Chapter 2
Special Agent Sally Roux looked at the two vials of blood. She didn't touch them because they were now evidence. Sally had made it known to Vincent McDaniels that she believed he was involved in the murders connected with the Demon King and the Deadly Disciple.
Vincent was a famous author and her theory of his involvement was usually tossed aside due to lack of evidence. Now that Vincent's book, Raising the Demon King, was being made into a movie, she couldn't help but wonder who else despised Vincent McDaniels enough to try and frame him for murder.
"Hey Sally, what time did you want to take lunch?"
Sally looked up to see her partner, Donald Ferguson, standing in her doorway. She carefully placed the small box containing the two vials down and answered, "We can go now."
Donald gave her a quizzical look, "Are you sure?" He nodded his head towards the box on her desk, "If you want to finish looking at whatever you were looking at, that's cool with me. I can wait."
Sally laughed, "You? Wait for food? Yeah right." She grabbed her purse and walked towards Ferguson.
"What was in the box? Did you order something online?"
"No. Nothing like that."
"Then what was it? A gift?"
"No. Nothing important. Where did you want to eat?"
Donald recognized that she was purposely changing the subject so he let it drop. "Wherever you want to eat as long as it serves burgers under some golden arches."
"For the last time...I'm not eating McDonald's for lunch again."
Donald laughed as he followed her out of her office, taking one last look at the box on her desk.
~Press Conference for Raising the Demon King 5:00PM~
It was the most excitement not involving serial killers that citizens of Ludwig had experienced. Parts of the film Raising the Demon King were being shot locally. The director had given a few words about how excited he was to be bringing the incredible true story to the masses in film. He went on to introduce the cast. Ian Crawford, an up-and-coming actor was to play David Wilson.
Ian stood at the podium, flashing his peroxide whitened teeth to the reporters and winking at a few of the females in the audience. "Hello everyone. I'm so honored to be here in Ludwig, the home of our characters. I'm very excited to play the Demon King and hope that I do him justice on screen."
There was a gentle applause until the director introduced the leading lady, Lauren Bolgers.
"Hi y'all. I'm so happy to be here. As a fellow Texan, I think it's so great that we're able to film here instead of Hollywood."
The applause for her greeting had less enthusiasm than Ian's. When cast selections were being made, many people thought that Lauren Bolgers wasn't a good fit to play their beloved Eva Lewis. Eva Lewis had survived the attack of the Demon King only to be kidnapped three months later by a madman known as the Deadly Disciple. She escaped from him and later gave birth to a miracle baby she named Joey, after her cousin Joelynn, who died while protecting Eva.
Lauren was known to love the club scene and dressed on the provocative side. She had several run-ins with the law for driving under the influence and her face had been featured on tabloids quite a few times.
The last to speak was the author of the book and now screenwriter for the film, Vincent McDaniels. He received the most applause from the audience of the press conference.
"Hello everyone. I'm so pleased to be here with you today. I still can't believe that my book is being made into a film." He flashed his blue eyes to the women in the first row, and a collective sigh sounded in response.
When the cast, director, and Vincent were all seated, the reporters were allowed to ask questions.
A blonde woman stood up, "Channel 3 News. Ian...do you have a girlfriend?"
The women in the audience tittered and Ian smiled, showing his white teeth again. He glanced at Lauren who fidgeted in her seat, "No. I don't have a girlfriend. Are you available?"
The woman from Channel 3 blushed and broke into a fit of giggles.
A man stood up next, "Director, have you found anyone to replace Joshua Miller in the film?"
The director shook his head, "We are still saddened by the loss of such a monumental actor. It's unfortunate that he passed in the manner that he did. We are praying for justice."
The reporter asked his question again, "So have any actors been tapped to replace Joshua Miller?"
The director frowned, "Actually we've decided to cut out the part that Joshua Miller was scheduled to play in order to play tribute to him. We feel that no one can fill his shoes in this film." Really it was to stop any production delays, but the press didn't need to know that.
A wave of gasps filled the room as a woman stood up and asked, "Is it true that your cast and crew is being targeted by a serial killer?"
