“Male, middle aged, cause of death appears to be from—” “A bear attack.” A female’s voice cut him off from behind as Awenasa Dawes approached the scene. The coroner, a man named John, jolted a little. “For the love of—a little warning, Awen!” he hissed, gesturing to the body. “You about scared the life out of me.” They held each other’s gaze for a moment while Awenasa stood over the body. Finally, John coughed. “Sorry. Maybe that was a little inappropriate to say, considering...” Her eyes grazed over the gruesome scene. Yes, it was brutal, but it was nothing that she let get to her anymore. Several years of working as a policewoman in the country lent her a certain indifference when it came to maulings. Or so she liked to tell herself. “The fourth one in the past three months,” she mused to herself, almost unaware that she said it aloud. “Must have been some savage bear,”
