Trigger Happy Equines

“NO, THAT’S WRONG!”

Service Bell <> checked with Monobunny

< Argument Break >

“Hang on a second, Copper. It’s highly unlikely Maribelle would’ve been able to summon Monobunny at that time.”

“Because it was then that Yoko had his leg cut off?” Copper replied. “That’s not a clear-cut explanation.”

“No, that’s not it. She wouldn’t have been able to use the service bell.”

“Why not?”

“It wasn’t there,” I stated. “When our group first went downstairs during the investigation we came across that sign – the one Maribelle spoke about. We weren’t sure what to make of it at first, so Dopple reached for the bell on the counter to get Monobunny’s attention, but it was missing. Monobunny came along and tore the sign down, allowing us outside. When Dopple checked the rooftop for clues, she came back with the service bell.”

“Oh,” Maribelle exclaimed. “So that’s where it was hiding, up on the roof? I did look for the bell, but since I couldn’t find it, I assumed Monobunny had taken it away somewhere because he was busy. Still, I wasn’t about to risk losing a limb – or worse – by being curious and peeking outside.”

“So that’s how it was?” Button remarked, shooting Monobunny a stern glare. “You knew the killer’s cover would be blown if we spotted them abseiling down the wall so you locked us all inside the hotel, then made it impossible to find you so we’d step out the door and get pulverized!”

“That’s not right,” Lancet said. “If that was the case, the killer themselves would have been breaking the rules.”

“Maybe not!” Button quipped, holding a hoof aloft in a declarative fashion. “You know how Monobunny is with his Ultimate Honesty nonsense. What if it was against the rules to leave the hotel, but if you were already outside before the rule change you wouldn’t technically be breaking the rules!”

“A clever thought,” Mesmer said, “but very wrong. Monobunny has told us that if any changes are made to the rules, those affected must be notified. This leads me to believe that Monobunny wasn’t the one who put up that sign.”

“So it was the killer!?” Inky cried. “They tricked us by pretending it was Monobunny’s threat!?”

“We need to know,” Dopple said, looking up at the monochrome rabbit hoisted above us, his head tilted as if to simulate an innocent puppy. “Monobunny, were you the one who put up that sign? And had you truly banned anyone from leaving the hotel?”

“I can confirm wholeheartedly that I had nothing to do with the sign on the front door or the service bell being removed from its rightful place in the lobby,” Monobunny screeched. “And as Mesmer has pointed out, if I ever wished to ban anyone from leaving the hotel, I would’ve made that rule change absolutely clear!”

“Then who was it?” Maribelle asked.

“I’m not allowed to reveal that,” Monobunny replied, chuckling.

“Figures,” Copper muttered disappointedly. “Otherwise, we’d know who the killer was. I suppose I owe you an apology, Maribelle. I think anyone would’ve been confused if they were in your situation.”

“That’s alright,” Maribelle replied. “This murder is…” she trailed off, tensing a little. “It’s all too much to contend with.”

“Okay, so the killer hid the bell?” Elsie remarked, sighing. “That is a rather clever failsafe, and judging by Maribelle’s testimony it sounds like it worked a treat.”

“Yeah,” Inky said unsurely, tapping at her chin. “But couldn’t they have done anything more? I mean, if you’re going to all the trouble of drawing up a sign and flinging the bell up on the roof, wouldn’t you do something else, like pile a bunch of stuff in front of the door, that way nobody could get through even if they ignored the warnings?”

“Like what?” Lancet asked.

“I don’t know, tins of paint? Crates of fruit? Boxes of crackers? So long as you pile enough in one place it’ll be heavy enough, right? And you have to push the doors open to get out, so it would’ve been pretty easy, especially for a unicorn.”

“You forget,” Elsie said, “that they wouldn’t have been able to even get those things. This has been on my mind since we started this whole thing. How did the killer get hold of everything? The glass container and powder I can accept, but the knife, the rope and the crowbars? It just doesn’t make any sense after how much we’ve tried to put a lid on anyone taking those things!”

“Well,” Sanscript muttered. “You were the one who painted the numbers down.”

“And!?” Elsie shrieked furiously. “If you’re insinuating that I tricked you all by making up numbers, how on Equus could I have fooled so many of you!? We laid all the weapons out neatly, nothing hidden, nothing missed!”

“That’s right,” Dish Panner said. “And we know from Monobunny that items in the MonoMart are only ever restocked if they get consumed, destroyed, or leave the dome through the sewage system. Not to mention, the restocks only happen at night, when nobody is allowed inside.”

“Then it’s impossible,” Reph said, trembling. “I c-can’t understand it.”

“No,” Dopple affirmed. “It happened, so it was possible. What we need to do is figure out how.”

