Chapter 1 "Dead Sound"
Equestria Noir
Case 12
“The Vinyl Scratch!”
Chapter 1
“Dead Sound”
Dear Private Eye,
I’m sorry to write to you under such horrible circumstances. Vinyl and I found a body hanging from our radio tower. Vinyl identified the stallion as one of our technicians, Lucky Zevan. We could really use your help with this situation. If you would come to our radio station at your earliest convenience, we would greatly appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Octavia
I folded the letter after reading it and frowned, “Another day another murder it seems.”
Twilight who was walking beside me on the path also frowned, “Seems to be happening a lot more frequently than normal. You’ve only been back in Ponyville for two days and this happens.” She looked over at me concerned, “If this ever becomes too much for you-“
“I’m fine Twilight,” I smiled, touched by her concern, “I can handle a case don’t worry.”
In truth, I did have an odd feeling about this whole business. Ever since I left Manehattan I felt like there was more to this Octavia mare then meets the eye. It was unusual to receive a request for a case by mail, but I wasn’t complaining, anything to keep myself sharp.
I kept walking ahead, “Shame Spike can’t come with us”
Twilight tilted her head in thought, “He’s going gem hunting with Rarity today. Ever since that whole incident in Manehattan she’s been hanging out with Spike more.”
I sweated a little as I recalled that Rarity tried to seduce me up at Manehattan. I looked over at Twilight, “What did she say to you exactly?”
Twilight frowned “That she tried to… take advantage of you.”
“Oh…”
She looked over at me "Then she told me all of what you said to her. I guess I should’ve expected something like this to happen, Private. I just didn’t think Rarity would be the one to do it.”
I nodded slowly, “Twilight, I hope this doesn’t destroy your friendship with her.”
Twilight shook her head, “No, Rarity wasn’t herself in that situation. I don’t think she will ever do something like that again, especially after what you said to her”
I sighed in relief. Thank Celestia I didn’t have to deal with Twilight holding a grudge with Rarity over what happened.
“She’s also hanging around with Spike a lot more,” she gave me a sly look. “I think some detective had something to do with that.”
“Guilty as charged,” I grinned at her. “I just couldn’t stand Rarity going on and on about how she wanted somepony to care, when Spike was right there”
“I just hope it works out for both of them,” Twilight said, with a small smile “Rarity deserves to have something to herself after all she’s given.”
I was about to continue the conversation when I noticed the police carriages surrounding the radio station up ahead. The radio station was a small two story building with a radio tower next to it. I looked up and saw a pair of Pegasus uniforms lowering a body from the radio tower, the body was attached by the leg with a piece of wire.
I looked at Twilight who nodded firmly. We both walked up to the first uniform we saw. He was a young earth pony with an orange coat and bright blue eyes. Upon seeing me he saluted, “Officer Hoof Dunnit sir!”
“At ease officer,” I replied, with a nod. He relaxed a little, and I looked on as the pegasi lowered the body onto a stretcher. “What have we got here?”
Dunnit looked over at the body with a frown, “The poor sap was hung from the radio tower sir, by his hind leg. He was already dead when we got there”
“Why would somepony hang a dead body from a radio tower?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow, “Could somepony be trying to send a message?”
“I’d say so, ma'am,” Dunnit replied, with a nod. “We have somepony ready to examine the body.”
“Forceps?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nah,” Dunnit said with a shake of his head “Somepony new on the force. Forceps got a cold and had to ask her to take his place.”
“Who is she?” I wondered aloud.
“’She’ is standing right behind you”
I turned around to see a unicorn mare a few years older than I am. Her coat was a light grey with a long purple and blue streaked mane. Her violet eyes were accented by a small collection of freckles on her cheeks. She walked past me and bent down to the body.
I looked over at Dunnit, “Like I said, who is she?”
“Sherrie Illusion,” Dunnit answered, watching the mare as she went to work. “She’s a transfer from the Canterlot Guard, and is working over in the police force for the experience. She’s smart as hell, sir, and able to work a body quickly.”
