Truthseeker

by RB_

Whitechapel Vigilance 6

When Vinyl returned to the hotel, she had with her an unmarked manila folder, the contents of which was quickly spread across Lyra and Bon Bon’s bed. The majority of the files consisted of profiles, small stacks of paper with photographs stapled to their corners. Lifting one off the bed at random, Lyra began to read off the front page.

“Flash Fire. Unicorn mare, twenty-three years old. Firefighter. No close family. Body found on the seventeenth of September.”

She grabbed another one. “Biscuit Break. Unicorn mare, thirty-four years old. Owned a café called the Stray Crumb; there’s an address. Parents live in Canterlot, has an older brother named Soft Stitch who’s taken over her business. Found dead on the twenty-fourth of September.”

“There’s one for her brother, too,” Bon Bon said. “Soft Stitch, Unicorn stallion, age thirty-seven. Previously worked as a nurse in Canterlot, now owns the Stray Crumb Café."

Vinyl picked a couple up and levitated them in front of her muzzle. Mountain Carpet. Earth pony stallion, twenty-five. Student at Manehatten U, lived on campus; botany major. What in Tartarus is a ‘botany’? She shuffled it to the back of her pile. Oh, here’s Crystal Cup’s. Twenty-two, ha! Unemployed, lived alone, no close family.

She tossed the files back on the bed. Well, this was a huge waste of time.

“No, these are very helpful,” Bon Bon said. “They give us a place to start. The addresses of the victims and their relatives are especially useful; we can pay them a visit, ask questions.”

“And if anypony’s hiding anything, I’ll be able to tell! We’ll have the whole thing wrapped up before dinner.”

Vinyl made a face. Yeah, I’m not gonna be a lot of help with that. Here’s an idea: you two go do that, and I’ll go check out the spot on Crystal Cup’s map.

“Fine by me,” Bon Bon said. “You’re more suited for that anyway.”

And it’ll save you the trouble of keeping an eye on me for a few hours, right?

Bon Bon ignored the slight, much to Vinyl’s apparent satisfaction. “Just don’t run off anywhere without us. Come back here if you find anything.” She swept the various files up and into a pile. “It’s a plan, then. Let’s go.”

─────

The next few hours saw Lyra and Bon Bon travelling all across Manehattan, paying visits to the addresses listed in the files. Most of the ponies who answered their doors were surprisingly willing to talk to the pair, once they were asked about their dead relatives; several of the ponies had assumed they were working with the police, as they had been told that nopony outside of the police was to know about the murders. Those who were more reluctant to talk found themselves subject to a rather insistent Bon Bon.

The two met parents and siblings, best friends and roommates. They met sobbing and grim silences. They met the victims, if only in the stories of those who knew them.

They did not meet a solution. And so, they found themselves walking through the doors to the Stray Crumb, in the hopes of meeting a decent lunch in addition to one of the suspects.

The bitter smell of coffee grounds hit Lyra like a cart, sending an electric tingle down her spine and into her limbs. Her eyelids snapped open, and her mouth turned upward into an easy grin.

“Oh, that’s good.”

“If you say so,” Bon Bon said, leading the way to an empty table, one of only a few in the establishment. The wooden chairs creaked slightly as they sat down.

“It’s pretty busy in here, huh?” Lyra said, looking out at the chattering crowd. “Must be a pretty popular place. I bet they have killer sandwiches.”

Bon Bon slid a menu over to herself from the center of the table as Lyra did the same with her magic. “Don’t forget why we’re here, though. We need to meet with Soft Stitch and ask him about his sister.”

“I know, I know.”

Bon Bon’s expression softened a bit. “Are you doing alright? I know this must be stressful.”

“What, me?” Lyra said, scoffing. “I’m completely fine. Besides, it’s not like this is my first time on a mission or anything. Really, I should be asking you that!”

“I’ve been doing this sort of thing a lot longer than you have, Lyra. I’ve been through things like this before.”

She sighed. “But you’re right. I worry about you, though.”

Lyra smiled. “I know. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

Their waitress took that moment to approach, a blonde earth pony with her mane pulled back. She greeted them with a friendly smile and a forgettable name. The two ordered matching sandwiches, Lyra going for a cup of coffee as well.

The waitress turned to go, but Bon Bon stopped her.

“Excuse me, is there a stallion named Soft Stitch working here?”

“Yeah, he’s my boss.”

“Could you tell him we want to speak with him? Tell him it’s about his sister.”

The mare’s eyes widened. “About Biscuit Break? Have you found her?”

Bon Bon shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. Did you know her?”

