Ponyville Noire: Tails of Two Private Eyes

by PonyJosiah13

Case Six, Chapter Three: The Shadow

“Suunkii did a ballistic analysis on the revolver you found,” Cold Case said, watching through the one-way mirror into the interrogation room. Bluedust was sitting at the table, glaring sullenly at the ground, with his court-appointed attorney, a jenny with a conservative brown manecut and blue blouse, sitting next to him, negotiating terms with a pegasus detective. “They matched. You found the mugger.”

“There’s just one thing,” Phillip said, watching their suspect from next to her. “He’s insisting he didn’t open the case.”

“The likelihood is, he panicked when he shot the vic and tried to break the case open, but had to run off,” Cold Case said. “In any case, it appears that he did not get access to the suitcase’s contents, and there is no connection between him and Silvertongue. That means that your client can rest easy...and your part in this is over.” She turned and walked down the hallway, ignoring Phillip.

Phillip frowned at Bluedust through the window for a few more seconds of silence, then turned and walked in the opposite direction. Descending a set of stairs, he entered the laboratory.

“Something’s shonky around here,” he announced to the three ponies in the room.

“Why?” Twilight asked. “We did catch the killer, right?”

“We did,” Phillip said. “But there’s been something odd about this from the start.” He sat down and looked around at Suunkii, Twilight, and Daring.

“Why did Josephus go down that alley in the first place?” he asked. “He wouldn’t have wanted to linger in this city, so he should have been heading towards the train station. That road was the opposite direction.”

“You’re right,” Daring mused. “There was no reason for him to go down that way.”

Twilight frowned in thought. “Let’s go over the witness reports again,” she said. She lifted the thin folder off the table with her magic and opened it up, flipping through to the transcripts of the eyewitness interviews. “Let’s see...there’s Fluttershy and Rarity’s interviews…” she murmured. “They both agree that Josephus walked up to Rosebud Avenue, stopped and looked around, then turned and walked out of sight. Oh, wait...Rarity adds that he ‘froze for a moment like a deer in headlights, then turned and walked away very quickly.’”

Phillip pondered this for a moment. “Okay, picture this,” he said. “You’re a messenger, carrying an important message. You’ve already called the client to let them know the meet went off without a hitch, you’re on your way back. You walk up the street, you stop at the corner to wait for traffic...and you freeze. You turn and go the other way and head down an alley. Why?”

“Why does any animal freeze, then turn and run?” Suunkii asked. “Because they have realized that they are in danger.”

“He was being followed,” Daring concluded. “But by who?”

“By whom,” Twilight corrected beneath her breath. Daring made her dismissal evident by swishing her tail across a table and sending several notes scattering. “Nooo!” Twilight wailed, rushing to put the notes back in order.

“If we’re gonna find out who followed him, we’re going to have to retrace his steps,” Phillip said. He looked over at the suitcase, still sitting on an examination table. “And there’s something else bothering me. This case.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Daring said. “It’s too pristine.”

“Client told us that Josephus’ wife bought that for him nine years ago,” Phillip said. “Yet, look at it. It’s pristine. Bloody thing looks like it just came off the shelf, save the scratches.”

“And another thing: the scratches are only around the locks,” Daring added. “There should be some elsewhere on the case if Bluedust was trying to rip it open.”

“Let me see those marks again,” Suunkii said, striding forward. He swung the magnifying glass around and studied the briefcase’s locks again. “Hmm. These marks seem to be too thin to be made by a griffon; a griffon’s claws are much wider than this.”

“There’s an easy way to resolve this,” Daring said. “I’m going to have to open the case.” She grasped the suitcase and held it up to study the locks. “If this is fresh-bought, there’s a good chance that whoever bought it didn’t change the combination. And seeing as some locks just come with some standard combinations…” She dialed the tumblers to 5-5-5-5 and tried to open the case. The locks didn’t budge. Daring then tried 1-2-3-4, but again with the same result.

“Hmm,” she frowned for a moment, then started redialing. “Could go for that crowbar about now…” she muttered. She set the dials to 0-1-2-3 and tried again.

With a click, the briefcase opened, and all four ponies stared inside. The velvet-lined interior was completely empty save for a bright green tag at the bottom that said “Thank you for shopping at Hayseed’s!”

“Okay, that’s not good,” Daring muttered, quickly patting the case down for secret compartments and finding none. “This isn’t Josephus’ briefcase; it’s brand new.”

“But how?” Twilight asked. “Maybe somepony switched the briefcases while Josephus was on the ground?”

“No,” Phillip said. “A crowd gathered seconds after the gunshots, and the scene was secured within a couple minutes. Nopony would’ve had time. Maybe somepony switched briefcases with him before the mugging.”

“In any case, if he was being followed, the pony following him is our best lead,” Daring said.

“Agreed,” Phillip said. “Get the officers in here.”

