Unsafe Room: A Detective Rarity Mystery

by RB_

The Concerningly Complete Conclusion of the Crime

With the suspects gathered in front of the safe room (They had closed and locked the door with the Baron's key, to save innocent eyes from sights better left unseen), Rarity began her elegant unraveling of the crime.

And she started... with a question.

"Do any of you smoke?" Rarity asked.

"I do," General Bristle said, raising a hoof. "Cigars."

"Anyone else?"

The rest of them shook their heads.

"Good," Rarity said. "It's bad for your health."

"Is that important...?" Crystal Bright asked.

"In due time," Rarity said. "Now, I would like to tell you all that I believe I have solved this little mystery."

"You have?" Silver Plate asked.

"I have. It was quite simple, actually, once I had all the pieces."

The General spoke up. "Well, don't keep us waiting. Tell us who did it so we can put them behind bars already!"

Rarity wagged a hoof. "Ah-ah-ah. All in due time, General. I need to bring to light how the criminal did it first. But before that, there is something you should know: the reason I am really here.

"One week ago," she said, "the Baron contacted me. He told me that his people had uncovered the existence of a spy."

"A spy!?" General Bristle exclaimed.

Rarity nodded. "Yes. The Baron believed they had somehow become close to him, and that they were sending secrets to Equestria's enemies about their military capabilities. In particular, he had received intelligence indicating that the spy planned to steal a certain set of plans for a certain type of top-secret weapons system... and that they planned to act on this very night. The Baron had a few suspects, however:"

She smiled.

"All of you."

"What?" Crystal Bright said. "Von thought I was a spy?"

"Preposterous!" General Bristle exclaimed.

"I can't believe he'd suspect me, Obtuse said.

Only George seemed unfazed. "I am... honestly not surprised."

"Did he think I was a spy too?" little Acute asked.

Rarity gave her a reassuring smile. "No, not you."

"Oh. Okay. Being a spy sounds cool though!"

"Hush, Acute," Obtuse said.

"Aw, okay."

Rarity looked back at all of them. "And so, he set out to set a trap. He invited all of his suspects here, so he could keep an eye on them. The plans the spy were after were kept in the safe in the safe room—the very room we are standing in front of now. He knew one of you would try to steal them. The question was who.

"So, in secret, he summoned the guard. They surrounded the entire mansion while you were inside, without you knowing. That's why they were so quick to get here after his untimely demise; they were here all along. All for the purposes of making sure the spy couldn't get away.

"And then," Rarity said, "he hired me."

"So you were to figure out which of us was the spy if the plans did go missing," George said.

"Precisely!" Rarity replied. "I was the Baron's backup plan."

"And that explains what you were doing here at the mansion," Crystal Bright said. "Still, to think, Von suspected I was a spy!"

Rarity nodded. "But I wouldn't take it too personally. He was just covering his bases. Still, I think that should clear up the matter of the criminal's motive. Next, we shall turn our attentions to how they did it."

"Yes, I had been wondering about that," Silver Plate said. "Apparently the door was locked when the body was found, but you yourself showed me that the only key to the door was inside the room. How is that possible?"

"Ah, but that's the interesting part," Rarity said, grinning. "For you see, the door wasn't locked—in fact, the door that was attached to these hinges when the body was found didn't even have a lock!"

This was met with silence. George was the one to point out the obvious—literally, with a talon. "But the door clearly has a keyhole."

"This door does," Rarity said. "But this is not the door that Obtuse bucked down."

"What!?"

"If you examine the doorframe, you'll see that the wood around where the bolt slides in is barely damaged, despite the bolt extending a good inch into the frame and being made of a very sturdy metal. This indicates to me that there was no bolt there when the door was kicked down."

"But what does that mean?" General Bristle said. "The door was locked when we got there!"

But Rarity shook her head. "No, General. You were led to believe that the door was locked when you got there. By the pony who got to it first..."

She lifted up a hoof and pointed to one of the suspects in particular.

"...you, Obtuse Virtue!"

Obtuse blinked. "What? But I swear, I tried the handle and it was locked!"

Rarity shook her head. "That's what you wanted us to think. But, again, the door that was bucked open didn't have a lock. In the panic of the moment, no one noticed."

"Again with this 'no lock' business?" he said. "That's ridiculous! The door clearly has a lock!"

"And again, I state that this was not the door that was here when you all arrived! For, you see, this door was to be kept locked at all times. In fact, I'm fairly certain even if the Baron entered it, he would have locked it from the inside! And the only key was around his neck, inside the room! So you see, the only way it could have been open is if the door had no lock at all!"

"But that's impossible!" Crystal Bright said.

"Or is it?" Rarity said, with a knowing smile. "What if I told you that this door had been swapped with the one next to it? What if I told you there was a specific spell which could have been used, one that swaps objects of similar shapes and sizes? And what if—" she said this with a flourish "—I told you that there is a pony among us who knows this very spell?"

