Lucifer’s Wake

by Dylan Keefer

  “I’ll go get the knives for you,” he said. “It’s not trouble.”

  He started to turn. “You really haven’t changed. Always defying me and disrespecting me to my face. What a son.”

  Micha stopped and stood up straight. “What a son? Are you saying that because I have a great job and career? Are you saying that because I’ve solved cases and saved lives? Are you saying that because I live in Hawaii and have an amazing girlfriend? Are you saying ‘what a son’ because you’re proud of me or because I’m not Kyle and you still blame me for the accident?”

  Mary looked at him with mouth wide opened. She started to say something, but Micah held his hand up.

  “I’m done being angry that you never loved me like you did Kyle. I think it’s because I’ve finally found someone who really loves me knowing that I’m not perfect. I don’t have to worry about you anymore.”

  He opened the door. Kyle sat in his chair with the knives in his lap. Micah stepped aside as Kyle said. “Hey, mom. I agree with Micah. Love you. Talk to you soon.” Micah grabbed the knives and stepped inside. Mary watched as the door closed leaving her on the porch with the knives.

  Greg sat in the corner of the hospital room with his head in his hands. He had turned his cell phone off two hours ago. He just couldn’t handle all the calls from news outlets wanting a scoop or the others wanting to make threats and call him names. He just wanted Mya to wake up. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, and that he wished all of this had gone a different way. Still, she lay there.

  He remembered when they first started dating. She had been so full of life and vigor. They talked about dreams and goals, and he had to admit that he was intimidated by this girl who was determined to go change the world. She had more drive than anyone he had ever seen, and he—he was an accountant. Sure, he could say that he helped people, but in the end, what was his life really without her?

  The knock at the door caught his attention. Instead of doctors or reporters who sneaked past the hospital workers, it was Raine. She smiled as she turned the lights on.

  “Sitting here in the dark isn’t going to help, and I know that you aren’t sleeping because your guilty thoughts speak volumes.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not surprised. I feel like I’m breaking down. Nothing seems right.”

  Raine stepped into the room. “I think that might be because you really don’t have anyone who can understand what you’re feeling,” she said, “but I found someone who might just get it. Come on in.”

  Greg frowned when a tall, homely-looking black girl walked into the room. “Who is this?”

  The girl looked at Raine who nodded at her. She turned back to Greg. “My name is L.A. Your wife was trying to help me get back on the right path. I fought her on it, but she never gave up on me.” L.A. looked over at Mya’s body on the bed. “I just—I think it’s my fault that this all happened.”

  “It’s not,” Raine said. “It’s not either of your faults. Mya loved you both. She loved people in general, and she was going to fight for people. That’s who she is. So, believe in that and believe that she is going to pull through.”

  L.A. couldn’t stop the tears from falling. Greg took a deep breath and stood up. She jumped a little when his arm went around her shoulders but allowed him to hug her. Raine stepped back into the hallway and popped her earpiece back in.

  “Okay. Sorry, I was out for a moment. Where are we?”

  Chapter Eight

  He walked in through the door. He had a black tuxedo on and very expensive accessories. Tall, handsome, fit, and eyes that immediately searched the room. Rachel looked at Ty who nodded. The Mocker. She needed to get his attention as soon as possible. Then, her eyes caught hold of the woman that followed him through the door.

  “Guys, what does Brooke look like?”

  “Like a confident, shrewd bitch,” Raine said. Micah and Kyle laughed at her. Kyle’s cop friends looked back at Micah.

  “That’s your lady? I like her.”

  “She’s here,” Rachel said. “And I think that she is here with the Mocker.”

  “She’s graduated up,” Micah said. “I wonder if she was his buy when she was just one of the clients.”

  “Probably,” Kyle said. “Guys, are we in yet? Did you get access as a buyer?”

  “Almost there,” Eddie said.

  “Tell them that he’s going to start any minute,” Ty hissed to Rachel. She cleared her throat. Can’t believe I’m doing this.

