A Trail of Breadcrumbs

by D E Dennis

  “Numbers that we rang and rang without a response. Another phone call to the secretary revealed that she knew the way to Presley’s cabin. Apparently, you get out at a certain mile marker and follow these tiny notches in the tree bark, that’s how Presley marked her way so that she would never get lost.

  “We didn’t hear from Presley, so we sent two uniforms along with our best tracker into the woods to find her, and then it’s just like Spencer said. She was found with her head in the oven, a suicide note and a bottle of sleeping pills on the dining room table.”

  Michael slumped against his desk. “I can’t believe it. She was upset, but I never thought she—” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Wait, you said you were on the way to the woods when you found out. Why did you come here instead?”

  “Hey, Monica,” Spencer said cheerily.

  His sister came over to his side, sparing Spencer a smile as she did. “Hello, Froggy.” She turned to Mira. “Why are you here?”

  “Lakin,” Spencer growled into his phone. “There you are. I called you three times now.”

  “I’m here because the officers were sent to the house specifically to ask about Harper’s letter and if it has anything to do with the article or the case,” Samira replied. “The problem is an initial sweep of the house has turned up nothing. They haven’t started a proper search yet because they can’t disturb the scene until the medical examiner and crime scene unit arrive, but I figured you could help us. You saw the letter. You know what to look for.”

  Michael was nodding along until her last few sentences penetrated. “Help you? Help you do what?”

  “Help us search the cabin, of course.”

  “Go into the woods, Michael.”

  “But I... can’t,” he said as dread worked its way up his spine, turning it to stone. He cast about for an explanation. “Your chief would be pissed if we entered her crime scene.”

  Samira waved that away. “I’ll take whatever punishment I have coming. You are technically a witness. She’ll have to understand—”

  “What?!”

  A roar had three sets of eyes flying to Spencer.

  “Gone?! You idiot! How could you let that happen?!”

  “Spence, what’s wrong?” Samira demanded.

  He cursed, hanging up the phone. “I told Lakin he could call off the watch on Antarr, because there’s no chance of Presley coming to confront him now. The guy went to tell him they were leaving and found Antarr gone. He has no idea where he is or even when he left.”

  “You can’t be serious. Give me the phone!”

  Michael winced as Samira snatched the phone away from Spencer and took over the haranguing.

  Spencer cursed, shaking his head. “This isn’t good. Lakin admits the last time he laid eyes on Antarr was just before ten last night. The lights went off in Antarr’s workshop so he shined a flashlight in there, saw him curled up on a cot, and went back to the squad car. Antarr could have left any time after that.”

  “Where could he have gone in the middle of the night?” Monica asked. “He would have had to go through the pitch-black woods in order to not be seen by the cop.”

  He just looked at her, face grave. “We’ll have to put an alert out on him. Have him brought in as soon as he’s spotted.”

  “Spencer,” she whispered, actually using his first name. “You don’t think he— I mean, Rowan—”

  “We don’t know anything for sure yet,” he said firmly. He reached out and took her hand. “So far this looks like a suicide.”

  She nodded, giving him a small smile.

  He smiled back. “That’s why we have to get going. Check out the scene for ourselves. You coming?”

  “Yes.”

  She dropped his hand and hurried to get her phone, keys, and coat. “I’ll ride with you.”

  Samira hung up on Lakin and handed the phone to her partner. “This is getting out of hand. We need to move now.”

  The three of them headed for the door while Michael stayed rooted to the spot.

  “Grimm?” Spencer shouted. “Let’s go.”

  “Michael is going to stay,” Monica said quickly, tugging on Spencer’s arm. “Ella has a morning class, so someone has to be here in case a client calls or drops by.”

  Samira wrinkled her brow, studying him. “This is your case too. You’re going to sit around answering phones instead of—”

  Michael tensed when comprehension suddenly dawned on her face.

  “Never mind,” Samira said, giving him an imperceptible nod. “Monica, you saw the letter too, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then there’s no reason for both of you to go. Come on, you can fill him in later.”

  Monica gave Spencer another tug but he didn’t move. “Hold on. You made me turn the car around specifically to pick up the ghoul and now he’s just not coming. Why?”

  “Leave it, Spence,” Samira said, teeth gritted. “Let’s go.”

  “Leave what?” He looked from Michael to the women and then back to Michael. “Am I missing something here? Do you not want to come? Even though you were happy to stick your oversized nose into our investigations before?”

  “Frogman,” Monica said warningly, first names abandoned. “You’re wasting time. Let’s go.”

  Spencer didn’t seem to have heard her. He took a few steps toward Michael. “Why don’t you want to tag along, Mikey?”

  “Don’t call me that,” he said automatically, face blank. There was only one person allowed to call him Mikey and that person was definitely not this jerk.

  Spencer smirked. “You’re not... afraid, are you, Mikey? Not of going into widdle old Siren Woods.”

  He tried to school his face but something must have flashed across it because Spencer’s grin widened.

  “Spencer, you should go,” Michael said carefully. “You have work to do.”

  He gave an exaggerated shrug, looking at him owlishly. “But we can’t go without you? Who is going to stand silently in the corner freaking everyone out?”

