//------------------------------//
// Confrontation: Shamus (O) 
// Story: My Little Investigations: Marehunter 
// by Metool Bard 
//------------------------------//


December 14, 11:47 AM
Lincolt Center
Performance Studio B
***


"This is your last warning, toots.  If you don't stop getting in my face and interrupting my investigation, I'm gonna arrest you, too."

"Okay first off, rude.  Second, you're a moron if you think this is gonna fly."

"Um, maybe we shouldn't call him names, Ms. Scratch..."

Well, I can't say this was entirely unexpected.  As soon as I arrived at the performance studio, I was treated to a heated debate between Vinyl and Shamus with Fluttershy trying to play mediator.  This is more or less what happens when I leave Vinyl to her own devices in situations like this.  I also wasn't shocked to see that Sapphire's body had disappeared and that a tape outline took her place.  She's probably in transport to the hospital right now.  However, I was astonished to see that Lockdown was standing by Shamus's side with zip cuffs around his ankles.  The reason I find this strange is that out of all the ponies here, Lockdown seems to be the least likely suspect.

"Is there a problem here, Shamus?" asked Puzzlement, butting into the conversation.

Shamus turned to us and smirked. "Ah, Puz.  Perfect timing," he said. "We've got our stallion right here, but this broad's making things difficult.  Be a doll and book this deadbeat while I get this one's story, will ya?"

Lockdown let out a low growl. "You're making a big mistake, officer," he grumbled, surprisingly stoic for a stallion being falsely accused of attacking his boss. "Ms. Sapphire will hear of this."

"Oh, don't you worry about that, tough guy.  I'll make sure she gets the news," said Shamus with a toothy grin.

"And she'll probably become pissed at you when she finds out you're locking up her bodyguard," said Vinyl, folding her forelegs.

Shamus leered at Vinyl and snorted. "I don't think I like your tone, missy."

"Do you honestly expect me to give a damn about that?" Vinyl scoffed. "I mean, look at who you're talking to here."

"Oh, I'm looking, alright," said Shamus darkly. "And you know what I see?  A pony who just earned herself a one-way ticket to the Detention Center.  Puz, we're placing this mouthy unicorn under arrest, too."

"That, actually wouldn't be wise, Shamus," said Puzzlement, adjusting her monocle.

Shamus whipped around and narrowed his eyes. "What the hay are you talking about?"

"Ms. Scratch has been sent here by Princess Twilight Sparkle to conduct her own investigation, along with these other ponies," Puzzlement explained, gesturing to Rarity, Fluttershy, and myself. "It's something that involves the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well.  I have yet to ascertain all the details."

Shamus gave Puzzlement a blank stare before stifling a laugh. "You're yanking my chain, Puz.  There's no way you're this gullible.  Why would the Princess of Friendship send these rubes to look into a stupid urban legend, huh?"

"For starters, it's no mere urban legend," I said, stepping forward. "I saw her at the Manehattan Music Festival this past April.  If it wasn't for her, well, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Yeah, yeah.  I've heard it all before," said Shamus with a dismissive was of his hoof. "Puz, please don't tell me you're actually buying any of this malarky.  These dames are just trying to stir up trouble."

Rarity's face darkened. "Considering that my little sister may very well be scarred for life from what just happened here, I take a great amount of offense to that, good sir," she snapped.

Shamus sighed. "Okay, okay.  Let's just say for the sake of argument that you're all telling the truth and that you were sent here to investigate Mare-Do-Well.  What does that have to do with the attack on Sapphire Shores?"

"Possibly everything; perhaps nothing," I said.

Shamus gave me a blank stare before turning to Puzzlement. "Y'mind translating that, Puz?  I don't speak in riddles like you do."

If Puzzlement was offended by that remark, she didn't show it. "This is just a guess, but I do believe that there's a distinct possibility that our investigations are connected in some manner.  At least, that's what Ms. Melody seems to believe."

"Is that right?" said Shamus, sauntering up over to me. "Well, little lady, I have it on good authority that your cockeyed little fable has nothing to do with actual police work.  We've already got our suspect right here."

"About that," I said, furrowing my brow. "I was under the impression that Mr. Lockdown was the kind of pony who went above and beyond the call of duty to protect Sapphire.  Why is he being placed under arrest?"

"That's none of your beeswax," Shamus spat.

"I dunno, Shamus.  Maybe it is," said Puzzlement somberly. "If they are who they claim to be, it would not look good for us if we continued to act hostile towards them."

Shamus scowled. "You really are throwing your lot in with these loons, aren't you, Puz?  Sheesh, I thought you were just an oddball before, but now I can see that you're completely crazy."

