Annette Strong (1961–2020) was a suspect in the murder investigation of supernatural hunter Ruth Wu in A One-Wolf Open Slay (Case #11 of Supernatural Investigations) before being murdered in The Tree of Death (Case #15 of Supernatural Investigations).
Profile
Annette was a 58-year-old alpha werewolf. She had blue eyes and short gray hair. She wore a white turtleneck jumper under an open-buttoned maroon and navy knitted cardigan with white patterns. She sported a pair of red earmuffs with white fur and a silver necklace. Additionally, she was occasionally seen holding a white mug of cocoa with marshmallows in her left hand. It is known that Annette drank cocoa, knitted and read The Slopes and the Self.
At the time of her death, she sported a green standard ranger's outfit with a white collared shirt, an emerald green tie, a silver star-shaped badge and black boots. She was also seen wearing a tan ranger's hat with a brown strip.
| Height | 5'9" |
|---|---|
| Age | 58 |
| Weight | 180 lbs |
| Eyes | blue |
| Blood | B+ |
Events of Criminal Case
Annette became a suspect after Gwen and the player discovered that she was a stand owner at the Christmas market. Presenting a picture of Ruth to her, Gwen asked Annette if she recognized the victim. She told the team that she had stopped by her stand a few days prior to the murder and had asked her weird questions about her customers. Thinking that Ruth was acting rudely, Annette told her to leave.
Annette was spoken to again about her true identity as a werewolf. Knowing that the team were Supernatural Hunters, Annette admitted that she had been tempted to kill Ruth. However, she had her entire pack to think about, identifying herself as an alpha werewolf. She then told the team that Ruth wanted to hunt her entire pack down.
Annette was found to be innocent after the team incarcerated Sam Ellis for Ruth's murder. Later, Priya and the player spoke with Annette about werewolf and demon collusion. Priya told Annette that the team had proof that a local werewolf was in cahoots with demons, surprising Annette. She told the team that her pack kept to themselves and invited Priya to join them. Priya appreciated the gesture, but rejected the invitation.
Murder details
Annette's body was found by the magic tree with her heart ripped out of her chest. Ben noted that there was evidence of a struggle and that she had died from the shock of being carved open. From the shape of the wound, Ben concluded that the killer was right-handed.
Gwen and the player also found a heart with a knife sticking out of it at the crime scene. Ben confirmed that the heart belonged to Annette and registered the knife as the murder weapon. He found traces of nuts, seeds and oats on the knife handle and identified them as ingredients found in a protein bar. This allowed Ben to conclude that the killer ate protein bars.
Relationship with suspects
Prior to the attack that turned her into a werewolf, Annette was in a relationship with supernatural hunter Falcon, whom she promptly broke up with after her attack, claiming that she needed to answer the call of the wild. When Falcon caught wind of Ruth Wu's plans to hunt down Annette's pack, he tried to warn her, but she laughed in his face and told him that she did not need him anymore. Annette had taken turns with pack member Zander Stark in guarding the magic tree. However, Zander was angry at Annette for keeping secrets from the rest of the pack, as well as her meetings with demon Arthur Darkwood. Her collaboration with a demon also resulted in her losing the trust of Navajo elder Haseya Roanhorse. Idaho's woodland spirit Rubarae also attempted to get rid of Annette's pack with an ancient spell box, believing that the werewolves were scaring off the fauna and flora there. Environmentalist Zeke Davis saw Annette's transformation one night and asked to study her. When she refused, he attempted to catch her with his net, but she broke free.
Killer and motives
The killer turned out to be Zeke, whose true self was a demon.
When he was confronted, Zeke revealed himself to be the demon that R.J. Fielding, Jesse Adams, Justine Bankston and their associates summoned in Amarillo five years prior. Zeke then admitted that he killed Annette after she tried putting up a fight as he was taking the tree core. He then said that he would be taking it to the Netherworld before teleporting away.
Trivia
- Annette is one of the non-human victims in the game.
Case appearances
- A One-Wolf Open Slay (Case #11 of Supernatural Investigations)
- Dead Heat (Case #12 of Supernatural Investigations; mentioned)
- Weirder Stuff (Case #13 of Supernatural Investigations; mentioned)
- Winter Murderland (Case #14 of Supernatural Investigations; mentioned)
- The Tree of Death (Case #15 of Supernatural Investigations)
- Scry for Help (Case #20 of Supernatural Investigations; mentioned)
- The Hunted Hunter (Case #28 of Supernatural Investigations; mentioned)
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