Page 112 of Evidence of a Folktale

“She was all I had,”Rollo said, his hands chained before him, and it baffled Bel how a man shrunken by such defeat had been a wolf only hours before. “She was the only person in this world who loved me, and they killed her. For six years,shehad no peace. Now she does…almost. I came so close, but I failed her in the end.”

The interview room fell quiet as Bel and Griffin stared across the table at their friend. Ethan Rollo had confessed to everything, and while he didn’t explicitly mention the deal or his nature, the sheriff had enough sense to understand what filled in the blanks of this story, especially since Eamon was involved. Rollo started at the beginning, intentionally speaking in code so only Bel understood his full meaning. He told a tale of an orphan raised by his grandmother, who eventually joined the crew of a little-known show named Aesop’s Files. As a werewolf, he didn’t care that the production was terrible. It was about police officers and supernaturals, and as a boy, he’d always dreamed of joining the force. His grandmother had encouraged his dream, and Aesop’s Files felt like destiny until five selfish human beings slaughtered an innocent woman to secure a contract with a devil. Rollo’s wolf genes had come from his mother’s side of the family, meaning his grandmother was ordinary. Her frailty couldn’t fight back, and she’d bled to death alone in the snow. Rollo uncovered the guilty. He scented their sold souls on her corpse, but it didn’t matter. No matter how hard he tried, the deal prevented justice from reaching her.

“I’ll sign whatever you need me to. Just promise me that my grandmother finds peace,” Rollo said.

“We know her name,” Griffin said. “She’s no longer a Jane Doe. Her murder is no longer a cold case.”

“Thank you,” Rollo said, and the trio fell silent again. Thismoment. The arrests, the confessions,theend of the questionsnormallybrought the station relief, but instead, Bel felt hollow, her soul dug out and scraped until it stood empty and sick.

“One thing I can’t figure out,” the sheriff said. “The blood. How did you walk away through white snow without leaving cast off or drops?”

“The protective suits we use,” Rollo answered. “I put them on… after. They trapped any evidence against my skin, and the white let me disappear into the snow.” His eyes flicked to Bel as if to confirm she understood. She did. The wolfkilled, and then the naked man slipped inside the suit to vanish. The melting snow would’ve easily cleansed his hands as could her neighbor’s sheets before the blood overtook the scene to hide anything he might have left behind.

“Right…I’ll get the paperwork started,” Griffin said, and without another word, he fled the room. He was a stoic man, a proud and honorable sheriff of undeniable strength, and Bel hated seeing him like this. She wanted to reach across the table and slap Rollo for harming the people she loved. For hurting Griffin…for breaking Violet’s heart.Her friend didn’t know yet, but when shefoundout?Bel ached for her already.

“Why Violet?” she asked as she stood. “Why involve her if this was always the outcome? Did youneed to drag her into your sick game?”

“I didn’t do that on purpose,” Rollo’s voice broke. “I… your Dhampir would understand. We aren’t good men, but some women break us. We can’t resist them even though we’re dangerous. Mr. Stone is a monster far worse than me, yet he can’t stay away from you.”

“How come Eamon never scented you?”

“There were others in town?—”

“I know,” she interrupted. “But we both know a Dhampir isn’t so easily tricked. I can’t remember you twoeverbeing in the same room, but you’ve worked with me for a few months. He scented you once during the Matchstick Girl case, but that’s it.”

“I was careful to avoid him,” he said. “Also, the prolonged exposure helped him acclimate to me, but Ewan hid me.”

“Ewan helped you?” She couldn’t have heard him right. After all Eamon had done for Ewan, he turned arounda protected a murderer.

“He never knew,” Rollo explained. “I realized he was a shifter as soon as I detected him on Olivia, but it was who you smelled like that concerned me. I knew I needed to hide from your Mr. Stone, and much like his presence protects us, I used Ewan to cover my scent. You went on vacation immediately after I was hired, and Mr. Stone is fairly reclusive. I kept my distance from his property immediately surrounding the mansion, and for those two weeks you were gone, I learned Ewan’s schedule. I stopped by Lumen’s Customs to visit Violet when he wasn’t around, and I always found an excuse to slip into his shop. His work rags are covered in his scent, and by wiping them on my clothes, it latched onto me. So every time your Dhampir smelled me, he also smelled his friend.”

“And he disregarded any anomalies because he assumed it was the bear.”

“That day at the freezer was endless. Ewan’s scent probably faded from my clothes. Did you know he runs through our woods in his bear form? His presence is strongest when he shifts, so all I have to do is walk through his tracks to spread his odor onto my shoes. It masks my wolf.”

“You used him,” Bel felt sick at the confession. “Is that why you went for Violet? Because she could get you easy access to the bear?”

“No… I swear it. I didn’t mean to fall for your friend, and I’m sorry for the pain this will cause her. I visit Lumen’s Customs with an ulterior motive, but never her. I don’t regret my actions, but I regret they harmed her. Please tell her she was honest. I didn’t use her to fit in.Ijustcouldn’t stay away.”

“You should have.” Bel grabbed the door handle, tears threatening her eyes. Rollo’s confession almost made it worse. It would be easy for Violet to hate a man who used her, but to be betrayed by genuine feelings…?

“I know,” he said. “I’m glad my grandmother’s murderers are dead, but I am truly sorry for Violet. She is special.”

“She is.” Bel swiped at her damp cheeks before opening the door. “One more thing.” She sealed herself back inside the interview room. “Do you know if Orion Chayce’s accident killed that lighting tech? Or was he just the scapegoat?”

“I told the police my grandmother’s name multiple times, yet she remained Jane Doe,” he said. “The deal allows no harm to come to Aesop’s Files.”

“You murdered four of her crew members.”

“I’m a wolf. My power is greater than most, and I didn’t kill them in ways that would shut down production. I found the loophole. The deal had his crime drama, and I had my vengeance.”

“So, Chayce didn’t kill that tech. He just took the fall, and it’s why he kept quiet in prison. He knew, didn’t he? There’s no fighting black magic.”

“Only those that were there that day remember the truth, and half of them are dead now. But as long as Draven lives, the deal owns the show. Men like Chayce mean nothing to him.”

“But if you killed Draven, the deal would still be free to strike another,” she said.

“True, but he’d have to find someone willing to pay the price. She was my grandmother, so the five didn’t love her, but they still had to bloody their own hands. Not every fame hunter is comfortable with murder, but it doesn’t matter. Draven lives. His deal is intact. Aesop’s Files will continue to destroy lives.”

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