“Yes,” Jenna confirmed, settling into the chair as Jake took the one beside her.“But not the stories as we tell them today.The original versions told by the Grimm brothers were much bloodier.”
“So now you’re an authority on fairy tales?”
“No, but we consulted someone who is.For example, the evil queen tells the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring her organs as proof that she’s dead.The huntsman lets Snow White go free and brings back the lungs and the liver of a boar he kills.In the old tale, the queen actually cooks those organs and eats them.”
“And we believe there might be a connection to Rebecca Hartley's disappearance,” Jake added.
Morgan leaned back, his chair creaking under his weight.“Based on what?Some organs found in a park?They don’t even prove a murder has been committed.My forensics team has already determined they came from a deer, not a human.”
“That’s good to know,” Jenna said evenly.“But the staging is significant—the liver and lungs displayed that way, so carefully arranged in a cake stand as though they were meant to be served as food.That’s definitely a call to attention.And it mimics that part of the older ‘Snow White’ story.”
Morgan's expression remained skeptical.“And you think this is enough to connect it to a missing person?”
“The timing and the thematic element are too coincidental to ignore,” Jake interjected.“Especially given the connections we found between the murder of Claudia Kingsley in Trentville and the older ‘Red Riding Hood’ tale.”
Morgan's jaw tightened.“So you're suggesting some psychopath is out there killing people based on children's stories?”
“Not those stories as we’ve usually heard them,” Jake replied.“But very likely on the older versions.”
“That's what the evidence suggests,” Spelling said from his position against the wall.His voice carried the authority that even Morgan couldn't dismiss.“And that's why we need to coordinate our investigation.”
Morgan exhaled heavily, his displeasure evident.“Alright.Let's see what we've got.”He reached for a folder on his desk and flipped it open.First he showed them a picture that Jenna immediately recognized as the woman she had seen in her dream, struggling to get out of a glass coffin.
“Rebecca Hartley, forty-two, child psychologist,” Morgan said.“She was reported missing by her friend and colleague at the Pinecrest Family Wellness Center, Dana Schultz.Last seen leaving her office Thursday evening.Car found still in her usual parking spot at her home yesterday morning.No signs of forced entry, no personal items missing from the vehicle.”
He pulled out several photographs and placed them on the desk where Jenna and Jake could see them.“These are the organs found at Heritage Park early this morning by a woman walking her dog.This was on one of the tables in a picnic shelter, a white sheet placed over the whole thing.”
Jenna leaned forward.The images showed a liver and lungs, dark and glistening, arranged inside the cake stand.There was something disturbingly deliberate about the placement, the organs positioned almost ceremonially.
“And you're certain they're deer organs?”she asked, studying the photographs.
Morgan told her, “The lab confirmed it.Size, structure—definitely deer.Not human.”
“What can you tell us about how they were preserved or transported?”Jake asked.
Morgan shrugged.“Not much.They weren't fresh—probably a day or two old by the time they were found.No unusual chemicals detected.Could've been carried in a cooler, a bag—nothing distinctive left behind.”
Jenna flipped to another photograph showing the organs on an examination table under bright lights.She pointed to several areas where the tissue appeared ragged and torn.“These look like bite marks.”
Morgan nodded reluctantly.“We think they were probably scavenged by dogs or wild animals before they were collected and placed in the park.”
“If these came from a hunted deer, the hunter didn't immediately dispose of all the unwanted parts,” Jenna said, her mind working through the implications.
“It's archery season,” Morgan pointed out.“We've got dozens of licensed hunters in the area, plus God only knows how many unlicensed ones.Most of them have proper disposal methods for their kills, but not all.”
“So these organs were left out in the open, where they could be easily retrieved, but also where animals might get to them.That suggests someone who lives near a place that could be used for disposing of animal remains,” Jenna continued, drawing from her knowledge growing up in rural Missouri.“A gut pile on their property, maybe.”
Morgan's expression shifted slightly, annoyance giving way to grudging consideration.“That would narrow it down some.We'd be looking at hunters who live in the more isolated areas, particularly the woods surrounding Pinecrest.”
“How many people would that include?”Jake asked.
Morgan scratched his chin, thinking.“Maybe a dozen properties that fit that description.Mostly cabins, a few larger homes.People who want privacy.”
“Would your department have records of who those residents are?”Spelling interjected.“Particularly anyone with hunting licenses?”
“We could compile that,” Morgan admitted.“But it's still a stretch to connect a deer's organs in a park to a missing woman, even with your fairy tale theory.”
Jenna hesitated, knowing she was about to step onto thin ice.What Piper said about her voices echoed in her mind:They kept saying 'the huntsman' over and over.She needed to introduce the term without revealing her source.