Author's Note
I hope everyone enjoys this taste of my next project. After I finish the last two chapters of another episodic fic I'm working on, this will be my new project, where I'll focus just about all my efforts.
Please note: The anecdote about the mirror in the zoo has been adapted from a story told by the "Homicide Hunter" Lt. Joe Kenda about something that happened to him during his own childhood. Just a disclaimer so I am not accused of plagiarism, or worse: coming up with a story that awesome when it actually happened to someone.
Extaordinary Rains
Extraordinary rains pretty generally fall after great battles. -Plutarch
“Code Blue, I’m placing you with Senior Detective Ten Zero Zero. I think you two will make a good team,” the Chief said. His mustache twitched slightly as he sat back in his leather chair, the faux mahogany desk separating him from his new hire by a space of almost six feet. “He’s been with the department for decades. I can’t think of anyone better to get you up to speed. Any questions?”
The sky blue Pegasus seated on the undersized swivel chair on the other side of the gargantuan desk nodded. His indigo mane kept its composure as he answered, “Is Ten Zero Zero an employee number, or something?”
“No, that’s his name. I know, peculiar. He usually goes by Zero. Anything else?” the chief asked with palpable disinterest. “No? Great. I’ll go introduce you. Feel free to send me an email if you need any help settling in.” He trotted out the door. Code Blue took the hint and hurried out after him.
Compared with the dark interior of the Police chief’s office, the light of the floor was blinding. Code Blue scrambled to keep up with the chief, who moved with incredible alacrity given his plumpness. The duo sped by police officers taking calls and interviewing witnesses as they progressed toward the far end of the office. Approaching a large, enclosed space, the Chief opened the door and motioned Code Blue in. Code Blue marched in and observed his new surroundings; a quieter, more dimly lit room. A pink and orange Pegasus secretary typed away at her desk in the front near where you entered. Behind her sat perhaps a dozen pairs of desks, arranged back to back and perpendicular with the entry. The chief entered and sauntered over to the desk at the far right end of the room, where a greenish-silver earth stallion with a brown mane sat hunched over some papers.
“Zero,” the chief began, causing the stallion to look up and meet his eyes.
“Chief,” Zero acknowledged with a curt nod. Zero’s eyes studied Code Blue curiously.
“This is your new partner, Case Blue.”
“Code Blue,” Code Blue chimed in, not willing to grin and bear the mistake.
“Yeah. Show him the ropes,” the chief ordered. Turning tail, he walked right out of the room and back in the direction of his office.
Code Blue returned his attention to Zero, who continued to study him with tired eyes. After a long seven seconds, Zero smiled softly, standing up. “Well, I wasn’t expecting a new partner. Didn’t even know we were hiring, but that’s the chief for you. Goes to too many press conferences and council meetings that he barely concerns himself with police work anymore.” He extended a hoof to Code Blue. “Detective Ten Zero Zero. Zero is fine. Welcome to Cincinneighti Homicide.”
Code Blue shook his hoof firmly. “Thanks.”
With that, Zero turned his back on his new partner and began examining the desk. “Let’s see here…No free desks, but we should be able to share.” He pushed his stacks of papers toward the side of the desk closest to the window. “You take the aisle. Seniority and all.”
Finding a loose chair and bringing it over, Code Blue sat down in front of his new half-desk. Scanning it, the emptiness of his workspace struck him.
“We’ll get requisition your computer from IT after lunch,” Zero said, as if sensing Code Blue’s feelings. “Now, you’ve got to tell me; you’re real young to be a detective, kid. You must have done some stellar work on the beat in some other police department, right?”
“No, actually,” Code Blue replied.
“No police work? What the heck got you in then?”
“They seemed very impressed with my education and expertise in the interviews.”
“Oh-ho, college boy, huh?” Zero chided. “Even that shouldn’t have gotten you in though. What’s your background?”
“I Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Chicacolt Polytechnic. Went to medical school, but, uh, now I’m here.”
Zero raised an eyebrow.
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Code Blue preempted.
“Fair enough. No need to divulge your life story on the first day.”
Code Blue shuffled in his chair. “What about you? How long have you been here?”
Zero gave another soft smile, the deep lines around his eyes consolidating. “Oh, I started back as a beat cop in Fillydelphia just about as soon as they’d take me. Transferred to Cincinneighti not too long after. I’ve been with the department maybe forty years. Detective for thirty of those, homicide for the last twenty-seven.”
Code Blue showed some surprise at this. “Wow, so, a while, then?”
“I’ve seen it all, that’s for sure.” Zero replied. He motioned his head toward the room’s other desks, where perhaps ten ponies were working. “We’ve got about thirty full time detectives, all working in this room. Narcotics is on the far side, some of the detectives there and I have a friendly rivalry going on. Red Hot is the only detective in Arson, he hangs around with them a lot. White-collar-crime detectives are next, then burglary. A few here and there on violent crime. You’re the new seventh detective in homicide. The others look like they’re out now, but you’ll meet them soon enough.”
Code Blue nodded as Zero pontificated.
“Alright, are you ready to get started?” Code Blue asked. Again, Zero nodded. “Alright, now I’m working on a case summary for a pretty cut-and-dry murder last week. We need to do this for every case, because the deputy district’s attorney needs it to do some prosecution paperwork, or something. You’ll meet her soon, I’m sure. Won’t that be a treat…”
A cacophonous clanging ripped Code Blue from his slumber that very night. Through his blurry vision, Code Blue was just able to perceive the first digit on the digital clock by his bed, which read “1”. Groaning, he fumbled around before answering his phone. “Hello?”
He was met with an exceedingly feminine but professional voice. “Detective Blue? It’s Pretty Penny, Administrative Assistant. Detective Zero needs you down at the department immediately, a homicide was just called in.”
Code Blue let out a pitiful groan. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”
Twenty-five minutes later, Code Blue stumbled into the office, tightening his tie and shaking the rainwater out of his mane. The pink Pegasus secretary he recalled seeing that morning greeting him happily. “Detective Blue, right? Zero is waiting for you in the kitchen.”
“Thanks,” Code Blue replied, suddenly feeling the need to straighten himself up and project his voice. “You’re Ms. Pretty Penny? Weren’t you here this morning?”
