“Ya cálmate!” Mr. Estrada yelled at his son and wife, as they continued to argue in Spanish. He got up from the table and pulled Jonathan with him. “Jonathan has told you everything he knows. We’re done here. Take my advice, Mr. Sanders. You should talk to your son… and maybe a priest.”
You may be right, Aaron thought. He stood and handed Mr. Estrada his business card. He apologized for what they’d had to endure, and had a deputy escort them out the side of the building away from reporters. As he left the cafeteria, he spotted Sergeant Henderson jogging towards him.
“Aaron!” Sergeant Henderson called out. “We found it.”
“Found what?”
“The murder weapon.”
†
“I can’t figure how he made it in and out of the school without being picked up on the security cameras. It’s like we’re looking for a ghost.” Sergeant Henderson removed a blood-stained axe from the dumpster behind the school. “This is one heck of a weapon. Looks like from medieval times.”
Aaron watched the detective dust the long black leather-wrapped shaft and handle for fingerprints while keeping an eye out for stray reporters. He stared at the half moon axe blade with the three crosses cut into it, and rubbed his hand over his mouth and chin. “Get anything?”
“Most of them are smudged, but I do have a few that are intact.” Sergeant Henderson lifted the prints with evidence tape and affixed them to cards. He handed them to Aaron and took samples of the blood on the axe blade. “So, what did that kid tell you?”
Aaron examined the prints. “That he saw Cody kill Peter with an axe.”
“We’ll know who really took out the school’s resident bully soon enough.” Sergeant Henderson labeled the tube with the blood sample and placed it in his kit. “So, have you heard from Maria?” He placed the axe in a large plastic evidence bag and labeled it.
“No, I haven’t.” Aaron placed the fingerprints into Henderson’s evidence kit. “Cody’s scared, though.”
“Well, he should be.” Sergeant Henderson spotted Deputy Dilbecky, and motioned her towards him. He handed her the bagged axe and instructed her to take it to the evidence locker. Aaron stared at the deputy as she carried the axe away. “What’s on your mind, Aaron?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.” Aaron pulled a pack of cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket. “Just thinking about something that kid said to me. He basically said that Cody was the devil, that he had black eyes and claws on his fingers.”
“Wow. Well, he was in shock.” Sergeant Henderson closed his evidence kit and picked it up. He motioned at the cigarette package in Aaron’s hand. “You know you can’t smoke here.”
Aaron flipped open the lid. The package was empty. He frowned and tossed it in the dumpster. “What do you say we get a drink after processing those prints?”
“I think I’ll take a rain check on that.” Sergeant Henderson squeezed Aaron’s shoulder. “You should go home. I’ll fight off the media and take care of the prints.”
“Maybe I should pick up Samantha. She was supposed to stay with some friends while Maria and I we were in San Antonio.” Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. “I talked to her on the way over here. She was pretty freaked out.” He gazed at the sky and exhaled a heavy sigh. “God, life was so much easier when I was a single guy with no kids to worry about.”
“You don’t mean that. You know you love them.”
Aaron formed a subtle smile and nodded in agreement.
Sheriff Donovan approached them as they rounded the corner of the building towards the media circus, which had grown since Aaron had arrived. There was a podium with several microphones set up in front of the school. A woman in a business suit adjusted the microphones. Two other men set up lights, while reporters from various news agencies stood in front of their cameramen and gave their versions of the recent events.
“The media ain’t going nowhere until we feed them some info,” Sheriff Donovan said, “so we’re having a press conference.”
“What are you going to tell them?” Aaron said. “We don’t have anything to share.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” the Sheriff said, and pointed to the crowd of reporters and news satellite vans, “this ain’t exactly a low profile case anymore. We got ourselves a psycho killing kids in this town, and it’s gotten the attention of the national media… and the FBI.”
It was then that Aaron noticed the tall man dressed in a black suit near the podium. He had a curled wire running from underneath his coat to his ear. “Well, isn’t that just great? I take it we’ll be taking orders from the feds now?”
