Page 76 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

“Because she is a werewolf. They just aren’t aware,” Aurelia mutters. “Poor Claire.”

“Where are they keeping her body, exactly?” I ask.

“Claire is currently kept in a facility the police own together with the military. Seems like—and it upsets me to say—the forensic one is completely full, so they outsourced bodies of victims from cold cases.”

I glance at my watch. “We need to go immediately. As tragic as it is, it might be to our advantage that she wasn’t buried yet.”

“That’s true. They actually planned on burying her within the next week. As I said, the only reason they kept her for so long is because her death was so mysterious, and they are still hoping to catch the criminal.”

“Let’s not disappoint them,” I mutter before returning my attention to my team. “I’m sorry, I’m leaving you with the rest of the work.”

“Don’t worry, we have it covered,” Aurelia reassures me.

I smile at her, a gesture she returns.

Eric’s friend happens to be an older man, a werewolf. I don’t know who he is, and we don’t ask any questions, just like he doesn’t ask any questions of us. That’s pretty much part of the deal, no questions asked.

“You have half an hour,” he mutters after he has leads us through a long corridor in the basement and opens a huge white door for us. “She is number twenty-four.”

Number twenty-four. I feel weird thinking about how this young girl named Claire was reduced to being ‘Number twenty-four'. Not a name, just a number.

I swallow down my unease and decide to man it up. She might have become a number now, but we can change that and give her the closure she deserves.

“She was in the water,” I mutter while opening the compartment she is kept in, the icy air and the disinfectants engulfing us. At least it smells sterile. I glance at the pamphlet the man gave me while Emilien pulls Claire’s body out.

“What do you mean by that?” Gustave mutters. “That she was in the water.”

“It means her body might be bloated. Bodies found in water aren’t a pretty sight,” I say quietly.

“What does the autopsy say?” Emilien asks.

I briefly scan through it, saving it into my memory palace before I turn to Emilien. “Blood loss.”

“What?” he says.

“Blood loss. She died of blood loss. They couldn’t find anything that could explain it, which is why the body was kept for so long… for scientific purposes.” I shake my head. “She also had bruises and showed signs of being tied.”

“She was dead before she was dropped into the Seine?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Blood loss?” Emilien repeats, stunned.

Meanwhile, Gustave is standing next to us, staring at Claire’s body covered by a white sheet. His face has turned almost grey. Emilien glances at him. “You don’t really look good, boy.”

“It’s… I’m okay…”

“I’m not content with the outcome of the autopsy,” Emilien says.

“Me neither,” I admit. “Let’s check for anything that might hint at a supernatural reason for her death.”

I take a deep breath, willing all my feelings down. I cannot feel disgusted or anxious now. There is no place for these feelings.Forgive me, Claire. I don’t mean to do even more harm to your body.Emilien allows me the moment to gather my senses before he and I both bend our heads over Claire’s body, checking for any signs we can find. She was cleaned properly and sewn together after her autopsy.

“What’s that on her wrist?” I mutter, turning it gently.

“Skin was removed,” Emilien says. “It looks like there was something tattooed here.”

“Gustave, can you take a photo and—” I pause when my eyes fall on him, noticing how he truly looks sick and is wavering slightly.