His palms were itchy. That meant one of two things. Either money was coming his way or he was ready for a kill. He knew it was probably the latter. Patience wasn’t his strong point but he understood that he had to exercise it for now. A small voice in the back of his head kept egging him on, “You could kill someone tonight and no one would know.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He had to control the desire inside him. Playing the part of the Demon King was confining. He sat in his car watching people as they left the popular honky-tonk located on the outskirts of town. Drunk cowboys stumbling and inebriated cowgirls wearing fancy boots and denim skirts passed him by. The voice in his head whispered, “You deserve this since you held back earlier.”
He lit a cigarette and began smoking. He did hold back on that young girl and Eva Lewis. “Eva,” he whispered. Now that was an interesting woman that he couldn’t wait to get his knife into. For now he would be patient.
A knocking on his window caused him to stop what he called his victim watching.
“Hi there!” A blonde woman who clearly had too much to drink smiled at him. “I was wondering if I could get a light from you,” she pointed to his cigarette.
He rolled down his window and asked, “Are you here all alone?”
“Yes! My damn friend left me for a guy that looked like George Strait. Now I have to find a ride home. So can I borrow a lighter?” She asked in her thick Texan accent.
He smiled, “You sure can. How about you get inside with me? I can give you a ride home.”
The blonde laughed, “I’m not supposed to get into the cars of strangers but since you’re so good looking, I’ll make an exception.” She got into his car and was giggling.
He told himself that he would wait, but if a victim came to him so willingly, he couldn’t possibly pass up such a golden opportunity.
~THE NEXT MORNING, AT THE HOSPITAL~
David was awake. He looked around and saw Detective James Smith on his phone.
“Alright, I got it. I’ll be there in an hour. Thanks.” Detective Smith turned around to see David was finally awake, “Hey David, how are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” David croaked.
“At least you’re alive. The guys and I have been taking turns staying with you…but they just found a dead body by that old western bar right outside of town. I’m going to have to go out on it.” Detective Smith explained. “Do you think you’ll be okay for an hour or two while I’m gone?”
David nodded but was wondering where Eva was at. He didn’t want to ask James. That would be embarrassing.
Once James had left, David picked up the phone near his hospital bed. His arms ached and it took an effort to move his sore body. He dialed Eva’s number but she didn’t pick up. He left her a message, “Hi Eva, it’s me David. I was just making sure you were okay since you weren’t here when I woke up. I’m worried about you.”
David let his head relax against his pillow. He closed his eyes and thought of Eva. He had told her that he loved her. Everything was going to change now. It had to.
~AT HIS HOME~
“Yeah, of course I’ll come over man. Anything you need,” Kevin was talking to Tom on his cell phone. He hung up to see Samantha watching him with narrowed eyes.
“Where are you going now?” she asked.
“Tom said he had something important to talk to me about,” Kevin answered.
“Is that so? So what…you’re just going to leave me here by myself?” Lately Samantha had been picking fights over everything. Ever since they had gotten married, it was like she had changed into this angry nagging woman. He felt like she was following him into different rooms, just to criticize him or argue with him about some random issue Kevin didn’t understand. Yesterday she yelled at him for not buying more milk after he drank the last of what was in the fridge. Yesterday she yelled at him for leaving the toilet seat up.
“I don’t want you to go,” Samantha said.
Kevin sighed, “Why not?”
She frowned, “Because I’m your wife and I want you here with me.”
“You’re being ridiculous! You know that, right?” Kevin replied.
“Ridiculous? How is it ridiculous for a wife to want her own husband to spend time with her?” Samantha stood in front of Kevin, blocking his way.
“Samantha, I’m asking you nicely…please move,” they were now standing in the entryway of their home.
Samantha stood her ground, “No, I’m not moving anywhere. You’re staying home with me.”
Kevin tried moving around her but she blocked his path again, “Dammit Samantha move!” In anger, he pushed her and she fell over onto the small table that they put their mail and keys on. He immediately felt regret, “Aw Sam, I’m sorry. I didn’t think I pushed you that hard.”
