Moondropby CluelessBronyChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter OneDetective Twilight Sparkle The mare in question finished rubbing a cloth against the nameplate affixed to her brand-new office door. It gave her office a much more authoritative look, she thought, despite the fact that it was a storage room merely two days prior. Nevertheless, she had her own office now, and that was all that mattered. It wasn't the office itself that was important to Twilight, but the reason she had gotten the office- she had finally been promoted to full-blown detective of the PVPD, a goal which she had struggled and fought to earn for years. It was an amazing feat, for a beat cop working the streets of a city like Ponyville. There were very few opportunities for a police officer in the crime-free city to prove themselves. Perhaps, in a larger city like Fillydelphia or Manehattan, Twilight might have been made a detective long ago, but she was not in either of those cities, and had to wait for her chance to impress her higher-ups. And impress her higher-ups she did! Just a few days ago, a rare murder occurred in the city, and the victim was the secretary of the mayor, no less. She had dazzled the mayor with the quickness with which she solved the case, even after the actual detectives had been stumped, having rightfully realized that the secretary was murdered over a gambling debt she owed. Her superiors had taken the prime suspect's alibi at face value, yet only Twilight had had the motivation to continue following that lead. After she solved the case and helped apprehend the suspect (and not a shot fired!) the mayor had personally promoted her to the rank of detective, bypassing even the authority of the police captain. Twilight stood in her office, surveying all that which was now hers. A small desk sat near the back, its cleared surface begging to be worked on, and a row of empty filing cabinets behind that. The walls of the room were grey- this didn't surprise her, it was a storage room prior, after all -and there wasn't a window in sight. A single fan hung down from the ceiling, turning lazily in the summer heat. Well, it’s a start, she thought, making her way to the desk. She made to sit down, only to be surprised by the lack of a chair behind it. She sighed and sat down on the cold cement floor, glaring at the office around her. She had expected something a bit better, and was upset at what she had gotten. Her old desk in the station was preferable to this! Twilight sighed as she made the sad realization that the less than ideal office should have been an expected occurrence. While she had been promoted by the mayor, and her captain had no means to dispute or overrule that, she still was the one in charge of assigning offices. The captain had never liked Twilight, a fact she never bothered to hide when the two were made to interact. Twilight couldn’t fathom why- they had both served together in the Great War, in the same regiment, even. Most were inclined to believe the captain’s cold temperance towards Twilight was due solely to the speed at which Twilight was rising through the rank of the PVPD, despite having come back to Equestria at the same time, but Twilight knew better, as the captain had started displaying her distaste for the mare after only a few weeks into their service together. Twilight, being well-read but not long-lived and naive due to that, had decided long ago to simply avoid her captain as much as possible. Twilight stood up from the cold floor, intent on getting coffee, and proceeded out her door, only to bump into another pony who was walking in. The pony muttered his apologies, rubbing his muzzle. “Sorry, terribly sorry, m’am...” he said, “nopony else is ever in this storage room, you see. I wasn’t expecting to bump into anypony.” Twilight sighed internally. “Oh, it’s all right, sir,” she said to the custodian. “But... this isn’t a storage room any more. It’s been converted into an office.” The custodian looked around, a look of surprise evident on his face. “Really?” he asked. Twilight nodded. “Well, where’s the storage room now?” Twilight told him, said goodbye, and quickly left her office, fearing any more interruptions. Her enthusiasm at her promotion had already been soured by the lackluster office she had been given, and she desperately wanted coffee to help her see the bright side of her situation. As she walked through the halls to the break room, where the coffee machine was kept, she walked past the door of the captain’s office, its door closed and the sound of muffled conversation emanating from inside. Twilight ignored it, not interested enough to listen as she continued on her way. Fate, however, seemed to have other plans, as the door to the office creaked open after Twilight had passed and a voice boomed from inside. “Sparkle!” cried the familiar, feminine voice, stopping her in her tracks. “Get in here!” Twilight obeyed, mentally berating herself for coming this way in the first place. She could easily have gone around the long way, as she usually did, had she thought of it in her mental state. She trotted into the captain’s office. The office was as opulent as her own was bare. A mahogany desk covered in trinkets sat to the right, in front of a large window which one could use to survey the entirety of Ponyville square. The walls were covered in bookshelves filled with texts, both old and new, all dog-eared and well-read. Not a single photograph was to be seen in the room. And behind the desk, sitting with an impatient stare aimed at Twilight, was Captain Shimmer. The captain’s fiery red and yellow mane contrasted greatly with the cold tone in her voice as she spoke. “Sparkle,” she started, no enthusiasm in her voice. “Congratulations on your promotion.” Twilight looked down and kicked the floor. “Um, thank you,” he said, surprised at the praise, even if it wasn’t genuine. “You wanted to see me?” Captain Shimmer nodded and pulled open a drawer in her desk with her unicorn magic, retrieving from it a manilla folder. “You are, of course, quite good at what you do, correct? The mayor herself promoted you to your current position, after all.” Twilight merely nodded in response, not liking the direction the conversation was heading. The captain never complimented her without reason. “The first murder in Ponyville in years, and you quickly manage to solve it, even after the detectives on the case had reached the end of their leads.” Captain Shimmer opened up the envelope and levitated a few documents out. Attached to the papers by a paperclip was a photograph- Twilight managed to make out the colour blue before the sheets were shuffled around and the photograph hidden. “So tell me, Sparkle. How good are you, really, at what you do?” Normally, Twilight would have humbly muttered out something along the lines of ‘just doing my job’, but the condescending tone the captain spoke to her in sparked anger in her mind. “I’m the best at what I do, captain! I can solve any case this city throws at me!” The small smile that appeared on the captain’s face made Twilight’s heart drop. She had a feeling she had just said something the captain had wanted to hear, and if the captain was happy with something she had said, it didn’t mean good news for her. “Perfect. We wouldn’t want our newest detective learning from anypony other than the best, now would we?” the captain replied. She placed the documents back into their folder and tossed it towards Twilight, who caught it in her magic. “Why don’t you get acquainted with your new