  “Spencer!” Samira was rapidly losing her patience which was clear to Michael but Spencer seemed oblivious. He was too fixated on picking on the person who used to be his favorite target.

  The thought of that made Michael straighten. He pulled himself up to his full height which was a head taller than Spencer. “Spencer, I would suggest you drop this, turn around, and get back to your job. I’m not twelve years old anymore and if you haven’t noticed, you don’t have half a dozen braindead lackeys to back you up. Go.”

  Spencer held up his hands. “I’m not the one holding us up. We could have been gone already but you refuse to come. Poor little Ghoul, afraid to go into Siren Woods.”

  Michael’s hands curled up into fist. His nails dug into his palm and sent pain shooting up his arm.

  “The ghoul won’t do it. Haha! He’s afraid.”

  “What’s there to be scared of?” Spencer jeered. “If you get lost, I’m sure Daddy will come and rescue—”

  Michael wasn’t sure how it happened. One second Spencer was laughing in his face and in the next, he was on the ground. Michael had lashed out, shoving him away.

  Spencer scrambled to his feet, a string of swears coming out of his mouth, but before he could launch himself at Michael, he found Monica in his way.

  “That’s enough!”

  “You wanna go, Ghoul?!” Spencer shouted, spittle flying.

  Michael darted around his sister, fists at the ready, but Monica leaped on him, twisting his arm behind his back while Samira took another approach. She kicked the back of Spencer’s knee and brought him down with a shout.

  He tried to get back up and found himself in a headlock, held fast to Samira’s side.

  “Cool down, Gutiérrez! What is the matter with you two?! When are you going to grow up?”

  Monica shook him. “That’s a great question. Are you both insane?”

  “No,” Michael shouted, stumbling away from her. “I’m not insane. D
idn’t you hear Finley? I’m traumatized. I spent the night cold, alone, and terrified! Lost in a wood I had been warned against my whole life. While a serial killer roamed free no less!”

  Michael couldn’t stop the words. They tumbled out of him unbidden. “I was twelve years old and utterly convinced that I was going to die! Never see my family again! Never be seen again! And why? Because Spencer Gutiérrez and his cronies told me to come with them after school because we were going to play a game. But what did the game turn out to be? Who could go the farthest into Siren Woods without chickening out?

  “I gave into their taunts and played their game because I was tired of them messing with me. I was going to prove the ‘Ghoul’ was braver than all of them. I wasn’t afraid of Siren Woods or the Siren Woods Killer. But oh no!” Michael laughed wildly, making his sister take a step back. “I went in way too far. I got turned around and no one could hear my screams for help. It turns out I was afraid of Siren Woods...

  “...and I still am.”

  Michael snatched up his keys and stormed off, ignoring the shouts for him to stay. He burst through the door, hopped into his car, and peeled out leaving nothing but the echo of screeching tires in his wake.

  “NOT MUCH FARTHER, MA’AM. We’ve tied orange markers on the trees that follow the path, so stick to those and we’ll be there in no time.”

  “Thank you,” Monica Grimm said softly, nodding to the off-duty officer. Everyone even remotely related to law enforcement had been called in either to aid in the search for Liam Antarr or process the Rowan Presley crime scene.

  Well, almost everyone.

  Monica sighed as the officer walked further ahead, leaving her alone. “Where are you, bro?”

  Monica had no idea where her brother had raced off to or even a clue where to look. His number one choice would have been Samira’s place but she was walking a few feet in front of her. Her mother hadn’t seen him, and he wasn’t answering the calls she put in to his apartment or his cell.

  She heaved another sigh.

  “Monica?”

  The sigh that quickly turned into a groan. “Spencer, I told you to leave me alone.”

  “But, Mo, please.”

  “It’s Monica,” she hissed. “Only my brother calls me Mo. The one you tried to get killed!”

  Spencer ran out in front of her, pulling her up short. “That’s not true. Monica, I was just a kid. It was a stupid game. I didn’t think he’d go so far in and get lost. When he didn’t come out, I panicked! I ran to the nearest shop and told them to call for help.”

  “Help he wouldn’t have needed if you hadn’t dared him to go in the first place.” She tossed her head, eyes prickling. “We never knew why he went into the woods. All these years and he refused to tell us and now I know. Because he was trying to show off for a couple of mean, twisted bullies who had been making his life a nightmare.

  “You know my mom was scared out of her mind. She cried all night, refusing to let me go, and every time I asked her where Michael was, she cried harder. You did that! You did that to my family! You did that to Michael! Twenty years later and he’s afraid to even step foot in here!”

  “I didn’t mean it!” He held his arms out to her. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone! I was a stupid kid.”

  “No,” she said, eyes hard. “That isn’t going to work, Spencer. You may not have intended for him to get lost, but you were trying to bully him. You were being mean and nasty then, just like you were today, throwing his fear in his face when you knew you were the cause of it. That’s a low I have never seen anyone reach, and I chase down cheaters and murderers.”

  “But, Moni—”

  She stepped toward him. “He’s not just my brother, he’s my best friend, and I...” She shook her head, roughly wiping away a stray tear. “I can’t be with someone who would treat him like that.”

