Devil's Nightmare (Devil's Nightmare, Book 1)

by Pruneda, Robert

  I crossed my arms and felt awkward listening to Cody talk about demons in such a casual manner. What bothered me most was that I believed him. Something obviously had gone wrong, which didn’t surprise me, considering Robert Smith had brainwashed Cody into believing he could summon a demon without any consequences.

  “So, what happened? What went wrong?”

  Cody breathed out a heavy sigh. “After things got better at home, I started doing other rituals. I tried to summon other demons to help me deal with bullies at school, help me do better at school, and help me…” Cody hesitated and then finished his statement, “…help me get a girlfriend.”

  I raised my eyebrows and joked, “I guess there’s a demon for everything, huh?”

  “It’s not funny!” Cody yelled. “They’re real! I called on these stupid demons thinking they would all help me. I thought it was fun at first, but then… now my mom is dead!”

  I apologized to him, and didn’t say anything else for a couple of minutes. Cody got up from his bed and returned to the window. As he stared outside, he sniffled. I felt like a jerk for trying to make light of the subject.

  I stood next to Cody, squeezed his shoulder, and apologized. “I didn’t mean to make fun of what you were saying. I was just… Well, I’m sorry.” I squeezed his shoulder again and said, “I think I’ll go ahead and leave you alone now.”

  “It was a chimera,” Cody said as I reached for the door, forgetting about the automatic lock.

  I turned around slowly. “A what?”

  “That’s what killed them. It only comes out at night when the demons control my dreams.” Cody faced me and explained, “That’s why I’m afraid to sleep. That’s when the chimera comes out and feeds. I saw you in my dream when your car broke down. The chimera killed that man. You saw it, too, didn’t you?”

  “I…” I took a deep breath and rubbed my hand over the lower portion of my face. “I didn’t see anything.”

  “You saw it in your dreams.”

  I tried to convince myself to not believe anything about the demons, and especially about a multi-headed beast from Hell, but I knew what I’d seen. Even if it was just in my dreams. I had heard the attack. I had seen the result of it. I had been there.

  “What did you do, Cody?”

  Cody went over to his desk and took up a piece of paper and a pencil. He wrote ENLIL and VASSAGO and then pointed at VASSAGO. “He’s a prince and is supposed to be a real friendly demon that can tell the future. He’s also supposed to be the demon to call on for pranks, which is why I chose him to help play a joke on Jason and Cullen. But the night before we were supposed to play the prank, I did another ritual to call on this demon.” Cody pointed at ENLIL on the paper. “He’s supposed to have the power to make you invisible. I thought it would be fun if it actually worked.”

  “And did it?” I leaned against the wall by the door. “Did this demon make you invisible?”

  “No, but he came to me in my dreams. He promised to punish me for calling on the king of demons for a childish act.” Cody wrote BEELZEBUB on the paper and then circled it and ENLIL. “I found out later that they’re the same.”

  I didn’t need an education in theology to recognize that name. I also knew the significance behind it. “Are you telling me you performed a ritual to summon the right hand of Satan himself?”

  “I didn’t know!” Cody defended. “In my dream he grabbed my head and said ‘Vos maledixit erit, diabolo tantibus.’” Cody spoke the Latin words fluently. “He said that he would curse me with the devil’s nightmare until the chimera… until the chimera…” He sat on the chair in between the two beds. “I can’t remember.”

  I leaned against the desk with my arms crossed over my chest. Cody leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and rested his forehead in the palms of his hands. Neither of us said anything for several minutes, as I tried to process everything Cody had just told me. Demons. Three-headed monsters. Jackson’s father.

  Robert Smith appeared front and center in my mind. I needed to get some straight answers from him. Screw the mandatory vacation. I didn’t care that Chief Hernandez had officially closed the case. I knew there was something about Jackson’s dad that hadn’t set right in my gut when I’d first met him. There was also something about Jackson that hadn’t felt quite natural.

  “Ow!” Cody held his hand over his left ribs as he stood.

