“Mr Blood?” called a man on the beach. He was tall and dark-haired and he had a huge moustache.
“I’m the Sheriff,” he said. “We have been waiting for you. I didn’t know you would bring helpers. It is nice to see children here.”
Mr Blood, Edgar and Mary jumped out of the boat and splashed through the water to the beach. At once, the boatman rowed away.
Edgar and Mary stared at the bones. The Sheriff laughed.
“A grim sight, isn’t it?” he said. “We killed a lot of seals this summer. Let me take you up to the village.”
They made their way up from the beach along a thin track. Mr Blood and the Sheriff walked ahead.
“Don’t you think it’s odd?” hissed Edgar to Mary. “Why did they leave bones all over the beach?”
“Maybe they haven’t had time to clear up?” said Mary.
“Hmm,” said Edgar. He thought something was wrong.
Mary and Edgar caught up with Mr Blood and the Sheriff.
“We always find dead cattle the morning after the full moon,” the Sheriff was saying.
“You have no idea who the werewolf is?” Mr Blood asked.
“None at all,” said the Sheriff. “Sometimes, some people look a bit red-eyed and wild. But we have no way of knowing who is the werewolf.”
“And have there ever been werewolves on this island before?” Mr Blood asked.
“Not as far as I know,” the Sheriff replied.
“There will be a full moon tonight,” said Mr Blood. “If you have a werewolf on the island, it will show itself. I will get rid of it by morning.”
As they walked towards the village they heard the shriek of a seagull.
That sounds like a warning, thought Edgar.