The mare giggled demurely. “So formal! You detectives aren’t the only ones that have to work off the clock, you know!”
“Alright then. Well, thank you for the wake-up call. I’ll be seeing you.”
Pretty Penny rested her head on a hoof and smiled. “Mmm hmm. I hope so!”
Code Blue walked through the door into the kitchenette to find Zero seated at a table waiting for him. On the table sat two cups. “Why are we in here?”
“Because,” Zero began, “I need you in top form. Drink this. You like coffee?”
“I drink it once every so often,” Code Blue replied, sitting down. “Usually not this late, though.” He looked into his cup to find a sea of steaming black staring back at him. He crinkled his muzzle. “Do we have any cream?”
“What are you, a thirteen year-old filly? Drink your damn coffee,” Zero ordered. As Code Blue put the cup to his lips, Zero spoke rapidly. “Our first case as partners-in-law. I’m glad to see that even this late you understand the importance of looking professional, by the way. 21 year-old earth pony mare, found dead in an alleyway. Cause of death appears to be a stab wound. Ready?”
Code Blue shuddered from the bitterness and the heat as he put his empty cup back on the table. “As I’ll ever be.”
The duo took the building’s elevator to the basement, and the doors opened to reveal an underground garage with all manner of police wagons and cargo rickshaws. Following Zero to the end of the garage, Code Blue was met with a startlingly unfamiliar sight. “Are those-“
“Automobiles? Yeah, they are. Expensive as all get out, and only enough of them for the detectives, but this way we don’t have to force an officer into running around the city in the dark of night with two full-grown stallions and four hundred pounds of wood attached to him.” Zero opened the driver’s seat door with a four digit code on a small keypad and motioned to Code Blue. “Get in, the sooner we get there the better.”
A few minutes passed in silence as the duo began cruising on the streets of Cincinneighti toward the west side of the city. It seemed Zero had nothing to say, and Code Blue was too interested in the fact he was travelling in a self-propelled vehicle to think about anything else. The city outside was pitch black, and torrents of rain fell rhythmically onto the windshield, only to be cleared by the cycling of the windshield wipers.
However, a few blocks away from their destination, Zero began speaking again. “I just want you to know, you’re going to be seeing a lot of stuff you’ve probably never seen before. Be ready.”
Code Blue chose not to reply.
Zero parked along the side of the road in what appeared to be a safe and marginally wealthy neighborhood ten blocks from the riverfront; rain cascaded down the side of brick and limestone buildings on either side. The duo exited the car and began trotting toward the small group of ponies gathered around a cordoned-off alleyway fifty feet away.
“Hey Zero, who’s the new guy?” called a scrawny stallion in a soaked police uniform, who appeared to be guarding the police tape from the group of a few curious onlookers.
“This is my new partner, Code Blue,” Zero called back as the duo approached.
“Ah, well, we’ll see how he shapes up, and if he’s as much as a pain in the ass as you are.”
“Hilarious,” Zero growled. “Where are we headed?”
“Stiff’s down that way,” the policepony said, jerking his head down the alley behind the tape.
“Show some damn respect, Taser,” Zero barked as he and Code Blue passed by the group of onlookers and slunk under the police tape. Zero began trotting down the alley to another group of policeponies.
As they trotted through the drizzle toward he flashing of camera lights, Code Blue could hear Officer Taser mutter a half-hearted apology, “alright, I’m sorry…geez.”
Code Blue looked serenely upon the scene in front of him at the end of the alley. A peach colored mare with a sky blue mane much like the color of his own coat lie dead on the cobblestones, surrounded by half a dozen crime scene investigators and policeponies. Blood matted her fur all over her chest, neck and stomach. Her face, though, looked as if she was resting peacefully under the temporary tent erected to shelter the body from the rain.
Zero doubled back to stand beside him as Code Blue looked at the scene, an occasional camera flash illuminating his face. “You taking it okay? I remember how my breath caught in my throat the first time that I saw a victim like this...”
Code Blue stared at the mare’s face. He expected her to yawn gently and open her eyes each time the camera flashed. She never did.
“Remember, as long as she’s happy and at peace now, it’s okay. It’s our job to make things right here by making sure whoever did this doesn’t do it again.” Zero placed a hoof on Code Blue’s shoulder, patting it firmly twice. “Let’s talk to the coroner.” He waved over a tall pony who looked to be about Zero’s age. “Vital Sign, this is my new partner Code Blue.”
The lanky stallion gave a polite smile to Code Blue. “Nice to meet you. We’ll be seeing each other quite a bit.”
“So, what do we have?” asked Zero.
Vital Sign’s green eyes darted between Zero and Code Blue as he spoke, but his unwavering stare when he was not switching targets made Code Blue antsy. “Twenty-one year old earth pony identified as Misty Meadow, found by a resident taking out her garbage. Judging by body temperature, time of death is probably around 12:30 am. Cause of death is blood loss caused by multiple stab wounds-“
“Multiple?! I heard it was a single wound,” Zero interjected. “I don’t like being left out of the loop.”
“Don’t blame me,” Vital Sign cut back dryly, “blame dispatch. I’m not sure on the number, but it appears to be at least a dozen separate wounds. I’ll get a full count during the autopsy.”
“Interesting. How many of those wounds are defensive?” Zero asked.
“None,” Vital Sign said, “oddly enough.”
Zero let out an internal groan, as if he was chewing something over in thought. “Let me think about that. Code Blue, you have any questions for our fine coroner?”
Code Blue thought for a moment, putting a hoof to his muzzle. “This alley is kind of secluded, does it look like the body was moved?”
Vital Sign looked over at the victim. The rain had increased its tempo once again, the building overhangs on both sides providing only limited protection to the group. “Impossible to say. The rain would have washed away any blood trails…There’s barely any blood left on the body. I can have the crime scene techs take a few swabs on both ends of the alleyway, but even if there was a blood trail I can’t guarantee they’ll pick up anything.”
“Good question, kid,” Zero chimed in. “Here’s a pop quiz for you, though: why can we rule out robbery as motive?”
