//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: Final Curtain 
// by Purple Patch 
//------------------------------//

Maeve had not had the green herb in quite some time it seemed. Or at least not as much as she would like.
Cadence eyed her lying across the armchair with one forehoof clutching the other foreleg, back hooves fidgeting uncomfortably. Her mane was slightly messed up and her heavy eye-shadow hid slight bags and bloodshot pupils.
The living room had its curtains closed, despite it being the early morning, sunlight creeping between the gaps.
Her snappy demeanour was even more in the flesh than before as she gave the lady a curt glare.
“I’ve seen the way you walk.” she said suddenly, her voice possessed of a slight disdainful hiss “You trot. Bouncing along. Like a school-filly on the way to her first blind date...only to find out it’s just her uncle’s shed. With a heavy lock.” she finished with a snort that could have been humour or bitterness “Is that what happened? I mean, I only ask because you have the look of somepony who it happened to. Or will happen to. No matter, it’d wake you up a bit.”
Cadence couldn’t believe it but already this mare was trying her patience more than Blueblood.
“I don’t actually have a family of my own.” she replied quietly.
Maeve gave another snort.
“You have no idea how lucky you are.”
“Miss Maeve.” she began with a tired tone “When I questioned you about the circumstances before and after your father’s death, you rather changed the subject before leaving.”
“Why not? It was tedious.”
“That is of no relevance.” Cadence found herself speaking in her aunt Celestia’s voice “I need to know what happened and your thoughts on the matter.”
“I have no thoughts on the matter and you already know what happened. 'Suckeyfunnel' or whatever she calls herself poisoned papa. So unless you plan on putting her in her place, the scaffold to be exact, we have nothing to discuss.” And with that she turned over on the sofa immaturely, her back to the lady of Canterlot.
Fighting not to show her frustration, Cadence played her card.
“Atropine.”


Maeve rolled over instantly, eyes staring at her instantly.
Her voice was quiet, quick and tinged with the unmistakable sign of desperation.
“...where...”
“What?”
“Nothing!” Her voice had grown to a snap near-instantly. She’d sat up and was staring at Cadence quite forebodingly, her wide-eyes betraying slightly larger-and-darker-than-normal irises and ever so slightly yellowed pupils.
Cadence paused and took a moment to realise she was alone in the living room.
Alone with an addict in withdrawal.
As if in a cage with a wild predator, she fought hard not to show fear.
“You’ve been using it for some time.” Cadence said calmly, keeping her eyes dead set on Maeve’s.
“No.”
“Yes, I have it on good authority.”
“Caraway lies.” the replies were swift each time.
“I didn’t say it was Caraway.”
“Well, if it was, he lies. And if it was anypony else, they lie!”
“You have clear signs.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“There’s discolouration in your eyes and around your nostrils. Your mane is gradually bleaching, your veins around your legs and neck are varicose and your left ear won’t stop twitching. There’s more than just insomnia at work.”
Maeve squinted venomously.
“There’s no crime in that.” she said begrudgingly, ears sloping in defeat “Not here.”
“Maybe. But now that this is a crime scene, it puts you in the headlights quite prominently.”
Maeve scoffed.
“You’re suggesting I killed papa to fuel my addiction?”
“It’s pretty clear that whoever killed Prince Herod did so for money. Money you weren’t allowed to spend on atropine.” Cadence tilted her head inquisitively “You were allotted an allowance, an allowance that was steadily decreasing. Perhaps it had simply gotten too much for you, perhaps you were just tired of waiting for financial independence. The thought of all the green herb the Sanguine coffers could buy just becoming too tempting...”
“Stop!”
Maeve’s eyes had widened with unease. Her body had started shaking.
“Alright...” her voice had become a whisper “If you really must know...I have been taking the herb for quite some time now. Papa and Caraway were working me off it slowly with a paltry stipend but...I knew ponies who could add to it with the right payments. It...” she shook her head “It just got too much...The headaches, the cramps, the shaking in the night...the mornings were unspeakable...I needed more, do you understand? For star’s sake, I didn’t have enough here! It was never enough!”
Cadence addressed her expressionlessly.
On one hoof, she found drug usage plain stupid and the abuse of drugs thoroughly repugnant.
But on the other hoof, these things didn’t just happen on their own. Understanding was the first step to curing.


