Breathlessly [Odie, Open]

[Shor]

((It is presently nighttime in this thread. Assume this the day after the ottertwins' arrival.
Sorry for posting it here -- I know there are already a few threads taking place at the gates, but it really can't happen anywhere else.))

---

The hedgehog lowered the cup in his right paw and stared at the young sea otter, brow lowered. "Cert'nly ye can't be serious, lad."

Lachlan pointed an accusing paw. "Then where is she?" he swiveled as though to look around the immediate vicinity for the female to whom he was referring. She was nowhere in sight. Having made his point, he continued. "An 'ow d'ye explain that blood on yore paw?" He pointed once more, this time at the paw holding the cup, which bore a solid red mark upon the index finger.

The accused beast approached the otter threateningly, squeezing the wooden cup in his paw tightly. He and Lachlan were of equal height, and the former presently held the upper paw. "Are ye accusing me o' murder?"

But for the paw gripping his shoulder, Lachie would have retorted sharply. "Lachie, no. Yore makin' a scene," came his sister's admonition. "Let the others take care o' this." The big sea otter remained inert for a long moment, glaring coldly at the hedgehog. Finally, he growled, and turned with reluctance to follow his sister away from the eerie silence that had settled over the once-lively feast.


There came a pounding at the gates. On the other side, a mouse panted breathlessly. He was about twenty or so in age, and, being one of the more spry beasts readily available, he was chosen to deliver the message to Redwall. Blood had been thinly smeared on his sleeve, and his eyes were wide with urgency. He struck the gate repeatedly with what little strength he had left and called weakly, "Open-- Hhh'openna gates! . . . Hhhh. . . Hurry!" He stopped for a moment to rest his head against his forearm leaning against the gate as he tried to catch his breath.

Then came the reply.

[Grath]

"Open-- Hhh'openna gates! . . . Hhhh. . . Hurry!"

It was late, and Alecsander couldn’t sleep. The young otter was in a rather difficult position. He was in the prime of his life, and yet-- not. This arrowhead nestled against his ribs rankled him at the oddest of times, but he was beginning to immure the pain, push it into a side compartment in his brain. He was not gonna let it rule his life.

That was how he had ended up gritting his teeth as he moved the heavy bar on the main gate. The bar thumped to the ground with a rather low whoompf and Alecsander set his shoulder and shoved one massive door outwards. It swung easily, if rather slowly, on well greased and balanced hinges.

“Wot.” He demanded gruffly.

[Shor]

Not a second after the mouse had begun to rest did the gate open. Oxygen in his lungs or no, this was urgent. "I-- I'm lookin' for a. . . a otter. 's big, tall-- kinda like you," he began, acknowledging Alec with a nod, " 'cept. . ."-- he gasped a little --"except he's gotta cane." He paused for a moment thoughtfully, and then added. "Really obnoxious. . . Is he. . . uh, here?" The mouse took a moment to inhale deeply.


Lachlan exhaled a sigh. In the dormitories, he lay with his back against a bed a bit too small for the sea otter's large frame -- it was a wonder he might still have room to grow. In his right paw he held his cane, during the making of which he fortunately had anticipated and accounted for the sudden change in height. He twirled the cane slowly above his head, watching its idle, hypnotic rotation as memories, feelings, and ideas floated about his consciousness. Sleeping wasn't quite as simple when the possibility of murder was on the seer's mind. Granted, this wasn't an everyday occurrance, but it did seem to happen frequently enough that Lachie had his murder-related sleeping patterns down to a science.

A sudden noise startled him, and in his surprise, he fell from the bed onto the hard floor. The subsequent thud would have made him laugh, had any other beast been the victim.

[Grath]

"I-- I'm lookin' for a. . . a otter. 's big, tall-- kinda like you," he began, acknowledging Alec with a nod, " 'cept. . ."-- he gasped a little --"except he's gotta cane." He paused for a moment thoughtfully, and then added. "Really obnoxious. . . Is he. . . uh, here?"

Alecsander took a moment to decipher the hurried words, staring at the much smaller mouse. At mention of Lachie, he rolled his eyes and opened the gate farther, motioning the mouse in before he slammed the gate shut. He left it unbarred, however, suspecting the frantic little creature would be leaving as swiftly as he came.

