Hunter's Bounty (Veller) by Garry Spoor Page A

listening to the sounds of the forest. When she was sure that there was no one else around and that they were completely alone, she stepped onto the porch, and pushed open the front door.
    There was nothing to hinder the door's motion as it swung open, and a breath of stale air was released from within. The interior was just as modest as the rest of the house. There was a single cot in the far corner, a chair by the fireplace, a small table set up beside the door. All in all, it was not an inhospitable place, but it was definitely a place of escape from something. What was it that David Draw was trying to escape from?
    She stepped inside and took a quick look around, but the only things she could say were out of place was a chair, that had fallen over, and a few books that lay scattered carelessly about. Her eyes fell upon the suspicious looking stain on the floor where the files said the body of David Draw was found, beyond that it looked as if anything of any importance had already been taken. She stepped back out into the yard and opened the file once again.
    “Okay, it says here that the Guild Investigators found the body of David Draw lying face down on the floor in the middle of the cabin with a long knife still in his back. The long knife has been positively identified as belonging to Certified level five Hunter Kile Veller. There were no signs of a struggle or of a forced entry. The door was open when they arrived.”
    “Who conducted the investigation?” Folkstaff asked as he started to search the surrounding area.
    “Let’s see… oh, you’re going to like this. The lead investigator was Craig Morse.”
    “ Morse? Are you kidding me? The man couldn’t find water in a rain storm.”
    “That may be so, but it was signed off by Andrew Drain himself.”
    “That figures.” Folkstaff scoffed. “Just from a quick look I can tell there’s been quite a bit of activity in the yard, all around the house for that matter.”
    “Well, according to Morse’s theory. Kile Veller arrived, delivering a package. Mr. Draw let her in. He must have turned his back on her for whatever reason, and she stabbed him, case closed.”
    “Seems pretty cut and dry to me.” Folkstaff replied.
    “And what, she fled into the forest, leaving her horse and supplies behind, never to be heard from again? And what about motive? Why would she want to kill this Mr. Draw anyway? If she was really an assassin, she wasn’t a very good one. How many assassins do you know leave something that can be so easily identified behind as a murder weapon? And why such a quick turn around, why rush this case through the system?” Erin closed the file and looked around the yard, but Folkstaff was gone.
    “Robert, are you even listening to me?” She called out.
    “You might want to see this.” Came the reply
    She headed into the forest a few yards behind the old cabin where she found Folkstaff crouched down, brushing pine needles away from something on the ground.
    “This is a little far away from our crime scene.” She remarked.
    “Yes, but I found something.”
    “And how is this going to help us?”
    “You tell me.” He said as he pointed to the indentation in the ground.
    “Is that a… footprint?  Well even if it is, I can’t see how that has any bearing on our case.”
    “Don’t you? Look closely.”
    She crouched down beside Folkstaff and brushed away a few more of the pine needles. It was clearly a footprint, or part of one, that was easy enough to see. She could make out the toes as well as the arch, and that was when she realized that, what she was looking at was indeed a footprint and not a boot print.
    “What runs through the forest with bare feet?” Folkstaff asked.
    “Uhyre? Are you saying that this is the footprint of a valrik?”
    “Given the overall size and definition, I would have to say yes, and not just one, I’ve noticed a few of them in the front of the house as well. Now, whether or not that has anything to do