Sea Dweller

“Inspector, were you able to determine if Beacon Bomber is an organ donor?” Turing asked as they approached Sea Dweller’s quarters.

“Hm? Er, no, I’m not certain.”

“Then perhaps we should ask Sea Dweller if she has any knowledge of his status. Since he is currently in refrigeration, many of his organs may still be of use to ponies in need.”

“I suppose, but—”

“With the obvious exception of his heart, of course.”

Dupon winced. “Perhaps that matter could be settled later? In the meantime, perhaps I should take the lead in questioning Sea Dweller.”

“Understood,” Turing said, and stepped to the side as Dupon knocked on the door.

It opened, and the pair were greeted by the sight of Sea Dweller. Her eyes were red and puffy and long, saltwater streaks traced down from her eyes and around her muzzle.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Hello, Sea Dweller,” Turing said. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but may Inspector Dupon and I speak to you?”

“I’d rather… no, never mind,” she said quietly. “I suppose I’d better let you both in.”

She opened the door and led them inside. With her unicorn magic, she pulled out the chair at her desk and drew it to her, taking a seat. She lifted a cup of tea - made with the kettle provided for her room - and took a sip. She sniffled and levitated over a tissue, blowing her nose before tossing it into an increasingly full trash can.

“Do you know why I am here, madam?” Dupon asked.

Sea Dweller nodded. “You’re here to investigate Beacon’s murder,” she whispered. Her lip began to quiver. “You’re here to try to find his real killer.”

“Yes,” Dupon said softly. “And I do apologize for disturbing you, but it is necessary for us to ask you some questions.”

“...Us?” she asked, her gaze slowly turning back toward Turing Test.

“Inspector Dupon has requested my aid with his investigation,” she explained.

Sea Dweller’s expression darkened. “You have a bad habit of interjecting yourself where you don’t belong, Minister.”

“Are you perhaps referring obliquely to the fact that I entered and won the political race and office that you earlier intimated I was unworthy to hold because of my status as a robot? If not, I apologize for extrapolating the wrong conclusion, as I sometimes have difficulty understanding the subtleties of—”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I meant!” Sea Dweller groaned.

“Well, then in that case,” Dupon said, “perhaps I should be upfront: you made it perfectly clear that you have a grudge against Minister Turing Test. And seeing as tonight’s symposium is - or rather was - a public event that furthers her agenda, it stands to reason that you would not object to seeing it disrupted.”

Sea Dweller blinked. Then her eyes widened as his meaning dawned on her.

“Wait… you think… you think I killed Beacon?!”

Turing Test leaned forward. “Did you?” she asked.

“No!” she shrieked, and leaped to her hooves, spilling her tea as she stomped right up to Turing. “I would never do that! How could you even suggest that, you stupid, unfeeling pile of junk?! He and I grew up together… we worked together… he was,” she choked back a sob, her eyes filling with bitter tears. “He was my best friend! And now… now he…”

She put her hooves on Turing’s shoulders and pounded on them with her left hoof in angry frustration before she finally slumped to the ground and began to weep bitterly.

“Sea Dweller,” Turing whispered, her ears lowering. “I am sorry. I did not mean—”

“Perhaps we should give her a few minutes to compose herself, Minister,” Dupon said, and he began moving toward the door and motioning for her to follow.

Once outside, Dupon leaned in close to her and whispered, “What do you think, Minister?”

“I feel very sad for her,” Turing said. “I know what it means to have friends. To lose a pony that one loves is a horrible thing.” She glanced back at Sea Dweller’s door. To her keen ears, Sea Dweller’s sobs of grief were almost deafening.

Dupon nodded slowly. “It is indeed. But to clarify, I wish to know your opinion of her honesty. She stated quite emphatically that she did not murder Beacon Bomber. Was that the truth?”

