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The police station was pretty much as quiet as one might expect from a small town. Keyboards were clacking as officers typed up reports and there were a couple of kids waiting to be booked in for what looked to be a minor shoplifting incident. He felt kind of bad for them - they were barely teenagers - but there wasn’t much he could do for them, and as the old adage goes, ‘Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.’ Sometimes it took a minor run-in with the cops to shake a kid straight again. 

Walking confidently up to the front desk, he took a moment to peek at the receptionist’s name on the display plaque, [color=78E39C]“Hi, Lisa! Quiet day?”[/color]

Looking up from her monitor, she puzzled over his face as if trying to decipher if she knew him, “It was real busy here this morning. Can I help you with something?”

Vilhelm nodded and slid his press pass across the desk, [color=78E39C] “I’m looking for some press release packets for the recent disappearances in Olympic Forest. Can you get me hooked up with your PR team?”[/color]

Lisa gave him a small laugh, “We don’t have a PR department. I can see if the detective on the case is in right now, or at least get you his phone number so you can give him a call if he’s not.” 

[color=78E39C] “Sure, that’d be great. Thanks, Lisa,”[/color] Vilhelm nodded, flashing her a friendly smile as she stepped away from the desk.

Vilhelm shifted his weight slightly as he waited, pulling his phone out to flip through the existing articles about the missing persons cases. All of them the same - last spotted with a woman with long blonde hair entering Olympic National Forest. None of the articles shared enough information about the victims to formulate a connection between them, but Vilhelm was fairly certain he was dealing with a Huldra. The only thing that didn’t make sense was why she was disappearing men - Huldra were generally kind and would even watch over those who lived in or near the forests. He couldn’t fathom what would turn one so violently against humans. 

Beside him, a door opened and a tired-looking man stepped through, his gaze falling onto Vilhelm, “Jackson?”

Vilhelm shoved his phone back into his pocket, [color=78E39C] “Yeah, that’s me!” He offered his hand to the detective to shake, “Jackson Wells, The Whatcom Weekly Record.”[/color]

“Jeez, kid, you made one hell of a drive to come out here in person,” the detective took his hand and gave it a good shake before stepping aside to let him into the back. “I’m Detective Collins. Been on the case from day 1. I hear you’re looking for the press release?”

[color=78E39C] “I don’t mind the drive honestly,”[/color] Vilhelm lied with a shrug, [color=78E39C] “My editor recently put me on an assignment to cover a monthly crimes report and given the popularity of Olympic, it seemed worth checking it out.”[/color]
“Seems a little morbid, but what do I know?” Detective Collins sighed. “I think I’ve got a few more copies here at my desk I can give you.”

[color=78E39C] “Anything new you can tell me? Do you have a suspect in custody?”[/color] Vilhelm pressed.

The detective shook his head disappointedly, “I wish. The suspect has been elusive - we haven’t been able to get a clear look at her face, and all of the leads so far have turned up nothing. It’s like we’re chasing a spirit, or something…”

Vilhelm had to stifle a chuckle because he was pretty sure they were, but police weren’t equipped to deal with the mythical. Detective Collins wasn’t looking at him, though, and didn’t notice the mask almost slip as he rifled through tall stacks of case files and reports and a to-go box that looked old enough to vote. 

Rising triumphantly with a fistful of papers, the detective offered them to Vilhelm, “This should be everything we’ve released so far on the three missing persons.”

[color=78E39C] “Thanks, detective. I really appreciate it. Any chance I could get your card in case I have any questions? I don’t want to keep you,”[/color] Vilhelm asked as he took the packets, already flipping through the details. Nothing he didn’t already know, honestly, but he hoped to find something buried that would help him connect the dots. 

“Sure, kid,” he said, pulling out a card wallet and handing him one. “Let me walk you out.”

[color=78E39C]“Thanks. Hey, have you guys found any connections between the victims?”[/color] Vilhelm asked as they walked back toward the front door.

“Nothing super solid, but they’d all worked in the lumber industry at some point in the last five years.”

Bingo. 

Huldra’s were protective of their forests, and commercial lumber would feel like a threat to them even if it was done ethically. Who wouldn’t turn rabid if their home was in danger? And spirits were incredibly volatile, so it wasn’t surprising she had escalated so quickly. 

[color=78E39C] “Huh. Interesting,”[/color] he said noncommittally. [color=78E39C] “Thanks for the help, detective. I appreciate it.”[/color]

Next stop? Heading out to the forest to see if he could draw the Huldra out to confront her.