• Published 4th Sep 2019
  • 1,009 Views, 22 Comments

A Rare Mystery - the frank



Tragedy has hit Canterlot. There has been a murder, and the victim was Sunset Shimmer. It's up to Lieutenant Columbo to find the culprit before it is to late.

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Act 2 - Twilight Time

This episode occurred two days later. It was my lunch break, and I was alone. The boutique is open between 10 am to 4 pm, but on Wednesdays and Fridays we go on to 6. Usually we have lunch together, except when we close at 6. Then we take turns.
I wish she had been there with me. I had barely started to eat when a rather unappetizing sight came before my eyes.

“Lieutenant.” He seemed to be alone. "Where is Officer Sentry?"

“Oh, Miss Belle! Glad I could find you! We have been looking for you all day! We, meaning me and Officer Sentry. He's waiting in the car."

"You were looking for me? Why?"

"Oh, well, you see… I need to apologise! It was wrong of us to just barge in like that.”

I swallowed the bite I had in my mouth. “Apology accepted.” Then I focused on my lunch, all for neigh. He kept talking. Could this man not take a hint? I sighed.

“I see that you are busy. And I don’t want to disturb you, I am waiting for take-away. But there is this little thing…”

I didn’t say anything. Finally he spoke again. “When you have time, could you please come down to the station?”

I looked up. “The station? Why?”

“Welll…” He stroked his chin. Only now did I noticed the rather nice brown suit he wore. Complete with white shirt and black tie. Someone made sure that he kept up some appearance at least. Probably Derpy. I didn’t give many bits for his wife. “ You see… when you have been in the service for as long as I have… You get experienced. And your outburst yesterday… it was too much.”

“To much? Are you judging me on the fact that I let you into my home, offered you coffee and you repay me with…”

“No no!” he interrupted. “I understand you perfectly. But. It was… What is it they say… I read it in a book once. Oh yeah! Methinks the lady protests too much. You see, I think you know someone who could be considered an enemy. I think it’s someone you know rather well. And you can’t bring yourself up to saying it out loud.”

I was silent.

“If you need further conviction, here’s a thought. Do you know how many shots that were fired? Five. Almost a whole magazine. Now, this is just a guess… but even the most nervous mugger wouldn’t use that many bullets. One, perhaps two. But not five. No, there was emotions behind those shots. Someone who knew Miss Shimmer and knew her well. So, if you have ANY hunch...It would be of great help.”

I looked down at my plate. “You’re good, Lieutenant”

“So, I was right, wasn’t I? Take your time. Anything that could help us."

I swallowed. Then I looked him right in the eye. “Twilight Sparkle. A friend from high school. She and Sunset are both enrolled at the university. They don't share classes, since Twilight is a bit of a prodigy and is already working on her doctor’s degree. But she does some teaching work on the side and Sunset had her as a teacher a few times… I had heard some rumours, but I didn't know anything for sure. But that is what I can give you."

He put a hand on my shoulder. “I am sorry to force this out of you. But it is necessary. The investigation you see… Anyway, this confirms what we know.”

I shot him a glance. “What do you know?”

“That the rumours you have heard, unfortunately they were true. They did have a relationship. A sexual one. We have talked to several people on campus and they have confirmed them being... intimate with each other on more than one occasion. And we know from her calendar she was visiting this Miss Sparkle on that very evening she died.

"That can't be! It's the wrong part of town! Twilight lives with her parents!” I ejaculated.

But the Lieutenant shook his head. “She had rented an apartment in that neighbourhood for a few months. It’s closer to the commuter train. Your fiancé knew the address. We found it on her phone as well. We also checked her messages. Oh, and by the way, we need to check your phone.”

“My phone? Why?”

“Because your fiancé's last message was for you. It was a reply to a text from you. We just want to confirm… Thank you.”

I gave him my phone. He looked it over a few minutes, then he gave it back. “Nice model. My niece has the same.”