  “Monica,” he pleaded. “Please don’t do this. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s too late.” She sidestepped him and continued on.

  “Monica, no.” A hand grabbed hers, but she roughly shook him off. “I’ll apologize to Michael. It will never happen again.”

  “I said it’s too late,” she forced out. “Leave me alone, Spencer.”

  “I can’t! Monica, I love you!”

  It was like a fist closed around her heart and squeezed. Choking on a sob, she picked up the pace, practically running away from him. If it wasn’t for the little orange markers guiding her way, Spencer would have been the reason for another Grimm getting lost in Siren Woods.

  Through the trees, Monica spotted the beginnings of a blue roof. Breaking through, Monica stumbled into a small clearing.

  Her mouth fell open.

  When she pictured Rowan’s cabin in the woods, she envisioned a small wooden shack with an outhouse around back. She certainly wasn’t ready for the two-story rustic beauty that sat before her. All windows and a pleasing, light brown wood.

  People were streaming about the lawn, sweeping through the scene. Samira walked up to her. “Have you heard anything?”

  She shook her head.

  Samira sighed. “Alright, let’s get to work.”

  “What have they found so far?”

  “Everything is being photographed and cataloged. Then we’ll be able to check for the letter. The medical examiner has left, she says she will get us her report as soon as she can, but from the looks of it, this was a suicide. She died sometime after midnight.”

  Spencer silently sidled up to them but Monica pretended she didn’t see him. Stepping into the house, Monica received another shock.

  The place was beautiful. A completely open floor plan made it clear Rowan put a lot of time and attention into the punishment she had turned into a home. The walls were sea blue, the furniture a light brown that matched the outside of the house, and hanging over the mantle of her stone fireplace was a single photo of a pregnant young girl, sitting on the front porch of this very cabin.

  Monica looked away.

  “You’re all set, Detective Reddy,” a voice said from behind her. “We’ve finished processing the scene.”

  “It was a simple white envelope mixed in with a bunch of other mail,” Monica said without turning around. “She said she would come home, read it, and then let us know if it was relevant to the case. It’s got to be around here somewhere.”

  “Let’s start looking.”

  Monica borrowed a pair of gloves off Samira and got to work. She started in the living room, opening the drawers of the coffee table, before moving to the cabinets of the home theater.

  Her next stop was in the kitchen. Why would Rowan keep mail in the kitchen? She had no idea, but the woman liked to live to the beat of her own drum, so it couldn’t hurt to check. Monica rifled through the drawers first, then bent down and looked through the cabinet under the sink. Some cleaning supplies and a tub of rat poison, but not much else. Monica opened everything, she even looked in the dishwasher but, unsurprisingly, the only thing to see were three mugs and a couple of dinner plates.

  No letter.

  She straightened, dusting off her hands. She would try the upstairs next and—

  “Found it!”

  The sound of thunderous footsteps coming down the stairs followed this announcement. Spencer stepped onto the ground floor, waving an envelope through the air. “Mira, I found the letter. From Harper Rowe to Rowan Presley. It was in a box in the drawer of her nightstand.”

  Samira was by his side in a flash. “What’s it say?”

  Monica inched closer.

  “Already opened but there’s something inside. It’s...”

  Spencer trailed off and Monica got a little closer, craning her neck.

  “It’s nothing,” Samira said. “Trash. She took the letter out and put it somewhere else. Keep looking.”

  Monica screwed up her face.

  If she removed what was inside, why would she keep a ripped-up envelope?

  “Can I see that?” Monica piped up as she
joined their huddle. “What did you find?”

  “Um, sure,” Spencer said hesitantly, holding out his hand. “It’s nothing, like Mira said. Just a bit of plastic.”

  A tiny, clear rectangular cap lay innocently on Spencer’s palm.

  Cap...

  Monica’s eyes widened. “Mira, this isn’t trash.”

  “What? What is it then?”

  “This is a plastic cap...” She lifted her head, looking Mira right in the face. “...for a flash drive.”

  Samira was quick, something Monica always liked about her. It took her no time at all to put two and two together. “Alright, everyone,” she called, drawing the attention of the officers and crime scene investigators crawling around the scene. “We’re looking for a flash drive that is evidence in another crime. Search this whole place from top to bottom, I want it found.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Samira turned back to Monica. “The whole time it was sitting in a PO box waiting for Presley to pick it up. But why send it to her in the first place?”

  “Maybe she knew something was wrong and didn’t know who else to turn to? Her computers were wiped, her husband was out of town, and the assistant was on his honeymoon. She doesn’t want to worry her mother, so she sends whatever was so valuable on those computers to her only other ally. Rowan hates Antarr just as much as she did, if she found something on him, she knew Rowan would keep it safe.”

  “We have to find that drive.”

  They broke apart and aided in the search, Monica focusing on whichever room Spencer wasn’t in.

  Monica didn’t know how long they searched, but her rumbling stomach soon alerted her to its demands for lunch.

  She stepped out of the master bedroom just as Samira topped the stairs. “Come on, Monica. We searched this place twice and found nothing. Time to leave it to the crime scene unit.”