Hidden Demon, page 9
part #1 of Altered Demons Series
"We spoke to the game warden," Dee said.
"I know."
"So, you know why we're here?"
"Miss, pastor says God knows everything there is. I'm like that, except my county is heaven."
"Are there demons in heaven?" Dee asked.
Buddy paused, tapping his finger.
"That's it, huh? Every east coast nutbag has been down here huntin' the demon for decades and the FBI follows. Y'all must have got bored with not finding Bigfoot."
"Must have, so what do you know about this thing?"
His eyes darted to Ko, dropping more peanut shells that missed the garbage can and fell to the floor.
"Hey guy, around these parts we clean up our own mess," Buddy barked.
Dee turned to look at Ko. He smirked, eating another peanut as he dropped the shell as before. She returned to the sheriff.
"We like making a mess, that's kind of our thing. Now, let's get back to the demon."
Buddy snickered, shaking his head.
"Really? You come to my town. Threaten my kind."
"Threaten? Who?" Dee asked.
"The gas man."
"That wasn't a threat, just some education for y'all."
"Make a mess of my office," Buddy said, waving his hand. "Wasting my time with tales of the bogeyman instead of accepting the truth that sometimes good animals go bad."
"The demon, sheriff."
"Should I check the closet for monsters? Or do what your daddy didn't and put you over my knee?"
Ko shook his head and tutted as Dee glared at Buddy. The tension between them thickened with silence. It broke when a wheelchair-bound elderly man rolled into the room. Well dressed in a light suit, he exuded vibrance despite a missing leg. As he looked around, his wrinkly face contorted.
"Sorry sheriff, I thought we had a meeting... I can come back."
"Not a problem, Mr. Mercer. These two were just leaving," Buddy said, standing to greet him.
"Very well."
Dee stood and approached him.
"Mr. Mercer. Dee Johnson, FBI. That's my partner, Ko Hashimoto."
As Dee shook his hand, he lit up.
"FBI, now I am curious. You two investigating something, Miss Dee?"
"Well, we're not here for a party."
"But you showed up in time for one," Mercer said, raising an eyebrow. "We're having a charity event tomorrow at our little estate. I gotta' talk about event security with ol' Buddy here. We could chat about your investigation. Maybe help it along after a few drinks?"
"It's been a long day," Buddy said, glaring at Dee.
Ignoring him, she addressed Mercer.
"Sounds great, sir. See you then." She angled to the sheriff as she passed. "Have a good night. Buddy."
As they exited the building, another flock of starlings circled above and caught her eyeline. Was this the same flock that she had seen outside the Castleton store?
"We're going to need something to wear, Ko. Not sure knit trousers and a badge will be enough."
Chapter 17
O
ne hand on the steering wheel, the young ride share driver ferried the agents to the manor. He flashed pearly whites in the rearview mirror to Dee as Ko checked his phone.
"Donating to charity tonight, miss?"
"Not on my salary, just showing up like they asked."
"I feel you, sista. My ancestors built this place I'm taking you to. But they were told. Not asked."
She offered a silent nod as she looked out the window, her muscular arm propped on the car door as the driver resumed.
"Guess Mercer Charities found themselves a new donor from out of town? Because your boyfriend is dripping. Nice phone. New threads. They don't hang with us plebes. They ain't the same as us. You feel me, sista?"
Dee jerked her head toward him and leaned forward.
"Stop calling me that."
"Whoa, just trying to be cool."
"Shut your mouth. Look. He's not my boyfriend. He's just not. Rich?" She paused, looking to Ko. He gestured a bit. "Hell if I know. And I'm almost old enough to be your mom. So, pack that mini tent and chill. We all got business tonight."
Dee scoffed as she reclined, straightening her dress. She had purchased the little black outfit that day. The lined velvet conformed to her agile shape, although it bunched in the wrong places. Tailoring had not been an option, but she had room for her thigh holster. As she squirmed, Ko glanced over to her.
"You good?"