The suspects all looked at each other, trying to gauge who it was Rarity was referring to. Except for Obtuse and Acute, who simply looked at each other. Acute looked worried.

"Who?" George asked.

Rarity took a deep breath.

"Acute Virtue."

"Preposterous," Crystal Bright said. "A filly can't know advanced magic like that."

"On the contrary," Rarity replied. "She demonstrated it to me earlier this very night. She is a prodigy. A shame her talents were put to deception."

She looked back at them all. "Here is what happened. Obtuse left the rest of you with Acute on the pretense of putting her to bed. However, before he did, he brought her to the safe room. He had her use her spell, flippus crossarnus, to swap the locked door with the door next to it, which had no lock. He then sent her to bed; once she was gone, he went inside. But the safe was locked, and he didn't know the combination.

"This wasn't an issue, however. He lay in wait within the closet inside the room. When the Baron came to check on the plans, he realized that something was up when he went to unlock the door. So he rushed inside and opened the safe to see if the plans were still there.

"This was Obtuse's chance. He—" she glanced at the filly in the room "—did the deed, then took the plans. What he did with those plans I'm not sure; perhaps he has a photographic memory, or some kind of concealed camera. Whatever the case, he then burned the plans and hid their ashes in that potted plant over there."

Crystal Bright spoke up. "But, wait—if he did it, then why didn't we meet him leaving the scene of the crime? He was off down another hallway, going the same direction as us.. he couldn't have made it there before we passed him!"

"Ah, but there was a way," Rarity said. "You see, the ashes of the plans were not the only thing in that potted plant. There was also... this!"

She held up the firecracker's remains.

"I believe this is the actual source of the 'gunshot' you all heard," she said. "A small firecracker, designed to let off a loud bang. I suspect this was planted with a long fuse, to give Obtuse time to flee the scene."

"I was right!" Crystal and George said in unison. The General harrumphed.

"But wouldn't we have still heard the gunshot first, then?" George asked.

"I suspect the third thing we found buried in that pot is the key to unraveling that mystery," Rarity said, "although you'd know better than I. Could you tell me, George, what this is?"

Rarity held out the metal cylinder to him. He took it in his talons and turned it around.

"This is..." he said, with some astonishment. "This is a silencer!"

"And what does it do, pray tell?"

"It quiets the sound of a gunshot," he explained. "You fit it onto the end of the barrel of a gun and it dampens the sound."

"Ah-ha!" Rarity said. "So I was correct. This is the reason you all didn't hear the gunshot."

She continued. "In any case, Obtuse made his way back towards where his daughter was and waited. When the firecracker went off, he ran back towards the scene of the crime, hoping that the rest of you would do the same—and he was right.

"He made sure to be in the front of the pack so he would be the first to reach the door. When he got there, he pretended it was locked to fool all of you, then bucked it open. You were all too distracted by the body to notice the deception—and who could blame you?"

"So did he switch the door back at some point?" General Bristle asked.

Rarity nodded. "Yes. You'll recall he remained behind to guard the room while you all went your separate ways—what he actually did was go back to his daughter's room and have her swap the doors back."

"Astonishing," the General said.

"Yes, indeed," Rarity said. She turned to Obtuse. "What say you?"

"An interesting theory, " he said, his voice as even as ever. "But you have no proof."

"I could simply ask your daughter," Rarity replied. "Acute? Did your daddy ask you to swap these doors?"

The little filly looked like she was about to cry... but she was stronger than that. She grit her teeth.

"No!" she replied. "I wouldn't... I wouldn't tell on daddy!"

"You're a good girl," Rarity said, smiling reassuringly at her. She turned back to the filly's father. "Well, no matter; I have another idea. You see, earlier I asked if you smoked, and you said no. But you must have needed something to burn the plans and light the fuse on the firecracker, something you shouldn't have any need to carry if you don't."

She smiled.

"So," Obtuse," she said. "Would you mind turning out your pockets to see if there's a lighter in there?"

He stared at her for a moment. Then, he grinned.

"I suppose there's no putting one past the great detective Rarity," he said, shrugging.

Then he dove to one side. Lighting his horn, he swept his daughter into the air. A pocket knife flew out of his jacket and opened itself to a nasty-looking blade, which went straight to the little filly's throat.

"Nobody move," he said.

Acute looked at him, eyes wide.

"D-daddy?"

"Now, we're going to do things my way," Obtuse said. "General Bristle, you will order the guards surrounding the manor not to follow me. If anyone does, little Acute here won't have a neck anymore."

"You can't!" Rainbow cried. "Did you forget that's your daughter!?"

"Adopted daughter," Obtuse said. "She was part of my cover, nothing more. I don't care an ounce for her."

"Not an ounce?" Rarity said. "I don't think that's true."