“Well, the amount of wounds would be indicative of a crime of passion. She probably knew the perpetrator to some extent. And she didn’t fight back, so it’s unlikely that a robbery would have escalated.” Code Blue matter-of-factly stormed down the train of facts, sure that he would impress his mentor and end the unwanted tutorial phase of his employment.
“Well, yes, but you’re overthinking it. While you were talking with Vital Signs I asked one of the techs if the victim had money in her purse. She had thirty bits.”
Code Blue crinkled his face up in distaste. “I guess. Doesn’t count though, you cheated.”
“Sure it does. You failed to observe me. Without observation skills you won’t last a week.” Zero turned his attention to Vital Signs. Code Blue let out a growl, which was ignored. Zero turned to Vital Signs. “Who was the first officer on scene?”
“Dazzle Shine. Make sure you scour the scene quick though, I need to move the body back to the morgue and start the autopsy.”
“Got it, I’ll get the report from her last. Come on, kid, let’s take a look.”
Less than an hour later, Code Blue and Zero were parked outside of an apartment building only two and a half blocks from the scene of the murder. It was the victim’s residence, where she and her husband resided.
“Now, listen, obviously keep an eye on this guy. If he has to fake being surprised or is anything but completely distraught, then he’s on our list as a suspect. He’s got possible motive, and their home is only a few blocks away so he has opportunity…”
“Gotcha,” Code Blue said.
“But be gentle. Speaking in large numbers, it’s probably not him, and you’re delivering news that is going to destroy a stallion’s life.”
“Wait, what do you mean I’m going to be delivering the news?”
“Kid, this is the worst part of the job,” Zero said darkly. “It’s your responsibility now. Just remember: kindness.”
“But-what…shouldn’t I observe you do it at least once first?”
“If you think there’s a good way to tell someone their loved one has been brutally murdered, you’ve got another thing coming,” Zero said, opening the car door and making his way to the front door through the drizzle.
Cursing under his breath, and with a big groan, Code Blue lifted himself from his seat and followed, clambering up the steps to the apartment on the bottom floor. Taking a deep breath, he knocked solidly.
There was no answer.
“…He might not be home,” Code Blue said hopefully.
“It’s 3:30 in the morning on a Wednesday. He’s either home or he’s guilty and on a mad dash to the national border. Knock again.”
Code Blue knocked three more times, loud, terrible, empty noises ringing into the street. Some movement was heard inside and a disheveled beige stallion opened the door. He looked about Code Blue’s age.
“Uh, yes? Can I help you?” the stallion asked, a faint but clear flavor of irritation in his voice.
Code Blue waited a moment before realizing that Zero wasn’t going to be saying anything. “Uh, yes. I’m detective Code Blue and this is detecti-“
“Senior detective,” Zero corrected casually.
Narrowing his eyes but not acknowledging his partner, Code Blue continued, “Zero. We’re from the Cincinneighti Police Department.”
“Awww geez… Alright, what happened with her?” The stallion asked, agitated.
“W-what?” Code Blue fumbled.
The stallion opened the door fully. “Come in.”
The pair marched into the stallion’s home as he closed the door behind them. “I didn’t want to leave you out in the rain. Please, have a seat.” He motioned to a living space, with a large couch and several fluffy chairs around a coffee table and a nearby fireplace. The duo seated themselves on the couch while the stallion took one of the chairs. “I know why you’re here, it’s my wife right?”
Code Blue raised an eyebrow and looked at Zero. Zero was looking at him with the same expression, albeit with an amused smirk attached. Turning back to the stallion, Code Blue began, “yes, sir, it is.”
The stallion let out a groan. “I suppose this is all my fault.” He put a hoof on the bridge of his muzzle and closed his eyes.
Silence fell in the room like a heavy sheet.
After a moment, the stallion fidgeted and continued, asking, “what did she do?”
Code Blue was too stunned by the subject’s clear admission of guilt to quickly reply. “You- wait, what?”
“What did she do? Get arrested for a noise complaint? Give beer to middle schoolers? Did she and her friends get picked up for trespassing at some abandoned warehouse? This is the last time I let her go out to buy milk alone at 11pm!”
Code Blue shuffled a little bit, furrowing her brow. “You are the husband of Misty Meadow, right?”
“Yeah, I am. I’m Fuji Apple.”
Code Blue cleared his throat. He was more curious than he should have been. “Does your wife have a criminal record, sir?”
“No. Well, not yet. But I keep telling her that if she keeps up her mischief that she will! Staying out late with her fillyfriends on weeknights and writing love messages to me on private property… Look, she is the sweetest mare in the whole world, but she likes to tease and make her own rules. I’m so sorry she’s caused you trouble.”
Code Blue was feeling really uncomfortable now. He needed to make his move now, lest he become lost under the tidal wave of sentiment. “Sir, we’re here because we have some bad news.”
Fuji Apple Clasped both of his front hooves over his mouth and gasped. “No! Did she assault an undercover cop or something? I’m so sorry, look, I’ll pay her bail…”
Zero, who had remained motionless for the entire exchange, gave Code blue a swift kick in the leg.
Code Blue grimaced but got the point. “Mr. Apple, your wife was found dead at 1am. It’s being investigated as a homicide. I’m so sorry that I have to tell you this.”
Fuji Apple looked right at Code Blue with glistening blue eyes. “…What?”
Code Blue could do nothing but stare back. He let as much compassion as he could muster seep into his face.
Fuji Apple looked up toward the ceiling and went completely motionless.
Zero watched Fuji for a dozen seconds before tapping Code Blue on the shoulder and motioning for him to continue.
Code Blue looked back at zero and shook his head no.
Thirty seconds later the first of them came. Deep, pitiful and racking sobs that rung out into ever crevice of the room. Fuji Apple shoved his head in between his legs, placing his hooves on the back of his head as he sobbed. Zero walked over and placed a hoof on his shoulder, saying nothing as he bawled.
Three or four minutes passed before the sobs and crying tapered out. Zero ran his hoof up and down Fuji’s back a few times.
Code Blue decided to speak up again. “We’re going to catch who did it. I promise. Do you have someone that can take care of you today?”
