“Jed,” he said, crouching low over the body, wide-brimmed hat tipped back on his head. “This pig was murdered.” Jed snorted.

He continued smoothly, ignoring the implied ridicule. “Heart and eyes cut out, and nuthin’ else. Not so much as a porkchop missing from a prize sow like this! Ain’t right.”

“Close the case! Probably just a prank,” Jed interjected, waving expansively. “High School kids with nothing better to…”

“You ain’t been here long, so I’m gonna tell you now: there’s things down in them hollers ‘et whisper to the folks ‘et live there.  Old things. This is their work.”

Image Credit: Robert Kuykendall