"How long has this been happening?"
"Decades, from what I've heard. The mayor's been in power longer than anyone can remember." She leaned closer, lowering her voice further.
"These men who disappear," I said carefully. "What happens to them, exactly?"
She hesitated, conflict visible on her face. "I shouldn't know this. Nobody's supposed to know." Another pause. "But I saw something once. Something I wasn't meant to see."
I waited, giving her time. Sometimes silence was the best prompt.
"It was about a year ago," she finally continued. "A man refused the mayor's demand. Simon Wheeler, a shopkeeper. Good man, kind to everyone. He said no—said he wouldn't let the mayor touch his wife. The next night, I was coming back late, taking a shortcut through the woods behind the mayor's mansion."
