//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: The Painless Murders 
// by bkc56 
//------------------------------//

The previous day had been long and stressful. So it was no surprise that Citrine and I arrived at the office building a bit late the next morning. We weren’t alone, as Opal was also just getting there.

“Slackin’ a bit there, aren’t you, Opal?” I teased.

“Not as long as I’m here before the boss.” She smirked as she trotted past us and led the way into the building. “So, what’s the plan for today?” she asked over her shoulder.

“We have two priorities to complete,” I replied. “First, we need to find Outflank. If the police can’t do it, then we need to.” I glanced at Citrine. “They may not be totally incompetent, but they aren’t you.” She smiled back.

Opal cleared her throat as she started up the stairs. “None of that now, you two, we’re on the clock.”

I rolled my eyes. “Office manager my rump, she’s the office tyrant.”

“And who signs your paycheck each month?” Opal shot back.

I’m stallion enough to admit when I’ve been bested. “Yes, Miss Tyrant.”

Citrine cleared her throat. “And second?”

“And second, we need to figure out who this mysterious unicorn is. He’s the key to this whole thing.” I wondered if Outflank was hiding from the bookie, the police, or this unicorn. Or worse, if he’s already dead.

We exited the stairwell on our floor, and I noticed a familiar brown and white skewbald earth pony pacing in front of the office. “Tinker? Is that you?”

He spun around as we walked up. “Oh, Mr Steel. I’m so glad I found you...” His tail swished nervously as his eyes darted between the three of us.

I placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Tinker, why are you here? Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t know what to do.” He shook his head. “They came this morning. They came and arrested Quicksilver again. And Misty too.”

Citrine gasped. I tried to speak, but no words came out. Opal broke the silence. “We should get in the office.” She walked past Tinker, opened the door, and we all went in.

As Opal arranged some chairs for us to sit on, I recovered my voice, “Okay, Tinker, start at the beginning and tell us what happened.”

He took a seat and looked at me. “I don’t usually get to their place so early in the morning, but they’d had a bad day yesterday. So I showed up early to make breakfast and take care of some things. I didn’t want them to have to concern themselves with, well, anything.

“I was in the kitchen cleaning up when I heard somepony at the door. It was the Canterlot police. I couldn’t hear everything, but I heard them say they’d found another clerk from that registration place, murdered the same way as the first one.”

He paused and looked at each of us. “Mr Steel, I was scared. I hid in the kitchen. I was afraid they’d arrest me too.” He looked down at the floor. “I failed them. I’ve defended them before. I should have... I just hid.” He dropped his head and stared at the floor.

Citrine laid a hoof on his shoulder, and I leaned forward to get his attention. “Tinker, you have nothing to feel bad about. Starting a fight would not have helped. You’ve done more to protect them by coming here than you could have by getting arrested for attacking an officer.” I softly poked him in the chest, causing him to look up. “Now, keep protecting them. Tell us what else you heard.”

Tinker took a deep breath and smiled ever so slightly. “I couldn’t hear well. But I heard Quicksilver say, ‘I don’t believe that’. And Misty asked, ‘Why would he do that?’ Then the officer declared that they both were going with him right now. Once they left the house, I moved to the front room so I could peek out the window. They loaded Quicksilver and Misty into an enclosed wagon and took them away. I knew Misty had come here yesterday for help, so…” He exhaled and slumped in his chair.

I was mad. No, I was furious. I flew out of my chair, knocking it back several feet. As I stomped around the office, I muttered to myself. “This makes no sense. Misty isn’t involved in this. And there’s no reason for Quicksilver to kill Outflank. It gains him nothing. I mean, how would he even find him? The police don’t know where he is. Long Shot doesn’t know where he is. I don’t know where he is. The only possible pony who might know…” I stopped mid-stride.

I spun around to face the three ponies. “Tinker, you still have your apartment, right?” He nodded. “Good, go there and wait. You did good. Opal, as soon as Legal gets in, tell him what happened. He’ll need to go down to the precinct.” I looked at my wife. “Citrine, you’re with me.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as she stood up.

“I’m going to go buck some sense into that detective Hunter and find out what the hay is going on here. You’re there to make sure I don’t actually buck him through a window.”