Fiction
"You said you literally tripped over the body."
"I tripped over a stump."
"And that's when you noticed the body."
"Yes."
"Any sign of life?"
Rudley swallowed hard. "I'm afraid not."
"Before that, did you hear anything?"
"A woodpecker. Then a grosbeak."
"I meant during the night. Something happened to that woman 150 yards from your campsite. You must have heard something."
Rudley scratched his head. "Something crashed through the underbrush at one point. Probably a deer. Margaret thought it was a bear. I'm sure it wasn't."
Brisbois made a note. "What time was that?"
"I'm not sure. Sometime after midnight."
"Could it have been a horse?
Rudley threw up his hands. "It could have been a zebra for all I know. It was dark. I woke from a sound sleep. I assumed it was a deer because there are quite a few up in the woods."