“Y-yeah…my brother Bismarck lives in the city.”
“Why don’t you go call him? We’ll wait here.”
Fuji Apple got up without another word and walked to the kitchen across the hall.
Code Blue turned to Zero. “Apple…why do I know that name?”
“Big farming family. A few on the east coast got real rich. If I remember right, one of them is real close to Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“Huh,” Code Blue remarked.
“Hey, uh, not bad work.” Zero tentatively said. “It could have gone better, but you understood that he’s just a pony. I’m proud.”
Code Blue smiled, the first time that he had in days. “Thanks.”
Zero smiled back. “And don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to improve.”
Code Blue frowned again at this.
Fuji Apple trotted back into the room, looking a little stronger. “Okay. He’s on his way now.”
Zero decided that he was free to speak again. “Take a day or two to process things. When you’re ready, call the station. We need your help on the investigation.”
Fuji Apple’s voice shook a bit, but his posture was strong. “No. I’m ready to start now.”
“Are you sure?” Zero asked. Fuji Apple bit his lip and nodded. “Alright then, take a seat. We’ll start by asking a few questions, just like the kind of questions you see in detective movies. Let me know if you need clarification or want to stop. First off, do you know of anyone that would want to hurt your wife?”
The sun had risen an hour ago and Code Blue found himself standing in the main forensic lab at the police station. He was gawking at the incredible array of lab equipment; equipment that put the stuff he worked with in school to shame. Three long lab benches were filled with microscopes, centrifuges and boxes of pipette tips. A pair of large monitors on the far side of the lab displayed an algorithm that was being used to analyze a hoofprint.
A light gray unicorn mare with a two-toned electric yellow mane came sliding up to them at speed far faster than can be considered normal. Code Blue stepped back, lifting a hoof off the ground and looking at her with annoyance. She was on her hooftips, smiling up at code blue with shining eyes. “Hey Zero,” the mare called, her eyes never leaving Code Blues’, “is this your new partner that I’ve been hearing so much about?”
“It is.” Zero replied in a much happier tone than normal. “This is Snap Shot, the deputy head of forensics and the primary homicide forensic scientist. She’s only been here eighteen months but she’s already proven herself the smartest pony in the entire Cincinneighti PD.”
“Awwww!” Snap Shot cried, running over to Zero and putting a hoof around his shoulder. “Thanks cuz!”
Code Blue looked at Zero and raised an eyebrow. Zero sighed. “Do you have to call me that?”
Snap Shot, still grinning ear to ear, turned her attention back to Code Blue. “We’re family,” she said, elbowing Zero twice.
Zero’s grin broke through again. “We’re second cousins.”
“Actually,” Snap shot corrected, “we’re first cousins once removed.” She walked over to Code Blue and stood on the tips of her hooves, whispering in his ear, “Zero’s grandparents are my great-grandparents. How cool is that?!””
“Snap Shot, you just met him. Don’t go whispering racy things into his ear!” Zero teased, a huge smirk present on his face.
Snap Shot turned back to Zero. “Please, if I have lewd things to say I yell them. SOCKS!” She clamped both hooves over her mouth before bursting out in a fit of laughter. She began trotting down the row of lab benches, still in hysterics. Zero rolled his eyes and they both followed her to where she had been working on the far side of the bench. They stopped in front of her workstation, Snap Shot having just barely begun to recover from laughter.
“Oh goodness…oh…..oh man….okay….oh… alright. So I ran the samples of blood forensics took from the wounds and coat of the victim. Only the victim’s blood was there, no foreign DNA. Rape kit turned up no evidence of sexual assault either. Also no blood found in the samples taken away from the ends of the alley.”
“So, nothing new for us?” asked Zero.
“Hmmm…No, not really. You didn’t find me a murder weapon so nothing to take hoofprints or magical spectra from. Nothing fun involving blood or DNA or parasites, unfortunately. Oh! Actually, there is one thing. The autopsy is still in progress, but Vital Signs told me to tell you that the victim was pregnant.”
Code Blue sucked in a breath.
“A-Are you serious?” asked Zero.
Snap Shot nodded. “It looks like she was maybe 8 weeks along. I make jokes a lot, but Vital Signs never does. He’s no fun.”
Zero sighed. “God have mercy.” He looked at Zero. “This is a double homicide now.”
Code Blue bit his lip. “It didn’t sound like the husband knew about it.”
“No. It didn’t,” Zero muttered.
There was silence for a few seconds as Snap Shot rocked back and forth on her hooves. “So…Is there anything else? You guys are kinda bumming out the vibe in here.”
Zero and Code Blue spent the next several hours interviewing some of Misty Meadow’s friends that had come forward. Some had seen her the day before her murder but no one seemed to have seen her that evening. The only information they could provide was that Fuji Apple’s description seemed to be correct; she was a mare with a good heart who loved her husband, but seemed to enjoy freedom a little bit too much. The only discrepancy was that some said they went out with her multiple times a week, while others said they only rarely saw her at night.
The duo sat at their desks organizing their notes. Code Blue had begun organizing the case facts on the spongy wall separating the desks, with red string and hooftacks connecting the data and pictures. “Okay, so Misty Meadow leaves home around 11pm, ostensibly to buy milk. She’s pregnant and the husband doesn’t know it…or at least pretends not to know it. 90 minutes passes and she winds up dead two blocks from her home in what looks like a crime of passion. That’s not a lot to go on.”
“I hate to say it,” Zero replied, “but the husband may be back in play again. The proximity to the home and the nature of the crime…He seemed alright but he could be a sick guy. They’re both pretty young. She tells him she’s pregnant, he’s not ready, he snaps, stabs her 17 times? I’ve seen less likely scenarios play out.”
Code Blue chewed on his pen. “He’s been cooperative though. Even provided a DNA sample. Maybe we call him in for another round of questioning?”
Zero nodded. “It’s about all we have to go on now. The next step is setting up a dragnet, trying to find anyone who saw her alive that evening.”
“Detectives,” Pretty Penny called from her desk. “I just got a call that a new pony came forward with information in the Meadow case. She’s in interview room 3.”
Within three minutes they were at the interview room. Opening the door, zero strolled in with the classic introduction. “I’m detective Zero, and this is detective Code Blue.”
