The Demon Hunter

19: "The change they brought to our lives"

Dinner at the Miller family mansion was awkward that night. And that was putting it mildly.

It wasn't exactly Simon's fault. He still behaved like a perfect gentleman, never showed any of the behavior that former inmates usually show when they had just come out of prison. It surprised Lauren a bit. After four years in Malthorn State Prison, with all its rules and hierarchies and unwritten laws, Simon not only remembered the rules of decent interaction with people, but also followed them to a tee. He was full of praise when Lauren put a large homemade pizza on the dinner table and served salad with it.  When David offered him some red wine with it, he politely refused, and Lauren was glad about that. Neither of them liked the idea of Simon drinking alcohol, with Angela still present.

Speaking of Angela, she didn't seem to really have recovered from her first encounter with Simon. She sat at the table opposite to him - both on the long end, so the distance between them was as long as possible. She quietly ate her pizza, didn't say one word, but kept staring at this man. Lauren gave her a slight nudge to remind her that this was impolite, but her daughter apparently couldn't help it. From her looks Lauren could tell that she tried to figure this man out that she was facing, but she wouldn't dare to talk. Even when David asked her if she wanted a second helping, she just nodded silently and handed him her plate.

Lauren couldn't even remember when Angela had ever been so quiet.

"David said something about you being his new partner," she then started a conversation with Simon who was immensely enjoying the pizza and salad and wouldn't be bothered by the curious and coy stares from the other end of the dinner table. Simon nodded, swallowed some pizza and took a sip from his orange juice before he answered: "Well, in a manner of speaking. We both think that I can contribute to this case of his, so he made it possible for me to get a short leave of absence."

David nodded, although Lauren could clearly see that he was hiding something from her. She had a feeling what that could be. Releasing a prisoner like this to help in a police investigation, especially since the nature of this investigation was such a strange one, couldn't really be by the book. "So how did you do it?" she addressed the elephant in the room.

David shrugged. "I had them release him in my custody for a short period of time, filled out some forms and had them also tell Captain Faulkner that I had found myself a partner. I hadn't told him who that was, and since both of us have a lot to do lately, this should give me a day or two until he wants to know more. Maybe I'll have cracked the case by then."

And if not? Lauren didn't ask this aloud, cause she knew the answer. And it wasn't a good one. "Well, I wish the two of you the best of luck on this one. You got any clues already?"

Simon looked back at Angela, feeling uncomfortable to discuss any of this in front of the child. "Some. I guess." He turned to David. "Maybe we should look deeper into this book that you've got. Even I might find something in it that I'm not aware of at the moment. After all, I'm really not an expert."

David agreed by nodding silently, and they went back to just enjoying the meal. There was a peach pie for dessert which made Simon utter more compliments, and Lauren felt that she started to warm up to him a bit. She was always happy when someone new came to like her cooking. And even though Simon was understandably enthusiastic about the change from the usual prison food, his praise was still well-worded and obviously heartfelt, and not just an attempt to get on her good side. He definitely gained points in her book for that. He was full of surprises, that much was certain.

The dinner was finished, the dishes were done. Lauren had decided to do them for a change, so David would be able to entertain their guest. Still Simon was a gentleman, offering his help with the dishes, and Lauren declined politely. David could clearly see why, or at least he could guess. Sitting in a room with him to interview him was one thing. But standing right next to him while he was handling sharp objects that could be turned into a weapon... Not appealing.