Behind the Scenes

by Opium4TmassS

Forensics is Magic

“What in the hell do you call this,” I said to Tom as my face twisted in disgust.

“Well, it’s called a crime scene,” replied Tom, “I know for a fact you have them in L.A.”

“I’m not talking about that,” I said holding up the small cup of burnt, overly sweetened, room temperature coffee, “I mean this monstrosity right here.”

“Those who are late to the scene don’t get good coffee.”

“I think this counts as police brutality,” I muttered pulling a couple of aspirin from my pocket and swallowing them with the aid of the foul beverage, “I could sue.”

“Oh, grow up.”

“Yes, mom,” I said sarcastically and I dumped the cup and the remainder of its contents on the ground.

By the time we’d arrived to the scene the investigation was well under way. Photographs of the body and the surrounding area were being snapped. CCTV images were being downloaded and anything of the most remote interest was tagged and bagged.

There was a part of me that missed being the lead investigator on a crime scene. It was a large puzzle and I’d always enjoyed puzzles. Unfortunately though, this type of puzzle had real world consequences and not just for the victim. “Oh Jason,” I muttered as I knelt just beyond the tape, peering at the body, “What did you get yourself into?”

“Nothing good that’s for sure,” responded Tom.

"Who discovered the body?" I asked Ackerman.

"The body was found around seven in the morning by a..." I watched him forget the names and reach for his notebook. Funny, he never was good with that, "…Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

"Why were they there," I asked as I watched the techies work.

."Doing there morning workout, the two always get up early for their usual routine of a morning run around Canterlot, followed by some yoga."

"Where are they right now? Have you ruled them out as suspects," I asked.

"For the most part. Right now they’re being interviewed by Kilmer in one of the offices. The white one was pretty shaken up by the whole thing. She made the call."

"And the dark one?"

"Well, she was disappointed when we stopped her from poking Schwartz’s corpse with a stick," he said with a frown.

I rolled my eyes. From what I could tell Luna had always been interested in the macabre. More than once while I’d been on set she’d tried to get me to watch Faces of Death with her. Considering the fact that in my previous job I’d seen a fair amount of the real thing I’d declined.

As I stood up I asked, “So, how did he die?”

“The victim died by asphyxiation caused by strangulation, “Tom pointed at Schwartz’s neck, “You can see the bruising and lacerations from here. Whoever did it used a cord as a ligature.”

“Nasty way to go,” I paused and cast a side long glance at Tom, “Why are we discussing this like I’m part of the investigation?”

“Because there’s more and…” Tom scratched the back of his head, “most of these guys aren’t used to dealing with animation crime. I mean, we get a lot of low end stuff but, nothing like this.”

“Okay,” I said quietly, “So why are you so sure a toon did it?

“We found paint on the ends of the ligature.”

“What color?”

“Initial tests identify it as…” he flipped through his notes briefly and continued, “… number A46BBD red 164, green 107, blue 189. In layman’s terms a nice shade of lavender. Know anybody who’s that shade?”

“Maybe,” I said flatly, “What do the deeper tests say? What about prints? Were you able to lift those?”

Tom’s face scrunched up as he closed his notebook, “The prints were smudged beyond use and it will be a couple of days before we get the deeper tests back.”

“So,” I began, “You’re fishing. Sorry but I….”

“Oh you poor fragile little dears,” cried out a familiar voice along with the sound of galloping hooves. I turned just in time to see the barrel of a large white equine crash into me and knock me to the ground. It was Princess Celesita. She was kind if a bit overly dramatic.

She continued to repeat how fragile we were and how sorry she was for what had happened. She wrapped her forelegs and wings about me tightly. Her embrace was such that it was almost impossible to breathe. I tapped her repeatedly but she just hugged tighter. “Don’t you worry! My sister and I will never allow anything like this to happen again.” Panic set in as I tried to squirm but, it wasn’t long before it became clear that there was no way I could escape the alicorn’s embrace.

Sound soon disappeared. The world slowly faded to black and for a moment I thought I could see a light at the end of a long dark tunnel. It wasn’t until I started feeling something poking me in the ribs that the first painful gasp of air entered my lungs and the world faded back into view.

