That Fateful Summer Day

Nathanial had no enemies. He was a good farmer. His fruits and vegetables were held with high regard by many in the town. He always charged a fair price. He took what he earned and bought tools and equipment for his farm, and always paid a fair price. Nathanial was an important part of the town's economy that everyone will miss.

The captain approached Nathanial's cottage. Again he was reminded of the loss when he saw no one tending to the crops. Work was abandoned when the terrible news came out. Even days after the occurrence, the crops appeared to be withering from the lack of attention. It didn't seem right to Captain Holm Locke. The plants almost seemed to take on an evil, sinister appearance. The town will certainly burn this field to clear out the evil that was done here, the Captain thought to himself. He wasn't sure how much good that would do, but he let them have their way.

The Captain was staring blankly at the front door, lost in his own thoughts. He quickly returned to the present. "Best to get this over with," he said to no one in particular. Captain Holm Locke grasped the handle and opened the door. The inside of the cottage was cold, in stark contrast to the warm summer day outside.

Once inside, the Captain's skills took over. He systematically searched for clues as to who did this evil deed and why. How did they get in? He didn't see any signs of forced entry. No one barred their doors around here, the killer probably just walked in through the front door. Continuing through the cottage, Captain Holm Locke noticed several items strewn about. Nathanial did not go down without a fight. Knife marks were left on walls, and on furniture, confirming the reports of those who found him, Nathanial was stabbed to death.

Captain Holm Locke found blood on the ground, a distance away from where Nathanial was found dead. He was obviously struck several times and continued to struggle before relenting to the grip of death. This yielded the first decent clue to the Captain as to who might have done this. The hard packed ground outside left little in the way of footprints, but here on the wooden floor he clearly saw footprints laid out in the blood. The obvious struggle made it hard to find distinct prints. Captain Holm Locke mentally recalled what Nathanial had on his feet when he was found. He was able to match those prints on the ground easily enough. What was left made his heart miss a beat or two.

1. The second set of prints could not have been made by a human.
2. There were no other prints. Nathanial obviously killed himself, or some dark magic caused him to.

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