partner while I go get some coffee, then?” Captain Shimmer stood up, leaving Twilight at a loss for words, and left the room, closing the door shut behind her. Twilight sat in her chair for a few more moments, confused, before coming to her senses. Partner? she mentally asked herself. With a flourish born from anger and curiosity, she opened the folder to review the contents. She managed to read the name of her new partner before being interrupted by the feeling of breathing on the back of her neck. “Do you like what you’re reading so far? Trixie knows she does!” Twilight jumped up in shock and let out a not-so-professional yelp of surprise. With her heart beating violently in her chest she twirled in place to face her unexpected visitor. The first thing Twilight noticed was the star-spangled purple hat and cape, of the sort one would expect to see on a stage magician but not a detective, rookie or otherwise. She had had an azure coat not unlike that of the sea, and a sky-blue mane, streaked with stripes of silver and fashioned in a way that must have been detrimental to police work. The pony’s purple eyes stared at Twilight with a confident glare. “I am the great and powerful Trixie! You must be the Twilight Sparkle that Captain Shimmer has told me about. It’s an honour to have the opportunity to work with you,” she announced. Twilight continued to stare in shock at the strange pony before her, her mouth hanging open. “Where... did you come from?” she inquired of the pony. Trixie pointed to a chair, half-hidden between two bookshelves, near the back of the room. “Trixie has been here all along,” she replied. “She heard your conversation with the captain. That mare really dislikes you.” Twilight just nodded. The door creaked open and Captain Shimmer returned with a cup of hot coffee. “So, Sparkle, it’s your responsibility to teach miss Lulamoon here how to do your job. You are the best, after all.” Before Twilight could voice her displeasure, the captain made a waving motion with her hoof, indicating she wanted the two partners to leave. They did. Now, there are a few words Twilight would never describe herself with, and “social” was at the top of the list. Friends were something for other, less-busy ponies to indulge in. Her youth was spent poring over books of all sorts, from fiction to biographies to technical manuals, and never spent playing outside with other foals her age. She simply didn’t feel like she needed the companionship other ponies so craved. So, having a partner wasn’t something Twilight was looking forward to. The two walked in silence towards the break room, Twilight in discomfort and Trixie with her nose up high in the air. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, or at least, that was how Twilight perceived it. “What did you do to make the captain dislike you so much?” Trixie asked out of the blue. Twilight merely glanced at her, ignoring the question. She had no answer. When she didn’t get an answer, Trixie just shrugged and trotted off to a box of pastries sitting out on a table. Twilight walked over to the coffee machine, the only thing on her mind the thought of obtaining a long-overdue cup of coffee. She levitated a mug towards her and lifted the coffee pot out of the machine- “Murder! Murder!” Chapter Two“Murder! Murder!” a hysterical voice screamed out, causing Twilight to lose her concentration and drop the mug she was holding, shattering it on the floor. The voice came from the lobby and sounded strained, as though the screamer was not accustomed to speaking loudly, and either belonged to a mare or a young child. Twilight sighed and turned to make her way to the lobby. Trixie, upon noticing her partner leaving, fell in step behind her, much to Twilight’s annoyance. When they arrived at the lobby they saw the screamer in question, a mare with a coat the colour of cream and a striped mane of cyan. She was being calmed down by a policecolt, who was holding a jacket over her and trying to get her to explain yourself. “Miss, what happened?” he asked. “We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us.” The mare stared blankly, that blank stare that adorns the faces of those who’ve suffered some great tragedy and are trying desperately, helplessly to make some sense of their lives. Twilight felt something poke her flank, and turned to see Trixie trying to get her attention. “Go talk to her,” she whispered before pushing her towards the young mare, “otherwise the great and powerful Trixie will have to steal the spotlight and do it for you!” Trixie urged her on, waving her towards the shocked pony, and Twilight glared back. She didn’t enjoy speaking to well-adjusted ponies, let alone ponies who were clearly in shock, but trotted forward anyway. She waved the policecolt away and sat down beside the distraught mare. Twilight noticed, from her new vantage point, the dry eyes of the mare and mentally noted it down. She cleared her throat to get the mare’s attention, to no avail. “Hey there,” she started, putting on her game face. “What’s your name?” The mare turned her head slightly in Twilight’s direction, which she took as a good sign. “I’m Twilight,” she said. “Can you tell me your name?” The mare looked down and shivered a bit, pulling the jacket draped around her shoulders tighter. “We can’t help if you don’t say anything to us.” The mare continued with her silence, and Twilight sighed and stood up. She made her way to Trixie, who was waiting eagerly for her partner to return. As Twilight was leaving, however, the mare spoke up. “...Coco,” she said, her voice as soft as her demeanour. Twilight turned to her, surprised that the mare had finally found it in herself to say something. “What did you just say?” she asked. The mare repeated herself. “My name is Coco Pommel...” she muttered, looking down at the ground. Twilight managed to make out what she said this time and went back to her chair beside the mare. “Alright, miss Pommel. Can you tell me what happened? Why did you come running in here, making such a ruckus?” Twilight put on her best smile, hoping it would be enough to get the mare to open up. The mare gulped, and Twilight noticed how tense she seemed. “T-there was a m-m-m...” the mare seemed to be struggling to say the word, and was on the verge of breaking down again, when Trixie came forward and rubbed her back, telling her that everything would be alright now, a change in the unicorn’s demeanour that surprised Twilight greatly. What had happened to the arrogance from before? Coco, after a few moments of comfort from Trixie, opened up again. “There was a m-murder,” she explained. “Downtown. I went to work this morning and found her lying there... all bloody and... oh my Celestia!” At that, Coco burst into tears, covering her eyes with her hooves and sobbing. Twilight stood up and motioned for Trixie to follow her. Trixie obliged, got up and stopped comforting Coco without any warning, a scowl forming on her face. “Ugh,” she complained when she approached Twilight, “I think I got some tears in my cape.” The ease with which Trixie gave up on the distraught Coco shocked Twilight, but she kept her composure. Trixie was a good actress- and that meant she was a good liar. She’d have to keep an eye on her. “Go down to town hall and pull up Coco’s employment records. If we can’t get her to tell us where she works, we’ll find it there. Think you can handle that?” Trixie nodded and saluted, giving Twilight a nod. “I could do that in my sleep, boss!” She punctuated the last word with a smoke bomb to the ground, which