Vincent's eyes narrowed as he stared at Eva Lewis.
"I'm sorry?" the director asked in confusion.
"A cameraman had been killed last week and now Joshua Miller. Both deaths seemed identical. In light of this, do you feel safe continuing this film?"
"I'm sorry Ms. Lewis, but this is a press conference to discuss the filming of our movie in Ludwig. If you want to talk about criminal activity, I would suggest you speak with the police," Vincent answered in a smooth voice that hid his anger.
Eva smiled, "Fair enough. In that case, Mr. McDaniels...this movie is based on your book, Raising the Demon King. Please tell us the inspiration for your book."
Vincent wasn't sure where Eva was headed with this, but he answered, "I'm sure everyone knows that the book was inspired by real life events. My son David was a murderer and I suspected Tom may have been one too."
"What about your son Christopher?"
Vincent clenched his fists, "What about Christopher?"
"Was he also a murderer?"
Vincent slammed his hand on the table, "No! He was killed in a fire!" The clicking sound of cameras stopped him from continuing. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry Ms. Lewis but I don't understand what my son Christopher has to do with the film. He isn't mentioned in the book."
"That's true. I apologize. So your other two sons, Tom McDaniels and David Wilson, only they were murderers?"
"Ms. Lewis, please let the other reporters ask some questions," the director mumbled after giving an uncomfortable laugh. Eva didn't move, "Well Mr. McDaniels?"
Vincent gritted his teeth, "That's right."
Eva continued, "Two out of five sons are murderers or as you say in the case of Tom...a suspected murderer. That's quite a coincidence. Why didn't you report Tom to the police those many years ago?"
"I wasn't really sure that Tom had done anything. As I said before, I only suspected he murdered his sister?"
"These are only your suspicions but you still felt the need to mention it in your book. Why?"
"I don't follow Ms. Lewis." Vincent looked around to see the fascination on the other reporters' faces. He wasn't sure if it was because they were seeing Eva Lewis, the survivor they had only heard of in headlines, or because what she was saying seemed to make Vincent seem as if he had been keeping secrets.
"Having one child that's a murderer is unfortunate. Having two children...well that's just strange." The audience looked back at Vincent who felt like he was in a ping pong match with Eva Lewis and he was losing.
"Strange events happen every day Ms. Lewis."
Eva pretended not to hear him, "Having two of your children grow up to be murderers is no coincidence. Do you think it was something that they learned or because of how they were raised?"
Vincent stood up, "I had no idea my sons were acting out in such a heinous way. As you recall, you too didn't know. Or did you purposely get pregnant with a serial killer's baby?"
Shock filled the room and eyes filled with anger honed in on Vincent. He gulped and ran his right hand through his hair, "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just upset about everything."
He looked at Eva who was standing there with watery eyes. She blinked, letting a single tear fall before whispering in a choked voice, "How could you?"
The audience was appalled at Vincent for insulting the adored survivor known as Eva Lewis. They began bombarding him with questions all at once. None of them were about the movie and all of them were about how Vincent had raised his children to grow up into murderers.
Eva smirked as she quietly made her way out of the press conference.
Ludwig, TX: The Hotel Room of Ian Crawford: 9:30PM
"C'mon Lauren stop being such a prude," Ian Crawford teased as he pulled Lauren Bolger onto his lap. She giggled as he began kissing her neck.
"Don't you dare leave a hickey Ian!"
He nipped her skin and laughed. They were in his hotel room which was on the ground floor. Because production costs were minimal, the main cast had been delegated to an inexpensive hotel. The crew and other actors were staying at a motel across town.
As Ian and Lauren began kissing, a loud thud was heard at Ian's window.
Lauren jumped up, "What was that?"
"I don't know."
Lauren slid off of Ian's lap and whispered, "Go check it out."
"You go check it out," Ian whispered back. Lauren rolled her eyes. Both of them were afraid. Eva Lewis' words about a serial killer targeting the cast and crew had bothered them.
Lauren gave Ian a push, "Hurry up and check."
