Page 105 of Evidence of a Folktale

“So, it took a lot of digging, but I finally located a cold case that matches the torn autopsy report in Warren Rouge’s mouth,” she continued, turning suddenly solemn, and suchintensity filled her gaze that Bel’s stomach clenched in anticipation. “This is it. This is why he’s killing.” She twisted her monitor so they could review the records together. “Six years ago, one year before the show became a viral sensation, a Jane Doe approximately in her seventies was found murdered in the snowy woods of the parks that line the Palisades Interstate Parkway just north of New York City.” Lina clicked on the crime scene photos, and Bel almost threw upat the sight.

“What big eyes you have,” she whispered as she traced the image of the snow-dusted pine trees. The same pine trees that were printed on the contact lenses inserted into Gwen Rossa’s eyes.

“They line up exactly.” Lina held up a print of Rossa’s negatives, and the landscape from the police report matched it with beautiful uniformity. “There’s no official time of death. Her body was discovered in January, but they don’t know when she was killed. It was particularly cold that year, and with the freezing temperatures, she could’ve been there for days orevenweeks.”

“What big ears you have,” Bel said. “That’s why the weather report didn’t mention a date just a month.”

“I think so,” Lina agreed. “Jane Doe was found stabbed five times in the abdomen, each wound made with the same weapon, but driven into her body with different force and angles. The medical examiner on the case questioned if that meant more than one assailant.”

“What big teeth you have,” Bel said, referencing the torn autopsy report in Rouge’s mouth. “Five stab wounds. Five killers. Five murders here in Bajka.”

“Well, technically four.”

“But the fifth is coming. The killer isn’t done, but he isn’t targeting the show. He’s getting revenge.”

“That was my first thought,” Lina agreed. “But I can’t imagine why members of the cast and crew,especially powerful players like the producer and director, would murder a woman.”

“For a deal,”she whispered to herself. What a big nose you have. The show’s renewal article shoved into Rot’s nostrils. It was this case’s why, and Jane Doe was the who. A deal had been made to save Aesop’s Files, but the victim’s lives weren’t the price. Jane Doe was. Five members of the show sacrificed an innocent woman to launch them into the limelight, and the man who’d threatened her outside her home had accepted this poor woman’s death as his offering. He granted their wish in exchange for staining their souls with murder, and someone was picking them off one by one in a morbid display of revenge. The only question was who? Was the killer connected to the victim, or was it the deal himself? Dark magic almost always exacted payment in the cruelest ways. It had tried to steal Bel from Eamon. It had taken Anne from Blaubart. Had the Aesop’s Files victims not read the fine print, and were they paying for that mistake now?

“That’s not all,” Lina said, interrupting her thoughts, and Bel froze in her seat. She didn’t like the expression on the M.E.’s face.

“Jane Doe was found wearing one of thoselongand puffy winter jackets. The kind with hoods that reach mid-thigh. It was a white coat, so the police on the case figured the killers had tossed it over her body to hide her in the snow. They forgot to consider the blood, though, and that’s how witnesses spotted the corpse. The blood seeped into the fabric, turning itcompletelyred, and passersby noticed it.

“A red hooded cloak.” Bel felt sick. “Stab wounds to the abdomen and a red cloak covering the bodies… he’s replicating Jane Doe’s death.”

“Theatrically, but yes,” Lina said.

“Because he’s also mimicking the show with the claw marks and the pageantry. He wants us to understand that Jane Doe and Aesop’s Files are connected. Did the show shoot in New York six years ago? Were Rossa, Roja, Rot, and Rouge in the City? Could they have murdered Jane Doe?”

“I’m not sure,” Lina said. “That’ll be easy to confirm, though.”

“I’ll ask someone when I get back to set,” Bel said.

“So it seems we found our who, but I thought he wouldn’t reveal that until the final kill.”

“He hasn’t, though,” Bel said. “We have no idea who Jane Doe is, and without an ID, we can’t pinpoint who wants revenge. We still have to wait for the last death.”

“We’re so close,” Lina sagged in her seat. “We practically have him, yet we have nothing. The detectives investigating Jane Doe’s murder never even had a lead on her identity.”

“It’s why the killer gave this to us.” Bel gestured to the digital report. “He knew that even if we found the cold case, wewouldn’tfigure it out. He’s smart. He won’t give us anything that can stop him.”

“It makes you wonder who we’re dealing with,” Lina said.

“Yeah.” But Bel didn’t have to imagine. She knew. He’d threatened her. Only she had no way of learning his identity. He was as much of a mystery as Jane Doe.

“Doctor?” Lina’s assistant leaned into her office. “The weather has taken a turn for the worse. If we don’t leave now, we’ll get stuck here. The news is warning people to go home and stay there.”

“That bad already?” Lina asked. “Wow, okay. Thank you. And make sure everyone leaves.”

“Will do,” the man said as he disappeared down the hall.

“Well, thanks for coming.” Lina stood to gather her things. “I hope you don’t get stuck driving home. You have a longer trip than I do.”

“I should return to set first and make sure everyone gets to thebed-and-breakfastsafely,” Bel said. “At this rate, I’ll probably be sleeping there. Hopefully, they have an empty room.”

“On the bright side, no one will leave the inn in this nasty weather. We shouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting killed.”

“Gwen Rossa’s murder took place during a snowstorm,” Bel reminded her. “Hence why I’m going back to check on everyone. I don’t want to take any chances.”

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