The Confluence

The Confluence Part V

V

Suzie sat in the uncomfortable steel chair, hair and clothes still damp with rain water. The cops had driven Johnny and her in separate cars, not speaking a word to either of them. They dragged her into the interview room, shoved her into a chair, and walked out without a single word. As she was waiting for whatever crap they were going to put her through, the images of the corpse, and the rats turning towards them, all those hungry, angry eyes, with stinking hunks of putrefied flesh clamped in their tiny squealing mouths, the buzzing of flies and all screaming at her, screaming that they want her next, every part of her they want to be inside, eating, eating-The door slammed open, blowing all those pervasive thoughts out of her head. A thin bespectacled man strode in, trench coat flapping behind him. He had a notebook with him, carrying it loosely in his right hand. He looked into her eyes, and she looked right back, blank defiance in her dark green eyes. The man pulled out the chair opposite her, setting the notebook down on the table with a sigh.

He held out his hand. "Detective Stein." She glared at him with the same level of I ain't telling you shit look that only angry teenagers are able to achieve.

"Stein? What the fuck kinda name is that?"

Stein sighed again, "It's German. Now listen kiddo, if you want this to go well, you better start explaining some things."

Suzie crossed her arms. "I don't like cops."

"And I don't care. What I do care about is finding out what happened to this guy you two found." Suzie continued to glare. "Why were the two of you there in the first place?"

"To screw around. Have a little fun. Something you wouldn't know much about."

Stein opened his notebook, looked down, and flipped through a few pages. He glanced back up at her. "Tell me the history of that place. Any old urban legends?

Suzie raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

The detective kept his eyes steadily locked on her eyes, his mouth a tight line.

"Not gonna tell me, huh?" Suzie smiled slyly as she leaned over the edge of the table, hands clasped in front of her. "Well, Mister Detective, wanna hear a story?" Stein leaned forward as well, eyebrows raised, telling her to continue. "As I heard it, back in the 1800's, this old guy built that house, and in it he stored all kinds of weird shit. Shit like the stuff they found in old Egyptian kings tombs."

"Pharaohs." The detective interjected. Suzie unclasped her hands, raising them up by her head and shaking them a little bit. "Yeah, sure. Pharaohs. Anyhow, this old guy... he kept all this old shit in his house, and everything was fine for a while, until kids started going missing."

Stein's eyes narrowed at that. He leaned forward a little bit more. "The way the legend goes, one of the things that the guy brought back had some curse on it, and it forced him to capture kids and... and..." She lowered her voice, drawing out the words. "And then, he would lure kids into his house with treats or money, and when they got into his house," Her voice was starting to rise, "He would chop them up and EAT THEM!" She almost howled this last, and started cackling. The detective jumped back a bit. Suzie was doubled over, laughing and pointing at the little bitch of a pig. He sat up, grabbed his notebook, and stalked out, Suzie's laughter still ringing in his ears.

"Goddamned shit kids." Adrian muttered as he stepped out into the hallway of the police station. He pulled out his crumpled pack of cigarettes, shook one out, and was about to light it when he heard fast footsteps hammering their way towards him. Adrian looked up, and saw Walker practically jogging down the hall towards him. "Detective! I got Johnny to talk. He says he saw the victim last night, at the Haven!"

"Haven? That a bar?"

"Yes!" Breathed Walker, who was a little winded from the short jog down the hall.

"Let's head out then. What about the parents of Suzie and Johnny?"

Walker pointed down the hall behind Adrian. "There's Frank, Suzie's dad. I play poker with him and a few others on Wednesday's. We couldn't get a hold of Johnny's mom."

Adrian looked at Frank, this huge burly man, with a thick mustache, and a hint of a military tattoo on his neck. He then wheeled on Walker. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you knew who one of the kids was?" He growled. Walker looked taken aback by the sudden aggression, throwing his hands in the air. "You never asked! Sorry detective."

Adrian sighed, and started walking towards the exit. As he strode down the hall, he passed by Frank. Adrian was a tall guy, but Frank was massive. Six-foot five at least, and bulging muscles. His face was ruddy, and his nose was redder than the rest of his face. Heavy drinker, huh. Adrian thought. Frank saw him looking, and stared down at him, never slowing his pace. Adrian's eyes met Frank's with a steady intensity. There was tension building already, and Walker seemed to get smaller just by being next to these polar opposites. Frank grunted as he passed. Once Adrian and Walker had made it outside Adrian asked Walker if Frank had been in Vietnam.

"Yeah, he was. For almost three years. He never talks about it sober, but the shit he mumbles when he's drunk is enough to scare the shit outta me." Adrian nodded. "He has that look. I can't imagine. I've heard about some of the stuff the older detectives have seen, but everything pales in comparison with the shit that happened over there."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you seen any shit?"

Adrian gazed at him, holding his silence. Walker held his eyes for a bit, and then cast them down, almost guiltily. "Yeah. I have." Adrian eventually responded.