Chapter 54

‘Oh my God...Oh my God...Why?...Why?’ I asked myself, numbly.

My mind felt broken, I’d been completely thrown off my center axis when Lorenzo rushed to find me and told me the unthinkable news. My heart plummeted to the floor as he practically dragged me to the car.

The two of us couldn’t have gotten to the county coroner’s office soon enough. The place was utterly flooded with both police officers, those from the Royal Guard, and a tone of reporters. We were almost stopped upon entering the main office by a pair of regular officers.

“No one is authorized to go back there. Leave,” the cop said harshly.

One of the Luna’s royal guards must have recognized Lorenzo and me and disregarded the cop’s demand. We were escorted toward the back of the place where each step was filled with more and more dread. Thankfully, Lorenzo kept his hand placed on my lower back, offering me what little comfort he could.

We introduced ourselves to the coroner and stated our relevance.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” he said solemnly. “Unfortunately, I wish it were under better circumstances.”

I didn’t think I was able to find my voice from all the emotions that were fighting for dominance inside of me. “What was her name?” I asked weakly.

“Our systems have identified her as Agatha Wilde,” he answered.

I curled my hands into tight fists as an overwhelming wave of pain crashed over me. “Oh my God.” Lorenzo turned to look at me, his eyes were filled with worry. “She’s the first girl of the group that had been abducted back then.”

According to my father’s blog, Agatha Wilde was first reported as having gone missing. The second was Lucy Grant. The third was Kara Newman. And finally the fourth, and most recent girl, Jane Auldin.

Lorenzo tightened his hold on me, fearing that I’d slip through his hands. “What else can you tell us?” he asked.

The coroner took over his wire-framed glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. “Our systems are still trying to fully process everything which will eventually appear in the forensics report. However, I can give out the bare basics.”

He grabbed his clipboard and began to read down the list. “Name: Agatha Wilde. Age: thirteen years old. Estimated time of death is approximately a little over a week. When her body was first recovered, the decomposition cycle had already begun in certain areas. But again, we should know more once we have the result back from the lab.”

“Where exactly was the body found?” Lorenzo questioned pointedly.

“According to what the guards told me, she was found at the center point where both the Black Moon and Blue Moon’s territories meet.”

I glanced up to find Lorenzo’s expression laced with irritation and subtle doubt. Obviously, the location was meant to make it appear that anyone from either pack could have been responsible. But I knew that wasn’t the case.

I carefully cleared my throat and asked the million-dollar question that was practically hanging above our heads. “How was she killed?”

The coroner twisted his wrists in his hands and leaned back against the wall. “Her neck was snapped.”

My God, this entire situation felt like a clear slap to the face. This whole ordeal felt so surreal to me that I didn’t know what to think or believe at this point. Lorenzo must have sensed my internal dread and knew that it was time for us to take our leave.

He thanked the coroner for his time to fill us in and tried to get me to head towards the door. I came to an abrupt halt.

“Wait, would it be possible for us to get a copy of that forensics report once it comes in?” I asked him. “It’s absolutely imperative to our investigation.”

The coroner offered us a small smile and nodded his head. “Sure thing. I’ll message the household once all the tests have come through. Oh! Speaking of ‘messaging’...”

We both watched the older man make his way across the room to head toward a metal table that was covered with a bunch of small objects. They looked like possible belongings of Agatha’s such as clothing, hair pins, and whatever else may have been on her person at the time.

My stomach swirled in knots when he turned around, holding a white envelope in his hand.

“Police also found this tacked to Agatha’s clothing when they first discovered her,” he explained. “There was nothing on it aside from the name ‘Eleanor’ written on the front. Clearly, this is some sort of letter that is addressed to you.”

Jesus Christ. Another letter?

My mind was still reeling from the first one which I’d received a few weeks back. Now another had fallen into my lap.

I regrettably took the letter from him and forced myself to smile. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Might I suggest opening that once you’re back home? You never know who may be trying to snoop around.”

The ride back to the house was held in total silence. I’d taken the letter out and noticed that it was written in the same hand as the first one. Much to my regret, I read it aloud for the both of us to hear.

‘You should have heeded my warning. Now poor little Agatha had to pay the price of your excessive nosiness. Maybe next time you’ll learn to mind your business. Stop searching for answers you’re not prepared to face.’

The air around us became unbreathable and suddenly the emotions I’d fought long and hard to keep repressed finally rushed to the surface. All it took was for Lorenzo to look at me.

“Eleanor.”

The tears came rushing forth and I’d broken down into a sobbing mess. I buried my face in my hands and cried. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!” I was a failure. “The whole point was to recover these stolen girls alive! This is my fault.”

Lorenzo instantly pulled me into his crushing embrace and shushed me from trying to speak another word.