"Yeah, the obnoxious otter's here. Up in the dormitories, first room. He's in the seventh bed on the right." Right next to Alecsander's bed, which was part cause for the big otter's nighttime excursion. Obnoxious didn't begin to cover it. Not being able to move too fast as of yet, he motioned the mouse ahead and moved forward, following.

[Shor]

Thud.

Lachlan scrambled to his footpaws and brushed the dirt from his clothing indignantly. What reason could anybeast possibly have for bothering him at such an hour? And more importantly, why hadn't he heard them coming?

Squinting, he could make out the face of Alecsander, and it occurred to him that Alec had probably left due to the seer's antics previously that night. In Lachie's defense, though, he hadn't slept more than an hour since the night he left the Western Coast, and everything had seemed to melt into a silly blur. Even now, the sea otter couldn't help but chuckle, though at what, he didn't know. It was a wonder that he managed to fuction even slightly.

The other form looked vaguely like a mouse. It was short like a mouse. Whatever it was and whatever its concern, Lachie didn't care. He wanted to sleep, and sleep he would.

He made as though to plop back down onto the bed, but the mouse-thing gripped his paw tightly. "Yore that seer?"

Lachlan blinked slowly. Seer?

Lachie glanced around at all the beasts, noting the strong smell of food. He figured the smell had something to do with the table loaded with victuals in the middle of the clearing. It all seemed to be an outdoor feast of sorts, though he wasn't entirely certain as to what they could possibly be celebrating.

His thoughts were interrupted by an all-too friendly-looking mouse who shook the sea otter's paw heartily. "Hi, who're you two?" he nodded to the ottertwins. "I'm Dabb, jus' so y'know," he added.

Lachie didn't know if it had been the reference to the previous day's events or the voice of the mouse, but whatever the case, he recalled the mouse's identity. "Dabb, is it?" he asked sleepily.

Dabb tilted his head, evidently failing to recall introducing himself to Lachie at the feast. "What? But how'd you--"

" 'S not 'mportant," the big sea otter muttered, "Wot's important is 'at Ah'm missin' out on sleep't Ah really need. Could -- woteveritis wait 'til tomorrow?"

"No, no! We need you t'elp us -- er, it -- very urgent!" Stumbling over his words, Dabb pulled at Lachie's arm to get the big sea otter to move for the door, to which Lachlan responded by pulling the entire mouse closer to himself and grabbing its shoulder with his free paw. Staring at him sternly, Lachlan enunciated his words deliberately. "Wot is it?"

Dabb sighed. "Look, we think y'were right about Gurr-- er, the hedgehog y'accused. His wife's dead, an' we figured that since you're a seer an' you knew so much, you'd be able to help."

Lachlan's brow furrowed at the word "seer." He had come to the abbey with the intention of keeping a low profile, and that included not revealing his identity as a seer. He glanced nervously at Alec, then back at Dabb, but held his tongue, unsure as to how he should respond to the mouse.

---

((If you don't know how to respond either, just ask me -- I know where the plot's headed anyway.))

[greek101]

About An hour before midnight.... Odie scribbled with charcoal into his leather bound journal. Moon, half-full....lighting... His golden eyes flashed about the woodlands around him. Poor, foliage blocking light... Adjusting his brown leather hat, he flipped a page, revealing a complete sketch of the surrounding woods, right down to the very leaf. Flipping back to his original page, he continued to write. Good place to hide... Leaves off to right appear to be crushed....

The otter stood up from his crouching position, revealing his full height. A cluster of beasts stood beyond a rope, that Odie had looped around four trees to keep the scene intact, watching the curious new otter. Nobeast had seen him before. He just arrived, saying he had to see the crime scene and find the killer. In the confusion that still reigned among the stunned creatures, someone pointed the way and off the otter went. Now he was walking around making notes.

Odysseus pulled out his "lookin' glass" and crouched, scanning the ground near the crushed leaves. Nothing...nothing...Wait?...YES! With his dew claws, Odie picked up a dark brown hair. Much darker than his own. Perfect! Neatly sliding the hair into the pages of the book where it could not fall out, He jotted down a note beside it. Found in crumpled leaves...dark brown... next to what appears to be prints...

