Chapter 4

"Are you sure he's an actor from the same film as Joshua Miller?" Special Agent Sally Roux asked her partner Donald Ferguson. They had arrived at the crime scene where the two hunters were still giving their statements.

"My name is John...John Hackleberry. This is my brother Billy. We weren't hunting. We were just out taking a walk. "

"A walk?" the officer at the scene asked him, looking skeptically at the rifle in his hands.

"We have these guns for protection," Billy intervened. "It's not safe to go anywhere nowadays."

"I suppose you always wear camouflage when you go out for a walk in the woods as well?" the officer asked.

Billy and John looked at each other. John cleared his throat, "Well, we always wear camo on account of it being so fashionable."

"You think camo is fashionable?" the officer asked.

Billy and John looked at one another again. "Well who doesn't like camouflage? This is Texas."

The officer stopped himself from rolling his eyes, "Listen guys, I'm not going to arrest you for hunting without a license. Just tell me what happened out here."

John cracked first, "Fine, we were out here when we saw a bunch of birds."

"Vultures," Billy corrected.

"Right, vultures circling in the sky," John explained. "We saw these vultures and thought something big must have died for there to be so many birds."

"Vultures," Billy corrected for the second time.

John made an impatient sound, "Vultures. Anyway, I wanted to see if there was a dead animal over here so we walked to where the vultures were at."

"And that's when I saw it!" Billy wiped a hand over his sweaty forehead, "That body...just hanging from the trees."

"Do you think an animal did it?" John asked the officer.

"Is it some kind of voodoo ritual?" Billy shoved his brother aside to ask.

"It's still under investigation," the officer sighed. He resented having to take a statement from the two men he considered country bumpkins.

A few feet away, Sally looked at the ID of the victim. His wallet was open and safely tucked away in a clear evidence bag. The driver's license read Luke Dennings. "This was on the victim?"

"It was in his back pocket," Donald nodded. "It's why they called us. Another death related to the film."
"Well you know what this means Ferguson," Sally sighed.

"We need to start getting alibis from all the police officers from this town?" Donald asked.

"What? Why would we do that?"

Donald shrugged, "Can you blame me for asking? The last two psychopaths this town had were cops. I'd bet good money our guy is another cop."

Sally smiled, "It's possible."

Donald sighed, "I wonder if this is another disciple to the Demon King."

"The disciples were fans of the Demon King. I have a feeling our guy isn't a fan of David Wilson or his father Vincent McDaniels."

"Why do you say that?" Donald asked Sally.

Sally hadn't told her partner Donald about the vials of blood she had received. Someone wanted to frame Vincent McDaniels for murder. She wasn't sure why she failed to share that bit of information yet. Perhaps she wanted the killer to succeed.

"Just a hunch," Sally murmured.

"Well whoever this guy is, he must have a strong tolerance for gore," Donald grimaced.

Sally agreed. Luke Denning's face was so mutilated that it was unrecognizable. The lab still had to confirm his DNA but if his ID hadn't been on him, it would've been extremely difficult to identify him based on looks alone.

"His tongue is missing," Donald said, interrupting Sally's thoughts.

"What?"

"His tongue. It's missing. It's something new that the killer didn't do before...cut out the victim's tongue," Donald explained.

"Dead men tell no tales," Sally whispered. "This body was put on display in an elaborate way unlike the other two bodies. Get with the forensic psychologist and see what he thinks, Donald. I have a feeling our guy is going to get a bit more extreme in his killings if we don't catch him soon."

"You think he wants us to discover who he is?" Donald asked.

"Maybe," Sally was unsure. She was positive the killer wanted to frame Vincent McDaniels. However, a part of her thought that perhaps the killer was also getting more extravagant as a way to draw attention to the murders themselves. She felt as if he were saying, "Look what I did now. How far do I have to go for you to do something about them? When are you going to help me frame Vincent McDaniels?"

As the body was being carted away, Sally thought for a moment how ludicrous her last thoughts were. Why would a killer be making a spectacle of his victims to get her attention?

"Sally? Hello, Sally? Earth to Sally," Donald was waving his hand in front of her face to get her to listen to him, causing her to flinch and slap his hand away.

Donald laughed, "Did your mind wander off to lala land or something? I've been calling your name for a few minutes."

"Were you? I'm sorry...I sort of just drifted into my own thoughts," Sally explained.

Donald gave her a look of concern, "Hey are you okay Sally?"

"What do you mean?"
"This is your third case involving the Demon King in some way. I'm surprised you took this case on again," Donald said.

Sally shrugged and looked up to the trees around her, "It's not like I had much of a choice. Besides, you've been right there with me on these cases."

Donald chuckled, "I've been in the background so to speak. You've been dealing with McDaniels and his family personally. Not to mention everything that went down with Dr. Spencer."