A blue mare with a black mane looked up at them from the cold steel of the interview table. “Misty was having an affair.”
Zero was quick to respond. “Hold on now, let my partner start to take notes…Okay, now, tell us how you know this.”
“I’m Cloud Scratcher, I’m…I was Misty’s best friend. We grew up together here.”
Code Blue scribbled furiously on his notepad, taking information down. When he paused, Zero motioned for Cloud Scratcher to continue. “We had our weekly get together at a restaurant downtown. Misty told me that she was having an affair, but wouldn’t tell me who it was with. She was going to break it off that evening because she felt so terrible about doing what she was doing to Fuji. He’s such a good husband to her.”
Code Blue looked up from his notepad. “Did she tell you that she was pregnant?”
Cloud Scratcher flew her hooves to her mouth. “No!” Zero shot Code Blue a dark glare.
“Is there anything else you needed to tell us?” asked Zero.
“Not really, I gave my report of everything to an officer already,” she said.
“Well, thank you very much for your help, miss. You can head out, but leave your contact information with the officer that took your statement.”
Another hour of stewing passed. “We have a new person of interest,” Zero declared. “This whole case just got even more interesting.”
“I’m not sure this new stallion is relevant. In fact, what Cloud Scratcher told us just lends credence to your thoughts about the husband. Misty Meadow meets Fuji a block or two from home after breaking off the affair and apologizes. Fuji goes into a jealous rage and kills her with a kitchen utensil. He wouldn’t even have had to have known about the baby.”
“That’s a whole lot of conjecture. I’m going with my gut on this one, I think we need to talk to our little paramour. The question is, how do we find him?”
“…I’m so tired,” groaned Code Blue.
“All part of the experience. Go drink some more coffee, we’ve only been at it twelve hours.”
Pretty Penny poked her head around the desk, smiling at the duo. “I’m headed home for the day but I have one last message for you both; Snap Shot wants you down in the lab ASAP.”
Zero looked over at Code Blue. “Well, you heard the lady. Go grab some coffee and I’ll meet you down in the forensics lab.”
Code Blue arrived at the lab before Zero did, and was met with the sight of Snap Shot dancing to roaring music. Her tail swished back and forth as she sang along. Code Blue didn’t recognize the lyrics to the song, although the beat of the music was familiar.
Snap Shot looked over and noticed Code Blue standing at the end of the benches looking at her. She danced over to him, stopping in front of him as she sang, “DON’T YOU, DANCE WITH YOURSELF…”
Zero walked through the double doors into the lab at this point, and Snap Shot pointed a hoof at him before moonwalking backward toward the station she was working at and smacking a hoof down on the radio, silencing it. “Big news you guys!” she exclaimed.
“What do you have for us?” Zero asked.
“Well…I did some SNAP analysis of the baby’s DNA from the sample Vital Signs provided me from the autopsy.”
“A snap analysis?” asked Code Blue. Try as he might he couldn’t recall any lab technique with that name.
“Actually, it’s called a SNP anal-“
“Gotcha. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms.”
Snap Shot’s eyes widened and her voice took on a condescending tone. “Wow! Look at you coming and ruining my explanations!”
Zero coughed.
Snap Shot continued, “I call them SNAPs because, you know, that’s my name!” she tilted her head to the side, smiling wide with eyes closed.
“So what did you find?” asked Code Blue.
“Well, I compared the data there with the data from the DNA sample the husband provided. And guess what?”
“Not a match, am I right?” Zero conjectured. “We just learned the victim was having an affair before her death.”
“Like usual, you’re sort of right,” Snap Shot replied.
“What do you mean, ‘like usual’?”
Snap Shot ignored Zero and continued. “The husband almost certainly isn’t the father. But, if you look at the data, there is still far more overlap of polymorphisms than we would expect from a random coupling of two ponies.”
“What does that mean?” Zero seemed to be very invested at this point.
“Oooh, I love this! It’s just like a soap opera!” Snap Shot clopped her front hooves together in glee. “It means that that either the couple was related…hopefully that’s not the case…Or, it means the actual father was a first degree relative of the husband, like his own father, or-“
“-Or a brother,” Code Blue interrupted, his eyes wide from the realization that this really was just like a soap opera.
“Holy nuts,” Zero breathed.
“Wow! That’s interruption number two Mr. Know-it-all-pants! Since you know everything, I suppose you know where the door is,” Snap Shot chided, a hoof pointed directly to the lab’s exit.
“…So that’s the plan,” Zero finished, himself and Code Blue once again seated in the police automobile driving across the city.
“Not that I don’t think it’s the right thing to do, but doesn’t this break some police rules, or something?”
“Following rules,” began Zero with polished wisdom, “is a lot like following a path. As long as you don’t lose sight of the trail and keep moving in the same direction, everything works out. You don’t have to have your hooves touching the dirt.”
“…How do you do this?”
“What do you mean?”
Code Blue shifted in his seat. “Well, I know how you do this, but, I mean, how do you not lose faith in ponykind doing this? I mean, a young mare and her unborn foal are stabbed to death in an alleyway at night, and our top suspects are her husband and her brother-in-law? I feel like I’m at war with everypony I meet doing this.”
“You know how I got interested in police work?” asked Zero. Code Blue shook his head in an ingratiating manner. “I was maybe eight years old and my parents took my siblings and I to the zoo. Now, this was just after they changed the way zoos were structured, mind you, and only small critters were allowed to be held; otters, squirrels, birds and the like. I was pretty bored, but in one of the big pavilions there was a big sign that read ‘THIS WAY TO SEE EQUESTRIA’S MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL’, and an arrow pointing down a dark hallway.”
“I’m guessing you followed the sign?”
“You bet! I dropped my family like a sack of hot potatoes and ran off looking for some real entertainment. I scurried down that hallway hoping to see a manticore, or a dragon, or at least a cockatrice. However, when I got to the room at the end of the hallway all that was there was a full-length mirror, and I was sitting there staring back at myself. And when my Mom came in to get me and drag me back to the main hall, I saw her in that mirror too.”
