Page 27 of Girl, Haunted

‘And brought it back here, because…?’

‘Because I couldn’t sleep, so I’ve been up since four AM.’

‘Doing what? Swiping evidence?’

‘Amongst other things.’ Luca hurried over to the nightstand and picked up a stack of papers sitting beside the bear. Ella hadn’t noticed them until now. ‘Look, I got thinking about ourfuzzy friend here, so I thought I’d meet him in the flesh. Or the fur.’

Ella's bullshit detector went into overdrive. She'd seen that look on Luca's face before. It usually preceded either a breakthrough or a car wreck. Sometimes both.

‘So you went to the precinct, got this bear – then what? Made friends with him?’

‘Oh, we got very close. Uncomfortably close.’ Luca spun the bag around to show the teddy bear’s back, complete with zipper running down its spine, currently open. ‘I unzipped this guy. Violated him.’

Ella scratched her head. ‘Why?’

‘Because, dear Watson, this isn’t your average murder teddy bear. It’s a prop.’

‘A prop?’

‘Look.’ Luca brought the teddy bear over and fidgeted with it through the plastic. He got enough leverage to turn the bear’s fabric inside out. ‘See this little brand name in here?’

Ella found her glasses, peered closer.

Now Luca had her attention.

The label inside said Distortions Ltd.

‘Distortions? Who are they?’

‘Well, my online searches tell me they’re a prop company in California, but we know our killer’s a local, right?’

‘Right. So…’

‘So I dug into what companies they supplied. They were a little vague, although they were quick to shout that they supplied Lionsgate and Miramax.’

‘Uh,’ Ella stuttered. ‘Probably best not to shout that anymore.’

‘Yeah, so dead end there. But I went the other way. A lot of companies declare their suppliers in their terms and conditions,and I found this little nugget.’ Luca pushed a sheet of paper in front of Ella’s nose. It looked like a legal disclaimer.

‘You want me to read legal jargon? At this hour?’

Luca pointed out two sections. ‘This is the TOC for a company called Gallows End. Another haunted house in Oregon. And look who their main supplier is.’

Ella followed Luca’s fingers.

Supplier Acknowledgment: Gallows End Ltd. hereby acknowledges Distortions Ltd. as the primary supplier of all animatronics, props, scenic materials, and design elements for use within its premises and attractions, including but not limited to all installations provided during the operational period.

'Holy hell, Hawkins,' Ella breathed. 'This is...' She fumbled for words, her sleep-deprived brain still playing catch-up. Pride and jealousy arm-wrestled in her gut. Pride that her man was sharp enough to spot this connection. Jealousy that he'd beaten her to the punch.

How long had it been since she'd had this kind of fire in her belly? This drive to chase down leads while the sun was still sleeping?

Maybe she’d lost that edge. Too many long nights and close calls and faces that all blurred together, killer and victim alike. But Hawkins? He was still hungry.

‘Told you, couldn't sleep. Figured I might as well make myself useful.’

‘Useful? This is... well, it's something alright.’ She paused. ‘But I'm not quite connecting all the dots here. You think our killer is someone from this Gallows End place?’

‘Well, we know it’s not one of the actors at the Screamatorium. I checked them out and none of them fit the physical profile of this guy. Plus, he was part of that group of punters.’

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