"Get these people out of here! Ackerson, get 'em behind the tape. They're tramplin' all over the crime scene." Lovey LaFountaine didn't sound angry, she never did.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtg340RahGx
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5TYJv9USF
Scene? Ha. This is out of a Stephen King novel or something … no, Edgar Alan Poe is more like it. Lovey tried to focus on the facts. Clovis Crepitus lacked popularity; no one would question that fact. Taxidermy has a certain creepiness to it as a given. "Say, could you stuff my dead dog? I'd like to display it by the fireplace." or "Hey, I found this dead buzzard on the highway, I'd like to hang it from my ceiling fan." these aren't the normal arts and crafts desires one would consider at say a hobby shop.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpGgRf7fqm
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaAtOkIPYL
Clovis the Creep, as the neighborhood kids called him, was posed, bent over, with his hand outstretched, holding a fish. It looked as though he were offering a treat to his pet crocodile for being a "good boy". Lovey had to put her hand over her mouth and pretend to cough. Whoever did this had a twisted but sharp sense of humor. To be honest, the mood was light considering this was a murder case. It was clear Clovis didn't stuff himself.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiT9Y4VJRn
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEQe7ruIJk
Lovey returned to the business at hand. "Let's get plenty of pictures, and I want this whole place dusted. Take care with that bloody vase. I'm guessing it's the murder weapon or one of them. This happened after hours and there's no break-in. He knew his killer … maybe even friendly with them. Well, I can't imagine who might fit that picture. Get a picture of the writing on the mirror." Hmm, 'justice' written in blood. Justice for who or what? "This looks like a mystery, folks, any ideas?"776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHM0zIGgQd9
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtCRd3CeLS
"The town's people have complained about him poachin' for years, Cap, but we've never been able to nail him on it. The evidence always ends up on display here all tidy and how do ya do." Jonas clearly didn't enjoy being around all the stuffed dead animals. Hunting was serious business in North Dakota and many relied on it to survive. Wildlife was held in high regard and respected. Hunting laws were enforced and taken most seriously.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7tYEsBhtF
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPxpR4Rgb4
"What do you want me to do with the fish, Cap?" Taverblatt seemed to always have a runny nose, yet he never had a hankie. He had the fish from Clovis' hand and held it out as if Lovey needed to see what he meant by 'fish'.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdCizKAMN4
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXVfW2cyy7
"Take it back to the station, Taverblatt, and question it. It's an eye witness." The officers in earshot laughed. "Crap, whaddya ya think? Toss it. And blow your nose for God's sake. If your DNA ends up as evidence I'm recommending the death penalty."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YHJn8WWeh
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRsJ66oQ7b
Laughter followed Taverblatt out the door. He nearly tripped over the Donnatello twins. "Oh, sorry. Any good impressions."776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWMTdVnkjJ
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHICt7WKXa
"I do a great impression of my sister looking in a mirror … sorry, you set me up perfectly. There's impression's all over.  Most of 'em are animal though. Weird, I'd swear these are gorilla footprints … but that's crazy. The only gorilla in Fargo Heights is old man Swanson down at The Cask and Cleaver." The twins went back to the task at hand and Taverblatt continued on to the dumpster.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdU6tFQju6
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kVsaZFKPa
The crime team had a lot to work with. The tools used to stuff and mount Clovis were left out on the table. The cracked vase was collected and fingerprinted. Several samples from the large pool of blood by the door were collected. Lovey didn't see much point though, what were the odds of finding a drop of suspect's blood there?776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUa5LYC5P6j
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjb4esrmWW
~~~~~~~~776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpg4ZL2mtrt
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDy3U7wgLp
Lovey sat in her office alone in near darkness. The streetlamp outside provided enough light to navigate around her office injury free. The red light on the coffee maker indicated where her diner could be found. Why solve it? Who cares? The whole town will party in private if not right out in the open. The most hated man in Fargo Heights dead stuffed and mounted just like the unfortunate animals who happened to cross his path. But who would go to such an extreme? 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eDUsbDihz
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlfEr1DP87
Lovey grabbed her worn purse and headed for the door. The answers would come when the forensic reports came rolling in. Fingerprints, DNA, shoe impressions, all of those things are without agenda, they don't lie. Lovey looked shapely in her uniform as she walked to her jeep four-wheeler. In North Dakota, it can be many months before a woman's figure can be viewed. There's a lot of bundling up against the harsh weather. Ford Layton had already fallen in love with her when he finally got to see in the flesh that Lovey LaFountaine was a beautiful woman. True love can have its pleasant rewards.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvFzysfOyS
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbawRc3UCxB
~~~~~~~~776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Q0kjEUHLb
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzP1lyH0R1
The forensics took a long time to come trickling in. It was nothing new. As imperative as time is in an investigation, it doesn't matter to a lab technician. At first Lovey thought it to be some kind of joke. I thought folks from this neck of the woods didn't have senses of humor. Am I supposed to take this seriously? The report on one of the casts taken outside of the taxidermy shop read, "gorilla footprint". There were several pictures of the muddy footprint, the mold made from it, and finally the model foot produced from the mold. It didn't look human, that was clear.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiytN1O4vOa
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTlQIffEjj
The forensic evidence did little to paint any kind of sensible picture for Lovey. The prints outside were all animal. But many of the animals had no business in North Dakota. There were African leopards, kangaroos, an armadillo and even a Canadian snow goose. The pool of blood contained nothing but grey wolf DNA. It would be a serious felony to kill a grey wolf as it was highly endangered. There was blood, but no body, a minor mystery in its own right. The prints on the vase were pongid or ape in origin. They tryin' to make a monkey outta me? Lovey laughed out loud.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUihFrqZWB
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecDJmEvFwM
~~~~~~~~776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ozUwqQZp6
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMrG4zJKOg
Lovey went back to the scene of the crime. No one had crossed the yellow tape in the month since the crime. She stood in the center of the room. Eyes stared back at her. A huge gorilla in the corner of the room almost seemed to be smiling. In fact, she could feel a peace in the room she couldn't explain. The kangaroo and two joeys looked ready to hop out the door and back to Australia. The grey wolf stood poised by the window ready to escape into the mountains. The armadillo didn't look to be in a hurry to leave, but seemed at ease.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SbPuB2nPv
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlt8midyXY
Lovey looked up to see Taverblatt in the doorway.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YPLrJDIBn
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNnCU93ia6
"Any theories, Cap?" Taverblatt wiped his nose with a bright red hanky.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yYUqoXoPS
 776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFigI0ef6l
"Nope. The forensics didn't show so much as a fingerprint." Lovey looked around at the stuffed animals. "I don't think it will ever be solved, Tavs, but somehow, I think justice was served."  8964 copyright protection772ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfahtZvhlG 維尼