Samantha didn’t care what he had to say, “What!? Are you going to start hitting me now? This whole marriage has been a disaster. First Paula is murdered, then the honeymoon, now you’re pushing me around. You know what? I’m done.” Samantha moved past Kevin and started walking to their bedroom.
“Samantha I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to push you.” Kevin followed her and was watching her grab a suitcase and start packing her stuff, “What are you doing Samantha?”
“What does it look like? I’m gonna stay with my parents for a few days until you cool off.” She continued to pack her stuff. As Kevin watched her, he felt sort of relieved. He was tired of Samantha’s whining, crying, fighting, and nagging.
He shrugged, “Okay. Then have fun there.” He heard her yell at him some more but he didn’t care. He should never have gotten married. He loved Samantha but being married to her was difficult. Kevin left and drove to Tom’s house, wondering what he wanted to discuss. Tom said it was very important.
When he arrived at Tom’s, his friend was waiting for him inside.
“What’s going on Tom?” Kevin asked as he sat down on his friend’s leather couch.
Tom placed a piece of paper on the coffee table in front of Kevin. He tilted his head towards the paper indicating that he wanted Kevin to look at it. Kevin leaned over and picked it up. When he saw what he was holding, his eyes widened, “Where did you get this?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Tom answered. He looked at Kevin and said, “Tell me the truth. Are you my brother?”
Kevin was silent for a moment and then laughed. He couldn’t stop laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Tom asked in anger.
“You are! Are you my brother?” Kevin asked in a mocking voice. “Tom, I consider you a brother but despite what this piece of paper says, we aren’t blood related.”
Tom was confused, “Then why?”
“My mom put your dad as my father on the birth certificate because she thought he was my father. No offense but your dad wasn’t exactly a saint.”
This was something Tom already knew. “How are you so sure he isn’t?” he asked.
Kevin explained, “I consider your dad a father to me. He was always so great to me. I found this birth certificate when I was fifteen. I saw his name on it and asked him if it was true. He wasn’t aware that my mom had even put him on the birth certificate. So we got tested to see if we were father and son. We weren’t.”
Tom took in his explanation and nodded, “One more question. Have you been visiting my father at Open Heart?”
Kevin nodded, “Yeah, I see him all the time. Why do you ask?”
“Do you write down that you’re his son?”
Kevin answered in the affirmative, “It’s easier to deal with the ladies in front if I just lie about who I am.”
Tom accepted his story and laughed. There was a simple explanation for everything after all.
After he left Tom’s house, Kevin was worried. Tom seemed kind of surprised that Kevin was spending time with Vincent. Truth be told Kevin loved Vincent as if he were his real father. He would do anything for that man. He thought of the questions Tom asked him earlier.
“Has my father asked you anything about me or my routine?” Tom asked.
Kevin had said no but he did share information about Tom to his father, Vincent, all the time. He remembered when he gave Vincent the password to Tom’s online dating account. Vincent had told Kevin he wanted to help Tom pick out a good girl. Kevin didn’t know if it was a big deal or not but the thought of letting Vincent get yelled at by Tom upset him. He should let Vincent know not to say anything about knowing Tom’s online dating password. He picked up his phone to warn Vincent.
~HOURS LATER~
Kevin had just left. Tom was about to take a nap when the doorbell rang. It was Donovan.
“Wow that was really quick,” Tom was surprised.
Donovan shrugged, “Money makes the world move faster.”
“So what did you find out?” Tom asked.
“The DNA you gave me from the handkerchief and the DNA from your brother Christopher are not a match.”
“That’s too bad,” Tom remarked. “Well thanks for checking Donovan. I didn’t think anything would come of it but Eva suggested it.”
Donovan stopped him, “I’m not finished sir.”
Tom turned back around.
Donovan waited until Tom was giving him all of his attention. “The DNA on the handkerchief told us that the owner isn’t your brother Christopher…but the owner of that handkerchief is your brother.”
Tom was confused, “What did you just say?”
Donovan repeated himself, “Although the handkerchief’s owner isn’t Christopher. DNA confirms it…whoever’s blood was on that piece of cloth…is your biological sibling.”