A Trail of Breadcrumbs Read online

  A Trail of Breadcrumbs

  A Fairy Tale Mystery

  D.E. Dennis

  Published by D.E. Dennis, 2019.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Final Chapter

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  OTHER WORKS BY D.E. DENNIS | Madame Moon Series

  Fairy Tale Mystery Series

  Prologue

  BEAMS OF LIGHT BROKE through the trees, shifting as the branches swayed with the wind. Under different circumstances, Hazel would have stopped to listen to the mesmerizing sounds of Siren Woods. The woods so named because, on gusty days such as these, the howling winds whipped through the forest and enticed the trees to sing. Any other time, she would have enjoyed it... but not this time.

  Eight-year-old Hazel tripped over a root and pitched forward, but her father hauled her back to her feet. He did not pause in his trek.

  “Dad,” she said, tugging at her wrist. Her father had her in a viselike grip. “Dad, where are we going?”

  Liam Antarr did not answer. He did not even turn his head.

  On his other side, Hazel’s brother, Gregory, tugged on her father’s jacket. “Dad, I want to go home.” Greg scrabbled at the hand closed over his own. “I want to go home, Dad!”

  The twins stumbled over tree roots and ducked snarled branches as their father led them deeper and deeper into the woods. Soon not even the sun’s light could penetrate the thick copse of trees, but yet, they did not stop.

  Hazel didn’t know how long they had been walking, but she felt it was hours later when Greg spoke again.

  “Dad, I’m tired,” he whined. “My feet hurt.”

  “We can stop here, son,” Liam said, surprising her.

  The hand holding hers disappeared and she snatched it back, rubbing her wrist.

  Her father pointed at a fallen log that lay ahead of them. “Why don’t you and your sister sit and rest for a while.”

  Gregory looked up at him. “After, will we go home?”

  “Yes, son,” he replied softly. “This will all be over soon.”

  “Come on, Hazel.”

  Hazel grasped her twin brother’s outstretched hand, and together they clambered over rocks and roots to reach the log. They sat down and Hazel glanced up, looking for her father.

  Her smile immediately fell away.

  “Dad?” she called.

  Where had he gone? He was right behind them.

  “Dad!” she yelled.

  Greg’s grip on her hand tightened hard enough to hurt. “Dad!” he screamed, echoing her rising panic.

  Hazel freed herself from Greg and shot up. She stumbled around, frantically calling for her father, but she received no answer.

  Hazel halted her search when her brother’s panicked cries for their father turned into panicky cries for her. She couldn’t afford to lose sight of him too or they might never find each other.

  Siren Woods wasn’t only named for the singing trees. The tales of old spoke of gorgeous creatures who lured men to their watery deaths and Siren Woods was much like its namesake. Lonely, beautiful, peaceful, but with trees that grew so thick and similar that paths could not be formed, landmarks could not be differentiated, and the sun could not break through.

  Hazel clung to her brother as one terrifying thought echoed through her head.

  Those who got lost in Siren Woods... were never seen again.

  Chapter One

  Twenty Years Later...

  “WHY AM I HERE?” MICHAEL grumbled.

  Monica shoved her purse at him and then shoved him into the chair. “To give the male perspective, of course,” his sister replied. She relieved Ella of her bag and then dropped that on his lap too.

  “Really?” he asked over the suede strap. “Because it seems like I’m just the pack horse.”

  She grinned. “That too.”

  Michael rolled his eyes but quit his complaining. He wasn’t getting out of this, so he might as well accept his fate. What started as a normal morning in their private detective agency, Grimm Investigations, somehow turned into an impromptu shopping spree.

  Their assistant, Eleanor Glass, announced she needed to buy a dress for her upcoming ball and suddenly Monica was putting a “closed for lunch” sign on their door and dragging him to the car.

  Monica flounced off to get a store employee and leaving Michael and Ella behind. Ella turned to Michael with a smile.

  “Thanks for coming with me,” she said sheepishly. “I’ve never been invited to anything so fancy before. I have no idea what to wear.”

  Michael’s scowl smoothed out. “We’re happy to help, Ella,” he said sincerely. “You know we would do anything for you.”

  She ducked her head, mumbling another “thank you” in return. Ella was sadly not used to people telling her they would do anything to help her nor was she used to them actually dropping everything and proving it. She grew up in the foster care system and met the Grimm siblings while they were investigating a murder she had the misfortune of being caught up in. Now she worked for Grimm Investigations while attending the prestigious Castle Rock University full-time.

  “So, is the ball a school event?” Michael asked as he set the bags onto the floor next to him.

  Ella shook her head. “You know that volunteer club I formed at the beginning of the year? Well, we have been doing a lot of work on and off campus and on both sides. We found a lost dog while doing a Siren Woods clean-up and I took her in and looked out for her while I searched for the owner. Said owner turned out to be a Fairy Tails resident, who fell over herself when I brought her ‘baby’ back. She became a sponsor of the club and is now throwing a banquet to honor all the service organizations making a difference in the community. Ours included.”