  “We need to get you to a hospital.”

  “No, I don’t want—”

  “I’m not asking, Cody.” I pointed to a pair of tennis shoes on the floor near the desk. “Put your shoes on. We’re having a chat with Mr. Hadley and then I’m taking you to the hospital.”

  “If we tell Mr. Hadley, then Joseph will know that I told on him.”

  “If we don’t tell Mr. Hadley, then Joseph and his little cronies will continue to bully you. I won’t let that happen.”

  I called Maria on my cell phone and let her know that we needed to speak with the director. A few minutes later, the door opened. Maria rushed inside and asked, “What’s the problem? Mr. Hadley is preparing for a meeting.”

  “He has more pressing issues to deal with. I need to talk to him right now.”

  “We can meet with him later this afternoon.”

  “No, we need to talk to him now.” I lifted Cody’s shirt revealing the dark bruises.

  “Oh my God.” Maria examined the bruises. “What happened?” she asked Cody.

  “Bullies,” I answered for him. “Some of the other kids did this to him, and there wasn’t a staff member around when it happened. They left those kids completely unsupervised. That’s what I need to talk to Hadley about.”

  Cody explained the altercation between him and the other boys on the playground, and then begged us not to tell the director. “It’s just like at school. If you say anything, it just makes things worse.”

  “I’m sorry, Cody,” Maria said. She took the boy’s hand in hers. “I have to tell him. We’ll make sure those boys don’t bother you anymore.”

  “Why can’t you just take me somewhere else? I want to leave this place. I hate it here!”

  Maria stood and explained, “Until we can find you a foster home, this is the only place we have for you. Don’t worry, Cody, it’ll be fine.”

  “No, it won’t!” Cody pushed past Maria and ran out into the hallway.

  “I’ll take care of Mr. Hadley,” Maria said to me, as I started after Cody. “You go ahead and get Cody checked out at the hospital. I’ll call Dr. Pierce and ask him to squeeze you in this morning.”

  “Thank you. Just make sure you give Hadley hell about his staff leaving the kids unsupervised.”

  “Don’t worry, Aaron,” Maria reassured me. “I’ve got it under control.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Detective Nanny

  Cody watched a school of colorful saltwater fish swim around in a large aquarium in the waiting room of Dr. Devon Pierce’s office. I filled out what little information I could in the paperwork. I had to ask Cody for specific information, such as his birth date, height, and any allergies to certain medications he may have.

  We waited for over an hour before a nurse called Cody in to see the doctor. “You and your daddy can wait for Dr. Pierce in Room Two down the hall.”

  “He’s not my dad,” Cody corrected.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She looked at me. “Are you family?”

  I showed her my badge, and after seeing the nurse’s baffled expression, I said, “It’s complicated.”

  “All right then. If you’ll follow me.”

  The nurse directed us into a small room down the hall and shut the door behind us. Cody and I each found a chair to sit in and waited another half hour before the doctor finally entered the small room. Why did nurses bother calling patients to the exam rooms, if the doctor wasn’t ready to see them yet? I’d have preferred to continue sitting in the main waiting room, where there was a television.

  “Good morning,” the doctor f
inally greeted us. He shut the door behind him and apologized for the wait. “We’ve been a bit swamped this morning. I’m Dr. Devon Pierce.” He held his hand out to me.

  “Detective Aaron Sanders with APD,” I said, shaking his hand.

  “Maria informed me that you’d be bringing this young man in for some x-rays.” He flipped through the paperwork on his clipboard. Then he sat on a stool and rolled it in front of Cody. “So, I hear you’ve had a little run in with some of the kids at Saint Hedwig.” Cody nodded and glanced at me. “Hop onto the exam bed for me.”

  Cody crawled onto the exam bed and sat with his feet dangling from the edge. Dr. Pierce performed standard preliminary observations, and then had Cody lift his shirt so he could examine the bruises. “All right, now take a big deep breath.”

  Cody winced in pain while inhaling, and put his hand over his ribs.

