“—The body has been found under unusual circumstances; we will be going over the evidence. If you have questions or tips, please call the department. As it stands, everyone needs to leave the scene,” the officer’s voice cut back in sharply, drawing Avie back into the moment.
The crowd dispersed, moving away from the yellow tape, her following suit in a daze while thinking over the Chief of Police’s statement.
“Who are they trying to fool?” a woman still wrapped in pajamas spoke from her left, catching Avie’s attention, “Everyone knows Garret, it’s no use keeping his identity anonymous.”
It was the first time she heard his name in reference.
“Yeah, and did you see his arms? Poor guy actually did it,” the other piped out.
Did what? Was it the unusual circumstance? What did the officer mean?
Avie thought at first that the chief meant something along the lines of what that being could have done to Garret. If there was evidence involved, it could have been anything. It could have even been…
She stopped dead in her tracks, having to support herself on a tree trunk as a wave of dizziness hit. She left her jacket in the woods, which was damn committable evidence tying her to the body.
Maybe they meant something else. Maybe she could… No, if she were found trying to locate and remove the coat while an investigation was in the area, it would look even worse. The woman started sweating despite the cold weather.
Avie decided to go to Owen, let him know what was going on with her tie in with Garret.
The redhead rang his doorbell, knocking frantically at the wood.
“Avie! Shit, I was just trying to call you, did you hear?” Owen stepped aside, letting the young woman in, a hint of excitement behind his words. He was excited over more answers coming in to be sure, but it was just unfortunate timing given the circumstances. Word indeed got around fast…
“Yeah, that’s why I’m here…” She paced, anxiously playing with her golden band.
“Can you believe they found a body? Do you think there is more out there? Just hiding in the woods?”
“Owen, he was one of the men I had seen out at the manor.”
He stopped, registering her words, “Shit, you may have been the last person to see him alive.”
Avie’s fingers steepled in front of her mouth in a nervous fashion, “I left my jacket out there, nearby.”
His expression turned thoughtful, remembering the night she had come to him freezing. Damn it, she also asked him to burn her clothing after she soaked in his tub. She could see the proverbial gears turning in his mind as he thought it over.
“I don’t have an alibi to go against being in the woods at the same time. I know it looks bad; I’m terrified that they’re going to think I was involved in this somehow.” He raised his eyebrows at her in a questioningly way. “I wasn’t, Owen!”
He took his glasses off to wipe them, “Right, but… Yeah, you’re right, it looks really bad, Avie.”
She collapsed onto the couch, hands encompassing her face with a frustrated groan.
“Couldn’t you tell them there was someone else there?”
“I didn’t even see what they looked like. It would be no help.”
The blond hummed, “Your best bet may be to wait it out. Tell the truth if they ask, they may have a few leads already. They may even release more information sometime soon. I mean, where’s that drifter going to go anyway? To another abandoned house and hide?”
Avie let the hands fall from her face, staring at the ceiling. Briefly, she thought about asking the feathered creature if he would be able to find the coat and bring it to her, but that was quickly dismissed—he wouldn’t want to be doing her any favours.
She thought back to what she saw at the crime scene, Garret was pale, much more than a normal body would be. Figuring he had some blood loss at least with what was visible to her at the time, it was possibly caused by the creature in the woods—meaning it would be the first time he was sloppy, leaving evidence of his presence behind. It didn’t really make sense that he would allow that to happen, after being so intent on making sure he would be kept a secret.
The woman would see if he could answer that question.
“I would hope so, it would help to get tips from the public… I just wish I was there longer, maybe I could have seen something more or done something that could have helped.”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up about this. You could have ended up the same if you were there any longer. We’re damn sure not going near that manor now.”
She turned to see him, “I haven’t even thought about that. I was so concerned about trying to remember more details, I didn’t even…”
He stood to sit beside her instead, “You’re safe, that’s all that matters.”
Avie leaned on his shoulder, “They’re going to be reopening a lot of missing person’s cases because of this. Do you think that there will be more people found?”
“I hope so, it would bring more closure to the town.”
Humming in agreeance, her mind still occupied on what the future may bring.
It was common knowledge that missing persons were the ones that left everything to move into Blacken, accepted as fact that they moved back after not being constrained to the town. But now, there was a body, proof that missing may indeed also mean dead.
The town went into an emotional frenzy, worried that their loved ones too were deceased somewhere in the woods, maybe even in other cities that they came from. Others were not
