142 / 195
At this, Leo spotted the back door, which had a few odd looking marks. As he quickly moved
towards the door he realized what the marks consisted of. The same foul smelling blood that had
covered the floor of the stall. The horses' blood.
"The murderer must have escaped through the door, so, if I'm lucky, the knife may be
somewhere out here" Leo muttered quietly. He believed that his reasoning was sound, and with
that, he opened the door.
As he walked outside, he was in awe of the breath-taking landscape in-front of him. The
lush green seemed to never end, hills abounding covered with rolling clouds. All Leo could think
about was how much he wished that he could spend hours sketching, painting and drawing the
beauty he was standing in. This would be his ideal commission. A few hours out here would be
amazing. Not that his job was anything to look forward to. Shaking his head, he escaped the
thought and got back to work.
As he focused, he looked down and saw a trail of footprints. He was well aware of how
lucky he had gotten in finding this. The recent heavy rain had left mud in it wake, leaving well-
defined boot prints leading to small hedge nearby. This job was far less enjoyable than it seems
on TV.
"This could just be the owners. I could be wrong. This might just be me wasting time,
following through on an empty lead." Leo began to get nervous. It felt far more serious than
before. But the hesitation only lasted a short time, and his curiosity took over. He carefully
avoided the footprints while making his way over.
Soon enough he was standing behind the hedge he had previously seen. The hedge has
clearly tampered with as leaves are everywhere. As he parts the bush, he can see the knife clearly