Looking closer at the ground, Odie analyzed the print before him, taking a good long few minutes to sketch the ground No foot markings...Boot maybe?... He sniffed the area above the print. Dirt...not ground dirt, but fresh dirt....tilled?

Standing up again, Odysseus walked over to the ahem..unfortunate creature. Someone had thought it would be proper to cover the body with a white linen sheet. Odysseus rolled his eyes. It was a kind gesture yes, but it never helped the investigation any. NEITHER DID TAKING A BATH RIGHT AFTER THE MURDER! He shouted loudly in his mind. He really hoped the witness had not this time, or he may never find the real killer.

He felt sorry for the Hogwife, he really did. Murders always hit home, especially after the....Odie shivered. KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE CASE! He mentally berated himself as he knelt down and gently removed the sheet.

Gently taking of his hat for a second, Odie gazed at the body. Poor Marm. Still spry in years. Life is fragile. Putting his hat back on he examined the wounds. Sharp pointy wounds....Odysseus wrote. Criss-crossing about the body....one, maybe two sharp objects...range of blows indicates killer no taller than chin height of victum...husband taller..but found covered in blood... and reported to have held club...not able to deliver these types of wounds.....

Odie's nose twitched as a reeking smell reached his nose. Scene located near swamp...crickets now chirping again...danger has passed...Odysseus noted as his ears twitched. But there was more than crickets behind him now, as somebeast had passed beyond the rope barrier and began to approach him from behind...

[Shor]

Dabb stuttered. A lot. It took him a good half-hour to explain all that he knew of what had happened.

A strange, hermit-like creature had burst into the hut wherein a group of friends were chattering idly to one another as they awaited the dinner that was to be prepared by the owners of the hut. The hermit babbled like a maniac, but the almost senseless drivel that spewed from his mouth amounted to this: The hogwife was seen walking through the woods, shortly followed by her husband, who was carrying a club and remained just far enough behind his wife that she likely had not noticed his presence. Minutes later, a pounding was heard at the door of the hermit's house. He opened the door to see the husband stained with blood and eyes frantic. Upon listening to the hedgehog's rushed explanation that he'd "found" his wife dead, the hermit darted off immediately to tell the first beasts he could find. Incidentally, these beasts happened to be the hog-couple's closest friends.

Dabb also mentioned that the hermit later recalled hearing a noise resembling that of a struggle. Lachie dismissed this as false cognition, as it had not been mentioned to begin with and the hermit had introduced it with the words, "But now that I think about it..."

Lachlan slowed his hurried hobbling as he neared what appeared to be an area blocked off by rope and surrounded by nosy beasts (Friends or no, it wasn't like their presence would contribute anything to the resolving of this problem.). The hogwife's linen-covered body could be seen clearly, resting eternally on the boggy ground, lit hauntingly by a stray beam of moonlight. (The color white did always make a scene more unsettling.) A tall otter was ambling about the scene, toting a book of some sort on which he seemed to be scribbling. This immediately roused Lachlan's suspicion.

The burly sea otter halted in front of the rope, which he examined disdainfully, and proceeded to maneuver around (or under, rather) the boundary presumably made by this other otter. Lachlan approached the scribbling beast, whose back was turned at the time. The seer's footpaw and cane sunk a bit into the boggy earth as he hobbled up to the stranger.

Lachlan placed a firm paw on the otter's shoulder. "Ye look really suspishus right now, sir," he spoke sternly. For an instant, he was taken aback at how much like his father he had sounded. "Ah wooldn't be standin' inna middle o' this blocked-off area, messin' wi' this an' that, 'f I were you." Having removed his paw from the other's shoulder, Lachlan crossed his arms and stared stonily at the night-obscured form of the otter before him.

As he awaited an answer, his foot lifted, hovered for a moment, and descended upon a cricket.

[greek101]

Odysseus listened as the paw steps got closer. They squished in the boggy ground, but wait...Three feet? No. A staff or a crutch maybe...But before Odie could contemplate what the extra noise was, a heavy paw descended upon his shoulder.

"Ye look really suspishus right now, sir, [...] Ah wooldn't be standin' inna middle o' this blocked-off area, messin' wi' this an' that, 'f I were you."

