Sherlock Sparkle 2

Here:
http://www.banhdc.org/images/ch-exp-horse.jpg
You'll be needing this.

>You are Twilight Sparkle, and your mentor is clearly confused by what you just said. You take a deep breath.
"Something strange is happening here. I woke up this morning and heard the scream a few seconds later. When I went to see what was going on the maid was outside of the victim's room. She looked frightened, and told me that when she saw blood leaking under the door, she kicked it open."
>The maid looks at you and Celestia from her seat on the couch. You can almost see how pale she is under her coat, obviously still panicking over what had transpired...
>Or maybe she's going pale for a different reason.
"But what I found strange was that I didn't hear her kick the door."
>Celestia's eyes immediately narrow.
>You hold out a hoof in panic.
"Let's not jump to any conclusions. I could have been half asleep still, and just not noticed."
>You seriously doubt whether or not that's true. With your latest mental issue, your mind is literally paying attention to every minute detail that it can grasp, almost to disorderly levels.
>On the other hoof, the maid doesn't look like a murderer.
>Not because she is oh so innocent, but because the... body (that word makes you shudder) was fresh when you had seen it. The mare that had been murdered still had color to her skin, and blood was still flowing from her foreleg.
>Even if she's the fastest murderer alive it would take her a few minutes to set things up and make it look like she found the body.
>On the OTHER other hoof, she didn't kick open the door.
>You sigh and return your gaze to Celestia, "Princess, I know this is going to sound really weird, but... can I have your permission to examine the crime scene?"
>Your question is met with dead silence.
>You should know better. Even with how close you are to the Princess, she's not just going to let you waltz into a crime scene. Considering your inexperience with this whole thing, you'd be surprised if she even considered it.
>The guards are clearly glaring at you.
>"Very well, My Faithful Student."
>wut
>Your eyes widen in shock, and the guards growl.
>"But Princess, she's a civilian!" shouts one.
>"Enough. She is my student and I highly value her opinion when it comes to matters such as these. Speak of bias all you will, but she is an Element of Harmony and has helped our kingdom more times than most ponies. If I DIDN'T hold her view in high regard I wouldn't be doing my duty."
>The guard falls silent.
>"Twilight Sparkle," says Celestia, a soft smile on her face, "I now conscript you as an official consultant to the investigative branch of the Royal Guard. You may examine the crime scene, and depending upon results and work you will be paid a stipend by the department, along with your usual funds for studies."
>The second that Celestia finishes, something in you awakens.
>Something you didn't even know was there.
>You are excited over the prospect of examining a dead body and finding out who committed the crime. It's not the justice part that gets you all fired up, that's just a bonus, and the right thing to do.
>What DOES get you riled up is the puzzle.
>So many questions you have to find the answer to.
>Who was she?
>Why was she murdered?
>Who murdered her?
>Why was the maid lying?
>Did the land lord know anything?
>How much evidence was left behind, and what was it?
>You haven't felt like this since the day you first got your cutie mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxjCehvoLI8
>The game is on.
>Without even waiting on Celestia to say something else, you head right down the hall.
>You call behind you,
"Make sure the maid and the land lord don't leave!"
>Celestia sputters, "Twilight, wh..."
>You can't help but smile as you trot up the stairs, a spring in your step.
>When you make it to the room it's clear that a crime scene has been set up by professionals. Yellow tape blocks the door, 'Do not cross----Guard'. On the floor it lay...
>The body.
>You duck under the guard tape and carefully step around the blood.
>If you're going all in like this, you need to behave as a good inspector would.
>Do not disturb the crime scene.
>You make your way to the body, standing about a foot to the left side of her.
>Your eyes begin to drink in everything around you.
>For the first time since having this little observation problem, you cut loose.
>The room is set up much like yours, with a bed in the far right corner away from the door, and a small window to the outside world on the wall at the foot of it.
