“Darrell’s retiring next year,” Ajax reminded me. “Then you and me will be partners. I can’t wait for that.”

I still didn’t give him the satisfaction of showing any reaction, but he wasn’t telling me anything that I didn’t already know. Once Darrell was gone, the sheriff would pair me with Ajax in a heartbeat. I wasn’t sure what I would do when that happened. The thought of being trapped in a car all day with Ajax was horrifying, and I knew the only way to make him back off was to give him what he wanted. I had no intention of doing that.

“I have to go,” I said.

“Yeah, I’ll stay here and look for paw prints.”

“Funny.”

“So what do you think? Did the Ursulina really do this?”

All I could say was something I knew to be a lie. “The Ursulina is a myth.”

“Yeah? Well, the myth says the Ursulina is a man who turns into a monster at night. It’s pretty hard to look at this crime scene and not think there’s something to it. Remember six years ago? Kip and Racer?”

“I remember.”

“Two men cut to ribbons, same message on the wall. I mean, there has to be a connection, right?”

“We don’t know that. Not yet.”

Ajax wiggled his fingernails at me like claws. “Well, you better be careful, Rebecca. If the Ursulina is back, you never know who he might be. And there’s a full moon outside.”

*

Six years ago. Yes, I remembered.

That summer changed everything, sweetheart. Nothing was ever the same for Black Wolf County after that. And not for me, either.

Until that July, most people thought of the Ursulina as one of those scary stories we whispered around the campfire to make kids scream. The legend told of a pioneer family who invited a starving fur trader into their cabin, only to have their mercy repaid with bloodshed. During the night, under the glow of the monster’s moon, the fur trader transformed into a giant beast who’d cut the entire family to pieces with its claws. Ever since then, the story of the Ursulina had been passed down from generation to generation.

Did we actually believe it?

Well, I think a lot of people wanted to believe it, but there had never been evidence to convince the skeptics. I couldn’t help but wonder if there were others, like me, who knew the truth, but a part of me also hoped I was unique. The girl who’d seen it up close. The girl who’d survived the beast. I didn’t really want to share the Ursulina with anyone else.

Then came July six years earlier.