Code Blue fought the compulsion to roll his eyes, but at the same time a burning-hot shiver ripped across his torso.
“You learn pretty quickly in this line of work that we’re all murderers. Just not all of us have actually killed somepony. You were asking how you keep faith in ponykind? Easy. Any time you see even a hint of kindness, you see the better angels of our nature.”
Code Blue sat silently digesting this thought. The rain had stopped, and the late afternoon sun glinted off of the buildings downtown, streaming in and illuminating the interior. “So that’s really when you wanted to become a police officer?”
Zero chuckled. “That’s when I wanted to be in the justice sector. I wanted to be in the Royal guard or in a SWAT team, but I grew up and I settled. Sure beats being a court bailiff.”
Zero and Code Blue stood right outside of a door on the sixth floor of a somewhat upscale apartment building closer to downtown. Zero made eye contact with his partner, slapping him on the shoulder with his hoof. “I know he’s our guy. My gut tells me. Stick to the plan and we’ll have this case wrapped up in under twenty four hours.”
Code Blue nodded in response and clopped one of his hooves on the door twice.
Only a few seconds passed before a light red stallion with a brown mane and similar facial features to Fuji Apple opened the door. “Oh, hello detectives. You’re early.”
“Roads were clear,” Zero explained. “Thanks for taking the time to meet with us, Mr. Apple.”
“Oh, uh, Bismarck is fine,” the stallion replied.
“Right, of course.”
Bismarck Apple opened the door to his apartment, letting Zero and Code Blue in. It was less grandiose than the real estate pictures shown in the lobby, and much more cluttered. Still, the location was phenomenal.
“Take a seat, detectives,” Bismarck offered, motioning to the couch about ten feet from the door.
“Actually, do you mind if we take a look around a bit here?”
Bismarck frowned. “I’d really rather you not…”
“Please,” Zero said. “It’s for our security, mostly. Making sure no mobsters with weapons are getting ready to jump us and all; won’t take a second. I remember when my old pal detective Order was put in the hospital by a drugged-out squatter-“
“Okay,” Bismarck relented. “Please make it quick though, it makes me feel antsy to have people rummaging through my stuff.”
“I promise, no rummaging,” Code Blue chimed in.
Zero trotted to the kitchen area while Code Blue walked to the bedroom, sticking his head in through the door and giving the area a cursory glance. On the way back to the living area he also opened the hall closet door and gave it a quick once-over before heading back to Zero and Bismarck.
“Thanks,” Zero said, smiling at Bismarck. “Gives us peace of mind.”
Bismarck sat down and motioned for the detectives to do the same. “So, what did you need from me?”
“We wanted to ask you some questions about the murder of your sister-in-law.”
“Well…why would you want to ask me anything?” asked Bismarck. He appeared a little peeved by the question.
“If you must know, we’re considering all possibilities in the investigation, including that your brother may have killed her.”
“Wh-what makes you think that?”
“The proximity to the crime and a whole list of things, but I assure you that this is all just conjecture at this point. We’re looking into everything. Oh, and, uh, please keep the fact that we’re asking these questions to yourself.”
“Oh, o-of course. Our mother came in a few hours ago to be with Fuji so I can be here as long as you need me.”
“Shouldn’t take long,” Zero dismissed. “Now, how well did you know your sister-in-law?”
“Oh, uh, I knew her pretty well, I guess. We’d always be at the same family events. Hearth’s Warming and the like.”
“Uh huh.” The change in Zero’s tone was negligible, but to someone like Code Blue who was expecting it, it sounded like an outright accusation of guilt. “And, what about your brother’s mental state the past few days or weeks?”
“Well I hadn’t seen him for about a month before today, but I suppose he was acting a-“
“Sorry for interrupting,” Code Blue cut in, “but could I use your bathroom?”
“Oh, uh, sure,” Bismarck granted. “It’s the door on the left, attached to the bedroom.”
“Thanks,” Code Zero said, moving to the restroom.
“He’s my new partner, not quite used to living off of coffee and doughnuts you see.” Zero shook his head, as if clearing his mind. “Anyway, what were you saying?”
Code Blue closed the door to the restroom and fumbled in his suit jacket for a small vial, which he gently placed on the side of the sink and unscrewed. Gently picking up the attached swab with his teeth, he swabbed every surface of the bathroom; fixtures, the sink, handles, the showerhead, and a few other various crevices. Placing the swab in the vial and sealing it, he flushed the toilet so as not to arouse suspicion and walked out into the living area.
“Good timing Code Blue, we just finished up. Bismarck, we’ll call you down to the station if we have anything else we need to ask.”
“Okay, detective,” Bismarck said, walking them to the door. “I hope you find the guy.”
As soon as the door was closed behind them, Code Blue pulled the vial out of his jacket and smiled at Zero. “Got it.”
Zero and Code Blue stood outside the doors to the forensics lab. Code Blue in particular was loath to enter. “You know that your ‘cousin’ is…um…”
“Crazy? Yeah, I know. Not subtle about it either. That mare will hit you in the face with a brick labeled ‘crazy’ the first few times you meet her.”
“And after that?”
“Well, you get used to being hit with bricks.”
“I see…” The exchange was not helping Code Blue overcome his apprehension one bit.
“Don’t worry. I’d rather have a crazy pony in that lab. No genius has ever lacked a touch of madness.”
“But plenty of madponies have lacked even a touch of intelligence…”
“Oh, stow it,” said Zero gruffly. He pushed open the double doors to the lab, surprising Snap Shot.
“Ahhh!” She glared at them, having been hit in the flank with one of the doors. “Oh, no!” she groaned. “Not you guys! I was going to go home for the day and snuggle up on the couch with my boa constrictor…”
“…You own a giant snake?” Code Blue asked apprehensively.
Snap Shot gave him a dismissive raspberry. “Please. I own multiple giant snakes.”
Zero stepped in at this point, seeing that the conversation was progressing nowhere quickly. “We need you to run the swab we told you about.”
