Page 45 of Evidence of a Folktale

“Some of the phrase is filled out.” Griffin pointed to the letters. “It isn’t hard to guess four of the words.”

“What big blank you have,” Bel said. “Big what, though? No vowels have been used yet.”

“It’s a four-letter word… What big legs? Or arms? Lips?”

“Not legs,” Bel said. “There’s a G in big, but it doesn’t repeat in the blank word. And I doubtit’s arms. The first riddle led us to contact lenses, so unless the killer stuck a clue in a victim’s biceps, it’s a body part with a natural cavity.”

“Okay, lips work then. You can put something in someone’s mouth. Nose and ears too.”

“I’m sure we’ll find out when we discover the body.The onlyquestion is, where is it?”

“In the woods somewhere, I imagine,” he said. “I’ll check today’s filming schedule for an outdoor shoot.”

“Detective Emerson,” the deputy from the front desk called as he jogged for her. “The security footage is of no use. Everyone wore coats, hats, and gloves, and no one lookedupat the cameras. They swarmed the counter, so it’s impossible to see who put the package down.” He handed her his tablet, and Bel watched the video to confirm his words.

“This was on purpose.” She cursed under her breath. “Whoever dropped this off probably encouraged these fans to come in and demand answersfortheir social media followers. With the weather, he took advantage of everyone being bundled up, making it easy to hide a small box inside a coat.”

“Sorry.” The deputy turned red. “They all hadtheircameras out, and I was trying to get them to stop filming. I didn’t expect someone to drop off evidence.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “Whoever did this predicted we’d remove fanswho wererecording the station. He played us… have we received any calls to report something odd?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, hopefully, we locate the body first. If fans discover it, they’ll destroy the evidence and post the scene all over the internet?—”

“You can’t be here,” Olivia’s agitation interrupted her, and Bel glanced across the station to find her partner blocking Ewan from entering the precinct. “This is my place of work, and cornering me won’t make me talk to you.”

Bel cringed at the hostile interaction. Olivia and Ewan’s breakup wasn’t public knowledge yet, but it was about to be if she didn’t lower her voice.

“Liv…” Ewan glanced over her blonde head and met Bel’s gaze. “I’m not here to talk to you.”

“Bel?” Olivia gawked at him, clearly offended that he hadn’t come to grovel at her feet.

“Yeah.” He sidestepped her as if itphysicallyhurt him to leave and gripped Bel’s elbow. “Can I speak to you?” he whispered as Olivia glared at their closeness.

“Now’s not a good time.” Bel backed up, forcing his fingers to fall from her arm. She figured he wanted help with winning Eamon’s or Olivia’s favor back, but the station with a second murder looming over her head was not the appropriate place.

“Detective, I need to talk to you now.” He stared at herwith meaning, the bear peering through his irises with predatory urgency, and her skin flushed cold. This wasn’t about Olivia or Eamon, and dread settled like a rock on her chest.

“Sure.” She gestured for him to follow her to the breakroom so no one would overhear.

“With everything going on, I letHimout to relieve stress,” he said. “I run on Eamon’s property since his presence shields mine, but with how much Olivia hates me, I don’t expect him to welcome me here much longer. I won’t have Eamon’s protection once I leave, so I’ve been taking advantage of what time I have. I hiked the trails this morning until it was safe to shift into my true form, and that’s when I smelled the blood.”

“Blood?” Bel stepped closer to him. “Human?”

“Definitely.”

“Fresh?”

“Within the past few hours.”

Bel cursed. “And it’s on the Reale Estate?”

“Yes, but the scent is far from the mansion, so the killer probably assumed it was the state park. But there’sdefinitelya bloody body in the woods.”

“Did you see it?”

“No. My senses are stronger when I shift, but the last thing I wanted was to leave bear tracks at a crime scene. As soon as I scented the blood, I shifted back and found you. I wasn’t sure how you’d want to handle this tip.”

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