  She grabbed Ty’s arm and pulled him close to her. “Come on.”

  His eyes looked up at them as they walked closer. Rachel’s heart beat faster as she gripped Ty’s arm a little tighter. She made eye contact with the Mocker and slowed down their pace as they came closer. She hoped that she looked innocent and vulnerable enough for him to stop them. They were steps away, and he didn’t say anything. He simply listened to another guy talking, but his eyes were still on them—on her.

  “What’s going on?” Raine asked. Can’t really talk right now, she thought. Rachel smiled sweetly and looked away. They passed by him, and Ty muttered to her, “Any better ideas?”

  Rachel turned to him. “Talk to me. Maybe straighten my hair. Something. Just wait for it.”

  “I don’t do that when I come here with clients.”

  “You do with me,” Rachel growled. Ty sighed and obliged.

  “You’re going to get us caught and…”

  “Ty.” Rachel felt like the lump in her throat grew out of nowhere. Ty straightened up and smiled.

  “Hello, sir.”

  “I haven’t seen you in a while. We thought we’d lost one of our most prominent sellers.” His voice was so rich and deep that it gave Rachel the chills. She felt his presence behind her. “Who is this beauty?”

  That was her cue. She turned around and looked at him briefly before blushing.

  “This is Rachel. She’s single and looking for some ways to pay off some student loans. Met her just a few days ago.”

  The Mocker looked Rachel over. His eyes lingered on a few areas. “Rachel.” He said her name in an introspective way. Raine’s voice came over the microphone.

  “Say this Rachel.”

  “You don’t look as scary as Ty made you seem.” She could feel Ty about to go off, but the Mocker seemed amused by this statement.

  “He told you I was scary? Ty.” She could see Ty shrug in her peripheral. The Mocker took her hand in his and kissed it. “I may have to do something to show you that I’m not.”

  “I hope so,” Rachel said.

  “They’re in,” Kyle said just as the Mocker walked away. Ty took Rachel and walked back to their table. Rachel followed Raine’s instruction and found Brooke in the room. The blonde was already watching her and did not seem happy about the interaction that was had with the Mocker. Rachel smirked and gave a wink, which Brooke seemed furious about.

  “She’s taking the bait,” Rachel said.

  The Mocker stood in the center of the room and waited for a moment until she was given the all clear sign to proceed.

  “So, the software on this stream is pretty sophisticated,” Eddie told Kyle and Micah. “It’s not going to allow us to record any of this, and it doesn’t allow me to change the views of the camera. It’s all controlled there.”

  “That’s okay. We just need them to know we’re watching,” Micah said. “You signed up under her name, right?”

  Eddie nodded.

  “The Book Club will now come into session,” the mocker said. “Will the first seller come up with his client.”

  Rachel watched as a girl who didn’t look to be older than eighteen walked up to the center near the mocker. The Mocker stood by as the seller helped her undress down to her bra and panties. It was disgusting. There was applause from everyone in the room while the Mocker announced, “the bidding will start now”.

  Rachel stepped away from the table she was at and moved over to where Brooke was standing. T
he blonde girl didn’t notice her at first. Rachel leaned in and said.

  “Saw you come in with the Mocker. What’s it take to get on his VIP?” Brooke turned slightly to see who was talking to her. Her eyes narrowed.

  “You need to stand by your seller,” was all that she said.

  “You want to keep him to yourself,” Rachel said, “I get that. It’s just got to be hard to do with all the pretty girls that come through. You must do something to keep him wanting you more.”

  Brooke turned and hissed, “You need to go back to your table.” Rachel nodded innocently.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I just. I heard that the Book Club is in danger of being shut down because of that politician lady, Mya Dornel.”

  Brooke’s face went white. She looked Rachel up and down. “Who are you?”

  “Just a girl wanting to make as much money as I can,” Rachel said softly and then walked back to Ty.