“So did Prince Herod know?”
“I...I was going to talk to him about it.” Maeve stammered “I can’t imagine I would have been calm throughout...Papa wasn’t the only one who was terrible in a temper...but I never got the chance.”
“And with the share of his estate, you wouldn’t have to worry about Caraway.”
“...yes...”
Cadence nodded and spoke frankly.
“I’m going to have to know the name of your dealer.”
“Wh...that wasn’t part of the agreement!” Maeve snapped, anxiety in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Miss Maeve, but right now, whoever supplies you atropine is a suspect in your father’s murder, and therefore somepony we need to speak to.”
There was a pause. Maeve blinked a little too quickly. Cadence was slightly worried at what she might do.
“Look at it this way.” she tried to calm her “The sooner we talk to him, the sooner we clear up this case and your father’s estate is allowed to be divided.”
She noticed Maeve’s chest fall in what must have been relief. With a dismal look, the mare answered.
“Netch. His name’s Netch. His...establishment lies on Forktongue Street just between the Lower and Middle Sector. I always went by train. I couldn’t take the carriage, Conkers tells Gormless everything.”
“Does Netch have any...relationship with the family.”
“Not that I know of.” Maeve looked away dourly and lit a cigarette “We used to be a couple. That was...how it started. He’d supply me for...favours. But as I got older those favours...changed. When the money ran out, I don’t want to think what he might have charged. He’s...not a very courteous steed.”
“I’m no stranger to those, Miss Maeve.” Cadence got up “Thank you for your time.”


*


Colonel Peregrine stood resplendent in his armour. The brass plate gleamed in the morning’s sunshine and his right shoulder pad was adorned with a sculpture of an alicorn princess spreading her wings from which hung his cloak of navy blue, decorated with red stars of the Marchion Auxiliary Garrison.
Cadence had grown to know him back in Canterlot when she and Shining were young. Whenever she would appear at the royal guard’s training grounds with little Twilight Sparkle to wish Shining well, which was often, Peregrine would always be around. She found the stallion a pleasant pony to know underneath his show of sternness among his troops.
As they approached the garrison, he greeted his old protégé and the lady of Canterlot with an open forehoof and a gracious smile.
“Welcome, my lady.” he proclaimed “I hope your visit here will not be in vain. Our investigations into the atropine smuggling have been...mostly fruitful. Perhaps we can shed light on each other’s investigations.”
“I hope so, Colonel.” Cadence replied with a smile.
“Have we got a warrant yet then, sir? For the vault?” Shining asked.
“Not yet but it should be ready soon. We thought we might catch this dealer while we’re waiting.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Cadence chuckled as they were let inside the barracks.
The place was well-kept, organised and at the moment, in the peak of mid-morning bustle. Passing by briefing rooms, training halls and even a karaoke bar, they found themselves in the forensics lab.
Two young ponies in uniform looked up from their work and turned to them.
One was a slim unicorn stallion with a bright-yellow coat, a pair of wide blue eyes and slick violet mane combed over his scalp, a single curl in the middle of his forehead. His cutie mark was a triple blue triangle.
The other was a petite pegasus mare with a slightly fluffy white coat, long eyelashes over green almond eyes and a pink ponytail tied in a red bow. Her cutie mark was an outline of a white cat.
Shining Armour smiled and greeted them.
“Angle! Kitty!”
“Hi Shiney!” the mare waved a hoof daintily, flashing them a bright smile.
“Shining!” the stallion approached with a warm smile and shook his hoof “It feels like years. How’ve you been?”
“Not too bad.”
“How’s Twiley?”
“She’s great. Still spends most days with her muzzle in a book.”
“I like her. She’s really cute.” Kitty giggled as she fluttered over.
Shining turned to Cadence and cleared his throat.
“Uh, Cade...my lady, you remember Right Angle and Kitty Wake don’t you?”
“Yeah, I remember. Right Angle always helped you find your way through the barracks, didn’t he.”
Right Angle shrugged.
“Somepony had to. First week at the academy, poor Shiney walked right into the lecture hall looking for the bathroom!”
“Angle!” Shining hissed, red in the face “Not in front of the...lady.”
Cadence muffled a giggle as she turned to the mare.
“And Kitty I remember at Twiley’s third birthday party. You were tickling her for hours.”
“Yeah, but I mean, who could resist that little smile?” Kitty gave a sigh “I’d do anything to be her foalsitter but I live so far away from Canterlot, it just wasn’t possible.”
“I’m not sure you qualify for a foalsitter when it seems you can’t be left alone for five minutes, Systems Officer Wake.”