"I'm not throwing in my lot with anypony, Shamus," Puzzlement said plainly. "I am simply erring on the side of caution.  Try it sometime."

"Tch, wisenheimer," Shamus muttered under his breath before turning to me. "Alright, you.  We'll play your little game for now.  But if it turns out you're just throwing a wrench into good honest police work, I'm throwing all four of you into the slammer, capisce?"

I swallowed. "D-duly noted," I stammered, trying to collect myself.  Alright, this should be simple enough.  There's no possible way that Lockdown's the culprit.  All I have to do is prove that, and we're in the clear.  I just hope Shamus is reasonable enough to hear me out.


***
Argument: Lockdown's Crime Part I
***


"The way I sees it, Mr. Lockdown is the only possible culprit," said Shamus. "After all, according to his own testimony, he was at the scene of the crime all day.  Plus, since he's Ms. Shores's bodyguard, nopony would suspect him of any wrongdoing.  But most incriminating of all is what I found in his pocket.  It's a death threat that was obviously meant for his boss, Sapphire Shores.  And that's the final nail on this guy's coffin.  So unless he just so happens to be Mare-Do-Well, you've got no authority here even if you were on the level."

I notice that he failed to mention Lockdown's motive at any point.  That right there tells me that he arrested him for the sake of convenience, nothing more.  Well, the convenient answer isn't always the right one, now is it?  Besides, that's the least of this argument's problems.

"Let's get the important stuff out of the way first," I said. "Mr. Lockdown is the one who called the police, was he not?  Why would he do that if he was the culprit?"

Shamus snickered. "To give himself an alibi, of course.  Seriously, you don't have to be Puzzlement to figure that one out."

Shazbot.  I really thought that was a good point.  Still, I don't believe that to be the case.  Lockdown was just as surprised as the rest of us when we found out that Sapphire had been assaulted.  Of course, Shamus is not likely to believe that excuse, either.  I need to attack from a different angle.

"You mentioned before the Mr. Lockdown was carrying a death threat on his person," I said. "May I see it?"

Shamus scoffed. "You're kidding, right?  Why the hay would I trust you with valuable evidence?"

"Um, did you forget that we've got our own investigation here, pal?" asked Vinyl.

"I'm still not convinced of that," said Shamus sternly. "You might've been able to fool Puzzlement, but nopony can pull the wool over my eyes."

Well, I can understand why we may seem untrustworthy.  We're not really detectives, and our story is still rather remarkable even though it's entirely true.  Even so, I need to find out what that death threat says.  Shamus is right about one thing; it may indeed be a key clue to the whole thing.  So how can I go about getting him to relinquish it?  Hmm.

"Um, out of curiosity, Detective Shamus," said Rarity, clearing her throat. "Where did you say you found this death threat again?"

"It was on Mr. Lockdown's person," said Shamus. "He probably stashed it away to hide the evidence."

That right there provided just the opening I needed.  I smiled and straightened out my bow-tie.

"Well, that's nothing more than conjecture, isn't it?" I said.

Shamus raised an eyebrow. "How is that conjecture?"

"I thought that would be obvious," I said with a shrug. "You're simply assuming that Mr. Lockdown wrote that note in the first place."

Shamus growled. "Well, why else would he have it, huh?"

"Why indeed," I said, knitting my brow. "Tell me, what condition was the note in when you found it?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shamus spat.

"Just answer the question, Detective Shamus," I said flatly. "What's the condition of this note?"

Shamus tugged at his collar as sweat formed on his brow. "W-well, it was folded neatly in his pocket."

"Ah-ha," I said with a knowing smirk. "So, it wasn't, say, torn to shreds of crumpled up?"

"N-no.  B-but do you really expect a punk like him to think about that?"

"Ad hominem attacks do nothing to help your argument, Detective.  In fact, it just shows that you're not thinking this through at all."

"Tch!"

Shamus bitterly clicked his tongue and winced.  It appears he has nothing to say to that.

"So, the note itself was found intact on Mr. Lockdown's person," I mused. "Seeing as your argument holds no water, we have to find another reason for this."

"Well, what other reason is there?" Shamus snarled.

"That's easy enough to find out," I said. "Mr. Lockdown?"

Lockdown looked up at me. "Um, yes?"

"Is it true that Detective Shamus found a note on your person?"

"Yes."

"And would you describe it as a death threat?"

"Indeed."

"So, how did you come into possession of this letter?"

Lockdown averted his gaze. "I'm not at liberty to say.  It's a private matter between myself and Ms. Sapphire."

