Bones of the Demon King

Chapter 4

Stella Meyers was going to be late for her date. She couldn’t believe that her boss at BCT Enterprise had been unavailable yet again today. As the secretary for a bigwig she expected the job to be demanding but this past week, things were heading into the ridiculous category.

First he went on vacation which he then extended. Now he was telling her that he was taking a leave of absence. Could bosses even do that? Stella cursed him under her breath as she quickly got into her car and looked in her rearview mirror. She touched up her red lipstick and headed to the café that she was supposed to meet her blind date at. She had answered an ad on a local singles site. She normally wouldn’t do such a thing but desperate times called for desperate measures. It had been weeks since she had been out with anyone.  A friend recommended the site to her and presto…she had a date.

 It was too hot to drink coffee but she could always order a peach tea. Stella looked around and waited. She wondered if she was too early. She checked the time on her phone and saw that she was only a few minutes early. She wore a short black dress and red pumps. She chose the outfit because it would be passable for work and for her date. Her red hair was up in a messy bun and she was fidgeting with her straw’s paper wrapper.

Across the café, a man was watching her behind his newspaper. “So this was her,” he thought as an old eighties song playing in the coffee shop drowned out the din of the other customers.

He focused on her red hair. He hated red hair. She looked anxious. He smirked as he thought of her waiting for her date that would never come. Slowly, he folded his newspaper and got up. He made his way to the exit, making a point to pass her table. She was checking her phone for any missed messages and didn’t notice him. He walked out the door and into the dry night air. He looked up and smiled in anticipation as he thought of the next step in his plan.

~AT THE LUDWIG NEWS BUILDING~

Eva Lewis was panicking. She could’ve sworn someone had been watching her and now she was holding a crown of flowers in her hand. The Demon King always placed flowers on the heads of his victims. She quickly looked around and through her backseat windows. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath and quickly exhaled deeply. No scary monster was hiding in her car. She hurriedly entered her vehicle, locked her doors, and dialed the number of her least favorite detective, Jerry Gonzales.

He didn’t answer. Before she began reporting on the Demon King case, he used to take her calls. Now he ignored her. Eva didn’t quite understand what she did to capture his ire but now she seemed to be his least favorite person. She wouldn’t have bothered calling him if he wasn’t in charge of the Demon King case. Eva found herself driving to the police station before second thoughts could take over.

Was this a prank? Was this a message from the Demon King? Eva didn’t know but she sure as hell wanted to find out. When she arrived at the police station, she asked to see Detective Gonzales. She was told that he wasn’t in. Eva was about to start making demands to see the captain when Detective David Wilson showed up.

“Hey there Eva. What’s going on?” David looked concerned and he noticed the circle of white flowers in Eva’s right hand. Eva was relieved to see him. She liked David and they had been friends for years. He was always sweet and helpful. He had a reputation for being a ladies’ man but Eva never had a problem with him.

Before Eva could respond, another detective came up to David laughing, “Wilson, I saw you with that blonde last night at the bar. Nice work bro!”

Eva could see David’s eyes widen, “What the hell are you talking about Smith? I wasn’t with anyone yesterday.”

Detective James Smith gave David a strange look, “I could’ve sworn it was you. Are you sure you-“

“James don’t you have some reports to file or something?” David asked in a low tone.