“Yeah, she was my boss before she disappeared, we were friends. Is the search going well, at least? The police haven’t come around for a few weeks.”

“It’s going fine”, Bon Bon said. “I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually.”

The familiar tingle ran down Lyra’s spine at the lie. It mixed well with the guilt in her stomach.

The mare smiled. “That’s good to hear. I’ll go get Mr. Stitch for you.”

Lyra watched her retreat.

Bonnie did that so easily, she thought. It’s almost scary. I couldn’t do that.

Soon enough, their table was approached by a stallion, a pair of food-laden plates and a steaming mug levitating beside him. He strode up on long, slender legs and delicately set their orders in front of them with a smile.

He was pretty good-looking for a stallion, Lyra decided, though that may have been because he looked rather feminine, his face and body more rounded and slender than most.

“Hello,” he said in a voice that matched his looks. “My name is Soft Stitch. Bubblegum said you wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes,” Bon Bon said, immediately taking charge once again. “Have a seat, Mr. Stitch.”

He did so.

“We’d like to ask you a few questions about your sister, if you don’t mind.” Lyra said, pulling out a notepad and a worn-down pencil.

“Are you police, then? I’ve already told them everything I know.”

“No, we’re working independently on the behalf of one of the victims’ families,” Bon Bon said, the same line she had used on all the other ponies they had interviewed today.

He raised his eyebrows. “A private investigation? But I was told by the police that this wasn’t to be made public!”

“Yes, and that is why it would be very helpful if you wouldn’t mention us to anypony either. Including the police. Now, could tell us a bit about your sister?”

“Biscuit was one of the kindest mares I’ve ever known,” he began. “She had a lot of friends, a lot of them customers here. She loved this place, too, it was her whole life. She was always so happy here, always greeting everyone with a smile and a cup of whatever they needed. She took me in after I lost my last job, you know. I didn’t even ask her for it even, she just sent me a job offer as soon as she heard I’d been let go.”

His smile disappeared. “When she—when she vanished, I had to keep this place running. I didn’t want to let go of the one thing I had left of her.”

He looked almost to tears now. “I miss her so much…”

Lyra reached over and gently laid a hoof on his shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry Mr. Stitch. But I promise, we will find the pony responsible for this, and we will make them pay for what they did to your sister, and all the other ponies they hurt.”

Soft Stitch looked at her, a slight smile adorning his face. With all the apparent sincerity in the world, he said, “I certainly hope so.”

Lyra’s blood ran cold.

He had lied.

It’s him.

She fought back the urge to jerk away from him, to scream. She pulled her hoof back and sat back in her seat, keeping her expression as normal as she could.

He’s the murderer.

She must have let something slip through, though, because Stitch was giving her a funny look. “Is everything alright, miss?”

“Uh, fine! I am.” She coughed. “I’m fine.”

Sweet Celestia, he’s the murderer.

Bon Bon was looking at her too, now. Her eyes quickly shifted from Lyra’s face, to Stitch’s, and then back to Lyra. One of her eyebrows lifted slightly.

Lyra gave her an almost imperceptible nod.

“When did you last see your sister, Mr. Stitch?” Bon Bon asked.

“The day before she went missing, a couple days before the police found her. The third of last month, I believe.”

The questioning continued as normal, Bon Bon going through the list of questions they had ran through so many times already. Though her appetite had gone, Lyra forced herself to eat at least a few bites of her sandwich, for the sake of appearances. Bon Bon was doing the same, by the looks of it.

After what felt to Lyra like an eternity, the interview came to a close.

“Thank you very much for your cooperation, Mr. Stitch,” Bon Bon said. “You’ve been a big help. Oh, what do we owe you for the sandwiches?”

“I’ll get your bill for you.” He stood up, stretched his legs out, and headed back the way he had come.

“It’s him.” Lyra said the instant he was out of sight.

“You’re sure?”

Lyra nodded.

“Alright. We’ll go out and regroup with Vinyl, decide what to do from there.”

The agent disappeared for a moment. “Are you alright, Lyra? You looked like you were going to be sick.”

“I’ll be okay once this guy is far, far away from us. And behind bars. Or banished. Or—”

“Shh, he’s coming.”

“Here’s your bill, ladies,” Soft Stitch said, dropping the bill on the table. “And if you have any more questions, you know where to find me. Oh, and—please, for the sake of my sister, please find whoever’s behind this and bring them to justice.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Stitch,” Bon Bon said, dropping the bits on the table, “we’ll make sure of it.”