As the paw was removed from his shoulder, Odysseus slowly stood up turning around. "Aye. I probably do look rat'er suspicious right now, but of course, from my point of view. You could be too. I've learned o'er the years that anyone could be a suspect. Even you or I."

Odysseus analyzed the otter before him. The otter was tall, broad shouldered, yet he leaned upon a cane. (So that was the extra foot!) He was covered in a ruddy-brown fur (darker than the fur found at the scene) and had harsh blue eyes. He was a formidable otter, but he looked more like the observing type than the full on physical contact type. After taking all of this in a few seconds, Odysseus continued speaking.

"I will admit that not many creatures would be examining the scene shortly after the murder, but if ye don't get the evidence as quickly as possible, there will be naw evidence to use. And with no evidence, ye can't arrest your murder. No proof, no conviction."

Odie bowed gallantly, sweeping his hat off his head then returning it with a grin. "Odysseus Stormracer, Private Investigator. And who may ye be?"

[Shor]

((Pun intended. ))

"Aye. I probably do look rat'er suspicious right now, but of course, from my point of view. You could be too. I've learned o'er the years that anyone could be a suspect. Even you or I."

The seer watched the tall one's eyes. Lachlan had stopped listening around the time he realized that this otter wasn't going to give him an answer he couldn't use. Truthfully, Lachie only ever heard a beast in retrospect -- words in the present seemed far less useful. It wasn't for a moment or two that Lachie realized that the eyes he was watching were darting hither and thither, as though with a definite purpose. . .

. . . This otter was trying to analyze Lachie! Lachie! Of all beasts, Lachlan was the one who analyzed everyone! That was his thing! This was like stealing!

His thoughts were interrupted as the thief began to speak once more.

"I will admit that not many creatures would be examining the scene shortly after the murder, but if ye don't get the--"

A moth fluttered in Lachie's face. He brushed it away, spluttering.

". . . there will be naw evidence to use. And with no evidence, ye can't arrest your murder. No proof, no conviction."

Arrest? Conviction? Not exactly the way Lachie would have put it -- murderers were usually dealt with by the family of the victims. Perhaps this stranger was simply poetic.

As if on cue, the almost-faceless form bowed somewhat regally with an ostentatious sweep of the hat. . . And what an odd hat it was. . .

"Odysseus Stormracer, Private Investigator. And who may ye be?"

Lachlan brought a large paw up to rest at the back of his head, unsure of what to think of this. So, this Odysseus character was a private investigator. Though he had never really thought to use such a term, Lachie was, himself, something of a private investigator. Of course, the word itself brought to mind a gator in a vest, which severely disrupted his train of thought. Having placed the metaphorical locomotive once more upon its tracks, he began to wonder if Mr. Stormracer here was a seer too.

Lachlan offered his paw in a traditional coastal greeting. It wasn't exactly as grandiose or smooth as a formal bow, but on the other paw, he didn't care. " 'Tis a pleasure tae meet ye, O-- er, Otis. . . Dis-yus," the big sea otter stumbled over his words. ". . . Odie. Yore Odie," he decided, patting Odie's shoulder. And so would be the tall otter to Lachie forever.

Lachlan then proceeded to walk to the exact opposite side of Odie, taking care to step on a cricket or two (As an otter of the cold north, the quantity of bugs in Mossflower seemed absolutely ridiculous. How could these woodbeasts stand it?). Now facing the same direction as the moonlight, Lachlan found that he could almost properly observe this stranger's face, at the very least. Though likely in his mid-twenties or so, Odie was a handsome otter, to be quite honest, and lacked not the youthful freshness often lost on more mature beasts. All color had been dulled to shades of gray by the darkness, but Lachlan nevertheless took notice of the detective's ever-wandering eyes. It was something very familiar to Lachie, who could seldom hold his focus for more than a few moments. Still, very few helpful details could be seen clearly at all at such an ungodly hour. Honestly, Lachie couldn't wait until the sun rose so that he could get a better look at this Stormracer character. Besides, it wasn't as if he would be getting any sleep anyway. . .

