Chapter Text
The sound of rain as it battered the leaves on its journey to the ground, paired with the echoing cracks of splintering wood, gave the dark forest a nightmarish aura. Vanessa shared a look with her daemon, an English cocker spaniel named Clayton, who gave his tail a nervous wag.
Her shift had been just about to end when the call came in, a report of skeletal remains found in the woods just a mile from the main road. It was an uncommon spot for hikers, only the occasional tourist who hadn't been aware of how dangerous terrain could be. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first body found there and wouldn’t be the last.
Vanessa burned with resentment for being called out, it was always her when the weather turned nasty. Her colleague, Shane and his South African pygmy squirrel daemon Mitsi had been unfortunate enough to be with her at the time. She cursed her luck, not keen on having to babysit the newbie who could barely even hold a mug let alone a gun.
Eventually, someone would see that her talents were suffocated in this ridiculous little town, and she would get away. The only reason she hadn't left sooner was because of her father, some part of her hoping to see him again under the dementia riddled husk that existed in the home.
Stepping over a fallen log, Vanessa made her way over to the shivering form flashing at her with his phone torch. The kid who called it in was barely more than a teenager, likely hoping to get high before being dumped by his friends when they saw the bones.
That was another thing she wouldn’t miss. The only thing worse than this pathetic town was the pathetic people who lived there. If there was anything bigger than the petty thefts she got called to everyday, then she would have been able to prove her talents years ago.
The kid waved, face pale and drawn from either the cold or the fear, possibly both. She recognised him from one of the nearby schools, his daemon had been a beetle if she remembered correctly. Vanessa had always detested beetles, she couldn’t think of anything more cowardly.
Shane was the one who spoke to the kid, calming people down was the only thing the useless officer was good for, whilst Vanessa took a look at the body.
It had likely been there for months, based on the location and the state of the bones. A majority of it was still covered by the mulch, only the skull and a left arm visible.
“I thought it might have been an animal or something, so I used a stick to move those bushes,” the kid stuttered. Clayton let out a low growl at the interruption. Did this kid think she was some kind of idiot?
“It was probably a tourist, unfortunately it's easy for accidents to happen here. It's good you found them, hopefully we can let the family know,” Shane said more kindly.
As if summoned by his words, Clayton let out a bark of alarm, alerting them just in time as the muddy path, loosened by the rain, gave way. The men seemed stunned at the demon's action, and Vanessa was thrilled. Their daemons hadn't noticed a thing, typical for people with no ambition.
The mudslide had uncovered more of the body, thin fingers poking out like weeds. Vanessa was ready to call it a day, the skeleton was hardly going to vanish if they waited to pick it up in the morning, until she noticed something unusual.
The uncovered fingers were a little more formed than the rest of the skeleton, the remnants of rotten tendons and muscle bending it downward. Hidden under the soil was a thin silver band.
But… weren't wedding rings usually put on the left hand? Based on the bending of the fingers, it seemed to confirm that this was the left hand, which would mean…
“That’s another body.” She stated, mostly to herself. Shane raised an eyebrow.
“What? What do you mean?” Vanessa couldn’t resist rolling her eyes, did she have to explain everything to this imbecile?
“I mean that's another body.” The officer paled considerably, looking slightly queasy. “It hasn’t been exposed to the elements as much, but for it to be buried it should have been here for a while.”
“You think someone buried it?” Vanessa didn’t bother replying, gesturing for Clayton to sniff around as they moved. It didn’t take long for the spaniel to find a foul odor.
Hesitant to cause another slide, Vanessa kicked at the verge until it gave way, sending clumps of dirt tumbling into the ditch. Another few shoves revealed a shoe, still attached to its original owner.
“I don’t think this was an accident,” Clayton whispered, eyes still on the tattered shoe. Vanessa felt a thrum of excitement at the prospect. Finally, this was something she could go far with. She turned back to Shane, who was rubbing a hand on the kid’s back as he expelled his dinner.
“We need to call this in.”