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The Devil’s Liar






The darkness was the worst, but the smell came in a close second. The place standing before them looked like somewhere a person who did all of the cruel things this guy was accused of doing would live. The paint chipping from the outside, broken furniture sitting on the porch which had a few holes in it and the sounds of mosquitoes buzzing around some dirty dishes left outside as if the guy was in a hurry to leave.



Kevin slowly walked up the stairs, careful not to creak. They were so close to catching this guy, the last thing he wanted was for him to be tipped off by heavy feet. He looked over at Howie and nodded.



This was always the scariest part of the job, entering the devil’s lair as they liked to call it in FBI talk. When suddenly the demon you have been doing nothing but studying for months on end, staring at pictures of his victims, letting mothers of dead children cry on your shoulder as you begin to get a mental image of what a monster could possibly look like in your head, becomes real.



Kevin took a deep breath as he reached the top of the stairs, the smell coming from the moldy food almost unbearable now, as well as the constant buzz of the insects surrounding it. Maggots were crawling around the piece of bologna and Kevin had to quickly turn his head to avoid gagging.



Once again he took a deep breath as the rest of his unit moved forward surrounding the house and joining him on the front porch. Howie nodded and winked at his friend before knocking on the door.



No matter how many times he did this, it never got easier. The butterflies collecting in his stomach as he waited for the door to open, or even worse for nothing to happen at all. After waiting a few more minutes, Howie knocked again, this time more forcefully. “FBI! Open the door or we’ll break it down.”



Kevin looked at Howie and smiled knowing that he was just as scared. That made him feel better. His voice never quivered though.



Kevin bit at his bottom lip taking one final breath and saying one final prayer, he hated when they didn’t come to the door. He gave the nod and right then Howie kicked the door open and everyone went running in.



There was a lot of running around and Kevin made sure to never let Howie out of his sight. No matter what, he felt responsible that his friend was in this field. He had all but nagged him to death to join the academy. If anything happened to Howie he’d be devastated.



He quickly joined his friend as they continued side stepping the walls and aiming their guns when they came across an open space. It appeared that no one was in the house. The worst case scenario had happened but yet Kevin found himself letting out a sigh of relief.



Maria walked over to where Kevin and Howie were standing and gave an all clear sign which had them both bow their heads in disappointment.



“It appears as if we’re too late. It looks like he left in a hurry.” She said pointing to the kettle that was whistling on the stove.



“He might not have gotten too far, tell them to go sweep the perimeter. Maybe he’s in the neighborhood somewhere; I mean the pot isn’t black yet which means the water hasn’t dissolved.”



“Will do.” She said picking up her walkie talkie and barking out the orders she just got from the team leader.



Kevin took a closer look at his surroundings as his team started collecting evidence and taking pictures. Without a doubt this was the place, he was there and they missed him. He shook his head, not looking forward to telling the victims parents about this.



“Kev, we’ll catch him.”



Kevin looked over at Howie and nodded, “I know, let’s see what we find here.”



The whole place smelled like rotten fruit. It had a sweet yet pungent scent, like years of odor were being masked behind a few sprays of air freshener. Dusty pictures of saints were on the wall held in place by colored thumb tacks. Broken figurines were scattered in the fire place that had never been used.



Kevin walked over to the fire place and bent down and grabbed one of the figurines, “A Precious Moments angel… my mother collects these.” He said taking it and carefully placing it in a bag.



“Looks like the guy had a bad temper, maybe something didn’t go as planned and he took it out on the figurines.”



Kevin nodded, “Looks like it.”



“Detective Richardson, you might want to come and see this.” He followed Tom another one of his team members into the kitchen where along with some more rotten food on the table, there was a dead puppy.



“Looks like he didn’t only take it out on the figurines.” Howie said quickly looking away as Kevin approached the small Labrador. Its neck broken, “Sorry little guy,” He said before covering it up with a cloth and moving to the blood stains on the floor.



“We need to get a sample, see if it matches any of our victims.” He said ready to leave, his head pounding and his fingers tingling with anger. Sometimes he didn’t understand why he wanted this job; probably because of his father. Seemed like the thing to do, go into the same field that had claimed his father’s life.



“Has anyone checked the basement yet?”



“Yes we have a few people down there now.”



“Anything?” Once again Maria went to her walkie talkie and asked the same question Kevin had just asked.



“They think you should head down there.” Just what he didn’t want to hear. He nodded and walked down the rickety steps to the basement where once again a whole new smell filled his nostrils.



This time there was no mistaking that smell, it was death and it clung to the air as if he had walked into hell. There was only one small light hanging from the ceiling so when the cameras flashed, his eyes had a hard time adjusting, but still he could make out the silhouette he was walking towards, a body, and a small one at that.



“Jesus not another one.” Howie said catching up to his friend as he walked closer to the crime scene.



The blood was everywhere, all over the walls and the floor as well as smattered on the hot water heater. The other detectives were busy dusting for fingerprints and clues as Kevin squatted down next to the body.



“The puppy is probably how he lured the kid in the house you think?”



Kevin nodded staring at the young girl on the floor; she had to be just a little older then his brother Nick.



“Kids are too trusting nowadays.” Kevin ignored the statement and looked at the beautiful child whose life was taken too early.



“Do we have a name?”



“No, but I’m sure she was probably reported missing.”



“Make sure you get a name as soon as possible. We have to let her parents know so they can…you know.”



“Of course, we’ll be on that right away Kevin.”



“Thanks.”