Peregrine strode in, his stern ‘colonel-face’ rigid in his features. Shining Armour, Right Angle and Kitty Wake all snapped to attention and made way for him “You were asked to work on forensics. What have you found?”
“Sir.” Right Angle began “It was...mostly as you expected. As far as we can tell, the atropine has indeed been smuggled internationally, but not by any prominent organisation. Just a few dirt-bags who want to move up quick. But that’s only the known smugglers.”
“And what about the unknown smugglers?”
“Well...” Right Angle gave Kitty a befuddled glance “We don’t know. That’s why they’re unknown.”
Peregrine gave him a stern look.
“Don’t make me lose my patience, Sergeant.”
“Sorry sir.” Right Angle checked himself before Cadence piped up.
“I just got back from speaking to Maeve. She gave away the name of the dealer. A stallion called Netch.”
“I’ll go over our records.” Kitty Wake said quick as a flash before fluttering over to a tome, throwing it open and skimming it swiftly.
“It’s more likely he’s new on the block.” Right Angle pointed out before pausing and giving Kitty a smile “But, I mean, it won’t hurt. I’m sure if its in there, you’ll find it...”
Kitty looked up and fixed Right Angle with an adoring beam, her cheeks flushing a bright pink.
“Thanks, Right...I’ll make sure.”
Out the corner of Shining’s eye, he saw Peregrine roll his eyes with a discreet sigh.
“So...how does all this work? This Atropine smuggling?” Cadence asked, torn between disgust and fascination with the finer parts of crime in Equestria.
Kitty looked up and spoke as if reading from a database.
“Well you see, my lady, atropine’s a depressant narcotic that’s commonly found in several plants such as mandrake, thornapple, henbane, trumpet-shrub and the devil’s snare but is most strong in the Belladonna plant, better known as Deadly Nightshade. Medicinally, it’s used as an anaesthetic in small doses and has been used in cosmetics in some circles but as the plants that produce it suggest by name, in less than minute doses it’s deadly poisonous.”
More than a little impressed by her knowledge (And the speed by which it was delivered) Cadence nodded and replied.
“Okay...But how is it dealt? I mean, I only just found out about this smuggling business.”
“Well, for that, you need to speak to our First Lieutenant and Public Relations Officer. Where is she?” Peregrine grumbled.
“Oh, she’s in the shower I think.” Right Angle answered.
“Since this morning?” the Colonel barked, fast losing patience.
“She um...she didn’t go in alone.” the orange unicorn gave an awkward look as Peregrine face-hoofed.
“Give me strength!”
“Oh, is that what they’re calling it now, sir? I’d be happy to oblige at any rate.”


A sultry voice cooed from behind them as First Lieutenant Bubble Bath approached.
Cadence’s eyes widened.
If this was First Lieutenant Bubble Bath then it either explained many things or just raised more questions, she wasn’t sure which.
The mare clearly fancied herself more a supermodel than a soldier, it was evident to see. She was a tall earth pony with a sleek aquamarine coat and shapely to an almost ludicrous degree. Her mane flowed down her neck and shoulders in a shimmering mixture of lemon-yellow and bubblegum-pink, streaked with hints of silver. Her eyes were a sea-green and the lids and lashes tinted with a dark violet. Her crimson lips gleamed with gloss and a tiny heart-shaped beauty spot adorned her right cheek. Her cutie mark, Cadence caught herself looking at it longer than she normally would, were a quartet of pink bubbles slowly turning heart-shaped the higher they went.
Her mane was wet and partially wrapped up in a towel as she trotted over, her long tail swaying to and fro. She gave a salute to Peregrine along with a wink.
“Reporting for duty, sir.”
Why did Cadence feel like a saxophone was playing in the background?
Peregrine gave her a look of disapproval.
“You’re late, First Lieutenant.”
“So sorry. I tried to make it quick.”
“Make what quick?”
“Anyway!” Peregrine snapped before Shining’s query could be made “What progress has been made, First Lieutenant?”
“Well, I could check on him but...”
“In the investigation, damn your eyes!”
“Right.” the mare chuckled and “We have isolated the trafficking. It definitely comes from the lower quarter. I spoke to a roadwork foreman, a couple of nurses and a few concerned parents and was able to track some of the city’s users. Three dens have been found in the last week and we blocked a secret passage in and out of the city that they’ve been using for smuggling.”
“Well...Very good work.” Peregrine said, his ardour fading as he turned to his first lieutenant “And how soon can we get the local militia’s co-operation?”
“Alas, Prince Herod’s death requires them to spend a week of mourning. Local watch is still running but active investigations are put on hold. It’s tradition.”


