The Illegal Hunt: By Kendell
Crisp, blue ice flow followed the current out to sea on a chilly February day. It was February 3rd to be exact, and it was the coldest day of the year yet. The water stayed frozen, with the exception of the Gulf, which had broken up. On the beach, the bodies of old seals laid. The police surrounded the beach's entrance, and examined the scene.
I, being the head detective in the county's police, strolled onto the crime scene and examined one seal. I was an experienced animal crimes detective and thought about what this crime was turning out to be as I examined the seal more closely. It was beaten, and its pelt was gone, and the body was left. From the marks, I could tell a skilled hunter did this. But since it was out of season, and permits were not sold unless they were fake ones, it was an illegal seal hunt. Plus, the criminal was taking different parts of the seal pelt, that weren't usually sold.
In early morning a few days ago, police were called in that a large amount of seals were washing up on shore. A knife and club were found buried later up shore, and the police then knew it wasn't natural deaths. They called me in, and it was up to me to find the culprit, but first, I had to find a list of suspects. I already knew a few hunters myself, so I had a pretty good list.
I pulled into a house that belonged to Kevin Fitzpatrick, who used to do the occasional hunt, and ice fishing. He let me in and sat me down. I got straight to the point. "Have you ever been seal hunting?" I asked. He sighed. "No, and I probably never will be. If this is about that stupid illegal hunt incident you can check your other suspects, 'cause it wasn't me!" He seemed defensive, but I held my ground.
"That remains to be seen Mr. Fitzpatrick." I replied. I continued with the questions. "What about any weapons or tools? What do you got down in your barn?"
"Hammers, chainsaws, blades, mallets, I could keep naming off what I got down there!" He said.
"Well, if you need any weapons you would have a great resource down there." I said, scribbling in my notebook. That comment made him ticked, and I could tell I would have to end the interview soon. "One more question. Have you ever killed an animal just for game? Like any seals or deer perhaps?" He thought for a moment, before answering, "No. Everything I killed I used. I either eat it or give some meat to my friends who would." He stood up. "Any more questions? Because I need to be going."
After scribbling final thoughts into my notebook, I shook his hand and said, "No. Thank you very much for cooperating. I may have to stop by tomorrow for some more questions." He said goodbye before leaving in his red Chevy truck and heading up the road.
Going where? I thought, before heading to the next suspect. The next of the three suspects was Shane Boudroure, a local fisherman, who had a history of seal hunting in the past.
Knocking on the oak door of his one story cottage, he opened the door in his pajamas and a robe. I made a face, before asking, "I'm sorry Mr. Boudroure if I'm coming too early." It was 1:00 PM, but I guess he wasn't a mannered person. He let me in, explaining that it was too cold to change this morning, and we sat at his dining table.
"Have you ever used a fake permit to seal hunt?" He shook his head. "Never. I wasn't raised to do that." From what I heard about him, I believed it was true. "What about hunting seal out of season? I'm sure a skilled hunter like you must sometimes hunt even when your not allowed to…"
His face grew red, and he became uncomfortable. Quietly, he said, "Yes. I was caught hunting seal out of season, but I was just a hunter, and it seemed nothing could stop me." I looked down. It was the beginning of the case, and I already heard people's secret records. "So, you've been to jail? How serious did your out of season hunting become?"
He clenched his fists. For a man in his 60's, he looked strong, and threatening. "I have been to jail five times, each were for a week." Looking at me, he continued, "I kept killing seals out of season, and soon people thought I was killing them off, so I came to a decision. I stopped hunting for a few years, and from that moment on, I never hunted seal out of season again."
I was amazed at what I had witnessed. What was a calm old man had turned into a sad, threatening person. I sighed, and stood up. "Thank you for sharing Mr. Shane. I may have to come back soon for further questioning." He never said a word, and sat there quietly. So without a speaking, I left from the cottage, and left the old man to sit alone.
The next suspect was one I highly suspected. It was a woman named Lillian Louise. She was well known to the police, for speeding, trespassing, stealing, and illegal hunting of Canadian geese.
The next day I headed to her house. She answered the door and showed me into her living room. She seemed rather impatient, as if she was very busy and I was a menace. "What is your questions detective? Throw 'em at me."
