Chapter 5

Ludwig Cemetery

"Today we brought you roses," Jacob whispered as he held his nephew JD in his arms. They had just visited his mother and sister's graves and now they were visiting Joelynn's. Joelynn had been Jacob's best friend and would have been JD's second cousin.

Every other day, Jacob would come and visit the graves of the women he loved and lost.

"Joelynn you wouldn't believe it if you saw her. She was in front of everyone telling Vincent off. She's changed. Sometimes I'm worried because she acts like nothing bothers her," Jacob loved to give Joelynn updates on Eva. He thought that Joelynn would like them.

"Can you please keep an eye out for her Joelynn? I think she needs some help. I'm not sure if she'll take my help but maybe there's someone out there that'll help her see reason. I hear her crying sometimes when she thinks no one is around. I'm worried...so please. Keep an eye out for her, alright?"

"Who are you talking about, son?"

Jacob was startled by the voice and quickly felt anger wash over him, "I'm not your son. What are you doing here Vincent?"

"I'm on my way to pay my respects," Vincent laughed at Jacob's denial that he was his father and lifted a bouquet of lilies.

Jacob wondered who had been leaving lilies at his mother's grave. He had supposed it was one of her church friends. Now he knew it was Vincent McDaniels.

"My mom hated lilies," Jacob sneered.

Vincent laughed, "Really? She always used to wear lily perfume." Vincent looked at JD, "So this is my grandson?"

Jacob didn't reply to that, "Why are you bugging my mom in death after you hurt her in life?"

"Can you hurt someone by loving them?"

"Yes," Jacob said forcefully, "You can hurt them a lot. So stop visiting her grave."

Vincent ignored Jacob and smiled at JD, "He's handsome...just like his grandfather." He walked forward, leaving Jacob and JD behind. When he reached the grave of Lupita Torres, he placed the flowers down and pondered the events from the night prior.

Someone had entered his home and left behind a human tongue. More than likely it was the tongue of one of the victims that had been murdered while filming Raising the Demon King.

"Who would want to sabotage that movie?" Vincent thought. "Who would deliver a tongue to him?"

What really bothered Vincent was the fact that the tongue came with a note warning him that the police would be coming to his apartment.

The police never came. This made Vincent think that perhaps his new friend was toying with him. That was something Vincent didn't like. He didn't like the idea of anyone making fun of him. As far as he knew, he didn't know anyone that was brave or skilled enough to pull off these murders or hunts as Vincent thought of them.

"Who could it be?"

Vincent looked back at his son, Jacob, who was staring at him, his face full of fury.

Vincent wondered aloud, "It's not possible...is it?"

Across Town: Local Diner

Eva walked into the outdated fifties themed diner and grimaced when she caught a whiff of bacon fat and burnt eggs. It was decorated in shades of pink and sea foam green. Photographs of Elvis, Fats Domino, and Doris Day were plastered on the walls, attempting to help the diner provide a nostalgic atmosphere. The crooning voice of Johnny Mathis filled the air, making Eva wonder why she was asked to come here in the first place. It wasn't exactly her style. She looked across the pink vinyl booths and saw a woman she hadn't seen in weeks.

Special Agent Sally Roux

Eva strode to the booth and sat down without smiling.

"Good morning to you too," Sally muttered sarcastically.

"You wanted to meet. I'm here. So what is this about?" Eva asked. She would bet money that this was about the new murders related to the Demon King movie but she wanted Sally to bring it up.

"Did you want some coffee?" Sally asked signaling the waitress. An older woman named Bea came towards them.

"What can I get you two ladies this morn?" Bea asked as she held her pen poised above her pad to take their orders.

"I would like some more coffee please and some waffles," Sally smiled at the waitress who then turned to Eva.

Eva shook her head, "I'm not hungry. I'll just take some coffee as well please."

"Okay then. I'll be right back ladies," Bea sauntered off humming an Elvis Presley song under her breath.

"Nice place," Eva said as a Paul Anka song began to play.

Sally fidgeted in her seat, "I needed us to meet where no one would know us."

"Well this is the perfect place. I didn't even know it existed in this town. What did you want to meet about?" Eva asked getting straight to the point.