Turing Test tapped her chin. “Unfortunately, my readings are inconclusive. She is in a state of extreme emotional distress, so her biometric readings are erratic and will not be a reliable indication of her truthfulness until she is able to remain relatively calm.”

Dupon sniffed and shrugged his shoulders. “No matter. Hopefully she will calm herself. And if not, we can determine that the old-fashioned way.”

They waited for Sea Dweller to calm down and then, once she’d recomposed herself, returned to her room to resume their questioning.

“First of all,” Dupon said, “let me apologize for any distress we’ve caused you, Miss Sea Dweller. If it is not too difficult, could you please tell us a bit about the victim?”

Sea Dweller nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“Perhaps you could begin by explaining the nature of your relationship with him,” Turing suggested.

Sea Dweller swallowed and blew her nose again. “Our hometown, Filly Hawk, is a village on an island on the Outer Banks of the Mare-o-lina region. Since we’re on the coast, we have a lot of boating: cargo ships, fishing vessels, recreational sailing and such. But we also get storms - weather teams can’t control the weather out over open seas, after all - and rough seas and boating collisions, and that’s where our local Search and Rescue Patrol comes in. And Beacon was one of their very best.

“You saw those medals on his jacket? He won them for acts of heroism throughout his career. If a pony was lost at sea or swept overboard in a storm or something like that, he and the other patrol members would fly out to sea and find them. He would fly right into the heart of a storm if somepony was in trouble, and we all worried that one day he wouldn’t come back… but he always did.” She smiled at the memory. “Beat down, soaking wet, but always in one piece. And he had more successful rescues than anyone else in his squad.”

She swelled with pride, raising her head as her gaze grew distant.

“He was the real hero of Filly Hawk,” she said. “I was just the cleanup crew. After a storm or some other disaster, my team were the ones who would salvage what we could from the site. Or else we’d dive down to the ocean floor to pull up lost cargo after the fact. In between, we did salvage operations. Once we even found real pirate treasure! But either way, good days or bad, we’d meet at the Rusty Anchor pub every week, swap stories, and I’d laugh at him trying to charm some mare into going home with him… usually just to get a drink splashed in his face.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “But even then, they’d come back to hear his stories. He… I…” She swallowed. “It’s hard to believe he’ll never tell another one of his tall tales again.”

Her voice broke as she was speaking and Dupon passed her a few more tissues.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Of course,” Dupon said. “But tell me, if he was so well-loved, then who would have cause to kill him?”

Sea Dweller grimaced. “Oh, I think I know exactly who.”

“Who would that be?” Turing asked.

Sea Dweller raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it obvious? It was clearly West Walnut!” she exclaimed. “You saw that argument we had earlier, right?”

“If you are referring to the incident that involved you throwing a beverage in his face,” Turing said, “then you are correct. West Walnut stated that he considered Beacon Bomber a ‘rabble rouser’ and that you took exception to his comments. He was not pleased to hear that Beacon Bomber would potentially still be arriving at the symposium.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t,” Sea Dweller laughed mirthlessly, rolling her eyes.

“Then perhaps you could explain the source of your shared animosity?” Dupon asked.

“I’d be glad to,” she said. “West Walnut is the owner of Walnut-Mart. You know, the big warehouse stores all over Equestria? You name it, he probably sells it, and for super cheap.”

Turing and Dupon nodded.

“Well, Filly Hawk is pretty small, but we get a lot of tourists during the spring and summer. Apparently West Walnut figured that having a Walnut-Mart there would be a great opportunity to sell supplies to the vacationers, so he planned to open up a new store in town. When the other townies and I heard he was presenting his plan to the town council - and had been schmoozing with the mayor - a lot of us banded together to try to put a stop to it. And nopony was more passionate about it than Beacon Bomber.”

“One moment,” Turing Test said, holding up a hoof. “A store that sells convenient things for low prices sounds advantageous to everyone. I am not certain why such a thing would be objectionable.”

