A Yarn That Rhymes - 3

[Doctor Foster went to Gloucester,

In a shower of rain]

Chapter 3

Andy Foster was the local hero. He was a doctor. A very good one, apparently. He had published some paper in one of those fancy medical journals that yu only hear about. He had been in a war. He was well-mannered, articulate and distinguished. And single. Somehow that was a very big thing in this small town that was named a city. Billy Foster was Andy's nephew. Dr. Foster was quick to appear on the scene. In fact he arrived along with the Chief.

"So, what is the verdict Jack?", asked Dr. Foster.

Jack did not reply. There was some bad blood between these two. High school can be a tough place.

"C'mon now, Jack tell me. You can't hold what happened 19 years ago against me. Let's be professional."

Jack did not reply. He just swung out wildly. There was a noise - of Jack's fist connecting with the good Doctor's jaw. A couple of cops standing near him caught the Doctor. The Chief ,himself, restrained Jack using his ample girth as a barrier.

Jack and the Doctor had never been the best of buds. Foster was actually, a high school bully and Horner was the default punching bag.

"Chief, have the analysts completed their tests?"

"Yes, Jack. It is Sheep blood alright. We are taking in Billy right now. He is of course denying it."

"That can't be right Eli. Billy is a good kid. He may be a bit on the wild side but he is a chip of the old block. You gotta do something, Elijah. For my sake".

This was the Doctor trying to defend his nephew.

"Andy, the evidence is clear. I can't do anything now. We will interrogate him and see if anything can be done. But it's the Master, we are talking about.."

The Chief's silence was enough for Foster to understand that where their benevolent Master was concerned there was no question where his loyalty lay.

The police finished up their work quickly. There was not much to do anyways. They cordoned off the area. The Chief chatted with Jack regarding his ideas.

Jack and Dr. Foster stayed well away from each other at the crime scene. Very soon a small crowd of oglers had gathered at the farm yard. Wide-eyed kids, housewives with flour in their hair and curious men, each with their theory towards the motive of the crime.

Amidst all this confusion, there was a cry from one of the onlookers. The bewildered crowd parted to reveal Miss Maple who had fainted near a rose bush, presumably after finding out about Billy. She was immediately rushed to Foster's clinic which was the closest to the place.

...

Jack decided to talk to the McDonald kid, Alan. He was one of the unknowns in this equation. There was no evidence yet to associate him with the crime. The equation for Jack was very simple. Most of the times the simplest solution always worked. Billy had abducted the sheep with the aid of Miss Maple. She might have been an active participant or could have been another victim of love.

But this solution did not satisfy the equation. There was no reason to bleed the sheep and possibly kill them. Billy was not crazy. So the motive had to be money. But he seemed quite simple and well off. The presence of the lone head was a gruesome variable. Things just did not add up.

Why would Billy kill one sheep, for sure, and drain the other sheep and have a splash in his own backyard? Unless he really liked shepherd's pie

Alan McD, as he asked Jack to call him, was a cool guy in most senses of the word. He was supposed to be quite the catch in Sink City's social circles. He had dropped out of school, was a typical jock but was not dumb. And weirdly he was cold. Or at least his skin was.

That was the first thing Jack realized when he shook hands with him.

"I suppose you are here to talk about the little incident next door. Let me just say that Billy simply ain't the type of guy to do such a monstrous thing. He is a good kid, an able worker and a nice friend to have. But I don't know much about Mary. I was out at the cafe house on the day the sheep were reported stolen. Today I heard you come in and that's all. I was working down in the basement. Now that harvesting and all is done I have to get down to the storage stuff. The houses are not much apart but sound don't really carry all the way. That is all that I can remember"

"Well, that is an awful lot, Alan. Thank You. If only all people here would be as helpful as you - " Jack left the words hang. Because he saw something that interested him. Alan's fingernails were not clean. That is understandable seeing where he worked.

But if Jack was right that was blood in his nails.

"So, do you work with meat?"

"No. Not much. Just thee grainy stuff."

"Oh. OK alright. Well I will be off then. Seems like a simple case to me. Billy just went cuckoo. Mind if I look around later?"

"No. Always glad to help. See you later. Lots of work to do."