Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 1: A Mad Mare Affair

by XombieSlayr

Chapter 3: "Under Judgement."

Chapter 3: "Under Judgement."

Returning to the hall, Ms. Regal still sat, though she seemed to be feeling better, her eyes still held sadness. As I approached the mare, she seemed to perk up a bit.

"Did you find anything useful?" she asked hopefully.

I had indeed. "Ms. Regal, do you know anything about the Beauteux De La Conciergerie?"

She raised an eyebrow. "The courthouse? What does that place have to do with anything?"

"Courthouse?"

"Yes. The Beauteaux De La Conciergerie is the largest and oldest courthouse in the country. Its been around for centuries."

"Where can I find it?"

"Downtown I believe. Its a massive building, almost as big as this chateau. You cant miss it, or the sign in front of it."

"Thank you."

"What does all this have to do with my husband's killer?"

"I think there may be a connection between the two. I may find more clues at this courthouse."

"Really? I can't really see how, but if your sure-

"I am Ms. Regal. I promise I will do everything I can, to find your husband's killer."

"Thank you, Ms. Meir. That means the world to me."

She smiled at me and I smiled back. I turned and walked out into the hall to collect my thoughts.

A courthouse? So that's what the message had meant by "Sub-Judice." Under Judgement, literally meant under judgement. As in something was beneath the courthouse!

I had to find a way under there. I decided to head downtown and search the water ways around the area, for an underground back entrance.

With my destination in mind I made my way to the front door of the chateau.

"Hey! Hold It!"

The sudden shout made me jump.

It was Inspector Maregold. He huffed his way over to me with a glare in his eye.

"Well?" he said. "What'cha find?"

I'll be honest, I didn't know what to tell him. Ms. Regal had made it clear that she wanted me to handle this case and no one else. But I couldn't lie to the police either!

Then again, to them I was still just a doctor. They didn't need to know about my investigation, just the medical details about the victim.

So that's what I told him.

"The victim was killed by a fatal stab wound below the abdomen. Trauma to the epidermal region suggests it was done with some force."

"What about the vase?"

"The vase was dropped as a distraction."

The inspector looked quite puzzled now. "Distraction? Distraction from what?" He asked.

I simply shrugged. "I believe that's for you to discover Inspector. I'm just a doctor, after all." I said curtly.

Leaving him with his eyes wide, I left through the door without another word.

Mareiposa Waterways (Downtown, 1:34 pm)

Being outside in the warm summer was a delightful change from the polished lavish furnishings of the Palae De Mareiposa. Even if I was now standing below the bridge in the dank waterways, it was still beautiful to see the city above and the boats along the river.

I examined the dankness of the waterways, and thought for sure that Mr. Regal wasn't the type for messing around on the river.

No. He was up to something down here. Something that got him killed.

If I was right about the meaning of Sub-Judice, then the answer should've been somewhere down here on the quayside. I just had to find it.

I tried every gate but they were all either locked or had rusted shut from the moisture in the air. That was until I saw a large gate at the end of the waterway that had been locked up with two very new looking locks. From what I could see, it led directly underground.

I approached the gate and examined the locks. They were indeed new and very sturdy. Someone had been in there recently, and did not want anyone going in. I was no lock pick, but I knew mechanics of applying pressure to the right place. It wasn't the locks I had to crack, it was the wall holding the gate.

The walls were very old and had suffered sufficient water damage. They easily cracked and fell apart when I applied a little pressure to a few bricks. With the walls keeping it place cracked apart, the gate then simply fell from its place onto the ground within.

I gathered my courage and slipped through, hoping I wouldn't find anything too bad down here. I came into a large water drainage pipeline. Thankfully sunlight poured in from the nearby grates, and I was still above ground. Perhaps I didn't need to go underground after all.

I looked around the dank place, hoping to catch sight of something out of the ordinary. It was then that I spotted a large ancient looking stone door on the other side of the room. Approaching it I saw it was locked with an odd sort of mechanism.

It looked like a cipher of some kind. "Wait...a cipher?"

"The code from the ticket! It must be the key to getting through here!"

I recalled the code, and entered it onto the wheel, as if I had just seen it: "SDSSDSS."

It was too short to be more than one word, but on their own the letters didn't make up anything, but other letters.

SDSSDSS translated to LRLLRLL. What could that mean?

Then I got an idea. A simple one, that seemed too easy to be correct. Nonetheless I gave it a shot.

I carefully input the code again, and turned the small wheel at the bottom.

Left, Right, Left, Left,Right and finally left then left again. With a loud rumbling sound the great stone door slowly descended into the floor, and allowed me to enter this mysterious new room.

Hidden Temple (2:15pm)

My eyes grew wide as I gasped aloud at the sight of a large stone temple, that had been hidden underneath the courthouse. The walls and ceiling were ancient looking, clearly marking that this place had been here for centuries. But someone had also been in here recently. Scuff marks on the stone floor were a tell tale sign that a tripod had been set up, then moved across the floor. Along with these marks were a set of faint hoofprints in the dust, suggesting that whoever was in here, had been here at least a few days ago.

Following the hoofprints I came to a large inscribed plaque on the wall.

The inscription read: "Ut lex vel ut nex summito."

More Latin. It meant " To the law, or unto death, submit."

Just what in the world was this place? And why was it down here, hidden behind the waterways?

It was then, at the very bottom of this plaque, that I saw a button. Without even thinking, I pressed it.