Having gleaned all that he could from the blurry image of Odie, Lachlan introduced himself. "Er, sorry fur that -- didn't 'ave a good luke at yore face. Er, mah name's Lachlan Tidal Stromness. Sssssss. . ." He trailed off, deliberating over whether to reveal his identity as a seer or not. Finally, the silliness of sleep-depravity affected even his rationality, and he blurted. "Ah'm a seer."

Great. He'd opened his mouth. Now he had to prove himself somehow. Providing no opportunity for Odie to respond, he tried the first thing that came to mind. "Ah like yore blades."-- he pointed to the broadsword --"Gift from yore father, right?" It was a stab in the dark, but then, the blades were identical, and beasts didn't just have fancy weapons as these lying around the home. There was obviously some significance there. Lachie had also noted the callouses on Odie's paws. Based on the new direction of the conversation, that bit could prove useful.

[greek101]

Odysseus could tell that as he was talking, this otter was mostly ignoring him or shoeing away bugs. Note to self, chap hates bugs.Odie said to himself mentally. He had the deepest feeling that everything he could glean off this otter will be useful in the future. Whether that use would be good or bad, Odie did not yet know....

The otter before him stuck out his paw for a shake and Odie, recognizing the greeting, accepted the paw with his own hearty shake.

" 'Tis a pleasure tae meet ye, O-- er, Otis. . . Dis-yus," the big sea otter stumbled over his words. ". . . Odie. Yore Odie," he decided, patting Odie's shoulder.

Odysseus opened his mouth to correct the otter, but decided otherwise. It was useless. Every time he tried to correct a creature on how his name was pronounced, it only made their pronunciation worse. Oh, well. Just another creature callin' me by my baby name....How he figured out what to call me is beyond me though...

The new otter than proceeded to walk around Odie till he stood in the exact opposite spot (stomping on a few crickets on the way). Odie could guess what he was doing. He was getting better light to see Odie with. Smiling, Odysseus waited patiently until the otter had taken a fair look at him and continued.

"Er, sorry fur that -- didn't 'ave a good luke at yore face. Er, mah name's Lachlan Tidal Stromness. Sssssss. . ."

Odysseus nodded, as if waiting for Lachlan to continue. "Yes?.."

"Ah'm a seer."

Odie raised his eyebrows. A seer! That explains everything! That is why Lachlan was called here by the other creatures! That was why he observed Odie so closely! Whether not he was a "true" seer or was just a creature with extraordinary eyesight, it really didn't matter. Odie knew what he needed to know. But before Odie could say anything in reply, Lachlan added another thought.

"Ah like yore blades."-- he pointed to the broadsword --"Gift from yore father, right?"

Odie nodded slowly. "Thank ye. Yes they were my father's and he was the one who taught me how to use them." An observation banter aye? Well two can play at this game. Calmly, Odie replied with his own observation. The otter was scarred, not horribly, but enough to show that he had been in a couple of rough happenings, and Lachlan limped, but not in a way like the injury was new, but also not in a way like the injury had lasted a life time."Just a question for me, I hope you don't mind me asking. Which accident was it that caused your limp? Which you've had for about, what a season and a half now?"

[Shor]

Odie nodded slowly. "Thank ye. Yes they were my father's and he was the one who taught me how to use them."

Good. Conjecture had proven itself reliable once again. Seldom did Lachie's instincts fail him. . . well, the percentage was low, anyway. Generally speaking, he was skilled in the area of guessing.

Lachlan caught himself drifting away into irrelevant thoughts. Oh, how dearly he needed sleep. No, focus. Odie was speaking.

"... and a half now?"

Lachie shook his head a little, his eyes fixing on the ground at his cane. What had Odie said?

"Just a question for me, I hope you don't mind me asking. Which accident was it that caused your limp? Which you've had for about, what a season and a half now?"

He nodded to himself, then returned his attention to the detective. "Two seasons, aye. . ." he replied. Honestly, the thought of an "observation banter" hadn't crossed his mind, and even if it had, such a thought would likely have been lost in the swirling stupefaction that was his consciousness. Yet there was something weighing on said consciousness that seemed to pull him away from his conversation with Odie entirely.

After three long seconds of racking his weary brain, the sight before his eyes registered. Evidently, as he had been replying to Odie's question, his head had drifted to his left, and his gaze had fallen upon the partly-covered body of the hogwife.