Obtuse sneered. "Another one of your deductions? I'm afraid you're off the mark for this one. I'm a spy; I have no moral quandaries killing. Why tonight I already—"

His eyes shifted to Acute.

"I already..."

Acute was crying.

"See?" Rarity said. "You can't even admit the truth of what you did in front of your daughter, you care about her so much."

Obtuse grit his teeth.

"I..."

He sighed.

"I give up."

The knife clattered to the ground. Acute was lowered to her hooves; the filly stood in place, merely staring up at her father, sobbing quietly.

"Guards," Rarity said, "I think now would be a good time to apprehend him."

The guards rushed forwards. Obtuse was cuffed.

"Daddy..." Acute said. "Why...?"

"The reasons don't matter," he said. "I'm sorry, Acute."

He looked up at Rarity.

"Detective, I'd like to ask you for a favour."

"Yes?" she asked.

"Please, look after my daughter after I'm gone," he said. "She had no part in any of this, and I don't want her sent back to the orphanage."

"Odd," Rarity said, tapping her chin, "normally I'm the one asking for favours after my cases. Still... I suppose I can't say no. I owe her that for taking her father away from her."

Relief washed over his face. "Thank you." He turned back to his daughter. "Acute, I need you to go with Miss Rarity."

"B-but what about you?" Acute asked.

"Daddy has to go away now," he said. "For a long time. I'm sorry."

"But I'll miss you!"

He smiled a sad little smile. "And I'll miss you too, my darling angel."

---

"Well, that was... something," Rarity said.

She and Rainbow were on their way out of the house. The sky was grey; dawn was breaking. So began the long trek back to the servant's quarters. Little Acute rode on Rainbow's back, sound asleep.

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "You know, when I asked if we could keep Acute, I wasn't expecting you to actually say you'd take care of her."

"Yes, well, she had nowhere else to go," Rarity said. "She’ll be staying in the dorms at her school most of the time anyway. But to be honest, I feel like I've committed a great crime, separating a father from his daughter when they so clearly cared for each other."

"Hey, it was Obtuse who committed the crime."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, darling."

"Sorry."

Rarity let out a sigh. “I also worry this little incident will only bring Equestria one step closer to war.”

“Not much we can do about that, Rares.”

“I suppose it isn’t our job, no.”

She winced.

"Your hooves still bothering you?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes, quite," Rarity said. "And we have so much ground to cover!"

She eyed the spot next to Acute on Rainbow's back. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to—"

Rainbow shook her head. "Nope! Waaay too heavy."

Rarity was aghast. "Rainbow, you are calling me fat!"

"Maybe just a little,” Rainbow said, grinning. “Wanna start training together?"

"Maybe a little... moderate exercise couldn't hurt..."

"That's the spirit!"

They continued on, under the brightening sky, leaving the Baron Von Baron's manor behind them.

Comments

[VampDash]

OH AND SHE'S BACK! THE MARE BEHIND THE HAT!

[Daydream Enigma]

Another great mystery, and I actually guessed the culprit correctly! Wasn't even close on the logistics of the crime though. Glad to see you're still writing!

[Lunaria]

This one was a fun read as usual.

[gapty]

"So," Obtuse," she said. "Would you mind turning out your pockets to see if there's a lighter in there?"

Technically, this shouldn't be enough proof, but whatever: Admitting after that is your fault

Relief washed over his face. "Thank you." He turned back to his daughter. "Acute, I need you to go with Miss Rarity."

Can I say how much how I hate how every little detail was intentionally mentioned and there for this case/foreshadowed etc? So many packed things and not a single one useless.

(Well, except for why Rarity was here already, that's cheating from her side)

All in all, great mystery fic. Just sad there was no safe in a safe connected to a safe

[A.P.O.N.I.]

Well, there goes my theory that someone shot him through the keyhole from the hallway.

11843614
Oh, they never have prrof in these stories; they just keep talking until the murderer self-incriminates.

But what about the bloody knife?

[TCC56]

Huh. So I guess that explains what Obtuse's angle was.

[Haradion]

Gah. Close. I was damn close. Should have occured to me that the spy and murderer were the same person.

Very well done.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Oh hey, I actually had most of the pieces this time. I just underestimated how much of a scumbag Obtuse might be. He's certainly no Twilight. Er, not that Twilight, the Loid Forger Twilight. Another excellent tale of Detective Rarity... with concerning implications for the future of this timeline.

Also, I wonder how Sweetie Belle will feel about becoming an aunt.

Thank you for a gripping read.

[RB_]

11849295
Acute and Obtuse’s names may or may not have been ‘Anya’ and ‘Loid’ in my notes. Not a direct inspiration, but once I made the connection, it stuck.

[zx29b]

Oh hell yes. I come back and find a new Detective Rarity waiting. Life is good.