Page 5 of Autopsy of a Fairytale

“The Reale family founded Bajka,” Garrett answered. “They owned most of the town and the surrounding forests, but decades ago, the family suffered bankruptcy. The last living heir died alone in that house, a widower without children, and it took two weeks before anyone found his remains. The mansion has been abandoned ever since. It’s a massive estate, and in its day, I’m told it was magnificent, but now it looks like something out of a horror movie.” Garrett turned his attention to Violet. “Even in disrepair, that estate is worth millions.”

“Mr. Stone commissioned multiple pieces, but Mr. Lumen was currently only working on one,” Violet said, nodding to confirm that Garrett’s assumption was correct. The mysterious client was a man of exceeding wealth, and yet no one was aware of his presence in town besides the victim and his assistant.

“What piece was that?” Bel asked, trying to recall the unfinished furniture in the workshop, but all she could picture was Lumen’s pale and contorted body.

“Let me check.” Violet glanced back at her phone, nails clicking as she searched. “Here it is. The first piece Mr. Stone commissioned was a custom chandelier for his foyer.”

Vinegar drippeddown Bel’s chin, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. The turkey and cheese layered with tomatoes and a dressed salad sandwiched between crispy bread was heaven, and she ignored the mess as she leaned against the hood of her car outside the deli. She hadn’t eaten all day, and even though her stomach roiled in pain at the day’s events, she couldn’t stop eating.

“You got…” Garrett gestured at her chin and then smirked as he realized she both noticed the dressing dripping over her jaw and didn’t care. With a gentle wipe, he lifted his napkin and cleaned her skin, his paper-clad touch lingering a fraction longer than it needed to. Bel’s eyes snapped to his, and he read the wariness hidden in her gaze. He pulled his hand back and returned to his own sandwich, eyes staring ahead at the quaint street as he attempted to ignore the look she gave him. He tried even harder to ignore the scar on her throat. She rarely talked about why she moved from New York to a town that looked as if a picture book spat it out, but she didn’t need to for him to recognize that something horrible had happened to the gorgeous brunette. The scars on her neck trailed low beneath her shirt, and he often found himself wondering just how far the angry flesh descended. No matter how often he thought about it, though, he learned quickly not to stare. It made her uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Bel bit off an unladylike bite, hoping it would mask the flush his fingers bloomed on her skin. She wasn’t blind. Her partner was handsome. Like the brushstrokes of a sunset painting, he was bright and fresh and captivating. He was kind and intelligent, and she often felt his gaze when he thought she wasn’t looking. She noticed how he found excuses to touch her; the contact always delivered innocently with reverent respect. If she had been any other woman, she would have lost herself in his warm brown eyes long ago, but every time she considered letting someone in, the sting of teeth savaged her neck, and her emotions shut down. She hadn’t dated since the attack, her flesh still pink and angry with scars. Deep down, she knew they would mean nothing to a man who truly cared. She shouldn’t be ashamed, but she was afraid to let someone see how far down her torso they descended. By the way Garrett sometimes studied the visible ones, she guessed they wouldn’t faze him if she let him in, but she was apprehensive. The notion of anyone besides Cerberus touching her made her skin clammy. Not because a man had assaulted her in that way, but because the last hands to grip her body had fractured her bones, had begged to murder her. With a rough swallow, Bel forced both her bite and her anxiety down.

“Lumen has no next of kin to notify,” she said, desperate to change the unspoken subject.

“Griffin notified his lawyer, who is the executor of his will.” Garrett graciously humored her, not fighting the conversation’s new direction. “It should give us someone to notify.”

“On one hand, I’m relieved that we don’t have to go knock on someone’s door and ruin their day by telling them they lost a family member, but it also makes me sad he had no one. I don’t know what I would do without my family.”

“You have a big one?”

“Yeah.” Bel picked a tomato slice off the sandwich and shoved it into her mouth. “My mom passed away years ago, but I’m the youngest of six sisters.”

“Six girls? God bless your dad.”

Bel nudged him in mock disapproval. “He loved having daughters. We all turned out differently, though. I’m the only one who followed in his footsteps. He was the chief of police before he retired.”

“He must be proud of you.”

Bel shrugged. She had been afraid moving to Bajka would disappoint her father. Her sisters lived within a few miles of their childhood home, but New York was no longer the same. She couldn’t remain in the same city that her monster dwelled in. Her father’s disappointment was all in her head, though. He understood better than most what happened to a person when confronted with their own mortality. Her oldest sister practically threw a fit when Bel accepted the position here, but her dad silently helped her pack her apartment and sent her off with a kiss and a promise to always be a phone call away.

“I am going to the autopsy in the morning to collect the evidence,” Bel said, finishing her sandwich. “If I don’t get off my feet, I may fall over on you, so see you then?” The familiar turn their conversation had taken filled her chest with anxiety, and she steered it back towards work.

“Of course. See you tomorrow.” Garrett wiped his hands on his napkin before gathering their trash and throwing it into the garbage bin. “And thanks, Bel. Today was…” He gave up, unable to find the words to describe the hours he never expected he would have to endure.

“You’re welcome.”

“Hey.” He stopped halfway to his own vehicle. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”

“Never.”

“We see crime here, but nothing like this.” He ran his fingers through his hair, the brown strands sticking up on end. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m afraid of what this means.”

“You don’t have to worry.” Bel stepped forward, awkwardly patting his biceps before crossing her arms over her chest. “I feel the same, and I think we need to pay Eamon Stone a visit.”

“Agreed.” Garrett fished out his keys and sat in the driver’s seat, hanging out so he could hold her gaze. “Get some sleep, Bel. You look like you need it.”

“Thanks.” Bel rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Good night, Garrett.”

“Night, partner.” He sped off, and Bel turned her car toward her cabin on the outskirts of town. Her mind replayed the day as she drove, and by the time she pulled into the driveway, her stomach cramped uncomfortably. Thankfully, Cerberus was feet away, waiting to ease her stress with sloppy kisses and aggressive cuddles.

“Hi, baby beasty,” she crooned as she opened the door, and seventy pounds of muscle barreled across the floor to collide with her shins. He had taken her out a few times when she first adopted him, his sheer size and power embarrassing her at the park the first time he chased a squirrel when she wasn’t paying attention. She had been standing one second, and on her stomach the next, and when she had gotten home, she found grass stuck in her underwear. She still blushed when she remembered the expressions on the onlookers’ faces as she ate dirt, but she was now accustomed to his exuberance. Her legs braced for impact, and she caught his thick chest as he slammed into her.

“I missed you,” she murmured into his neck. “I wish you were with me today. I needed this.” He bumped her face with his muscled head, his toes tap dancing across the wood floor as he tried to get closer.

“Did you miss me?” Cerberus’ tail whipped through the air, a menace to anything in its way. “I love you too. Do you want to go outside?”

The dog almost knocked her to her tailbone as he shoved toward the door, and she barely hooked his leash on his collar before he flew out into the yard. He made a beeline for the woods, and, exhausted as she was, Bel let him force her into a walk.

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