“It was more than a few times, wasn’t it?” I heard my voice, it was hollow. He was silent, and then it came, slowly.

“It was. They had an affair that lasted a few months. Officer Sentry even found a witness from the university who actually caught them 'in flagranti' once.
And we have talked to a few hotel managers..." He paused again. "But three weeks back it stopped… Apparently they had some kind of disagreement. We don't know what it was about for sure, but one can guess. We will talk to Miss Sparkle soon, I can assure you."

"So... they had no contact after that, you say?"

"Miss Shimmer tried to reach out to Miss Sparkle a few times, but the night she was killed was the first time they met in weeks.”

“Oh.”

“I am terribly sorry. I hate to be the one that breaks the news but… Well…”

I rose. “Thank you, Lieutenant. If you don’t mind, I need to relieve my colleague so she can have lunch as well. But hear this! Even if I I had my suspicions that they were more than friends I want you to know that Twilight would NEVER! NEVER! Kill someone! Not even an old lover! Good day! And please don’t disturb me moore!”

I left, leaving half my lunch behind. I wasn’t hungry.

***

“Hello?” The door opened slightly. “Rarity?”

“Hello Twilight. May I come in?”

“Yes of course! Of course! It’s a bit… untidy…”

“It’s okay, darling. I know you. I will be brief.” I took of my coat and sat down on Twilights, rather comfy, but old sofa. I shivered. On this sofa...they had… but I steeled myself. “I know about you and Sunset.” She stared at me. “I am not here to cause a scene. I am not here to hurt you. I just want to know why.”

The poor thing tried to be strong, but she broke down in an instant. She had been so stupid. She had developed a crush on Sunset during high school, but never dared to act on her feelings. And when they had met again…She lost it. I couldn’t help myself for feeling a bit ill. This was so formula one bad romantic cliché. But I kept my composure and listened. Sunset hadn’t told her at first that she and I were an item. This did surprise me a bit that she didn't already know, but then I remembered that Twilight had drifted away from our social circle the last three years focusing on her degree. Maybe it had been mentioned, but on cloud nine you don’t remember the details. Anyway, they had met a few times more, over the following months. But then she had found out about me. And she had been furious with Sunset. I must say I was a bit surprised. Twilight wasn’t someone to lose her temper but apparently even she had some hidden fires.

“I told her, right to her face that she was a jerk, and a huge asshole! I called her brazen, whore...anything! I was feeling betrayed yes, but… interestingly enough… I was more angry on your behalf.”

“Mine?” I looked up from my thoughts.

“Yeah… You were engaged to her! You had a life together! There was so much more at stake for you! Me, all I had was a silly crush! I threw her out, and I didn’t talk to her for weeks.”

Three weeks, according to Lieutenant Columbo, I thought to myself. Loud I said “I’m so sorry, darling.” She smiled. “Finally, she found me at work. She just wanted to see me and apologize. Well… I agreed. And she came. She told me. How she had felt something for me back then but never dared… She gave me that old excuse that the two of you had begun to drift apart, there would probably not be a wedding, yada yada yada. Well, I listened, but then I asked her who she really loved. And she had to admit it was you.”

I stared at Twilight again. “Me? So...she did choose...me?”

Twilight looked down. “Yeah. It made me a bit sad, but… well… what you had was different. It was more important. And even if it made me...I understood her. But I had her PROMISE to go straight home and explain it to you!”

“...You have something to drink? I could use a glass of something right now.”

“Yes, sure. I have some cider.”

“Thanks dear.” She rose and went for her kitchen. “Oh, can I use the bathroom?”

“Eh… I don’t think… No, wait! Sorry! Mr Scourner, I mean the plumber, was here yesterday, I keep forgetting! You go ahead Rarity!”

“Thank you, darling”.

I left her about thirty minutes later. I took an Uber, since I wasn't in a hurry. As I left, she promised to come to the funeral. I smiled and left.

