim.”

~AT THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH~

Lupita Torres was kneeling at the pew, praying for her daughter that had been cremated. She would rather have had her daughter buried, but the family couldn’t afford it. She finished her prayer, and stood up. She gave the sign of the cross and turned to leave the church when she bumped into a tall man with light blue eyes and dark hair that was beginning to turn gray.

“Excuse me,” she said without looking up.

“Lupita?” the deep male voice filled her ears with dread.

“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me?” he laughed.

Lupita Torres looked up into the face that she prayed she’d never see again.

He eyed her up and down, the small Hispanic woman, that hadn’t lost her figure after two children and age. “You still look great.” When she didn’t respond, he asked, “How’s your son…Joseph? No, Jacob. That’s right, it’s Jacob. How’s your son Jacob doing?” He could tell she was frightened.

“I heard that he’s just as handsome as his daddy. Maybe I should meet him to see if it’s true,” he whispered.

Lupita Torres took a step back, “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t know you or what you’re talking about.”

Lupita didn’t think it was possible for Satan to enter the House of The Lord. She said a quick prayer to never see that man again and for Jacob to never meet him either. There were some things that were best kept a secret. As far as she was concerned, the man in that church was pure evil in human form.

~TWENTY MINUTES LATER~

Tom walked in the church to see his father, Vincent McDaniels, sitting in the last pew with his arms outstretched behind him. It was a disrespectful way to sit in a church and Vincent probably knew it.

Without turning around, Vincent asked, “Has my prodigal son arrived?”

“I’m here…although I’m not sure why you wanted to meet at a church,” Tom said.

Vincent laughed, “A church is just a building like any other. It’s the faith of the people that enter that make it special.” He stood up and looked at his son that he hadn’t seen in years. “So my son, what did you want to talk about? It must be important since you haven’t seen me in quite some time.”

Tom nodded, “It’s come to my attention that you were a very busy man when you were younger.”

Vincent cocked his head to one side, “Now that’s insulting. I’m a very busy man even now. In what way do you mean?”

Tom handed Vincent a piece of paper. “I see,” Vincent said in understanding. “You mean I had children besides you, Christopher, and Beatrice. Well that’s probably true. I did a lot of things that had serious consequences back then before I became clean.”

“Is he the only other child you had besides us?” Tom asked.

Vincent smiled as he thought of Lupita Torres and how small a world it was. “What? Are you worried you won’t get an inheritance from me? It’s not much to brag about. You’re richer than I am since I stopped writing years ago.” Vincent looked as if he were thinking of some faraway place, “I can’t wait to be a published author again. Maybe I’ll even get my book made into a movie this time.”

“What are you talking about?” Tom asked. “Have you been writing another book?”

Vincent shrugged his shoulders, “I’ve been working on something for a while now.”

“How many children did you have?” Tom asked again.

Vincent didn’t seem to be listening. “Are you afraid to die Tom?”

It was a random question that Tom didn’t expect. “Vincent, I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!”

Vincent continued to avoid Tom’s previous question, “Did you know that as a man, once I die…I’ll be forgotten? I’ve written great books but that was years ago and people have probably forgotten them just like they forgot that I was a great writer. What does a man need to do to be remembered? Answer me Tom.”

Tom sighed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Have children?”

Vincent laughed. “Children? Children aren’t a real legacy to leave behind. They die. No, I mean something more lasting.”

Clearly his father wasn’t going to leave this topic for a while, “I don’t know…do something great for mankind?”

“Do something great? Like what? Save lives?” Vincent asked and then answered himself, “No. When you watch the news, you never remember the police officer who stopped the criminal. You remember the crime that was committed. The evil that men do lives beyond them. I think Shakespeare said that.”

Tom didn’t know what to say to his father who was acting strange. Vincent looked back at Tom, “I’m not sure how many other siblings you have. I slept with many women and heard many rumors. I just ignored them. I’m sorry I wasn’t a good father to you. If it’s any consolation, I wasn’t a good father to any of my children…however many I have.

As usual, Tom felt distant from his father, “Do you even love me? Did you ever love me? Or have you always been mad at me because of Beatrice?”

Vincent smiled, “What happened to Beatrice has nothing to do with how I feel about you. You’re my son. Like all my children, I don’t care for you all equally.”

Tom thought he misheard, “What did you say?”

A slow smile stretched across Vincent’s face, “You heard me.”

~BACK AT THE STATION~

Sally waited to see who else was sending messages as King27. She looked around the station and noticed that Detective Smith was gone. She got a text message on her cell phone telling her to meet her partner with the computer guys. She hustled down there to see a group of agents circled around one computer. They were waiting for the names of anyone that used the username of King27. Tom’s computer was expected as was Kevin Landers. Sally would need to interrogate him in case he was helping Tom commit crimes as the Demon King. Another IP address came up. According to the dates, this had to have been the one that was used to contact Joelynn Lewis. As they waited to see who the address was registered to, Sally assumed it would belong to Kevin.

The name of the owner popped up below the new IP address.

It wasn’t Kevin.

Sally was shocked by the name that was listed and cursed because this meant things were going to get complicated, “Son of a bitch.”