Page 49 of Investigation of a Quest

“Will do.” Bel hung up and crossed the room to wrap her arms around Eamon’s neck, her chest resting against his back so she could peer over his shoulder. “Thanks for texting Ewan.”

“He’ll keep her safe. And if he isn’t strong enough to fight this, he’ll get her out of the way. She’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Bel kissed his cheek.

“Now come help me. Your professor had enough research to write a thousand pages.”

Olivia glanced up from her desk and cursed. “You didn’t find anything, did you?”

“Am I cross-eyed?” Bel asked. “Because I feel cross-eyed. Eamon and I looked through everything, and not a single mention of Mexico.” She collapsed into her chair, the windows black with the night outside, yet she had nothing to show for her wasted day. “The professor either didn’t want to understand what happened during those lost days in the jungle, or he was too afraid to so much as type words describing his encounter.”

“Or he doesn’t remember,” Olivia said. “That trip terrified Leo Craven so deeply that he couldn’t leave his apartment. It ruined his life, but the others? Jack Samuel became a professor who was so obsessed with the occult that he was researching his first book. That topic isn’t something one obsesses over if they’re afraid of what hunted them in the jungle. Then you have Frank Calon. He was a surgeon and a loved family man. That’s also not a man plagued by darkness. And finally, Oscar Diggs-Zoroaster. He made so much money that he not only had the balls to marry two wives, but he could afford both families. Neither of them sounds like men tormented by nightmares. They became successful and well-respected, but Leo couldn’t even leave his building. Dr. Gail Linda said he suffered memory loss, but he retained fragments. What if he was the unlucky one? What if he’s the only one who remembered the temple ruins? Maybe the other three woke up completely blank and just accepted that something unnatural had happened to them? It would’ve weirded them out, but it wouldn’t have affected their lives like it did Leo Craven.”

“That actually makes sense,” Bel said. “It would also explain why Jack Samuel had enough research on the occult to fill an entire encyclopedia, yet he never once mentioned Mexico. You’d think if he encountered the supernatural, he’d want to uncover the truth. That would be the book to write, the one holding knowledge no one’s ever read. You wouldn’t become obsessed with the occult only to ignore your own encounter with it. Perhaps his interest came from his subconscious. It knows something inexplicable happened to him, but he can’t remember.”

“It’s a good theory,” Olivia said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t help us.”

“It doesn’t—sorry, what is that?” Bel stood up and walked to the window. It wasn’t Halloween yet, and no events were scheduled, yet it sounded like a mob was forming outside the police station. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” Olivia joined her. “It’s been quiet today. Didn’t you guys cancel the contest?”

“We did.”

“Yates!” Olivia called as the deputy strode through the door. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on where?” he asked.

“Outside.”

“Oh… um, I don’t know. Isn’t there a haunted house judging tonight?”

“No.” Bel tugged at Olivia, and the duo jogged down the stairs to the front entrance. “Excuse me.” She stopped a group of pedestrians leaving the town square with wide eyes and chattering mouths. “What’s going on?”

“Oh my god, you have to see it,” one of the men said. “Creepiest Halloween decorations I’ve ever seen. If this doesn’t win, the judges are insane.”

“Halloween decorations?” Bel asked before her stomach hollowed out. “No.” She stumbled down the street. “No, no, no!” She bolted into a run, Olivia hard on her heels, and they tore through the crowd, feet pounding the pavement as they shouted for everyone to let them through. It was a short jog to the town square, but it was the longest run of Bel’s life. She didn’t want to reach the end. She didn’t want to see what had Bajka’s residents flocking from their homes.

“Out of the way!” She shouted as the crowd blocked her view. “Police! Out of the way!” She pushed through the wall of people, and her hand instantly found Olivia’s.

“No. God, no,” she whimpered as her fingers tightened around her partner’s, the women clutching each other as their hearts beat out of their chests.

They’d found Leo Craven.

“Is that a real…” Dorothy trailed off.

“Lion?” Bel finished for her, unable to swallow the lump burning her throat. “Yes… It is.” They’d called the deputy after finding Leo Craven since she’d been the one to alert them to his disappearance, but Bel was now regretting that decision. This was the worst death of them all, the most brutal Halloween decoration of the four men, and for a deputy whose hardest job was telling kids they couldn’t drink in dark parking lots, this scene was too much for Dorothy. It was too much for every officer present. The crime scene was silent, a deafening horror muting the square, and all who stood within the yellow tape spoke only in whispers, if they spoke at all.

“I…” Dorothy’s voice wavered. “How do you do this? How do you not go insane? I thought my job was so boring. I longed for adventure, for something more exciting than stale donuts and Mr. Ruther’s dog escaping his fence to chase the neighbors, but this. What kind of monster are we dealing with?” She gestured at the grotesque body before her. “I don’t want this. I don’t… how am I supposed to tell his Aunt Em?”

“My job revolves around dead bodies, and this is almost too much for me.” Lina rubbed Dorothy’s back. “It’s okay if you need a minute.”

“Don’t puke on the crime scene, I know.” The deputy grabbed the medical examiner’s hand for support. “I think I’m okay.”

“You sure?” Bel asked.

“Yeah… let’s just get this over with.”

“Okay.” Bel glanced at Lina. “He’s all yours.”