Kevin took one last look at the little girl and placed his hand on her forehead, “I’m sorry we didn’t get here in time sweetheart but we’ll catch him for you and your parents. I promise.” Then he stood up and walked away carefully surveying the rest of the basement as he walked. His eyes were now adjusting to the darkness a little better and he was able to see a crumpled piece of paper which was lying on the floor. He picked it up and read it, it was nothing too big or revealing just a receipt from CVS for ironically enough, some cleaning supplies.



He placed it in his evidence bag and decided to make his way back up the stairs and out of the house. He needed fresh air, to be away from all the sadness.



As they got in the car to leave after spending a little too much time in the devil’s lair, Howie placed his hand on Kevin’s shoulder, “It’s not your fault you know.”



“D, if I had been a little quicker just a few seconds more she might have been alive.”



“Or she could have been dead for awhile.”



“He was supposed to be there, I mean I really thought we’d catch him today.”



“I know…but we’re closer now then we have been in months and it’s because of you.”



“Well I’ll be sure to tell that to that girl’s parents. I’m sure they will really care about that.”



“Kevin you can’t be so hard on yourself.” Howie dropped it knowing that whatever he said would be no use. He knew his best friend almost as well as he knew himself.



“You want to go out and get a drink or something? I’m buying.”



“No, that’s okay. I think I need to go home and wash this day off of me. Maybe some other time.”



“Okay…if you need me just call man.”



“Will do Howie. See ya tomorrow.”



Once Howie dropped him off, Kevin slowly walked into his apartment and threw his coat over the couch, ready to fall asleep on his feet. Raids made him mentally and physically exhausted, especially when they ended like this one did.



He didn’t expect to hear someone walking towards him; he was ready to pull his gun out of its holster when the female voice made him relax.



“What are you doing here Lisa?”



“Sorry…didn’t mean to startle you sweetie, I let myself in because I forgot my earrings last night.”



“Oh.”



She walked up to him and wrapped him in a hug, “Did you have a busy day today? You look exhausted.”



“Yeah, I’m ready for bed.”



“At 6 o’clock?”



“Yeah, I know pathetic right?”



He sat on the edge of the couch as she started massaging his neck, “I wish I could stay but I have to go. Your mom called by the way.”



Kevin with eyes closed smiled, “Did she leave a message?”



“No actually I answered the phone.”



“I bet she asked you a thousand questions right?”



“Pretty much… She thought she had the wrong number.”



Kevin laughed, when he had a day like this he wanted nothing more than to be with his family. It was the only thing that made him feel better, like chicken soup when you’re sick.



“She wants you to call her back right away and she also asked me to tell you to invite me over to the house sometime.”



He stood up and met his girlfriend face to face, she was beautiful but yet they hadn’t known each other all that long. The love factor wasn’t quite there yet, just the sex factor.



“I’ll have to do that sometime.”



“Yes she sounds like a trip.”



“She is… she’ll keep you on your toes that’s for sure.”



He kissed her, it was a slow, soft kiss but it didn’t last that long. “Call me later.” She whispered into his ear before nibbling on it.



“I will.” He watched her walk out the door and sighed.



Picking up the phone he stared at the portrait of his family taken a long time ago one Christmas. His mother sitting on a chair with his father right behind her, hand on shoulder proudly wearing his uniform. Next came the spiral down from Kevin to AJ, there was no Nick at this time. A school picture of Nick from Kindergarten sat next to the portrait. With an I love you Kevin written in crayon next to it. His named spelled horribly wrong.



“Hello?”



“Hey Brian what’s up.”



“Oh hey Kev…not much, was doing homework. You saved me from grammar God bless you!”



“Mom around?”



“Yeah she’s cooking hang on...MOM!!!”



“Jesus Brian why don’t you yell a little louder only half the neighborhood heard you.”



Brian snickered which made Kevin smile, sometimes he was so homesick yet he only lived about thirty minutes away.



“KEV’S ON THE PHONE...she’s on her way.”



“Thanks man…looks like its back to grammar hell for you.”



“Thanks for reminding me. Here she is.”



Kevin smiled at the thought of his mom cooking, maybe he’d invite himself over for dinner. On second thought he was too tired. Maybe a peanut butter sandwich and some milk.



“Kevin?”



“Hi Mom.”



“Hey sweetheart! Who was that girl who answered your phone?” Oh here we go, he thought as he shifted his position on the couch now lying down and kicking off his shoes.



“She’s a friend.”



“Who just kind of hangs in your place when you’re not home? Does Howie do that too? He’s your friend.”



“No Mom I don’t give Howie a key, I’m too afraid he’ll steal my towels.” She laughed.



“Well I’d very much love to meet your friend someday.”



“Yeah I bet you would.”



“Nick stop that…get your hands out of that cookie jar or I’m biting them off.”



Kevin laughed, “Honey I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow night.”



“Yeah okay…that would be nice.”



“It’s not entirely for pleasure.”



“Uh oh, what happened?”



“AJ…” Kevin sighed hearing his brother’s name.



“What did he do now?”



“He got caught smoking in the boy’s bathroom at school.”



“Smoking?”



“Yes, I’m so mad at him Kevin, I don’t know what to do. I have grounded him for life but I still think you should talk to him…you know your father used to handle these kinds of things.”



“I know mom, I’ll talk to him.”



“Thank you sweetie, you’re the best and you can bring your laundry over if you want.”



“Thanks mom, I love you.”



“I love you too baby. See you tomorrow and tell your friend I said goodbye.”



“She left mom.”



“Right sure she did.” Kevin laughed again.



“Bye”



Kevin sat up and walked into his kitchen, debating on if he wanted that sandwich after all and decided that after what he saw today he might never want to eat again. Instead he opted for a shower and bed.



As he closed his eyes visions of dead puppies and dead children popped into his head, making him toss and turn all night long.

This is a new kind of story for me so I hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know what you think and i'll be back to update it soon.