Illusion was still bent over the body, examining it, as I approached with Twilight. She looked up at me, a look of surprise crossing her face, “The great, Private Eye. It's a pleasure to meet you. I read all about you finding that model, Sweetlight, in the newspapers. That was some fine detective work, sir." Then she looked back down at the body frowning, "It's a shame to meet you under such unpleasant circumstances. Are you on the case?"
I nodded, turning my gaze to the body, "Do you have a cause of death, yet?”
"The cause of death appears to be strangulation,” Illusions replied, turning her full focus back to the body.
Twilight looked at the body and pointed with her hoof at the thin red markings around the stallion’s neck. The stallion was an earth pony with a short black mane and a bright teal coat. “Looks like some kind of wire if it made marks this small.”
“What else can you tell me?” I asked, looking at Illusion.
“Judging by the temperature of the body I’d say the time of death was around midnight.” She gestured to the marks, "It does appear to have been done with some sort of wire. I’d have to look at them in the lab for a more accurate analysis. Also, it appears he was hit on the back of the head by something heavy. I would venture to guess that wound was post mortem, based on how little it bled."
I nodded at Illusion, “You take care of the body we’re going to ask around and see if anypony saw somepony putting up the body”
She nodded and went about to her work. For some reason she seemed familiar somehow. I couldn’t quite put my hoof on it though.
I shook my head and walked to the side where the stallion’s things were laid out. There was a wallet, a small ticket, and a folded sheet of paper. I picked up the wallet and opened it. Inside was a carriage license with his picture on it “Lucky Zevan?” I said with a frown “Sounds like a band name, in my honest opinion”
I picked up the ticket and looked at it, “Las Pegasus? This guy came a long way to get hung from a radio tower.”
I picked up the paper and opened it:
Come to the station, do so and you shall find peace in the arms of the law.
Jocvert
“You know anypony named Jocvert?” I asked, looking over at Twilight.
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” she replied, shaking her head. “Though the name does sound familiar.”
I looked at the name; I recognized it after some thought, “It’s a character name, from the play, ‘Les Ponies Misreables’.”
“The Miserable Ponies?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow, “I remember Princess Celestia going to that one a lot.”
“It’s a great play,” I said putting the paper in a plastic bag. “A story about that tells of constant balance between mercy and justice. Mom starred in it once herself, played Filltine.”
“Our killer is a play goer it seems,” Twilight said frowning.
A rather rude voice spoke up, “Still a meddler as always, I see.”
I turned and saw the chocolate colored head of Clippers. He flapped his wings in annoyance at me, “Once again, I find you trying to interfere with a police investigation.”
“Well if it isn’t Clippers,” I said, not trying to hide my contempt.
“That’s Clippard to you!” He said pointing a hoof at me, “Now this is my case, Private.”
“Who’s this jerk?” Twilight asked ignoring Clippers.
“Somepony who thinks he’s Sam Spony. Even though he couldn't find his flank if he was sitting on his forelegs,” I said flatly. “This is Clippers, he was my partner when I worked Traffic.”
Clippers snorted, “Now that introductions are out of the way, I think you should leave and let me get on with my investigation here.”
“What makes you think this is worth your time, Clippers?” I questioned, rolling my eyes.
“While you were galloping around playing a hero I’ve been investigating the Jocvert murders,” he answered with a smirk.
“Jocvert murders?” I raised an eyebrow, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, this isn’t the first body we’ve found like this. There have been six other victims over the past few months,” he said maintaining his smirk. “They were all killed at separate locations and the only thing they have in common was the note sent by this Jocvert character.”
I nodded and gestured to Twilight, “I want you to give my assistant everything you have on the previous victims, and see if there’s a connection.”
“You forget this is my investigation you bastard!” Clippers said with an audible snort.
“It’s not yours if you aren’t qualified,” I heard a dignified voice speak up.
All three of us looked over to see Octavia herself walk up to us. Her black mane shone in the sunlight and her ashen coat I noticed was well toned. She was quite fit for a cello player. Her violet eyes looked at Clippers with obvious dislike.
