Chapter 8

Ian Crawford watched Holly leave the McDonalds. She reminded him of an old tabby cat he used to own named Bootsie. Bootsie was skittish around people and always hid under the family's sofa. Ian had watched Vincent McDaniels push Holly around and he wondered if she had ever stood up for herself...or to anyone. Ian grimaced as he thought of his old cat. Bootsie had been mauled by some stray dogs after she ran out of Ian's house one day. He hoped Holly had a better future than his cat.

Thinking back to Vincent, he could understand why the author was considered intimidating. He oozed an irresistible charm but he also had this condescending attitude which had the propensity to make everyone around him feel inferior. Initially, Ian had refused to sign on to Raising the Demon King because he was wanted to sign up for a movie where he would be the sole starring force.

Vincent McDaniels was fast becoming a household name again due to the popularity of his book and the upcoming film. All of the scandal that was surrounding the film was also making him more popular. At times Ian felt as though Vincent was the real star of the film and this bothered him.

Ian thought of Eva Lewis, the reporter from the press conference. She was the only person that didn't seem concerned about how Vincent saw her. She pressed forward with her questions, despite igniting Vincent's ire. Ian smiled. Eva may prove to be useful in the future.

Vincent's Apartment

He was about to take a shower when his doorbell rang. Vincent sighed as he looked through the peephole.

"Damn," he cursed as he ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't the type to pretend he wasn't home just to avoid seeing someone he didn't want to see. He opened the door to Samantha Landers, the widow of Kevin Landers. Kevin had been a good friend to Vincent's son Tom. He was now known to have been a supposed accomplice to the Demon King and took his own life before the police found out.

She was holding a large box with the word, "Vincent," written on it.

"Samantha, what brings you here?" Vincent asked the woman who had bags under her eyes and a scowl on her face.

"I'm sorry to bother you Vincent. I was finally cleaning out Kevin's things and some of them had to do with you. I didn't want to throw them out but I can't keep them...so here I am."

Vincent nodded, "I understand. Come in."

She came in and he noticed immediately that she had lost weight since he had last seen her at her husband's funeral. He couldn't understand why she was still grieving.

"So how are you holding up Samantha?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm coping. I see a therapist."

"That's good," Vincent said absently at the freely given information that most people wouldn't share.

"Anyway, the box just has a bunch of pictures of Kevin, Tom, and you. A couple of books that you autographed to him. I thought you would want the photos. Especially the ones that had your son Tom."

Vincent nodded, "Thank you Samantha. That's very sweet of you."

She was like a lifeless zombie to Vincent. She gave a half-smile and said, "He would've liked you to have them."

"Are you sure you're okay Samantha?"

"I'm fine. I guess it's still a shock to me that Kevin took his own life and that he was helping the Demon King. I still can't believe it."

"Yes, I'm still shocked by everything that's happened," Vincent looked at the clock on the wall and wondered where Holly was at with his coffee.

"Thank you Vincent. I really appreciate everything you've done. Helping with the funeral costs and all that. It was a big help."

Vincent walked over to Samantha, the once vivacious blonde, and hugged her. She slowly lifted her arms and hugged him back, "I'm sorry for being such a downer Vincent. I just...I don't understand. We were fighting before he died. We never got to make up and I still can't believe that Kevin would do any of that."

"Shhh...I know...I know," Vincent murmured while stroking her back.

"I feel so horrible about everything. Like it's my fault. Like I should've stopped him from helping the Demon King murder people," Samantha looked up to Vincent who gave a thin smile.

"There's nothing you could've done, Samantha. You've got to get past this," Vincent wiped away her tears with his thumbs and kissed her forehead. "You have to let go of Kevin. It's been over a year already. Have you thought about moving on?"

"Moving on?"

"Emotionally...and physically," Vincent moved a strand of hair out of her face.

She slowly shook her head, her eyes full of tears. Vincent hid a sneer. He hated crying women.

"Maybe you should think about it," Vincent whispered.

"How could I do that? All I can think about is Kevin. That wouldn't be fair to the other person," Samantha sighed.

"Not if that other person understood," Vincent said softly, leaning forward. His lips softly touched the edge of her mouth. He waited to see how she would react. Would she push him away or would she make the next move.

She made the next move.

Vincent wouldn't have minded either way. He still had some time to kill before Holly came with his coffee.

FBI Headquarters

Sally had been staring at old police reports that were related to the fire involving Christopher McDaniels and David Wilson. The arson inspector had declared the fire to be an accident caused by a lit cigarette. She had tracked down the name of the inspector, only to learn that he had passed away. His death certificate indicated he had passed away in a fire.

"Talk about life's ironies," Sally murmured.

She considered him a dead end since she couldn't interview him. She also checked old newspaper clippings to find out if Christopher McDaniels had a proper funeral. Apparently he hadn't. There was no grave for Christopher McDaniels. Vincent McDaniels elected to have what little remains were left of Christopher, cremated and placed in an urn. She wondered if she could get a warrant for that urn.

