Sanguine Joy

Chapter 10: The Boss

Scisco was transported to the barracks’ infirmary in mere minutes. The room contained 3 beds, a worktable used for mixing herbs into medicine, and a cabinet filled with various drugs. The doctor gave him some ointment for pain and made him eat some suspicious red paste that he called ‘the invigorator’. “I’m sorry, Detective, but you’ll have to stay in bed for several days for your wounds to heal properly. The treatment applied was amateur, barbaric even, and even the slightest movement must cause immense pain.”

“Nonsense! I don’t feel a thing!” Scisco said, lying in a bed. “It is of utmost importance that I return back to the field as soon as possible!”

“I’m sure that whatever it is, it can wait for a few more days.”

Scisco mentally facehoofed. “No it can’t! The lead will go cold in those few days!”

“Then tell it to the Royal Guard and let them handle it.”

“Those clueless foals? They’ll get themselves killed, but that’s about the only thing they are good at! I order you to let me go!”

“They are better than you think, and as a doctor I have the final say whether or not you are fit for command. Now, please, calm down and relax,” the doctor said, and turned away to scribble something down.

Scisco quietly slipped from under his sheets and made his way towards the infirmary’s cabinet, landing one hoof after another and wincing every time the wooden floor creaked. The ointment was like a blessing, reducing the pain in his numerous wounds to an itch, and ‘the invigorator’ filled him with energy. However, the doctor refused to give him any more of either, saying that they both are highly addictive. What nonsense! If these things can hold him together for the next few hours, a little addiction was worth it. I am on the verge of something major, I can feel it!

He reached the cabinet without making a sound and prayed to Celestia for the hinges to be well oiled. Fortunately, they were, and Scisco managed to get the good stuff without alerting the devil in a doctor’s coat – or at least he thought so. “What are you doing, Detective? You have to stay here and recover!”

Jumping a little, Scisco turned and ran out of the infirmary into the sunny day outside. He turned a corner, then another, and before he knew it the barracks were out of his sight. However, the gallop tired him. It wasn’t that far – a minute of walking at most – so being tired was quite suspicious. The effects of ‘the invigorator’ must have been wearing out. It was a good thing he took such a large pile of it. When the red substance reached his stomach, he could feel pleasant warmth spreading through his body and the stress that had been building in him throughout the last few days being washed away. He could get used to this.

This was not the time to indulge himself in his newfound hobby, though. Greenleaf and his idiotic men needed him. But first, he really needed a new suit – looking like a ragamuffin wouldn’t help anything and showing his cutie mark to the world could lead to further misunderstandings.

Scisco returned to the barracks through a back entrance, carefully avoided the infirmary, and made his way to the armoury. He got many weird looks from passing guards, but none tried to stop him. He was still their superior, after all, no matter what the doctor thought. Or maybe they just didn’t feel like having to deal with him. What a bunch of slobs!

The armoury was filled with old, rusty armour, ancient weapons that looked like they were going to break at the mere sight of battle, and a few dusty uniforms with outdated insignias and holes made by hungry moths. Wearing an insignia depicting only the Sun Princess felt weird, like he was insulting the Princess of the Night, but he also had to admit that this old symbol looked much better than the new one; it gave out an air of authority. Vintage things had this kind of power.

Walking through the barracks was a completely different experience now. Some guards, especially the older ones, stood at attention and saluted when he passed. The new recruits looked rather confused, and the members of night patrols hissed at him with open hostility. But that was sort of expected from the followers of the Moon Princess. Wearing the right uniform could really do wonders.

Scisco strode into Greenleaf’s office, but it was empty, so he asked a passing guard that told him Greenleaf is at the murder scene. Why was that bootlicker around only when one didn’t need him?

After a long, tiring trot through the city, which earned him many weird looks from passer-bys and a stone to the head from some little foal – wearing the wrong uniform could really do wonders – he finally arrived to Cherry Berry’s house. Guards were all around the place, examining every single shard of glass as if the killer was hiding under it. Scisco found Greenleaf in the cellar along with the body of yet another victim that was mutilated in the same way like the last one. The stench coming from the decomposing organs was nose crushing. Scisco took another little bite of ‘the invigorator’ and said, “Corporal! Where the hay are you when I need you?”

Greenleaf jumped a little and turned around. “Sir! I didn’t see you there, sir. I see that you recovered from your injuries in record time, sir. May I ask why are you wearing the uniform of a general of Equestrian Air Forces, sir?”

