Believe Nothing You Hear And Half Of What You See

Ezra continued going to classes after making up with Enid. His next class was Botanical Sciences with Wednesday. He arrived in the greenhouse classroom and took his usual seat at the lab table beside her. The greenhouse was humid and the earthy scent of soil and foliage filled the air.

Wednesday leaned over and spoke in a hushed voice. "So, is the werewolf still feeling irrationally angry with you after your little tiff?" 

Ezra gave a small laugh. "I assumed you'd be the type to consider yourself above getting involved in such 'adolescent drama' between friends."

Wednesday arched an eyebrow. "I have no interest in gossip, if that's what you're implying. I'm merely...curious about the social dynamics at play."

"Ah, my mistake," Ezra said lightly. He lowered his voice as other students filed into the greenhouse classroom. "But no, Enid and I talked it out earlier today after Werewolf Reproduction. We're good now."

"Hmm," Wednesday murmured, turning her gaze to the front as Miss Thornhill called the class to order.

The teacher began lecturing enthusiastically about the properties of venomous plants.

Wednesday nodded and said with a solemn air "That is good to hear, because there is a dangerous monster on the loose in the woods of Jericho, and hunting it down should be our top priority."

After classes were over for the day, Enid, Wednesday, and Ezra went straight to Headmaster Weems' office, where Sheriff Galpin was already waiting for them.

Ezra immediately asked what had happened and if there was any news about Rowan. The sheriff's tired face was grim as he informed them that his search party had never found any trace of the boy. He said they had thoroughly searched the woods all night, but they found nothing - no footprints, no blood, no signs at all of any kind of struggle or attack.

Wednesday remarked cynically, "Your search party must have left their seeing-eye dogs at home then. You expect us to believe this monster just left Rowan's unconscious body alone when it was left out in the open, and then what he just woke up and conveniently disappeared without a trace?"

The sheriff scrutinized the three students closely and asked gruffly, "Did any of you manage to get a clear look at whatever this supposed monster was?"

At this pointed question, Enid and Wednesday both looked expectantly at Ezra, who cleared his throat and gave as detailed a description as he could recall of the monstrous creature that had attacked Rowan. 

The sheriff stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before stating bluntly, "Maybe this so-called monster was just one of your fellow students playing a twisted prank."

Headmaster Weems looked offended by the mere suggestion and quickly replied, "I find that notion rather offensive, Sheriff."

The sheriff shook his head dismissively and countered in a frustrated tone, "Yeah, well either way, I've now got three other mangled dead bodies down in the morgue - all hikers who were ripped limb from limb out in these same woods over the past month."

Weems' eyes widened in surprise, but she maintained firmly, "Yes, well the mayor informed me those were clearly bear attacks, tragic as they may be."

Sheriff Galpin scoffed in disagreement, "Yeah, well the mayor and I have some differing opinions on that."

Ezra spoke up, "Alright look, debating the nature of past attacks aside, the most pressing question right now is what actually happened to Rowan? Where is he?"

Weems sighed regretfully and guessed, "My best assumption would be that Mr. Rowan simply ran off into the woods in a state of shock and has yet to return. State troopers have put out an alert for him, and I've been in contact with his family, but they haven't heard from him either."

Wednesday shook her head and remarked cynically, "Yes, because dead people are just so notoriously bad at returning phone calls after being viciously mauled and having their lifeless body hidden."

Sheriff Galpin turned his gaze sharply to Wednesday and asked pointedly, "What exactly were you doing out there in the dark woods alone with that boy last night, Ms. Addams?"

Wednesday maintained a calm composure as she smoothly lied, "I heard some strange noises coming from the forest while I was out on an evening walk, so I went to go investigate. That's when I unfortunately stumbled upon Rowan." 

Ezra had to admit it seemed like a plausible enough excuse, but something in his gut told him Wednesday was definitely lying about her reasons for following Rowan so far into the woods in the first place. He made a mental note to ask her directly about it later when they were alone.

Weems clasped his hands together decisively and stated, "Well, I believe that's all we need from you three for now. You're free to go about your day."

Just as Ezra and Enid had stood up to leave the office, Wednesday suddenly spoke up in her characteristically direct fashion, "Actually Headmaster, I would like to have a word alone with Sheriff Galpin if I may. To give a more thorough statement."

Weems hesitated uncertainly, "I'm not entirely sure I can allow for a private questioning without myself or a legal guardian present..."

But Sheriff Galpin waved a hand casually and offered, "Oh I'm sure I could easily take Ms. Addams down to the station for a bit and get a formal statement from her regarding any details she remembers about the attack."

Weems still looked reluctant, but eventually relented, "Alright fine. But you have five minutes, and this conversation stays strictly off the record. Play nice, Sheriff... or I will have no choice but to notify the Mayor."

Ezra quickly insisted, "I'd like to stay as well if you don't mind. I may be able to provide more details that could help."

Enid echoed supportively, "Me too. There's safety in numbers after all."

Once Headmaster Weems had left the three of them alone with Sheriff Galpin, Wednesday wasted no time in speaking her mind directly. She stated bluntly, "It's clear someone is actively trying to cover up Rowan's murder out in those woods. That's the only plausible reason for the complete scrubbing and lack of evidence at the site."

Sheriff Galpin bristled defensively and retorted, "Is that your professional opinion based on your experience as the daughter of a wanted murderer? Your last name is Addams if I recall correctly. Your dear old dad is currently a fugitive wanted for homicide."

Wednesday refused to back down and shot back sharply, "My father is twice the honorable man you could ever dream of being. And the only thing he's guilty of murdering is the occasional operatic aria in the shower." 

The sheriff said irritably while glancing at his watch, "Yeah, well it's been a very long night for me. So if we could move this little chat along, I'm too tired to keep playing your melodramatic games, Ms. Addams."

Ezra spoke up insistently, "With all due respect Sheriff, this is not a game. We know what we saw out there. We're telling you the truth."

Enid added sincerely, "We just want to help get to the bottom of what happened to Rowan. Please believe us."

Wednesday nodded firmly and pressed the sheriff further, "You clearly want to reject our claims about a monster attack, but you can't...because deep down, you and I both know there is something unnatural stalking these woods and preying on victims. And Rowan was simply its latest kill." 

Just then, the office door burst open and another uniformed police officer came rushing in saying urgently, "Sheriff, you're gonna want to see this right away."

Sheriff Galpin asked impatiently, "What is it, Jenkins? I'm in the middle of..."

But he was cut off as everyone froze in shock when Rowan himself slowly walked into view, very much alive and without a scratch on him.