Sally took a deep breath. Dr. Spencer was the former FBI psychologist for her area. She inadvertently had a one night stand with him only to discover he had a twin brother. The two Spencer brothers were now dead and Sally was left with the mystery of discovering how exactly they had been connected to the two serial killers known as the Demon King and the Deadly Disciple.

"Ugh...I'm tired of having serial killers on the brain," Sally groaned, making her partner laugh.

"Maybe we should take a vacation after this case is over, Roux. Somewhere far away where they serve mojitos on the beach," Donald was walking back to their SUV.

Sally snorted, "No offense Ferguson, but I would never go to the beach with you."

He pretended to be offended, "And why not?"

"Your pale skin would blind me," Sally joked.

"That's the Irish in me...I can't help that," Donald defended. The two of them drove back to the station discussing the differences between sun tans and spray tans. Sally was grateful to Donald for changing the topic to something light. She really felt like death was dominating her thoughts.

At the home of Eva Lewis

"Peek-a-boo!" Eva smiled at her son, JD, who was giggling at his mother's silly faces.

"He loves to play peek-a-boo," Jacob was holding JD while Eva sat on the floor in front of them trying to make her son laugh.

Eva looked at Jacob who appeared tired, "How are you doing Jacob?"

"Still tired. Studying all night for exams," Jacob tried covering a yawn, making Eva smile.

"Jacob, I'm really proud of you and I know that Joelynn would be proud too." Eva was referring to Jacob going back to school and attempting to get a degree in criminal justice. He decided that he wanted to be an attorney. He had thought about becoming a police officer, but after knowing two officers that turned out to be murderers...he opted for a different field. Jacob had been living with Eva and her son. They were a makeshift family and it worked. Originally, Joelynn had been their connection. Joelynn had been his best friend and Eva's cousin but she had been shot and killed while trying to save Eva from a murdering madman. Both Eva and Jacob missed her dearly. Now they were family; connected by JD.

Jacob smiled at Eva, "I'm sure she's looking down on us. She was always too nosy for her not to check up on us."

Eva laughed as she lifted her son, "Is that true Joey David Lewis? Is Joelynn here?"

The baby giggled again at his mother's funny voice.

Jacob was JD's uncle and godfather and helped Eva take care of JD while she was at work.

"That reminds me. Guess who I saw today?" Eva asked Jacob.

"Hmmm...was it that hot actor Ian Crawford? If only he swung my way," Jacob joked.

Eva laughed, "No. I saw Vincent today."

"Seriously? What happened?"

Eva shrugged, "Not too much. I just told him that I was going to take him down."

Jacob was astonished, "Are you serious? What did he say? How did he respond?"

"He said he'd sue me for libel."

"It has to be a lie for it to be libel. I'm telling you Eva. Just say the word and I can help get you more proof to show people what a monster that man really is," Jacob offered.

Eva shook her head, "No Jacob. I don't want you affected by this any more than you already have been. This is between me and Vincent. That man probably has more enemies than you and I can count."

"Are you sure you want to do this Eva?"

She nodded, "I have to. When I think of everything we've been through because of David and Officer Smith...it sickens me. It all comes down to Vincent McDaniels. He's the link and it was because of his book that those disciples of the Demon King started cropping up. What kind of man brags about having a murderer for a son and then makes a movie about it?"

"The same man that raped my mother," Jacob sighed.

"I think of David turning into some monster and it breaks my heart. How am I ever going to explain to JD that his father was a serial killer?" Eva asked.

"Stop it Eva!"

Eva was surprised at the forcefulness in Jacob's voice, "Stop what?"

"Stop sympathizing with David. He was the Demon King! He was a murderer! You need to stop thinking of him as a good guy. I agree that Vincent is partially to blame but David was an adult. He chose to kill those women. Hell, he almost killed you!"

JD started to whimper and Eva coddled him and looked at Jacob, "I can't help it. How can I hate the man that fathered my son? I only saw the evil Demon King David one time. It's still hard to believe it was him killing all those women."

"Well he did. Vincent is bad. We both know that but David was no saint," Jacob was reminded of his last boyfriend Edward. In reality Edward was an Officer James Smith who was also known as the Deadly Disciple, a serial killer that murdered prostitutes. Jacob still had trouble believing everything. Luckily for him, he hadn't known Edward for very long. Still, it stung to know that he had been betrayed.

"You're right Jacob. I need to let it go and focus on what's important."

"Exactly! And that is?"

"Exposing Vincent McDaniels and something else way more important," Eva whispered.

"More important?" Jacob asked not following.

"Changing JD's diaper. Phew it stinks! What did you feed him rotten eggs?"