The two stood up from the table and made their way outside. The streets were expectedly busy given the time of day, and they quickly found themselves swept up into the flow of the crowd.

They made it about a block before a commotion behind them caught Lyra’s ears.

“Miss, please—excuse me, sorry—wait a moment!”

She recognized the voice. Oh no.

There was Soft Stitch, pushing his way through the flow of ponies on the sidewalk to get to them. Lyra glanced over at Bon Bon. She’d furrowed her brow.

“Be on your guard. If he tries anything, I’ll take him down. Otherwise, act normal. We can’t let him know we know.”

“Got it.”

They moved over to the edge of the sidewalk while they waited for him to reach them. Which eventually he did, huffing and puffing just a little bit.

“I’m very sorry, ladies, but I gave you the wrong bill! I’ve charged you too much for your sandwiches.”

He’s not lying, Lyra thought. This can’t just be a coincidence, though.

“Oh, it’s really no problem,” Bon Bon said. “Besides, we’re in a bit of a hurry, so…”

“Oh no, I insist, and it’ll just take a moment—”

A pony walking by bumped into Soft, sending him stumbling forward. Lyra flinched.

“Here, why don’t we get out of the way so we can sort this out in peace?” he said, gesturing towards a gap in the lines of buildings only a few steps away, the only one for a ways. Bon Bon, after a moment, headed inside, Lyra following her into the alleyway with trepidation in her step.

Stitch was the last one in, blocking the narrow exit with his body. He withdrew a coin-purse, which jangled as he held it aloft.

“Now, it should only be a couple of bits—oh dear.”

Pulling open the clasp of the purse had released a single golden bit, sent it tumbling towards the concrete floor of the alley. Lyra’s eyes tracked its descent automatically, her horn lighting to catch it before it hit the ground.

This was a mistake.

“Lyra, get down!”

She snapped her head up, just in time to see Bon Bon diving towards Stitch, one hoof outstretched and aimed at Stitch’s horn.

She was a moment too late. A flash of light lit up the alley, and when the light faded, the two of them lay fallen.

Stitch groaned, and began to stand.

Bon Bon remained motionless.

Lyra opened her mouth to scream, but another flash from Stitch’s horn interrupted her. A wave of numbness swept over her body, relaxing her muscles and draining her energy. Her legs gave out, crumpling underneath her as she collapsed, though she could only barely feel the impact.

“Well, that went about as well as I could have hoped,” she heard Soft Stitch say.

Lyra tried to say something, but whatever spell he had cast on her had turned her mouth uncooperative; just the act of forming words was a struggle.

“Whu d’ yuh duh?”

“Hmm?” he said, leaning over her. “Oh, you’re still awake. Well, no worries, I promise you’ll be out soon enough. The anesthesia spell hasn’t failed me yet!”

He wasn’t kidding; Lyra could feel her consciousness slipping away.

He stepped over her; Lyra could hear his hoofsteps heading away from her, presumably towards the back of the alley. She looked forward. Beyond the fog that was encroaching on her vision she could see Bon Bon’s prone figure, and beyond that the glowing light of the street. She could see the ponies out on the street, going about their business only a good three meters away from her. If only one would glance into the alley!

The distance suddenly began to grow, and Lyra realized she was being dragged backwards, away from the safety of the streets.

It was getting harder and harder for her to stay awake, now.

An orange glow lit around Bon Bon’s legs, and she too was pulled into the back of the alley, left to lie beside Lyra.

A rustling sound came from beside her head, and Lyra watched as something was draped over their bodies, a tarp of some kind, sending her into darkness.

“Sleep tight,” the stallion said. “I’ll be back for you soon.”

His receding hoofsteps were the last thing Lyra heard before the spell at last plunged her into unconsciousness.

Comments

[Razor Blade the Unicron]

Well, that escalated quickly!

[FanOfMostEverything]

Vinyl Scratch: has lived for centuries, never heard the word "botany" before. Well then.

In any case, this is one heck of a cliffhanger. Looking forward to more.

[WayfarGuide]

Wow! This fic is really good! Interesting concept, nice characters, intiguing stories. I'm looking forward to reading more.
And this fic definitiely deserves to be more popular!

[Emil]

This doesn't seem like the kind of behavior that one would expect from a highly trained agent. Letting someone block off the exit? And not being close enough to disrupt the spell immediately? It didn't even seem like Lyra was really holding her back, so I'm hoping this is just a necessary plot contrivance.

[Nyperold]

I bet they have killer sandwiches.”

Best adjective to use during a murder investigation.

Especially when it turns out to be more apt than even that.