Puzzlement stroked her chin. "Hmm.  A private matter between boss and bodyguard regarding a death threat.  Why, those two pieces fit together seamlessly, don't you think, Shamus?"

"You're thinking about this too much, Puz.  Again," groaned Shamus. "Can't you see he's just trying to cover his flank?"

"Actually, I do believe that you're the only one thinking that, Detective Shamus," I said. "Detective Puzzlement is right; there's obviously something going on behind the scenes here.  You'd have to be completely daft not to catch it."

"Oooh~!  That was a sick burn, Octy!" Vinyl cheered.

Shamus's cheeks became bright red. "Sh-shaddup!" he barked. "He's the only one who could've done it!  There was no one else in this room!"

"Just as I suspected," Puzzlement sighed. "You went with the easy answer just to get everything over with.  You can't keep doing this, Shamus."

"Shut your trap, Puzzlement!  I wouldn't have to rush if you didn't take forever and a day to get your act together!"

"Oh, so now this is my fault, is it?"

"I'm just saying by the time you figure out one of your stupid puzzles, the culprit is miles away!"

"That's not relevant to the matter at hoof, Shamus.  You made a mistake.  Don't take it out on me."

"This can't be a mistake, Puz!  These dames all have bats in the belfry!  You can't expect me to—"

"Both of you, stop!"

Fluttershy suddenly flew in between Shamus and Puzzlement, giving them both disapproving looks.

"You two are partners, aren't you?" she scolded. "This is no way for friends to behave.  We should be working together here."

"Oh, now you're gonna preach to us?  Give me a break!" Shamus snarled.

"I have to agree with Fluttershy here," said Rarity. "I'll admit, I don't know what personal problems you have with Detective Puzzlement, but you can't allow them to cloud your judgement.  Especially since you're arresting somepony who is most likely innocent."

Shamus shook his head. "You still don't get it, do you?  If you keep focusing on the little things, you never get anything done.  I'm telling you, this guy did it."

"You haven't necessarily been doing a good job of convincing us of that," I said frankly. "If anything, Detective Puzzlement seems to be correct.  You're just latching onto this asinine theory because Mr. Lockdown was the only other pony in the room."

"Well, sometimes that's all there is to it," said Shamus with a snort. "Let's look at the facts one more time.  But I'm gonna warn you right here and now; I'm very close to the end of my tether with all of you.  If you refuse to take a hint after this, consider yourselves under arrest."

Bugger.  He seems adamant about making this difficult for us.  But despite being quite intimidating, I don't think I have anything to be afraid of.  Proving Lockdown's innocence should still be child's play, and if he does arrest us, we can send word to Princess Twilight and have her vouch for us.  Seeing as she has her own investigation to worry about, let's just hope it doesn't come to that.


***
Argument: Lockdown's Crime Part II
***


"Mr. Lockdown said it himself," said Shamus. "There's no way in or out of this room besides the front door.  The only other pony to enter this room was some kid named Sweetie something or other.  It's a simple process of elimination.  The kid didn't do it, and Ms. Shores couldn't have attacked herself.  Thus, there's only one pony who could've pulled it off."

Rarity let out a strained sigh. "For your information, her name is Sweetie Belle," she growled through gritted teeth. "She also happens to be my sister."

Shamus blushed and cleared his throat. "Um, right.  Th-thank you for the update, miss."

Vinyl stifled a laugh.  I'm certainly glad she's enjoying herself.  I, on the other hoof, have to destroy this line of reasoning before it gets us all into trouble.  Thankfully, that shouldn't be too difficult.

"I take it you questioned Mr. Lockdown before arresting him, yes?" I inquired.

"Well, yeah.  Of course I did," said Shamus. "Despite what Puzzlement says, I'm not an idiot."

"For the record, he's not," said Puzzlement. "He just doesn't use his brain.  And in many ways, that's even worse."

Shamus shot Puzzlement a glare.  Before he could launch into a tirade, I cleared my throat.

"Right then," I said. "So, that being the case, you should know that the door to this studio locks from the inside."

"Yeah, so?" said Shamus with a shrug. "Ms. Shores obviously would've let him in if he knocked first."

"Except he had no reason to knock," I said, adjusting my bow-tie. "Because he was standing guard.  That's his job, you see."

"Yeah, and he's no slouch about it, either," Vinyl chimed in. "Seriously, we really had to twist his leg to let us in."

Shamus smirked. "Hang on.  Why did you all want to come in here, anyway?"

"It's part of our own investigation," I said with a smile of my own. "However, now that you bring it up, I can provide a thorough reason as to why Mr. Lockdown is not the culprit."