Jacob laughed as his eyes followed Eva leaving the room with her son. He frowned when she was out of sight. Eva didn't want Jacob involved in her revenge against Vincent McDaniels but it was already too late. He had already involved himself.

Later that Night: Vincent McDaniel's Apartment

Vincent had been drinking all afternoon. Another murder had occurred related to the film. This time it was Luke Dennings, the boy that was supposed to play the part of Jacob Torres. After waiting for Luke to show up to the set for thirty minutes, the director had received a phone call from the local police department. A body was found that was carrying Luke's identification. Filming for the day was stopped. When Vincent had asked the director why they were stopping, the director had looked annoyed.

"If we keep filming even after learning that Luke was murdered, it won't look good for the film. In the long run, we'd end up losing money."

Vincent still didn't agree with the director and ended up going to a bar to have a few drinks. It wasn't as if the body had been confirmed as Luke's. As Vincent approached his apartment door, he noticed it was slightly opened. Vincent frowned. He was sure he had closed it earlier that day.

"Stupid Holly," Vincent cursed, assuming she had come back earlier and didn't close or lock the door properly. His apartment was in a secure area and his neighbors were fairly trustworthy people. Still, the idea of his door being open all day was disturbing. Vincent had enough money to live in a nicer place, but he preferred his apartment. It was luxurious and easy to maintain. He still owned his house in the woods, but rarely visited it.

Vincent slowly opened the door and stepped into his apartment. It was dark except for the faint glow from a lamp in the hallway. He entered and flicked on the light. It looked exactly as it did this morning, completely clean and untouched. He tossed his keys on his coffee table and made his way to the master bedroom. He needed a shower.

Vincent didn't bother to turn on the lights as the Venetian blinds were partially open to the large window in his bedroom, allowing the light of the moon to enter. He began undressing and quickly grabbed a robe from out of his closet. He laid it out on his bed and stepped into the connecting bathroom. Fifteen minutes later he stepped out of the shower and quickly dried himself. He walked back to his bedroom, leaving the bathroom door open. He looked at his bed and noticed his robe was gone.

"Did I take it with me into the bathroom?" Vincent second guessed himself. He walked to the bathroom and frowned when he realized he hadn't brought in his robe. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He walked back into the bedroom and was about to turn on the light when he heard his cell phone ringing from down the hallway.

Vincent picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID. It was private so he let it go to voice mail. He checked his messages and the first message was just noise.

"Is that bacon cooking?" he had to turn up the volume to listen to it. It sounded like rain or grease being heated over a hot fire. He deleted the message. The second message was also hard to hear. Vincent had to replay it twice. It was a faint whisper with long pauses between each word and the question it asked puzzled Vincent.

"Did...you...miss...me?"

Vincent wasn't sure who the message was from as his call log only had a private number listed for the last two calls. He deleted the second message. His phone rang again. This time it was the director.

"Any news?" Vincent asked as he walked into his kitchen to grab a beer from his fridge.

"It was Luke. He's been murdered. I'm starting to think this film really is cursed."

Vincent leaned against his refrigerator and sighed, "The film isn't cursed. If anything it's being targeted."

"That doesn't make me feel any better Vincent. If one more murder happens, the production company will probably shut us down."

This got Vincent's attention, "What?"

"You heard me. If there's someone out there killing everyone associated with this film, we need to stop filming. At least for the time being."

"Are you crazy? Then my book will never be made into a film!" Vincent cried into his phone.

"Is that all you can think of? People are dying for Christ's sake!"

Vincent was about to respond when he heard a loud noise coming from his living room. "I have to go," he told the director and disconnected the call. He quickly turned around and grabbed a knife from a drawer and made his way to the living room. He immediately noticed the door was wide open.

"What the hell?" Vincent's body stilled and filled with anticipation.

Was someone in his apartment this entire time?

He closed the door and locked it. He checked for any intruders, leaving his bedroom for last. He flipped on the lights and checked the closet and under the bed.

Nothing.

He looked over to his bed and smiled. On his pillow was a small blue box with a white ribbon around it. Vincent picked up the box and removed the lid. Inside the box was a bloody tongue. Anyone else would have shrieked in fear. Vincent chuckled. He looked at the lid of the box. A small card was taped to its underside with a short message typed on it.

The police are on their way.

Vincent threw his head back and laughed. He closed the box and walked over to where he kept his trash. He tossed the blue box in the black hefty bag and tied it up. He made his way outside to the large community trash bin. It was filled to the brim so he tossed his hefty bag next to a pile of other trash bags placed against the large receptacle and walked away.

Vincent couldn't stop smiling. Someone wanted to play a game with him. It had been a while since Vincent was able to truly enjoy himself. He only hoped the person that sent him the blue box would be a worthy opponent.