Suunkii walked over to a phone in the wall and spoke into it briefly. Minutes later, Prowl, Bumblebee, and Flash entered the laboratory.

“All right, listen up, ponies,” Phillip said, pacing before them like a general lecturing his troops before a battle. “Our current theory is that Josephus was being followed by an unknown pony. That pony somehow stole Josephus’ briefcase and replaced it with a fake one. Josephus was carrying a message that is of utmost importance to our client.”

He paused and looked around at the officers. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to retrace Josephus’ entire journey through this city, starting from the moment he arrived to the moment he died. Security crystal feeds, eyewitness reports, receipts, everything. He picked up Josephus’ trail somewhere and we need to find where.

“I’m going to check with Mortis and see if her autopsy picked up anything of note. Flash, you head down to the train station. See if there’s any surveillance crystal footage you can find, and interview anypony who was on duty two days ago when his train arrived. Bumblebee, go to Hayseed’s and find out who bought this kind of suitcase. Prowl, check with the dispatch center and start going over city-wide surveillance feeds. Also, go over phone records. Vic sent a call to Canterlot around 12:15 PM. Suunkii and Twilight, you two go over the evidence, including this suitcase. Find anything that might help.”

Everypony quickly moved out to begin their assignments. “What should I do?” Daring asked.

“You’re going to double-check the witnesses,” Phillip said. “And I have an idea where to begin.”

---

Daring landed on the cleared sidewalk outside the Carousel Boutique, the purple and white building artfully decorated with small mounds of snow on the window ledges and strings of blinking red and white lights wrapped around the building in even lines. She walked up to the doorway, which had an “Open!” sign hanging in the window, and pushed through. A set of sleigh bells above the doorway jingled as she entered.

The Boutique had several ponies inside, all of them admiring various jackets, hats, hoofbags, and various other accouterments. Festive music played quietly on a record broadcast over the speaker system.

Daring quickly spotted a mane of distinctly curled royal purple hair and made her way towards her, pushing past several customers on the way. Rarity looked up from a display of earrings that she was helping a young mare try on and smiled brightly. “Welcome!” she sang. “Come to try something that will go with your coat for the winter?”

“Much as I’d like to play dress-up again, I’m on business,” Daring said. “I need to talk to you about that mugging on Rosebud a few days ago.”

Rarity’s face fell slightly. “Oh, goodness,” she murmured, raising a hoof to her mouth anxiously. “The police already questioned me about it…”

Daring sighed internally. “I know it must be upsetting for you, but I do need your help.”

Rarity let out a soft noise of uncertainty, then sighed. “Very well. Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy poked her head around the corner. “Yes, Rarity?”

“Would you be a dear and watch the store for a few minutes?” Rarity asked. “I need to speak with Miss Do in the back.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy nodded.

“Thank you, dear,” Rarity said. “Follow me, please.” Rarity guided Daring to a door marked “Employees Only” and pushed through it. The two mares walked into a small storeroom with large swaths of fabric and spare ponyquins scattered about amidst stacks of cardboard boxes.

Rarity closed the door with her magic and switched on a light overhead. “All right,” she took a breath, centering herself. “What did you want to know?”

“Tell me everything that happened,” Daring said.

Rarity swallowed. “Well, I was with the other Ponytones—that’s what we call ourselves, the church choir—on the street corner of Rosebud and Daffodil. We were performing a fundraiser for the church to provide for the less fortunate...it is the season of giving, after all…”

Daring cleared her throat pointedly and raised her eyebrow at Rarity. “Right, yes,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “Sorry, I do have a tendency to go on a bit when I’m nervous.” She cleared her throat and licked her lips. “In any case, it was around...oh, I’d say 12:20 when the victim walked past. Josephus, the newspaper said his name was?”

“Yes,” Daring nodded.

“He made a very generous donation, but I also recall seeing his coat and his scarf,” Rarity continued. “I recognized the ensemble right away: one of Coco Pommel’s more recent designs. She’s so talented, I knew I made the right choice letting her run my Manehattan store.” She shook her head again. “So sorry, I…”

“Did you notice his suitcase?” Daring cut in.

“Of course I did,” Rarity said. “Scuffed and old, but quite, quite beautiful. Hoof-crafted leather with gold-leaf accents: it was incredible to look at. I wished I could’ve asked him where he’d gotten it, I would’ve stocked them in here.”

“Continue,” Daring instructed.

“In any case, I saw Josephus walk past and stop at the intersection,” Rarity continued. “He froze for some reason, then turned and disappeared around the corner. I didn’t think much of it until a few moments later when...when I heard the gunshots.” A shiver traveled down Rarity’s spine. “Once we realized what the sounds were, we all rushed over to the street, and found him...lying there...so much b-blood…”

And before Daring Do could do anything, Rarity had collapsed to the floor in a dead faint. Daring blinked, then reached down and shook Rarity’s shoulders. “Hey! Wake up!”

