Clover Clues and the Shattered Salon

by Argentium

Case 3: The Maker's Mark

Case 3: The Maker’s Mark

Eight bricks were lined up in rows of two on my desk. Each pair was labeled with a different street address. On the bulletin board was a map of Maretropolis, on which four pins were stuck, with yarn connecting them all.

I looked at the bricks as if they were trying to whisper their secrets to me, then up at the bulletin board.

A gruff looking pegasus passed my desk. "Good visualization, Luck. I'd like to see your reports if you're finished with them."

"Sure thing Chief." I magicked a file folder to him. Even though I had made detective, I was still very much in training. Chief Swiftwing could also weigh in on the evidence and see something I didn't.

He opened the file and hmm'd over it for a while. I went back to considering the bricks using my focusing spell. The bricks were a City standard size and make, with no apparent marks. I made a mental note to have our forensics team have a look at them.

Swiftwing closed then file with a snap and slapped it on my desk. "Decent, Luck. Decent."

That was as big a compliment as I was ever going to get out of him. I nodded seriously, while performing a happy little dance in my head. "Thanks Chief. Anything jump out at you?"

He grimaced. It was an expression that could quell any manner of bad behavior. I instinctively tensed up, despite just being complimented. "Only that somepony has to really have it out for the Satins. The attacks had to have happened nearly simultaneously, based on Sheer Satin's testimony."

I nodded quickly. "I thought so too. After taking these bricks to the lab, I should interview the family."

"Very good. Keep me informed."

"You got it, Chief!"

I tried to magick up all the bricks and felt a sharp twinge of pain between my eyes. Okay, note to self: do not pick up eight bricks at once with magic. I then loaded them two at a time into a little cart I found to tote them to our crime lab.

The pride and joy of the precinct, the MPD crime lab was on the cusp of forensic technology. All the latest magi-mechanical and analog equipment could be found there; they even had some devices exclusive to the lab, designed by some of the brightest CSI's in Equestria.

"Hey Lucky," said Laser Focus. She was wearing her usual white lab coat over her dark red fur. Her horn glowed bright red as she was manipulating a microscope.

"Got some evidence for you."

She looked up from her microscope and into my cart. "...bricks?"

"Bricks. I've got to find their makers, or really anything you can tell me about them. I'm not getting anywhere."

Laser smiled brightly. "We'll take a look. I think our forensic architect is in today."

I didn't know we had a forensic architect, or what forensic architect even does. But I'm glad we had one. "Thanks Lase. Let me know if you find anything. Have fun!"

She gave me a coquettish wink. "You know I always do!" She magicked all the bricks over to a shiny metal table without any apparent strain. Ouch, my pride. I left the station and called a taxi to take me to the Satin residence.