Followed to death

Chapter 3 : Beginning of investigation

     At midnight, Roger’s son woke up quickly, with an old oil lamp. In the dark, nobody could see him. He climbed up the stairs of the attic silently and stealthily. A shadow was sitting in a chair. After a dead silence. The young man whispered:
“I think that Megan has some doubts. We have to be more discreet, clever, ingenious and suspicious!”
The shadow answered furiously:
“You have to be more efficient, otherwise I will stab you! You understood, don’t you?”
“Okay! Keep calm. I swear I'm going to do my best.”
Zach returned in his room and laid on his bed. He was thinking:
“If I were this person, I couldn’t do that anyway!”.
He was so tired of the day’s event, so he slept immediately.

     Megan sighed. Her job was going more and more interesting, but this brutal death made this dreamy one (which originally wasn’t) very troubling. She admitted that wolf’s attacks could happen, but something in this story disrupted her. She didn’t know what, but she was determined to find the truth. Before Zach and Roger, she went out in order to find some clues that could help her in the investigation. She began her research by the kitchen, which was the place where Penelope were most of the time before her death. “However, she didn’t cook very well” Megan thought with a frown. Then she climbed up the stairs which led to the floor of bedrooms. All the doors were closed. The young woman would have liked entering there to find some very interesting clues, but Roger and Zach may have taken a rest there. She didn’t want to disturb them, so she came down to go through another place. After an hour to search in the bathroom, in the car and in the tractor, she went in the sheepfold. All the animals were calm, eating or sleeping. Thinking she would never found something here, she was leaving when she suddenly saw a dark spot on the floor. Megan approached. It was a blood stain. Remaining her calm, she searched if there were other ones. There were, very little, and they led outside. With the grass, she couldn’t see and follow the track drawn by the blood stains. But her instinct pushed her towards a bush farther. And there among branches and leaves she perceived a jar. Filled with blood. Panicked, the young woman screamed strongly as much as she could. When the student in platypus came back to her mind, she took a picture of that. She returned happily in her bedroom. The first clue has been found by her. But she needed some explanation…

“What’s the hell is going on?” Megan shouted angrily as soon as Zach had finished his nap.
“What’s the matter? I don’t understand Megan.”
“You know very well! So, could you explain me why the jar in the bush was filled with blood? And don’t lie me!”
“What jar? I don’t understand what you’re speaking about.”
Megan stared at him insistently.
“Okay. You have certainly noticed that Penelope was strange, and… blood was one of her particularity. She is obsessed with blood.”
“You mean that Penelope… collected blood from sheep and put it in jars which she hid in bushes?”
“Um, yes.”
Megan nodded, absolutely not convinced. She had never heard an excuse as stupid as that. But one thing was known for sure: Zach was keeping a secret from her. She was even leaving to wonder whether Zach was Penelope’s murderer.

     During breakfast, Roger announced to them that he had to leave the farm and go to the city for one or two days to solve some administrative issues due to his wife’s death. Megan and Zach promised to take care of the farm even if they weren’t reassured to stay both alone. Two hours later, the widower had already left the house.

     Megan was in the kitchen, she was reading a platypus’ book. When suddenly, she heard Penelope’s voice. She thought that was an hallucination. But the voice spoke several times before a storm fell on Sheep’s alley. The young woman didn’t believe in haunted house. She wasn’t very courageous, so she closed quickly her book and hid under the table. Megan called Zach several times, but nobody answered to her question. When silence came back, she faintly went in her bedroom. Alone, she took a small lunch. Outside, it was raining dogs and cats. The young woman didn’t expect to find another clue later in the afternoon.