The silence in town had become jarring. No longer was it silent in peace, but silent in fear. Silent in sorrow. Silent because friends and loved ones haven’t been seen for days, weeks and suddenly months. Stone felt the stone cold stares as she walked into the dentist clinic, judgement because they had felt she wasn’t doing her best in the investigation. But she couldn’t tell them they were wrong, not after failing to connect the pieces together. The officer avoided their eyes and minds as she walked right up to the receptionist.

“I need to speak to the office manager,” Stone said, “it’s urgent.”

“What is the urgency, officer?” The receptionist raised her brow.

“Regarding the case I’m working on.”

“Hmm..” She pressed a button on the phone and held it to her ear, “Mr. Barber, Officer Stone is here to see you.. Mhmm.. About a case, she said.. Right then.” The receptionist put the phone back on the hook and looked at Stone, “His office is on the left when you go upstairs,” She said, “But he’s busy so you ought to be quick about it.”

“Thank you.” The psychic nodded her head and followed her instructions, but it’s not like she hadn’t been here before.

She heard the thoughts of assistants on breaks, some of whom had been affected by the disappearances. They too thought that the precinct wasn’t doing its best. Unsurprisingly, many vampires worked in dentistry. There was the odd werewolf here and there, but it was typically the vampires who cared more about dental hygiene than most. She began to push it aside, and ignored their thoughts. Afterall, Ms. Stone had a case to work on. The room was easy to find anyway, a plaque on the door that said ‘Daniel A. Barber - Office Manager’ was an easy tell.

Stone has met him before. Nice guy, but too nervous in her opinion. Of course, he was a vampire- Who else would be in a dental clinic in a monster prominent town? Big guy, too. Built like a firehouse, really, you wouldn’t have expected someone of his stature to be stammering like a 5th grader.

“Officer Teresa Stone here,” Stone announced herself as she lightly knocked on the door upon entering. It was obvious the office manager was busy, papers strewn about his desk as if he were trying to crack a code, “This won’t take a minute of your time.”

“Officer Stone, g- good to see you again!” Daniel stood from his chair and they shook hands, “Please excuse the mess, I- I, well, you see,” He began bunching the papers together, “We have a new dentist flying in from London and there’s an odd mess here and there trying to get-”

“I understand, sir.” She interrupted. Time was of the essence, after all. She sat in the chair, one leg over the other, “I just wanted to talk to you about the environment here.”

“Yes, o-of course, what about?”

“Well, I know that many of the patients here are vampires or werewolves, with many of your practitioners being vampires themselves,” She began, and noticed immediately the expression washing away from his face. Is this happening now? She heard, knowing that it meant he thought his employees may be blamed for disappearances somehow, “I assure you that it’s an important factor, it makes this clinic a hotspot for hunter activity,” As if her saying that did not just make the atmosphere worsen, “It has happened already thrice in this area. Three out of nine times, someone went missing from after their appointment here.”

“W.. What are you implying, Officer?” The vampire tensed, uncertain of her intentions.

“Well, the hunters are picking their victims from large monster hotspots,” She stated, “I think that it’s possible this clinic is a valuable spot to them and the curfew might not stop that.”

“Then what do you suggest..?” He rubbed his hands, nervously out of habit, “I can’t close the clinic and a- any security is t- t- too expensive right now, besides that drives away out patients...”

“You and your employees be more alert than ever,” She said, “But.. Besides that, actually.. I have to ask, have you seen Catherine Bennett, Harrison Tod or Joel Stilts around this area recently?”

“Catherine Bennett is the only name I don’t recognize..” He thought for a moment, “Could you describe her..?”

“About 5’6, blonde, slim and caucasian,” Stone started describing her, “Usually seen with a camera and sunglasses.”

“I haven’t but... W- we had a problem recently with a girl taking pictures of our employees on break, I think she might fit the description.” He said, “S- some of the assistants-- vampires, were smoking just outside in the shade when they c- caught a girl snapping photos of them. Um.. I think it was H- Henry and Jim.”

“Interesting..” She mused, “Has she been around here before?”

“I.. I wouldn’t know, but.. I’ll ask the employees and see if- if they have.”

“Alright, thanks Dan,” They stood and shook hands again, “Next time your employees are harrassed give us a call, alright? At this point, anything is vital.”

“Alright, then.” He nodded and Stone made her way out the door, too late for her to hear his silent Thank you.

It was a hunch, but at this point anything was possible. Catherine Bennett was known for disturbing residents, monster or not. She was too nosey, and whenever she was questioned Stone knew she was a liar from the mocking tone her thoughts wailed. Though, if it were going where she thought it was going.. It would be entirely possible Catherine Bennett is responsible for outing monsters to hunters and providing them with the easiest way of hunting them. Could it be Havenhart was becoming a trap? The safe-haven for monsters, slowly deteriorating and burning away was a shudder for Stone.

But to go with this idea, that Catherine Bennett was providing for hunters.. It meant there might be more to the case, finally. After months of dead ends, she finally might be going somewhere. She hoped that she could soon give families some sort of news- good or bad. However, this hunch now means a lot of backtracking. Stone supposed it would be time to call Burns and tell him about her plan.

It would be a lot of work. Though, it comes with the territory of police business. Not like any of the officers she knew, were up to that. Burns, as good of a bloodhound he is, was lazy as can be. Stone considered herself a hard worker, though. Of course, perhaps it was because reading minds came by easy for her, but perhaps it was her will to keep her fianceé safe.

The officer left the clinic and went back into her car, mentally preparing herself for the new plan to come. But, in the meanwhile, Burns had gone off to Labrynth Library; the working place of the High Aether and her family. After all, where else would she be?

The werewolf scratched his stubbly chin and stood just outside the building. The scent was off, that much he could tell. The lights were off, nobody was inside. Maybe it’s an off day, or maybe something else was up. There’s no way that a nice part of town could smell this horrendously, afterall. He took a whiff, possibly taking in the scent of garlic and hawthorn. It didn’t just smell bad, but it reeked. He whafted the air before he peered inside the building.

Of course, Burns wasn’t an expert on cleanliness or organization, though anybody in the right mind would identify the mess inside the building as a sign of struggle. After short deliberation, he was inclined to do his job and head inside; where it smelled worse. It became apparent that the struggle that took place wasn’t an easy one either. Books and papers tossed everywhere across the flooring, scorch marks on some of the bookcases. He continued on, searching every space for sign of the High Aether. She couldn’t call out for help if she wanted to.

At this point, it was time to call it in. No body to be found, no trail either. It was a dead end and it was another pin for the cork board. Maybe Stone was doing better than him; stumbling onto a crime scene definitely wasn’t a perk. Things must be getting desperate in the light market.. He thought, What do they want with magicians?

It was his job to find out.