Play@YSDC

The Sheriff just ‘harrumphed’ in reply. He walked up to the front door and peered inside. ”You’d better show me where the bodies are,” he said.

"I know where Robert died," says William, "and I can show you that. I'm not sure where the other body is."

The Sheriff stood to one side to let William lead the way. As they entered the house, there was a childish giggle from up the stairs...

William leads the way, glancing back. "There are children here?" he asks.

"Don't you remember?" asks Howard irritably. He doesn't relish meeting the children again.

"There's something strange about them, Sheriff. I've met them already, maybe I should talk to them first. They don't want us here."

"I never saw or heard any children the last time I was here," says William, "and you never told me about them. I stayed with Robert."

"You must have forgotten" says Howard.

OOC,Have a look at the previous posts.

"You did say something about staying away from 'those kids upstairs,' I remember that now," says William, "but you never explained what you meant, and I had other things on my mind at the time."

”If there are children here, put your guns away,” said Sheriff Digne. ”In fact, you’re making me nervous with all your chatter so I want you to lock them away. Put them in the boot of your car.” He looked at Georgie and Lawrence. ”These boys can stay here and look after them for you.”

"Sure" says Howard. "The children don't like guns anyway."

He hands his weapon over.

"Why don't we go and view the bodies?" he suggests. "Maybe you know them, Sheriff."

The Sheriff lead the way up the stairs and onto the first landing. He was sweating and face was flushed as he looked upon the dead body of Robert Brophy impassively. He stepped carefully around the congealed pools of blood and knelt down. He checked for a pulse then wiped his bloody fingers on Robert’s shirt.

The Sheriff studied the symbol carved into Robert’s chest and shook his head. ”Where’s the other body?” he asked.

"Next set of stairs" says Howard, indicating with a nod of his head.

The Sheriff huffed as he climbed to his feet and wiped his brow as he walked to the next staircase and examined the body of the Native American who lay spread-eagled and upside down on the stairs. His eyes stared vacantly and his mouth hung open as if in a silent scream.

The Sheriff leaned close to examine the spine buried in the man’s chest, before he started to pull at the man’s clothes, first at the neck and then at the wrists. Roughly pulling the man’s shirt sleeve up his arm, the Sheriff exposed a tattoo in the shape of a snake, in iridescent green and black...

"That's the same design as the one on the man downstairs!" exclaims Howard in a low voice. "What is it, Sheriff?"

"You were expecting to find a tattoo there," says William. "How'd you know he'd have one? What's its significance?"

The Sheriff sighed and stood up. ”He’s a native - a lot of them have tattoos showing which tribe they belong to. Sometimes it’s on the wrist, sometimes on the chest. If you’ve been around them long enough, you know what to look for.” he replied.

"Sure" says Howard. "But why carve it into a man's chest?"

”Sometimes it’s a sign of possessing something, other times it could be a warning,” replied the Sheriff.

”The dead man in there, I think that’s a warning...” he continued, gesturing in the direction of the room where Robert’s bloodied corpse lay.