{
  "writing": "[center][b][u]Espresso Shot Shorts[/u][/b][/center]\n[center][b]Sheriff / Hunter[/b][/center]\n[center][u]Part 4: Sherrif[/u][/center]\n[center]By XP Author[/center]\n\nRita put a hand on her hips, tilting her head. \"They're not happy.\"\n\nAlina shook her head, her arms crossed in front of her. \"No they are not.\" She frowned. \"Neither am I.\" The two women looked at the newest victim of the killer they were hunting. The giraffe's long neck had been cut in two places, just below her chin and just above her shoulders. By how much cum was drooling from both ends, it was clear the killer had used it like a kind of fleshy toy. The woman had also been used, as all the other victims had been, her other holes all left filled. Her body was draped backwards over the edge of an empty market stall, with her head set on her belly, as if she were the product on sale. \"Who was she?\"\n\nThe fox frowned. \"From what I was able to gather, she was a traveling merchant from one of the villages just outside of town. Apparently the town is known for their particularly vibrant blue dyes.\"\n\nAlina nodded. \"That explains the note.\" As with all the other victims, the killer left a piece of parchment, with a small note written in the victim's blood. [i]Fourth. Blood red is a much prettier hue.[/i]\n\nThe fox shrugged. \"Well, I guess we can add particular body types he likes. All the women he's killed has had some pretty ample breasts.\"\n\n\"No, the rabbit was on the smaller side. But that may have been an exception to get the sword.\" Alina nodded at the dead woman. \"As we can see, he's put it to pretty good use. Those cuts look very clean. I think the killing blow was instant. This tall bitch was dead before she knew what happened. Which tells us?\"\n\nRita smirked. \"We're hunting someone who knows how to wield a sword properly.\"\n\n\"Not just that. The blade would have needed tending after sitting on a shelf for so many years. He knows how to sharpen and maintain a blade, too.\" She turned to look at the crowd. \"This city has a smithy, yes?\"\n\nRita turned and looked at the crowd with her. The mass of people was being held back by two guards, though it only stopped the people from getting too close. The words still carried. The people were angry and scared, shouting at the guards and the foreigner investigators to find this killer already. The fox pointed. \"There. The boar to the left with the burn scar on his head. That's the smithy. Kal... something.\"\n\nAlina grunted. \"Very well.\" She then pointed at the boar and motioned for him to come over. \"You! Over here!\" Without waiting for the man to even acknowledge, she turned and walked a short distance away, to a quieter place between the tavern and the inn. She leaned against the wall and waited.\n\nIt only took a minute for Rita to follow, leading an older boar with a burn scar across his face and top of his head. \"Alright, what's this about? You're not thinkin' I went an' did this to these girlies are you?\" Despite being older, he was still quite muscular with a barrel chest and broad shoulders, giving the squat man a somewhat boxy look. A look of anger barely masked his apprehension.\n\n\"Everyone is a suspect right now.\" Alina pushed off from the wall. \"But that's not why I called you here. Has anyone stolen anything from your smithy lately?\"\n\nHe shook his head. \"Stolen anything? No. Not that I can think of, but I'm not sure what people would want to steal. If'n you thinks I made the blade that cut them pretty girls, think again. I haven't made anything sharper than a nail in years. I make door hinges mostly, sharpen kitchen knives as the worst. And it ain't no kitchen knife that did these deeds.\"\n\nThe mouse gave him a cold, hard look. \"How can you be so sure?\"\n\nDespite being thinner, and only an inch taller, she clearly unnerved the man as he scratched the back of his head. \"Well... I've seen how a knife like that cuts. We had bandits come through years ago, an' people were fight'n 'em off with what they had at hand. It's how I got this.\" He pointed at the burn mark. \"Got tossed against me own furnace and got coals down me face.\" He cleared his throat. \"Anyhows. Kitchen knife ain't a clean cut on a body, and it cuts the hand that swings it. No guard on the handle, so it gets slick with blood. The hand slips. Ol' Vesi damn near sliced her own fingers off cutting a young rogue try'na bust inta her place.\"\n\n\"Old Vesi?\" Alina looked at Rita, but the fox shrugged.\n\n\"Oh. She use'ta be the matron o' the eatery. But she passed on a few months after the bandits. Left it to her son, Gereg, but he...\" He let his voice trailed off, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.