'A murder is only an extroverted suicide...'

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Chapter 33 - The next shot

If Dennis wasn't his father, he would have had no qualms in outright calling him a dick.

It had been four months since Daemon had talked to Dennis and he still hadn't got a fucking answer. Dennis had been supposed to come the next day to talk to Rosalyn because there was no way in hell that he was ever going to let her out of the house until the whole thing was solved.

But Dennis had been called to Ohio because a mental institution had been burned down. Daemon had been extremely frustrated and had even threatened his father to stay and take care of this case but his father had deemed the other case more serious.

More serious? MORE SERIOUS? A murderer was loose and was threatening his wife and his father thought that some mental institution was more important? What happened to family before anything else?

He had kept in contact with his father throughout the four months and he had learned that his father had also brought the case to Rosalyn's parents' notice. But surprisingly, they didn't seem very surprised or even worried. Her father only seemed a little tensed but his tension cleared when her mother told him that Rosalyn deserved it. Apparently trouble coming to her wasn't a very new thing.

Daemon had been very pissed and had had half a mind to go to France and tell them exactly what he thought of them but Dennis had stopped him. Apparently Rosalyn was used to it so their opinion didn't matter anymore. He had also not brought up the topic to Rosalyn; he hadn't wanted to upset her even more.

And he thought that his family had been messed up.

Talking about family, Daegon was back in town as he had a semester gap and he spent half the day with his wife.

The other half of the day, he spent sleeping.

Daemon hadn't been very happy about that arrangement but after Rosalyn yelling at him for not even trusting his own brother, he had given up. Besides Stut...something was also there and he had a feeling that she would rather have her best friend with Daemon than with anyone else.

What with the whole brood of crazy ex boyfriend stalkers around.

And also, even if he would never admit it, the person he would trust his wife with the most in the world would always be his brother. Even if he unnecessarily flirted with her every moment. Something told him that Daegon only did that when he was there and was normal when he wasn't.

Dennis had said that he would be back in a week and if his father didn't return after that also, Daemon would most definitely go to Ohio and drag his screaming father by his legs, however inappropriate that was. He didn't care anymore that psychos were loose all over the country.

Though in future, he might.

Daemon sighed and stared at the file in front of him. He was always-s only doing that. He had completely searched for the murdered people's relatives but something told him it was pointless. All the people were completely randomly chosen.

The killer had him exactly where he wanted him. He was completely helpless now that the killer decided to go hibernating again.

No letters, no murders, no taunts; absolutely nothing. Rosalyn had told him it was a good thing but he wasn't convinced.

A loud peal of laughter was heard throughout the house; the most recognizable being that of Daegon and Rosalyn. Daemon glared hard at the shut door; those two would be the absolute death of him.

At least Rosalyn had got no more letters from that buffoon.

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"Seriously, you have to go now?" Rose asked disappointed to Daegon.

Rose and Daegon had remained stretched on the sofa and eaten popcorn while watching 'Mean Girls' while Deandra was sprawled on the floor like a cat, actively typing on her laptop. She only looked up to roll her eyes at something Daegon said or to stare disapprovingly.

Rose didn't think Deandra realized that he was just her brother-in-law.

"It is 7 already. I have a party to go to," Daegon said with a smirk, looking very pleased with himself.

"You know you could come with me. Nice weather and all outside... but wait, you can't," Daegon continued with a very annoying smirk.

Rose didn't hesitate to throw a pillow at him. She watched grudgingly as he walked out after putting*g his coat. His saucy wink didn't help in the least.

"He is just provoking you," Deandra said without looking up. Rose had no idea what happened to Deandra. Hr character had completely switched and it was like Alex' character now.

No boys, no fun, nothing... damn, she missed that little spoil sport.

"What is Daemon working on now?" Rose asked.

"You do know that this case is not the only crime going on in the country. He has to investigate some other crime also... though not willingly; nearly cracked the windows with his yells when he was given the case, the other day."

Rose sighed and got up.

"I'm going to rest for a while, ok? You also calm down, you have been working so hard for so long," Rose commented as she eyed Deandra's laptop with disgust.

Deandra looked up concerned but nodded and got up. Rose watched her pack her things. What caught her attention were Deandra's eyes. She was obviously thinking something very hard.

"Seriously, you are stressing too much," Rose said exasperatedly.

Deandra's eyes refocused and she smiled, "At least someone has to."

"I disagree. Daemon stresses enough for everyone in the country," Rose said dryly. She watched with satisfaction when Deandra laughed. It was so rare to see her laugh nowadays and it was extremely gratifying when she did show some emotion other than frustration.

"I can't let anything happen to you, Rose. I lost one best friend and I'm going to fight darn hard before I lose the next one," Deandra said as she stepped forward and engulfed Rose in a hug.

Rose hugged her back and felt the previous nostalgia of hugging her after their exams got over or if one of them had a bad day. All those days were over and long gone and she would never get them back. She should have cherished them at that time- she never knew exactly how much she would miss it.