Cadence butted in.
“I was speaking to Maeve Sanguine. She told us the name of the dealer.”
“Excellent.” Peregrine gave an eager smile “Let’s hear it, my lady.”
“Netch. His name’s Netch and his den is somewhere on Forktongue Street.”
There was a pause.
Right Angle and Kitty Wake glanced at each other.
“Forktongue Street...” Bubble Bath mused “I had a feeling something iffy went on there. But we’ll have to check with the authorities.”
“The local force?” Shining asked.
“No...The real authorities.” Bubble Bath pressed a button on the desk and spoke into a transceiver.
“Please send the good sister to forensics.”
“Yes, ma’am.” the desk replied.
Peregrine then gestured to Kitty Wake who produced a scroll. Opening it, it revealed three family trees with old heraldic shields of early cutie marks.
The Colonel spoke.
“What you need to know is that ponies around here say that ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears built Marchion’. And the phrase has a more solid meaning than advertised. It actually refers to the city’s three founding families. So on the upper tier of Marchion society you have the Sanguines. Then you have the Persper family, they’re the most successful businessponies in the city, the middle-tier. The head of the family, Sir Wafton Persper, is the richest stallion in Marchion and his household’s bits support every local law-abiding business. And then...you have the Lacrimosa family, the lower tier.”
“Organised crime.” Cadence guessed.
“Exactly. The three families were once thick as thieves but nowadays they keep strictly to themselves. But they all know their trade. Crime in Marchion works very differently to cities likes, say, Manehattan or Los Pegasus. Those cities are melting-pots where various criminal classes all over the world set up shop and clash in the shadows. Marchion though, has little foreign relations and thus the crime here is centred, never venturing outside. This makes the Lacrimosas a comparatively small empire but one with complete control over their domain. Don Sorro Lacrimosa is a cautious fellow. He doesn’t believe in rattling cages. But nonetheless, they aren’t a family you want to mess with, not in their own city.” He shook his head dourly “This has what’s made our progress slower than we’d like. We don’t want to raise their guard. Not least because, if Equestria does make an enemy out of them, we can’t quite be sure which side the Sanguines will take.”


