Devil May Come

Jess gave a snort. "Personally, I think Ouija boards are bullshit, but if you want to do this, I'll join in."

Lin instructed the girls to place their fingers on the planchette and Karen closed her eyes, concentrating hard. The room grew quiet and even the traffic noise outside seemed to fade away.

"We wish to speak to the spirit of the house," Karen intoned ominously. Jess choked back a giggle. Beneath their fingers, the planchette twitched.

"It moved!" whispered Lin hoarsely.

"That's because Karen's moving it!" Jess whispered back.

"I am not!" Karen shot back. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Is your name George?"

Slowly, haltingly, the pointer moved beneath their fingers, first toward the YES circle, then towards the NO circle, where it stopped just short.

A fit of giggles came over Jess which she tried but failed to suppress. "Is that a maybe?"

Undeterred, Karen pressed on. "What is your name?"

For a long moment, nothing, then the planchette moved from letter to letter, slowly at first then picking up speed. Excited, Karen and Lin read off each letter. When the pointer stopped, Karen wrote the letters on a pad of paper and she and Lin examined them closely, confused by what they spelled.

"Mike Hunt? Who's Mike Hunt?" asked Lin.

Karen rolled her eyes and turned to Jess who was now shaking with silent laughter. "Damn it, Jess! This is serious! Stop fucking around!"

Unable to contain herself, Jess rolled on the floor, her laughter now filling the room. George walked up and sniffed concernedly at her head as tears rolled down her face. Indifferent, he sauntered into the kitchen. Karen and Lin sipped their drinks, waiting for Jess to control herself, and when she calmed down, Jess apologized for the prank. The clock in the parlor struck midnight.

"Shit! I didn't realize it's so late," said Jess, sitting up. "I have a 9AM lecture tomorrow. I promise I won't mess around anymore."

Once again, the girls placed their fingertips on the indicator and Karen asked for the name of the ghost. They watched as the planchette moved from letter to letter, pausing here and there, spelling out B-C-U-S-N-I-U. Frowning, Karen shook her head at the gibberish. They tried several more times without success, and now each was starting to yawn. Jess felt tired but Lin and Karen each looked exhausted. They gave up and put the game back in its box. Jess went to care for George while the other two went to their rooms. George sat and watched while Jess scooped his litter box.

"I don't know about you, George, but I don't think this house is haunted," muttered Jess as she bagged the waste.

She turned to go but stopped when she heard George's low growl. Turning, she saw the cat was staring at a blank wall, his hackles up. Jess walked quietly up and examined the wall in the dim light. It looked and felt like an ordinary brick wall. Pressing her hand against it, she was surprised at how cold it was. In fact, this corner of the basement was cooler than the rest and drafty. George stopped growling and proceeded to groom himself.

"You gotta stop doing that." Jess went up the stairs to take out the trash.

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Once back inside, she checked the locks on each door and window before going upstairs. From the crack under the door Jess saw Karen's light was off and figured she was a little wiped out from their earlier encounter. Jess got ready for bed and crawled under the covers next to the bat. For some reason, she lay awake for a long time. The wind outside had picked up, making the house quietly creak and pop. Occasionally, her window would rattle in its frame when the wind suddenly changed direction. Jess fell into a meditative state, her mind wandering from topic to topic, not really concentrating on any one thought.

She'd aced her exams last week, ensuring her scholarship was safe for another semester... she needed to buy a heavier coat, winter's coming... boots, too... another Thanksgiving with the parents; mom was sure to ask about a boyfriend... maybe Karen could come... we could make love in the pole barn... have to watch out for rats... good having George around, keeps the rats inside the walls...

A faint thud brought her back from the edge of sleep and she listened closely. Nothing except old house sounds.

But then there was a creak, different from the usual creaks, as if someone had stepped on a loose floorboard. Maybe Karen or Lin was up to use the bathroom. The wind died down as she listened, the house quiet. There! There it was again! Jess sat up, the bat in her hands, waiting. A faint moan came from Karen's room and Jess was out of the bed quickly and moving stealthily into the hall. Outside Karen's door she turned her head to listen better, one hand hovering over the doorknob, the other tightly gripping the bat. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, threatening to betray her. Karen moaned again and Jess burst into the room, snapping the light on, the sight stunning her.

On the bed in front of her was Karen, naked on all fours. Behind her was a thin, pale man, his hands on her hips, his cock buried deeply in Karen's pussy, his face a mixture of surprise and anger. With a guttural cry Jess charged, the bat raised, fully intending to knock the intruder's head off. She started to swing but the man's foot shot out, catching her square in chest, driving her back into a heavy oak dresser. Jess fell to the floor, gasping for air, her body wracked with pain. The man leapt from the bed and to Jess's surprise, ran for the closet.

