Act 3 - A rare night.
I had no trouble sleeping that night. In the morning I took a shower, applied a reasonable amount of makeup and took a taxi to the café. I am not that trusting of Ubers to use them when I'm in a hurry.
The Lieutenant was there, and he had already ordered coffee for both of us. He asked for Bacon, eggs and baked beans on toast, and I had a simple omelette. Few places can destroy eggs.
More than once during the meal, he produced a cigar from his pockets, but was reminded of the smoking ban everytime with a look from the waitress. He always shrugged his shoulders apologetically everytime. Finally, he dried a drip of yolk from the edge of his mouth and started talking.
“So, Miss Belle. There was this thing…”
“Yes, you said that.”
“Mmmm… Yes. While a lot of things point towards miss Sparkle… she had a motive, she had the opportunity, she had a weapon… There are a few things missing. For instance, why not kill miss Shimmer while she was in her apartment? Why was she so careless to keep the gun and then hide it in her own bathroom when she got rid of her clothes? Why fake a robbery?”
“But don’t murderers make mistakes? The circumstantial evidence would hold, you said?”
“Oh yes. They would probably. I can’t tell, I’m leaving for LA tomorrow.”
“Oh. Well, I am glad that you are leaving. With such a success behind you,” I added quickly. “You did catch a killer.”
“No. Miss Sparkle will be released later today.”
“What?”
“Simple. She is not the one responsible.”
I stared at him again, probably with my mouth slightly ajar. Not very ladylike.
“Things didn’t fit, as I said. For example, if she were the one caught on the cameras, she had to leave her apartment rather quickly after that Miss Shimmer had left. But while her neighbours confirmed that Miss Shimmer was leaving at the time said there was no sign of Miss Sparkle. Her next door neighbour even mentioned that he heard a bath being filled up some time after. There is simply no time for her to change clothes, get a gun, catch up with Miss Shimmer, and then return back home. As we could see on the surveillance cam, the killer wasn’t running. They were walking, calmly.”
“Anyone can pour a bath.”
“Oh yes! Yes, but not everyone does it while singing “The Elements” by Tom Lehrer.” I blinked. “She does that a lot, according to her neighbour.”
Nerd, I thought to myself.
“And there was also this other thing. We began to check the surveillance tapes for anything interesting during the hour before the murder. And that hooded figure I mentioned? They were visible twice on the previous tape, about one hour before the murder. They passed the camera, returned a few minutes later. My guess is that they wanted to find a secluded area where the murder could take place... Oh. You’re looking awfully pale, miss.”
“It’s nothing. Do go on.”
“What was it again... Oh yeah! There was that car. The Toyota. Perhaps it was related to the murder, perhaps not. But we found it on the tapes when it arrived. And this time we saw the licence plate. It was a rental car from Trottingham. It was rented anonymously at around… 2 pm and returned at 10 pm.”
“Very interesting.”
“Of course, that doesn't prove anything. It was just a car from Trottingham. Anyone could have driven it.”
“Yes. They could. Because I was in Trottingham that night, yes, but I never left. Sunset sent me a text that same night. And my phone can confirm that I read it in Trottingham.”
“Let’s leave the matter of the telephone where it is for now, okay? You see, the one who murdered your fiance can’t be anyone. Anyone wouldn’t fire five bullets into Miss Shimmer. Not anyone had any reasons to hate her so much. Very few people would, as a matter of fact. Even fewer people would have the opportunity to hack their way into Miss Shimmer’s email to find out about the date for their rendez-vous. And even fewer than that would be able to hide a gun in Miss Sparkle’s apartment just a few days before it was found.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“It could have been there for a week for all you know!”
“No, it couldn't, we actually know that. The plumber had been there one days prior. And he didn't find it. And why would she hide it in such a bad place again? Now, honestly Miss Belle. I can shower you with details, but let’s get straight to the point. Do I really need to tell you who the murderer is?”
I was silent.
“It’s you, of course. The truth has been with me for some time...”
I asked the waitress for more coffee, but otherwise I was silent.
“I hardly need to give you your motive, miss Belle. You have given me the impression of a strong-minded person. You loved Miss Shimmer with your whole heart and when you found out you had been betrayed… Let me guess? It was during those three weeks when miss Shimmer desperately tried to get in touch with Miss Sparkle? After she had thrown her out?”
I was silent.
“I must say that your plan was simple, but good. You would arrange a trip to Trottingham. It’s one hour with train, but three hour by car. It’s far… but doable. You did you business, rented a car… There are a few places that still doesn’t ask for I.D. Then you left your phone at your room, so that it would look like you had been there the whole time.”
“And how could I be sure that Sunset wouldn’t text me before?” I murmured.
“By telling her that you were busy. We did check your messages, as I said. But there was this thing that bothered me: the message had been delivered. And read at that time. How did you do that?
I was silent. “It’s actually a neat thing, that with the phone. It almost threw me off. The way you made her send a message to you, in Trottingham, just before you shot her. It looked like it had been delivered and read.”
“...How did you find that out?”
“Oh, my niece, actually. She explained to me that it was a bug on her phone. Sometimes her husband texted her and thought she had read when she hadn’t. And I noticed you two had the same type of phone.” He paused. “That was the first time the thought struck me that maybe…”
“Already?”
“Didn’t I mention I have been a cop for Faust knows how long? Who are the first ones you check? The relatives and close ones. The husband, the wife...the fiancee. And at first it all looked well for you. I was sure my instincts were wrong. But then… that outburst of yours… It was a bit too much. Sure, it probably was nothing. But it made me think. You could have a motive. I left the opportunity for the moment and focused on if you had a motive or not... Then we found the witness who told us about the affair. And you were kind enough to tell us that you indeed had a hunch. Now, a hunch wouldn’t be enough to kill someone. But perhaps, just perhaps… you weren’t telling the full truth… Then came the way you pointed out Miss Sparkle. Now THAT got me suspicious for real. I wasn’t really speaking the truth, I tried to provoke you, see if you would take the chance to put the blame on someone. And you did.”