hissed and released a small cloud of smoke into the air, before running off down a hallway. Twilight sighed. The over-dramatic, arrogant mare she was stuck with was going to be hard to tolerate. Twilight briefly wondered why Trixie seemed to look up to her before brushing away the thought. It was likely all an act to get on her good side. Twilight turned and went to go get her coat. They had a murder scene to investigate. Trixie had been true to her word, quickly and easily finding the address of miss Coco Pommel. She worked at a small boutique in the heart of the city, on Bridle Road, right next to Ponyville’s first bar and a thrift shop. Ponyville had grown exponentially over the last two decades, forming from a small farm town into a relatively large city, complete with the hustle and bustle that came with it. While it didn’t even rival the size of larger cities, such as Manehattan or Fillydelphia, it was still considered one of the largest and quickest growing cities in the country. Twilight and Trixie opened the door of the boutique, causing the bell above them to ring. The boutique was a nice little place, with mannequins adorned in beautiful dresses and exquisite suits placed all around. An unoccupied counter sat near the back, a cash register lying on its side, open and empty. A CSI was taking photos of it, along with a shattered wooden door leading to the back of the building. When the CSI noticed the two detectives, she pointed to the wooden door. “Stiff’s that way, detectives,” she informed them, a slight grimace on her face. “You may want to get a face mask.” The detectives looked at each other. Trixie shrugged and grabbed a face mask out of a box that was offered to them by the CSI. Twilight did the same, and the two of them approached the door. Twilight pointed at the splintered wood that remained. “It had to have taken a considerable amount of force to break this,” she speculated. “We’re dealing with an earth pony or a unicorn.” Trixie tutted and shook her head. “No offense, but Trixie doesn’t think you should be ruling out a pegasus culprit just yet. They may not be as strong as earth ponies or have magic like unicorns, but a pegasus that’s built up enough speed could easily break through that door!” Twilight sighed. “Yes, if they don’t mind having a few broken bones afterwards. They wouldn’t have been able to commit a murder if they were injured, now would they? Besides, the front door and this door aren’t in line with each other; there’s no way they’d have been able to build up enough speed to break it down.” Twilight stepped over the shattered remains of the door, leaving Trixie grumbling in her wake. As she stepped in, a burning scent assaulted her nostrils and she gagged, regretting not putting on her mask earlier. Crates lined the walls of the concrete back room, and a long table covered in fabrics and sewing machines stood in the middle. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting a light glow on the room’s contents. The dingy workroom was a far cry from the glamourous showroom out front. Lying on the table, the front of her body hanging off, her front hooves touching the ground, was the corpse of Coco’s boss, Suri Polomare. The smell of burnt flesh wafted off her and a pool of blood formed beneath the table she was so haphazardly thrown upon. Twilight and Trixie put on their masks. “Well,” Twilight said, “it’s time to get to work.” Chapter ThreeThe corpse of Suri Polomare was one of the worst Twilight had ever seen. Her face was bruised and battered, sporting a broken nose and many chipped teeth. Her mane and coat were caked with blood that had dripped down from the multiple stab wounds on her chest and neck. Her fur was badly burnt, and small wisps of smoke still rose from it, filling the room with a pungent smell. Trixie gagged and ran from the room, and Twilight didn’t blame her. She turned to one of the CSIs that was still going combing the room for any evidence. “Do you have everything you need from the body?” she asked, hoping the answer was no so as to delay the dreadful task before her. “Yeah, we did. Do what’cha want with it,” the stallion answered. Twilight turned back to the corpse and, holding her breath, moved closer. “Oh Celestia, this is bad...” she muttered, turning the body over with her magic. When she moved it, the stench became unbearable, and she dropped it back onto the table with a thud. Twilight mentally prepared herself once more and managed to flip over the body. The mare’s back was completely scorched, black and burnt to a crisp. Twilight fought the urge to vomit and contaminate the crime scene. The mare’s burnt, but there’s no fire damage to the building, she observed. It was precisely controlled. Fire magic. “Did you find anything useful?” Trixie asked from the doorway. Her face was tinged with green, and her pointed wizard’s hat was nowhere to be seen. “It would be quicker if you came over here and helped me,” Twilight grumbled. “Not much use having a partner if she’s not willing to do anything.” “Er... yes,” Trixie said, seemingly embarrassed. “Trixie was just... investigating the showroom. For clues. She found none, and will... help you now.” She slowly creeped into the back room, staring at the body as though she expected it to jump up and maul her if she made any sudden moves. Twilight looked at Trixie. This mare is not cut out for police work, she thought. She’ll quit after a day. An idea formed in Twilight’s mind, a plan to test her new partner. After all, it was her job to teach Trixie about being a detective, and what better way to teach somepony than to give them tests? “Whoever did this used fire magic, so it was definitely a unicorn. I think the killer came in last night when the vic was closing shop- notice the dried blood on the victim’s mane; this happened a while ago -and threatened her. Probably a robbery, judging by the cash register. Then, the victim ran in here and locked the door, but the culprit blasted it open with magic and attacked the vic. Vic was thrown on the table, got her face beat up, got stabbed to death, then the culprit took the money in the register and fled.” Trixie hummed. “Really?” “Do you have a better idea?” “Well,” Trixie started. “Yes. Yes Trixie does. Trixie thinks the motive for this murder was personal. This murder was too violent to be a robbery. Trixie thinks the murderer wanted to make it look like a robbery to cover up their tracks.” Twilight nodded. Trixie had come to the same conclusion that she had, and she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. “Well,” she said. “I guess there’s some hope for you yet. Come on, we’re done here.” Twilight stepped over the shattered remains of the door and left the back room, Trixie following, eager to get away from the smell. The two made their way back to the station, walking in silence. The day was cold, and specks of snow had started falling from the grey sky above. Soon enough they would blanket the world in a layer of snow, and the beginning of the coldest season would start. “The murderer must be a pretty powerful unicorn,” Trixie commented as they walked. “They used some pretty strong magic to break that door.” Twilight nodded. She had had the same thought as soon as she saw the burn marks on the victim. She wasn’t keen on facing a spellcaster of that magnitude- she was an adept sorcerer herself, and she knew it, but when she pictured what the murderer had done to Suri in her mind, she felt a jolt of fear shoot through her. “Yeah. Nothing to worry about,” she lied. “I doubt we’ll have to face