Devil in the Details

Chapter Twenty

"847, 254," the radio in Evelyn's cruiser crackled to life, calling out to her and Arthur. "Caller reports suspicious activity, 1687 Clearview Avenue. Caller states there is a man hiding in the bushes in her yard." Evelyn leaned up and put the car in drive. She was closer than Arthur. She was willing to bet it wouldn't amount to anything. Ever since the press conference over Jason's murder, they'd been slammed. It was her first night on patrol alone and she was expecting nothing if not nonsense.

Calls for anything and everything were coming in left and right. Kids walking home from their friend's house? Probably The Garret Falls Vampire. Dogs barking in the neighbors' yard? They've definitely been murdered. Tucker and Tyler had been called out to a woman's home because her son got up to get a glass of water. She had heard him moving around and called 911. They were stretched thin.

"847, received, en route." Evelyn said.

The address was near the graveyard and the oldest church in Garret Falls. Evelyn was familiar with the area. Her grandmother had taken her to church there when she was young. It wasn't far from the cul-de-sac where Anna Webber had been murdered.

The home was a small ranch, tucked neatly between two live oaks. Children's toys littered the porch and part of the yard. When Evelyn arrived, a woman in curlers and a bathrobe met her in the driveway. Behind her, two toddlers stood on either side of a massive German Shepherd.

"He's still there." The woman said, clutching her bathrobe and pointing toward the nearby gate. "He's between my azaleas and the house."

"Between the azaleas and the house." Evelyn repeated, drawing her flashlight, "got it. How long's he been there?"

"I don't know." She replied. She was pale, her hands trembling, "I heard something and looked out and saw him. Charlie kept him from coming in."

"Who's Charlie?"

"My German Shepherd." She replied, pointing at the dog standing with the toddlers. "Oh! Please be careful."

"Is anyone else back here that I need to know about?" Evelyn asked. The woman shook her head.

Raising her flashlight, Evelyn headed for the back of the house. Her upbringing made it impossible for her not to know what azaleas were. She spotted them immediately. There was no one there, and no one near the trash cans either. It was what she had expected. Movement caught her eye. She popped the light up to meet it, finding Charlie the German Shepherd in a large window. Shaking her head, Evelyn turned to examine the rest of the yard.

Charlie's loud bark alerted her to the other person's presence before she had seen him swinging something down on her. The homeowner screamed, silhouetted in the headlights of Evelyn's cruiser. She screamed again and made a run for the house. Evelyn twisted out of range and cringed as she heard the ping of a metal baseball bat hit the paver she'd been standing on.

"Police!" she shouted, turning to face her attacker, "drop it!" He swung again, and she blocked with her arm. It was all she had. Pain seared up through it, racing up to her shoulder and down to her fingertips. She saw red for a second, and her ears were ringing. Her flashlight fell and hit the pavement, spinning around and casting too many shadows. For a moment, she was stunned. A man just a bit taller than her stood before her. He wore all black, including a heavy black sweater with the hood pulled up. The mask had green skin and an overexaggerated widow's peak. The lips were as red as a clown's and there was entirely too much blood painted on the thing. It would have been comical if not for the situation she was in. Evelyn swore and swung her other arm around to hit him. He stumbled back as she reached for her taser. Her flashlight stopped moving, casting a bright light up on to her attacker like a spotlight.