***

The phone rang and woke me up. In surprise, I dropped it on the floor, but luckily it didn’t break and I could answer. It was Fluttershy. The poor girl was in hysterics and it took a while to calm her down. But finally…

“RARITY! IT’S TERRIBLE!” and she started to sob uncontrollably.

“Darling! Calm down! What is terrible!”

“They...They...T-they… THEY HAVE ARRESTED TWILIGHT FOR SUNSET’S MURDER!”

I didn’t listen to the rest. Arrest...Twilight? But how?

The answer came much faster than expected. As I opened the boutique that day, my first customer was a well known figure in a dirty coat. “What is it now Lieutenant? And no Officer Sentry today either?"

“Oh, it's a private matter! Strictly private!I just wanted to visit the boutique. I noticed some rather eye fetching undergarments in the window and I was thinking about buying some for my wife.”

We had a surprisingly pleasant chat after that. To my great surprise, he actually had his wife’s measurements on his phone so I had no trouble making the adjustments. It was a rather nice pair of underwear, in light green satin. They would probably both enjoy it, I thought. But after he paid, it came. As always. “Oh, Miss Rarity. There was this thing…”

“Not, ‘one more thing’ then, Lieutenant?”

He smiled. “I say that a lot, don’t I? Well, the thing is… The reason that we arrested Miss Sparkle was… When we were paying her a visit… we found the gun.”

“The...gun?”

“Yes. The murder weapon. We had it checked, and even if it takes much longer than people think, the preliminary result is solid. This is the right weapon.”

“But?”

He smiled again. “Ah yes. Well, first of all, the clothes. Why would she have kept the gun, but thrown away the clothes?”

“Why are you asking me? You’re the policeman.”

“Oh. Yes, but… well, it is strange. Since she could have made away with it so easy. There’s also the motive. ”

“I’d say she could have a motive.”

“Oh? You do?”

“Yes. They did have an affair. And she felt really hurt and used by Sunset. Even if Twilight is a very calm person… you know… everyone has a breaking point.”

“Oh, you are so right about that! But even so, that doesn’t really make sense.”

“Well, Lieutenant. Perhaps I can tell you something then. You see, I visited her a few days ago. And… she told me all. But I can tell you, She did not put up a calm face or even trying to hide her feelings. In fact, she was furious!”

“Oh?”

“Yes! She was winding up heaven and earth over Sunset’s betrayal. She apparently was more affected than I thought. You see… In the end, Sunset choose me. Sure, Twilight tried to keep a brave face for me, telling me ‘she was okay with Sunset choosing me, because it was right, but… I knew.”

He scratched his chin. “You know, that is VERY interesting information, Miss Belle. It is too bad there are no fingerprints on the gun… Now, the circumstantial chain will probably hold in court, but I have no doubt we will get a confession from the murderer. Good day, miss belle!”

And so he left. That pair of undergarments was rather pricey and I celebrated with lobster at the Mitz.

***
The funeral… It was beautiful. All of Sunset’s and my friends were there. I spotted Flash in the crowd, in uniform. But he was with Sunburst, so I assumed he was just there as an old friend. I held a slightly too emotional speech, but it worked. And my dress was perfect. All dark, with some rather brilliant cuts. Afterwards, me and the gang, minus Twilight and Sunset of course, had dinner. It was nice. Friendly. A welcome contrast to the latest week. However, when I walked to the bar to get myself another martini… There he was again.

“Good evening, Miss Belle!”

“Lieutenant.”

I was short. I wanted to spend time with my friends.

“I just wanted to say… it was a beautiful speech.”

“Oh? You were there? I didn't see you."

“Only in the church, and I was sitting close to the doors. But I want to have a word with you. It’s probably nothing important but I just can’t get it off my mind…”

“Well, can’t it wait until tomorrow? I really want to spend this night with my friends!”

He nodded. “Perhaps I can buy you breakfast tomorrow? There’s a nice café very close to your boutique. At...9.15?”

“I will be there.”

“Thank you, Miss. Have a nice evening.”