Taking the Case in Hand

by IGIBAB

Chapter 8 - Suspects

Bright Bulb puts his coffee mug back on his desk, in the room where Lyra and I left him just twelve hours ago. Slumped heavily in his chair, his face is less joyful than yesterday, and now with dark spots under his eyes.

"I didn't think an autopsy would be that long," he confides to me, exhausted. "And Whooves insisted on a detailed report... And when I thought I was done, I got told another body and new clues had to be carefully examined."

"You don't have any assistants?"

"No. And all the agents are gone on the search, practically."

It's true that we're already very lucky to have a specialist in Ponyville.

"So, did the autopsy lead to anything?" I still interrogate, since I came here mostly for the results.

"Mr. Cake died of strangulation yesterday, at around five a.m.. It's a rope, or a string less than half a millimetre thick, which was firmly held around the neck on many occasions. There are no traces of hits on the body, so the aggressor didn't need to overpower Mr. Cake. And that's where I'm at lost."

He sighs with tiredness. Indeed, it's weird that he didn't fight back.

"Maybe he was anaesthetised by his assassin, so he wouldn't fight?"

Bright says no with his head.

"His blood readings are normal, no suspicious trace of anything. But that's not what's the most surprising to me."

"Then what is?" I say, a bit impatient.

He looks up at me, seeming a little lost while saying:

"If he didn't fight back, then why are there many marks? If the assassin had gotten him on the first try, I could vaguely understand that, under the surprise, Mr. Cake didn't have the time to struggle. But here, the assassin had to try four times to get him."

It's true that it's disturbing. I scratch my chin, thinking, before trying:

"There's no traces of combat, but it doesn't mean he didn't struggle. If a pegasus choked him while flying above him, Mr. Cake probably had trouble hitting him, no? He just waved his legs into thin air, without reaching the aggressor."

Now it's Bright who's scratching his chin, frowning, which only accentuates his tired look. Looking at the ceiling, towards the only light present in the room, he thinks out loud:

"Yes, that could be possible... Or even if the thread was handled with magic in fact."

So we can put that in the speculation category. A unicorn or a pegasus could be a potential culprit. Open Skies, maybe...

"Anything else?" I say.

"Nothing really conclusive, I'm afraid. Since he was seeing a lot of people, his coat is filled with a lot of parasitic information. I could probably overlap some once I'm done with Open Skies' autopsy, but I can't do that for now."

I am watching him, seeing his tired eyes circled with black. No need to say more.

"Have a good rest," I wish to him while turning around.

"Have a good investigation..." he says, exhausted, as I'm going out of the lab.

---

Passing through the hallway that goes out of the lab, I see Whooves holding a paper and turning his head in my direction, as if waiting for me.

"Ah, I expected you to come," he says, approaching.

"And that's a problem?" I reply, awaiting a remark.

"No, on the contrary, I need you."

I gently raise an eyebrow as he hands me the paper he's holding.

"The list of people close to Mr. Cake. We're establishing the one for Open Skies."

I slowly take the sheet, glancing at the list.

"There's at least thirty names in there, you could have done some sorting."

Whooves shakes his head a bit hearing my criticism, understanding.

"We tried. But it's hard to sort between regular customers and more personal acquaintances, so we reduced the list to ponies that knew him for a while and are, or were, often in contact with him. But we can cross with Open Skies' list later."

"And why are you giving it to me exactly? Let me remind you that I'm not under your command."

"No, but once again, I cruelly lack troops. I can't be reluctant to ask for help. Most of my agents are searching for Rose, but I don't want the investigation to stall for too long here."

I thought that this behaviour wasn't normal coming from him. But he's ready to accept my help to be able to focus his research on Rose. Fine, I'm okay with that. At least he'll tell me what he finds.

I skim at the paper, noticing:

"Derpy isn't on the list, even though she was a regular customer."

Whooves looks at me, before turning his eyes away, scowling.

"I don't want to involve her in all this..."

"I'll interrogate her later anyway."

"That's out of the question!" suddenly thunders Whooves.

"We'll deal with that later," I nonchalantly say, focused on the list.

I know most of these names pretty well. In fact, almost all the names from those who had a job in the old town-square are here. It's true, Mr. Cake started there, like a lot of people. Colgate, Lily, Rose, Daisy, of course, Vinyl, Amethyst, Rare, Star, Golden, Berry...

I stop, reading again. Berry Punch.

"It must be years since Berry talked to Mr. Cake, or even to anypony in general, why is she on the list?"

Whooves shrugs.

"Her name came out in the conversation, and she talked with Mr. Cake a lot before she... had her problem, let's say. We put her in because she knew him well, still."

How could an alcoholic have anything to do with this case...

Although. Now that I think about it, the bar isn't far off Sugarcube Corner. Berry could have seen something by inadvertence. But the chances are still slim. I'll go interrogate her. At least, she's easy to find.

"It's going to take a lot of your time to interrogate all those ponies..." I point out.

"I'll convoke many of them here for a real discussion, but I was counting on you to start. Find us a lead."

"Yeah, yeah, I got the idea. But could you at least give me a name to start with?"

"Hm..." answers Whooves, thinking. "If I recall correctly, Vinyl was also suggested for Open Skies' list. You can start with her I think."

"Okay," I say while nodding briefly. "I'm going to start with her. But don't get the idea that I'm under your command."

Whooves sighs wearily, before answering:

"I know. And I don't think you are, you're just someone that can help me, since I need that right now."

"Good. I'll tell you what my discussion with Vinyl gave."

I turn around and head to the door, keeping the list in my hoof. Maybe I'm going to grab my bag before interrogating Vinyl, it'll be easier to put the list in it. I'll take the opportunity to take some candies as well, to be able to think properly and not have another crisis.

A little pinch catches my heart when thinking back to my earlier crisis, and what followed.

I really acted like an idiot with her...

Author's Note:

The deeper the roots are, the darker the rot will be.