them personally, anyway. He’ll probably be nabbed by some cop out on patrol once we ID the guy.” Trixie nodded, unconvinced. “So,” Trixie said, hastily changing the direction of the conversation. “Trixie would like to know more about you. If she’s to be your partner, she wants to know more than just your name.” Oh great, Twilight thought, she’s a talkative one. “Well, I was drafted into army during the Great War when I was eighteen, got out when we won the war when I was twenty-one, became a cop when I was twenty-two, and got promoted to detective last week at the age of twenty-three. Oh, and then I got stuck with a partner who likes asking personal questions.” Trixie ignored the jab. “You fought in the war?” she asked. “Was it as bad as everypony makes it out to be? It must have been terrifying fighting a bunch of bloodthirsty bat-ponies and crazy moon-lovers.” Twilight sighed. “Yes, it was pretty bad. Now, if you want more information, go ahead and ask captain Shimmer, because I don’t have time for this.” “Trixie has asked her, but she never likes talking about it, especially around Hearth’s Warming.” Twilight glanced back at Trixie, who blushed. “Oh, um... we’re cousins. That... might have seemed strange to you, if you didn’t know already.” Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. “Is that why she made you my partner? What, did she put you with me so you could spy on me?” Twilight turned and glared at Trixie, who withered under her stare. “Are you even qualified to be a detective, or did you just get in because you’re related to the captain?” “Trixie is qualified! How dare you doubt her skill! She’s the best detective in Equestria! No, in the world! And for the record, she wasn’t assigned to you, she requested to be your partner! Sunset had nothing to do with that!” The two glared at each other. “Fine,” Twilight finally relented, “I’m sorry I doubted your intentions. But please, no more personal questions.” Trixie nodded. The two continued on their way to the station at a brisk pace fueled by the awkward tension that hung in the air. “Wait, why did you request to be my partner?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Trixie turned her head away. “That doesn’t matter,” she said. Twilight didn’t pursue the question any further. Their relationship was shaky enough as it was. Twilight looked down. Hopefully we can stick together long enough to complete this case. Back in the station, Twilight and Trixie peered through the one-way mirror at Coco, who was sitting in an interrogation room with a cup of water cradled in her hooves. She had calmed down considerably in the time they had been away, and was being questioned by a police officer. “Can you tell me again when you found the body?” she was asking. Coco obliged. It went back and forth in such a manner for a few more minutes before the policemare got up and left, allowing Twilight and Trixie to question her. “Are we going to be doing the ‘good cop bad cop’ routine?” asked Trixie before they entered the interrogation room. “If so, Trixie humbly requests the position of bad cop.” Twilight shook her head and opened the door. Coco looked up at them when they entered. “Oh! Um, hello, detectives. Your friends already questioned me... so...” she trailed off. Twilight sat down across from her, Trixie taking a seat to her right. “Can you tell us the name of your boss once again?” Twilight asked, pulling out a notepad. “Suri...” Coco said, her voice almost a whisper. “Suri Polomare is- was my boss.” “Can you think of anypony who may have wanted to harm her? An ex-coltfriend, or a rival seamstress, perhaps?” Coco shook her head, then stopped and seemed to doubt herself. “No! Well... maybe. Suri is- um, was kind of a, um... difficult pony to be around. She was kind of mean, and, um, rude. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, she, um, had a lot of enemies.” Twilight jotted that down in her notebook. “Can you think of anypony specific, maybe somepony who has been violent in the pa-” Twilight was interrupted by Trixie standing up and hitting the metal table with her front hooves. “Why did you kill your boss, Coco? Why did you do it?!” Coco screamed and fell back off her chair as Twilight grabbed Trixie’s cape and pulled her down. “I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized, glaring at Trixie. “What my partner meant to say was that if you have any information that you’re keeping from us, it’ll be better for everypony if you just told us now.” “I don’t k-know anything about it!” Coco cried out, quivering in fright. “When you came here this morning, you were frightened, but you weren’t crying. Why is that?” Twilight asked. Now that Trixie had ruined any sense of security Coco may have had, Twilight decided to get straight to the point. “Wouldn’t you be sad, knowing your boss was so brutally murdered?” Coco looked down, refusing to meet either of the detectives’ eyes. “I... I’m not very sad she’s gone... but that doesn’t mean I did it! It’s just... she was so mean to me. I’m not sad, but that doesn’t mean I wanted her dead!” Twilight copied that down in her notebook. “Does... that make me a bad pony?” Twilight shook her head and chuckled. “Trust me, I know a few ponies myself who I wouldn’t shed any tears for.” That got a small smile out of Coco, who straightened up a bit. “Before we go, if you have any information at all- anything, even if it seems unimportant -now’s the time to give it up.” “Well, there is one thing...” Coco started. Twilight urged her on with a wave of her hoof. “Suri and I were both part of this group. We met-” Coco was interrupted by a ruckus in the commons. “Hold that thought!” Twilight shouted, getting up and running out, followed closely by Trixie, who had assumed the worst and drawn her gun from its holster underneath her cape. They got to the commons, where ponies were running to and fro in a blind panic. In the middle of the room, in a trashcan sitting beside somepony’s desk, a large fire had sparked, causing the sprinklers to activate and douse the room in water. “Glad my desk isn’t here anymore,” Twilight commented. Trixie grabbed the tail of a passing pony. “What happened here?” she asked the confused stallion. He shrugged. “The trash can just burst into flames, and the sprinklers went off!” he explained. The sight of his desk in the corner being soaked caused him to panic. “Oh, horseapples! My report’s getting wet!” He ran off, leaving the two mares to observe the chaos once again. “We should go get Captain Shimmer,” Trixie noted. Twilight shook her head. “No, that’s a bad idea,” she responded, imagining the horrible consequences the strict mare would unleash on the entire station. Except you, Twilight thought, looking at Trixie. “It’ll get sorted out. C’mon, we’ve got some information to gather.” The two detectives returned to the interrogation room, where they had left Coco waiting. “Hopefully she hasn’t changed her mind about sharing what she knows with us,” Trixie commented before the entered. “Sorry about that, miss Pommel, there was an incident in the commons,” Twilight explained as they entered the interrogation room. Coco didn’t respond. She was looking down in her lap, unmoving, completely ignoring the two detectives. Trixie stepped forward. “You were saying something before we were interrupted?” she prompted, to no avail. The mare didn’t answer. “Hey, Trixie is talking to you!” Trixie put her hoof on Coco’s shoulder and shook it, causing her head to roll back, revealing the large, burnt slit running from one end of her throat to the other. Coco had been murdered.