>To the left walking in there's a bathroom with a sink, a toilet, and a shower, and a closet a little further down the wall.
>You look at the door.
>The lock has been splintered.
>The guards obviously believe the maid over you, then. You said it yourself, you could have been half asleep at the time.
>But it still nags at you.
>You file the splintered door away in the recesses of your mind; it will be important later, you're sure.
>Your attention now falls on the dead mare.
>Her right foreleg is almost cut to ribbons, blood stopped pouring out of it while you were downstairs, but that doesn't stop it from being the worst thing you've ever seen.
>You fight back some upcoming bile.
>There's definitely more than ten cuts.
>Would she have had time to cut herself more than that, especially if she had been hitting an artery?
>Slim chances, sure, but doubtful, very doubtful.
>You take note of this.
>Tucked under her left hoof is the knife itself.
>A murder weapon as far as you're concerned. It's covered in the pony's blood, and you can't help but notice something strange. It's a personal knife. It has a steel handle, and JUST under her hoof you can make out an engraved letter.
>'A'
>Important.
>Very important.
>You examine the mare further.
>She is... WAS very attractive. Her coat is a pure white, and her mane is a beautiful light pink, parted almost impeccably at the center.
>Just by glancing at her you can tell she uses a lot of product.
>Under the copper smell of blood there's something else, a perfume.
>You recognize it thanks to Rarity constantly doating on you whenever you go to see her. It's a very expensive brand that's generally passed around in higher circles.
>Normally you would think it's a gift that someone gave to the mare before her untimely death, but the way she's all done up reminds you of the models and rich upper elite in Canterlot.
>You go to the closet and fling it open with your magic.
>Various outfits of different styles and colors greet your eyes. You recognize some of them as Rarity's more popular lines of style. In the corner of the closet is a stack of magazines with mares of different styles on the front covers.
>You smile.
"Model it is, then."
>"Miss Sparkle, was it?"
>You turn to see a guard standing in the hallway, just across the tape on the door.
"Oh hello."
>"The maid wishes to speak with you."
"I see, okay. Just give me another minute and I'll be down."
>The guard leaves and you go back to the body, double checking just to be sure.
>You look closer this time, and pick up on what you missed almost immediately.
>There, just under the elbow of her left foreleg, you can see it.
>It's hard to make out through the fur, but there's a small bruise there.
>You go around to her right side, and examine that.
>Sure enough, there's a small bruise under the elbow here too, ending just as the breast starts.
>Important.
>Very important.
-------
>When you get downstairs Celestia, the guards, the maid, and the land lord are there waiting for you.
>You've already come to your own conclusions, but you have to be sure, and to do that you need to talk to the maid... and the land lord.
>"Before we get started," says the maid, "I... I..."
"You lied."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNQqKj0BvIU
>She at least has the courtesy to look ashamed.
"It's true that the door was bucked open. I saw it myself, as well as the guards that went to examine the scene. The lock was splintered from the door when we all examined it."
>"I'm sorry Miss Sparkle, I just..."
>There is a long moment of pause.
"You wanted to cover for the landlord."
>Her gaze falls to the ground, "How did you..."
>You take a deep breath, this is going to take some explaining.
"When I found you in the hallway you were panicked. You'd just found a body and didn't know what to do. Like I said before, though, what struck me as odd is that I didn't hear you buck open the door before I heard the scream. Judging by your behavior I assumed you hadn't committed the murder, but then that leaves you lying about the door. It's pretty obvious that you were lying to cover somp0ny else. When I started realizing it was murder you two became the prime suspects."
>One of the guards steps forward, "So do we arrest the land lord?"
"I'm not finished. I still need some questions answered."
>You look the maid in the eye.
"What's your name?"
>"Ray Smiles."
>You look at the land lord.
"And you?"
>"Axel Knight."
"Did you personally know the murder victim, Axel?"
>"No, but she was a real pain in the flank, demanding stuff we didn't have and calling us useless the entire time. I was in a pretty sour mood by the time you got to the hotel."