“They’re here to help.” Sheriff Donovan ran his hand through his hair and focused on the crowd. “And frankly, we need it.”
Aaron grabbed Sergeant Henderson’s shoulder and leaned toward him. “You sure you don’t want to get that drink? Because my stress level is reaching its boiling point right about now.”
Sheriff Donovan nodded towards the podium. “There’s the Mayor. Let’s go.”
“Wait. What? I’m not getting in front of those cameras.” Aaron darted his eyes around, searching for an escape route free of reporters. “Scott and I have work to do. We don’t have time for the media. You’re the elected official. That’s your job.”
“You ain’t gotta say nothin’. The Mayor just wants you up there fer—”
“For the cameras. I know. Forget it.” Aaron found his escape route behind two satellite vans. “As soon as Hollingsworth distracts those reporters with his speech, Scott and I are sneaking that way and heading back to the office.”
“Aaron…” Sheriff Donovan glanced back at the Mayor and then pointed at Aaron. “All righty then, but you give me a call the minute you find something. I’m gonna be stuck here awhile until we can get them daggum reporters outa here.”
“Good luck with that,” Aaron said, smirking as the Sheriff headed towards the podium. Aaron shook his head. “What a pain in the ass.”
“Ah, give him a break, Aaron.” Sergeant Henderson leaned against the building and scratched the side of his neck. “I think Mayor Hollingsworth is getting to him.”
Aaron turned to Henderson. “That’s the pain in the ass I’m referring to.” As soon as the Mayor stepped up to the podium, Aaron said, “That’s our cue. Let’s go.”
†
Deputy Dilbecky entered the Sheriff’s Department Investigations office with a pizza box in her hands. “Meat lover’s special is served, hot and ready to eat, gentlemen.”
“Thanks, Brianna.” Sergeant Henderson cleared a spot on the table in the middle of the office. “You can set it here.”
She set the box on the table and pulled open the lid. “You guys get anything on those prints yet?”
Aaron grabbed a slice of pizza and sat in a nearby office chair. “This archaic network is crawling at a snail’s pace. So, no.” He took a bite, and said with a mouthful, “Damn thing is taking forever.”
“About as slow as Dilbecky ordering a pizza online,” Sergeant Henderson joked. “How is it that someone your age is so technically challenged?”
Dilbecky laughed. “Hey, at least I got the toppings right on that pie.” She grabbed a slice for herself and headed towards the door. “I’m going out on patrol. I get less abuse from the folks I pull over for speeding.”
“See ya,” Henderson waved—more of a shooing away—and leaned against the wall. “I keep telling Richard we need to upgrade our systems, but he keeps insisting we don’t have the money in the budget.”
Aaron laughed. “Yeah, okay. That sure didn’t stop him from requisitioning a brand new Tahoe. There was nothing wrong with the car he already had.”
Sergeant Henderson carried a slice of pizza with a paper towel over to the fingerprint identification system. “Hey, Aaron, you’re going to want to take a look at this.”
“What?” Aaron ate the last bit of pizza in his hand and rolled over to the computer system. “What the…?” The system had matched three of the prints l
ifted from the axe—to Aaron.
“How did I pull your prints off that axe, Aaron?”
“I have an idea.” Aaron retrieved his car keys from his desk. “Cody and I found an axe in my shed when we moved here. It looked just like the one you found in the dumpster at the school.”
“And you didn’t think to mention that to me?”
“How the hell was I supposed to know it was the same one?”
“Oh, I don’t know, because there probably aren’t too many of these floating around Lost Maples.”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
Henderson stared at Aaron for a moment before asking him if he thought someone may have taken it from his shed.
“That’s exactly what I think, and there’s only one way to find out.”
“Not without me. I’m going with you.” Sergeant Henderson grabbed another slice of pizza on his way out the door.
†
“The FBI will be assisting with this investigation, and I can assure you that we will not rest until we have this perpetrator in custody.” Mayor Hollingsworth turned to Sheriff Donovan. “The good people of Lost Maples have put their trust in Sheriff Donovan and me to keep this community safe, and that is precisely what we intend to do.”
