We quickly ate before noon at the dining hall. Shining was right about the alibi for my little... shooting range tryout. A guard hand wondered what it was and Shining dismissed it as a "kinetic combustion spell." He was right, except for the spell part.
Continuing business, I followed Shining to a special "command center" area of the castle that he and the rest of the Royal Guards had set up. It had been originally an auxiliary room to the castle. Now, desks and other office equipment filled the spacious area with guards in semi-formal uniforms working away. While we walked, I noticed that some of the royal guards would stare at me. I assumed it was because they had never seen a human before, let alone one that now outranks them.
"When was this HQ established?" I asked before taking a sip from a glass of tea I had brought with me.
Shining quickly gave me a short version of the changeling invasion. Apparently, after the creatures had been forcefully ousted out of the capital, thanks to Shining's spell, numerous reports of abductions, murders, and identify theft had surfaced, all of which was changeling activity. Apparently, they had become more desperate. The command center was established shortly after the wedding incident, which had occurred about three to four months ago. They dealt with the processing of hundreds of papers of data concerning changeling activity, intelligence, and even non-changeling data. In all, it was like a mixture of a military outpost and a police precinct, considering the Royal Guard also acted as the defacto policing force of Canterlot.
Because I was still technically a state secret, I was only shown the back area of the command center. There was a lobby setup in another room that concerned citizens were waiting at and I understood that it would foolish, not to mention completely ignorant, of me to enter the public area.
"Let me first debrief Blueblood's lawyer about... you."
With a nod, I watched Shining walk around the corner before noticing a silhouette of a mare against the wall. I closed my eyes and listened in the conversation.
"Now, please understand that we need you to swear oath that you will keep what you see a secret, understand?" asked Shining.
The silhouette nodded. "I swear by the Royal Crown of Equestria and by the courts that I with withhold this information and keep it from being divulged to the public."
"Good, now you'll be meeting Lt. Roya Sayid. She's our consulting homicide detective working with me on the case. Do not be afraid or confused by her appearance, she is a fully trained police officer."
"I understand. My client is already knowledgeable about this Roya mare?"
"Actually, yes. The two have already met but... Roya isn't a mare."
The guard standing near me motioned for me to move and I walked out into the open. Standing in front of Shining was a young mare with a vanilla yellow. She was a brunette with her hair kept in a short style that was straight and squared. Freckles dotted her muzzle and she had a stoic yet calm look on her face. Wearing a woman's business outfit made for the equine anatomy, she looked like a young lawyer who just finished the bar exam, though for the record, I can't really tell age easily. A briefcase was strapped to her side in a style that some of the ponies called a "saddle" bag.
"So you're Lt. Roya Sayid, I presume?" she asked.
"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you." I gave her hoof a firm shake in our greeting.
"My name is Mrs. Tipping Scales. I will be representing my client, Prince Blueblood of the Platinum bloodline."
"I am familiar with your client. One of the most well known Nobles in the Legislative Branch. He has been serving in there for over four years yet has gained a lot of reputation."
"Yes, my client is a very important stallion. I was briefed earlier about the current charges against him. Murder and evading arrest?"
"Yes. Yesterday, a scream was heard by everyone in the castle. The wing had been closed off mostly with little guard patrols. Both Shining and I had arrived at the door leading to the crime scene only to have the suspect barging out. We both identified him as Blueblood and we have a witness. The chase only lasted a minute but the suspect had stopped after turning a corner where he was apprehended by the Royal Guard."
"Hmm... That sounds like a pretty solid case."
"It is but a proper investigation must be done. Now then, shall we meet your client?"
Mrs. Tip gave me a nod before we followed Shining to a detention area. I was surprised by how... humane the Castle Jails were. The cells were spacious with spartan accommodations. One cell, which Shining had designated for us, had been set up with a table and a few chairs. The other cells were empty, except for Blueblood in one.
Noticing the white stallion, he was simply sitting on his bed with a dejected look. Shining opened the door and calmly told Blueblood to follow us. The way he walked... it was almost like a scared animal... no, more like a scared child. Each hoofstep Blueblood took was uncertain and shaky.
Noticing this, I couldn't help but frown a bit. We moved to the "interrogation" room we had setup. I sat down with Shining on side while Blueblood and Mrs. Tip sat on the other side, away from the cell doors. The Royal Guards, who had kept watch over the cells, left the holding room. It was soundproof so there was no fear that anyone outside would overhear us. On the table was the case files set up for us. I already had reviewed them earlier but it was always good to have a refresh, just in case. I quickly placed my glass down before looking up at Blueblood and Mrs. Tipping Scales.
Shining was the first one to speak. "We're here to talk to you, Blueblood about the crime that we believe you have committed."
"I didn't kill that mare if you're going to ask that," said Blueblood in a calm manner.
"Really?" I asked. "It's kind of hard to say that when Shining, a maid, and I all saw you run from the scene of the crime. Can you tell what you were doing right before the crime?"
Mrs. Tips quickly intervened. "My client does not have to answe..."
"No, it's fine. I was returning my room, having given Crystal Clear my shirtfront that somepony has ruined. I took a simple nap before putting on a new shirtfront and leaving the room. Suddenly, some guard was rude enough to run into me! That nerve of him! Then you showed up... Mrs... whatever you are."