\n\nAlina crossed her arms. \"But he what?\"\n\nThe boar sighed. \"He died in the war with yer people...\" He frowned. \"He was in the capital when the army came. Crushed by the wall when it was breached... It was good Ol' Vesi was already gone. That woulda' broken her big heart it would.\" He clenched his fists, letting his sadness turn to anger. \"And now we gots some madman traipsing about town, off'n pretty girls at night! Fine job you lot have done bringing us order!\"\n\nRita crossed her arms, taking a step forward to loom over the shorter man. \"We are with the inspector corps, not military council. If you have a complaint, you can take it up with the imperial court. I'm sure they'll hear what someone as important as you has to say regarding their political and military choices.\" Her voice dripped with a threatening sarcasm, and her toothy smile almost begged the man to try something.\n\nTo his credit, the boar backed down. \"Right. Sorry... Just these matters been getting to everyone. Bandits, the war, loosing our king an' the royal family, rebels in the country, now this killer. People here been through a lot. So you'd best be solving this quick-like, or you'll be getting more than just sour looks!\"\n\nThe fox narrowed her eyes. \"Is that a threat?\"\n\nThe boar grunted, but didn't meet her gaze. \"No. Consider it a warning, though. Ralnara's like a cooker under pressure. It might blow if you can't give some good news soon. That's all.\" He looked at Alina. \"Can I go now? I have orders to get to. People been ordering lotta new locks fer their doors.\"\n\nAlina nodded, and the man quickly took his leave, hastily walking away to the shop. Once he was out of earshot, she spoke up. \"He's lying about one thing. Someone did steal from his shop recently.\"\n\n\"Yeah, he deflected away from that topic pretty fast.\" The fox looked at her partner. \"I don't think he's involved, though.\"\n\nThe mouse nodded. \"Yeah. He was just scared that if we found out, we'd think he was. Or, I think more likely, the town would think that. Probably something to do with sharpening a blade, I would think. Whetstones, or a small edge grinder maybe. Kitchen knives and sword blades sharpen just the same, after all.\" She grunted, leaning against the wall again. \"Did you find any connection between this newest victim in the others?\"\n\nRita sighed, shaking her head. \"No. The only connection they've got is being in this city, being women, and being alone at night. From what I could gather, none of them knew each other very well, other than the baker's daughter and the widow. I'm sure people could be withholding information, but I have a hard time seeing a guard's widow, a prostitute, and a traveling clothier spending tea time with each other.\"\n\nAlina nodded. \"So other than our widow, who he killed to get her husband's sword, all these women are targets of opportunity.\" She frowned harder. \"That will make this harder. Well, we can only hope that he gets sloppy with the next one and leaves us something we can go on.\" She already knew there would be more bodies before they caught this person. She sighed. \"I wish the capital had given us a posse. The guards here are useless, and the people are unhelpful. If we had a few more hands, we could do a city-wide search for more clues. But no, we can't go in with a big force, lest the locals think we're just another invading army imposing our law. Which we are. I hate politics.\"\n\n\"Maybe we could set a trap?\"\n\nAlina nodded. \"My thoughts, too. The problem is, we need bait, and I don't see any of these backwater Vestans volunteering to put their lives on the line to help Jynites like us. Even if we are here to save their sorry hides.\" She let out another heavy sigh, letting her shoulders slump a little. \"This whole occupation was a bad idea. These people don't want our help. I'd let them all figure it out themselves if this...\" She grunted.\n\n\"If this wasn't our job.\" Rita finished. She reached out, resting her hand on her partner's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. \"I know. And they can't even brew tea properly.\" That at least got a slight scoff from the mouse. \"Come. Let's head back to the office. We can go over what we know and come up with a plan.\" She leaned closer. \"And I'll give you a nice shoulder massage to get that tension out.\"\n\nAlina managed a smile. \"I'll let you rub more than that later.\" She took a breath and straightened herself. \"But you are right. For now, let's see if we can't figure out a trap for our killer. If we can at least find a pattern, maybe the bait will put itself into it without knowing.\"\n\n[center]*     *     *[/center]"
}