Still lying on the floor Jess swung as hard as she could, the bat connecting with the intruder's shin. He tripped and fell headlong into the plaster wall, crumpled to the floor and was still. With great effort, Jess pulled herself up and cautiously approached the man, ready to hit him again if he showed any sign of movement. He appeared to be unconscious, a thin trickle of blood running down his face. Jess looked at Karen who was now lying on her side, her eyes wide open but blank, as if staring off at a great distance. Searching through the dresser, Jess found some belts tie up the stranger who stirred slightly. She quickly bound his hands behind his back, then tied his feet together pulling them up and hog-tying him. Only when she was finished binding him did Jess realize why the man looked so strange. Every part of his body, his arms, legs, chest, scalp and genitals were completely hairless. Even his eyebrows were gone. Spooked, she went to check on Karen.

"Karen! Karen! Are you all right?" Karen just stared into space.

Jess picked up the cell phone lying on the nightstand and dialed 911. Within moments she was describing to the operator what happened and police and paramedics were dispatched.

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"Has he said anything?"

"Not a word," said the detective behind her.

"Who is he?" After fourteen hours at the hospital and now the police station, Jess felt more exhausted than she had ever felt in her life. She found the whole process draining.

"Quite honestly, we don't know yet, but we do have an idea of who he might be," said Detective Branson holding out a paper cup filled with coffee.

Jess declined the coffee as her stomach lurched back and forth. Since discovering the man in the house she'd had thrown up several times. The detective set the cup on the table.

"About twelve years ago there was a student, a chemistry major by the name of Jared Lampert, who we wanted to question. He was busy cooking up a new kind of date rape drug and selling it to frats. We didn't catch onto him until he made a bad batch that sent 5 girls to the hospital in one night, 2 of whom died. Before we could talk to him, he disappeared and left a suicide note behind, saying he was going to throw himself in the river over what he'd done. No body turned up so the case was never closed and we kept our eyes open watching for him."

Jess looked through the one-way glass at the man, now clad in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffed to the table. When the police arrived at the house Jess soon discovered why the man had run for the closet: inside was a concealed door that led to a passageway connecting the second floor rooms. Others were found, including hidden staircases and peepholes. There was even a tunnel leading from the basement to the detached garage out back. The house was riddled with a hidden network of secret corridors. She shivered and turned to Detective Branson.

"Is that what was wrong with Karen and Lin? Date rape drugs?"

"Quite possibly. We found a lab setup in the apartment over the garage along with some lab notes. We think the drug was slipped into your drinks last night, which, luckily for you, you didn't drink. Of course, we won't know for sure until we get the blood results from the hospital," he admitted, "but based on their conditions last night and how this morning they had no recollection of what happened, it's a safe bet they were drugged."

The drinks. Realization dawned in her mind and Jess sat down wearily, and told Branson about the free drinks they got at the dance club last week. The detective wrote in his notebook and interrupted her occasionally to ask her to repeat some detail. When she was finished the room grew silent.

A second detective entered the room and handed Branson a file. He opened it and scanned through the pages, making a note here and there. The second detective introduced herself to Jess as Detective Maher, a tall, striking, brown haired woman in her early thirties. She turned back to Branson as they quietly discussed something in the thick file.

"Well," Branson announced, "the pieces are falling into place. It turns out the missing chemistry student, Jared Lampert, is the nephew of Cecilia Noble."

"Aunt Cecie?" Jess asked, incredulous.

"The same. We're having the Grand Rapids police pick her up now."

Jess went back to the glass to look at lampert, hardly believing this was all real. Deep down, guilt gnawed at her insides. "I should have known," she said softly.

"Known what?" asked Detective Maher, coming up beside her. Up close, Jess saw she was exceedingly beautiful.

"At times it felt like someone was watching me in the house - Karen felt it, too - and then there were the times the cat acted really weird. I should have put it all together." Jess felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and was grateful.

"It's common for victims of sexual assault to blame themselves, but the simple truth is, it's his fault alone," Maher said, pointing a thumb at the prisoner.

Jess shrugged and nodded, staring at the stranger, and when his head turned just the right way, she was struck with a feeling of familiarity, as if she had met him before. His eyes looked up at the security camera mounted to the ceiling and he smiled. A chill ran through Jess. He was the devil with the bad breath who hit on her at the Nuthouse! Turning, she related the story of the party to the detectives. Maher and Branson both scribbled in their notebooks as Jess spoke.

"You were fortunate that night, too," Maher observed.

Branson took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "We're going to need a complete accounting of what took place since you moved in, where you girls went, what you did, everything," he said.

Bracing herself, Jess sat down and told her story, including all of her sexual exploits, to two complete strangers.

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"I need to go back to the house and get some things," Jess said. "And then I'd like to visit Karen and Lin at the hospital."

Branson and Maher exchanged looks. "I'm sorry, but they were discharged about an hour ago. Karen went home with her father and Lin left with a male friend," Detective Branson informed her.

Jess nodded - Matt probably picked Lin up. She'd mostly wanted to see Karen, to make sure she was all right. When she last spoke with her at the hospital this morning Karen was distant and withdrawn. Obviously, she needed some time and space and Jess would give it to her.

"I'll take you to the house," offered Maher. "And we've arranged for you to stay at a hotel for the next couple of days while you decide what to do."