“You’re not as much fun to poke as the other guy,” said Luna as she looked down at me, stick in hoof, “He was squishier even if he was thinner than you When their finished can I go back to him?”

“Alright back off,” shouted Tom as he and a few of the other officers ushered the dark princess back. He turned and pointed at a young female officer and shouted, “Kilmer get these two princesses out of here now! I don’t care how much they protest just get them the hell out!”

I laid quietly and watched as the protesting princesses were escorted from the crime scene. Tom stood over me and shook his head muttering to himself before finally addressing me and offering me a hand up, “I’m so sorry Leon. Jesus, they can be handful can’t they?”

“A handful,” I growled, “I’m hung over. All I wanted was a good cup of coffee and to get past this headache and now I think I have two cracked ribs, an employer who hates my guts and cartoon ponies that run the gamut of angry to perverse. Handful is not the operative word I would use!”

“Let’s get you that coffee okay,” said Tom smiling apologetically as he walked me to his car, “I’ll fill you in on the rest.”

I groaned.

****

There are few pleasures in this world like a good cup of coffee. The heat, the rich aroma and flavor that sit on your tongue and fill you with a warmth that you know you’ve needed even before you woke up. This time around a couple of donuts were thrown in as well!

I drank my coffee as Tom filled me in on some of the other details and evidence found at the scene. He said that CCTV showed that, once again he had made his way into Canterlot and that he’d paced around for a few minutes while talking on the phone. According to Tom, Jason seemed nervous and eventually angry about something. Unfortunately the video footage was of such a poor quality that it would take forensics awhile to see what else was on it.

“Let me guess,” I said as I bit into one of my donuts, “He was killed in a blind spot.”

“It would seem so.”

I sipped my coffee and looked at Tom, “So how did he manage to post bail? I mean, from what it seemed he wasn’t exactly gainfully employed and the judge would have placed a rather steep bond.”

Tom lowered his head, “I don’t know. He just managed to do it. Maybe he had some help. We’ll have to subpoena his bank records, phone records and all of that good stuff.”

“You’ve got some other problems as well.”

Tom raised his gaze, “Such as?”

“Well, you have a murder that seems to have been committed by a toon within the realm of toons. It’s a first. You have a former officer who got into a scuffle with the victim the day before, who is the same guy who fatally shot a toon a few years back. On top of all of that you have evidence that, even if you’re not saying it, leads to the possible arrest of one of the most beloved animated characters in the past twenty years. You’re going to get pressure and pain in places you didn’t know existed.”

Tom’s face blanched as I spoke. “Jesus.”

“But I’ll tell you what,” I said as I finished my coffee, “I can help alleviate some of that pressure if you take me to see my employer.”

“Twilight Sparkle? What makes you think that she’ll talk to you?”

I smiled. “Eventually she’s not going to have much of a choice.”

****

Twilight Sparkle’s home was in Shaughnessy, one of the wealthier areas of Vancouver. The large stone mansion located on Angus Drive sat back a little from the road on a driveway that split partly heading to the back while the other pulled around in front of the house behind several trees and decorative shrubs. For added security, a wrought iron gate built into a stone wall encircled the property as well. I whistled as we pulled into the driveway. “Not bad. It looks like the pony show pays well.”

We passed by two squad cars who were on their way out. Tom flashed his lights stopping them as he pulled up next to them. "Anything," he asked to the cop in the lead car.

"Not much. Her lawyer, a Miss Stiller was there from the start, she didn't give us much room to work with and denied us a paint sample."

"We’ll probably have to get a subpoena," replied Tom.

“Well,” I said with a sigh and opened the passenger side door, “You two talk it out. I’m going in.”

“Don’t want me to come in with you eh?”

“Not if we want to get anywhere in this case,” I said wryly, “We’ll talk later.”

Luckily for me the door to Twilight’s home was unlocked and swung open with ease revealing a world of opulence that few could hope to achieve. In some respects the inside was like a well organized museum filled with vases and pictures that you wanted to touch. Some of them even looked vaguely familiar, not that I could really place them. I wound my way into what I figured was the living room following the thin cloud of smoke to its ultimate source.

