Page 30 of Investigation of a Quest

“This is our only lead at the moment, so if your calls will get better results, we’re game,” Bel said.

“They might pick up faster for me.” Violet opened her contacts and dialed the first company. After three dead ends, doubt started to creep in, but then the fourth supplier spoke the words they desperately wanted to hear.

“Can you send me pictures of what you’re talking about?” he asked. “That sounds familiar.”

“Sure, two seconds.” Violet used her cell to snap photos of the tin man’s exoskeleton and then emailed them to her contact.

“Yup, we made that,” the man confirmed when he finally opened the email. “The client said it was for a Halloween haunted house contest.”

The three friends exchanged a look. How convenient. No one would question such a strange order when this public contest had been in the works for months, and Bel couldn’t help but wonder whether this competition was a coincidence or if magic had somehow influenced the Bajka town committee.

“Do you have an order form?” Violet asked.

“I do,” the man said. “The client paid cash, so no credit card information, but they did leave a phone number and shipping address.”

“Can you email it to me?” Violet asked.

“Why?” he asked.

“Hello,” Bel interrupted. “My name is Detective Isobel Emerson with the Bajka Police Department, and the costume you created was involved in a crime. If you need a warrant, I’ll get one for you, but it would be incredibly helpful if you sent your paperwork over.”

“A crime?” the man asked. “What happened?”

“We can’t divulge the specifics of an ongoing case,” Bel said.

“Miss Lennon?” the man asked, clearly looking to Violet for assurance.

“Detective Emerson is a good friend of mine,” Violet said. “Trust me, she needs a copy of this order, but as she said, she can get a warrant.”

“It’s serious?” the man asked.

“Very,” Violet said.

“Well, we’ve worked together for years, so I trust you. I’ll email it over.”

“Thank you,” Violet said.

“One more thing,” Bel interrupted before he could hang up. “You said the client paid cash. So did they meet you or come to the office to pay?”

“No.” The man dashed her hopes. “We received an envelope with money and a copy of the invoice inside. We never saw who dropped it off. They weren’t caught on our cameras either.”

“Of course,” Olivia muttered under her breath.

“Thank you anyway,” Bel said, her mood matching her partner’s, and the trio said goodbye to the manufacturer.

Bel’s cell rang, and she answered it with her SUV’s Bluetooth so Olivia could join the conversation.

“The number on the work order belongs to a burner,” Griffin said instead of hello. Violet had forwarded the email from her manufacturer to the police. As her contact had explained, the invoice had no credit card information, but it provided the client’s name, phone number, and shipping address for them to track down.

“Of course it’s a burner,” Olivia grumbled. “Does March Kin even exist?”

“I’ll give you one guess,” Griffin said, and collectively, the three of them groaned.

“This March Kin person paid cash and never showed their face as they ordered a metal suit they would screw into a dead man,” Bel said. “Did we really think they’d use their actual information? At least the shipping address is real. The manufacturer had to send the package somewhere, so we should…” she trailed off when her GPS announced they’d reached their destination.

“What’s wrong?” Griffin asked.

“Is this the right address?” Bel asked her partner, and Olivia nodded. “It’s an abandoned warehouse… or an old factory,” she told Griffin. She and Olivia had driven to the address printed on the invoice, but this out-of-the-way location felt more like a horror movie. “There are definitely no cameras here,” she continued. “Or witnesses. No one but the insects has been here in years.”