"I hate this poofy shit." She grabbed at the taffeta frills near the bottom of the dress, her powerful hands ripping at the seam as the bullet necklace jostled against her exposed chest.
The driver looked back with a raised eyebrow.
"At least you found a suit shop," Dee said. "Not much choice at Fibber Magee's Closet, if you know what I mean? It looks like I'm going to goth prom or something."
"The Colonel might appreciate the look. The way he warmed up yesterday. Might want to share more than information."
"I don't care he's in a wheelchair. If Colonel Knox Mercer gets handsy, my army boots make an appearance."
"You're wearing pumps."
"The goal is to get whatever added information he's offering and then go. I don't want to get cozy with crazy. "
They slowed down as the party traffic jammed outside the Mercer Mansion. Pulling closer to the motor pool, valets scurried to meet the demands of arriving guests. Cameras flashed as people entered on a red carpet through stone archways. Dee marveled out the window at the residential castle filling her window view. Three stories of stone and metal with sturdy panes of glass. Ko twisted down beside her for a better look.
"This is the little estate?" Dee said.
The driver stopped the vehicle, turning toward her.
"I've been trying to tell you, miss. There's the rich and the rest of us. You walk that red carpet, and he owns you, just like all the other sheep in this town."
"Didn't know animals use red carpets."
"They do here."
Ushers opened their doors, and the duo exited toward the mansion. Even from a distance, they could hear the party inside. Walking at her side, Ko offered Dee his arm, which she ignored. He withdrew it, laughing awkwardly.
As they entered through the primary archway, a giant fire pit occupying a massive square courtyard illuminated the scene. Something for everyone filled the space. A string quartet. Contortionists. Jugglers. Dee saw the bar first. Ko eyed the early drunks singing karaoke in their unbuttoned tuxes.
"My kind of party," Ko said.
"Mingling is fine, but we're here to work. Mark the time," Dee said as they glanced at their watches. "One hour, by the firepit."
Before they separated, a young woman looked their way from a distance and waved. Dee caught sight of her and stopped cold. Who was she? A slim redhead in her late thirties with a seductive flair and a sheer white dress glided toward them as if in a beauty pageant. She touched the shoulder of an older man along the way, getting too close as his wife shot dirty looks. Continuing toward the pair, they watched her as she moved closer, finally standing in front of them.
"You must be looking for my father, Knox. I'm Penny Mercer."
Ko grinned like an idiot as Dee extended her hand. Dumbfounded. Penny shook it, caressing Dee's forearm with the other hand. The agent looked down, startled, grinning as she locked eyes with the woman. Penny blushed. Ko extended his hand, but Penny ignored him.
"Well, we are looking for something," Dee said. "It seems you and your dad are just a wonderful bonus."
"The Colonel's always trying to help. Probably telling tall tales over by the bar, as usual. Come on."
Penny motioned for them to follow her as she turned to lead them, the sheer dress revealing her form to the trailing duo. They both ogled her. Ko leaned over to Dee and whispered.
"I get off early tonight."
Dee scoffed.
"Me first."
As they strolled through the partygoers, robotic servers offered trays of appetizers. Dee reached for a cheese ball on a stick until she saw a small crowd of familiars gathered around a table. Sheriff Buddy Perry minus the hat took champagne, his slick hair gleaming with every sip. The K-9 trainer and game warden Denny Lee held no drink, which made him appear more awkward in his tuxedo than he already did. Colonel Knox Mercer wore black tie attire and sipped whiskey from his wheelchair. Another middle-aged, bearded man joined them. Underdressed for the occasion, he wore cheap flannel and drank from a large beer stein.
"Dad, your special guests are here," Penny said.
"Ah, welcome, agents. Excuse me for not getting up," Knox said, snickering as he raised his brown water and toasted them.
"You two been stayin' out of trouble?" Buddy said, eyeballing them over the fluted glass as he drank.
"Every night is a new night," Ko said, grabbing a whiskey from a passing tray.
"All this for a worthy cause?" Dee said, gesturing to the surrounding party. "We're honored to join you, Colonel."