The crushed butts of numerous cigarettes were crammed into a crystal ashtray as the purple pony paced through her living room muttering incoherently to herself. Stiller sat perched on an overly stuffed sofa fanning the smoke away from her face as she watched the starlet tick through her emotional checklist. I could have stood in the entry way to that living room all day and I don’t think either one of them would have noticed me. So I knocked on the nicotine stained wall as loudly as I could.

Twilight Sparkle froze in place as Kelly turned her head in my direction. “You know for someone who has a stalker after her you might want to consider locking the front door,” I said feigning absent mindedness.

“He’s dead Mr. Dawson,” replied Kelly as Twilight quickly extinguished her cigarette.

“Oh is that why they were here. I thought that they might have come by to investigate a possible case of arson what with this lingering cloud and what not.”

“Why are you still here,” asked Twilight her disdain for me resonating within her voice, “Barging into my house like this. I could have you arrested for – for breaking and entering and criminal trespass!”

I glanced over at Kelly and shrugged, “I’ve got time. Go ahead and call the police. We’ll see who they’re more interested in.”

Kelly’s brow quirked in question, “What do you mean?”

Slowly I walked around the room and opened one of the windows letting the cigarette smoke out before taking a seat on the couch next to Kelly. “Well,” I began, “They don’t believe her.”

“But it’s the truth,” interrupted Twilight her voice cracking with frustration, “I was in bed when this horrible crime was being committed.”

I shrugged as I turned to face Kelly and ignored the purple equine. “Are you going to tell her or should I?”

Kelly’s eyes darted back and forth between her client and the guy hired to protect her. The more she paused the more agitated Twilight got until she finally closed the gap between us, “Go by the studio, get your money and get out of my life!”

I cast a sidelong glance at Twilight and issued a small sigh, “You know, purple and orange are complimentary colors Ms. Sparkle. Whether you know it or not and whether Ms. Stiller here has told you yet the police didn’t just come by for a social call. They came by to gather information. They wanted to see how compliant you were willing to be and see if your paint matches the paint at the crime scene.”

“What,” said Twilight her eyes widening in shock.

“I didn’t know,” said Kelly looking at Twilight.

“Why would you,” I said before turning my attention to Twilight, “Ms. Sparkle, had you kept me around and actually had me watching over you like the studio wanted you wouldn’t be in this position. I could have confirmed your alibi.”

Twilight replied with an, “Oh,” as she slowly fidgeted, the initial shock slowly seeping its way into her heart.

“You need someone Ms. Sparkle,” I said leaning in closer, “And frankly, whether you want to admit it or not, I’m all you’ve got.”

There was a long pause. The typical Sparkle snark was long gone. For a moment I could see this scared lonely toon trying her best to process what was going on. Her features softened and she nodded to me. "Okay," she mumbled.

“Are you sure,” asked Kelly.

“Well I mean,” began Twilight with resignation, “What choice do I have. So, what do you want to know Mr. Dawson?”

Almost on cue the sound Kelly’s cellphone began to ring. She’d chosen wind chimes as her tone and quickly snapped it open answering it. While inaudible, the voice on the other end was very loud and angry. Kelly pinched the bridge of her nose and walked out of the room as the voice continued to berate her.

"Get Twilight's ass on the phone right now!" screamed the voice so loud we both could plainly hear it from where we were.

“I think that was Rarity,” said Twilight.

“Oh? Dishing out a generous tongue lashing?”

“I thought you didn’t watch the show.”

“I don’t, but I’ve been on set for two weeks. I’ve heard a few things,” I said slid over on the couch so that Twilight could sit down, “So according to the file Jason started writing you in season one then contacting you in other ways later on.”

“Yes,” said Twilight, “When he first started he seemed like a nice guy if a little flaky. He was highly complementary of my acting and it was just nice to have a dedicated fan. Of course mother….”

“Lauren Faust you mean,” I said quickly, “She didn’t care for him even though you thought of him as a friend.”

Twilight shook her head, “After a while, as you know, he became obsessive. Once Lauren left the show he became down right perverse.”

“At which point you decided to break off contact with him.”

“I tried to but he always seemed to find out where I was or what my new number was,” she said looking away.

“Really? Any idea how?”

