Note-Worthy

Early the next morning, Melody arrived at the maid’s quarters to find a note posted to the door.

“All castle staff are to report to the west wing study upon arrival.”

After a bout of hemming and hawing and a long walk she found herself turning the corner toward the west wing study only to bump snout first into something firm and fall ungracefully on her rear.

“Ow, hey-” she started, but was cut off by a familiar, cheery voice.

“Melody!” Harmony cried, throwing her forelegs around the disgruntled mare. “Finally. How are you always so late to everything?”

Melody looked past her friend down the long line of ponies. “What the hay is going on?”

“Dunno. I saw a note that said to come here, so here I am.”

“Is the whole staff here?”

Harmony leaned over and peered lengthwise down the hallway for a moment. “Looks like it.”

Following her friend’s lead, Melody leaned over to look down the hallway. From her position at the back of the line, she could see the towering hats of the chefs, the long flowing robes of the castle seneschals, and even a fair number of guards-ponies. As she got toward the back of the line she noticed all of the maids lined up in front of Harmony and subconsciously began taking roll call.

“Wait,” she said, counting the heads of the maids lined up in front of her. “Where’s what’s-her-face?”

“Who?” Harmony asked.

“That mare from yesterday.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You know, orange coat, yellow mane, helped us clean the library yesterday.”

“Ohhhhhhhh. You mean Honeydew?”

“Yeah, her.”

“Is she not here?”

Melody swept her eyes over the line and then back over her shoulder. “I don’t see her.”

Harmony shrugged. “I dunno. She’s probably just late or something. Maybe you rubbed off on her already.”

“Hilarious.” Melody grumbled as she watched a pony pass her on the opposite side of the hall and turn the corner back toward the castle proper.

The line moved up a whole half step.

Melody sighed, loudly.

“Great. This won’t take long at all...”

It took an excruciating two hours for all the ponies to be cleared out save Melody, who was doing her best to listen through the doorway. Without warning, it swung open and Harmony strode past her. Melody shot her an imploring look. Harmony simply winked at her and continued on down the hallway, leaving Melody to face the unknown alone.

A green stallion poked his head out the doorway just then. He had a black dress hat on his head and a cigarette clenched between his teeth.

“Looks like you’re the last one,” he mumbled, propping open the door with a foreleg. Melody stepped past him and into the study, jumping the slightest bit as the door shut behind her.

“Sorry,” he said as he walked past her to a table at the center of the room and took up a seat next to a portly turquoise stallion.

“Good morning. I am detective Cortland. And this-” he gestured to the hefty stallion next to him. “-is my partner, Benedict.”

Benedict tipped his hat to her. “Pleasure.”

Melody didn’t move.

“You can sit down Ms…”

“Melody,” she finished flatly, not taking her seat but instead using it for balance as she leaned over it. “And I don’t know anything about what’s been goin on-”

“That’s quite all right,” the stallion said, swinging his legs up onto the table, balancing his chair on only two legs. “We didn’t come here to pry information out of ponies.” He continued with a small laugh. “Ain’t an interrogation.”

“Sure feels like one.”

The stallion allowed himself another small laugh as he brought himself upright in his chair, bringing the other two legs down with a bang. “Sorry bout that, m’am,” he started as he got out of his chair and quickly put out his cigarette in the ash-tray situated between them. “I know what it might look like but I assure you, s’not how we operate. Is it, Benedict?”

The turquoise stallion shook his head. “No sir,”

“See?” Cortland said as he sauntered around the table and leaned over the edge just a pony’s length away from where Melody sat. “We only want to know what ponies already know, not what they don’t.”

Their eyes met and when it became clear she wasn’t going to take the bait, he spun himself back into his chair and threw his hooves back up onto the table.

“So,” he began as he took off his hat and combed a hoof through the red locks of his mane. “What do you know?”

“Look, all I saw was the weird paper statue of Sunburst in the library, that’s it.”

“You didn’t see anything else. A scrap of clothing, a suspicious looking pony maybe, anything?”

“Nope. Can I go now?”

Cortland and Benedict shared a weary look.

Cortland picked up a tiny notepad from the table and spent a long moment looking it over. “What can you tell me about Honeydew?”

“Not much. I just met her yesterday”

“So, she’s just recently been employed here?”

“I guess. They don’t exactly tell us when we’re getting fresh meat around here.”

Cortland picked up the notepad and glanced at it again. “Well, according to your friend, she didn’t show up today. Would you happen to have any idea why that is?”

“I don’t know. Do I look like her keeper?”

Cortland leaned forward in his seat. “Harmony also told us that she was with y’all while you were cleanin’ the library. Is that true?”

“Yup,” Melody said, biting back venom.

“And nothing out of the ordinary happened?”

“Nope. Spent forever cleaning the library, then went home and passed out.”

Cortland looked from his notepad to Benedict, then got up from his char, affixed his hat back on his head and made for the door. Melody followed.

“You’re free to go, Ms. Melody,” he said, propping open the door for her again. “And again, my deepest apologies if I somehow offended you in any way.”

Melody stopped in the hallway just outside the door for a moment.

“Have a good day,” she muttered quickly before starting off down the hallway.

Cortland nodded and shut the door, dragging himself back over to the table and collapsing in his chair.

“You believe her story?” Benedict asked through a mouthful of pastry.

Cortland took off his hat and placed it on the table again, kicking himself up onto the chair’s back legs. “I’m more curious about this ‘Honeydew’ pony. I think we need to make a house call.”