"You won't lose me, Dea. And besides, I never knew you loved me so deeply," Rose said with a wink, "I'm married, you know."

"Loser," Deandra commented. Rose watched quietly as Deandra left the house. She smiled to herself as she watched her best friend drive away.

Rose looked around the house and felt a pang of loneliness hit her. It had been a very hectic four months with Daemon panicking every second, Deandra being so serious and Jace and Alec at work.

The sound of a book being thrown at the wall caught her attention. Yes, Daemon was pissed again.

Rose started walking up the staircase wondering what Daemon's problem was now. His mood was almost always sour. When she reached his door, taking a deep breath, she opened it.

A book missed her head by an inch.

"Can you please stop throwing these books around? I do not have the time or energy to take you to the hospital if you slip and fall on one of these pages," Rose said calmly as she picked neighboring book.

"Easy for you to say," he muttered as he pored through one of the books, "I can't believe they are giving me cases of theft and robbery... me... and theft and robbery. I could be solving any other cases..."

"You do realize that you haven't solved any cases in months, right? You'll probably be demoted or something," Rose commented as she took a seat in front of him.

"You will also be affected then," Daemon snarled. Rose lifted her hands as a sign of peace. Fighting with him was just a waste of time and energy.

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The ring of the telephone broke the monotone silence in the room. Rose jerked out of her sleep and blinked around in surprise. It wasn't a very big surprise that her neck hurt because of the painful angle at which she was sleeping in the chair.

Daemon didn't seem to find anything different as he casually picked the phone and greeted in his usual fashion.

"What do you want?"

Rose rolled her eyes and sat up straight. The difference in posture caused a sharp pain to rise in her neck and she massaged it silently. Her eyes moved to the clock above Daemon's head.

It had been 4 hours since she had come into the office.

"What?!"

Rose looked up at her husband who didn't look very happy with the news he received. He slammed the telephone down and got up quickly. Without a word, he moved around the room and picked his coat and made a move to go out of his office.

"Ok, enough with the ignoring. What happened?" Rose asked curiously as she watched him look eager to get out of the house like a bat out of hell.

Daemon tried to jerk her hand off but she was persistent. Murmuring something about wives and noses to be kept out of businesses, he turned to her and scowled.

"There is an emergency in a hotel in Adamsville, can you please go away?"

Ignoring the use of the word please as well as his shudder when he realized what he said; Rose followed him.

"What do you want now, woman?"

"I am fed up with being kept in the dark. I am coming with you now and I don't care," Rose said. Daemon didn't say anything as he continued walking towards his car.

The drive to the hotel was quiet except for Rose's questions and Daemon's unwavering silence. The tightening grip on the steering wheel was the only indication that Daemon could hear her.

The car was parked in a hurry and Rose had to run behind him when he rushed out. He just nodded at the people nearby who Rose immediately recognized as other policemen. She felt a pang in her heart when she thought about Aiden, Daemon's last assistant.

She followed Daemon as he went upstairs and briskly opened one of the hotel doors. He entered the hotel room and Rose saw his back wince. Without a word, he immediately exited the room and grabbed her arm.

Rose let herself be dragged to a corner, not because she wanted to but because his expression terrified her.

"Stay here," he said clearly looking into her eyes, "Now is not the time to show your immature foolishness or to prove to others that you are an idiot with no common sense."

Without having a choice, Rose stood flabbergasted as Daemon walked towards the room.

"I want to come also...."

"Woman, could you please stop being a whiny school girl for once and just listen? I do not have the time or patience to deal with your imposing character. This is my job; stay out it."

Rose flinched back. Daemon went back straight into the room without another word.

Well... that went smoothly...

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Daemon scrunched his nose as he entered the room. A very familiar disgusting smell lingered in the room but Daemon couldn't recognize it.

Trying to avoid the smell, he nodded at the detective who was looking around the room. Curiously, no one else seemed to be there.

"Spencer," the detective acknowledged and then pointed around the room, "The others left early because we could find little to no evidence."

Daemon nodded and said, "Then why was I called here?"

The detective sighed and said, "We were informed that a murder took place here by a letter sent earlier this morning. The letter did mention you."

Daemon blanched. A letter?

It couldn't be from him, Daemon thought as the detective produced the letter from his pocket and handed it over. With trembling hands, he opened the letter.

Salutations!

Ha, haven't done this in a long time. Feels like stretching my arms.

This might be a change because, honestly, I was getting tired of my old games and I had to wait this long, so might as well plan it differently. I dabbled with various ideas but then finally I thought, why not. It was her favorite subject anyway.

I'll make this easier on you but. You can find the victim in Eton Hotel in Adamsville. Room number 256. But that won't make this easier.

I would suggest think deeper but let's see. And you might want to talk to Daemon Spencer. He thinks he knows everything. After all, history repeats.

So, until next time.

The Reaper

PS – I really didn't want to kill her.

What?

