The security footage was copied and taken away for analysis, but the enforcers quickly discovered that the recordings only went back one month. Everything before that had been mysteriously deleted.
“There’s something off about this family,” one enforcer muttered to his partner as they reviewed the footage.
Even with just one month of recordings, they had plenty to examine. During this time, they shifted their strategy–if they couldn’t locate me directly, they would focus on the rogue wolves who had attacked Elise.
A person might be able to hide, but captured rogues could be made to talk.
The enforcement team returned to the abandoned building where the attack had taken place. They methodically combed through every inch, collecting hairs, fibers, and scent markers.
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8
“The
rogues claim they were hired by a young female with auburn hair,” the lead investigator said, examining a rusted cage where the attackers had planned to keep Elise. “But rogues will say anything to save their hides.”
I floated next to him, desperate to make him understand. “They’re telling the truth about being hired, but it wasn’t me!” I pleaded uselessly.
At pack headquarters, the interrogation of the captured rogues continued. Silver chains bound them to reinforced chairs as enforcers circled, looking for inconsistencies in their story.
“Describe her again,” demanded the chief enforcer, leaning close to the scarred leader. “Every detail.”
“Green eyes, like I said before,” the rogue growled. “Auburn hair, about this tall.” He indicated my height exactly. “Young, maybe twenty. Smelled like ash and death.”
“And what did she give you as payment?”
The rogue nodded toward the evidence table. “That green stone. Said it was worth more than gold to the right buyer.”
The chief enforcer picked up my emerald pendant–the one my mother had given me on my sixteenth birthday. I had kept it locked in my jewelry box, a treasured possession I never would have parted with.
“And where did you meet her?”
“Edge of the territory. Near the old hunting grounds. She knew exactly where to find us. Like she’d been watching.”
The enforcer circled the rogue slowly. “What was she wearing?”
“Dark clothes. Expensive. Had this.” He nodded to another item on the evidence table–a scrap of fabric with a designer label, one that matched several items in my wardrobe.
But even with the rogues‘ testimony and my pendant as evidence, they still couldn’t conclusively prove who had hired them. The description matched me perfectly, but no one had seen the mysterious female’s face clearly.
I could only watch in frustration as the investigation continued.
Now that they had interrogated the rogues, all they needed was to find me–the person they believed had orchestrated the attack. The enforcers worked tirelessly, gathering clues and following leads, desperate to locate me. But each attempt ended in failure.
I wanted so badly to tell them to stop searching, that they would never find me alive, but none of them could hear my ghostly
voice.
“Chief,” one of the younger enforcers said, frustration evident in his voice, “how does someone function in today’s world without using a phone, not using bank cards, and avoiding all security cameras? Our only real evidence is these rogues‘ testimony and the pendant. Is this Scarlett girl some kind of phantom who can appear and disappear at will?”
The chief enforcer’s brow furrowed as he studied the evidence board. Something wasn’t adding up, and I could see the doubt beginning to form in his mind.
“Good question,” he replied slowly. “Very good question
indeed.”
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