“Is that a fair statement to make, when three people have lost their lives under your watch in a matter of days?” a reporter from The Lost Maples Record asked. “And what about the Garner family?”
“And Doug Travers?” another reporter added.
Sheriff Donovan stepped to the microphone. “Them cases are unrelated, and were not homicides. Doug Travers was the victim of an unfortunate boatin’ accident. And Mr. Garner and his family—”
“Lies!” a woman yelled from behind the crowd of reporters. “They were all murdered! And you did nothing! And now my boy is dead!”
Mayor Hollingsworth held out a sympathetic hand. “Mrs. Slavic, we are deeply sorry for the loss of your son, and—“
“Don’t you give me that sympathy bullshit! Whatcha gonna do to make it right?”
“I can assure you that the Sheriff’s Department will be working around the clock to catch the perpetrator.”
“It’s too late.” Peter’s mother wept. “Lost Maples is cursed because of you. Damn you, Mayor Hollingsworth. God damn you all!” She pulled a revolver from her purse.
“Gun!” The FBI agent yelled, and drew his weapon, pushing the Mayor behind him.
“God forgive me.” Bernice Slavic pressed the barrel under chin and pulled the hammer back.
“No!” Mayor Hollingsworth and Sheriff Donovan yelled in unison.
A deputy ran towards the distraught woman, but he was too late. The top of Bernice Slavic’s head exploded in a spray of blood, brain matter, hair, and bone. People screamed as her body fell limp onto the pavement.
†
“It’s gone.” Aaron rummaged through his shed. The axe he and Cody had found was missing. “Son of a bitch must have taken it when he buried Corbin’s body out in the pasture.”
“We’ve got a serious problem here, Aaron.”
“No shit. We—” Aaron froze. “What the hell are you doing?”
Sergeant Henderson had drawn his weapon and was pointing it at Aaron. “I need you to step out of the shed slowly and—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Aaron placed a hand on his chest. “You think I did this? You’re not that dense. Come on, Scott. Lower the gun.”
Henderson stepped back and pulled the hammer on his pistol. “Remove your weapon slowly and set it on the ground.”
“You need to think really hard about this, Scott.” Aaron held out one hand. “Use your head, man. Put down the gun.”
Sergeant Henderson’s arms trembled. “I don’t know what to think, but—”
“But what?” Aaron approached him and stopped a few feet from him. He glanced at the barrel of the pistol and stared into Henderson’s eyes. “Tell me what’s on your mind. What’s your theory?”
Henderson’s temples pulsated. His jaw was tight. He held a tight grip on the gun. “Your prints were the only ones on that axe.”
“Of course they were, you idiot! And there were others too, but you didn’t get those did you?” Aaron took a deep breath. “Look, if I had anything to do with these murders, do you really think I’d leave my prints on anything, much less the murder weapon at the scene? Come on, man, use your head.”
“So, what, that kid was telling the truth?” Scott took a step back and adjusted his grip on the gun. “You think Cody magically appeared in that restroom and took revenge on Peter Slavic? He’s already confessed to killing Randy Cunningham and Daniel Corbin. So why not, right?”
Aaron glared at Henderson without saying a word. His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he ignored it. Henderson’s phone also chimed. He ignored it too. The two men continued to stare at each other, until Sergeant Henderson finally lowered his gun.
Aaron shook his head and headed towards his car. “Asshole.”
“Aaron, I’m sorry. I just… This whole thing doesn’t make any sense.”
“Forget it,” Aaron said, then stopped, and returned to Henderson. He poked his index finger against the man’s chest. “If you pull a gun on me again, you’d better be prepared to squeeze that trigger.”
Aaron’s phone vibrated in his pocket again. He pulled it out with an annoyed expression on his face. He raised his eyebrows when he read the message. Sergeant Henderson’s phone also chimed again.
“What is it?”