Sea Dweller rolled her eyes. “What are you, Walnut’s new spokesmare?”

Turing tilted her head. “No, Sea Dweller. I maintain my position as the Minister of Technology. It would be a conflict of interest to… ah. I see by your expression that you are exasperated with me. I apologize and compliment you on your adept use of sarcasm.”

Sea Dweller huffed and instead turned toward Dupon. “This is why we shouldn’t have elected a robot to be on Celestia’s council. A machine like her can’t actually understand basic emotions, so of course she can’t understand why we wouldn’t want a big corporate store in our little town.”

“I believe I understand your reasoning,” Dupon said with a nod. “But you should still explain further just to avoid any ambiguity.”

“Right,” she sighed. “The reason we didn’t want a Walnut-Mart is because those stores have prices so low that the local shops can’t compete. West Walnut can afford to buy supplies in bulk and sell products at his stores for a slim profit. One big store with everything you’d need, and at prices that local shopkeepers would go out of business trying to match, and he can afford to outprice every local business owner until they go broke! He’s done it before in little towns across Equestria, and he wanted to do it to Filly Hawk! Incoming tourists bringing the sales we need to keep the town afloat would just go to Walnut-Mart and then, when all the local shops are out of business, even local townsponies would have to shop there. It doesn’t matter to him if his profit margin is low when he’s the only game in town! We couldn’t let that happen to our friends and neighbors!”

Turing began to nod slowly. “I believe I understand now. You worried for your community and the culture of your hometown. And Beacon Bomber was a major part of the efforts to halt West Walnut’s plan, correct?”

“Exactly!” Sea Dweller exclaimed. “As the town hero, he rallied an organized effort, put pressure on the mayor and the other councilors, and was right there to stand up against West Walnut every time he tried to pressure them into allowing his store to be built. And in the end, we won! One of the only times West Walnut didn’t get his way!” She smirked. “I still remember the look on his big, stupid face! If he’d been any angrier, his mustache probably would have burst into flames!”

“And you believe that,” Dupon said, “is his motivation to kill Beacon Bomber?”

Sea Dweller nodded. “Walnut takes things personally. On the rare occasion a town like ours denies him a new store, he opens one up the next town over and sells goods at a loss. All just to get revenge on his enemies.”

She crossed her forelegs and gave a skewed look at Turing Test. “And you, Minister, invited that monster here and gave him a platform to promote himself, cuddle up to new business partners, and make even more money while his enemies lose their homes and businesses.”

Turing said nothing for a moment, but then bowed her head. “I… did not realize that these were the circumstances…”

“Well, they are,” Sea Dweller sighed.

“Unscrupulous business dealings aside,” Dupon said, “I’d like to return to Beacon Bomber himself. Do you have any idea what this is?” He drew out the bag that held the blood-stained letter opener.

Sea Dweller gasped. “That’s myletter opener!”

She took hold of it with her magic, but Dupon pulled it back before she could seize it.

“I’m afraid this is now a piece of evidence in our investigation, Miss Sea Dweller,” he said. “But what do you mean it’s ‘your’ letter opener? Are you saying that somepony removed it from your possession and used it as a murder weapon?”

“What? No, no, I mean that I’m the one who made it!” she cried. “I gave it to Beacon as a present!”

Dupon and Turing Test exchanged a look.

“Could you explain more clearly, Sea Dweller?”

She nodded. “The handle is made of whale bone,” she began. Then, noticing their surprise, she added, “From a beached whale that had already died! It’s tradition for sailors and seafarers to make scrimshaw from old bones they find. I carved and polished the handle of that letter opener and then added the blade. Before I gave it to Beacon, I added the letters at the bottom. They say ‘BRHWF,’ right?”

Dupon nodded. “Then you know the meaning?” he asked.