He lit his cigar, and didn’t care about the waitress. “So we put you under surveillance. Officer Sentry and Officer Pie have been shadowing you... So when you asked where he was, the answer would have been 'mostly behind you'."
He paused, to look at his cigar.
"Then you visited Miss Sparkle… And later we find the gun in her place? That is suspicious, even you have to admit it being to much of a coincidence. It wasn’t much of a problem to get the commissioner to check you up. And we found a few more interesting things. Noone saw you leave the hotel, but you were spotted as you returned the car, and as you sneaked in. We found the clothes hidden in your apartment yesterday, and when we searched your computer we found that you have had access to your fiance's mail for a while. How long have you known about the affair?”
“She forgot her phone at home one day a few months back” I whispered. “It completely crushed me.”
“Had you decided to do it in that moment?”
I hesitated. But what had I to lose? “Yes. I almost killed her the same day. I had the gun. But… Well. It’s like making a dress, I guess. It’s better to plan it thoroughly than winging it. The seams usually gets wrong.”
“So you made a plan. Going to Trottingham… return, wait for them to meet… You decided to do it on a night they were together in case you needed a back up?”
“Maybe… I’m not quite sure. I just wanted to hurt her.”
“And then, they broke up? And that didn’t stop you?”
I looked at him. “She hurt me. She completely broke my heart. Not only did she have an affair, she had an affair with… TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” He nodded.
“So you waited.”
“Sooner or later they would meet again. And they did. The plan was ready. I just had to set it into action.”
“And then you heard that Miss Shimmer had decided to stay with you.”
I hmpfd. “ A little too late to have cold feet, if you ask me. No, she had made her choice. Now she had to take the consequences.” I paused. “And it would have worked, hadn’t it been for you.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no. You would have been found out sooner or later. I’m no super cop.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Flash. How long had he been... but he looked more stern and businesslike today. No wonder I guess. He began to read my rights as he put on the cuffs.
A car suddenly stopped outside the cafe. “Oh, they're here to take you down to the station for a more formal confession. If you please…” As I sat down into the car, he leaned in. “Oh, Miss. Just one more thing.”
“Yes, Lieutenant?”
“My niece invited you to dinner. But I told her you would be busy. I hope you don’t mind.”
I smiled. “Of course not. Very thoughtful of you, Lieutenant.”
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9817049
It truly was something special!
Ha! Yeah, it's really clear you skipped in the editing.
That aside, this was a great read. You really caught Columbo well.
Though seems a bit odd that he would just jump in and try to solve the case. He's worked on cases outside his jurisdiction before (heck, he's solved cases in England and on the open seas). But, he's not the kind to step on another detective's toes. It would have been more believable if he was invited by the Canterlot PD and had one of their detectives with him.
Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I feel more pressured to work in my "Murder, She Wrote" story.
Also, I agree "And Then There Were None" is a true masterpiece.
9817113
Heh. Yeah. I kinda wrote it in a frenzy, I knew that if I didn't get it out fast, I would never finish it. But I am trying to at least do SOME editing in retrospect.
Thank you. I'm glad I at least accomplished that.
I do agree, and the explanation is the same as above. I wanted to get it done and I had no real idea for any other cops... but I might add a little explanation, that he was invited to work on the case or something...
"And then there were none" is Christie at her peak goddammit!
And a murder she wrote crossover? YOU HAVE A READER!
9817123
The biggest thing that probably stuck out is using "motif" instead of "motive". Also, you may want to change "ejaculated" to something else (Act 2). I know what you meant, but no one uses it in that context anymore.
I'm not sure if I want to do a true crossover, or do a MLP'ed Jessica Fletcher. I do plan on it being a bit more of a tongue-in-cheek type of storey, and maybe make some playful jabs at Miss Marple while I'm at it.
Out of curiosity, have you ever seen the 1976 comedy "Murder by Death"?
9817153
Motive will be changed. I will also add a local policeman to.follow him in a few scenes.
I will not change ejaculate though. I am trying to reclaim it.
I have not! I have heard a lot about it though, and if ai get a chance I will watch it! You have seen it I guess?
9817162
Okay. You do you. Lord knows, there are many things to be reclaimed!
Numerous times
9817049
Took me a while, but I think I know which one you're talking about.
Was it the one with Roddy McDowell where he plays a guy who kills his uncle with a bomb in a cigar box? and Columbo gets him to confess during a gondola ride up a mountain?
Also, as a bit if trivia: That episode also featured William Windon, who some may recognize as Dr. Seth Hazlitt from "Murder, She Wrote". Windon also had a part in the Columbo pilot "Prescription: Murder".
Ahh, that was wonderful. Thank you. And R.I.P, Mr. Falk.
I really like your Columbo but the narrative does basically lie to us a few times about Rarity’s reactions. Then again she does tell us that she’s narrating and picking what she’ll tell us, but it still seems like poor play.
Still though, nice simple mystery and a good crossover.
9817562
Well, the story I took the most inspiration from.reveals in the end that it's the narrator/killers written down tale, and that they did hold back certain things not to give everything away for the reader at once and I was going to do the same. But I never got it to work so I simply hoped the unreliable narrator trope would work.
Still, glad you liked my Columbo.
9817185
Well... I have to admit, I'm always 10 % troll, no matter what I write but I would love to see that word used in the more classic way more. It's a good word. Like Acquiesce.
Darn it. It's added to.my list of stuff I need to find.