Page 36 of Forensics of a Fable

“Thank you for your time,” Bel said, placing a comforting palm on the girl’s forearm. It was clear this family knew nothing, and with the mother’s sobs increasing, she felt it best to end the conversation. “Here’s my card. If you remember anything, please reach out.”

“Thanks, Detective.” She accepted the card.

“Is there someone we can call before we leave?” Gold finally found her voice.

“My sister. Please, I need my sister,” Mrs. Kolm sobbed, and Bel nodded. Some people liked to notify their family members themselves, but others couldn’t bear sharing such grief, leaving the terrible task to the police.

“Of course.” Bel got the number, accepting the burden of this family’s anguish, and notified Rebecca’s aunt. It was an unbearable conversation, but it ended with the aunt racing to be with her sister, which made the pain Bel endured worth it.

“I’m sorry,” Olivia said as they left the Kolm residence, and Bel noticed a photo of Rebecca with a cat hanging on the wall. Itseems she and Locks had the vet in common as well as college. “I realize you aren’t supposed to promise success, only your devotion to the case, but her sobbing? I couldn’t just let her cry. I kept picturing my mom, and it freaked me out.”

“I understand, but you can’t do that. If we fail, it will be that much worse for this family, knowing we swore to deliver justice and fell short.”

“We can’t fail, Bel. We can’t.” Olivia said with desperate resolve.

“I know.” Bel slipped into the driver's seat. “Especially since I suspect the killings aren’t over, but sometimes we do fail… I fail, and right now, we have little to go on. I don’t believe the victims knew each other, and it seems the killer didn’t choose them for who they were but perhaps for who they weren’t which only makes it harder to pinpoint motive. If we knew what connected these girls, we could track the killer easier, but we’ve only learned what doesn’t connect them.”

“They aren’t the right one,” Gold said, and Bel nodded. “We need to put an APB out on Foley Locks. We need to find him.”

They issued an All-PointBulletin for Foley Locks. He was their only connection between Rebecca Kolm and the Pentobarbital, and while deputies paid his friends and family a visit, Bel and Olivia searched for a connection between Locks and Alana Drie. By the end of the day, they had found neither him nor the link between the victims.

“I don’t know.” Gold ran her hands through her blonde hair, eyes flicking to her phone as a string of texts came in. “I realize he’s our best suspect, but I keep fixating on his house.”

“The filth, right?” Bel said, having the same thought. Whoever killed Drie and Kolm was meticulous in their cleansing ritual, yet Locks’ residence was a veritable pigsty. “I was thinkingthe same thing, but he could still be involved. Perhaps he’s the middleman.”

“You think so?”

“We won’t know unless we find him. He might be incredibly clean in his crimes, but not in his personal life. He might work with a partner, or he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and have nothing to do with this.” Gold’s cell lit up again, and Bel couldn’t stop herself from leaning over to see who was rapid-fire texting her partner. Ewan Orso’s name filled her screen, and she smirked, realizing she should have guessed that.

“Sorry.” Gold flipped her phone face-side down onto the table. “He wants me to come over tonight, but it’s my shift to work late.”

“I don’t mind if we switch,” Bel said. “Honestly, I doubt we’ll make any further progress today. This paperwork is all that’s left, and I can complete it.”

“Are you sure?” Olivia was already standing up. “I don’t want to slack on the job and leave you alone.”

“You aren’t slacking.” Bel smiled. “Go have a nice evening.”

“I just refuse to become that girl that ditches everything for a man.” Gold started to sit as if rethinking her escape.

“I put off going on a date with someone,” Bel said, staring at Olivia sitting at the desk Garrett used to fill, and a twinge of sadness stung her heart. She shouldn’t have put off going out with him, shouldn’t have blamed fear and work as a reason to avoid him. They weren’t soulmates, she knew that, but she cared deeply for her former partner. She hated that she never got to experience what could have been something special between them.

“I always found an excuse, and then he was gone. I missed my chance,” she continued. “So, go. Trust me, I’ll tell you when you start slacking, but it’s late. I’m fine, and I’ll ask Violet to walk Cerberus. Seize the good that comes your way because in thisline of work, sometimes putting things off means we lose them forever.”

Olivia studied Bel’s somber expression but wisely kept her curiosity to herself. “Thanks. You’re a good partner and friend. I owe you.”

“You owe me for this and for waking me up this morning,” Bel laughed. “Now get out of here. Have fun.”

“Night.” Olivia smiled, gathering her belongings.

“Just… be careful, okay?”

“Of course.” Gold surveyed Bel’s expression, her smile softening. “Always.” Then she dashed out of the station.

Bel spent the rest of the evening making calls and finishing the paperwork. Violet had enthusiastically agreed to babysit Cerberus, and Bel worked in comfortable silence until Sheriff Griffin kicked her out, forcing her to go home and eat real food and not the bag of chips she was eyeing in the vending machine. Her dad had gone grocery shopping for her and prepped some simple meals. Her fridge was stocked with microwave-ready dinners, and Bel shot him a thank-you text as she left the station. There had been countless nights when she was a teen that her father had worked late, and the Emerson sisters used to take turns making sure he had dinner to come home to. It seemed he was returning the favor.

Bel pulled into her driveway and paused at the sight of Violet’s car still parked before her cabin. She had asked her friend to stop by and feed Cerberus, but that was hours ago. She should have been long gone. Bel jumped out of her vehicle and picked up her pace, praying nothing was wrong.

“Violet?” Bel asked as she opened the door, hand hovering over her sidearm.

---