  “I promise not to poke you and ask you if it hurts,” Dr. Pierce joked, and stood. “We’ll take some x-rays to confirm it,” he said to me, “but I’m fairly certain he has at least one fractured rib.”

  “My ribs are broken?” Cody asked, crestfallen. “I’ve never had any broken bones before.”

  “We’ll know more after the x-rays, but I don’t think you have any actual broken ribs.” Dr. Pierce looked at me. “May I speak with you out in the hall for a moment?”

  “Sure.” I followed the doctor into the hallway. He closed the door behind us. “What’s on your mind?”

  “It’s my understanding that the boys were unsupervised when they injured Cody.” He sounded genuinely concerned. “Have you filed a report on this? Because this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

  “Really?” I crossed my arms. “Please, do tell.”

  “About three months ago, Saint Hedwig sent a boy here with three fractured ribs, claiming that he’d fallen out of a tree. The boy corroborated the story, and while a fall could cause that injury, the boy’s vague explanation of what happened did not set well with me. However, I had no evidence to prove my suspicions. I’m not suggesting any kind of scandal, but—”

  “You don’t have to explain anything. I’m all over it. They’re obviously a bit negligent with the care of those kids. As soon as we get Cody’s x-rays and I see how Maria’s meeting went with Mr. Hadley, I can promise you there will be an investigation. I’m glad you brought it up.”

  Dr. Pierce nodded and said, “If you need any help from me, just ask. I’ll be more than happy to assist in any way I can.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  We returned to the examination room where we found Cody playing with a pair of latex gloves. He turned one glove into a balloon and released it when we entered. As the air released, the glove flew across the room and hit me in the chest. Cody attempted to stifle a laugh, then grimaced in pain, which triggered a laugh of my own.

  Dr. Pierce shook his head, picked up the latex glove, and tossed it in a trash can near the door. He motioned for Cody to follow him. “Time to take some photos of those ribs.”

  Cody slid off the examination bed and snorted a giggle as he followed Dr. Pierce into the hallway. Then he held his side and moaned.

  “Serves you right,” I teased, giving him a slight nudge. “I’ll be in the waiting room watching Judge Judy.”

  †

  While Judge Judy was explaining her sentence to the defendant, a nurse called out for me in the waiting room. “Dr. Pierce is ready to see you now.”

  The nurse led me back to Room Two, but that time I didn’t have to wait. Dr. Pierce was already there with Cody’s x-ray results.

  “So, what’s the verdict?”

  “Well, I have some good news.” Dr. Pierce handed me a copy of the x-ray. “He doesn’t have any broken ribs, just a couple of hairline fractures.” He pointed to the second and third ribs from the top. “I’ll prescribe a couple of pain medications, but other than that, we’ll just have to wait for the ribs to heal on their own.”

  “Did you give him one of those elastic bandage wrap-things to help?” I asked, motioning with my hands around my chest and sides.

  “Compression wraps aren’t used anymore.” Dr. Pierce explained.

  “Really? Why not? I thought they helped.”

  “We used them to help splint and immobilize the affected area, but they actually make it difficult for the patient to take in deep breaths. This can increase the risk of pneumonia, so we stopped using them.” The doctor patted Cody on his back and said, “He should be fine within four to six weeks.”

  “Four to six weeks?” Cody said in despair. “Can you put me in a hospital room or something? I don’t want to go back to Saint Hedwig.”

  The doctor and I exchanged glances.

  “I’ll see if I can either get you or Joseph transferred,” I suggested. It was worth a try a least. “He’s the main trouble maker, right?”

  Cody nodded.

  “I’ll talk to Miss Jimenez this afternoon and see what we can do to protect you from any further bullying, okay?”

  Cody shrugged.

  “Speaking of which, have you heard from Maria?” I asked Dr. Pierce. “I thought she was supposed to swing by the hospital.”

  “Oh, yes. She called me a little while ago and asked if you wouldn’t mind getting Cody’s prescriptions for her.”

  I glanced at my watch. It was almost eleven o’clock. “Did she tell you why?”