The doors behind them opened and a pony stepped in.
She was a pegasus with an azure coat and primrose-pink eyes. Her mane and most of her body, however, was covered by the black and white habit of an Agneian Priestess, the bronze pendant of the Holy Lamb hanging by a red silk ribbon round her neck. She smiled cordially at the entourage and bowed. As Cadence got a better look at her face, she noticed there was a faded but prominent scarring across her left cheek that had burned away the fur and marred her face permanently.
A burn, perhaps something acidic.
Bubble Bath introduced her.
“This is Niobe Lacrimosa, eldest daughter of Don Sorro. She’s been providing us with information on the local criminal classes for the past few years. Holy Sister, this is Lady Cadence and Sergeant Shining Armour, investigators into Prince Herod’s death and the atropine usage at Sanguine Hall.”
“I am honoured, sir and madam. May the Lamb bless you.” she beamed kindly at the two “I will gladly aid you in any way I can in this ordeal. The Sanguines have long been dedicated servants of the Agneia, fighting for them as they did for Marchion and Equestria. You are most gracious to help them in this hour.”
“Ah...thank you, ma’am, er...sister.” Shining replied bashfully “You worked with your family?” 
Niobe blinked and spoke, every word calm and gentle.
“Once, in darker days. I learned my father’s craft and the edges of his reach. I was taught how to use it. But...that was before I found the Holy Lamb and thereafter devoted my life to the nursing and mending of the sick and needy. My stepmother chastised me grievously for it but...I have never felt more content.” She gave her pendant a little stroke, the eye above her scars twitching ever so slightly, before sincerity emboldened her voice “There is no deadlier start to a pony’s corruption than desperation. And the vileness of drugs feeds on it, a prison which the desperate cannot escape. I have been treating those broken or burned by the foul substances for over five years. Your Dr Caraway, in fact, consulted me at our hospital for advice in how to treat withdrawal but he could not reveal the identity of the poor sinner constricted by it nor the wicked one who supplied it.”
“Does your father deal in it?”
Niobe bowed her head.
“To my shame. The temptation to deal the substances is just as terrible and harmful as the temptation to use it. He despises atropine and those who use it but where there is a monopoly on the substance, he feels he must be at the head of it.”
“My...'contact' said it was on Forktongue Street, dealt by a stallion named Netch.”
There was a pause.
“Forktongue Street. You are quite certain?” the Agneian asked, to which Cadence nodded.
Niobe sighed.
“In that case, I may say with equal certainty that my father has no involvement with this den. Ten years ago, my youngest brother, LaMento, was killed in a carriage-crash on that street at six years of age...he was my father’s favourite.” Cadence thought she saw a tear in Niobe’s right eye “Ever since then, he has refused to even look upon the street. He makes no business or coin there. Any establishment on that road does not bear my father’s mark. Far worse ponies than him now rule Forktongue Street. This Netch does not have his protection.”
“That’s very good to know.” Peregrine nodded “I’ll prepare a raid. That’ll give us something to do.”
“Shall we join you?” Shining asked.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary. We have Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry coming to lead the charge. The old girl’s been dying to do some crime-fighting.” he chuckled “Besides, we just got this. Might cheer you up.”
The Colonel retrieved a sheet of paper from a drawer and held it up.
“The warrant to investigate Prince Herod’s body. And Sir Persnickety is down to help identify it.”
“Excellent. Thank you, Colonel.” Cadence nodded and set to depart.
“See ya’ round.” Shining called, before turning to Cadence “So we’re digging up the dead tonight? Best not tell Twiley, it’ll give her nightmares for weeks.”
“Uh...yeah.” Cadence turned to Shining with something of a pleading air in her eyes “Shining...I’ve been exercising a theory and there’s only really one way to make sure. I need you to do something tonight and...you’re not going to like it.”


*


An owl hooted. Cadence wasn’t sure what kind.
Wrapped up in a coat, teeth slightly chattering in the midnight chill, she met with an entourage of guards alongside Sir Persnickety, clearly not very happy to be there.
She couldn’t blame him. Cracking open a mausoleum at dead of night wasn’t fun, even if the mausoleum didn’t belong to one’s own family.
But it was the only way. She didn’t want to think about what Shining was going through.
A grizzled, crimson-coated stallion in silver and scarlet armour stepped forward, a four-pointed star in the middle of his helm indicating he was part of the local force.
“Captain Toyle reporting, milady. The vault is opened at your instructions.”
“Thank you, sir.” Cadence nodded as he turned to Persnickety who looked slightly ill.
“I say, do I really have to do this?” he asked queasily.
“It won’t take a moment, sir, and the body won’t be in too bad shape. After all, you had him embalmed.” she replied.
“I...suppose.” he cricked his neck.
The great stone slab made a low rumble as it slid open wide.


Shining Armour gave a jump at a noise coming from the thicket. Shaking his head, he forced himself to get it together.
Held in his magical grasp, the shovel dug deep in the earth.
He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He felt like Old Bray from The Terrible Tale of Grogar the Treacherous books he used to read. The mad donkey began his career into evil by digging up bodies to experiment with, starting with his own family.
And while the body he was digging up would be used in an experiment, it certainly wouldn’t be for reanimation.
Or stitching together with other bodies.
Or anything else that gave Twiley nightmares.
He remembered his mother giving him quite a talking to for letting his little sister read such scary books. He’d explained that, strictly speaking, he hadn’t let her read them, she’d just found where he hid them.
As the shovel finally hit something other than soil, he gave the little makeshift grave a sorry nod.
‘Sorry Babbles.’ he thought ‘But we need him more than you do.’