Sally studied her for a moment, as if trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject she needed to discuss.

"I've got a deadline to meet for an article I'm writing. Is this going to take all day?"

Sally had originally intended to handle Eva with kid gloves but it seemed that wasn't necessary. Eva was showing a tougher side of herself.

Sally smirked, "I see the claws are out today. Alright, I'll get straight to the point. Have you been sending me gifts?"

If Sally's question was surprising to Eva, she didn't show it, "What are you talking about?"
Sally pulled a small blue box out of her purse and slid it across the table, "Don't open it yet," she instructed as the waitress came back with their coffees and Sally's waffles.

"If you girls need anything else, just let me know," Bea said as she put down a bottle of maple syrup. After she left, Eva looked at the small blue box, "What is this?"

"You don't know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I knew."

"Forget it," Sally reached over to take the box back when Eva grabbed it.

"You thought I sent this to you?" Eva asked as she looked at the box curiously. "The reporter in me needs to know what's in it."

"Fine. Open it and see," Sally said as she lifted her coffee mug to take a sip.

Eva slowly lifted the lid of the box, "Is this what I think it is?"

"That depends. What do you think it is?"

Eva ignored Sally's question and asked her own, "Where did you get this from?"

Sally smiled, "Well I know you didn't sent it to me. You seem too intrigued by it."

"Why do you have this? You thought I sent it to you so somebody must have sent you this...gift," Eva was trying to work everything out in her head. She looked at the card and the words surprised her, "Want to catch a killer?

Let's say he killed Josh Miller.

We both know that Vincent...

isn't very innocent."

"Well whoever this is, he's definitely not a poet," Eva placed the card back inside the box and handed it back to Sally. "So whoever this is wants to frame McDaniels?"

"What do you know about Vincent McDaniels? I mean really know about him," Sally pushed her uneaten plate of waffles to the side and leaned forward.

"Now why did I think that this is what you really wanted to talk about today?" Eva leaned back into the vinyl booth. "Someone's sending you small vials of...what is it...blood?"

Eva was whispering and Sally nodded.

Eva continued, "Someone is sending you vials of blood. Are these from the victims of Raising the Demon King?"

Sally nodded again.

Eva looked at her incredulously, "Shouldn't this be locked up in some evidence room somewhere? Why are you showing it to me?"

"Honestly?" Sally asked.

"No. I want you to lie to me," Eva said facetiously. She never understood why people asked that.

"I wanted to see your reaction. To see if you knew anything about it or these murders," Sally answered.

"Why would I know anything?"

Sally laughed, "Because...you're the poster girl for these Demon King freaks. They love you. Maybe they sent you something too."

Eva shook her head, "After my son JD was born, I took extra precautions. I moved into a secure apartment building and even got a secret mailbox. My life is very different now."

"You're different too," Sally whispered.

"Aren't we both?"

Sally shrugged. She and Eva had both been through a lot since the arrival of the Demon King. Eva had been kidnapped and Sally had killed a man.

"If you hear anything from any of his fans or whatever they call themselves these days-"

"Disciples," Eva interrupted her. "They still call themselves his disciples."

Sally wasn't sure if it was the bad coffee or the conversation but she had a bitter taste in her mouth, "Disciples. Whatever they're called. If you hear anything let me know."

Eva sat quietly staring at the blue box with the white card in it, "Are they trying to frame Vincent McDaniels?"

Sally slowly answered, "It would seem so."

"Why don't you just let them frame him?"

Sally looked up at Eva, who was sliding a finger against the rim of her coffee mug. "I can't do that. Even if I wanted to. Besides, this guy who wants to frame Vincent McDaniels is also killing innocent victims."

"Yeah there is that," Eva yawned.

"Not enough sleep?" Sally asked.

Eva gave a weak smile, "As he gets older, I keep thinking I'll get a full night's sleep but it doesn't happen."

"Your son?" sally asked wondering how they had wandered into personal life territory.

Eva nodded, "He's a handful."

Sally felt uncomfortable but nodded. She wanted to talk about Vincent not Eva's baby problems.