“Oh!” She said. “That will only take me a couple of minutes.” She nabbed the vial from Zero’s outstretched hoof and ran to her workstation. She pushed the swab over some clean parafilm before placing it in a small centrifuge tube and placing buffer solution over it. Placing it into the centrifuge, she grabbed a spray bottle with her teeth instead of her magic. “Juft a lille lumhihol”, she spat to no one in particular, spraying the parafilm. She eyed it closely, her eyes barely over the edge of the bench as she squatted. “Yup! You guys definitely either got blood or a mild oxidizing agent on this thing!”
Code Blue watched with wide eyes. She was working like lightning. He had been able to follow all the steps, but never would have been able to do them all in the time that she did.
Snap Shot yanked the tube out of the centrifuge with a violet aura of magic and plopped it in another machine that Code Blue didn’t recognize. It looked a little to him like a PCR cycler, but it was far too complex a machine to simply be that.
Snap shot had completely halted her work and was now staring at the computer readout on the nearby monitor, waiting. After about a minute and a half, there was a quiet beep and a graph showed up on the screen. Snap Shot moved her head slightly as she studied it. Turning around, she flashed Zero and Code Blue a smile. “The chance of that blood being anypony’s but Misty Meadow’s is less than 1 in 4 Billion.”
Code Blue let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Zero let out a single chuckle and smacked Code Blue on the back in celebration.
“That’s him, we got our guy.”
Snap Shot coughed. “Yay!” she celebrated sardonically. “Now please leave so I can go home.”
The rain had started up again, the fresh night outside being made even darker with the addition of the thunderclouds. Zero had called Bismarck Apple to the station under the guise of asking him a few more questions, and he had agreed. Now all that remained was to wait for their prey, and spring the trap at just the right moment.
“…I’m not coming in tomorrow,” Code Blue said to his partner.
“Neither am I. We’ve worked darn close to 36 of the last 48 hours.” Zero turned his head to the ceiling, sighing. “Union’s good for one thing, at least,” he breathed.
The lanky cop from the crime scene, who Code Blue remembered as Taser, poked his head into the room. “Zero!” he yelled, not bothering to address his message directly to the detective, “your stallion is in interview 7!”
The detectives practically ran to the interview rooms. Outside interview room 7, the two stopped, panting. “You ready?” Zero inquired.
Code Blue nodded.
“Just like we practiced. Let’s go.”
Code Blue nodded again and opened the interview door, taking a seat across from Bismarck. Zero stood in the corner by the door. “Thank you for coming down,” Code Blue played casually. “We just had one or two more things to ask you about your brother and your sister-in-law, a few things have developed.”
“Absolutely,” Bismarck began. “I’m here to help, detectives.”
“That’s what we want to hear,” Code Blue said. His voice didn’t betray the anger building in him. Did Bismarck really think he was going to escape the long arm of the law? “Now, remind us how you knew Misty Meadows? It’s best that we have it on record here as well.”
“Well, she was my sister-in-law. Whenever I saw my brother or went to family events she would be there.”
“It sounds like you didn’t know her too well then?” Code Blue was enraged now, but the thrill of the hunt kept him on script.
“I wouldn’t say that, but I guess we weren’t particularly close, no.” Bismarck leaned back in his chair slightly.
Bismarck’s smug assurance was making Code Blue sick. It was all he could do not to stand up and sock him one on the spot. “Well, that’s very interesting,” Code Blue smiled darkly, ready to inflict the first blow upon the perpetrator. “Because we have it on good authority that you were involved romantically with Mrs. Meadows.”
Bismarck’s entire face went slack and he began to turn pale. He placed his chair back in the normal position and sat up, his eyes looking directly at the table between him and Code Blue.
“Is that true, Mr. Apple?” Code Blue asked with a touch of venom.
Bismarck swallowed. “I…yes. I just couldn’t say anything before, i-it was private…My brother, I mean…”
“Well now it’s public,” Zero chimed in from the back of the room, between bites of a protein bar.
“Don’t lie to the police Mr. Apple, it makes our job much more difficult,” Code Blue deadpanned. “You were lucky that our questioning isn’t under oath, or you would have been guilty of perjury.”
Bismarck fidgeted in his chair and swallowed across from Code Blue. Code Blue resisted the urge to smile. This stallion deserved to be toyed with.
“It’s going to make it difficult for us if we need you to testify against your brother,” Code Blue began, “the defense will jump on your relationship to undermine the credibility of your testimony.”
Bismarck let out a breath, adjusting himself a little. “Oh- yes, of course.”
“Please do be honest with us from now on. So, you said that you knew of nopony in particular who would want to hurt Misty, correct? She didn’t owe money to anypony?”
“Right,” Bismarck said.
“And your brother? His mental health?”
“Yes, well, he’d been acting a little strange the last few times I’d seen him…And I saw a few things that made me feel that he perhaps was abusing Misty. During one of our…visits I noticed a bruise on her back.”
Code Blue widened his eyes in feigned surprise. “Well, that’s new knowledge to me! See how it helps when you’re honest with us? If we never found out about your affair we never would have found out about that piece of information.”
Bismarck nodded silently.
“Now, let’s keep going on this train of thought, because it may take us somewhere with your brother. Did you ever see any other big signs of abuse? She never showed up with open wounds? You never found blood on her personal effects or in your brother’s house?”
“Oh, no,” Bismarck dismissed heartily. “Nothing like that.”
“Well, see, that is interesting,” Code Blue continued. “Because we found traces of Misty Meadow’s blood all over your bathroom. Isn’t that right, Zero?”
“Oh, yes,” Zero agreed, throwing away his wrapper in the room’s trash can. “I have the results file on my computer.”
“What!?” Bismarck yelped. “You can’t do that! U-Unreasonable search and seizure!”
“Really? Are you so certain?” Code Blue let out a few deep chuckles. “If I recall correctly, you gave us permission to perform a search of your apartment. Isn’t that right, Zero?”
“Eeyup,” came the reply from behind him.
Bismarck’s face had fallen completely. Code Blue couldn’t even see him breathing as he struggled to respond.
Code Blue’s façade finally broke. “The last stand of a guilty stallion. How are you going to weasel your way out from this one, you pail of garbage?”
Bismarck looked up, broken but standing. “I’m not saying anything more until I get my lawyer.”