Cadence was bracing herself.
Prince Herod had been embalmed. And he hadn’t been dead long.
She needed to stop imagining she was in a horror film.
The lid of the coffin was slowly removed as she walked beside Persnickety who was evidently bracing himself much harder.
“There we are. Now, Sir Persnickety...” she said calmly “Do you identify this as the body of your late uncle?”
Those present looked down at the body.
A moment later, Captain Toyle narrowly managed to grab Persnickety as the uptight noblestallion toppled over backwards unconscious. A couple of guards jumped back, startled.
Cadence’s eyes boggled.
“Sweet...Celestia!”


The alicorn walked quietly to the carriage without a word. Shining Armour was already in his seat, his face flat, his mind clouded.
As Cadence got in, she noticed a slight magical shimmer about the surroundings.
“Is that an airing spell?” she asked.
“Yeah, I cast it a while ago...” Shining said, gesturing to an old dirty shoebox “Unfortunately, the Sanguine’s didn’t have Scaramouch embalmed.”
“Ah...” Cadence shivered.
Shining gave her a look.
“Are you alright, my lady?” he asked “What did you find?”
“He was...bald!” she exclaimed “His entire body! Hairless! Mane, beard, the tail, even the edges of the fur, completely gone! It was all lying about him at the bottom of the coffin, like some sort of bed!”
Shining’s eyes widened.
“Snap!”
“What?” Cadence turned to him with a curious eye as the unicorn pawed at the shoebox lid.
“Brace yourself...”
Lifting the lid, Cadence drew back slightly at the week-old corpse of the Sanguine family cat, already shrivelled and slightly decomposed.
One thing was very evident though.
The cat had not a single hair left on his body. All of it had fallen out and covered the bottom of the box.
Stallion and mare looked to each other and spoke as one.
“Thallium!”


*


They were eating light. Neither of them had a whole lot of stomach for breakfast after last night’s grave-digging.
Cadence had been working late, the working board told that story well. Her hair was hanging about her head like a shroud.
Shining should have found it off-putting...and yet...
“It was never in the hot-drink.” Cadence said suddenly, throwing Shining out of his observations of the mare in front of her “That would have been too obvious. And this was exactly what they assumed Honeysuckle was. The poison came in Prince Herod’s medicine!”
“How do you work that out?” Shining asked.
“When I looked round the room, Aeschylus told me the tray that held his hot drink and medicine was spilt, some of it landing in the cat’s bowl! They all assumed it was one of his tantrums but it seems more likely Prince Herod spilled it in his death throes, reaching for his medicine he felt he needed more of.”
“And you’re sure its Thallium?”
“I am now.” the alicorn explained “In dilute form, Thallium Acetate is a medicine, Babbles’s medicine, used to treat parasites like her ringworm, and hence why she wears her bonnet and dress, to hide her lack of mane and tail. But taken neat, its deadly poison. My theory...” she held up the bottle of Thallium medicine she’d taken from the Sanguine’s flower room “...was that someone had broken open this bottle, given Prince Herod a fatal dose of the stuff mixed into his Milk of Magnesia, topped the bottle up with water and resealed it. Nopony would be the wiser.”
“Have you tested it?”
“Yeah, just last night, I tried burning some of it to see if it produced the tell-tale green flame. As it turned out, it produced no flame at all.”
“Diluted.”
“Exactly. Most of its been watered down. This whole bottle probably wouldn’t even give you a stomach-ache.”
“Don’t ask me to test that.” Shining butted in.
“Of course not, Shiney.” she chuckled “But it gives an idea of just how much was used here. At least 50 millilitres worth of deadly poison for one old pony. This was cold, Shining, horribly cold.”
Shining himself felt cold at the thought. All this time spent talking and laughing and consoling with the Sanguines.
All the while, somewhere among their number was a remorseless killer.
“So that’s why Scaramouch died? It wasn’t the ringworm at all.”
“It was the cure for it. Ironic really. I imagine that’s why it was buried quickly. A hairless cat would rather give the game away.” Cadence chuckled slightly but caught sight of Shining’s morose expression. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject.
“How did the raid go?”
“Pretty well. Peregrine and friends took the den by storm. Netch was arrested along with three other dealers and four street thugs on their pay-roll.”
“Anything murder-related?”
“Actually...yeah.” Shining tapped his hoof in recollection. “Netch isn’t saying anything, not up to it in any case.” He drew closer and whispered “He made the mistake of insulting Sunset Shimmer and threatening her with...shall we say...degenerate intentions. Her highness's student...rather took offence to that. He’s going to be a soprano for a month!”
“Ouch!” Cadence winced “But he’s not involved?”
“Not that it’ll help him. For smuggling atropine he is, essentially, violating the terms of Marchion’s vassalhood and indirectly threatening peace. He’s quite likely to get a life sentence.” he shook his head “But we caught a courier. A rather luckless zebra named Ekundu. Tried to run but when they cut him off, he came quietly. As far as we can tell, he just got in with the wrong crowd and has a little sister to take care of so hopefully, he’ll just get a month or two of community service. Peregrine’ll find something he can do.”
“Okay.” Cadence felt relieved to hear it “But did he tell us anything?”
“One thing that was rather important. Maeve always came in person to the dens to ‘collect her supply’ but the night before last, Ekundu was told to deliver a small parcel of Hydrated Nightshade just outside Sanguine Hall.”
“Really?” Cadence exclaimed “Did he say who asked?”
“Nope. All he remembers is that he pretended to follow a tour guide around the place, then on the written instructions, pushed the stash through a gap in the brick wall and no sooner had he done it than a wad of cash came through the same hole.”
“So somepony else is buying atropine...” Cadence pursed her lips “But why? And why now?”


