Evelyn West

Chapter Three

At night, already settled in his parents' house, Mitchel finally manages to calmly ask what is happening in the city. Which was not an easy task, as they were too scared to say it.

_ Mom, Dad ... please understand. There were two deaths around here in town and the same way! There are some killers out there making up horror stories to scare people!

The parents looked at each other and were embarrassed by their son, who was an educated man, "known in science", as they said in the countryside. And because they also knew him better than anyone else, they knew he wouldn't believe them.

_ Well, at least can you tell me how it was that inspector Mathias and the veterinarian of the Andaluz Farm died?

Seeing that he was not going to give up, they said:

_ Look at my son... _ Said his father, Ernesto Junqueira, retired employee of Fazenda Andaluz. The gray-haired man, who was once as dark as his son, looked at the sky for hours, as if asking God for help: _ We only heard the rumors... but to see, we didn't see anything and we also preferred not to see !

Mitchel just listened to his father's explanation, not wanting to miss any points.

_ We knew that the delegate Mathias, friend of ours for so many years... died trampled!

_ Trampled? _ Mitchel was surprised by the news. He knew that in that environment there was a rush of cattle and unfortunately there were accidents with a cowboy or other person being trampled to death.

_ Is that the reason for all that fuss? Why did Inspector Mathias die trampled by a herd of oxen?

_ It wasn't because of a herd of oxen... _ It was the mother's turn to tell, Maria Isabel: _ It used to be that... he was killed by a... a "thing"...

_ And what "thing" is this?

Once again his parents looked at each other. An eerie silence filled the kitchen. No longer withstanding all that suspense, they spoke at the same time:

_ He was killed by a... headless mule!

Mitchel looked at his parents with an expression of bewilderment, utterly helpless at this revelation. He just didn't laugh out of respect for the late Mathias and them. But he couldn't help asking:

_ You really don't believe in this story, right?

_ But that's what they're talking about...

As an investigative journalist, he has already realized that there is much wrong with this conversation. In his mind, he began to create hypotheses and clues to investigate, starting there:

_ How did you find out? Please tell me at least what you know!

His father told about the death of the Fazenda Andaluz veterinarian. It all started when Colonel Vivar's champion mare fell ill and was about to die, but it appears she received "a certain amount of treatment" and was cured.

_ But how did he die?

_ It seems that a few days after the treatment, the mare started to act in a very strange way... she was skittish, indifferent, aggressive... It even seemed that she was possessed by the demon...

_ It could be some side effect of the supposed treatment...

_ That's what everyone thought... until that night...

_ And what happened "that night"?

_ Well... out of nowhere, the mare started to whinny in a very strange and... scary way! She started to gallop and kick in the stable... that mare was so special that she had a space made just for her... that scared the other horses, who also got very agitated and all that infernal whinny caught the attention of the Farm Workers ... some employees called the vet ... he and the foreman entered her space alone and ...

Mitchel approached his father, anxious to know what happened:

_ ... They only heard your screams of horror! When they went to open the stable door, the mare practically knocked her over and galloped off into the night!

_ And where does a headless mule fit in the middle of all that roll? _ Asked still confused.

_ When they entered the mare's space... they found the veterinarian's body completely trampled and the mare's head lying on the ground!

_ And the foreman? He is fine?

_ was in shock! He didn't say a thing for a thing... he said all the time that the mare herself broke her neck and ripped her own head off!

_ But that doesn't make any sense! Where is an animal going to rip off its head and gallop like that? _ Mitchel didn't want to call his father a liar, because he knew he would never make up such an absurd story, but he really couldn't believe it.

_ And the delegate Mathias, how did he die?

_ Just like the vet the next night. He didn't believe in that headless mule thing either. Like you, he also thought he was some other farmer, trying to hurt the Colonel... you know, he's not very popular here... everyone here knows how much that man's neck flesh was. And everyone also knows that the colonels in the region they have been in constant war for land ownership here in New Andalusia since the Spanish colonization.

_ And that's why Inspector Mathias asked us to come to town... to help him solve the case, because he knew how much you are a great investigator. _ completed his mother.

_ But what time was it?

_ It was when he was leaving the police station late at night... the police officers who were on duty found his body... also trampled on, like the one from the veterinarian on the farm!

_ But nobody saw anything?

_ No, unfortunately at the time he was alone. When they heard his screams, they tried to help him, but it was too late. They just saw a sinister figure disappear into the darkness, along with the clatter of horses' hooves... and a reek of carrion hung in the air, along with a green goo... but before he died, he managed to tell he was attacked. by the headless mule.

_ Dad, Mom... just a question. That veterinarian who worked on the farm and died... was he the same guy who dated Lívia?

Mitchel only saw his father lower his head and look at his hands, callused from years of work, placed on the table with a pitying look. It wasn't really the hands he was looking at. Then he saw the mother turn her gaze towards the kitchen door, towards her eldest daughter's bedroom. She turned to her son and confirmed that unfortunately yes, it was him.

_ Wow... poor her... and poor that poor one too.

_ Okay son, they weren't together anymore. And it wasn't exactly dating, they were just getting to know each other, which we thought was a shame as they made a beautiful couple. Excessive work on the farm hardly allowed the poor boy to leave. And you know how her sister is, she is very dedicated to her work at school. There aren't many teachers available in our town and the few who have to work very hard to teach the kids here and so decided to move...but the way she was shaken, I think she still liked him. ..

_ Well, it was a big loss... he was such a good guy. He always came here to my house and asked me for tips on how to take care of the horses there at the Farm. Which was even funny, a doctor like him asking a mere employee for advice, God rest his soul.

Junqueira's eldest daughter may even have been saddened by her ex-boyfriend's death, but the general population feared the newest horror story that was spreading.

That crazy story about the headless mule was poorly told and he needed to find out what it was.