Only now did Scisco realise that those holes from moths were actually holes for pegasi wings. “Certainly not because I became one of those flying chickens, if that’s what you’re concerned about. I found these rags in the armoury. Now, I really want to know about all the things you’ve managed to mess up while I was gone, but you’ll have to tell me outside. The stench here is making me sick!”

They quickly made their way out of the building, breathing in the fresh air. “So, Corporal, what did you find?”

“Nothing much, sir. There was no sight of murder weapon as usual, we found no...”

“No, Corporal. Let me ask again. What did you find?”

“Well, sir, when you put it that way... nothing.”

For a very brief moment, Scisco smiled. “Well I found something, and it is something major! You were actually right about the vamponies; I’ll give you that.” Greenleaf grinned, which made Scisco want to smack him. “However, I also found many other leads; leads that you didn’t find.” The grin on Greenleaf’s face vanished, but Scisco still felt like landing his hoof in his subordinate’s face. He was supposed to be delighted that Scisco found a lead, not sad that he was outmatched! “For example, we can narrow down our search – we know that the killer attacked me yesterday night, so you can just check if every member of the Guard was at his designated post at the time. That way we can at least trust our own men.”

“I’d love to, sir, but only sergeant Ignavus has this kind of information, and he refused to provide me with it when I asked him for it earlier this morning.”

“Celestia damn that idiot! He’s been nothing but hindrance since the very beginning! It’s like he wants me to fail!” Scisco stomped around a little cursing under his breath. As suddenly as his temper flared up, he calmed down. “Wants me to fail... Corporal, what does the Sergeant look like?”

Greenleaf’s brow arched, but then he just shrugged. “Brown mane, white coat. Why do you ask, sir?”

“What about his cutie mark?”

“A golden spear. Why?”

How could have I been so blind? The darkest place is under the candle, after all. Nopony else had better opportunity than him, and nopony else acted more suspicious. Combine it with the yellow hair and we have our vampony.

“Take your men, Corporal. We are going to visit the Sergeant.”

“Why?”

“To arrest him. It’s he who’s the vampony.”

———

Greenleaf quickly excused himself to his men, claiming he had bowel problems. He acts like he’s excusing himself from school, the idiot! He then met with Scisco behind the nearest corner and strode towards the barracks. During that, however, he filled Scisco’s ears with his nonsense.

“Are you sure, sir? Shouldn’t we call for reinforcements, sir? What if he has an accomplice, sir? What if...”

Scisco frowned at him. “For Celestia’s sake, Corporal, shut up! Of course I’m sure – I’m always sure and I’m always right. One would think you’ve already figured that out. And no, we really shouldn’t call for reinforcements. What do you think the guards at the barracks would do if we came there, flashing weapons? It would be a bloodbath! If he has an accomplice, then it means double the fame for us. Now that I answered your stupid questions, do me a favour and don’t open your mouth until we get there, alright?”

Greenleaf deeply inhaled like he wanted to say something more, but then only nodded and walked towards the barracks with his head held low.

What kind of question was that anyway? ‘Are you sure?’ Of course he was sure, the pieces weren’t that hard to assemble: Ignavus was a vampony who wanted some fresh blood. Maybe he overdid it with Caramel and sucked too much. Maybe he slit his throat to throw the investigators off track. Or maybe it was something else that prompted him to start killing ponies; Scisco didn’t really care. There was the motive: desire for blood. There was the possibility: Ignavus’s secretary was chasing visitors away when he was ‘hunting’, so he had enough time to do all he needed to do – whether or not did she know who Ignavus was remained to be seen. And then there was the evidence: a hair from the Sergeants cutie mark, combined with the refusal of providing the presence list and the fact that he kept hindering Scisco without any apparent reason. Scisco had already arrested many ponies with less evidence than that. One can always dig up more evidence if he tries enough, create it even. All for a good cause, of course. Why should he look for additional evidence when Ignavus was clearly guilty? Should he get away because of some stupid technicality? No. And wasting time by searching for further evidence would only cause more ponies get butchered, which would look bad in his report. The time has come to take you down, Sergeant!

There was, of course, the possibility that Ignavus will defend himself – he was a super-strong vampony, after all. But that was where the barracks came in – the guards inside would come to see what the fuss was about after hearing the sounds of a fight, and would help Scisco if they saw Ignavus attacking him. That or they’d arrest him, congratulating Ignavus for great self-defence skills. Oh well, these risks come with being a detective.

