Chapter 30: The Devil Deals the Cards, Part 10

Annabelle left quickly.

After all, she wasn't leaving anything behind, just a job. And they were going to keep paying her anyway. There was nothing to miss. She didn't even notify Blake Wright about this.

It seemed she had internalized that she was his servant, not that guy's.

Good, Sam thought.

More than anything else, he needed control. Only he should be able to put the pieces where he wanted. He needed to have control or happiness would slip through his fingers again. Now the main obstacle was the unknown killer. This probably wouldn't work, but it was better to try than to sit idly by. And then regret that it could have worked.

He wouldn't even have to do most of the work.

He had summoned an Acheri, pulling it out of hell. Apparently, the fewer he summoned, the stronger the remaining ones would be. But he didn't need it for a fight.

He had asked if it could do something more subtle and it had said yes, referring to him as prince at all times. He supposed it would sound flattering if his goal wasn't to become an absolute monarch.

What was this more subtle task about?

Following Annabelle, of course. Following her among the shadows, in case the killer took the bait. In case he decided to kill her opportunistically, as he had done with Chris and his family. He couldn't be sure that he would even bother because Annabelle wasn't a Wright. He didn't know the killer's motives in the first place.

The only thing he knew was that Rose had died after he had approached her with a plan.

It didn't necessarily mean anything. It might have nothing to do with it, but that's why he considered Christina, Violet, and Annabelle as possible next targets. Apart from himself, of course.

He hadn't even gotten along with Rose, as everyone knew, so the three of them were in much greater danger.

In theory.

He wanted to keep his sisters close and he wasn't going to move an inch, so Annabelle had been the only option.

Good bait, in theory.

So, as he was saying, the Acheri would follow her from the shadows. Waiting for the killer to attack, if he did. If it turned out that it couldn't do more subtle things and was discovered and hunted, it wouldn't betray him. It couldn't. And no one could link him to the demon.

He wasn't taking any risks.

Satan had assured him of that. Literally, it couldn't betray him due to his blood. If it tried, it would burn until there was no trace left. Neither on earth nor in hell.

A perfect plan.

Except for the very low chances that it would do any good. Meanwhile, he could try something with Violet and Christina. Not that kind of something, as tempted as he was to destress. Priorities. He spoke with them to meet in his room and in the end they met in Violet's room, which was closer.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Anyway, it was as private a place as his own, the point is that it was a room.

Christina sat demurely on the bed, smoothing her skirt, and discovered that she wasn't the only one thinking about the topic. It wasn't her bed, but it was a bed, and she was too red to be thinking about more normal things.

Oh, how cute, he thought. How can I not want to eat her whole?

She had thrown herself at him without thinking twice because of the shock of Rose's death, but now shame was getting the better of her. I took her first time, her first kiss. It was a distinct feeling of power, but not at all unpleasant.

I need control, he thought. Not for the first or last time.

Then the two of them sat down too. Violet looked strangely at Christina, but didn't say anything about it. At least for now. He wondered what explanation she had found for it, if she had. She couldn't imagine the truth in a million years. He smiled imagining the surprised face she would make when she knew the truth, it was only a matter of time. Smiling thinking that she would be more jealous than surprised.

"Well, any ideas?" Sam started this.

"Not exactly, but have you considered that Rose might have betrayed you?" Violet asked. "Telling everything to the detective, staging the farce with his help."

"Yes, I don't know why you asked her for help in the first place," Christina said. "I... I mean, we. We would do anything for you."

Stop messing up or Violet will start to suspect something's going on, for God's sake. He couldn't even convey that message with a look or she would definitely realize, however.

"I considered it, Violet. But I think it's obvious that it's a real corpse. Something went wrong. Someone really killed her. I don't see why Adams would play along."

"You didn't answer my question," Christina protested.

"Well, I asked for her help... precisely because Rose is Rose. If we got caught, the only important person to me who would have to face the consequences would be myself." He forced himself to frown. "Although, of course, I never suspected these would be the consequences."

"There has to be some way to catch the killer," Violet said. "And I wish I could say it's about letting the detective work. Clearly we can't trust him."

He hadn't been able to protect Rose, so everyone had lost some of the confidence they might have had in Adams, if not all. Rose's death had been a setback, but it hadn't only brought disadvantages.

"We don't know the killer's motives, we don't have any clues," Christina said. "It seems the only realistic plan is to wait for him to act again."

"Risking someone else dying?" Sam asked. "That we'll be next?"

"I didn't say I liked it, big brother."

"Yeah."

He couldn't say she was completely wrong, but there had to be a better way. He couldn't rest in peace until the killer was six feet under.

"You really can't think of anything?" Sam asked, insistently. "Any relative who might have wanted to get rid of her? Come on, we're talking about Rose. If she was kind to some people I never saw it."

He was taking a risk, saying something that might or might not be true, since he could shield himself by saying it was a joke, a mere exaggeration, if it turned out he was wrong.

"Quite the opposite," Christina murmured. "There are too many who might have wanted to... get rid of her, to climb a few more steps up the ladder."

Too many suspects was basically the same problem as having none.

That is, they didn't even know where to start.

After a relatively long discussion with many twists and turns, they came to the conclusion that they really couldn't do much more than wait for the killer to act again and be careful.

They agreed to sleep with him even without him having to convince them, for greater safety. In fact, they were excited. Even Christina. Her eyes sparkled at sharing the bed like in the old days, not like they had done a few days ago. As brother and sister.

He wouldn't be thinking of such innocent things, but well. Christina was a child. Even Violet was a child. He wasn't.

As for the killer, he wasn't willing to accept something so frustrating. Christina and Violet were absolutely right. They couldn't do anything until the killer acted, but what if he could force him to act? And he could. Only he could do it.

Rose's body was in the chapel while preparations were being made for another funeral.

He only had one chance.

Rose burst into the room suddenly.

A few adults fainted as soon as they saw her. Others chose to run away. Adams, on the other hand, looked at her as if she were the most interesting thing he had seen in his life. Would he believe she had risen from the dead? Could he accept it, even if he naturally resisted at first?

In any case, the important thing was the killer's reaction.

"I've come back to take revenge on my killer."

Sam had already used this trick. He didn't like having to resort to the same thing, but well...

Why fix what isn't broken, right?

The Devil Deals the Cards, Part 10: END