Page 41 of Forensics of a Fable

“No, she didn’t.” Ewan shifted his weight, and Bel had the distinct feeling he was hiding something. “I didn’t see her last night.”

“What do you mean?” Bel asked. “She took my early out so she could meet you.”

“We had dinner plans.” Ewan stared at her with an expression that she couldn’t place. He almost looked shocked to see her, but she couldn’t imagine why. “But Olivia stood me up. I tried calling her, but she blew me off.”

“No, she left to see you. I watched her leave the station,” Bel argued.

“Well, she may have left the station, but I never saw her.” He shifted slowly, as if he was trying to position himself to hide something.

“Do you mind if we look around?” Bel stepped sideways to test her theory, and just as she predicted, Orso moved with her.

“Why? She isn’t here, and you don’t have a warrant.”

“Do we need one?” Bel asked, moving again to watch his subtle shift. He didn’t want her looking toward his bedroom. Was Gold back there? Was she alive? “Olivia is your girlfriend, isn’t she? Aren’t you concerned about her welfare?”

“We only just started dating.” He said it casually, but Bel could tell his nonchalance was to downplay his true attachment to the woman.

“Still, it seems you like her. Let me look around. You don’t have anything to hide, do you?” She stepped forward in a challenge, and Griffin stepped behind her in support.

“I… um… no.” Orso rubbed a hand over his head in defeat, that shocked expression lingering in his eyes. “She isn’t here, though.”

He moved to allow Bel passage, and she rushed deeper into the single-story home. The sheriff stayed with Ewan, but despite his odd behavior, he was telling the truth. Olivia wasn’t there. Nothing pointed to a woman having been there at all. No feminine clothes, no toiletries. Only one of each type of dish sat loaded in the dishwasher, and a solitary bath towel hung in the bathroom. Bel ran her fingers through her hair and looked around with a lost expression as she stood in the doorway toEwan's bedroom. Only one side of the bed was rumpled, the rest perfectly smooth, signaling the man had slept alone. Her partner wasn’t there, and she had no idea where to search next.

Bel turned to leave when a small bowl on the dresser caught her eye. It currently held Ewan’s keys and wallet, but they weren’t what captured her attention.

“Sheriff!” she shouted, moving closer to stare at the object, and five seconds later her boss raced through the door, dragging a panicking Ewan with him.

“What’s wrong?”

“The hiker,” Bel said. “He was missing his ring finger.”

“What?” Griffin stared in confusion, but Orso’s eyes turned cold, their violence vaguely familiar.

“The hiker the bear killed.” She pointed to the object in the bowl. “He was missing his right ring finger. His body was destroyed, but every body part was accounted for save that one finger.”

Griffin moved closer, following Bel’s directions, and he sucked in an alarmed breath before tightening his hold on Orso.

“I assumed the bear ate it,” Bel said, turning her gaze back to the ornately carved signet ring coated in dried blood sitting beside Ewan’s keys. “I think I know what actually happened to it.”

Ewan twisted in Griffin’s grip in an attempt to flee, but both Bel and the sheriff barreled into him, pinning his massive frame against the wall.

“Listen, it’s not what you think,” Ewan said.

“Is that why you just tried to run?” Griffin pulled out his handcuffs.

“I can explain.”

“Save it for the station. You have the right to remain silent.” Griffin recited the Miranda Warning. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“I foundit on the ground. I had nothing to do with the hiker’s death,” Ewan insisted, still eyeing Bel with an odd expression despite the change in setting.

“So, you found a bloody ring in the woods but didn’t think to call the police?” Sheriff Griffin leaned over the interview table with an ‘Are you serious?’ expression. “You didn’t stop to consider that might be pertinent to our case?”

“It wasn’t my smartest idea,” Ewan said, and Bel had the distinct impression he was hiding something. She just couldn’t decide if it had to do with the case, Olivia’s disappearance, or something else entirely. “But I didn’t kill that hiker, and I didn’t kill those girls. I also have no clue where Olivia is, and I’m worried. Trust me, If I knew where she was, I would tell you.”

A knock interrupted them, and Bel and Griffin stepped outside the interview room to speak with the waiting deputy.

“We found nothing at Orso’s house,” the man said with defeat. “The place is clean.”

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