The language of bones

It took me three years before I managed to memorize exactly where the bones went on the table. Putting the skeleton together on the table was like a 205 piece puzzle, now that might not sound hard, but it is when some pieces are identical. Which goes where? And it's even worse when some are missing. Which, luckily, this wasn't the case.

"How's it going?" Silver asks, walking into my lab. I look up at the Golden/brown Stallion across the room. His silvery mane shorter than I saw last.

"Did you get a mane cut?" I ask him, looking back to my table, trying to piece together the ribs.

"Yes, ya like it?" He asks, flipping it to the other side of his head dramatically. He walks over to my table.

"Yes, your rather dashing. What's your purpose here?" I ask him. Deciding I like the placement for this one Rib, I place it there and pick up another one from a table behind me.

"I can't check up on my favorite mare? Besides you didn't answer my initial question. How goes it?" He repeats himself.

"Not very well." I inform him, trying to place another rib. "There are so many markings and Bone Spurs that this is getting quite difficult." I tell him. Placing another rib, I get my forehooves off the table and face him.

"Well don't let me stop you."

"It's too late, I'm stopped. And you never come to "check up". What do you want?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow. Staring him directly in the eyes.

"I came to drop off the documents regarding the past owners of that house." He says, pulling a file out of his saddle bag. He hooves it to me. I take off my gloves and toss them towards the biohazard bin. I grab the file with my teeth and walk over to a counter by the wall. I place it down and open it up.

Current owner of 407 trottingham lane: Shining Strike

Previous owner of 407 trottingham lane: spear strike (deceased).

Previous owner of 407 trottingham lane: sky strike (deceased)

"Did you take..." I glance at the document again "Shining.... Strike into custody?" I ask.

"We're in the process of doing so. He's vice Captain of Celestia's guard, so it's gonna be a bit." He tells me. "I also looked into those two "strikes" before him. Also part of the guard. The house is loaned out to guards who don't live here in Canterlot." He says, closing the file and putting it back into his bag. "I'm gonna go see if they've made progress at getting Mr. Strike." He tells me walking back over to the door. I turn and walk back to my table, putting a new pair of gloves on then placing my front two hooves on the table. Silver opens the door and turns to me.

"Hey Andreah." He calls.

"Hmm?" I answer looking over at him.

"Three strikes and this house is out."

Thanks to the new spike in technology around here, I have a digital magnifying glass. I move the 'camera' over the spot I want, and it's shown on the screen. It's marvelous. Using this wonderful machine, it seems I've found the marks left by a murder weapon. It's no more than five or six millimetres deep on the left ulna. I'll have to get it to our lab tech, Dr. Wire. He could probobly find what would match that divot. Remembering that he works today, I trot over to my landline and turn the dile for the extension.

"Hello?" A young voice answers.

"Tangled? Mr. Tangled wires?" I ask.

"Yes this is he. Speaking?" He asks.

"This is Andreah Reigns, I'm the lead Hippologist here at RCIS." I speak into the hoofset.

"Ah! Yes! Watcha need Andreah?" He asks, his voice raising in pitch.

"I need you down at my lab as soon as possible." I tell him.

"Right away!" He responds, then there is the unmistakable sound of the hoofset hitting the receiver.

"I made it!" A voice calls, opening the door. I turn to see an orange stallion with a green mane and glasses walk in. I see his Cutie Mark is exactly as his name is. Tangles wires..

"Ah! Perfect!" I yell, lifting a hoof and beckoning him over. I then move the camera over to the possibly perimortem mark. "This here." I tell him pointing to the screen.

"What about it?" He asks.

"If this happened at time of death, the angle and placing would of peirced the major artery in the foreleg." I tell him, showing him on the screen.

"What you need me here for?" He asks, a puzzled look on his face.

"Well. The owner of the horse these remains were found at belonged to someone In Celestia's guard. I want you to measure it and see if you can't match it to one of the weapons the guard uses. Aside from that, I want you to look at dental records and get me an I.D. ok?" I tell him, he slowly nods.

"Got it." He says, putting his front Hooves on the table.

"I'm going to go back to the crime scene. If Silver comes looking for me, tell him I'm there." I say

I head down the stairs to the now empty basement. The only thing left is the caution tape right at the stairs, and the lights around the hole. I brought my own tools in a saddle bag because I knew that once Chief Badge got out of there, he'd take the set of tools aswell. Using my wings, I lift the bags of my flank and set them down next to one of the lights. I take out a pair of gloves and put them on.

I grab my trowel anf I trot over to the hole in the ground and start skimming the ground. Taking light scrapes of dirt and sifting it through the screen. Hoping to catch any particals of metal or something that could help identify a weapon or the killer.

"Knock knock!" Somepony yells from atop The stairs.

"Hey Silver!" I respond, not bothering to look up.

"Late night working? It's already ten" He says, now behind me, watching me work.

"Gets the best... Results." I say, dragging out the last word as my trowel hits something. "Hey, in my saddle bag there is a brush with long bristles. Hoof it here, please?" I ask him, already beginning to work around the object in front of me. He grabs it with his magic and floats it in the air.

"Heh.. it's floppy." He says, moving it in the air.

"Friggin grow up and hoof it here." I tell him sternly. He complies and I grab it from in front of me. It takes another half-hour to get the object out of the ground.

"Silver..."

"Yeah?"

"I think I found the murder weapon." I say, holding up the spear head.