"So, you have quite the record. Why did you illegally hunt the Canadian geese? They are a symbol of Canada you know!" She smiled. "People say they aren't very bright birds, but from my experiences, they are quite intelligent. They can maneuver from threats very good, and that places a challenge to me." She lit up a cigarette and continued. "They are good meat, but the stuck up police from up here that are barely any good keep throwing me in a jail cell and telling me that I better find some different legal species to hunt."
"You eat the meat off the geese, but have you ever ate the meat of a seal?" She shook her head, messing up her brown curls. "No. I have no interest in seal blubber. But I have hunted them before."
I was getting a lot of information from her, so I kept going. "So, you hunt seals for pure sport?"
"Well, I never enjoyed beating seals with a club or mallet, but when I do, I do it for the fun of it. I can assure you though I hunt seals rarely. The culprit of that illegal seal hunt seems to not get enough of seal hunting."
The last statement confused me a bit. "Wait. What do you mean?" I asked. She seemed to know more than I thought.
Puffing on the cigarette, she said, "Haven't you heard detective? The figure struck again last night at midnight. It seems they know it's being investigated and they are avoiding the police. The police are now going to double up the officers and keep watch at night."
I closed up my notebook and said, "Thanks Lillian. You were very helpful. May I stop by later for more questions?"
She nodded and showed me out the door. One question was left in my mind. How did she know so much about the investigation? It seemed odd, but it would have to be mentioned when I next question her.
The last suspect was someone new to the area. His name was Don Ingraham. He owned a fancy like mansion near to the beach where the investigation was. It overlooked the ocean, which glistened in the sunset.
The 24-year-old man answered the door with a friendly smile. I told him I was with the police force and I wanted to ask some questions. He nodded and let me into a gigantic living room.
"Have you ever enjoyed seal hunting?" I asked, opening my notebook. "Yes, I am very experienced in it. It is sort of cruel in a way but I can't help it! It is one of my favorite hunting animals."
"Do you know anyone who gives out fake permits for seal hunts?" He sipped on a cup of coffee before replying. "Actually, I know two. But I can't say I know them too well, and I never did any business with either of them."
I looked out at the big bay window in front of us. I thought about some other questions. "Do you eat the meat or hunt for sport?" "I eat the meat. Seal blubber tastes great to me, especially when barbequed. But I hunt so much seal that I have too much. I usually end up given it to my family in town."
The questioning was going good, so I asked, "When do you hunt?" He seemed confused at my question, but in time answered, "At sunset. I rarely hunt in the morning. My experiences in the morning did not turn out well." He looked away to the bay window.
What did he mean by that? His answer puzzled me. "What happened in your morning experiences?" My question seemed to catch him off guard. It took awhile to respond, but when he did he said, "Not much good luck catching any." He kept starring out the bay window.
"Thanks for the answers Don. I may question you again tomorrow. Right now I think I'll head home or to the Police Station and straighten things out." Don stood up. "I'll show you to the door."
On our way to the door, he showed me where some of the rooms were. The kitchen and dining room were close to the TV room, which headed towards the porch. We walked through the cream colored hallway when I saw a room that was directly underneath his bedroom.
He noticed I was starring at the closed door. "That is just an extra room." He said. "I rarely use it." I stopped in front of the room and studied the door. "May I go in?" I asked. He showed no emotion. "There's not much to see…really! I keep some old boxes in there, nothing else." He continued walking to the door. "You better get going. It's getting late." So I put on my coat and headed out the door.
He really seemed nervous at the end of the questioning. It was weird how he acted about the empty room. But I shook off the thoughts and ran to the Police Station. I ran into Lisa, a policewoman that I always talked to, who helped me into the Station.
"That rain came out of nowhere!" Lisa said, carrying around some paper. I nodded. But I knew I was in for a long, long night.
A week later, there were still seal bodies on the beach, with the culprit still at large. The mystery man still managed to get around the police, including Lisa. I felt the pressure of the case, but sorted out most of the information.
Mr. Fitzpatrick seemed very defensive, which made me suspicious. On my second visit, I asked him if I could see the barn. He had different sized mallets along a wall, and one was missing. He said he must have misplaced it. I looked for any more clues, but found nothing.
I didn't question Shane again. For one, he seemed really upset for some reason and I didn't want to bother him. Another reason was because I felt threatened. The man made me feel weird, and weak. One look at his fist literally scared me. He acted so mysterious, which puzzled me.