"They'd probably think I was crazy." Sally leaned back in her leather chair and groaned. She needed answers and the file Eva Lewis had given her only provided questions.

What happened to the body of Christopher McDaniels? Was he dead or was this some kind of conspiracy cooked up by Vincent McDaniels? If so, why would Vincent hide the fact that his son was still alive?

She looked at the file she had started creating for Christopher. It held the police reports from when he was a child. Apparently Christopher had started living with his uncle Roger Fleming, who was an alcoholic. Roger was also abusive.

"Poor kid," Sally couldn't imagine having to grow up in an abusive home only to die in a fire on the first day of his escape. It was strange if she really thought about it.

She looked at the police report and saw the name of the detective that worked the case involving Christopher's death. It read Mathew Hannigon.

"Well Mr. Hannigon...you and I are about to get acquainted.

Ludwig Cemetery

Eva stood by Joelynn's grave holding her son, JD. He was grabbing her hair between his pudgy little hands, and laughing when she pretended it hurt when he pulled.

"Just like your daddy," she muttered.

Months ago, it pained her to think that her son could turn out like David. She had spoken with several psychologists about which had a greater impact on a child's personality: environment or genes. The studies varied too much to give her a satisfying answer.

Eva knew from the bottom of her heart that Vincent McDaniels had bad blood. Given the fact that two of his children were murderers, he seemed to have passed it along. True, Beatrice and Christopher hadn't killed anyone as far as she knew...but perhaps that was because they died before they were given the chance.

Eva laid a bouquet of roses down on Joelynn's grave. She could see that Jacob had recently visited, by the flowers that were already placed at Joelynn's headstone. She looked to her far right where a mausoleum stood in the distance. It belonged to the Demon King. Vincent had it erected and fans of the Demon King would often visit and place flowers inside. Ugly gargoyles sat on each corner of the building. Eva thought it was fitting.

She never understood how anyone could look up to the Demon King. He was a murderer. She was pretty sure that the families of the victims resented it, as she could see the red spray-paint that defiled the beautiful white structure with the word, "Killer."

The first time she saw the vandalism, she was surprised. It was often cleaned off by his fans, only to return a week or two later. She had asked Jacob if he was the culprit behind it, but he denied it. She had yet to visit it. She had never had a desire to go inside the Demon King's resting place.

"Da," JD was babbling. "Da...da...dada."

"What are you talking about my little munchkin?"

"Dada," he raised his hands and smiled when she kissed his cheek.

"Are you saying something or just speaking gibberish?" Eva whispered.

"Da," JD held onto more of her hair and pulled.

Eva gave a small yelp of pain and laughed, "Yeah, you better not turn out too much like your father JD. You can look like him, but you can't act like him."

Eva smiled as she looked at his dark blonde tuft of hair and bright blue eyes. She used to be afraid that he would look too much like David. Now, she was able to compartmentalize her feelings. She continued to divide David into two people. David and the Demon King were different entities in her mind. Like a Jekyll and Hyde sort of character, the Demon King was bad but David was good.

David had been incredibly handsome and if JD looked like his father, it would be a good thing. She would remember David as the good friend she had before he became her lover and definitely before she discovered that he was the Demon King. It was the only way she could hold on to her sanity and protect her son from the stigma of being the son of an infamous serial killer.

She looked back at the mausoleum and frowned. She could see the outline of a tall man approaching it. "He must be a disciple," she whispered. Her curiosity was piqued. She wanted to see what a fan of the Demon King's would look like. She said goodbye to Joelynn's grave and took a few steps forward.

"We're not going to talk to him. We just want to look," Eva told JD who giggled in response. She placed a pacifier in his mouth, which he sucked greedily. He was a happy baby that was always smiling.

She stood by the mausoleum and could hear the man inside laughing. It startled her and caused a shiver to run down her spine. She instinctively held JD tighter and was about to step away when she heard the man speak.

"So many mourners for an evil demon. I wonder how they'd feel if they knew the truth."

Eva stood silently by the side of the building, grateful that JD was quietly sucking on the pacifier she had just given him. The voice sounded very familiar.

"Here lies the Demon King," the voice said with a mocking tone. "Demon King my ass."

Eva didn't want to be around when the man exited. He sounded angry and she didn't want to deal with an angry fan or enemy of the Demon King while she was holding JD. She turned to go when she heard his footsteps as he exited the mausoleum. She rounded the corner so that he couldn't see her. Eva was pressed against the structure as he left. She could see his back as he walked away. He was wearing a dark trench coat and had his hands in his pocket.

A large group of birds decided to fly towards a tree to his left. He stopped in his tracks and looked to his side, allowing Eva to see his unmistakable profile.

She gasped, "David?"