  “All she said was that she had an emergency to deal with at the office.”

  “Fair enough.” I slapped Cody on the leg and said, “Ready to shop for some drugs and get a bite to eat?”

  That changed Cody’s demeanor a bit. “Can I get a cheeseburger?”

  “Yeah, whatever you want.”

  Dr. Pierce wrote up the prescriptions and handed them to me. “You can pick them up at the CVS on Congress. I’ll email the x-ray scan to Maria this afternoon.”

  I thanked Dr. Pierce for squeezing us into his busy schedule, and expressed my appreciation for the information he shared out in the hallway.

  “It was my pleasure, Detective.” Dr. Pierce led us out into the lobby. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks to check on those ribs,” he said to Cody.

  “Okay. Bye.” Cody gave the doctor a casual wave. Then he asked me, “Do I really have to go back?”

  I put my hand on Cody’s shoulder and answered, “I’m afraid so, kiddo.”

  †

  I left the pharmacy with two bottles of prescription pain killers for Cody and a bottle of ibuprofen for me. I sent Maria a text message to let her know that I had just picked up Cody’s prescriptions, and that we were grabbing a bite to eat before heading back to Saint Hedwig.

  She texted me back within seconds: Thank you. I’m tied up until 4 p.m., so do you mind keeping Cody with you until then? Mr. Hadley wants to meet with us at that time.

  I unlocked the doors to the Charger and got in just long enough to start the car, then got back out. Cody climbed into the front passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt, while I leaned against the outside of the car with the driver’s side door open, contemplating my response.

  I smiled mischievously, and texted: I’ll play Detective Nanny this afternoon, but only if you’ll have dinner with me tonight. :-)

  I waited a minute for her response, but didn’t receive it. Cody honked the horn, and whined, “Are we going? I’m hungry.”

  “All right, all right.” I got back into the car and shut the door. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t care, as long as I can have a cheeseburger and a milkshake. The food at Saint Hedwig reminds me of the school cafeteria.” He nodded toward my seatbelt latch. “You gonna buckle up?”

  The kid was safety conscious. I liked that. As I fastened the seatbelt, I asked him if he’d ever eaten a burger at Dan’s before. “Nuh-uh. Who’s Dan?”

  “That’s the name of the restaurant. They named it after the owner. Best burgers in Austin, if you ask me.”

  “Better than McDonald’s?”
>
  I laughed, and said, “Yeah, even better than McDonald’s.”

  †

  Dan’s Hamburgers had always been my favorite burger joint to eat at since childhood. My father had taken me to a Dan’s location on South Lamar a few weeks after it opened in 1975. I was six years old at the time, and had just hit a game-winning double in my first Little League t-ball game. I was so proud of myself. To celebrate, Dad had taken me out to eat at his favorite family-owned fast-food restaurant.

  Dan’s Hamburgers only served the basics: a small or large burger, fries and onion rings, soft drinks, malts and shakes. But to Dad, they didn’t need to add anything else to the menu. It was perfect. That hot summer afternoon, Dad and I enjoyed a hamburger, fries and strawberry milkshakes, and ever since then, when I craved a burger, I always went to Dan’s.

  In 1985, that memorable Dan’s location closed and relocated to the corner of Ben White and Manchaca, the same location that I took Cody to for his first experience of Austin’s popular burger joint.

  “This is it?” Cody asked, jerking a thumb toward the building with dissatisfaction. “Just looks like some old diner.”

  “That’s because it is an old diner.” I locked the car, and made my way to the front door of the diner, while Cody hung back. “Come on,” I said. “You’ll like it.”

  Cody moseyed around the front of the vehicle while he eyed the building with clear pessimism. “Does it even have a play area?”

  “Really, Cody?” I reached for the glass door. “What are you, five?”

  The eleven-year-old followed me inside without a response. A bell announced our entry. A young Hispanic woman greeted us while she wiped down a table. “Hi, Aaron!”

  “Hey, Dora.”

  “Who’s the cutie pie?”