Lillian knew a lot about the investigation without being a part of it, except for the fact she was a suspect. She knew her hunting, and was big about the game, which added mystery to her.
Don was the only suspect in this case that I couldn't figure out. Him and that room were confusing, mainly because I wasn't allowed in the room.
So I decided to visit him one more time, to get more information. It started snowing big February flakes on the way there, and when I finally arrived at the Mansion, the snow became wet. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I tried to open the door, and it creaked open. I stepped into the darkness, and turned on my flashlight. It seemed like it was empty, with a cold silence.
"Hello? Is somebody home?" My voice echoed through the rooms. There was no answer. I walked through the halls, when I saw the door. I tried the doorknob, and it opened freely. I hesitated once, then twice, but ended up going in. I shined the light around the room. It was just a regular room, with a bookcase and a study table. I turned on a lamp by the table. I saw a drawer in the study and reached for it. I looked inside the drawer, and gasped at what I saw. There were clippings out of the newspaper about the case. There were documents and fake permits inside. There was even a videotape labeled 'Seal Crimes On News'! I was creeped by my next thought…He was tracking the investigation! I grabbed hold of the clippings and stepped away from the drawer, when I stepped into something wet. I lost my breath for a moment, and spun around. It was melted snow that hadn't been there before. I started to freak out. I turned back to the drawer and rumbled through it. I spotted a dagger. He had weapons. He was the one who was killing all the seals! My breath became heavier as I looked through the other drawers.
All of a sudden, I heard the click of a magnum behind me. I slowly turned around to see a dark, wet figure holding a gun aimed at my head. He was dripping with wet snow, and held a club in his other hand. It was Don, with his eyes flashing with anger.
"You!" I screeched. I crumbled the clippings in my hand. "You are the killer of all those animals!" Tears ran down my cheeks, as I yelled at him. "Drop those documents now." Don said coldly. The feeling of death fell over the room. I had no other choice than to drop the clippings, and raised my hands. He kept the magnum aimed at my head, and put his arm around my neck. "Let's head to the beach." He sneered. "I want to show you something."
He dragged me out to the shore, where he pushed me into the cold sand. "You're a maniac!" I screamed. "What are you going to do?" He stood above me. "If you left everything alone and never went into that room, you would still be alive by tomorrow!" He yelled at me, his hair dripping wet. I tried to get back up so I was eye level with him. "Why the illegal seal hunt Don? Why all this?" I asked, as the wind blew harder. "It was all good fun." He replied, waving his club around. "I made millions on killing these pathetic things! Do you know how much inner seal blubber is worth? Those that weren't any good I left for dead! Simple!" That explained his mansion and all those expensive furnishings. "I used fake permits to get in, and when the idiotic police figure it out, I'm gone!" He added. I looked at his legs. With the wind, he didn't stand so strong. I ran and dove at his ankles, making him fall. I tried to grab the gun, while he shot bullets in the sky. I slapped his face and he scratched my arm. He suddenly rolled over, making me topple backwards. He aimed the gun at me as I screamed. A figure suddenly jumped onto Don, knocking him out. I heard slaps and punches and tried to scramble over. It turned out to be two people, Kevin and Shane. They ran over to me and asked if I was all right. "Except for being soaked wet I'm okay, just a bit shaken up." I turned to see two seals that were wounded by Don. Shane called the police and kept an eye on Don, while Kevin and I treated the seals. The police came and arrested Don Ingraham for attempted murder, out of season seal hunting, animal abuse, and use of fake permits. The cops said he would be put in jail for a long time, which calmed my mind.
After things calmed down I asked, "How did you guys know I was being attacked?" They smiled. "I went down to discuss about you and your questioning to Shane here. When we went on his back porch to talk, we heard some yelling, screaming, and gunshots. We came down closer to the beach and we saw Don was attacking you. So we jumped down and decided to help!" Kevin finished the story with a smile on his face. "Thank you guys! I could have been dead on that beach down there if it wasn't for you two!"
To this day, whenever I go onto the beach in the winter, I think about the seals around the gulf, and about the most illegal hunt case, that almost cost me my life, and the life of the innocent seals of the Gulf.
Well that was a old story I did awhile ago. Review please! :) And check back for more soon!