“No idea,” said Twilight looking directly at me, “Just before you were hired he left me a message saying that he had ‘evidence’ about who I really was and that he would ‘destroy me’ with it. I didn’t believe him at first. I thought it was just another attempt to force his way into my bed.”

“But then he said something or sent something that changed your mind.”

“A lot of things. Personal things,” said Twilight as her eyes clouded up, “Everything from which step I took while exiting my home to what I bought from the store. It was awful. I had no doubt he had something I just didn’t know what. I just wanted him to stop.”

"So you weren’t at home last night like you said."

Twilight shook her head and began to cry. She covered her face as she sobbed into the couch cushion. After a while she finally began to speak again, her voice choked by her tears, “What would you have done? After the threats and surveillance what would you have done? I agreed to meet him at his hotel room last night. It was stupid but, I was desperate.”

I looked at her dumbfounded, “He could have killed you Twilight. Had you kept me around none of this would have happened. I could have taken care of this. Do you really think the studio much less me would have let you swing on this?”

“But,” she said looking at me in surprise, “You hate me. Everyone knows you don’t like animations. Why would you have helped?”

“There’s a thing called professionalism. If what you’re saying is true then I would have had no problem making sure you walked away clean.”

“I guess I didn’t think,” said Twilight, “Anyway I pulled up to the hotel but, I left soon after. Cold hooves. I got scared and just wandered around for a few hours, not really wanting to be anywhere. Eventually I went home and went to bed.”

Kelly reentered the room with a sigh, “I swear to God, that Rarity needs to quit blaming you for every little thing that goes wrong in her life. It’s not your fault her camera equipment got messed.”

“Camera equipment?”

“Oh she thinks Twilight magically erased her hard drive or something,” said Kelly rolling her eyes, “If it’s not that it’s that somehow she magically made the dog she bet on stumble or the wrong card pops up in poker or something.”

I shrugged and looked at Twilight as I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the piece of photo that I’d taken from Jason the day before. “Do you think that this could have something to do with what he was going to use on you?”

“A vacation photo from Mexico,” said Twilight questioningly.

"What makes you think it’s that picture that has anything to do with this," asked Kelly.

"Why else would Jason break into Equestria and risk getting arrested. It had to be something he thought was important enough to risk it."

As Twilight looked at the piece of the photo her eyes narrowed. “That bitch! That backstabbing, double crossing, self important little bitch! I’m going to shove my horn so far up her….”

“Who,” I interrupted.

“Fucking Trixie that’s who! Bitch got fired three years ago and still blames me for it!”

I looked over at Kelly who sighed. “Trixie was terminated for a breach of contract a few years back. Conduct detrimental to the show I believe was the reason.”

“Okay but how does that make her a backstabbing bitch,” I asked before looking at the photo and pointing to the human guy next to Twilight, “Who’s the guy?”

Twilight’s rage immediately quieted when I asked that question. She huffed indignantly but, her posture became more defensive, “Just some guy I met while on vacation in Mexico with Trixie.”

"Twilight."

"Seriously.”

“Because you two look a lot more chummy than just some random celebrity photo.”

“Believe what you want Mr. Dawson,” huffed Twilight, “I met him once for a few hours. We talked and laughed and I never saw him again.”

“Uh-huh,” I said unconvinced.

"This is all Trixie's fault," she said growling as the flames of her wrath rekindled, "I can't believe she's still trying to mess up my life."

"Is it true that she works at a place called The Animatic these days?" I asked.

"That’s what I heard. How do you know," said Twilight.

“Trade secrets.”

"It’s a horrible place,” chimed in Kelly.

“Oh, you’ve been there?”

“No,” shot back Kelly, “But I’ve heard things. I’ve heard how it exploits animations since the laws protecting them are fairly lax.”

“Well, Ms. Stiller it looks like you’re about to find out just what goes on in there because I need a ride and something tells me you know where it’s located,” I said leaning toward her with a smile, “Even if you haven’t been inside.”

Kelly sighed and looked helplessly at Twilight who didn’t offer her any help. “Okay,” Kelly finally said relenting, “I’ll get my keys.”

Comments

[The Red Butcher]

Just like Roger Rabbit except it's not a psycho toon looking to kill every other toon in existence.

[Opium4TmassS]

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