Page 33 of Investigation of a Quest

“I hope so,” Dorothy said, her tone not hiding that neither of them believed this disappearance had an innocent explanation.

“You have a minute?” Bel knocked on Griffin’s office door the next morning, and he beckoned her inside when he saw The Espresso Shot coffees in her hands. “Any updates on Leo Craven?” she asked, sinking onto his couch after handing him his drink.

“No,” he answered. “We had deputies canvassing the neighborhoods and interviewing neighbors and businesses, but no one even knew he lived there. No witnesses, no evidence, so no signs of forced entry or a struggle. It’s as if our agoraphobe woke up one day and just walked out of his front door.”

“Or we’re going to find him dead,” Bel said.

“It could honestly go either way,” Griffin said. “I can’t imagine what could’ve scared or convinced him to leave of his own free will, but his apartment is on the building’s upper floors. If there’d been foul play, the assailant would’ve had to overpower a grown man and drag him down the hall to—my guess—the stairs to avoid witnesses. Leo hasn’t left his home in over a decade. He would resist someone trying to make him leave, and if he was incapacitated somehow, that means the kidnapper had to carry him through the building. Either way, neighbors should’ve heard or seen something.”

“One would assume.”

“So I don’t know which is the more likely scenario,” he said. “Anyway, was that all you needed?”

“I met with the town planning committee this morning.” She raised her coffee cup as evidence. “They want to cancel the haunted house competition. They feel it’s responsible for the murders.”

“They… not you.”

“There’s a reason you’re my boss.”

“So, stopping the contest won’t stop the deaths.”

“Not a chance,” Bel said. “The killer is using the celebration as a cover, but the haunted houses aren’t why he—or she—is killing. There’s another motive, so I don’t believe the neighborhoods or partygoers are in danger. My theory is that the killer has a target list.”

“I agree with you,” Griffin said. “But will it make the towns feel safer if we cancel?”

“Probably, but only until the killer strikes again. We should use the contest to catch him instead. He’s going to finish his list whether we judge haunted houses or not, so we should play this to our advantage. Draw him into the crowd. Put eyes everywhere. The killer isn’t sloppy with the evidence, but a human scarecrow and tin man aren’t exactly subtle. Stands to reason the next body will also draw attention.”

“Bait him into a trap. It might work, but it could get messy. Would Eamon⁠—?”

“Yes. Ewan too,” Bel finished for him.

“Would the committee even go for it?”

“They said they would defer to my recommendation since I’m on the case. What do you think?”

“I agree these deaths aren’t random, but I worry that if our killer feels cornered, he might lash out. Innocent people could get caught in the crossfire.”

“So you’re suggesting we cancel?”

“Not yet,” Griffin said. “We owe it to our towns to try to catch this killer, but at the first sign of this going sideways, we shut it down.”

“I agree.”

“Good. I’ll approve the overtime and get everyone on the same page for the next judging. When is it? Tonight?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Even better. I’ll start posting deputies on the street tonight in case our killer makes an early drop-off.”

“Thanks.” Bel stood and squeezed her boss’ shoulder before turning to leave, but the sheriff grabbed her wrist.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said. “I’m sorry your return has been a stressful one, but I’m happy you’re back. I don’t trust anyone else with our town’s safety, and I love you.”

“I love you too.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on her surrogate father’s cheek.

“All right, get out before you make me cry,” he teased, and Bel obeyed, but not before she hugged his neck, testing the dryness of his eyes.

“Decent turnout, considering,” Dorothy said as she joined Bel and Olivia on the street corner. All three women were strangers to this town, but the local police had welcomed the extra uniforms for their block party. Eamon and Ewan hovered on the outskirts. They didn’t want their presence to scare off any beings of power, so they vanished into the distant shadows, promising that if Bel pressed her necklace’s panic button, they’d find the detectives in seconds. They hoped anyone who scented them would assume they were merely smelling the transference on Bel and Olivia’s skin, and they prayed the killer was fool enough to believe the women had been left unprotected.