Rarity didn’t respond in the slightest. With a sigh, Daring walked out of the room and reentered the main floor of the shop. Spotting the bathroom, she walked inside. She filled her helmet up with cold water from the sink, then walked back into the closet, closing the door behind her. Rarity was still unconscious on the floor.

“Wake up,” Daring called again. “Don’t make me do this.”

Rarity did not respond. Without any further ceremony, Daring turned her helmet over and dumped the water on Rarity’s head, causing the unicorn to wake up with a shriek.

“My mane!” she howled as though in pain, clutching her soaked and ruined curls.

“Relax,” Daring said, shaking the last of the water out of the helmet and putting it back on. “It’s just hair.”

“Just hair?! How dare you!” Rarity sputtered. “I spend hours on this mane every morning, and I refuse to have all my efforts be wasted!" She stood up and wrung out her mane with her magic, muttering under her breath about how much conditioner and shampoo it would take to undo this damage.

Daring resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Okay, I’m sorry. Just one other thing.”

“Yes?” Rarity asked in a testy tone.

“Did you notice anypony else around carrying a suitcase like that? A new one?” Daring asked.

Rarity paused tending to her mane to think. “As a matter of fact, I did,” she said. “A tall unicorn stallion with...yes, with a light green coat and dark blue hair. He was wearing a brown trenchcoat, and...yes, he was carrying a brand new suitcase. The exact same kind as Mister Josephus.” She frowned. “I remember him following Josephus from across the street. He...yes, he went around the corner after him out of sight. Is this significant?”

“Very,” Daring said. “Did you see his cutie mark?”

“No. His trenchcoat covered it,” Rarity shook her head.

“Do you think you’d recognize him if you saw him again?” Daring asked.

“Most certainly,” Rarity nodded. “I never forget a face, especially the face of one who can actually pull off a trenchcoat like that.”

“What the heck is that supposed to...never mind,” Daring said. “Thanks for the help.”

“You can thank me by not messing up my mane again,” Rarity huffed.

“Sorry,” Daring apologized again and exited the closet, rolling her eyes as soon as her back was turned. With a final nod to Fluttershy, she exited the Carousel Boutique, back out into the snowy air. Spreading her wings, she flew back to the precinct to report her finds.

---

“A tall green unicorn with blue hair wearing a trenchcoat,” Daring said to Prowl. “I know it’s not much, but it’s all she remembered.”

“No, that does help,” Prowl mused. She stared up at the display of projected images on the wall. “I did manage to find the payphone that the victim called Canterlot from. There he is.” She pointed to a larger projection, which showed a familiar donkey standing in a phone booth on a street corner, talking into the hoofset. As Daring watched, Josephus put the hoofset down, picked up the suitcase with his mouth, and walked down the snowy street.

A sudden pang echoed through Daring’s heart. She glanced at the time code and saw that it was 12:14. In about six minutes, Josephus would be shot in the chest three times and bleed to death in an alleyway. She turned away from the projection for a moment and took a breath.

“You okay?” Prowl asked.

“Fine,” Daring said, rubbing her right hoof against her foreleg in an attempt to quell the burning that was starting to grow beneath her flesh. “I’m fine.”

Prowl turned back to the projection. “Move on to the next one,” she instructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” the new head dispatcher, Stellar Lights, nodded. With her wild green and blue hair, blue beaded necklace, and the cutie mark of a set of stars leaving behind multicolored trails, she looked more like she belonged in a nightclub than a dispatch room. Lighting up her horn with a magenta glow, she easily changed the projection to another crystal farther up the street. The image showed Josephus walking up the sidewalk towards the crystal, then under it.

“Wait, there,” Prowl said, pointing. “Zoom in on him.”

The image zoomed in on a unicorn across the street, a tall green unicorn wearing a light brown trenchcoat. He had well-combed blue hair and was carrying a brown leather suitcase in his mouth. The trenchcoat covered his cutie mark.

“See if we can get a better angle on him,” Prowl said.

Stellar Lights stuck her tongue out in concentration as she manipulated the crystals embedded into the wall, rewinding the projection and moving it forward in slow motion. She finally paused on a frame that displayed a clear shot of the unicorn’s face, revealing his pale purple eyes.

“Get images printed out of that. We’re going to be making a bunch of wanted posters,” Prowl said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Stellar nodded, lighting up her horn. “I’ll start copying and distributing the images.”

Phillip, Bumblebee, and Flash all entered the room. “I didn’t find anything at the train station. Sorry,” Flash said, looking disappointed.

“I talked to Hayseed’s,” Bumblebee said. “The manager gave me copies of receipts for all sales of that suitcase for the past week.” He pulled out a bag and dumped out a large stack of receipts onto the table. “Who’d have thought that a suitcase would be so popular?”

