Page 81 of Evidence of a Folktale

“Yeah.” She withdrew her phone with her free hand, the palm plastered against him absentmindedly rubbing his skin as she texted her boss a 911 message. “I need to alert Griffin, but you have time to inspect the scene before everyone arrives.”

“Okay.” He kissed her forehead before turning back to Rot’s body. “And to answer your question, no, I don’t think he’s targeting us directly. These deaths don’t mimic my kills, and neither of us is connected to the show. He’s telling a story, and you represent his perfect audience.Hejustwants the bodies found quickly on properties that won’t shut filming down.”

“If the show goes, so do his victims,” Bel said. “All of them have worked for Aesop’s Files, and we officially have a serial killeron our hands. I thought he was targeting women, but Rot changes the M.O.. A writer, a costume designer, and now the producer. This body’s fresh, so can you smell it for me before we have an audience? Are we dealing with a human or something else?”

Eamon leaned forward and inhaled a deep breath. “Rotdefinitelycame into contact with something unnatural.”

“Can you tell what?” she asked, but sirens lit up the air,putting an end totheir conversation.

“He was still bleedingwhen you got home?” Lina asked.

“Yes,” Bel confirmed.

“That at least makestimeof death easy to pinpoint,” the medical examiner said.

“Unfortunately, the killer left before I noticed the body,” Bel said as her yard churned with officers. Griffin must have called the entire department because she’d never seen so many people at one crime scene. With this level of chaos, she wondered how long it would take for the news to arrive and brand her cabin a murder house.

“Do you have a security system?” Griffin asked.

“No. The cabin’s a rental, and I’m secluded here,” she answered. “I never expected to need one.”

“Even after Alcina Magus almost killed you here?” The sheriff glared at her with fatherly disapproval, and she gave him a tiny shrug. What could she say? She had a security system, albeit an unconventional one. Her pitbull had proved himself vicious when her life was in danger, and the devil with death-black eyes used to stalk these woods at night before she invited him to sleep in her bed. What were cameras compared to an overprotective Dhampir?

“I can install some for her,” Eamon said.

“Good, but that doesn’t help us now,” her boss said. “Did you see any cars while driving home?”

“Yeah, but none stuck out,” Bel said. “And the snow on my lawn and surrounding trails is destroyed from walking Cerberus. Finding the killer’s tracks will be impossible.”

“How did he know where you live?” Griffin asked. “Have you noticed anyone following you?”

“Just Taron,” Bel said. “She followed me home to warn me about The Wolf’s letters.”

“Bajka is overflowing with people. You can barely walk two feet without a fan shoving a phone in your face,” Eamon said. “Unless they were obnoxious about it, Isobel wouldn’t notice someone stalking her. And killing the show’s producer on a detective’s property seconds before she arrives doesn’t point to someone stupid enough to get caught following a cop.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Griffin placed a comforting hand on Bel’s arm.

“Just freaked out.”

“Me too.” Griffin turned his questioning on Eamon. “You’ve been staying with her. Have you caught anyone hanging around the property? Or maybe innocently jogging by on a morning run?”

“No. There are a few cabins down the road, so we see the neighbors, but most people don’t have a reason to drive this street. Granted, I can’t attest to what happens when we’re at work. If someonewanted to find her house, it wouldn’t be that hard. The actress did it.”

“Until we catch this guy, I don’t want you here alone,” Griffin said.

“Oh, she won’t be,” Eamon answered before she could open her mouth.

“Big surprise here. The box has another puzzle,” Olivia said, joining them before the desecrated bench.

“What kind?” Bel asked.

“Word search.” She held it out.

“I bet What, Big, You, and Have are hiddeninhere.” Bel plucked the solitary paper out with gloved fingers. “So, we’re probably looking for another body part… yup, there’s big… and have.”

“There’s what and you,” Eamon pointed to the short words.

“Nose.” Bel jabbed her blue finger against the four letters. “What a big nose you have. Lina, can you check his nostrils?”

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