"Honored to share with those who served. Air Force, was it?"
"Army."
The Colonel smiled at her until the bearded man in flannel stumbled between them.
"You want the demon, huh? I don't think so. Nope, you wouldn't like that."
Knox raised his hand to wave him off.
"Hush now, Jimmy, we don't need your crazy talk scaring our guests."
Dee overheard Penny as she put her hand on Ko's shoulder and loud whispered over the uproar.
"That's Pastor Jimmy Elliot. He's a bit off, says the demon is real, blamed it for killing his wife. He started a church afterward. Handles snakes and who knows what else."
"Ah, kuru kuru pa... like cuckoo," Ko said, making a looping motion with his finger near his head.
Jimmy got in Ko's face.
"Hey, I ain't crazy. God don't make no mistakes. The demon gets you? Well, you deserve it, just like my whore of a wife. You'll be next."
Expelling a loud burp, he poked Ko in the chest with the hand holding the beer.
"Yep, you'll be next."
Lightning sizzled in the distance as Ko looked at Dee. She offered a slow head shake as Knox motioned to Buddy, who moved between Jimmy and Ko.
"Come on, Jimmy, I think you've had enough."
The sheriff reached out for him.
"Get your damn hands off me!" Jimmy screamed, turning to Ko. "I know who you two are. Liars. Sinners. Tools of the devil himself. There will be judgment."
Buddy grabbed him harder, escorting him away from the group. The drunk Pastor pushed off and fell on the pathway. Thunder rolled through the sky as he arose, stumbling off as his incoherent rants spewed.
Penny slapped Ko's ass like a fellow football player, startling him before he gawked at her.
"Great job keeping your cool, boy. Now come sing with me, you're my fun tonight."
Penny grabbed his wrist, dragging him toward the karaoke. Stumbling away, he locked eyes with Dee and winked. She scowled at him, shaking her head until Knox spoke.
"Well, that was just awful. My apologies, Miss Dee."
"I've seen worse... still up for that help you promised?"
"I do keep my promises. There's a storm coming. We should make our way inside."
Chapter 18
K
nox rolled away from the party into the main house as Dee followed. Dim yellow lighting strained against the darkness of the foyer. Stone floors echoed as Dee marched. Old photos in majestic frames lined the castle-like walls. Tapestry with scenes from archaic literature covered larger sections.
"My family was good at mining," he said. "Limestone from the Shenandoah helped make this estate, but coal... well, coal made us famous."
She paused, looking at a certificate on the wall.
"Commonwealth of Virginia. Treasurer's Office. Looks ancient."
He rotated back to her.
"That it is. A government bond for sandstone mined from Culpeper Basin in the 1800s. They built Bull Run bridge with it."
"An amazing story."
"We also never got paid. It's a friendly reminder that cash is king."
Knox led her into another room. As she turned a blind corner, lightning flashed. A giant bear!
"Shit!"
She stumbled backwards across a table, breaking a lamp as she panted.
"Damn it!"
Knox flipped the lights on, rolling behind his desk. Taxidermy, large and small, filled the place. The stuffed creature stood still as death. Knox chuckled.
"Don't fret now, Miss Dee, they can't get you 'cause I got 'em first. Except for that big gal over there," he said, pointing to the bear.
"Sorry about your lamp."
"I hated that lamp. Should have warned you."
A German shepherd dog emerged from the corner of the room, slinking with stealth until standing dutifully by the Colonel. He stroked it behind the ears as it watched Dee. Clearly well trained, since it had not reacted to her earlier.
"One of Denny's creations. This is Butternut. She goes everywhere with me," he said, petting the animal. "If I had her by my side twenty years ago, maybe I'd still have my leg. But that's not why you're here."
Dee glanced at the glass shards on the floor before stepping around them toward him. Knox poured a finger of whiskey out of the decanter on his desk. She took it and sat in a high-back chair with legs crossed.
"I've got all night," she said, taking a sip. "What happened?"