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A police cruiser was parked in front of the house, crime scene tape tacked across the front doors. Jess went to her room to collect some clothes. Suddenly overwhelmed, she sat on her bed and wept quietly. Through tear stained eyes, she could make out the peepholes in her room, each one marked with a red evidence tag and numbered. Jess wondered how much he saw. Did he watch as she masturbated? Did he watch as she and Karen made love? Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes and saw Detective Maher standing in the doorway.

Jess pointed at the peepholes. "How did all this get here?" she asked.

"We think Hugo Miller, the bootlegger, did this when he rebuilt after the fire, wanting a way to escape undetected if the police raided his house."

Jess nodded, deep in thought. "I want to see the apartment," she said finally.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jess."

"I need to see!" she shouted, her voice shaky with anger. Seeing the look of determination in Jess's eyes, Maher relented and reluctantly led her out back.

The apartment over the garage was filthy and cramped with tables cluttered with chemistry apparatus. A tattered twin bed was shoved in the corner and empty cardboard boxes were stacked in front of the windows to give the illusion, from the outside, that the space was used for storage. Jess wandered about, trying to figure out what kind of person would live in such conditions. Not finding any answers but satisfying her curiosity, Jess turned to leave when her foot caught on a loose floorboard, dislodging it. She was about to kick the board back in place when she caught a glimpse of green underneath. Kneeling down, she saw it was a tattered notebook. Detective Maher eased Jess aside and donned latex gloves, pulling the notebook out. She laid it on a table and opened it, reading slowly. Jess let Maher work in silence and wandered over to examine some test tubes. She turned around when she heard Maher gasp.

"What is it?"

Maher looked pale and shook her head in disbelief. "Jess- it was Jared who set fire to your house on Ann Street."

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The unusually hot spring sun beat down on Jess as she walked towards her apartment. She'd been gone all day and was sure George would be frantic by the time she got home. Rescued from the house, George was her only companion nowadays, and she was thankful for him. She didn't judge him and he certainly didn't judge her.

As she passed Ann Street, she looked up in the direction of her old house. Apparently, Lampert had hit on her at a bar that night, offering her a drink and asking to dance but Jess had shot him down. The sting of rejection was too much for him and he followed her home. In a fit of rage, he set fire to the porch couch, killing the old, sweet couple in the process. Jess shook her head and moved on, lost in her thoughts, not hearing the dark blue sedan that sidled up alongside her as she walked. The passenger window scrolled down and a voice called her name. Jess stopped, leaned down to look at the driver and smiled.

"Hey, Detective Maher."

"I told you, call me Rebecca," Maher said. "Get in. I've been looking for you."

"Sure thing, Detective Maher," Jess teased, climbing in the unmarked car. The air conditioning was cranked up to offset the hot day. "So, what's up?" she asked as Maher drove on.

"I just wanted to check on you, see how you're holding up. You okay?"

Jess grimaced and looked out the window. "A good as I can be, I guess. The DA has prepped me pretty well, but ... Lampert saw and overheard a lot, I bet, so I'm not too keen on facing his defense attorney. I'm certain I'll have to answer all sorts of questions about my sexual orientation and how sexually active I am, in front of my parents (who I begged not to come but won't listen), TV reporters and a bunch of people I don't know." She barked a bitter laugh.

"You don't have to testify, you know. He pled guilty to four counts of second degree murder so he'll be locked up for a very long time," Rebecca noted.

"I know," Jess sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest and rubbing her eyes, "but I want everyone to know just how sick and twisted he is and to make sure he never gets out."

"Well, maybe it's no consolation but what you're doing takes tremendous courage, and I admire you for it," said Rebecca, turning onto Jess's street. She pulled up in front of a low apartment building and put the car in park. "Have you heard from Karen or Lin?" she asked.

Jess gave a faint smile. "I saw Lin last week, she's sorry about not testifying but won't change her mind. On the bright side, she's living with Matt now and things are great between them. I expect he'll propose to her sometime this summer. Karen..." Her voice trailed off. Jess shook her head and shrugged. "Her dad pulled her out of school last fall and enrolled her in some small college close to home where he can keep an eye on her. I haven't spoken to her in awhile. She's not testifying either." Tears filled her eyes and she looked down at her trembling hands. "God, I feel so alone right now," she confessed, openly crying.

Rebecca's arm wrapped around Jess and pulled her close, comforting her as Jess cried on her shoulder. For several minutes she wept, letting every emotion she'd kept bottled up the past six months pour out. Once she had herself under control, Jess sat up, wiping her eyes and whispering her thanks.

"You're not alone," Rebecca said kindly. "I'll be right there every step of the way." She looked out at the apartment building and smiled, "And maybe someone else, too. It looks like you have a visitor," she indicated with a nod of her head.

Jess turned. Sitting in the shade on her front steps was Karen, her arms hugging her knees tightly. Karen stood when she saw Jess step from the car, and after a few hesitant steps, ran to Jess and hugged her tightly.