>You smile.
"I noticed. Miss Smiles?"
>"Yes?"
"You thought Mr. Knight was the murderer, and I believe that you two are close, because you tried to cover for him. As for why you thought he was the culprit... you saw the knife."
>She nods and sighs, "I'm sorry."
"On the handle of the knife there was an inscribed letter, 'A'. When Miss Smiles found the body she panicked, but she didn't scream. Being the kind mare that she is, she moved quickly to make sure the victim was alright, but found it was too late. The cuts were too deep and too many, and she wasn't breathing. Then she saw the knife. I can only deduce that there were arguments between our Jane Doe and Axel."
>Axel nods, "You're damn right."
"Remembering past incidents, seeing the dead body and the knife, her panic doubled. This time she screamed, and when I came to see what was going on she came up with a quick lie. Miss Smiles, you are a very smart mare, you saw that the door had been bucked open, so you quickly told me that you were the one who had done so. This would have made it into a locked room murder... or the more likely case of suicide.
"Please be as truthful as possible. I know you weren't thinking straight, but lying to the guard isn't the way to do this. As for Axel, it's clear he's not the murderer."
>The guard standing to the left of Celestia scoffs, "Oh yeah? How so?"
>You glare at him.
>Celestia needs to hire a new investigation team, these guys are way too incompetent.
"Well who in Tartarus knows what YOU TWO were doing up there for three hours, seeing as you didn't notice the bruising under her elbows, nor did you notice the letter on the knife. As for why Axel is innocent, those bruises that you so cleanly overlooked were too small for a stallion his size. He spends his days lifting at the gym. I guarantee you that if you run it through magic forensics they'll find that I'm right. Our victim was held down by a slim stallion, or another mare. Our culprit is smart, and long gone by now. The victim was a model, or maybe a dress designer, but it's more likely she's a model seeing the way she's all dolled up. We're probably looking for a jealous rival, or someone else within the business. They weren't staying at the hotel, but they knew the victim would be here."
>"Wait a minute," says one of the guards, stepping forward, "You said the bruises were made by a mare. Wouldn't that make the maid our prime suspect? She doesn't really have an alibi."
>You're getting really tired of these guards.
"She didn't have time. There was blood everywhere, and she would have had to clean herself off. She also had to get around to every room, including the first floor, to do her room service rounds."
>You look at her.
"Around what time did you find the body?"
>"Seven fifteen. I just got done with the first floor, the tenants down here can verify who's rooms I cleaned. I start my shift at seven going through the rooms, there were a lot of tenants that didn't want to be disturbed this morning."
>"I can vouch for that," says Axel.
>You nod, satisfied.
"That gives her a fifteen minute window to commit the murder and clean up, not much time. There's also the fact that she didn't buck the door. If you REALLY want to make her sit and wait you can ask forensics to confirm the marks on the door."
>The guard looks like he's angry enough to hit you.
>You can't help but feel a little good about telling him off, considering how rude he's been this entire time.
"Like I said, we're looking for a third party here, one that's already gone."
>Celestia nods and clears her throat, "I see. We'll send out the investigators right away."
"Thank you Princess."
>"No, thank YOU Twilight. I... I'm amazed, where did you learn to do all this?"
>You can't help but blush at her praises.
>If it keeps earning you Celestia's admiration, perhaps your little mental problem isn't such a bad thing, after all.
"I'm not sure. I guess I can just... see stuff."
>Celestia smiles, "Would you like to keep doing this?"
>Would you?
>That's really the ultimate question, isn't it?
>Do you want to help the Royal Guard solve cases?
>You'll have to rewrite your schedule a bit to fit in study time and time with your friends, and there would be a lot of travel involved.
>But that feeling.
>The feeling of the pieces all falling into place.
>It's almost like a drug to you now.
"Yes... yes I would."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLlt0cK4uA0