Chapter OneDetective Twilight Sparkle The mare in question finished rubbing a cloth against the nameplate affixed to her brand-new office door. It gave her office a much more authoritative look, she thought, despite the fact that it was a storage room merely two days prior. Nevertheless, she had her own office now, and that was all that mattered. It wasn't the office itself that was important to Twilight, but the reason she had gotten the office- she had finally been promoted to full-blown detective of the PVPD, a goal which she had struggled and fought to earn for years. It was an amazing feat, for a beat cop working the streets of a city like Ponyville. There were very few opportunities for a police officer in the crime-free city to prove themselves. Perhaps, in a larger city like Fillydelphia or Manehattan, Twilight might have been made a detective long ago, but she was not in either of those cities, and had to wait for her chance to impress her higher-ups. And impress her higher-ups she did! Just a few days ago, a rare murder occurred in the city, and the victim was the secretary of the mayor, no less. She had dazzled the mayor with the quickness with which she solved the case, even after the actual detectives had been stumped, having rightfully realized that the secretary was murdered over a gambling debt she owed. Her superiors had taken the prime suspect's alibi at face value, yet only Twilight had had the motivation to continue following that lead. After she solved the case and helped apprehend the suspect (and not a shot fired!) the mayor had personally promoted her to the rank of detective, bypassing even the authority of the police captain. Twilight stood in her office, surveying all that which was now hers. A small desk sat near the back, its cleared surface begging to be worked on, and a row of empty filing cabinets behind that. The walls of the room were grey- this didn't surprise her, it was a storage room prior, after all -and there wasn't a window in sight. A single fan hung down from the ceiling, turning lazily in the summer heat. Well, it’s a start, she thought, making her way to the desk. She made to sit down, only to be surprised by the lack of a chair behind it. She sighed and sat down on the cold cement floor, glaring at the office around her. She had expected something a bit better, and was upset at what she had gotten. Her old desk in the station was preferable to this! Twilight sighed as she made the sad realization that the less than ideal office should have been an expected occurrence. While she had been promoted by the mayor, and her captain had no means to dispute or overrule that, she still was the one in charge of assigning offices. The captain had never liked Twilight, a fact she never bothered to hide when the two were made to interact. Twilight couldn’t fathom why- they had both served together in the Great War, in the same regiment, even. Most were inclined to believe the captain’s cold temperance towards Twilight was due solely to the speed at which Twilight was rising through the rank of the PVPD, despite having come back to Equestria at the same time, but Twilight knew better, as the captain had started displaying her distaste for the mare after only a few weeks into their service together. Twilight, being well-read but not long-lived and naive due to that, had decided long ago to simply avoid her captain as much as possible. Twilight stood up from the cold floor, intent on getting coffee, and proceeded out her door, only to bump into another pony who was walking in. The pony muttered his apologies, rubbing his muzzle. “Sorry, terribly sorry, m’am...” he said, “nopony else is ever in this storage room, you see. I wasn’t expecting to bump into anypony.” Twilight sighed internally. “Oh, it’s all right, sir,” she said to the custodian. “But... this isn’t a storage room any more. It’s been converted into an office.” The custodian looked around, a look of surprise evident on his face. “Really?” he asked. Twilight nodded. “Well, where’s the storage room now?” Twilight told him, said goodbye, and quickly left her office, fearing any more interruptions. Her enthusiasm at her promotion had already been soured by the lackluster office she had been given, and she desperately wanted coffee to help her see the bright side of her situation. As she walked through the halls to the break room, where the coffee machine was kept, she walked past the door of the captain’s office, its door closed and the sound of muffled conversation emanating from inside. Twilight ignored it, not interested enough to listen as she continued on her way. Fate, however, seemed to have other plans, as the door to the office creaked open after Twilight had passed and a voice boomed from inside. “Sparkle!” cried the familiar, feminine voice, stopping her in her tracks. “Get in here!” Twilight obeyed, mentally berating herself for coming this way in the first place. She could easily have gone around the long way, as she usually did, had she thought of it in her mental state. She trotted into the captain’s office. The office was as opulent as her own was bare. A mahogany desk covered in trinkets sat to the right, in front of a large window which one could use to survey the entirety of Ponyville square. The walls were covered in bookshelves filled with texts, both old and new, all dog-eared and well-read. Not a single photograph was to be seen in the room. And behind the desk, sitting with an impatient stare aimed at Twilight, was Captain Shimmer. The captain’s fiery red and yellow mane contrasted greatly with the cold tone in her voice as she spoke. “Sparkle,” she started, no enthusiasm in her voice. “Congratulations on your promotion.” Twilight looked down and kicked the floor. “Um, thank you,” he said, surprised at the praise, even if it wasn’t genuine. “You wanted to see me?” Captain Shimmer nodded and pulled open a drawer in her desk with her unicorn magic, retrieving from it a manilla folder. “You are, of course, quite good at what you do, correct? The mayor herself promoted you to your current position, after all.” Twilight merely nodded in response, not liking the direction the conversation was heading. The captain never complimented her without reason. “The first murder in Ponyville in years, and you quickly manage to solve it, even after the detectives on the case had reached the end of their leads.” Captain Shimmer opened up the envelope and levitated a few documents out. Attached to the papers by a paperclip was a photograph- Twilight managed to make out the colour blue before the sheets were shuffled around and the photograph hidden. “So tell me, Sparkle. How good are you, really, at what you do?” Normally, Twilight would have humbly muttered out something along the lines of ‘just doing my job’, but the condescending tone the captain spoke to her in sparked anger in her mind. “I’m the best at what I do, captain! I can solve any case this city throws at me!” The small smile that appeared on the captain’s face made Twilight’s heart drop. She had a feeling she had just said something the captain had wanted to hear, and if the captain was happy with something she had said, it didn’t mean good news for her. “Perfect. We wouldn’t want our newest detective learning from anypony other than the best, now would we?” the captain replied. She placed the documents back into their folder and tossed it towards Twilight, who caught it in her magic. “Why don’t you get acquainted with your new partner while I go get some coffee, then?” Captain