Without a word, the big sea otter approached the body, stooped to his knee, and gently prodded its head with his cane. The head rolled to its side, revealing a nasty-looking wound. "Blunt-force trauma," muttered Lachlan. "If'n i'was the husband, 'e did it with a. . . a sort o' thinnish, er. . . well, lak a cane." He held up his own to indicate the sort of object that was used to murder the hogwife. . . Murder. . . Did it always have to be murder? . . . Well, he supposed, with multiple stab wounds an' a big dent inna back of 'er head, it prob'ly was murder. . . But why was it always murder?

Returning his attention to the body in front of him, Lachie wondered at the head wound. A cane certainly didn't match the description -- hadn't the husband been seen carrying a club? And what of the stab wounds? He hadn't been found with any sort of blade; there also seemed to be something rather odd about the knife wounds themselves, but Lachie couldn't quite place it. " 'ey," he called to Odie without removing his eyes from the body. He pointed languidly at the bloody gashes decorating the victim. "Wot d'ye notice aboot these stab wounds?"

[greek101]

As Odysseus talked, he noticed Lachlan wasn't paying that much attention. He seemed to be drifting in and out of the conversation. Odie figured he was probably very tired. It was late at night. Odysseus wasn't that tired, but of course, he had been up all night anyways...

He nodded to himself, then returned his attention to the detective. "Two seasons, aye. . ." he replied.

As he responded the otter was sort of leaning toward Odie's right, or the otter's left and then walked over to the body.

Odie winced when Lachlan poked the body's head with his staff. Not only was it rather rude to the dead body, but it could possibly effect the evidence, but Odie kept his mouth shut when the head rolled enough to reveal a wound on the back of the head.

Odie's eyes widened a bit as he took out his journal and began sketching the wound. How could he have missed that? Well, Lachlan did interrupt him while he was making his preliminary examination..

"Blunt-force trauma," muttered Lachlan. "If'n i'was the husband, 'e did it with a. . . a sort o' thinnish, er. . . well, lak a cane."

Odie knelt beside Lachlan and examined the wound. He was correct when he said blunt force trauma. And he was also correct when he said that it was not a thick weapon that did it. However, Odie wasn't going to assume yet if it was a cane or not. It probably was, but Odysseus knew better than to assume even the smallest details.

Taking out his "lookin' glass", Odie studied the wound and noted what he saw in his book while saying them aloud for Lachlan's sake. "Shattering break. Yer right, it was a thin weapon. From the wound, you can see that it was swung from the right, and a little under. The assailant was probably behind her when they hit her."

Using his dew claws, with the aid of his "lookin' glass", Odie pulled a small splinter of wood from the wound. "A light wood..." Odysseus noted. as he put the shard in his journal. "Like ye said, probably a staff.."

" 'ey," [...] "Wot d'ye notice aboot these stab wounds?"

Odysseus looked up. "Oh, those." Flipping back a few pages in his book, Odie recalled what he wrote down and added a bit more while he talked. "Well, the wounds look like the assailant was slashing at the victim from the front, with one maybe two short sharp objects with blades like a knife, maybe a bit curved."

"The range of the wounds also tell us dat the attacker seems to be no taller than the chin height of the victim and that the victim was struggling while receiving the wounds." Odie remarked as he pointed to the bruises and defensive marks on the body.

"According to the evidence, it appears that the victim, for reason we don't know, was walking westward through the forest. The attacker was over there," Odie pointed to where he found the prints. "And assailed her from behind with probably with a cane or the like. A swift blow to the head. But that blow didn't bring her down like it was supposed to. It probably dazed her, so th attacker took out their other weapon and started slashing at her."

"She tried to defend herself, but the attacker over took her in her dazed state, then cut her here and here." He pointed to two cuts, one on the leg and one on the neck. "The blow to the head finally knocked her out and these blows would have been the finishing blows. They cut right over major arteries of blood. The attacker probably make the blows and left, knowing that she would bleed out in seconds and die.."

[Shor]

Odysseus seemed to look up."Oh, those." It sounded like Odie flipped through his notes. "Well, the wounds look like the assailant was slashing at the victim from the front, with one maybe two short sharp objects with blades like a knife, maybe a bit curved."

