[Mithalwen]

Despite the not unexpected horror of Commander Ranger's death, the surviving sleuths were in upbeat mood that morning. Some of the more cynical might say that at a certain level they enjoyed using their skills once again in their secluded village. Many had reverted to type and prepared cases against their fellow villagers. these included mormegil the cryptologist, Nogrod and Diamond, detectives both, and Firefoot the crimewriter. Most confident of all was the FBI man, Boromir 88. Some might have thought the Agent had overdone the "damn fine coffee - and hot!" so ardent was he in his assertion that Kuruharan, the curmudgeonly, Wagner-loving detective turned publican was another wolf but his claim to be the seer convinced the majority.

Soon the Inspector's felt was sealed and a lynchmob, more numerous and more confident than the day before, came to drag him from his bar, whence he had gone to sulk, sup real ale and do the cross word. He had just completed "Gave succour to assistant with first delivery" (5) and was working on "California Vet may make a bloomer" (7,6), when they arrived ......

"Crosswords - bah - hang him" said one.

"You are being ridiculous - you should know I woul have nothing to do with a cartoon inspector - I was a Chief Inspector - with Oxfordshire CID" He protested, gruffly.

"And look what happened to the murder rate during your time there - It was worse than the Bronx!" pointed out Azaelia.

"You are a fine one to talk - Causton is even worse- and they all got solved in the end"

"All this is academic" - said Boromir "We are going to hang you and prove that you are the solution to this anagram" he added scribbling "We send fool crew" somewhat ungrammatically across the Inspector's paper.

The hanging basket with its long dead flowers was removed from the village gibbet and they hanged Kuruharan as light faded from the sky.

There was a look of sadness in the man's clear blue eyes as they placed the noose around his neck btu he had to much dignity to resist.

The lynch mob let him fall waiting for the crack of a breaking neck. It did not come. the rope squeezed tighter and Kuruharan's face changed. Red it went first as the blood congested in his head.

"The drop wasn't long enough" - complained someone.

"It was" insisted Oddwen - "I am a professor of pathology - I know how much drop is required to break the neck of a man his size."

But then they realised that Kuruharan's face had legthened and was covered with white fur.

"But" asked Kitanna sardonically"do you know the drop for a werewolf his size?".

Before she could get an answer, Mormegil seized her cane once more and plunged it through the beast's heart.

Villagers 9 Wolves 1

Night 3 has begun.

Seer and wolf PM me. You are entitled to the full 24 hours but I may start the Day slightly earlier if I have received the necessary requests. But it is unlikely to be much earlier since I have a family lunch to go to - unless I get the requests very quickly.