“It’s short for the Filly Hawk motto,” she said. “It stands for ‘By Reaching High, We Fly.’ It used to be the motto for the Search and Rescue Patrol before it started applying to the whole town. I gave that letter opener to Beacon a few years ago for his birthday. I figured he’d appreciate something special, especially since he was so depressed after he had to retire.”

Dupon gave a start, but it was Turing Test who asked the next question: “What do you mean ‘retire?’ He appeared to be fairly young and apparently took great pride in his work. It is very abnormal to retire at that age.”

“He didn’t have a choice,” Sea Dweller said quietly. “He loved his work. But… he developed a strange heart arrhythmia and the squad told him it was too risky to keep him around…”

Dupon and Turing exchanged a look once more. Dupon made a motion across his chest, and Turing nodded.

“We discovered a scar on his chest,” Turing stated. “Was it the result of some sort of heart surgery?”

“I didn’t know he had surgery until recently,” she replied. “He said… oh, wait, let me show you…”

Her horn lit up. Without moving an inch from her seat, she levitated her suitcase from under her bed and nimbly opened it, removing a folded piece of paper from inside. She floated it over to Dupon, who read it and then showed it to Turing Test.

It read:

Hey, Sea Dee!

First off, sorry I haven’t written in a while. I know after that whole mess with Walnut that I took off without saying much, but it just got too hard to stare out at the sea every day knowing I couldn’t fly out over it. When the docs told me I couldn’t fly for more than twenty minutes a day, that was the lowest I’d ever felt since my folks died.

I don’t know where I might have ended up without your help. Probably half dead at the bottom of a Dark & Stormy with the old-timers back at the Rusty Anchor.

But get this: I heard about some fancy new procedure around Manehattan. It was risky, and I didn’t want you and the rest of the crowd in Filly Hawk to worry, so I kept it quiet. But get this: it worked! If the doctors finally turn me loose, I just might be able to get back to the job, and it’ll be just like the old days!

I heard you were going to this big symposium thing on some island near Trottingham. Well, if I can make it, I’ll show you and everypony else what I’ve been through to keep other pegasi airbound. Don’t be too surprised if I’m not on the boat ride over there, though…

See you soon, Sea Dee. I’ll be sure to thank you in person once I show up.

Love,
Beacon Bomber

Turing Test read the letter in less than a second, and then she remembered her conversation with Sea Dweller earlier in the evening:

“He stated that he would be flying to the island if the weather was suitable. He anticipated my objection and stated that he would take the necessary safety precautions.”

“So he’s able to fly that far again… is that what he meant?”

“I believe I understand,” she said. “Due to his condition, flying directly to Spur Island would have been impossible under normal circumstances. However, he underwent some unspecified medical procedure which apparently restored his ability to fly long distances unaided. He was late on purpose; he intended to show up here on his own wing power to surprise you. And that was most likely the topic of his intended speech to the symposium.”

Sea Dweller’s lip quivered, but she smiled in spite of herself. “That big idiot… always had to make a big impression. Subtlety just wasn’t in his nature.”

“Well, I believe that answers several questions about Beacon Bomber,” Dupon said, “but if you’ll forgive me for being thorough, could you perhaps explain a bit more about what you were doing here at the symposium? You had some sort of invention, I believe?”

She looked up at him and blinked. “My invention? Oh, with everything else going on, I totally forgot about it. It’s a salvage probe. Well, a miniature version of it.”

Turing nodded. “That is what Sea Dweller specified on her application to attend the symposium.”

Sea Dweller nodded. “Right. Well, like I told you, I’m a salvage diver.” She gestured to her diving helmet cutie mark. “It’s difficult, dangerous work, so I’ve been working on building a mechanical probe that can detect heavy objects at the bottom of the sea floor, grab onto them, and haul them back up. It would make the work much simpler and less dangerous. I had an aquarium tank and the scale model ready to give a demonstration…”

She shook her head. “But it doesn’t even matter now. This has nothing to do with what happened to Beacon.”

