When Spencer was brought to me she had been deceased for at least twenty four hours. They found the body in the woods south of town. She was apparently buried in a shallow grave there, amongst a number of recently dug holes. Michael’s blood hound was drawn to her scent and he reported it to Ernie immediately. To an untrained eye it may have looked like the blunt blow to the back of her head was what killed her but look at this! Dirt under the nails. Cracked and bleeding fingers from clawing. She must have been knocked out by a blow to the head and then buried there, still alive but unconscious. When she came to; the poor thing tried to dig her way out of that shallow grave but weakened from her attack she could not make it out alive. Cause of death: suffocation.

Ernie, the sheriff, said there was not much of a point in preparing too detailed a report on this one. I know he hasn’t been the same since the accident but I do wish he’d get around to the stack of cases that’s building on his desk.