[CONTEST] Dry Fountain [FIN]

[Zafun Strider]

”For someone so offended by slander, you enjoy pointing fingers, Mister Langsworth. Miff brings up a good point. It couldn’t have been easy on you. And what of your conversation with the mailman when we walked in? It was tense, and you kept it hushed, but I remember it. Your regular suppliers aren’t happy with these choices you’ve been making with their merchandise lately. It’s not exactly profitable business.”

His response was likely the last courteous thing he’d say that night. ”If trying to get a few flowers from there to here was so stressful I’d kill a man over it, don’t you think I’d have the sense to back out of the deal?” His sharp teeth grit and bared as he produced each word with real effort.

I could see the strain getting to him, and pulled back. I was only toying with him, and we didn’t want to add another body to the pile. ”Of course, Lauto, forgive my presumptions.

Deep inside I was smiling. I knew the murderer was stewing in their own panic, as now two people were released of suspicion.

[MIFF]

"'Sides, we already know you didn't have any secrets sold on you," Miff said with a laugh. He'd enjoyed watching Lauto squirm. The humour only lasted for a moment though before the Mad Scrub's eyes turned hard once more and shifted directly to the only Kokiri present. "But the sardine is right about being second when it comes to Ricky, isn't he? I'll bet you were sick and tired of having to help a sick guy who can't get better instead of going off to do what you really want, huh?'

If Lauto had looked "offended" before then Soti now looked positively appalled by Miff's words.

[Zafun Strider]

“Absurd! I have plenty of time for my research, and although his case is at times detrimental to the amount of time I tend my plants, it is fully beneficial to the work I produce!” The indignant biologist spouted.

My eyes thinned. “Then explain the samples of plant residue we found not only at Ricky’s but Tommy’s murder site. Plant residue that, I’m sure, matches those samples you cultivate so obsessively.”

[MIFF]

The shortest redhead in the room was stunned into gaping silence by Zafun's words so it was Papagor who responded to the news first.

"I can't believe it," he said, a certain sadness in his usually booming and vibrant voice. "Kokiri or not, he's still a child."

Many others seemed to share the Goron's sentiment and shook their heads with disapproval at the boy.

"I... no! I mean, of course I had done work in Ricky's room but... not at Tommy's place! Impossible!"

Soti's panic didn't deter Miff from walking, rather exaggeratedly, to the center of the floor between all of the suspects. The Mad Scrub took a ready stance and braced himself as a Deku Nut grew inside his body, loaded and ready. All he needed now as the word from Scales.

[Zafun Strider]

“You’re right Pops. It is unbelievable.” The grin on my face in that moment must have set someone real angry. "That’s because, Vicks. You killed Riku and Tommy."

[MIFF]

"Wha-"-CRACK!

A perfectly-aimed Deku nut cracked apart on Vicks' forehead, sending the pale Twili crashing down onto his rear. Miff rarely got told prior to the deduction who Zafun had decided was guilty so the Deku was always ready to fire upon any target at the drop of a hat. The assembled suspects and Sentinels, meanwhile, were immediately stunned into wide-eyed silence at the bold declaration.

[Zafun Strider]

Excellent shot as always, Miff." I remarked to my partner.

"Victor is the murderer." Lighting my last cigarette for the night, I spoke above the hushed tones of the crowd. "His room in the attic placed him right above Riku. His job as lantern-lighter takes him all throughout town. He's the only one who would have known about the broken lock that led into Tommy’s forge, and have access to Ricky's room. Most importantly, at both murder scenes, while a killer normally creeps around in the dark hidden from sight, bright lights had been left to burn down; embers were found in the lantern at Riku's room and Tommy's forge was still hot, but that only matters when the people know your greatest vulnerability, Vicks. You’re terrified of the dark. You couldn’t have dashed those lights if you tried.”

[MIFF]

Everyone in the room turned to Vicks with judging eyes, save perhaps Ruupa. The Minnish instead looked almost hurt, as if he had been personally betrayed. The only one in the room with a different expression now was Miff himself who looked positively giddy. The cat was out of the bag and now he could wail on the criminal all he wanted.