“Did the store have surveillance crystals?” Prowl asked.

“No, I asked,” Bumblebee said.

“Autopsy’s a dead end, too,” Phillip said. “Didn’t get anything useful out of him.” He looked up at the projected still of the trenchcoated unicorn. “That our suspect?”

“Yeah,” Daring said.

Phillip approached the image and studied the pony. “City dweller: no sign of any dirt on his hooves,” he commented. “Gets that coat dry-cleaned: that style of coat went out of fashion years ago, but it’s still pristine and well-pressed.” He squinted. “Lights, zoom in on his neck there.”

Stellar lit up her horn and the image closed in on the unicorn’s neck, revealing a thin string necklace with several glass beads on it, each of them marked with a quill, a heart, a sun, a moon, a snowflake, or a rainbow. “That’s a rosary necklace,” Phillip said. “He’s an Alicorn's Witness. Devout one, too: that rosary can’t be more than a year old judging by the shine on that string, but the decals are already fading.” He pointed at the unicorn’s chin, outlining three small red lines across his chin. “Cat owner, too. Look at those scratches. Likely a kitten. Pull out a bit.”

Stellar pulled back on the image, allowing Phillip to take a better look at the coat. “Chain smoker,” Phillip added, pointing to an open pocket in the trenchcoat. Inside lay a packet of cigarettes, the top torn open to reveal that only half of the cigarettes remained. “Looks like...yeah, just enough of the logo there. Golden Dunes brand.”

“That should help narrow it down a bit,” Prowl commented.

“I figured it out!” Twilight shouted, running into the dispatch room. Her cry caused everypony within to jump, the constant background noise of ringing phones and overlapping voices stopping for a moment, then everypony turned around and glared at her. She grinned sheepishly. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“Figured out what?” Phillip asked.

“How the other pony switched suitcases,” Twilight said excitedly. “I was doing an examination for magical traces on the suitcase, and I discovered some small thaumaturgic remnants. Based on a quick experiment I did, I realized that the spy used a Switching Spell to swap his suitcase with Josephus’. Like this.”

Twilight’s horn lit up, and there was a soft popping noise. The next moment, Phillip and Daring both realized that they were wearing each other’s hats. The pith helmet dropped over Phillip’s eyes and slid down to the end of his nose, drawing snickers from everypony watching.

“I’m guessing this is not something that just anypony can pull off,” Phillip commented, doffing the helmet and swapping it with Daring for his trilby.

“It’s a mid-level spell,” Twilight explained. “Not easy, but not exceptionally hard either.”

“Noted,” Phillip said. “All right, when you get those posters up, put them up around Alicorn Temples and any nearby dry-cleaning businesses.” He turned and looked up at the face of the unicorn spy. “Somepony knows who this wanker is.”

---

Hours later, Phillip and Daring walked through a fresh snowfall up Honeybee Bakery Street.

“Well, hopefully, somepony recognizes him,” Phillip commented, glancing up at a street lamp that they walked past. Plastered to the pole was a poster with a picture of the unicorn in the trenchcoat. “Do You Know This Pony?” read the bold letters at the top of the poster, with more lines at the bottom giving additional details about the suspect and adding that the suspect was wanted for questioning and to call the police with any information.

“Plastered half the city with those damn things, somepony better recognize him,” Daring said, sucking on the cigarette that Phillip had offered her. “Maybe we should’ve rented a billboard. Or maybe one of those banners that pegasi drag behind them.”

Phillip let out a little snort and puffed on his own fag. “Maybe,” he agreed.

Sitting on the front step of 221 was a small brown package. Drawn on the top was a picture of the sun, winking up at them. Phillip opened the package. Inside was a golden bracelet with two small gems and some runes inscribed into it. There was a note inside with neat blue writing on it.

Just in case you need to contact me: put the bracelet on, touch the red and the green gems—not the other way around!—then rotate it twice counterclockwise. —Sunny.

“Right,” Phillip said, putting the bracelet on.

“It suits you,” Daring snickered. “You look like you’re engaged. Who’s the lucky lady?”

Rolling his eyes, Phillip unlocked the door to 221 and they entered their home, hanging up their vests and hats. As they entered, the phone began ringing.

Daring pounced on it and answered. “Do and Finder.”

“This is Skeleton Key,” a voice said on the other end. “I believe you’re looking for me.”

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

Sorry, I just have to make this joke.

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows...

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Hoo boy, and the mystery deepens...

[Micro-song]

I was recently rewatching the MLP episodes with Daring Do in them. And I realized how much more of a bad ass your Daring is than the show one

[PonyJosiah13]

8968577
Well, thank you! But both versions are pretty badass!

[Micro-song]

8969066
Haha! That's actually awesome

[Micro-song]

8969068
Yeah! But yours is definitely the better badass