"It's Lt. Roya, and for the record, I'm a human. So you say a guard ran into you before I appeared?"
Blueblood nodded and I looked over at his lawyer. She was getting a bit worried about Blueblood being open to speaking his view of the events.
Shining was confused for a moment until he spoke up. "If you were in your room... Blueblood, your alibi doesn't hold up. We saw you run from the scene!"
"It wasn't me!" Both Shining and I were caught off guard by the slight outburst but Blueblood quickly apologized.
"Blueblood, we're not the enemy here. Is there any way you can prove that it would be impossible for you to be at the scene of the crime? Witnesses? Testimonies? Did any guards see you that we could ask?"
Blueblood frowned for a moment before giving us a weak shake of his head. "No..."
"Then we shall move on to the next agenda. Motive. Did you know Mrs. Crystal Clear?"
"Y-Yes. Though, like many of the maids, she can sometimes mess up in keeping my room spotless for such a Noble like myself, she was one of the few maids I trusted with cleaning my shirtfronts. They cannot be simply wished willy-nilly! A proper procedure of..."
"Blueblood, please. We're not here to discuss cleaning techniques. So, you knew of Crystal Clear before. What kind of relationship did you have?"
"A simple business one. Mrs. Tips can vouch that, as an Upper Noblepony, I make sure that I don't fall into numerous rift raft that would get me on the cover of tabloids."
"Shining, is that true?" I asked. The Captain of the Royal Guard gave me a reassuring nod. Blueblood was an asshole, that I learned the hard way, but he knew what not to do, considering his occupation. I turned back to Blueblood and sighed before thinking for a moment. As I did, I noticed something about Blueblood's current shirtfront. For one, it had a slight pinkish hue, the signs that it had been accidentally thrown with colors. The black collar was slightly crumpled and instead of a white fake flower, a red one had been pinned. "Did you and Crystal Clear have an argument of some kind?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Your shirtfront... It's stained. Maybe she had messed up this one time, and being a stallion such as yourself, you only expect nothing less of perfection," I said in my own haughty tone. I could see that my trick was working. Blueblood was getting riled up and he furrowed his brows at me. I smirked. "I see it now... you were angry. She had ruined your clothes and you simply snapped! Charging at her, you impaled her, am I wrong?"
"I did nothing of the sort!" Blueblood yelled.
I opened the case files to look at the photos of the medical examination. Blueblood couldn't bear to look at them while Mrs. Tips simply looked away nonchalantly. "We had medical examiners look at the body and a short run was needed to produce the sufficient force to pierce her lungs and heart while breaking ribs. Alicorn, the substance your horn is made out of, is sufficiently hard enough to do just that, not to mention that filling one's horn is a sign of proper hygiene and body image."
"I did not kill her!" With all that anger, Blueblood was unable to contain himself. Jumping up, I was surprised at how easily he moved the heavy table we had by a half a decimetre or more. Even Shining almost jumped back, ready to hold Blueblood back. I had quickly grabbed my glass of tea, hoping it wouldn't spill.
"Then who was is, Blueblood? Dd you really think that you'd get away with killing a simple maid, a commoner?"
"No! I'm telling the truth! I did not kill her!" This time, Blueblood's anger had dissipated slightly. I could hear a slight sound of fear. It was strange, really. Normally someone in his position would have gotten angrier, especially with an ego such as his. "I can't go to jail! I'll lose my title! My name! My family will be ruined!"
"You're more worried about your family's honor? What about jail time?"
With his anger all gone, that dejected look had returned to his face. He simply looked down at the table. "I didn't kill Crystal Clear..." he murmured.
Shining sighed. "We'll give you two a moment to think about a plea bargain, is that okay?"
Mrs. Tipping Scales simply scowled at the both of us before nodding. This wasn't going to be a case she would get Blueblood out of cleanly and right now, the evidence pointed straight to him. Seeing Blueblood in his self-wallowing state, the idea that he did the crime seemed a bit less realistic, for some reason. His temper was obviously short but would he really kill over something so simple?
"Thank you for time, Mrs. Tips and Mr. Blueblood. We'll schedule a meeting with the prosecutor if you wish for a plea bargain," said Shining in a calm tone.
"That would be best."
Giving her a simple nod, I followed Shining out with the case files under my shoulder. Closing the door behind me, I gave a deep sigh of relief.
"You were a bit harsh on him," Shining told me.
"Sometimes, you have to be. But... I don't know about Blueblood actually being the murderer."
"Really?"
I gave Shining a small nod. "His temper is there but... something wasn't right. When I pushed him on, he backed down, almost like if he saw it as a lost cause or that there was something more... Is it possible you can get the body back for me? I'd like to try my own medical examination."
"Your own? What for?"
"Maybe... Maybe Blueblood was in his room."
"Really? But you were there, with me! We both saw him run!"
"I know. Let me think, it won't hurt to try, ok?"
Shining stood there for a moment, contemplating my request. "Fine... I'll get the coroner to bring the body back."
"I'll be in the library if you need me."
Giving a salute, Shining returned the gesture and watched me leave the command center.