Flowers for a Grimm

Body in the Wind

It wasn't a breezy night, but Ezra could hear the leaves stirring.

The rustling was drowning out all the other forest sounds.

It was an irritating symphony to her ears, but she couldn't very well make the leaves stop moving. Well she could but that would make the weather wizards down right furious. She did not need them on her back so close to the Pixie Equinox.

"Its a damn sight chief," Omari said softly as Ezra finally came into view. Omari was still trying to get the image out of her brain. It was being stubborn, but she was determined to drown it in a bottle of ice wine as soon as she got home.

That was a promise.

Ezra grunted and continued to pick her way through the dense forest. She flipped the collar up on her leather duster as the temperature dipped. Of course there was no reason in the world for the sudden change in temperature, but there was no telling in the Enchanted Forest. It could do as it damned well pleased. So it always paid to be prepared when venturing out of the city.

Besides Ezra found she looked more menacing in a leather duster than a simple frock coat like the one Omari wore. Ezra would take menacing over beauty any day of the week. Beauty only got you so far. Meance got you everywhere. 

The way wasn't easy going and more than once Ezra stopped to curse the very ground she was walking on.

She had worn her brand new boots to work and hadn't had any other footwear to change into when Omari commed her.

On her third explosion of curse words, a colony of pixies jumped out of a nearby bush they had been sleeping in to glare at her before buzzing off to do whatever mischief pixies got up to when no one was looking.

Ezra glared after them. She made a note to beef up the patrols in the forest. If pixies were breeding they were all in trouble. Human and Ever After alike. Ezra hated pixie mischief as much as she did stomping through the forest in her brand new heeled boots.

"It's just up here chief." Cesar called.

Ezra stopped to lean against a tree. It was going to irratate her to no end if she didn't take care of it. She bent down to brush the dirt off her boots before grunting again in answer to Cesar's call.

She was not having a pleasant night.

They walked or rather clomped for a few more minutes before breaking out of the ring of trees into a small clearing.

A shaft of moonlight sliced through the trees like a spotlight. It threw the entire glen into stark relief.

Ezra rocked back on her newly cleaned heels. Her mouth flopped open. It was very unladylike and very un Chief Insoector like.

Though that particular event was stricken from the official record. And if anyone remembered they were going to have to answer to Ezra herself.

The tableau that played out before her chilled Ezra down to her painted toe nails. "Told you," Omari whispered. Ezra didn't have the presence of mind to glare at her for her outburst. 

Cesar wasn't speaking.

Like his partner he was trying to battle his stomach into submission. If he opened his mouth he was afraid that he would throw up. That just wasn't professional, and you just didn't give Ezra West that sort of ammunition against you. So he was going to keep his mouth shut. 

There wasn't anything that needed to be said as they approached the body. Nothing in the clearing save the trio of police inspectors was moving nor making noise. 

Ezra was running point with Cesar and Omari flanking her. Ezra was the only one that had actually worked a murder case before.

The body was turning slowly on a rope attached to a tall Elven oak. It made Ezra stomach roll that someone would desecrate such a pure being with blood and murder. The bile coated her tongue and her mouth.