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Realistic or Modern The Mulhouser Files: Echoes of Blood

joshuadim said:
2: Ask the Hunters - A trio of woodsman types are enjoying their meal at a nearby table, perhaps they know something.
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You decide to catch the hunters before your leave, as their expertise out in the forests here could provide invaluable information. You quickly finish your meal before making your way over to their table, catching a glimpse into their current conversation about fishing up north. One of them was bragging to the two others about catching a large trout and cooking it: "The secret is ya gotta add the herbs in with the fish in the foil as you roast it. Really gets the flavour out..." the bearded man says before noticing your approach. The two others catch on quickly and look as they stand at their table.

"Afternoon gents. Thomas Mulhouser, investigator." you introduce yourself up front, offering a handshake. "I'm looking into something that recently happened up in the forests here, if you can help me out a bit."

The first woodsman shakes your hand unhesitatingly: "Name's Roe. That's Barry and Joe." the outdoorsman says, nodding over to his pals. They both greet you as well with the tips of their heads. "Come on and have a seat. How can we help?" he then invites you to their booth, sliding further in so as to make room for you.

You make yourself comfortable, seated next to Roe and across the two others before leaning in with crossed arms resting on the table. "I'm looking into the death that happened up at Brule River." you say, gauging their reactions. They all perk up at the news, which means that they have heard of it at the very least.

[Hunter Background] "Have you heard anything from the park rangers office about this? Any sort of warnings put out?" you then ask, knowing that the trio would undoubtedly have relations with wildlife officials. Not to mention their familiarity with the wilderness of the region as well.

"Well sure we heard about it. Damn well couldn't get it out of the notices." Barry says as he sips his cup of coffee. "Everyone with a penchant for the outdoors heard about it practically the next day, the rangers make sure that wildlife dangers are well known."

"Yeah. Said it was a bear attack or somethin'." Roe chimes in as he takes a cuts a piece of steak and chews on it. "Been happening a lot."

"In Brule River?" you ask.

"Nah, the whole damn area. Rangers say the bears get more aggressive 'cause people are feedin' em. Damn idiot tourists..."

"It wasn't a bear." Joe then says, shaking his head.

"What the hell else could it be then?" Barry says with annoyance, glaring at his compatriot as if expecting a solid answer.

"A buddy of mine, Keith, said he was there the morning after. Campsite was a damn mess. But I trust him when he says it ain't no bear that did that."

"Did he... see anything?" you ask Joe, trying to discern any actual evidence from all this.

Joe shifts uncomfortably as all eyes were placed on him, and shook his head. "Nah... no fur. No scratches. Just a lot of blood... and a footprint."

"The victim's?" you ask, leading the conversation further.

"No. He said it looked human... but it was all sorts of fucked up. Had claws... and the shape was all wrong Like it got bent and twisted or somethin'."
Clues Gained:
"Bear Attack Pattern" - Roe says that similar attacks have happened over the years in and in wilderness areas near Brule River.
Footprint - Joe's friend claims to have seen a footprint that had some details of a human, but was otherwise animal in appearance.​
1: Ask about the Campsite - See if there's anything still of value to be found there.

2: Ask about other areas - See if they share similar details.

3: [Hunter Background] Ask about the terrain - Getting a lay of the land from fellow outdoorsmen could prove useful.
 
1: Ask about the Campsite - See if there's anything still of value to be found there.
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"Think there might be anything there still? Something I can go off of?" you ask the trio, hoping that perhaps there are some leads that were either overlooked or outright ignored due to the nature of such an event. A wild animal attack doesn't draw the most keen sense after all. But you notice Joe shake his head as he takes a sip of his own coffee before clearing his throat. "Doubt it... there was rain yesterday. Whatever might've been there probably got washed out. That track too."

"What, that track Keith claimed he saw?" Barry said, rolling his eyes. But he then turned his gaze to you: "Sorry that Joe is wasting your time with bullshit. Keith was an addict about a decade ago. Bet that fried his brain real good and still sees shit."

"Fuck you man, he's clean as all hell. Doesn't even drink!" Joe shot back to his pal with a furrowed glare.

You know it isn't particularly your place, especially when with a group of strangers you only just met, but you feel an opinion rising up through your throat. Could you really trust the word of a former addict when it came to something as serious as this? It's not a particularly credible source, especially given your own expertise in dealing with eyewitnesses back at the Tribunal. Then again, stranger things have happened amidst the mundane.
1: Doubt - You decide to trust your professional investigative instinct and dismiss Keith's account. It really could have been anything, and without seeing it for yourself you decide to not place your faith in the word of an acquaintance's friend who is known to dabble in substance abuse.

2: Believe - Just because Keith's background is marred with issues doesn't discredit his words! You've had to take the word of individuals whose lives were messy and complicated to get the full picture, why should you start excluding details now?
 
2: Believe - Just because Keith's background is marred with issues doesn't discredit his words! You've had to take the word of individuals whose lives were messy and complicated to get the full picture, why should you start excluding details now?
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Drug addicts often come with many strings attached to their testimonials, even recovering ones, as that background inherently makes them unreliable witnesses. But you push your judgments to the back of your mind, realizing that not only would it be poor judgment to discard a person's recounting of all this but it would also be incredibly rude. Especially considering that Joe has been helpful thus far along with his buddies, it would practically be spitting in his face. Besides, you had dealt with unsavoury characters in your past dealings during your tenure at the Tribunal; everyone from gangbangers to crooked cops, they were all founts of information that proved valuable when it came to pressing the issue that made your name known in the first place - corruption.

It was the eyewitness testimonial of a security guard at the docks, who was also under the payroll of the mob in order to pay for his daughter's education, that tipped you off towards the skirting of shipping regulations and the wanton disregard of safety precautions that got three men killed. If you didn't trust the security guard, that story would never have come to light and the families would still have been in the dark as to the greed that was held in higher regard than their loved ones' well-being.

"I'm not discrediting his testimony." you say, trying to ease the mood from Barry's skepticism laced annoyance, "While I obviously haven't seen the prints for myself, I'm not gonna say Keith didn't see something. I gotta follow every lead, no matter how vague. It's part of the job."

Barry is silent for a moment before nodding: "I get it."

Roe then speaks up, chuckling towards Barry's stubbornness giving way to your rationality: "Pardon him, he's a damn boulder sometimes when it comes to arguments. Damn near impossible to get him to move!"

"Don't worry about it, I've dealt with worse." you say with reassurance, so that it's clear there's no bad blood between you and Barry.

"I'm sure you have city boy!" Roe says, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Keep hearin' about crime and shit on the news all the time. Makes me wonder how you people even live there."

Considering you've gotten along well with the trio so far, you don't feel as though you want to leave yet - even if you are on the clock for your work. Investigations take days, if not weeks, after all; what's spending a bit more time socializing going to do?
1: [Hunter Background] - Ask about their hunting habits. You want to hear about what kind of game they've caught, and about the terrain to get a lay of the land in advance.

2: [Journalist Background] - Ask for Roe's cell number - in case you need to follow up with him at a later point - as well as for the park ranger's office if you need to contact them for any specifics on the incident.

3: Take your leave - You decide it's time to get back to work and head for the state archives. There's a mysterious death to solve after all, and the daylight wanes.
 
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