  Several girls went up and several got really high bids. Within thirty minutes, the girls had all gone up. All, except for Rachel. Periodically, Rachel would look over and wink at Brooke.

  “We have one last seller and client for the night. Come.”

  Ty looked over at Rachel, and she grabbed his hand. He led her to the center where they both stood. The earpiece was silent, and she knew they all hoped what they planned to happen would happen. The mocker spoke again.

  “It’s not often that I place a bid on one of the clients,” he said, “but I’ve met this one, and she has made it seem worthwhile. So, $4000 for three days is my offer.”

  He looked around at the computer monitor. The bid he made was already too high for the remaining buyers, but Rachel smiled when he saw a name flash on the screen with a bid of $5000 from a buyer named Mya Dornel. The Mocker’s face froze. The startled look made it possible that he wouldn’t have anything to say.

  Brooke stepped to a visible spot and made motions for him to put a pause on the whole thing. The Mocker cleared his throat.

  “We’re going to return in a moment.” The cameras went off. There was a small murmur that spread throughout the room. Brooke ran up to them.

  “What the hell is going on?” the Mocker said.

  “This girl mentioned Mya to me earlier, and her name flashes on the screen as someone bidding against you for her!” Brooke hissed. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Just someone who wants to see the person who put Mya in a coma come to justice.”

  “Ty, you damn fool,” the Mocker said. Brooke reached over and grabbed Rachel’s ear. The earpiece fell out of her ear and onto the ground where Brooke stomped on it.

  “I need a guard to come frisk both of them again!”

  The crowd really began to mumble as nothing was found on Ty, but the bra receiver and mic was found on Rachel. The Mocker leaned forward to Ty and Rachel. “Pretty good try. Were you hoping to come in and record me saying that I orchestrated the attack on Mya Dornel? That pest had to go because she was going to try and ruin a huge operation here. The Book Club isn’t just here. It’s international. It’s unstoppable, and yet, Ty, your stupid little whore, L.A. was the one who tipped her off to this place. You’re lucky we didn’t take care of her, too. But now, you’ve made me mad, and I’m going to make you wish you had never tried to interfere.”

  Rachel waited until he was done before smirking. “So, you just confessed,” she said.

  “Camera’s off and your microphone was found,” Brooke said. “You have no confession.”

  “I don’t,” Rachel said. “But you do.”

  Brooke frowned. She shook her head and looked at the Mocker. “I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

  “Which is also true,” Rachel said. “But Brooke, don’t you remember something happening before you walked in tonight? Maybe running into someone outside of the restaurant before you walked in.

  “How did you know I ran into someone?” Brooke said.

  “Because, that someone ran into you on purpose and dropped a little wireless recorder in there,” Rachel said pointing to the purse on her shoulder. “It’s still recording by the way, and—it’s been streaming our whole conversation.”

  Brooke looked down at her purse and gulped loudly. “You’re kidding,” she said. Rachel shook her head.

  “Go ahead. We’ve got police listening in, and I’m sure they’ve already got people on their way. You’re caught.”

  The Mocker glared at her, and then started to pull Brooke with him. “Everyone, tonight is over! Please leave quickly! Let’s go!”

  It was chaos as sellers and their girls went for the exit. The Mocker and Brooke disappeared into the crowd.

  “Come on, Ty!” They followed in suit with everyone else.

  “This is crazy,” Ty said. “Are the police actually going to be out there to catch them?”

  “I don’t know,” Rachel said. “I hope so.”

  Raine gave Rachel a big hug goodbye. Two days had passed to end out their time in Minnesota. She felt bad that they never really got to wrap the case up. The Mocker got away, but Brooke was caught. They expressed their thanks to Diana Richter who had been able to plant herself at the restaurant and planned her run-in with Brooke to reverse pickpocket her.

  The device was able to clearly broadcast back to Eddie and the others in the house where they recorded and saved the rant from the Mocker. The police now had proof and, coupled with the confession that Brooke reluctantly gave when she was questioned, all they needed was to catch the Mocker and track down the buyers. Kyle’s police friends were even going to talk to their superiors into having Kyle as part of the case as a consultant.