Was this even the same person or was there some huge colossal mistake? Daemon blinked at the letter and then looked up at the detective who looked lost.

Of course... Daemon knew the story but the letter didn't even make sense then. The detective must be feeling like he was in some alternate universe.

"This comes under my section but you might want to call the other police men as well as the dog squad," Daemon said. The detective nodded and was about to exit before Daemon stopped him.

"There is a woman outside. You should ignore her and go. If she asks about coming, you can tell her that the consequences won't be worth it."

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Rose watched desperately after men after men and dog after dog entered the room. She wanted to enter the room badly but then what Daemon said struck her.

It really was none of her business. Besides, it might not even be about her stalker and even if it was; it would be better to leave the thing to the professionals.

She only had the experience of tons of Agatha Christie crime novels; not that of actual crime scenes. Of course, not counting the near death experience she felt when she came face to face with Sebastian, her ex.

Though Daemon's words did hurt and she was almost used to being ignored by him.

Some of the men who entered the rooms even glared at her; must be thinking she was some stalker or criminal. She watched the next hoard of men enter the room and the corridor was empty again.

Rose sighed and walked towards the door. She hesitated before knocking it. She would just tell Daemon she was going home before he got one of those panic attacks. It did surprise her that one day he cared and the next day he didn't even bother that she was standing out alone.

The door opened and one of the glaring men glared at her.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely. Maybe the rude thing was just a part of detective job.

"Um, my husband is in there and I..." Rose started awkwardly.

"I don't care; get out," he said and pushed her out. Rose stared appalled at him; had that man just pushed her out?

"What the bleeding hell is going on there?"

Rose watched Daemon appear near the door and not to her surprise, he scowled at her.

"Why are you still here?"

Rose raised her eyebrows. Ouch.

"I'll just get going then," she said softly and turned to leave when she smelled something. She turned abruptly and looked questioningly at Daemon.

"What is that smell?" she asked curiously. Daemon looked like he was about to snarl at her but he satisfied himself by just glaring intensely. The other police guy looked way too smug.

"Go away," Daemon said. The soft voice almost made him even scarier.

"I'm not joking, Daemon; I think I know that smell," Rose said and forgetting the whole thing about not interfering in the investigations; she pushed him away and entered the room.

Ignoring Daemon's absolutely furious expression, she asked curiously, "Why the hell does this place smell like the chemistry lab?"

Murmurs spread around the room.

"Ah; the chemistry lab..."

"Yup, hated that place."

"Used to avoid that place like plague..."

"Never stepped foot in it..."

Daemon looked like he had an epiphany.

"Chemistry lab?" he asked, harshness all leaving him, "Are you sure?"

"Duh," Rose said, "I lived in there half my life. I'm surprised you didn't recognize it."

"Why would this place smell like chemistry lab?" one of the men asked. Daemon looked around curiously and then saw the pail of liquid that they had previously thought of as water.

He stepped forward and was about to touch the liquid when Rose pushed him away.

"Are you insane, demon? First rule of the lab; don't touch anything. Are you sure you passed high school," Rose asked sarcastically.

"It must be some chemical then," a detective said. The dogs had steered clear from there. Rose stepped forward after shrugging off Daemon's warning arms and put her nose close to the liquid. She smelled it and her mind went back to the time in the lab when she hit her head near the flame cupboard.

"Sulphuric acid," Rose said softly.

"What?" Daemon asked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Rose said quietly looking deep in thought, "Where have I read something about it?"

"We will anyway search the room and see if there is anything other than the amount of blood around," a detective said. It seemed that the men had lost their interest. Daemon nodded and then continued to go with the others but not before watching his wife look suspiciously at the bucket.

"We found something!" the men said from near the drawers. Daemon walked towards them and saw him holding a packet of surgical blades.

Suspiciously, it was the same kind of packets used in the crime department for keeping evidences. Daemon took it and opened the packet carefully. After putting on a pair of gloves, he took out the blades and observed it.

It wasn't surprising to note that there were no fingerprints and not even a drop of blood.

Daemon looked around the room at the blood. Blood didn't have a smell but it almost felt like there was a metallic tinge in the air.

"Ok, the weapon for crime is here. The blood is here... what about the..." Jacob, the previous detective asked.

"Fuck..." Rose swore loudly. Everyone looked at her as she looked horrified at the blade in Daemon's hand and then at the room around her. It was like she hadn't noticed the blood around.

"What is it?" Daemon asked, almost feeling a little frightened.

"The killer used the blade to drain the blood from the body..." Rose said softly, looking almost traumatized.

Daemon's eyes widened in recognition as what happened finally registered in his mind. The other detectives still looked clueless.

"And then the body was put in the concentrated acid," Rose said with wide eyes, "Of course, sulphuric acid can destroy the human body without leaving a trace of evidence..."

Out of the corner of Daemon's eyes, he saw a detective hunch over and vomit. But Daemon ignored the disgusted expressions and walked forward. He put his arms around the fragile