Lachie inspected the wounds as Odie spoke. At least they had a general idea of what the weapon looked like. Unfortunately, such knives weren't exactly rare finds. But it was a start.

"The range of the wounds also tell us dat the attacker seems to be no taller than the chin height of the victim and that the victim was struggling while receiving the wounds." Odie pointed to the defensive marks.

Lachlan glanced around at the different shapes carved by the weapon. It wasn't terribly gruesome, in all honesty; Lachie had seen much worse. Odie's idea was plausible, but it also seemed that whoever attacked the hogwife did so very deliberately -- why would he or she need to stab any higher? On the other paw, Odie did have a point. Anybeast much taller than the hogwife would have attacked differently. The wounds would not have been as straightforward as they were.

"According to the evidence, it appears that the victim, for reason we don't know, was walking westward through the forest. The attacker was over there."-- he pointed at some footprints --"And assailed her from behind with probably with a cane or the like. A swift blow to the head. But that blow didn't bring her down like it was supposed to. It probably dazed her, so the attacker took out their other weapon and started slashing at her."

As Odie spoke, Lachlan rose to his footpaw and cane and proceeded to make his way toward the prints Odie had indicated. Glancing over his shoulder, he noted his own prints. The boggy ground did allow his paws to sink enough to leave a very distinct mark, and he felt as though this held some pertinence to the alleged murderer's footprints. Then it struck him that his own footprints were deeper than the others. As recent as the murder had been, it was probably not too late to glean a decent estimate. Lachlan hobbled back to Odie's side and opened his mouth to explain his theory to the in-vest-a-gator, but Odie was on a roll.

"She tried to defend herself, but the attacker over took her in her dazed state, then cut her here and here." He pointed to two cuts, one on the leg and one on the neck. "The blow to the head finally knocked her out and these blows would have been the finishing blows. They cut right over major arteries of blood. The attacker probably make the blows and left, knowing that she would bleed out in seconds and die.."

Lachlan lifted his right paw and rubbed his neck as he thought through the possibilities. "Wot if. . . wot if'n 'er 'ead wound came after bein' stabbed?
. . ." He shook his head, trying to understand the artist behind the scene before him. "Ah can't 'elp but think-- this isn't. . ." The seer trailed off. Perhaps it would be best to leave the corpse be. Get some sleep. Come back later. There was little left to be found at this point. . . at this hour. .

"Ach!" he said suddenly. "Ah furgot!" He hobbled back to the footprints Odie had previously indicated. "The footprints! Take a luke at 'em. Now luke a' mine." The big otter lifted his right footpaw, revealing the much deeper impression left in the boggy ground.

"Oh!" cried an otter from the small crowd. "Yore footprints are deeper, so ye can figur' out which were the husband's footprints 'cos he's 'eavier! An' then ye can know wot 'appened!"

Lachie, brow furrowed, turned his head and pointed at the beast who had spoken up. "Yes! Thank you, random bystander!" He shouted louder than necessary to subtly convey the words "up" and "shut," in no particular order. . .

[greek101]

Lachlan lifted his right paw and rubbed his neck as he thought through the possibilities. "Wot if. . . wot if'n 'er 'ead wound came after bein' stabbed?. . ."

"Ah!" Odie grinned a bit as a brought up his paw to show he had a different idea. "I would agree with you, save for the fact, that when you look closely at the head wound, " Odie magnified it with his "lookin' glass", " ye can see that the blood on the head has dried more than the other wounds. Tellin' us that the head wound was first, because it had more time to dry."

He shook his head, trying to understand the artist behind the scene before him. "Ah can't 'elp but think-- this isn't. . ."

"This isn't what?..All of the information?....Highly possible. We'll have to interrogate the witnesses, which may or may not help us at all really."Odie replied as he stood up. Odysseus was beginning to enjoy working with this otter. They weren't too different in personality and sure it was a murder case and it was sad, but this was almost becoming fun.

"Ach!" he said suddenly. "Ah furgot!" He hobbled back to the footprints Odie had previously indicated. "The footprints! Take a luke at 'em. Now luke a' mine." The big otter lifted his right footpaw, revealing the much deeper impression left in the boggy ground.

