Trigger Happy Equines

P E C K I S H T R O T

˅

˅

˅

S H I R T P O C K E T

“IT CONNECTS!”

“You’ve had a very reliable hiding place on you this entire time,” I declared, pointing a hoof at Shetland. “Your shirt pocket. You could’ve easily fit a keycard, the cord, and a tube of superglue in there and nobody would’ve been any the wiser. It’s not like someone would have thought it odd that your pocket wasn’t empty, either, since you keep that officer’s badge with you at all times. A slight change in the size of the pocket’s bulge would’ve gone unnoticed.”

Shetland’s jaw hung open, his words catching in his throat. He snapped his mouth shut and sighed disgruntledly. “I suppose I can’t argue that it’s possible.”

“Then it’s settled,” I said gladly. “Just after Dr. Scalpel left the locker room Shetland sprang into action, putting Pinkie’s towel over the camera and leaping inside the locker room. Then he used Pinkie’s keycard to open her locker, remove her body, then flew to the diving board, stuck the cord back together using a tube of glue in his shirt pocket and flew back out through the male locker room with the towel, leaving the rest of us none the wiser!” I puffed my chest out proudly, my killing blow dealt. “And that’s how Pinkie’s body turned up out of nowhere!”

“I was right,” Mesmer said, sighing dramatically. “You really thought you had it solved. It’s a pity you’ve neither the knowledge nor the intelligence to realize this case is far from over. Not to mention, your logic is flawed.”

I felt a deep sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “What have I got wrong?” I asked, my voice wavering.

“You claimed Shetland used glue. I can see why as a tube of superglue would be easy to conceal in his shirt pocket, but you haven’t thought everything through. Doctor? If I may, though I already asked you this question during the investigation, could you please tell us the precise events that occurred when you and Shetland exited the swimming area.”

Scalpel nodded. “We had just walked back from the storage room and walked up to the doorway of the female locker room. Shetland and I were talking about Pinkie’s towel and discussing what it could mean. It was then that he spoke about his worry, of his will to protect everyone. That’s when he took his badge out from his pocket.”

My heart leapt into my throat. I simply stared in awe as Scalpel told the rest of her story.

“He said something about it being a symbol of justice, I don’t really remember. But what I do know is that he definitely had nothing else in his pocket. Then I stepped through into the locker room while Shetland walked towards his own. And as Copper said, it was around fifteen seconds or so before he appeared in the hallway again.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Mesmer said. “That was most enlightening. Don’t you think so, Greyscale?”

My legs were trembling. All I could do was concentrate on breathing regularly, which I failed miserably. I could see my entire theory slipping away before me. But how? I said inwardly. It makes so much sense! Nobody else could be the killer!

“It’s interesting to note,” Mesmer continued, “that even without the knowledge of Shetland emptying his pocket it wouldn’t make sense to assume he used glue. Let’s take the estimate of fifteen seconds, shall we? I can believe that Shetland could cover distances from the diving board to the locker room and back in a few seconds. I can believe that he is deft enough to open Pinkie’s locker in a couple of seconds and even fly while carrying her body at great speed. If we were to map out the events and Shetland merely had to fly from the male locker room to the female one, covering the camera as he did so, swoop in and collect Pinkie, drop her onto the diving board, collect the towel and fly out again through the male locker room, it seems feasible given his extreme level of fitness. The part that doesn’t make sense is how he could’ve used the glue.

“If he were a unicorn this would be much easier, but a pegasus can only be so dexterous using hooves to manipulate small objects, especially a small tube of glue. He would have had to collect Pinkie’s body, take it to the diving board, carefully take the tube of glue, finely dab a small amount on one end of the cord, put it around Pinkie’s neck, re-conceal the tube, ensure the pieces of cord are pressed together, and only then could he make his escape. I dare say even the most skilled pegasus would have immense trouble doing that with their hooves or even their mouth and achieving it all within a few seconds. And so, I ask you, Greyscale, since you’ve been so sure of yourself, how did he do it?”

In that moment I wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. Even as I came to the conclusion that Shetland was the killer I had never considered his methods with such a level of scrutiny. Mesmer was right. There has to be an answer! Think! Think!

“Um,” Reph raised a hoof tentatively. “I m-might have an idea. Couldn’t Shetland have applied the glue to the keycard before entering the swimming area? That way he’d only need to collect the keycard and wouldn’t need to spend time applying it. That would explain why he didn’t have it in his pocket – it had been left in the male l-locker room.”

“I don’t know,” Elsie said. “I have a good amount of DIY experience in my career as an interior designer, and basically any kind of glue you might find in a tube small enough to fit in Shetland’s pocket is going to be superglue, or a very close approximation. That kind of substance hardens exceptionally quickly – you wouldn’t want it out in the air for very long or it wouldn’t stick at all, especially in small quantities. Doctor, how long did the two of you spend searching the area?”

“Around five minutes or so, maybe a little longer,” Scalpel replied. “We were very thorough, and once we’d found the towel we spent several minutes rechecking the storage room to see if there was anything else.”

“I don’t think it could work then,” Elsie said. “If the amount of substance on the cord was barely noticeable it simply couldn’t have sustained itself. If it was a large blob, maybe it would be possible since it would take longer for the layers to harden, but in this case it would be too much for what was described of the rope.” She groaned annoyedly. “And to think, I believed we were close to solving this case! I’m holding you accountable for this, Greyscale!”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to pound away at the floor until my hooves were raw. But in the end I could only stand there, stock still, feeling my disappointment wash over me.

“Sorry, Greyscale,” Sanscript said. “I too must agree with Elsie. It simply doesn’t add up. I was able to have a good look at Pinkie’s keycard just before we came to the trial and can confirm that sticky tape and putty are out of the question too. If glue was used, it had to have been applied at a different time. We all make mistakes; it can’t be helped.”

“I’m sorry too,” Mesmer said. “It could be construed that I’ve been wasting everyone’s time, but really I just wanted Greyscale to understand the position that he’s in. So long as he accepts it, I am willing to be more than cordial. As far as Pinkie’s keycard is concerned the answer–”

“Stop!” I commanded, pounding a hoof against the floor. “Just give me a second to think!”

“Greyscale,” Dopple said softly. “Please don’t take it personally. We all need to work together to survive. Your pride is not worth this.”

Pride? I considered. Is that what this is? Is this what happens when I finally find something I might excel at, finally find something that makes me worthy, something that means I’m not just a nobody!?

“Still fighting the inevitable?” Mesmer scoffed. “I’ll give you fifteen seconds to figure it out, the same amount of time Shetland would have had. Starting now.”

I started to panic. I didn’t want to lose when I was so close to victory, not like this. The seconds ticked away. Think! Think! Thi–

Then the answer hit me. The method that Shetland used, how he was able to glue the cord back together. No, not glue, I reminded myself. Something similar, but not glue, not putty, not tape, not velcro, not with a glue dot, and definitely not by tying the cord in knots. Amidst the chaos in my head an answer reached out to me. I had to concentrate. I needed to prove to Mesmer that I didn’t need his help, that I could solve this case by myself, that I finally had a reason to exist!

What did Shetland use to piece the cord together again?

E V A D E P I X Y H O E S