"Well, I was hunting moose in Alaska with a friend. We had performed cold weather maneuvers there while serving in the Marines. We always wanted to go back for a hunt. So, there we were, rifles on our backs trekking the wilderness, when we heard something rustle the bushes. We raised our guns, not knowing what to expect. And what did we see? Two Kodiak cubs running across our path. You can imagine that dialed our senses way up. We both knew momma bear must have been close. But before we could escape, she pounced. She ripped into my buddy. He died face down in the tall grass before I could do anything. I turned and shot, but I only grazed her before she charged and raged at me. I tried to kick her in the nose, but her jaws grabbed my lower leg, and I dropped my rifle."
Knox gave a sly smile as he eyeballed his whiskey, still in the crystal glass. He drank it in one sip.
"Now, I'm sure I'm a goner. Losing consciousness as she slung me around, banging me into the ground and such. And then I remembered my ace in the hole. My S&W 500 in my thigh holster. God bless America, I drew that giant revolver. My leg had turned to spaghetti… a lost cause. I knew that. So, I aimed right at her face with no concern for it, and boom! Like a grenade, the slug turned that hairy bitch's head into a canoe."
Knox paused, caressing a souvenir bullet mounted like a trophy on his desk. Dee's hand went instinctively to the one hanging around her neck.
"An amazing save, Colonel. Sorry about your friend."
"Thanks. All those years of military service, at least he died doing what he loved and not in some shithole."
Knox paused again, visibly moved by his own story.
Dee said, "My father used to say you can tell a lot about a person by how they hunt. Of course, we're hunting something different now."
"Ah yes, the demon. Buddy told me. Truth is, you're tracking a myth, agent. Just a blend of stories over the centuries, traced back to an ancient Native American fable. We had a fundraiser for the Heritage Association up in Belmont and their leader told me the story of an eternal spirit creature that lives alone in a giant, hollowed out oak in the woods. Neither friend nor foe, it takes no man's side, but only abides with the pure of heart. It moves in the shadows, seeking retribution when harm comes to the world." Knox scoffed as he paused. "Of course, now it's just another bogeyman story to keep the kids in line. 'Be a good girl now or the demon's gonna get you.' Handy at bedtime."
"But there are so many animal attacks. Why?"
"Tourists to the Shenandoah, obviously. People go places they shouldn't. Do things they ought not. City dwellers who come ill prepared for the rough country."
Dee had heard that line before, and it was getting old.
"Sure," she said. "They leave food out. The animals fight them for it. Your game warden stated as much."
"Well, there you have it. Denny knows more about animals than damn near anyone around here," Knox said through a yawn.
"Did you know Jimmy Elliott's wife, Angela? Attacked by a cougar?"
Knox perked up.
"Angie? Yes, terrible business with her dying like that. She had a bright future in politics, probably would have won the state house seat. Is that what brought you here?"
"Did she have any enemies?"
"We all have detractors, but most admired her, I'd surmise."
"And what about her husband, Jimmy?"
"He would have taken over her commercial real estate business and run the company while she sprinted up the political ranks."
"Sounds like he could have done that, anyway."
"When she died, he spiraled quickly. Put the business up for sale. Now he runs a church in town. Preaches that the demon is the eleventh plague—one never released upon Egypt or some nonsense. Quite the show he puts on, too. Has half the county believing the demon's real. Hell, almost makes me want to grab a rifle, but even I can't shoot a ghost."
"And what do you believe in?"
"Investments, guns, and my pal Butternut."
The dog whimpered, looking at him as he stroked its head.
"Look, Miss Dee. If you're concerned, I'm concerned. The FBI should be thoroughly satisfied when you're done."
Knox wrote on a sticky note and handed it to her.
"Here is Jimmy's church. He has a service tomorrow night. Should be over the hangover by then. Ask the good Pastor why he's spouting all this demon nonsense. I'd normally say it's for the money, but he already has plenty of that."
"Thanks," Dee said, rising from the chair. "We'll hit him up."
Knox yawned again.
"We built this town on coal and crops, and my family owns most of it. You let me know if you need anything, you hear?"