  “Be careful, Kyle,” Raine joked. “That’s how I got started with this guy.”

  “What’s going to happen to Ty and L.A.?” Micah said. Kyle shrugged.

  “Ty is probably going to get some jail time for his participation in the Book Club, but they may consider that he did help us out. The fact that they were auctioning girls to the highest bidder for sex, entertainment, and other things; makes it a very complicated case. As for L.A., she’s going back to the home with Macy and the other women. Hopefully, she’s going to stay on this path.”

  “The good thing is that the story has broken, and people really know what happened with Greg, too,” Rachel said. “We’ve just got to wait for Mya to wake up. It’s going to be a long road for both of them.”

  “I guess, we did what we came to do,” Micah said. “We wanted to figure out who did this to Mya, and we did. I just—I feel so empty and incomplete about it.”

  “Well, we didn’t get to kill the Mocker,” Raine said. They all looked at her in horror, and she laughed. “Not literally. I’m just saying it’s interesting how they reference the Mocker. To Kill a Mockingbird means to destroy the innocent, and that’s just what the Book Club was doing. Mya was trying to fight it, and if there is one flaw I’ve found in her, it’s that she tried to fight it alone. But we can continue to fight for her and fight for innocence. We can live like her and live to battle for others who seem hopeless and poor. This isn’t over yet.”

  She grabbed Micah’s hand. He smiled. “And I’m glad I get to do this with you.”

  “Me, too.” She said. “Me, too.”

  Chapter Nine

  Eli smiled as he was brought into the visiting area and saw Raine waiting for him. He walked forward to the table and sat down across from her.

  “A second visit in a month? What have you got to say to me now?”

  “I wanted to tell you that you are right,” she said. Raine shook her head. “You told me last time that my redemption was brought about because you broke me. You are absolutely right. I want to thank you for that. You taught me to fight when I had decided to hide, and that’s not how you change the world.”

  Eli sat back. There was no witty comeback. No devious look in his eyes. For the first time, Raine saw humanity there. She continued.

  “And I’ve decided to fight for you. I’ve decided that everybody need
s someone to fight for them, and that—includes you. I’m not going to get you out of prison. I’m not going to be your friend. I’m simply going to fight for the redemption inside of you, and you can’t change my mind.”

  She kept his gaze. He was completely silent, and Raine wondered if he was going to snap on her. There was a lot wrong with him, and anyone else that heard her right now would tell her that she was crazy and foolish; anyone else, but Mya. That made Raine smile.

  Eli raised his chained hands. “Guards, I’m ready to go back to my cell.” Raine watched as the two guards came to get him. There were no more words. He refused to look at her, and she knew that this was the start. The start of what, she wasn’t sure.

  The sand felt good beneath her feet. It was much needed. The wind. The sun. It was a perfect day. Malanie stood with her surfboard leaning against her. It had been a while since Raine had been surfing, and she was excited to let loose.

  “I’m not a pro at this like you. So, hold your laughter.”

  “Me? Laugh at you? I would never,” Malanie feigned innocence. “ʻAʻole loa.”

  “Right,” Raine said.

  The waves were decent. Raine paddled out to the water and tried to keep up with the college girl. She got into a rhythm of paddling, and then diving with the board underneath the wave. It was almost therapeutic as she thought about the waves that had been made since she had been in Hawaii.

  Paddle. Paddle. Paddle. Dive.

  Something still seemed to be missing. Raine felt almost fulfilled, and it was frustrating. Malanie stopped up ahead and waited for Raine to join her. They both sat up on their boards and waited for the waves.

  “You’ve seemed a little quiet lately,” Malanie said adjusted herself on the board. “Ever since you got back from the trip with Micah.”

  “A lot happened up there, I guess. They aren’t sure if Mya will actually wake up. I guess I want a happy ending, and sometimes, life doesn’t give it.”