He slowly walked over to the large window that was only covered by an off white satin curtain. Ian grabbed the curtain and pulled it to the right.
Nothing.
They could only see the parking garage from his window. There was no one outside. Ian turned his back to the window to look at Lauren, "See? There's no one there."
Lauren's eyes suddenly widened and her mouth opened but nothing came out.
"Lauren? What's wrong?"
Lauren raised her hand and pointed out the window. Ian turned around to see a man with a black ski mask standing on the other side of the glass. The man threw himself at the window and began pounding against the glass.
Ian yelled and Lauren finally found her voice as she also screamed. The man on the other side of the glass stopped hitting the window and stepped away. Ian and Lauren were hugging each other in fear. The man slowly removed his ski mask to reveal a face they both recognized.
Lauren's knees collapsed beneath her in relief and Ian began cursing up a storm. The man in the ski mask began laughing and pulled out his phone.
Ian watched him dial a number. His phone began ringing and Ian picked it up, "What the hell were you thinking Luke?"
Luke Dennings was a young actor slated to play the part of Jacob Torres in the film. He had been assigned to stay at the cheap motel.
"This is payback Ian. If I have to stay at the roach motel, I should at least get a little fun out of it."
"So scaring me and Lauren is your idea of fun?"
Luke laughed, "It sure is. Especially since you two were probably getting all hot and heavy huh?"
"Get lost Luke."
Luke smirked, "Okay...okay. You two lovebirds keep making out. I'll go back to the Bates Motel."
"Oh and Luke," Ian smiled, "Don't forget."
"Don't forget what?"
"Payback's a bitch."
Luke disconnected the call and headed back to the parking garage where he parked his rental at. Luke had gotten a pretty good laugh out of his prank, but now he was regretting being out in the dark alone. Luke walked to the rental car and noticed a figure standing against it. He couldn't see the person's face, as the figure had his back towards Luke. Luke wondered if someone was trying to break into his rental car.
"Well that sucks," he whispered.
The figure was wearing a hoodie and baggy pants.
"Hey you!" Luke shouted, "That's my rental car! There's nothing of value in it so get lost!"
The figure didn't move. It just stayed pressed against his rental car.
"Hey are you deaf? I said get lost!"
The figure stayed in place. Luke began to feel uncomfortable. He lifted the keys and pressed the alarm button but the figure stayed in place despite the alarm going off.
Luke pressed the alarm button again and it beeped twice and stopped. He briefly wondered if the hotel had any security guards. Then he wondered if the guy against his car was sick.
"Hey are you okay? Did you need me to call someone for you?"
The figure still didn't move.
Luke looked around but no other cars were coming into the parking lot. It was deserted. He cursed under his breath and took a few steps forward, "Hey man...do I need to call an ambulance?"
The figure still didn't move.
"I'm gonna call the cops if you don't get away from my car," Luke warned.
Still, the figure gave no reaction. Luke groaned in frustration, "Fine man...I'll give you twenty bucks to scram! Will that do it?"
Luke waited a beat to see if the figure would react. He didn't. Luke was about to call the cops when he saw the figure stretch his arm out behind him with his palm out. The figure didn't turn around, keeping his face hidden.
"What the hell?"
The figure rubbed three gloved fingers together signaling his want of money. He then held his palm out while still giving Luke his back. Luke cursed and pulled out his wallet, "You're a real piece of work you know that? I'll give you twenty bucks but I want you to get lost asshole! You hear me?"
Luke stepped forward and tentatively placed a twenty dollar bill in the gloved hand. Before he could move his hand away, the figure grabbed it and spun around. With his free hand, the figure pierced Luke's neck with a syringe.
Luke gasped and fell to the ground.
"Don't fight it," the figure whispered. After Luke was completely immobile, the stranger looked around and quickly pushed Luke's body into the backseat. "Don't mind if I borrow the keys Luke. I want to take you someplace special."
Luke was sprawled in the back of his rental car. He could feel the car moving forward. He wasn't sure where they were going but he knew one thing for certain. He was going to die.