"Yeah, that's true. I am afraid of the dark..." the Twili said with no shame at all as he looked down at the floor. When his red eyes turned upward to Scales once more he had a very angry look on his face. "And not just that either! I absolutely hate it too! So why would I ever risk being sent back to the Twilight Realm for drowning someone?! Can you explain that one, detective?!"

[Zafun Strider]

That’s it. Reel ‘em in, hook, line, and sinker. “Drowning?” I asked. ”Who ever said anything about drowning?”

[MIFF]

Lightseeker's confused expression was broken by another Crack! as Miff let loose another Deku Nut. This time the shot caused the Twili to convulse back so he was lying fully on the floor, holding his nose in pain.

"Criminals sure are dumb," Miff said with a chuckle before he turned to Ruupa. "Guess you were smart enough to not go blabbing what the body looked like when you found it, huh?"

The tavern employee could only nod slowly, a dumbfounded expression frozen to his face. The Minnish had clearly taken time to try to help acclimate Victor to the Light Realm. For it to turn out like this was understandably upsetting.

Vicks pulled himself back up to a kneeling position on the floor, a look of severe desperation slowly setting in.

[Zafun Strider]

”That’s the last piece of evidence I needed to know it was you Victor.” I congratulated him, pacing over to the piano tucked against the wall of the bar-room. ”Riku knew you cheated Tommy out of his fortune, and was ready to show the world at the slightest asking. You couldn’t have that, could you? Not and risk being sent back home. So you drowned him, but you couldn't have known about the muscular condition that would dry him right up. If you were lucky, a confused knight would be standing here still trying to wrap his head around it, but you got me."

And that's not all. Soti could never have lifted the hammer at Tommy’s old shop, but you're stronger. Having murdered Riku, you had access to the plant samples off of his glass bottles. It would have been easy for you to throw off an investigation, suggesting Soti like that. It was well known the scientist had a quarrel going on with the blacksmith, and you only had to take advantage of that to push us in his direction.” I breathed out a cloud of smoke, inhaling deep, and repeating the process. ”But it wasn't the good doctor, and it couldn't be. Impossible or not, Vicks, your fear of the dark is what led you to killing, and is what’s going to lead you back to the dark."

I watched the expression on Victor’s face revert from anger, go from shock to a drained and cold hatred and finally settling into pure unadulterated rage. He let out the strange fractured sound all Twili are capable of, and tossed his head back in a scream. Someone shouted, but before anyone could get close enough to Vicks he’d been overtaken by his transformation, the huge winged beast baring down on me for the kill. I slammed back into the wall by the force and he reared back.

The force of the impact left me dizzy and not ready to combat the blows and scratches he rained down, but the crash of the piano beside me jogged my thoughts. In natural response the threat, my body had already begun crackling with latent electricity, which should have been enough to scare a regular thug off, but Victor Lightseeker had much, much more to lose.

With no other options my hand shot up to his throat and pulled him towards me, losing my footing, and as we tumbled to the ground my free hand dove to the backside of the cracked piano plucking at the tightly wound strings. A wall of noise blasted up and around from us, throwing the Twili off of me.

While knights crowded forward, and civilians rushed away, the dazed and disoriented Twili shattered the wall behind me, sending splinters flying out into the open sun.

[MIFF]

Victor Lightseeker was stunned, to say the least. The noise of the piano was nothing like it should have been after Scales had supercharged it. The volume made the winged creature's very sense of balance go awry in addition to the sheer force of the sound waves blasting him away. The Twili's rage was slightly tempered by the disorientation and he realized there was no time to take revenge on Detective Rockefeller. He had to flee, find an out-of-the-way place and live in hiding for the rest of his life. As long as he could live in the light it was fine with him. He just needed to fly away...

Pop!