Fighting with something he had no knowledge of, however, would be unwise. “Corporal, what do you know about vamponies?”

“Well, sir, they are really strong, agile, and are very hard to kill. You can identify a vampony by looking at its teeth after death – the fangs that are the very icon of vamponies are retractable, but slide out after death.”

Scisco sighed. “That’s a really interesting piece of information, but unless we kill every suspect and look at the corpse’s teeth, it’s also completely useless! How can I discover a vampony without killing it?”

“Apart from catching it while it’s feeding, you can’t. I’m sorry, sir, but if there was an easy way to do it, the case would have been solved already.”

“Well that’s just great. I’ll figure something out when we get there. Maybe beat the confession out of him.”

“But sir!” Greenleaf said, his eyes widening. “We can’t force him to confess! That’s against the law!”

Scisco rolled his eyes. “Throughout my career I learned that if you bend the law a little to catch the culprit, nopony will care. It’s the results that count, the goals excuse the means. Or would you like to have Ignavus freed because of insufficient evidence, so that he can murder more?”

“But... the law... No, sir.” Greenleaf said, looking at his hooves with his brows furrowed. He’s not alright with it, the fool. Better if I ‘record’ the confession alone.

“Good, now shut up and quicken your pace,” Scisco said, and took another dosage of ‘the invigorator’.

The barracks were right in front of them with their dirty windows and walls covered with small patches of moss. Scisco looked at the second storey window – it was there that the evil sergeant resided – and noticed that it was illuminated by candlelight. Ignavus was there.

However, when Scisco tried to enter the building a burly guard blocked his path. He, just like Greenleaf, had a small griffon inside a blue star on his armour – the markings of a corporal. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Greenleaf and his pal, who is now apparently a general of Equestrian Air Forces. How strange to see an earth pony in such a uniform. You do realise that stealing a uniform and impersonating somepony else are both crimes, right?”

Scisco turned towards Greenleaf and whispered, “Who the hay is that?”

“That’s corporal Loyalshield, sir,” Greenleaf replied in a hushed tone. “While my task is to keep order in town, he’s here for the sole purpose of defending the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Corporal Loyalshield,” Scisco said, “I, as your superior, order you to stand aside.”

Loyalshield smiled. “I and my subordinates are not under your jurisdiction. And a crime is a crime regardless of your rank.”

If stares could kill, Scisco would have just committed a homicide. I won’t be stopped by some idiot when I’m so close to goal! “You know what? Here,” he said, undressed, and threw the uniform at Loyalshield. “Choke on it.”

He then walked past the Corporal, who looked at him in disbelief, and moved towards the staircase. “Sir,” Greenleaf said, “your cutie mark...”

“I know full well what my cutie mark is, Corporal, and I’m tired of explaining it over and over again. This is the case of a lifetime – a serial killer, who is a vampony, who is a high-ranking officer of the Equestrian Army? Little foals will be taught about my genius at school! If I solve this, I might even get the title of a noble. But that’s not important. What’s important is that I will forever be known as the greatest detective of all time. I am willing to die for this, and my cutie mark is really the last thing I care about right now. Now just shut up and follow me upstairs.”

Scisco ignored the wanna-be funny comments of the guards he passed and went to the second storey, taking three steps at a time. He had a strange, shivering cold feeling in his stomach. Was it... nervousness?

Scisco hadn’t been nervous in ages – catching the criminal was a plus and not catching him simply meant he’ll get another chance sooner or later; it didn’t matter. Also, the crime in question wasn’t usually that important – a stolen necklace here, a rapist there... He only solved a murder case three or four times before, which wasn’t that much considering he worked in this field for over 20 years now. Even in those cases he felt rather calm. He knew that the criminal is probably more afraid of him than he of the criminal. He imagined that the killer is sweating with fear, hidden in some dark hole, and it filled him with a sense of power, it made him feel like he’s the cat while he criminal is the mouse.

This time, however, he wasn’t so sure. The murderer wasn’t a pony and was obviously unafraid of him. Killing a guard right behind the barracks and performing a dark ritual open in the street meant that he’s laughing at him, daring him to try and catch him. Now Scisco was there, standing right in front of the beast’s lair with the monster awaiting him right behind the door.

