Chapter 10

Eva didn't like the fifties diner the first time she was there and she certainly didn't like it now. She wiped a paper napkin across the greasy menu and frowned, "Did we really need to come back here every time we meet?"

Sally took a sip of her cold coffee. She had been waiting for Eva for over thirty minutes, "I'm not supposed to be meeting with you. If my supervisor found out, he'd probably think I'm crazy."

"Well I'm starting to believe I'm crazy so I have no doubt people would think you're crazy too."

Sally sat back in her seat, "Tell me again what you saw."

Eva leaned forward, "I was at the cemetery visiting my cousin's grave when I had an urge to see the mausoleum that was erected for the Demon King. I walked over and there was a man inside talking to himself. At least I think he was talking to himself. I didn't see anyone else come out."

"What did he say?" Sally asked.

"He said something about knowing the truth and he said 'demon king my ass.' Like it really wasn't David who was the Demon King."

Sally rolled her eyes, "Trust me. He was the Demon King."

"What if he wasn't?" Eva asked while playing with the corner of her menu.

"You're kidding, right? He had a knife to your throat and I shot him Eva. He was a killer and he's dead. Get it through your-"she stopped herself from saying the word head because it would rhyme with dead and she wanted Eva to understand that she was serious.

"Listen, I know David wasn't innocent but I also know that we didn't get to hear his side of the story."

Sally pushed her coffee away from herself, "Eva. I killed him in the line of duty. I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't killed him, he would have killed you."

"You're right. I'm sorry. It's just seeing him today while I held my son, JD, was a bit unnerving."

Sally shook her head, "If it were me I'd be a bit more than unnerved. I'm not sure who or what you saw Eva...but it wasn't David Wilson. It couldn't be. He's dead."

"Then who was it?"

"I don't know. Maybe you imagined it."

"Imagined it?" Eva said angrily, "I saw him just as I'm seeing you. Nothing's wrong with my vision."
"Fine, maybe it's just someone that looks like David," Sally suggested.

"Looks like David? Like a doppelganger?"

"Your term. Not mine," Sally muttered. "It's not unusual for witnesses to see criminals as someone they know. We associate similar features with people that we know. Sometimes so much that we mistake them for somebody else. It's possible."

Eva sighed, "I know what I saw. It was David."

"Impossible."

"Why are you so against the idea that he's still out there? For all you know, he's the one committing these murders."

"I would believe you saw a ghost before believing you saw the real David Wilson," Sally answered.

Eva leaned back against the red vinyl booth she was sitting in and crossed her arms, "Why not?"
Sally took a deep breath, "Because I killed him. I saw him die. I live with it every single day. Because I had nightmares for months. Because sometimes I wonder if I'll have to go to hell for taking a life even thought that life belonged to a sick sonofabitch. That's how I know David Wilson is dead. He's dead and he's not coming back Eva. So stop trying to bring this up."

Eva watched Sally for a moment and took in everything she had just shared. She was intrigued by the FBI agent sitting across from her. Sally normally had this tough veneer that seemed impenetrable. Apparently that wasn't so. Eva still believed she was right about David Wilson, but she decided to let the issue drop.

"Fine," Eva said, closing her menu, "So explain to me why you think Christopher McDaniels is still alive. Honestly it seems just as farfetched."

"Because there's no proof that he died," Sally said.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you miss it? You gave me his death certificate. It wasn't signed. I interviewed the man that claimed his death was caused by the fire. He wasn't exactly someone I would trust," Sally explained. "I still have some investigating to do but it seems that Vincent McDaniels has a ghost after him."

Eva nodded, "This entire case seems eerie. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sally nodded, "I'm supposed to be following the clues but if you can follow up on my gut, it would help immensely. I visited Christopher's uncle, Roger Fleming."

"Was he able to give you any information on Christopher?"

Sally shook her head, "Not really but he did mention that Christopher and a friend would come and visit him. If Christopher really is visiting him, who could his friend be?"

"Could it be Vincent?" Eva asked.

"Possibly but I asked Roger that and even in his altered state of mind he was adamant that it wasn't Vincent. I have a feeling that if we can figure out who this friend is then we can figure out where Christopher is."

Eva tapped her fingers across the table, "Can't you just get a warrant and get the visitor's log from wherever Roger's staying now?" Eva was well aware that Roger was confined to a residential treatment center.

"Sure, and then you can visit my in an insane asylum because that's where they'll lock me up. No, until I have something more concrete and nut just gut feelings, I won't be asking for a warrant. If I start announcing that Christopher McDaniels may be alive, Vincent McDaniels would get everyone he knows with power to make sure I stopped talking."

"I believe that. He has a lot of ties with government officials. I heard your boss is his friend," Eva sighed.

Sally nodded, "They play golf together.

"We'll stick to the plan. You follow the clues and I'll follow your gut. Eww that sounds so gross," Eva smirked. "Actually, for all we know this could be a recent friend not someone he knew in the past. Still, it doesn't hurt to check it out."

Sally laughed, "Who would've thought that you and I would ever have this kind of partnership?"

Eva shrugged, "You saved my life. It's not something I'll ever forget."

