Page 17 of Investigation of a Quest

“I’ll come.” Olivia chased after the duo as they trudged toward the woods. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay?” Bel threw a sideways glance at her old partner. For someone who had ignored her for over half a year, this was unexpected.

“Yeah… I’m just going to say it. You need to come back to work.”

“What? No,” Bel said. Why would no one leave her alone?

“Listen, I know why you quit. I guess Eamon told Griffin, and he told me, but don’t get mad at them for talking. They’re worried. I am too. This isn’t you. A town committee member? It’s embarrassing. You’re a detective, and Bajka needs you. Griffin is holding your job for you, but with this case taking one weird turn after another, the mayor will eventually demand he hire a replacement. You met Deputy Dorothy last night. She works for a joke of a station. Griffin is including her in the investigation since her sheriff is too dumb to be of use, and how long before she makes a play for your job? Dorothy seems smart, but she isn’t Isobel Emerson. No one is, so you need to come back now.”

“I can’t,” Bel argued.

“Yes, you can.”

“I killed Triton,” Bel spat. “Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I cannot be trusted with a gun.”

“Um… hello!” Olivia grabbed her arms and forced her to face her. “I wanted you to kill him. We all did. We were about to die, and I was literally begging you to stop him. You didn’t hear me?”

“No.” Bel shook her head. She had no memory of her partner’s screams.

“You hesitated, and I knew you didn’t want to kill someone, but it was him or us. There wasn’t time to fight him for the control panel. You had only one option. Shoot. And you did,” Olivia said. “I thought I convinced you to pull the trigger, and I’ve felt responsible because you’ve been carrying around a guilt I forced onto you.”

“I never heard you,” Bel confessed. “I killed him because I was horrified at what he’d done, so I became the judge, jury, and executioner. But that’s not right. That’s not my choice.”

“In that moment it was. When will you get it through your thick head that you didn’t have a choice?” Olivia tapped her temple. “It was him or us.”

“I know that!” Bel ripped free of her partner’s hold. “I’m not denying that I did the right thing. My problem is my thought process. I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I hated him and wanted him dead. Eamon’s infected me. I’ve let his loose moral code infiltrate my honor.”

“Oh my god,” Olivia cackled. Head thrown back, echoing off the trees, cackled. “Isobel Emerson, you are so stupid. You know I’m not Eamon’s biggest fan, but you being like him? Girl, get a grip.” She laughed again, the response giving Bel emotional whiplash. “You’re every bit the hero we think you are. So what, you got mad? You have never been, nor will you ever be, like Eamon. In fact, you’re so good that you’ve made the worst creature to walk this earth a halfway honorable man. Eamon literally spent thousands of years murdering people. The death toll is probably obscene, but he meets you and, bam… he stops killing.”

“He killed Peter Pann,” Bel said defensively.

“Because he tried to murder children. Don’t twist things. You’re a good person. You’ve made the devil human after all. Do you realize how amazing you have to be to convince a monster to stop killing? Thousands of years, and no one ever came close to accomplishing what you did in a matter of weeks, so stop beating yourself up. You had one bad thought, but honestly, we all had it in that moment. I was screaming for you to kill the bastard. I didn’t want to watch a teenager get ripped apart, and I was just as mad as you. He choked his own child to death. He looked his daughter in the eyes and let her beg for her life. Trust me, you aren’t a monster. You saved me.” Olivia inched closer and pulled Bel into a hug. “I never thanked you properly for it, so I’m doing it now. You saved my life, and I can never repay you for what you did.”

“I didn’t want you to die.” Bel burst into hysterical tears and hugged her friend tighter. “I love you.”

“I love you too!” Olivia’s sobs joined hers. “And I’m so sorry I spent months mad at you. Please forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” Bel tucked her friend’s hair behind her ear.

“Then forgive yourself.”

“That’s not so easy.”

“I know.” Olivia pulled away and cupped her face. “But you have to. We need you. There is evil out there beyond mankind, and this case isn’t entirely human. Lina labeled the scarecrow’s cause of death as unknown because the skull burst out of the head. All the injuries and fractures were angled outward as if a giant magnet had sucked out his brain, but that’s impossible. No modern weapon can cause injury from the inside out… unless the killer embedded an explosive in his brain, but we both know there’s an easier explanation for the missing organ.”

“Magic,” Bel said.

“And the tin man’s missing heart will prove the same. The ribs cracked outward. You’re the best person to face this kind of evil because you have the worst of the worst protecting you. If we lose you, we lose Eamon, and while I’m not his biggest fan, a human detective without knowledge of the supernatural will get someone killed. Evil is drawn to Bajka, and I need a partner I don’t have to lie to. Lies came between us once, but that ends now. I need you. The town needs Eamon.”

“What was that?” Bel tapped her ear teasingly.

“You heard me. I’m not saying it again.” Olivia gently shoved her. “And have you considered the fact that since Bajka attracts darkness, a detective who isn’t human might apply? Someone who’s looking to take advantage of the power coursing through this town. Can you imagine the death toll that would inflict? You aren’t the best person for the job. You’re the only person for this job. You’re one of the few people in this world with almost unlimited power at your disposal, and if you don’t wield it for good, who will? Because Eamon won’t choose to be honorable on his own. You inspired him to be a decent man, and he makes you a warrior. Bajka needs you… And God forgive me for admitting this, but we need Eamon too because I’m terrified of what will slip unseen into our home without his protection.”

“Can a girl interrupt?” Bel hesitated in the office’s open doorframe and knocked on the wall.

“I’m running late. You’ll have to set up an appointment if—” Griffin looked up from his computer and froze mid-sentence.

“Hi,” Bel whispered.