The ascent of the Shadow Beast slowed considerably after a Deku Bubble covered its form in sticky goo. Miff's aim was perfect, as usual, and the half-speed flapping of the monster couldn't get completely through the new hole in the wall he'd created window before a strong hand closed around its right leg, especially not with the unfiltered light of day burning his skin with each passing moment.

Smash!

"Sorry to have to do this, Vicks," Papagor said with apparently genuine empathy. He knew how much he would hate to live without the thing he loved most, after all. After slamming the Shadow Beat back into the ground in the middle of the room the very large Goron proceeded to sit down right on its lower body, effectively pinning it down with no hopes of escape. Two large and heavy hands pressed down on Victor's wings as well, preventing him from lashing out anymore.

The illegible noises of the Shadow Beast filled the bar room of the Fairy's Fountain as everyone else present grimaced at the turn of events. No other Twili was there to translate but the feeling behind those countless shrieks was evident to everyone: Vicks was crying out in pure despair.

[Zafun Strider]

These people stood around, with sympathy to the monster in front of them, one that still had murder in its eyes, and it looked the same as anything else to me. Something with another story to tell. Did I particularly care to hear it? Not really. Maybe someone more poetic would talk about how it was such a tragedy, a creature doomed from the beginning, yadda yadda. To me, two more people were dead, two more who wouldn't wake up in the morning with another chance to screw up their lives in whatever way they pleased. Two more people with no opportunity for redemption. That was the tragedy no one seemed to care about.

The spectacle had shocked almost everyone, the crowd was herded back by a group of knights while that sentinel approached me, Miff, Pops, and Vicks. I looked down on the Twili like you look at a Lion in a cage. You'd rather see it in the wild, but at the moment, you're glad there's bars between you and it.

I took a deep breath; never exactly had I been a front line investigator, and the brush with death was more than a little unsettling.

That Sentinel shook our hands after that, it was important to him, and all he said was, ”The Praetor will appreciate it.”

"Yeah, tell him, he owes me one. I'm getting outta here. I'll wait for you outside Miff."

Another day in Hyrulian Paradise.

[MIFF]

As the detective left Miff moved to stand just above the pinned Twili. In the form of a Shadow Beast Vicks had but one large red eye on his chest and it was now scrunched tight as he continued to wail. Once the Sentinels prepared their restraints Papagor would release the boy into their custody and all would be finished.

"Hey murderer," Miff said gruffly. As usual the Mad Scrub made himself impossible to ignore, even when he wasn't remotely important to a person's current situation. As a result the noise filling the inn ceased as the Twili's eye opened up and peered upward. Tracy's harsh words also served a sober reminder to those present that, despite how sad Victor Lightseeker might seem to be right now, he was hardly one worth pitying at the moment.

Crack!

A Deku Nut to the eye was a painful experience, to be sure. Vicks wailed now in pain and slowly began to revert back to his natural form. Papagor stood as this occurred so as not to crush the smaller being. Returning to his Twili form would make restraining him easier on the Sentinels who thanked Miff, though it was doubtful that this was the Deku's motivation. Before he could follow his partner outside though another voice spoke up from out of nowhere right beside him.

"Thank you."

Miff had forgotten Namina was even there. She smiled gratefully, knowing that her friend's killer had at least been brought to justice. The Deku wasn't exactly one to accept thanks but he nodded before leaving through the door Zafun had left half-open for him.

Miff was soon out in the bright light of day. The world still appeared to lack any real color despite the sun being high up in the clear sky. It seemed no matter how much corruption was revealed and contained Hyrule might never truly regain its old splendor. Such thoughts were never to cross the mind of Miff Tracy, though, who's eternal confidence and optimism served as a small inspiration to those who didn't cross him. In this world he could have easily become one of the "problems" that brought everyone else down. Thanks to Detective Zafun "Scales" Rockefeller, however, he had become something much better.

"Nice job, Scales," Miff said, offering a rare compliment as he walked down the street side-by-side with his partner. "Next time, though, leave beating them down all to me."

Fin.

[Azler Wilder]

Thread is locked, and has been declared the winner of the Murder Mystery Contest! Congrats!