The secretary, who usually just told them to leave, stood in front of those doors, knocking on them. “I heard some sounds from inside,” she said when she spotted them, “but the door was locked. Something might have happened to Sergeant, you have to help!”

Scisco smiled at the irony of the situation and ordered Greenleaf to kick the door open, while he took yet another mouthful of ‘the invigorator’. After a few attempts, which earned Greenleaf a large bruise, the lock gave way and the door flew open. When the secretary saw what was inside, she collapsed on the ground and began crying.

Scisco expected many things – Ignavus waiting at him with a loaded crossbow, Ignavus sitting at his desk and sipping liquor, or even an empty room and a note from Ignavus telling him he was too late. He certainly didn’t expect to see Ignavus dead, covered in about a dozen stab wounds with the knife still stuck in one of them, and Sassaflash covered in wounds made by a broken window, with a large shard of glass stuck in her right lung. She quietly laughed when she saw him enter, coughing up some blood.

“What the hay happened in here?” Scisco asked.

“I followed you,” she said. “I was eavesdropping on you and Greenleaf ever since... ever since Caramel died. Today it finally... it finally paid off.”

“What? How? I would have noticed you if you sneaked behind my back!”

“I’m a... a pegasus. I just hid on the rooftops and listened. All the time, you... you kept investigating the ground, but you never... never looked up. I almost jumped in the fight when that vampony attacked you, but... but I figured I’ll get a better opportunity later, when he’s not expecting me.”

“So you flew here and killed him?” Scisco said, barely keeping his voice in check.

“Yes,” she said, a little rivulet of blood pouring from the corner of her mouth. “I killed him... I avenged Caramel. He... he wasn’t even that tough; he only screamed for mercy but didn’t fight back... I expected better.”

Scisco shivered as a horrible premonition came to his mind. Paying no more attention to the blabbering of the mare, he moved towards the corpse. Slowly, with his hooves shaking, he opened sergeant’s mouth. He stared at two completely ordinary rows of teeth.

No. No! This can’t be! This is impossible! There has to be a mistake!

He started pulling every tooth in Ignavus’s mouth, even the ones in the bottom row, but they all stubbornly remained in place.

“No. No! Celestia damn it all. No!” Scisco yelled and started punching into the dead body, little tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. “You bastard! Why? I finally got you, yet you still managed to shit on my head? Damn it! If it wasn’t you, then who was it? To the Tartarus with all of this!”

Scisco kicked Ignavus one last time and walked back towards the door. He stopped momentarily to check on Sassaflash, who no longer blabbered anything and only breathed. It was shallow; she’ll be dead by the end of the hour, whether she gets a doctor or not.

“So, it wasn’t him?” Greenleaf asked.

“Didn’t you just hear me? No, it wasn’t! He was innocent!”

“Of course he was innocent,” the late-sergeant’s secretary said.

Scisco walked to her and looked her directly in the eyes. “What do you mean? Why is it so obvious? Out with it!”

“Why would you think he did any of this? He was simply doing his job like anypony else,” she said, wiping her tears.

“Then why did he refuse to speak to me, or to Greenleaf?”

“He hated you right after he heard you were coming,” she said, scowling at Scisco. “First serious crime in over 20 years, and princess Celestia sent somepony to take over right after she heard? You were a symbol that she thought him incompetent! He wanted to show you all that he deserves his post. And that was the second thing! Greenleaf kept crawling his way into your anus and smeared Sergeant’s name every chance he got. He wanted to get his position! Your report would ruin Ignavus, and the always so helpful Greenleaf would take his place. Do you think he was blind?”

“But why did he refuse to give us the presence list?” Scisco said, his breathing fastening as things started to make sense.

“Because he wasn’t where he should have been yesterday night!”

“Well, that marks him...”

“No! He was with me... We had an affair,” she said, tears once again pouring from her eyes. “If you started sticking your nose into it, the truth would have come to light and his marriage would have been broken! I hated that cow of a mare he married, but he seemed to care for her deeply, so I supported his decision to keep things secret.”

“But... we found yellow hair...”

“He wasn’t the only pony with yellow fur in town you idiot!” she screamed, and hid her eyes behind her hooves again, sobbing.

“Sir? What now, sir?”

“Now, Corporal, now we are back at the beginning. Call a doctor to check the injured mare and go home. Also check the presence list and throw a party – the position of a sergeant is now vacant. But whatever you do, leave me alone; I need some time to think.”

Scisco went outside and slowly walked towards his office, muttering under his breath.