“I’ll start,” Dish Panner said. “We all need to confirm that all of our respective checks were done.”

“Not everyone can,” Mesmer put in. “We had this discussion the other day. Inky, Maribelle and Button were all guilty of missing their respective checks. That’s why we ended up picking a designated meeting room in the first place. Am I allowed to be angry about that now?” he said mockingly, staring down Maribelle. “Or is someone’s death and the threat of our execution just a rustling of leaves next to the horrors I unleashed by shouting at Button and smashing some crockery!?”

Maribelle kept her eyes down, evidently fuming. “With all due respect, we have no reason to believe this was the cause of such a thing. Was it not your group that performed the check last night? Since the MonoMart wouldn’t have been open before the murder took place, that would’ve been the last chance anyone would’ve had.”

“There were five of us,” I spoke up. “Dopple, Sanscript, Mesmer, myself and… Yoko.” I had a moment of faintness as I remembered the friend that I had lost. Stop thinking about it! “Well, the four of us can vouch for each other. The check ran as normal, and we stayed outside until closing time. For all of us to have collaborated is unthinkable, I’m sure you’ll agree.”

“It is,” Maribelle replied dourly. “I just can’t think of another way it could’ve happened.”

“The answer is obvious,” Mesmer said. He stayed silent for another few moments.

“Well!?” Elsie snapped irately. “If it’s so obvious, what is it?”

Mesmer sighed. “I’m honestly flabbergasted that nobody has spoken up about it. I don’t want to have to spell it all out.” He stared at me, his expression dispassionate, almost bored. Then he looked away. “Come on, think. If each and every one of our checks was successful, what does that tell us?”

“The numbers,” Reph muttered. “D-do you think they were changed?”

“No,” Dopple answered. “I made sure to memorize them all.”

“Same here,” Copper said. “And I would’ve definitely noticed if half a dozen crowbars were pulled from that amount.”

Dopple sighed, resting her head in her hoof. “I should’ve realized something was off. I knew it was strange that there were only three crowbars when I could’ve sworn there were more there on our first day. Then there’s the differing number between kitchen knives and combat knives. Why stock eight of one and seven of the other when they’re the same size?”

“Quite the observation!” Monobunny chimed in. “As it happens, the MonoMonoMart does indeed stock eight of each type of knife!”

“So it definitely came from there?” Lancet asked. “There weren’t any hidden weapons being kept somewhere else?”

“Absolutely not! The MonoMonoMart is the only place someone could acquire such weaponry. I thought you should’ve all learned this after the first day.”

“That’s true,” Dish Panner said. “We searched pretty much everywhere and couldn’t even find a knife in the kitchen, let alone crowbars.”

“Then how?” Copper muttered. “How did the killer get to them?”

Everyone was looking around, as if waiting for the answer to jump out of thin air. If Mesmer says it’s obvious, I said inwardly, it must be staring at us in the face. But what!? I almost began losing the plot, entertaining all manner of convoluted methods, when it finally dawned on me. I slapped myself in the forehead, damning myself for being so stupid. “You’re kidding me!”

“So you finally realized it,” Mesmer said smugly. “Wars have been fought and won in less time.”

“Mesmer was right, it’s obvious.” I straightened myself up. “The killer would’ve only had one chance to render the stock check obsolete, and that is to have taken the items and hidden them away before the first check ever took place. More specifically, it would’ve been just after the first trial.”

“That’s right!” Sanscript exclaimed. “Everyone went their separate ways before Monobunny called for a meeting in the dining hall. After that, we were all accounted for, except..." His eyes grew wide. "Greyscale and Dopple. They were the only ones who left the dining room before the the first stock check took place."

"Greyscale and I can confirm each other's alibis," Dopple said. "He'd gone straight to his room after an argument with Mesmer, and I followed after him."

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "And there was barely any time between me reaching my room and you knocking on the door, so it's not like you could have darted to the MonoMart before showing up."

“I see,” Lancet mused. "That means the killer had to have gone to the MonoMart after the first trial but before Monobunny called for the meeting. Was anyone seen going towards there during that time?”

I took in a deep breath. “Yes. Someone did go to the MonoMart just after the first trial. I know it for a fact. It was...”

Who went into the MonoMart after the end of the first trial?

Doctor Lancet Scalpel

Yoko Zuna [DECEASED]

Pinkie Pie [DECEASED]

Sanscript

Dish Panner

Shetland Yard [DECEASED]

Button Mash

Cube Rick [DECEASED]

Dopple Ganger

Ink Slinger

Copper Fields

Mesmer

Antonio Rephael

Elsie De Pone

Maribelle Cheval-Gelding

Greyscale