Shimmer stood up, leaving Twilight at a loss for words, and left the room, closing the door shut behind her. Twilight sat in her chair for a few more moments, confused, before coming to her senses. Partner? she mentally asked herself. With a flourish born from anger and curiosity, she opened the folder to review the contents. She managed to read the name of her new partner before being interrupted by the feeling of breathing on the back of her neck. “Do you like what you’re reading so far? Trixie knows she does!” Twilight jumped up in shock and let out a not-so-professional yelp of surprise. With her heart beating violently in her chest she twirled in place to face her unexpected visitor. The first thing Twilight noticed was the star-spangled purple hat and cape, of the sort one would expect to see on a stage magician but not a detective, rookie or otherwise. She had had an azure coat not unlike that of the sea, and a sky-blue mane, streaked with stripes of silver and fashioned in a way that must have been detrimental to police work. The pony’s purple eyes stared at Twilight with a confident glare. “I am the great and powerful Trixie! You must be the Twilight Sparkle that Captain Shimmer has told me about. It’s an honour to have the opportunity to work with you,” she announced. Twilight continued to stare in shock at the strange pony before her, her mouth hanging open. “Where... did you come from?” she inquired of the pony. Trixie pointed to a chair, half-hidden between two bookshelves, near the back of the room. “Trixie has been here all along,” she replied. “She heard your conversation with the captain. That mare really dislikes you.” Twilight just nodded. The door creaked open and Captain Shimmer returned with a cup of hot coffee. “So, Sparkle, it’s your responsibility to teach miss Lulamoon here how to do your job. You are the best, after all.” Before Twilight could voice her displeasure, the captain made a waving motion with her hoof, indicating she wanted the two partners to leave. They did. Now, there are a few words Twilight would never describe herself with, and “social” was at the top of the list. Friends were something for other, less-busy ponies to indulge in. Her youth was spent poring over books of all sorts, from fiction to biographies to technical manuals, and never spent playing outside with other foals her age. She simply didn’t feel like she needed the companionship other ponies so craved. So, having a partner wasn’t something Twilight was looking forward to. The two walked in silence towards the break room, Twilight in discomfort and Trixie with her nose up high in the air. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, or at least, that was how Twilight perceived it. “What did you do to make the captain dislike you so much?” Trixie asked out of the blue. Twilight merely glanced at her, ignoring the question. She had no answer. When she didn’t get an answer, Trixie just shrugged and trotted off to a box of pastries sitting out on a table. Twilight walked over to the coffee machine, the only thing on her mind the thought of obtaining a long-overdue cup of coffee. She levitated a mug towards her and lifted the coffee pot out of the machine- “Murder! Murder!”
Chapter Two“Murder! Murder!” a hysterical voice screamed out, causing Twilight to lose her concentration and drop the mug she was holding, shattering it on the floor. The voice came from the lobby and sounded strained, as though the screamer was not accustomed to speaking loudly, and either belonged to a mare or a young child. Twilight sighed and turned to make her way to the lobby. Trixie, upon noticing her partner leaving, fell in step behind her, much to Twilight’s annoyance. When they arrived at the lobby they saw the screamer in question, a mare with a coat the colour of cream and a striped mane of cyan. She was being calmed down by a policecolt, who was holding a jacket over her and trying to get her to explain yourself. “Miss, what happened?” he asked. “We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us.” The mare stared blankly, that blank stare that adorns the faces of those who’ve suffered some great tragedy and are trying desperately, helplessly to make some sense of their lives. Twilight felt something poke her flank, and turned to see Trixie trying to get her attention. “Go talk to her,” she whispered before pushing her towards the young mare, “otherwise the great and powerful Trixie will have to steal the spotlight and do it for you!” Trixie urged her on, waving her towards the shocked pony, and Twilight glared back. She didn’t enjoy speaking to well-adjusted ponies, let alone ponies who were clearly in shock, but trotted forward anyway. She waved the policecolt away and sat down beside the distraught mare. Twilight noticed, from her new vantage point, the dry eyes of the mare and mentally noted it down. She cleared her throat to get the mare’s attention, to no avail. “Hey there,” she started, putting on her game face. “What’s your name?” The mare turned her head slightly in Twilight’s direction, which she took as a good sign. “I’m Twilight,” she said. “Can you tell me your name?” The mare looked down and shivered a bit, pulling the jacket draped around her shoulders tighter. “We can’t help if you don’t say anything to us.” The mare continued with her silence, and Twilight sighed and stood up. She made her way to Trixie, who was waiting eagerly for her partner to return. As Twilight was leaving, however, the mare spoke up. “...Coco,” she said, her voice as soft as her demeanour. Twilight turned to her, surprised that the mare had finally found it in herself to say something. “What did you just say?” she asked. The mare repeated herself. “My name is Coco Pommel...” she muttered, looking down at the ground. Twilight managed to make out what she said this time and went back to her chair beside the mare. “Alright, miss Pommel. Can you tell me what happened? Why did you come running in here, making such a ruckus?” Twilight put on her best smile, hoping it would be enough to get the mare to open up. The mare gulped, and Twilight noticed how tense she seemed. “T-there was a m-m-m...” the mare seemed to be struggling to say the word, and was on the verge of breaking down again, when Trixie came forward and rubbed her back, telling her that everything would be alright now, a change in the unicorn’s demeanour that surprised Twilight greatly. What had happened to the arrogance from before? Coco, after a few moments of comfort from Trixie, opened up again. “There was a m-murder,” she explained. “Downtown. I went to work this morning and found her lying there... all bloody and... oh my Celestia!” At that, Coco burst into tears, covering her eyes with her hooves and sobbing. Twilight stood up and motioned for Trixie to follow her. Trixie obliged, got up and stopped comforting Coco without any warning, a scowl forming on her face. “Ugh,” she complained when she approached Twilight, “I think I got some tears in my cape.” The ease with which Trixie gave up on the distraught Coco shocked Twilight, but she kept her composure. Trixie was a good actress- and that meant she was a good liar. She’d have to keep an eye on her. “Go down to town hall and pull up Coco’s employment records. If we can’t get her to tell us where she works, we’ll find it there. Think you can handle that?” Trixie nodded and saluted, giving Twilight a nod. “I could do that in my sleep, boss!” She punctuated the last word with a smoke bomb to the ground, which hissed and released a small cloud of