“Are you certain?” Dupon asked, raising an eyebrow. “Any one of the inventions could have caused the power outage, after all.”

“Actually, I believe that Sea Dweller’s invention can be discounted as a possible cause of the power surge, Inspector Dupon,” Turing said. “I witnessed her unplug it from the hotel’s power grid shortly before the blackout, and it remained unconnected for the rest of the evening.”

Dupon looked to Sea Dweller for confirmation. She nodded emphatically, pointing at Turing Test as if to say, “See?”

“I suppose that clears that matter up,” he said. “Well, Miss Sea Dweller, I thank you for your cooperation. I believe that answers all our questions for now. Unless there’s more you would ask, Minister?”

Turing shook her head. “I also thank you for your assistance, Sea Dweller. And once again, I am very sorry for the loss of your friend.”

They turned to go and were nearly at the door when Sea Dweller suddenly sprang to her hooves and shouted, “Minister Turing!”

They both turned back to see her draw herself up. “I… I know I’ve said a lot of negative things about you. But, if you can bring Beacon’s killer to justice, then you’ll have my eternal gratitude.” She then clasped Turing’s hoof with her own. “Please, Minister. In spite of everything I’ve said, the fact that you’re doing this for Beacon tells me that I was wrong about you. Please, solve this case.”

Turing looked down at her hoof, clasped firmly in Sea Dweller’s, and nodded solemnly.

“I will do everything in my power, Sea Dweller, to do just that.”

Sea Dweller sighed as the tension seemed to drain out of her. She took a few uneasy steps back to her bed and collapsed heavily upon it, turning over and away from the two of them as they closed the door.

As they trotted away from the door, Dupon glanced over at Turing Test. “Any thoughts, Minister?” he asked.

“I have many,” she replied. “Please specify which thoughts you wish to hear.”

Dupon chuckled. “About Sea Dweller,” he clarified. “What do you think of her testimony? Any contradictions, falsehoods, or anything that seems peculiar?”

Turing shook her head. “Though my ability to read the truthfulness of her statements was impaired, she settled herself enough that I was able to attain more accurate readings. Nothing that she stated seemed to be a fabrication. I am curious to learn more about Beacon Bomber’s confrontation with West Walnut. We should inquire about his version of that event.”

“We shall,” he said. “But let me ask you more bluntly…”

He paused in the hallway and Turing Test stopped as well.

“...Do you believe that Sea Dweller killed Beacon Bomber?”

Turing paused, tilted her head back and forth a few times, then finally shook her head and said, “No. While I cannot conclusively verify her statements with 100% accuracy, she displays very real emotional distress at his death, and she speaks of him with great affection that I do not believe is fraudulent. Even her supplication to me seemed to be genuine. Furthermore, her invention could not have caused the power surge, as we have established, and she was present in the ballroom during the blackout, which is not the case for either West Walnut or Rio Grand.”

“Remember, though, she could have had an accomplice. Perhaps even the aforementioned Mr. Walnut or Ms. Grand.”

“Perhaps,” Turing said, “but in terms of ‘means, motive, and opportunity,’ she does not appear to have had any means or opportunity, and I can see no motive for her to kill her friend.”

“That may become clear with time, though,” Dupon said.

Turing’s ears twitched. “Inspector, are you asking me this because you believe she is the killer?”

Dupon laughed. “No, I’m afraid not,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m just picking your brain - or processing unit, as it were. I do, however, have a few thoughts on what she’s told us, and, combined with Gadget’s testimony, I believe we’ve uncovered a few more pieces of this puzzle, even if we still have no idea where they all fit.”

“Then where should we take our investigation next?” she asked.

Still chuckling, he resumed his trot down the stairs and toward the back door exit.

“Outside,” he replied. “Unlike a certain resilient robot, after dealing with two emotionally-charged interrogations, I could use a short break…”

To be continued…

Author's Note

Illustration of Sea Dweller by Colby “Greenfinger” Green.