Page 75 of My Demon Neighbor
Nodding, I served up our late breakfast, and we ate in relative silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Once wewere done, Codie declared he was going to grab a shower and went back to the bedroom, while I quickly cleaned up and then decided to check in with Maximus.
Me: Any updates?
He didn't reply instantly, so I busied myself petting Hella, and my phone buzzed a few minutes later.
Maximus: Not really. We think the dark souls may have scattered now that we know they aren't working together. At least the two male ones. Cynthia seems to be sticking closer to Mammon. It's possible she was the one who told him about the book, since she used to be a dark witch
Me: Did Wren recognize the book?
Wren, one of the warlocks Maximus had said could help, had some history with Cynthia. I didn't know exactly what, but Wren's mate was very determined to get that particular dark soul back into the Chasm. I understood their feelings perfectly, and I hoped she would be caught soon.
Maximus: Zane hasn't let me show him yet, but Harlan didn't recognize it. He has a better grasp of the language, though, so he's trying to translate it so we can get an idea of what exactly Mammon needs from this book. The pictures don't show all the pages, so there's a possibility the pages Mammon needed aren't here at all.
Me: Fuck
Maximus: Yeah, exactly. I'll let you know if we find something. All good on your end?
Me: Yep. Haven't sensed anything since.
Maximus: Good.
Putting my phone away, I sighed, then gave Hella some more scratches.
When Codie returned dressed and ready, a glance at the clock told me we still had hours before our appointment at thepolice station, so I dragged him to the couch for some cuddles with Hella, hoping that would keep his mind off things.
Codie
The visit to the police station turned out to be rather anticlimactic. Officer Bailey met us at the reception, then led us to an office with a detective's name on the door. It was a mildly familiar name, and I remembered he and Officer Bailey had interviewed me at the hospital.
After we sat down, Officer Bailey explained what had happened. Of course, she didn't know I'd had first-row seats to the whole thing, and she kept most of it to herself.
"Would you be willing to look at their pictures and confirm they're the men who attacked you?" she asked, her blue eyes kind as she peered at me.
"Are they—are they dead in the pictures?" I asked, unsure if I wanted to see that massacre again. The images were still fresh in my mind.
"Not at all. They're photos taken from their social media."
I nodded, and she placed four pictures in front of me, making me flinch. Pythor squeezed my hand under the table, and I leaned into him.
"Yeah, that's them."
"You said there were five," she prompted, and I nodded.
"The missing man… he was the leader. I gave a description last time. He came to the gallery and everything. Did you look at the footage?"
She winced, then gave me an apologetic look. She looked sincere enough, but I didn't know if I believed it. "We've discovered the detective who'd been working on your case had messed with the evidence. He's facing an investigation, but inthe meantime we're doing everything we can to make sure your case is investigated properly."
I nodded, not really caring since Pythor had already 'solved' my case.
"If you show me more pictures from their social media, maybe I could identify the man. They could be friends, right?"
Officer Bailey nodded, then shuffled through the case file before placing some pictures in front of me. She started spreading them out, but I stopped her when there were just two pictures fully visible.
"That's him," I said, pointing toward the bastard's face, and she blinked.
"Are you sure?"
"That face has haunted my nightmares for almost a year. Yes, I'm sure," I snapped, and she dipped her head in a nod.