“If you cannot help Private in this investigation, I will have to ask you to leave,” the cello player said with a frown.
“Who are you to tell a detective what to do?” Clippers demanded, angrily.
Octavia then got right in Clippers’ face and her violet gaze was even scarier than Fluttershy’s, “I am the client, I can make your life a living hell and I have plenty of bits to afford a proper lawyer. I could sue you for misconduct on this case and I’ll make sure to bleed you dry.”
Clippers sweated and glared over at me with his gold eyes, “I’ll see about getting you those papers then.” He flew off in a blur, hoping to get as far away from Octavia as possible.
Octavia looked over at me and gave a small smile, “I didn’t expect to run into you under such circumstances Detective.”
“It’s good to see you again, Octavia,” I said with a nod. I gestured to Twilight, “This is Twilight Sparkle, my assistant”
Octavia nodded and smiled at Twilight “I remember you, your pink friend tried to get me to play that impromptu piece what was it… the pokey pony?”
Twilight flushed in embarrassment at the memory of the Grand Disaster Gala. She let out a sheepish smile at the cello player, “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean for my friends to cause so much trouble.”
“Well, it gave me practice for Vinyl. Anyways,” Octavia said with a shrug, “Detective, I think you and I should talk with her.”
I nodded and turned to Twilight, “You get those files from Clippers and I’ll meet you back at the office.”
My marefriend nodded and set off to speak with a very nervous Clippers.
Octavia looked over at me, “Why do you call him Clippers, anyway?”
“When we worked together he always made such a fuss about his mane being too long,” I explained. “One day it got so annoying I said ‘Your mother should’ve named you Clippers you cut your mane so much!’ the name has stuck ever since.”
“I suppose I’ve heard stranger names,” Octavia said with a roll of her eyes. “Come along, I’ll get you talking with Vinyl.”
I did find it odd how well Octavia had control over such a situation. She seemed to know her way around a crime scene despite not being on the force.
Just who is she?
_________________________________________________________
Good Morning Equestria, this is DJ PON3 here to give you the latest update. Sadly folks I can’t be on air today, we’ve got an investigation going on in this studio so I’ll leave music for you guys to listen to on auto play.
Before we convene, here’s a public service announcement: Don’t feed the Parasprites! That is all.
Until Next time, this is DJ PON3 bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts…
Vinyl stepped away from the mic and walked over to me. I was sitting on a chair in the studio across from her. She was a pony about a year younger then I was with a white coat and a spiky blue mane. Her red eyes showed with her shades placed above her horn and out of the way. I could see the grief in them.
“I only hired the guy a few weeks ago but he’s always made himself useful. He never complained whenever I asked him to do something. I even asked him to stuff Octy’s cello with cotton balls and he did it”
“I had to get the cotton out for weeks thanks to that little stunt,” Octavia huffed as she sat next to her friend with a look of clear annoyance.
“Hey, it was all in fun,” Vinyl said leaning back in her chair. “You really need to lighten up a little, Octy. Go and have some fun once in a while.”
“I do have fun,” Octavia said way too fast.
“I meant fun by Everypony else’s meaning,” Vinyl said with a smirk.
I spoke up, “Vinyl, could you tell me about Lucky?”
“Like I said he was a nice guy when I hired him. I hired him on to fix the music players every time they broke,” she gestured to the various machines around the room. The place looked more cluttered then the Tardis and only half as much space.
“Did you get background on the guy?” I asked, looking at Vinyl.
“I did that part,” Octavia explained. “Vinyl would hire a Diamond Dog if they asked”
“Hey! Those magic beans seemed totally legit,” Vinyl retorted.
“I rest my case,” Octavia said with a sigh. “Anyway, the pony came from Las Pegasus. He graduated from a university there with a technical degree. No criminal record that I could find, so I felt it was safe to hire him.”
“Did he have any enemies? Did he feel like he was being watched at all?” I asked.
“He did seem to feel uneasy around Octy for some reason,” Vinyl answered. “Then again, anypony would feel uneasy around Miss Uptight.”