  “Ella, that’s incredible,” he gushed. “Good for you.”

  She beamed. “It was very nice of her, but it’s gotten so big. She booked out a venue, told the guests to wear formal attire, organized a charity auction, and she wants me to give a speech about the club to talk about the things we do in the community.” Michael could hear her nerves. “I just really want to look nice.”

  Michael smiled. “Don’t worry. Monica is going to work her magic and get you decked out for the ball. She’s better than a fairy godmother that way.”

  She giggled. They glanced over at his sister to find her throwing dress after dress into the arms of a hapless employee.

  “She is really excited,” Michael deadpanned.

  Ella laughed. “She’ll be even more excited when I tell her my news.”

  “News?”

  Ella joined him on the couch. “Mrs. Meadows is looking for a band to play the event, and I gave her the name of Monica’s band. She looked up some of their shows online, and she wants to book them! She said I could give Monica the news today.”

  Grinning, Michael replied, “Monica is going to flip out.”

  “Flip out about what?” his bat-eared sister asked as she rejoined the group with two workers in tow. “What’s up?”

  Ella and Michael shared a look. “You’ll see.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Why are you guys being so secretive? I—” Her eyes drifted off their faces and focused on something over their head. Her face hardened.

  The cozy boutique they were in was complete with dress racks, changing rooms, sofas, and a huge storefront window that let them look out into the street. The window both Michael and Ella turned to whe
n they caught the look on her face.

  Michael immediately saw what had drawn Monica’s attention. His face twisted into a scowl.

  Ella looked between them in confusion. “What? What are we looking at?”

  Gesturing with his chin, Michael pointed out the man standing in front of the window, peering around. A wild, salt-and-pepper beard covered the man’s craggy face. As they stared, he lifted the sleeve of his stained, tatty jacket and swiped it across his wide-set nose. Between the unkempt beard and the layers upon layers of raggedy clothes, some would assume he was down on his luck. That is if it wasn’t for his white hair kept neat and secure in a single band, and the gold watch adorning his wrist.

  As if he could feel their stares, his head suddenly turned toward the shop and his eyes locked with Michael’s. Gray and fathomless met brown and unforgiving, and the man did not look away. He held Michael’s gaze, face unreadable, until Michael was the one to turn away.

  Michael turned toward Ella. “Ella, if you are ever out alone and you see that man, I want you to turn and immediately go in the opposite direction. Do not go anywhere near him.”

  “What? Why?” she asked, eyes wide.

  “That’s Liam Antarr,” Monica said softly. “You ever heard of him?”

  “That name sounds familiar...”

  “It was before you were born,” Michael said. He turned back to the window, but Liam was gone. “Castle Rock was in a panic because three kids had gone missing on their way home from school. No trace. No ransom notes. They were just gone.”

  Michael turned his back to the window and spoke directly to her. “One day, a couple camping in Siren Woods stumbled on the body of a young girl. The police combed the woods and found the other two kids. All three had been murdered.

  “The police tore the town apart searching for the killer. Everyone was frightened and suspicious of each other. No one would let their kids go out alone while the Siren Woods Killer roamed free. The investigation dragged on for weeks until the police got a call. A man had taken his children deep into Siren Woods and abandoned them. That man was Liam Antarr.”

  Ella gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth.

  “Thankfully, a witness saw him go into the woods with the kids and come out alone. They called the police and the twins were found and rescued, while their father was arrested.”

  Monica took a seat on Ella’s other side. “The police knew they had their man,” she continued. “The Siren Woods Killer. The only problem was Liam refused to speak. Interrogation after interrogation, he did not say one word, not even in his own defense. The police had him cold on endangering his children, but there was no evidence linking him to the deaths of the other kids. In the end, they had no choice but to let him go on the murder charges. He went away for several years, but he recently moved back to Castle Rock.”

  “But why? Did he think people would have just forgotten?” Ella breathed. “That’s not right. What about the murders? Those poor kids?”

  “They never got justice,” Monica replied. “But the murders, the disappearances, all of it stopped after he went away.” She glanced at the spot Liam once occupied. “Now that the town knows him for what he is, he keeps to himself, but still, you need to be careful. The Siren Woods Killer terrorized us. He was the boogeyman moms told their kids to watch out for. The reason I couldn’t walk home alone until I was sixteen. Michael can’t even—”

  “She gets it, Mo,” Michael said quickly. “The point is if you see him around, you go the other way.”

  Ella nodded and Michael grasped her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Let’s stop talking about him. We’re here to celebrate Ella. After you try on the obscene amount of dresses Mo has picked out for you, we can go out for lunch. My treat.”

  “You don’t have to,” Ella said, but her lips quirked up into a smile.

  “I want to. Besides, it will end up being for both of you, after you tell Monica the good news.”

  “Good news?” Monica lifted a brow. “So you two are keeping secrets from me.”

  “Yes,” Ella said with a laugh. “And you’re going to really like this one.”

  Ella told her about the Happily Ever Afters being chosen to perform at the banquet and Michael winced at the enthusiastic scream that followed.