Zero stepped forward to the table. “You don’t have to say anything, but you have to listen as long as I keep you here.” He glowered over Bismarck, looking into his eyes. “It takes a real sick stallion to stab a young mare seventeen times. It takes an even sicker one to sleep with his brother’s wife, kill her when she tries to end the affair, and then try to throw his brother under the bus when the police come-a-knocking. But you know what type of stallion is really a sack of shit?” Zero looked back at Code Blue briefly. “Pardon my Prench.” He turned back to Bismarck, “the one that kills his lover and his own child at the same time.”
Bismarck’s eyes suddenly grew. “W…what?” he choked out.
Zero was surprised. “Wow. You really didn’t know. I’m starting to suspect Misty didn’t even know. She was eight weeks pregnant with a boy; a little earth colt, it seems. His DNA proves you’re the father. That’s how we got the idea to take samples from your bathroom. Now, you’re going to go to jail for a long time either way, so own up to what you did. A drawn-out trial won’t bring back your son.” Zero rose up to his full height.
Code Blue looked to Zero. Zero smiled back and winked, as if to say, ‘go for it’.
Code Blue turned his attention back to Bismarck. “Bismarck Apple, you are under arrest for the murder of Misty Meadow, and for the murder of her unborn foal.” Code Blue stood up. “An officer will be in shortly to read you your rights.” Code Blue and his partner briskly trotted out of the interview room, leaving Bismarck looking at his own hooves on the table. His face was completely blank.
Zero nodded to Taser, who nodded back and walked into the interview room behind him. Zero looked at Code Blue. “Nice job in there. We got him, but there’s still work to be done. There is no way what we have will stand on its own in cou-“
“Are you kidding me Zero?!” A feminine voice grilled from behind the duo. The detectives looked to find a purplish-red unicorn with a black mane emerging from the observation room located behind the one-way mirror from their interview room.
Zero seemed unfazed. “Ah, Due Process. I assure you, everything is going to be-“
“Don’t you even try,” Due Process barked, her eyes narrowing. “Not after the embarrassing loss I was dealt last case.”
“I’m sure Hard Time is the guy!”
“It doesn’t matter! You were impatient and jumped the gun, and I lost. Now he’s off free. And instead of learning your lesson, you bring me this case? A legally questionable search turns up some blood? They were having an affair, she could have gotten a bloody nose while she was over there! You are so irresponsible tha-“
“Prosecutor,” Zero tried to calmly say, “there will be at least ten days until the arraignment. I’m sure that we can find enough evidence to make the case against him airtight. We’ll get a search warrant and do…something else, and we’ll make it work, I promise. That last case won’t get you fired from being the deputy district’s attorney, either; the job is too important to give to some upstart.”
Due Process just glared at Zero.
Zero cleared his throat. “Have you met my new partner, Code blue?”
Due Process shifted her glare at Code Blue. Her immaculately pressed suit and facial features betrayed her as being perhaps a decade older than him. “Don’t emulate this stallion, detective Blue. He’s caused me a lot of trouble in only a few short years.”
Code Blue surprised himself with his own boldness, “Charmed as well, prosecutor.” Maybe he didn’t like somepony going after his mentor unjustly. Or, perhaps he was just tired and had had enough.
“Oh, great, now there are two of you,” Due Process groaned. “And you’re giving me another garbage case! I have no idea what I’m going-“
Officer Taser exited the interview room and tapped Zero on the shoulder. “Detective, the perp says he wants to sign a confession.”
“Excellent! Draft one up, Taser.” Zero slowly turned his head back toward Due Process, a cheeky grin on his face.
“Unbelievable,” Due Process huffed, trotting away.
“I do so enjoy our little dances, Due Process. Au revoir!” Zero called. “Oh boy, I’ve had my fill of her for the next year.”
“Do we have to inform the family now?” Code Blue asked.
“No, I’ll take care of that. You did good work. I’ll drive you back to your place, if you want.”
“Sure,” Zero said, pleased. “What happened to ‘you’ll inform the family from now on’, though?”
“You’ve seen a lot today. Last thing I want to make you do is tell a stallion that he lost his wife, her unborn foal and his brother. At least Misty died trying to right what she had done wrong.” Zero looked back at the interview room and shuttered. “I didn’t even want to do what I did in there. That’s the last lesson I have for you today though; the harder somepony is, the easier they shatter…Let’s get going.”
The rain continued to come down as thunder shook the speeding car. Code Blue looked at the clock, which read 9:34 pm. He smiled, knowing a full night of sleep awaited him at his apartment. He cautiously removed a flask from the inner pocket of his suit jacket and unscrewed it, taking a big, slow draw.
“Careful with the drink, kid,” Zero said. “I’ve seen a life ended, and more than a few careers destroyed, because of that stuff.”
“As long as you don’t arrest me for an open container violation, I’ll be fine.” Code Blue took another swig and smiled, feeling at ease for the first time that day.
“Alright, just be careful not to ruin your life… Anyway, I used to have a ritual after I solved a case, too.”
“And what was that?” Code Blue asked.
“I used to smoke a big, quality cigar after every arrest. Had to stop eventually though. I got so good at solving cases that the doctor said the habit was becoming a bit of a hazard.” Code Blue smiled. “I still have one packed away though. The most expensive one I ever bought- for when I retire.”
“I have a really nice bottle of cognac at home. It was a college graduation present. I don’t know what I’m saving that for.”
“What are you drinking there?”
“Absinthe,” Code Blue said, finishing off the last bit of liquor in the flask.
“What the hay is that? In my day, we either drank beer or whisky. This generation has grown soft.”
Code Blue chuckled and shook his head, letting out a genuine laugh. “My apartment building is that one, on the left.”
Zero pulled to a stop outside the building. “Good work, Code Blue. I think you and I will make a great team.”
Code Blue stepped out of the car just as another deafening crackle of thunder reverberated through the block of buildings. “I think so too. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“Don’t you dare drink anymore,” Zero said, before closing the car window and driving off.
Code Blue laughed again, looking up at the sky as rain poured down onto him, drenching his indigo mane and black suit. He closed his eyes as listened and felt the rain make impact. “No thanks, I think I’ll go inside and have one more.”