Aaron showed Henderson the message. “Peter Slavic’s mother just shot herself on national TV.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ikiryō
Donald Luther held an Austin American Statesman newspaper in his hands while sitting at the edge of his bed in a small nine-foot by six-foot prison cell. He rubbed his face and gazed at the ceiling for a moment before reading the article:
15-year-old Boy Murdered at School:
Woman Shoots Herself During News Conference
LOST MAPLES – A 15-year-old student was found dead at Lee Hauser Middle School in Lost Maples yesterday morning. Authorities have not officially released the cause of death or the name of the deceased student. During a news conference yesterday evening in front of the school, Bernice Slavic, 39, of Lost Maples, confronted officials and accused them of deception.
“Lies!” Slavic yelled. “They were all murdered! And you did nothing! And now my boy is dead!” Her son, Peter Slavic, an 8th grade student at Lee Hauser Middle School, is believed to be the deceased student found in a restroom at approximately 12:15 yesterday afternoon.
Lost Maples Mayor William Hollingsworth attempted to calm the woman, stating the local Sheriff’s Department would work around the clock until the perpetrator was apprehended. Slavic claimed the town was cursed, yelled some expletives, and took her own life while cameras were still rolling. Local law enforcement officials later found her husband, 42-year-old Dalton Slavic, dead in their Lost Maples home, in what appears to be a murder-suicide.
“Lost Maples has always been quiet and peaceful,” a local resident said of the small Texas hill country town of approximately 15,000, “but lately we’ve had one tragic death after another.”
Earlier this year, 52-year-old Douglas Travers, a local business owner, lost his life in an apparent boating accident and alligator attack at Maple Hills Park, a popular recreational and fishing area for Lost Maples residents.
Less than two weeks later, tragedy struck the quaint town once again, when 31-year-old Andrew Garner, his wife, and 10-year-old son were all killed at their home in the outskirts of Lost Maples. The wife and child both lost their lives when their home caught fire in the middle of the night. Investigators found the remains of Andrew Garner’s body near his barn. The official report determined Mr. Garner’s death the result of another animal attack, possibly a cougar. The Lost Maples County Sheriff’s Department closed both cases after autopsy results corroborated the animal attack theory.
>
Life in Lost Maples appeared to return to normal until Thursday, Oct. 9, when a community restitution worker and a park employee discovered the body of Randall “Randy” Cunningham, 13, in a trash barrel near the same location at Maple Hills Park where Douglas Travers’ body was found. Four days later, Daniel Corbin, 20, the restitution worker that found Randy Cunningham’s body at the park, was murdered in his apartment.
The death of 15-year-old Peter Slavic marks three murders in a span of only six days. According to confidential sources, all three of the victims had dismemberments and decapitations, something that may sound all too familiar to Austin residents.
With assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lieutenant Aaron Sanders, formerly of Austin, is lead investigator of the case in Lost Maples. Sanders spent most of his law enforcement career serving the Austin community with the Austin Police Department. He also led the investigation of the Memorial Park Cemetery mystery in Austin, where three youths were found mutilated (this case was never solved and was speculated to have been the result of an animal attack), and uncovered the occult conspiracy responsible for the Saint Hedwig Massacre. Austin Police Chief David Hernandez, Detective Steven Riley, and Travis County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Williams were among the dead, along with several youth home staff and resident children. Chief Hernandez was found to be involved in a cult with an apocalyptic agenda. Sanders was able to save two children from a fire that had started in the chapel and spread throughout the building, burning out of control.
According to former coworkers, Sanders adopted one of the boys he had saved at the orphanage, married, and moved his new family to Lost Maples. Sources at the Travis County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI, confirm Lieutenant Sanders recently returned to Austin to assist in the investigation of three teenagers found murdered earlier this year near the Saint Hedwig ruins. There is speculation that these murders were the result of a Satanic ritual. During this investigation, Detective Jordan Millstead with the Travis County Sheriff’s Department lost his life in yet another apparent animal attack. Lieutenant Sanders was found unconscious near Millstead’s body. The case regarding these teenagers still remains unsolved, but it is believed that the same cult that Chief Hernandez was involved in may have been responsible for the boys’ deaths.
Devil's Nightmare: Premonitions (Devil's Nightmare, Book 2) Page 32