Odie watched Lachlan take his paw out of the ground. Yes! This ground was a perfect judge of weight being as boggy as it was! Thankfully it wasn't too hot that night and the impressions retained their depth for a longer time. As Odie knelt down and began examining the paw print depth with his knife blade, he heard a voice from behind blurt out.

"Oh!" cried an otter from the small crowd. "Yore footprints are deeper, so ye can figur' out which were the husband's footprints 'cos he's 'eavier! An' then ye can know wot 'appened!"

Lachie, brow furrowed, turned his head and pointed at the beast who had spoken up. "Yes! Thank you, random bystander!"

Odie sighed and rolled his eyes and spoke in a voice soft enough for only Lachlan to hear. "They have good intentions, really. But good intentions never helped a case..."

Putting his dagger on the inside of the mysterious footprint, he pressed it lightly against the side so that the dirt made a mark on the side of his dagger. Then standing up and walking over to the supposed hedgehog's prints, he did the same thing, but with the other side of the blade then stood up and held the blade in the moonlight for both Lachlan and himself to see.

"Interesting...Not only are the paw prints smaller in size than the husbands, but they are lighter as well." Opening his notebook, he set is dagger on one of the clean pages and sketched the results of his tests. "So we are defiantly looking for a creature who is lighter in frame and smaller in size than the husband and the victim."

Taking his dagger out of his book and flicking the dirt off, Odysseus put the weapon away and closed his book. "Well, Lachlan my friend, we now have two options, and I'll let you have the leading vote as you were the one they technically have investigating this crime. We can see where the unknown paw prints lead to because they are fresh and we know that they are still there and will not have disappeared by morn'. Or we could go back to this "party" or what not and interrogate the witnesses. The choice is yours."

[Shor]

Odie sighed."They have good intentions, really. But good intentions never helped a case..." he murmured sotto voce.

The big otter shifted his weight and cane to his right side, and moved his shoulder around to loosen the muscles. "Aye," he grunted. Come to think of it, the bystanders were often the necessary pieces to puzzles like this. Each one of them knew enough to close the case; the difficulty came in luring it out of them.

"Interesting...Not only are the paw prints smaller in size than the husbands, but they are lighter as well." Odie flipped open his notebook, and scribbled something in it. "So we are definitely looking for a creature who is lighter in frame and smaller in size than the husband and the victim."

"Sae we know it's def'nitely not the husband," he confirmed, returning his cane to his left paw, "but it'll take more'n some print measurements t'convince this lot." He glanced back at the crowd. Especially after he and Odie had effectively contaminated the site with their own footprints, convincing these beasts would take a lot more evidence.

Taking his dagger out of his book and flicking the dirt off, Odysseus put the weapon away and closed his book. "Well, Lachlan my friend, we now have two options, and I'll let you have the leading vote as you were the one they technically have investigating this crime. We can see where the unknown paw prints lead to because they are fresh and we know that they are still there and will not have disappeared by morn'. Or we could go back to this "party" or what not and interrogate the witnesses. The choice is yours."

Lachlan closed his eyes, imagining the likely outcome of each choice. On one paw, they could very well track the unknown murderer's footprints, but there was an almost inevitable ending to that course of action. Obviously, based on the care taken to frame the husband, this murderer knew what he was doing and quite probably had taken into account the gossipy nature of the boggy ground -- if he had run off, he would have taken special care to disappear. Chances were, the prints would lead straight back to the scene. The murderer could easily be part of the crowd, which meant that it would probably be best to start interviewing some witnesses.

On the other paw, it was terribly late, and running on less than an hour of sleep in a week, Lachlan would be of little use in the investigation. Besides, they had a good start, and it wouldn't hurt to get some rest.

He yawned, and looked back at Odie sleepily. "Ah dunno. Lukes like we're pretty much done fur now. We've covered the scene, an' Ah'm no good without sleep. How 'bout. . ."-- he let out a massive yawn --". . . we jus' go an' innerview the 'ermit tomorrow morn? 'e's not likely tae furget anythin' for a good twenty-four hours. Then we can talk tae the beasts 'at knew the hedge'ogs." He knew that time wasn't on their side, but it seemed like a rather open-and-shut case. They had a decent description of the beast they were looking for, and there were still forty-six of the forty-eight hours left to solve the case -- after that, their chances would decrease significantly.