There was a metallic whistle as the small crystal orb on their table blinked, suggesting a request for transmission.
Cadence lit up her horn and Alma’s face appeared.
“How’s it going?” she said perkily.
“Don’t ask.” Shining sighed “We’ve had a hay of a night and Prince Herod had a worse one.”
“I...won’t question it.” Alma gave an awkward look “So who’s our prime suspect now?”
“All or neither at this point.” Cadence sighed “The more I think about it, the less likely it seems to be that this was done out of greed. I mean, yeah, they all wanted the inheritance but at the dinner, they all got a fair share.”
“Except Runcible Spoon...and Dr Caraway.”
“Come on, Shining, they wouldn’t kill their own employer for it. Neither of them have a good enough reason.”
“Unless there’s some weird conspiracy none of us have caught onto yet.” Alma chuckled “I suppose though, Runcible would have seen the will long before it was read. And the other one.”


There was a clatter.
It turned out to be Cadence’s cereal spoon. Her eyes were wide, staring into blankness, mouth slightly open.
“The other one...” she whispered.
“Cadey?” Shining waved a hoof in front of her face.
“Alma...” Cadence said, her voice almost a shout “Repeat what you just said.”
“Uh...you mean about the conspiracy?”
“No, no, the last bit, exactly how you said it! Really important!”
“O-okay...” Alma said, puzzled “Runcible would have seen the will long before it was read. And the other one.”
The pink and purple alicorn shook her head.
“It was never one or the other with this, was it.” she sighed “It was both! It was always about both!”
“C-Cadey, what are you talking about?” Shining was losing patience “You mean it was Mr Runcible?”
“No, no, look, listen, we don’t have much time.” Cadence turned to the orb “Alma, sorry, I’m gonna’ have to put you on hold. Lives may be at risk!”
Before Alma could answer, Cadence’s horn lit up and focussed on the area around Sanguine Hall.
After several tentative moments, she stamped her hoof as the field in the orb dissipated.
“Damn it! Somepony’s already engaging the transceiver and I bet I know who!” She spun round and grabbed the befuddled Shining Armour by the shoulders “Shiney! We need to get to Sanguine Hall! Now!”
“Wh-what?” he burbled “You...you mean you know who did it?”
“Yes!” Cadence screamed, sheer panic in her eyes.
“And she’s going to do it again!”