"You can, can you?" said Shamus with a snicker. "Alright, I'll bite.  What's this reason of yours?"

"Simple.  Somepony else claims that an intruder snuck into this room."

Shamus's eyes went wide for a moment before he let out an insincere laugh. "Y-you really expect me to believe that?"

"It's true," said Rarity. "A junior roadie named Babs Seed said that she saw someone go into the room, even though Mr. Lockdown claims otherwise.  Now, let's say he was the culprit.  Why would he insist that nopony got past him?  Wouldn't he agree with Babs to make it look like someone else did it?"

"W-well, he just...  I mean, you can't...  Augh, you bucking minx!" Shamus sputtered, unable to form a rebuttal.

"Language!" Puzzlement admonished.

"English!" Shamus retorted.

Vinyl let out a hearty guffaw. "Okay, I have to give him that one," she chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "You are so immature," I sighed before turning back to Shamus. "Anyway, you have to admit it now, right?  Mr. Lockdown's innocent of all wrongdoing."

"B-but if he didn't do it, then who did?!" Shamus roared.

"We simply don't know at this point in time," I said with a shrug. "However, we may have something that could lead to the identify of the attacker."

Puzzlement grew pale. "M-Ms. Melody, I don't think it's a good idea to show him that now," she stammered.

"I do apologize, Detective Puzzlement.  But it's the only way for him to see reason," I said. "You still have it, right?"

"O-of course," said Puzzlement. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

She gave me the piece of notepaper, and I in turn showed it to Shamus.  Shamus arched an eyebrow.

"What the heck is that supposed to be?" he inquired.

"We asked Sweetie Belle to draw a depiction of the assailant," I explained. "This is what she came up with, although we're not quite sure what to make of it.  One thing we can gather, however, is that it's clearly not a pony.  Ergo, Mr. Lockdown cannot be the one we're after."

"B-but he...  And I just...  You...  Mmmrgh!"

Shamus recoiled from my logic.  When he recovered, he cast his gaze downward.

"R-release him," he mumbled. "H-he's clearly not our guy."

"That's exactly what we've been telling you from the beginning," said Vinyl with a complacent smirk. "Nice to see that you're not completely stupid."

"Don't get cute," Shamus snarled. "I don't know how you ponies showed me up like that, but it won't happen again.  And by the way, I'm still not completely sold in this Mare-Do-Well nonsense."

"I'll have one of our sergeants send a request to Canterlot for confirmation of their story," said Puzzlement, freeing Lockdown from his cuffs. "In the meantime, I ask that you four try and avoid us for the time being.  You may have bested Shamus in this battle of wits, but trying his patience is not something I'd advise."

"Y-yes'm," Fluttershy squeaked timidly.

"I think that'll work out just fine, darling," said Rarity. "After all, we've got something to occupy our time.  Don't we, Ms. Octavia?"

Oh yes, that's right.  We still need to hear Babs's side of the story.  I wonder if Mike Check has caught up with her yet.

"That's right," I said. "We'll be sure to inform you if anything else comes up."

"That would be most appreciated," said Puzzlement with a nod. "Now, if you'll excuse us—"

"Uh, just a sec."

I turned to Lockdown.  Free from his bonds, he adjusted his shades and gave me a curt nod.

"I owe you one, Ms. Melody," he said. "Ms. Sapphire is going through enough without having to worry about me."

"It's no trouble at all," I said earnestly.

"Although if you still feel like you owe us, you could give us the deets on that death threat," said Vinyl.

I smacked my forehead.  I know that death threat is probably important, but did she really have to ask that now?  Ugh, that mare has no tact whatsoever.

"W-we can discuss that later," I said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Right now, we should get moving."

With that, we headed off.  That was probably a lot more trouble than it was worth.  While I managed to prevent our arrest, I didn't get any new information from debating Shamus.  Well, except for the death threat, but without knowing what it said, we can't—

Wait a tick.  I remember Vinyl saying before that Lockdown's presence was unnecessary, seeing as the door to the performance studio locks from the inside and the walls are soundproof.  Maybe Sapphire was suspecting something, and she had Lockdown guard the room for her own peace of mind.  She can be a bit superstitious at times.  However, it still doesn't seem likely that Mare-Do-Well's impostor would target her of all ponies.

...

Mmm, no use dwelling on it, I suppose.  I guess only Sapphire herself would know whether or not she was being targeted, but there's no way we can contact her right now.  So, let's just focus on finding Babs Seed and getting her side of the story.  If she really did see something, then we need every detail we can get from her.  Because I don't know about you, but the fact that we really don't know what we're up against is not exactly a settling thought for me...