"Listen, I know this guy is a killer but he also wants to frame Vincent. Clearly he's someone that Vincent has offended, upset, or hurt," Eva said as she pushed her coffee mug away from herself.

That was something that Sally had already thought of, "Are you familiar with everyone that Vincent has regular contact with?"

Eva snorted, "You're FBI and you're asking me? I'm just a small town reporter."

"That's exactly why I'm asking you. People from small towns only accept their own. You could get more information than I ever could."

Eva nodded in agreement, "That's true. So what...you want to work together on this?"

"In secret," Sally stressed.

"The FBI is asking lil' old me for help. I'm flattered."

"I saw you at the press conference Eva. Don't tell me you weren't out for blood that day," Sally said as she tucked the blue box back into her purse.

"You're right. I am out for blood. The demon's blood."

"Demon's blood?"

"Vincent McDaniels is the true Demon King. I want to prove it," Eva explained.

Sally frowned. She didn't mind having a secret partnership with Eva Lewis...but that didn't include having to deal with her strange theories. "Eva, David was the Demon King."

Eva sighed and ignored Sally. Instead, she pulled out a thick folder from the purse she carried when she worked. It was large and able to carry several files at a time. Eva pulled a single folder out and tossed it on the table.

"That's the file I have on Vincent McDaniels."

Sally began looking through the folder, when a few names jumped at her, "Tom and Christopher McDaniels? Aren't those his sons that died?"

"So?"

"So what are you implying? That they're coming back from the dead?" Sally asked.

Eva's eyes narrowed, "After Tom was killed, he was cremated and the same thing happened to Christopher McDaniels. Nobody saw their bodies."

"Wrong Eva. I saw Tom. He was murdered," Sally shuddered when she thought of the night she had almost been stabbed to death by the serial killer known as the Demon King. "Christopher died in a fire. Why would Vincent fake either son's death?"

Eva shrugged, "Why does he do any of the things that he does? Just read through the file. There are interviews I conducted about Vincent in there. Some will shock you. It's how I found out the truth."

"The truth?" Sally was confused by Eva's words.

"That David was just a victim of Vincent's. That Vincent is the true Demon King."

"Eva, you have to accept that David was a killer," Sally didn't understand why Eva was trying to defend him. "Did you really love him that much?"

Eva shook her head, "This isn't about loving David. It's about my son. I don't want him to grow up thinking that his blood is tainted because he's the son of a serial killer."

"How is his grandfather being a serial killer any better?"

"Look, Vincent is just as guilty if not more so. He deserves to pay for what he's done. Then maybe I can explain to JD what happened in such a way that he'll understand."

"Eva if you hear anything about this murderer that's framing Vincent...I want you to tell me."

Eva was quiet for a moment before asking, "Do you believe in karma?"

"I don't understand. Why are you asking this?" Sally was caught off guard by the question.

Eva stood up, "Maybe we don't need to do anything Agent Roux. Maybe karma will work its magic and Vincent will finally be caught for everything he's done. Read the file. It'll shed a lot of light on him."

Before Sally could stop her, Eva walked away. Sally looked at the folder with the name Vincent McDaniels written on it. She was supposed to meet her partner Donald Ferguson. Instead, she opened up the folder and began reading.

Meanwhile: At the Apartment Complex of Vincent McDaniels

Michael Jones was walking his small Chihuahua, Peanut, outside while carrying a small bag of trash. He looked at the large dumpster which was already filled to the brim, and cursed, "With as much money as we pay in rent, they could at least come clean this our regularly."

Peanut ran forward on his leash and began gnawing at the nearest bag.

"That's nasty Peanut. Stop it," He pulled gently on the leash but Peanut was persistent. Michael looked around to make sure no one would see that it was his dog making a mess out of the trash bags. He tossed his bag up but it rolled back down.

"Stop it Peanut," Michael scolded the small dog again. Peanut continued tearing through the trash until he had something large in his mouth.

"What is that?" Michael asked as he leaned down toward his dog. Peanut had it in his small mouth and didn't want to let it go. Michael wondered if it was some left over raw meat. He squeezed his dog's face and Peanut let his prize go.

Michael cursed as he jumped back in surprise. It was a human tongue.