smoke into the air, before running off down a hallway. Twilight sighed. The over-dramatic, arrogant mare she was stuck with was going to be hard to tolerate. Twilight briefly wondered why Trixie seemed to look up to her before brushing away the thought. It was likely all an act to get on her good side. Twilight turned and went to go get her coat. They had a murder scene to investigate. Trixie had been true to her word, quickly and easily finding the address of miss Coco Pommel. She worked at a small boutique in the heart of the city, on Bridle Road, right next to Ponyville’s first bar and a thrift shop. Ponyville had grown exponentially over the last two decades, forming from a small farm town into a relatively large city, complete with the hustle and bustle that came with it. While it didn’t even rival the size of larger cities, such as Manehattan or Fillydelphia, it was still considered one of the largest and quickest growing cities in the country. Twilight and Trixie opened the door of the boutique, causing the bell above them to ring. The boutique was a nice little place, with mannequins adorned in beautiful dresses and exquisite suits placed all around. An unoccupied counter sat near the back, a cash register lying on its side, open and empty. A CSI was taking photos of it, along with a shattered wooden door leading to the back of the building. When the CSI noticed the two detectives, she pointed to the wooden door. “Stiff’s that way, detectives,” she informed them, a slight grimace on her face. “You may want to get a face mask.” The detectives looked at each other. Trixie shrugged and grabbed a face mask out of a box that was offered to them by the CSI. Twilight did the same, and the two of them approached the door. Twilight pointed at the splintered wood that remained. “It had to have taken a considerable amount of force to break this,” she speculated. “We’re dealing with an earth pony or a unicorn.” Trixie tutted and shook her head. “No offense, but Trixie doesn’t think you should be ruling out a pegasus culprit just yet. They may not be as strong as earth ponies or have magic like unicorns, but a pegasus that’s built up enough speed could easily break through that door!” Twilight sighed. “Yes, if they don’t mind having a few broken bones afterwards. They wouldn’t have been able to commit a murder if they were injured, now would they? Besides, the front door and this door aren’t in line with each other; there’s no way they’d have been able to build up enough speed to break it down.” Twilight stepped over the shattered remains of the door, leaving Trixie grumbling in her wake. As she stepped in, a burning scent assaulted her nostrils and she gagged, regretting not putting on her mask earlier. Crates lined the walls of the concrete back room, and a long table covered in fabrics and sewing machines stood in the middle. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting a light glow on the room’s contents. The dingy workroom was a far cry from the glamourous showroom out front. Lying on the table, the front of her body hanging off, her front hooves touching the ground, was the corpse of Coco’s boss, Suri Polomare. The smell of burnt flesh wafted off her and a pool of blood formed beneath the table she was so haphazardly thrown upon. Twilight and Trixie put on their masks. “Well,” Twilight said, “it’s time to get to work.”
Chapter ThreeThe corpse of Suri Polomare was one of the worst Twilight had ever seen. Her face was bruised and battered, sporting a broken nose and many chipped teeth. Her mane and coat were caked with blood that had dripped down from the multiple stab wounds on her chest and neck. Her fur was badly burnt, and small wisps of smoke still rose from it, filling the room with a pungent smell. Trixie gagged and ran from the room, and Twilight didn’t blame her. She turned to one of the CSIs that was still going combing the room for any evidence. “Do you have everything you need from the body?” she asked, hoping the answer was no so as to delay the dreadful task before her. “Yeah, we did. Do what’cha want with it,” the stallion answered. Twilight turned back to the corpse and, holding her breath, moved closer. “Oh Celestia, this is bad...” she muttered, turning the body over with her magic. When she moved it, the stench became unbearable, and she dropped it back onto the table with a thud. Twilight mentally prepared herself once more and managed to flip over the body. The mare’s back was completely scorched, black and burnt to a crisp. Twilight fought the urge to vomit and contaminate the crime scene. The mare’s burnt, but there’s no fire damage to the building, she observed. It was precisely controlled. Fire magic. “Did you find anything useful?” Trixie asked from the doorway. Her face was tinged with green, and her pointed wizard’s hat was nowhere to be seen. “It would be quicker if you came over here and helped me,” Twilight grumbled. “Not much use having a partner if she’s not willing to do anything.” “Er... yes,” Trixie said, seemingly embarrassed. “Trixie was just... investigating the showroom. For clues. She found none, and will... help you now.” She slowly creeped into the back room, staring at the body as though she expected it to jump up and maul her if she made any sudden moves. Twilight looked at Trixie. This mare is not cut out for police work, she thought. She’ll quit after a day. An idea formed in Twilight’s mind, a plan to test her new partner. After all, it was her job to teach Trixie about being a detective, and what better way to teach somepony than to give them tests? “Whoever did this used fire magic, so it was definitely a unicorn. I think the killer came in last night when the vic was closing shop- notice the dried blood on the victim’s mane; this happened a while ago -and threatened her. Probably a robbery, judging by the cash register. Then, the victim ran in here and locked the door, but the culprit blasted it open with magic and attacked the vic. Vic was thrown on the table, got her face beat up, got stabbed to death, then the culprit took the money in the register and fled.” Trixie hummed. “Really?” “Do you have a better idea?” “Well,” Trixie started. “Yes. Yes Trixie does. Trixie thinks the motive for this murder was personal. This murder was too violent to be a robbery. Trixie thinks the murderer wanted to make it look like a robbery to cover up their tracks.” Twilight nodded. Trixie had come to the same conclusion that she had, and she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. “Well,” she said. “I guess there’s some hope for you yet. Come on, we’re done here.” Twilight stepped over the shattered remains of the door and left the back room, Trixie following, eager to get away from the smell. The two made their way back to the station, walking in silence. The day was cold, and specks of snow had started falling from the grey sky above. Soon enough they would blanket the world in a layer of snow, and the beginning of the coldest season would start. “The murderer must be a pretty powerful unicorn,” Trixie commented as they walked. “They used some pretty strong magic to break that door.” Twilight nodded. She had had the same thought as soon as she saw the burn marks on the victim. She wasn’t keen on facing a spellcaster of that magnitude- she was an adept sorcerer herself, and she knew it, but when she pictured what the murderer had done to Suri in her mind, she felt a jolt of fear shoot through her. “Yeah. Nothing to worry about,” she lied. “I doubt we’ll have to face them personally, anyway. He’ll