A few minutes later, Sally watched Eva leave the diner. She thought about David again. She had killed him. There's no way he was alive.

"No way," she whispered. Still, a tiny bit of doubt nagged at the back of her mind.

~Hours Later: Across Town: At the Sweet Café~

Vincent sat at the table facing the window. He liked to people watch and wonder what secrets they were hiding. He watched his son cross the street and enter the café he was sitting in.

"Did you want something to drink?" Vincent asked Jacob.

"No. I'm only here to tell you to stop texting me to meet with you. I'm not sure how you keep getting my number but it has to stop."
"I'm your father."

"No, you're my sperm donor," Jacob scoffed, "No that's not true either. My mom didn't even ask for your donation. It was forced upon her."

Vincent frowned, "Whether you like it or not, my blood runs through those veins of yours."
"Your blood? If you've given anything to run through my veins, it would've poisoned me by now."

"I can understand why you're upset. I wasn't there for you as a father," Vincent went on.

"Are you seriously not on medication? Because you need to be," Jacob crossed his arms to stop himself from reaching over and hitting Vincent McDaniels. "You could never have been a father to me. Why? Because my mother hated you. You attacked her and got her pregnant with me. She was afraid of you."

"I loved your mother," Vincent argued.

"I'm so tired of hearing this. Aren't you tired of saying it? No, you didn't. Maybe you were obsessed with her. But love? Do you even know what that is?" Jacob asked.

"I'm trying to make amends Jacob. I want us to have a relationship. A father-son relationship."

"Why? So I can turn out to be a killer and you can write another book about it?"

A moment of silence passed and Vincent smirked, "You're so quick to judge. You forget Jacob. You already are a murderer."

A tightness squeezed at Jacob's chest. Vincent was right. He had murdered a man to save himself and Eva. It was the same man that had killed his best friend Joelynn.

"Why would you remind me of that?" Jacob hissed.

Vincent shrugged, "Because you and I are cut from the same cloth. We're hunters."
"Are you admitting that you're a murderer to me?" Jacob asked defiantly.

Vincent chuckled, "No. I love to hunt animals. I also love to hunt new opportunities. I want you to start spending more time with me. Maybe you can be in the movie. I can get you a part as an extra."
"Why would I want to play a part in a movie when I already lived the real thing?"

"Being in a movie could help you get girls. Oh wait...you don't like girls. Boys then. It can help you get boys." Vincent smiled.

"Are you mocking me?" Jacob asked.

"Of course not. I just want you to know that I'm supportive of you. Like any good father would be."

"Good father? Do you know what that means? Were you ever a good father to any of the devil spawns you had?"

"Don't say that Jacob. Beatrice was an innocent. She probably looked more like me than anyone and she was your sister."

"Beatrice was your daughter? Oh that's right. She's the one Tom supposedly killed."

"Why do you say supposedly?" Vincent asked.

"For all we know it could've been you," Jacob shrugged.

"How dare you say such a thing! Beatrice was a sweet child."

"Listen Vincent, I'm going to tell you again. I'm not interested in playing son to your father. I know your movie keeps getting delayed. Eva told me all about it. If you want to pretend your some sort of super-dad in the media, think again. I'm not going to play along. Hello? Vincent? Are you even listening to me?" Jacob waved his hand in front of Vincent's face.

Vincent wasn't listening. He was staring at the window of the café and across the street where a woman was standing. Her dark blonde hair falling at her shoulders. Vincent stood up and she seemed to be watching him from a distance. She smiled and lifted her hand as if to say hello.

"Beatrice?" Vincent whispered.

The woman turned away and began walking amidst the crowd of other pedestrians.

Vincent ran out of the café crying out his daughter's name, "Beatrice! Beatrice!"

Jacob followed after him and watched Vincent raise his arms and grab his hair in confusion. He wasn't sure what was going on but he didn't care enough for Vincent to find out. He walked towards the parking lot and got in his car to drive home.

~Home of Eva, JD, and Jacob~

"I'm back!" Jacob called out to see Eva feeding JD.

She looked up and smiled, her eyes full of curiosity, "How did it go?"

"He talked a lot of BS about wanting to be a father and then he went psycho and ran outside," Jacob said dryly.

"What?" Eva was wiping JD's mouth when he looked at Jacob and giggled.

"Hey JD. You want me to hold you?" Jacob asked taking him from Eva.

"Jacob, what did you mean by saying he went psycho and ran outside?"

Jacob shrugged, "I don't know. We were having coffee. I was in the middle of telling him off and he went loco. He ran outside screaming Beatrice."

"Beatrice?"

"Yeah. It was weird because we had just been talking about her and then all of a sudden he went crazy screaming her name."

"Yeah that is weird," Eva said in a low voice.

Jacob started to play peek-a-boo with JD and Eva excused herself to the kitchen. She called Sally.

"What's up Eva?" Sally asked as soon as she came on the line.

"I have more news for you," Eva answered.

"What is it? Is it about Christopher's friend?"

"No. It's about his sister Beatrice."

"What about her?"

Eva took a deep breath and said, "I think she's also still alive."