  “Ella, you take those dresses from him and get into the dressing room,” she ordered. “I’m going to need a free pair of hands.”

  Michael plopped the bags back on his lap and got comfortable. This was going to be a long day.

  MICHAEL PARKED HIS car in his usual spot and climbed out. He left Monica and Ella to their shopping. When his watch struck twelve thirty, he wiped his face and backed away from his half-eaten lunch. He had to get back to the office. You never knew when... a...

  Michael slowed down, his eyes fixed on the person standing where he needed to be, right in front of his door.

  A client?

  He shouldn’t have been so flabbergasted. This is what private detectives wanted. This is why he came back early. But this was a sight so rare, Michael opened his mouth and the first thing to come out was, “Ma’am? Are you lost?”

  The woman spun around and Michael got his first look at her.

  “Ma’am, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

  Hazel eyes blinked at him, or at least Michael thought they were hazel, they were so red and puffy from crying he couldn’t be sure. The woman sniffed, bright red nose wrinkling. She cleared her throat and said in a surprisingly clear voice, “I need a detective. Do you work for Grimm Investigations?”

  “I do.” Michael pulled out his keys and reached for the door. “Why don’t we go inside and talk? I’ll make tea.”

  “Thank you,” she said tremulously. Up close, Michael could see she was older than he first assumed. In her late forties, maybe early fifties.

  “No sugar, please,” the woman said as she stepped inside.

  “There’s a sofa right through there. Please make yourself comfortable.”

  He escorted the woman into the room right off the main room where they kept the couch and television. Michael called it the breakroom because it’s where he slept on late nights and where he, Monica, and Ella liked to goof around after closing time. The initial purpose of this room was supposed to be a place to speak with clients. This was the first time in months it would be put to that use.

  Michael prepared two mugs of tea and brought them out to his guest. He handed it to her with a soft smile. “Here you are, Mrs....”

  “Mrs. Engelbert,” she replied. “And your name is?”

  “My name is Michael Grimm, co-owner of Grimm Investigations. If it’s a detective you need, I’m more than happy to help.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly. She blew gently on her tea before taking a few small sips. When she was done, she straightened her spine and looked him in the eye. “Mr. Grimm, I’m here because I need your help finding my daughter’s killer.”

  Michael said his condolences which she accepted with a nod.

  “I don’t know if you heard about the woman found in Siren Woods a few days ago. She was my daughter, Harper Rowe. She was m-murdered.” Mrs. Engelbert visibly steadied herself and tried again. “The police are investigating, but their force is small. Only two detectives. They have been working my daughter’s case for four days now, and there are still no suspects or leads. To be frank, I don’t trust that they can find my daughter’s killer, so I’ve come to you. I remembered hearing about you from a friend. They said you were the one who solved the Charming case and the Sleeping Beauty case.”

  Michael inclined his head. The press had assigned those names, but it was true they solved them. “Yes, we worked those cases.” He rose from the couch and stuck out his hand. “And we’ll take on yours as well. Don’t worry, Mrs. Engelbert. We’ll find your daughter’s killer.”

  MICHAEL STOPPED TO pick up the Peruvian food before continuing on his way. The office was closed for the day and Michael was due his dinner. So as had become his usual
Tuesday ritual, he was having dinner with his friend and ex-fiancée, Detective Samira Reddy of the CRPD.

  Oh boy, do the lines get blurry there, he thought as he knocked on her apartment door.

  She did not leave him waiting on the mat for long. After a few seconds, the door swung open and Samira stood there, beaming at him from the other side. Like it always did, her smile tugged at him until he grinned back. Samira looked beautiful as always.

  Her long, waist-length hair was bundled on top of her head in a messy bun while her chipped tooth was on full display. Michael always thought that chipped tooth was endearing. He also always wondered how she got it, but in all the years they have known each other she never spilled that secret.

  “What did you bring me?” she said, crossing her arms.

  He held up the bag. “Lomo saltado.”

  “Mmm.” She hummed in appreciation. “You may pass.”

  Michael chuckled and stepped inside, kicking off his shoes at the door. “How was your day?” he asked on his way to the kitchen. He began taking out cups, plates, and utensils while she answered.

  “Not bad,” she said lightly. “Spencer and I have been working a new case. I don’t know if you heard about that reporter for Castle Rock Times? Harper Rowe. Her body was found in Siren Woods. Shot twice.”

  Michael shook his head. “That’s awful.” He scooped out the intoxicating mix of marinated sirloin, stir-fry vegetables, and steak fries onto two plates and brought them over to the table. Samira accepted hers with thanks and they were quiet for a while as they dug in.

  When Michael’s belly was partially sated, he broke the silence. “I did hear about the murder,” he admitted. “Today when Mrs. Engelbert came into the office. She hired me to work the case.”

  Samira froze with a slice of beef halfway to her mouth. “She hired you? Why?”

  He gave her a smile with a hint of guilt behind it. “She’s worried about how long it’s taking to find a suspect—”

  “It’s only been a few days.”