Behind the old stone walls, I could suddenly hear some kind of mechanism groaning to life. The walls of the temple vibrated as I could hear the sounds of grinding stone. Clouds of dust fell from the ceiling as I stepped back to avoid it falling on me (or anything else that might've fallen on me.)

I yelped as the stone door to the outside suddenly slammed down and took away my only way of getting back outside. I would've panicked if another, secondary door hadn't opened up right behind me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Another secret room? Somebody definitely had something to hide. But was it what I was looking for?

There was only one way to find out.

Mysterious Room Beneath The Beauteaux De La Conciergerie ( 2:17 pm)

I walked through and found myself in a darkened grand hall of some sort. Through the darkness, I could see that this was a state room. But for what purpose? And how did it tie in with Mr. Regal? What is it that he had down here?

First things first: I had to get some light in here. I couldn't make out anything in this darkness. Nearby, I spotted an old looking throw switch on the wall. I flipped it upwards and was greeted by the room lighting up like the daytime. I saw that room was much bigger than I had thought, and was possibly used decades ago for various state affairs and Judicial acts.

The room was a true sight to see. There were several rows of official looking tables and podiums, from where in days past, important and powerful ponies of justice would make their court and settle things in a grand manner befitting such an elaborate place. Princess Celestia proudly looked over the room in the form of a massive stone statue at the end of the room. In her hooves she held two perfectly balanced scales: A symbol of her power and fairness, even in the courts. Simply magnificent.

Under her watchful eye, I examined the room, being careful as to not touch anything unless I had too. The desks were covered with a layer of dust. Clearly nopony had worked here for years.

You can imagine my great surprise when I came to a desk with an open drawer. This was no mere coincidence either. It had been opened deliberately by someone who wanted whatever was inside to be seen. Naturally I honored their wishes, and took a peek inside.

In the drawer was a small photograph. It was very old, but there was no mistaking the stallion in the foreground: Mr. Regal. This was the connection I had been looking for! But what was it doing down here? I examined the photo further.

Behind Mr. Regal, were several members of the Mareiposa Royal Guard, a quaint looking village and a background of a tropical forest of some kind. The photo had been cropped on the right hoof side. Someone obviously didn't want to be in the picture anymore.

I couldn't place the location just yet. It was possible that I would need the other half of the photo to identify where it had been taken. But one thing was clear: This photo had once shown two ponies. Whomever this other pony was, had a connection to Mr. Regal. An old one. They might've even been the killer I was searching for! But It was too early to jump to such conclusions.

I had to find the other half of this photograph.

I examined the desk itself. It was clear from the lack of dust that someone had been working very recently at it. On its surface were newspaper clippings, notes, folders and....Dear Celestia.

My heart stopped as I looked in shock at...me.

It was a photo of me, taken only today, by the time stamp. In a folder with this photo, I found lists of information and personal details on myself!

Everything from my favorite food, to my date of birth and even my dress size! (They were right about chocolate cake, But c'mon guys...I'm a size ten.)

There were even photos of me in the Chateau, talking to Ms. Regal, and even one of me when I had fallen asleep in the lounge, waiting for more guests to arrive to the summit. Mr. Regal wouldn't have taken these pictures himself. This was big. And organized.

And I was part of it. I had been all along. Mr. Regal was a victim of it, and how many others were in the crossfire? What did I have to do with any of this? I had only been in Mareiposa for a few days! What could they possibly want with me!?

I took a minute to calm down. I could never think clearly when I got flustered like that. Taking a few breaths, I investigated everything else on the desk. The more clues I could gain from this, the better.

I spotted an article detailing a murder investigation from several months ago and detail of some extremely dangerous and elaborate mastermind called "The Phantom."

The investigation was as follows: Two powerful buisnessponies had been killed- One in Italia, one in Japan. In each case, "The Phantom" had impersonated both of them so flawlessly, that their deaths had only been officially documented a month ago. When questioned, not a single pony could give any hindrance as to the victim's identities. They had acted exactly as they always had, without doing or saying anything to give away that they were an imposter. It was like they truly were the victims.

The most interesting detail of this was the fact that one victim had been a mare, and the other a stallion. This meant that "The Phantom" Had been able to perfectly impersonate a male and female pony without anyone ever suspecting them at all. Astounding! Just who or what was The Phantom?

Below this article was a card that had a hastily scribbled message on it. It had been addressed to Mr. Regal. The message was as follows:

"Alphonse. Full report to follow. But this is too urgent to wait. Arno and Yamaha both dead. This is not a coincidence. Indeed it seems that all of us who came together in July are in danger. Take great care. X."

I wasn't the only one to have made the connection between Mr. Regal and these murders. That was why he had been so scared when I had talked to him. He was being hunted, and he knew it! Then why host the summit? Not for exposure. But witnesses.

Of course, it all made sense! Why else would you gather the greatest minds in the world in one room? But to solve the murder of the most powerful buisnessponies in the world. He had done it all, because he knew if he was to die, he could at least make sure that one of the most brilliant minds in the world would investigate it.

My photo. My information....He had wanted me. He wanted me to solve this! No pony else could do it, or at least that's what he had thought.

And I was not about to disappoint him. "Don't worry, Mr.Regal. I will solve this. All of it. You have my word." I said softly to myself. But in a way I felt I had really said it to Mr. Regal. Like he was there saying "Thank You."

I had no time to waste. I had to take all of this somewhere I could study it in more detail. I decided to take it all back to the hotel I was staying at. The summit's board had payed for everything including travel and stay expenses. I had my own hotel suite, where I could study all of this in private.

I just hoped there was still a trail to follow, from all of this.

For Mr. Regal's sake. And for mine.