“Anyway,” Octavia glared at her co-host. “No detective, as far as we knew, he didn’t have any enemies to speak of. No family either, sadly.”
Just then a gold earth pony with a long black and blue mane and suit jacket entered “Vinyl, you’re going off the air!?”
“I am, Jumper,” Vinyl said firmly. “One of our buddies just got hung like a rag doll from our tower! I’m going to find out why.”
“You can’t just go off the air! We have listeners expecting DJ PON3 to be on the radio!”
“Then they can wait until after this is done, pal!” Vinyl barked, getting in the stallion’s face.
Octavia whispered in my ear, “That’s Jumper. He took over managing the studio about a month ago. He and Vinyl get along as well as oil and water.”
“Looks like the argument is going to take a while,” I said gesturing to the arguing pair. “Let’s have a look around to see if we can find out if Lucky was killed here.”
Octavia nodded and we left the room together. As we walked down the halls, I looked over at Octavia, “You have an interesting friend.”
Octavia sighed “She may annoy the hell out of me but I can’t honestly imagine my life without her anymore. I still remember how she pulled me onto the show. I had no idea what I was getting into. She’s wacky and crazy, but she means well, and is endearing to Everypony.”
“You ever tell Vinyl this stuff?” I asked, giving her a sly look.
“No, should I?” Octavia wondered aloud, starting to look nervous.
“I guess opposites do attract,” I said with a shrug.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Octavia demanded, glaring at me.
“I’m just saying, you speak awfully highly of her, despite her annoying you.”
“Shouldn’t a friend compliment her friend when she is a good pony?” Octavia defended herself, with a hint of red on her face.
“So tell me, do you two make sweet music together?” I asked teasingly.
Her ashen face turned crimson, and she yelled at me, “I’m being very generous by helping you! You are being uncouth and I would appreciate some civility!”
I held up my hooves in defense “Okay okay, I’ll not ask,” I smiled at her. “You two just seemed good for each other is all.”
Suddenly Octavia frowned a little, “In my life, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea.”
I was about to ask her to elaborate when she looked over at the hallway ahead, “Detective! Blood!”
I looked to where she was pointing and saw a blood trail leading into a nearby closet. I kicked it open and looked inside. There on the floor was a bloody pipe. I levitated it with my magic, “Looks like we found what Lucky got hit with”
“Detective, look up,” Octavia said forebodingly.
I looked up and on the wall written in smeared blood were the words:
Jocvert comes for Val Jean
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And Lo Shattercrazy was the first, and the first was the best. Great so far.
1452404You certainly know how to make an entrance my friend
An apparent serial killer, more information about Octavia, and references to classic literature. this is shaping up nicely.
Fallout 3 reference? Just makes me love this story even more! Are there any other cases?
Also, Erik Dellums has a sexy voice.
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Officer Hoof Dunnit...Hoof Dunnit...
Who dunnit!
Psycho Me, put this on the conspiracy borard!
Aww, I'm gonna miss Forceps, he was awesome. For some reason also, I'm seeing this serial killer as sort of like the Origami Killer from Heavy Rain.
1456086 No! That new M.E. pony is the best pony ever, ever.
And another case begins! Huzzah! always makes my day :D
Ooooo, dis gunna beh guud!
Well. A pony killed by a person who believes they are acting out a play. This is going to get interesting
Okay, this guy's name take the cake when it comes to puns. You only really get names like that in satires. Then again, there real life examples alike Hugh Jass.
Until Next time, this is DJ PON3 bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts…
fallout three lol
Oh god, Octavia's gonna be portayed as a criminal, isn't she? ....swwweeeeeeeeeeett.
I SEE A PERSONA 4 REFERENCE!
I love how this fic is basically one giant reference to Corey Williams: The Vinyl Scratch Tapes
also Officer Hoof Dunnit
Really?
Ah fallout 3, you'll always be my favorite one of my favorite Xbox games.
i swer dunnit realy reminds me of somthing but for the life of me i dont know what is he based of somone