Bones of the Demon King

Chapter 6

“Demon King Seeks Queen: Who Will be the Unfortunate Bride?”

“What kind of crap is this?” Detective Jerry Gonzales wasn’t having a good day. He threw the morning newspaper onto his desk. He couldn’t believe that Eva Lewis would write such BS. Just last night she was crying that the Demon King was after her and now he had to read her article about some serial killer like he was some prince searching for a princess.

To top off everything, he was told last night that the FBI was going to be taking over the case. He was pissed and he needed a scapegoat. Jerry looked at the newspaper article again and sneered. Eva Lewis was making a name for herself by sensationalizing the deaths of three innocent women and he didn’t like it…not one bit.

~MEANWHILE~

Still at home, Eva woke up early and decided to go jogging. The sunlight streaming through her window made her feel brave. She called her editor and told him she wasn’t going to make it into work today. Eva needed the run to clear her mind. As she walked out her door, she picked up the newspaper that was on her front porch. As she read the article, she wondered if Detective Gonzales was right in saying that she was glorifying a killer by writing these articles about the Demon King. She put the paper back on her porch and began jogging to a nearby park.

Eva loved to jog. She got her best writing ideas when she was jogging. The rhythm of her own breathing always calmed her. She let her mind wander to the night before. Finding the crown of flowers in her car had been frightening but David had to be right.

It had to have been a prank. No one came to attack her last night. It was just a prank. She thought about Detective Gonzales’ warnings. She wasn’t the only one that was writing stories about the Demon King but she had given him the name and when she wrote her articles about him, more newspapers were always sold. Would it really make a difference if she stopped writing the articles? Probably not. Should she stop writing the articles? Eva struggled a bit with coming to a decision. She had been running for forty minutes and was almost on her way back home. If she stopped writing the Demon King articles what difference would it make? Other reporters would continue to write about him. She might as well continue. After she reached her house, she picked her newspaper back up from her porch. She entered her house and wondered when the hell Joelynn was going to be home.

While Eva was at home waiting for her, Joelynn Lewis was at her best friend Jacob’s house. “Jacob! Jacob Torres wake up. You have to go to work you dumbass.” Joelynn was shaking her still sleeping friend. She had spent the night at his house because they had stayed up late watching scary movies. Jacob worked as a waiter at a nearby Mexican restaurant so he had to be up early. Joelynn took a pillow and hit him with it. He woke up instantly. “Que paso?” He asked.

“What happened?” Joelynn repeated in English. “What happened is that your favorite girl in the whole wide world just woke you up so that you won’t lose your job!”

“Dios mio!” Jacob quickly got out of bed and started getting ready to leave the house. Joelynn laughed. She adored Jacob. She probably would’ve been in love with him if he wasn’t gay. Joelynn sighed and looked at the time. She knew she had to be getting home soon or her cousin would worry. She told Jacob she was leaving and then stepped outside. In front of his door was a newspaper. Joelynn picked it up and read the article, “Demon King Seeks Queen: Who Will be the Unfortunate Bride?”

Joelynn shivered. She had heard the stories from Eva on how he skinned the faces of his victims and she pitied the woman who would be the Demon King’s bride.

~AT BCT ENTERPRISE~

Stella sat at her desk looking at her smart phone’s screen. She hadn’t gotten a single message on her Love Match mobile application all morning from her blind date at the coffee shop.  She scrolled the messages from last night.

“So sorry... caught at work. Forgive me?”

Stella had responded with, “What happened?”

“Work emergency. Really want to meet you. Rain check?”

At the time, Stella didn’t know if she should or shouldn’t reschedule. It had been a blow to her ego to have waited at the coffee shop in vain. She had waited for over an hour before she got his message. She messaged him back, “Idk. I don’t like being stood up.”

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

As a joke, she wrote, “I like flowers.” He hadn’t responded after that. Stella sighed, “I probably should’ve just rescheduled.”

As she was about to pull up her e-mail, in walked her boss Tom McDaniels. “Mr. McDaniels, I didn’t expect to see you this morning. I thought you were taking leave. Is everything okay?”

He stopped and looked at her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He just strolled past her giving orders, “Get me some coffee and the files on Tel Corp. I don’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the day.” He walked into his office and let the double doors slam behind him.

Stella shook her head. Tom McDaniels was a handsome man but he was also a cold man. Any other woman as his secretary would’ve been attracted to him but there was something about Mr. McDaniels that didn’t sit well with her. Her inability to be attracted to him may be why she lasted so long as his secretary. She was used to his mood swings and quick temper. There were times where he was incredibly kind and thoughtful. Unfortunately there were also times that he was distant and condescending.

After bringing her boss his coffee and going back to her desk, she checked her phone messages again.

Nothing.

Stella was about to bring up her e-mail again when a deliveryman came into her work area. Stella smiled. He was carrying two dozen long stemmed red roses. “Are you Stella Meyers?”

Stella’s lips curled up in a smile, “I am.”

The man asked her to sign for the roses which were meant for her. Stella excitedly opened the card that came with the flowers, “Am I forgiven yet? Meet me at the coffee shop 9:00 tonight.”

Stella mentally thought of what she should wear and quickly grabbed her mobile phone to message him that she would make it. In her excitement, it never occurred to her to wonder how he knew where to send the flowers as she had never told him where she worked.