probably be nabbed by some cop out on patrol once we ID the guy.” Trixie nodded, unconvinced. “So,” Trixie said, hastily changing the direction of the conversation. “Trixie would like to know more about you. If she’s to be your partner, she wants to know more than just your name.” Oh great, Twilight thought, she’s a talkative one. “Well, I was drafted into army during the Great War when I was eighteen, got out when we won the war when I was twenty-one, became a cop when I was twenty-two, and got promoted to detective last week at the age of twenty-three. Oh, and then I got stuck with a partner who likes asking personal questions.” Trixie ignored the jab. “You fought in the war?” she asked. “Was it as bad as everypony makes it out to be? It must have been terrifying fighting a bunch of bloodthirsty bat-ponies and crazy moon-lovers.” Twilight sighed. “Yes, it was pretty bad. Now, if you want more information, go ahead and ask captain Shimmer, because I don’t have time for this.” “Trixie has asked her, but she never likes talking about it, especially around Hearth’s Warming.” Twilight glanced back at Trixie, who blushed. “Oh, um... we’re cousins. That... might have seemed strange to you, if you didn’t know already.” Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. “Is that why she made you my partner? What, did she put you with me so you could spy on me?” Twilight turned and glared at Trixie, who withered under her stare. “Are you even qualified to be a detective, or did you just get in because you’re related to the captain?” “Trixie is qualified! How dare you doubt her skill! She’s the best detective in Equestria! No, in the world! And for the record, she wasn’t assigned to you, she requested to be your partner! Sunset had nothing to do with that!” The two glared at each other. “Fine,” Twilight finally relented, “I’m sorry I doubted your intentions. But please, no more personal questions.” Trixie nodded. The two continued on their way to the station at a brisk pace fueled by the awkward tension that hung in the air. “Wait, why did you request to be my partner?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Trixie turned her head away. “That doesn’t matter,” she said. Twilight didn’t pursue the question any further. Their relationship was shaky enough as it was. Twilight looked down. Hopefully we can stick together long enough to complete this case. Back in the station, Twilight and Trixie peered through the one-way mirror at Coco, who was sitting in an interrogation room with a cup of water cradled in her hooves. She had calmed down considerably in the time they had been away, and was being questioned by a police officer. “Can you tell me again when you found the body?” she was asking. Coco obliged. It went back and forth in such a manner for a few more minutes before the policemare got up and left, allowing Twilight and Trixie to question her. “Are we going to be doing the ‘good cop bad cop’ routine?” asked Trixie before they entered the interrogation room. “If so, Trixie humbly requests the position of bad cop.” Twilight shook her head and opened the door. Coco looked up at them when they entered. “Oh! Um, hello, detectives. Your friends already questioned me... so...” she trailed off. Twilight sat down across from her, Trixie taking a seat to her right. “Can you tell us the name of your boss once again?” Twilight asked, pulling out a notepad. “Suri...” Coco said, her voice almost a whisper. “Suri Polomare is- was my boss.” “Can you think of anypony who may have wanted to harm her? An ex-coltfriend, or a rival seamstress, perhaps?” Coco shook her head, then stopped and seemed to doubt herself. “No! Well... maybe. Suri is- um, was kind of a, um... difficult pony to be around. She was kind of mean, and, um, rude. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, she, um, had a lot of enemies.” Twilight jotted that down in her notebook. “Can you think of anypony specific, maybe somepony who has been violent in the pa-” Twilight was interrupted by Trixie standing up and hitting the metal table with her front hooves. “Why did you kill your boss, Coco? Why did you do it?!” Coco screamed and fell back off her chair as Twilight grabbed Trixie’s cape and pulled her down. “I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized, glaring at Trixie. “What my partner meant to say was that if you have any information that you’re keeping from us, it’ll be better for everypony if you just told us now.” “I don’t k-know anything about it!” Coco cried out, quivering in fright. “When you came here this morning, you were frightened, but you weren’t crying. Why is that?” Twilight asked. Now that Trixie had ruined any sense of security Coco may have had, Twilight decided to get straight to the point. “Wouldn’t you be sad, knowing your boss was so brutally murdered?” Coco looked down, refusing to meet either of the detectives’ eyes. “I... I’m not very sad she’s gone... but that doesn’t mean I did it! It’s just... she was so mean to me. I’m not sad, but that doesn’t mean I wanted her dead!” Twilight copied that down in her notebook. “Does... that make me a bad pony?” Twilight shook her head and chuckled. “Trust me, I know a few ponies myself who I wouldn’t shed any tears for.” That got a small smile out of Coco, who straightened up a bit. “Before we go, if you have any information at all- anything, even if it seems unimportant -now’s the time to give it up.” “Well, there is one thing...” Coco started. Twilight urged her on with a wave of her hoof. “Suri and I were both part of this group. We met-” Coco was interrupted by a ruckus in the commons. “Hold that thought!” Twilight shouted, getting up and running out, followed closely by Trixie, who had assumed the worst and drawn her gun from its holster underneath her cape. They got to the commons, where ponies were running to and fro in a blind panic. In the middle of the room, in a trashcan sitting beside somepony’s desk, a large fire had sparked, causing the sprinklers to activate and douse the room in water. “Glad my desk isn’t here anymore,” Twilight commented. Trixie grabbed the tail of a passing pony. “What happened here?” she asked the confused stallion. He shrugged. “The trash can just burst into flames, and the sprinklers went off!” he explained. The sight of his desk in the corner being soaked caused him to panic. “Oh, horseapples! My report’s getting wet!” He ran off, leaving the two mares to observe the chaos once again. “We should go get Captain Shimmer,” Trixie noted. Twilight shook her head. “No, that’s a bad idea,” she responded, imagining the horrible consequences the strict mare would unleash on the entire station. Except you, Twilight thought, looking at Trixie. “It’ll get sorted out. C’mon, we’ve got some information to gather.” The two detectives returned to the interrogation room, where they had left Coco waiting. “Hopefully she hasn’t changed her mind about sharing what she knows with us,” Trixie commented before the entered. “Sorry about that, miss Pommel, there was an incident in the commons,” Twilight explained as they entered the interrogation room. Coco didn’t respond. She was looking down in her lap, unmoving, completely ignoring the two detectives. Trixie stepped forward. “You were saying something before we were interrupted?” she prompted, to no avail. The mare didn’t answer. “Hey, Trixie is talking to you!” Trixie put her hoof on Coco’s shoulder and shook it, causing her head to roll back, revealing the large, burnt slit running from one end of her throat to the other. Coco had been murdered.
