CSI Eastvale

CSI Eastvale

- "Oh hello... Sir!",
"Hey Milly.. Just call me Percey, alright? I need to speak with you... It's about the missing horse."
- "We already reported on it. One morning the door was unlocked and a horse was gone. Nobody saw a thing."
"It's clear there are three crucial elements to this riddle: the person, the tool and the location. I'm suspecting one of the quarantined patients used the key to these stables. But who can show me a clue on this?"
Milly held out her key, and pointed at the lock of the stables... But didn't show a patient. Percey made a note to check on missing patients.
"Who holds a key to the stables?"
- "Me... and of course, the Manor's buttler."
"The buttler did it?"
- "That's not what I'm saying Percey. But he does hold a key. He'd be well out of his mind to hand it out, or loose it without reporting it."
"Sounds like... somebody lost it."
- "I doubt it. I saw him earlier today.. He still had his key."
"Still, I'm to follow these clues... Again and again. Could someone pick the lock from the outside without being seen?"
- "Unlikely. The nightwatch always keeps an eye to the stables. Only one mind you. The man has a wooden eye for as long as I can remember but he always did an impeccable job so far."
"Sounds like... someone turned a blind eye. Are there any other ways someone or something could enter the stables?"
- "See the grid up there? We can toss out some hay if needed or attach a cord to hoist things up. But the bars prevent anyone from falling out, or getting in... unless they'd cut themselves in half."
"Sounds like... someone had to split. Can we have a look inside?"
- "Sure" and she guided him inside, having some difficulty with the key to unlock the door.
"The lock isn't forced?"
- "Nope. It's still as clunky as ever." and she closed the door after them.
"Could they have miscounted the horses when they were brought in?"
- "No. The horses are barely let outside since the plague struck. They are kept in these stables."
Percey glanced at the horses in their stables.
"Reservoir horses... And it sounds like I'm stuck here.. in the middle.. With you."
He sighed. She nodded.
"What's that thing on the roof?"
- "A hatch. We can air the stables with it, but it's hardly ever open and I doubt someone managed to climb up there from the outside. He would risk a nasty fall if he slipped on the moss laden wood. Would take some skill... and a lot of balls if you ask me."
"Sounds like... someone had to man up."
- "If you say so." and she led him out. "We had horse thieves before. This looks like none of their usual methods. Nothing's broken, o aggression towards the nightwatch. He would have been easier off disabling a nightguard and run for it. He went through a lot of trouble to avoid such things. For what it's worth... For a thief he's a nice guy. He didn't even take the most valuable horse."
"What horse did he take?"
- "A classic pinto."
"I try to imagine what he did here... He must have been keeping an eye on the watch, so either he knew the nightwatch or had a trained eye for it. Then cruising on his pinto he sees these homes as he pass... and if the guards would have looked twice, they would have kicked his lilly ass. I'd say that's a pretty flight for a nice guy. He must have been quiet, but how does one steal a horse in silence?"
She shrugged. Percey sighed and started walking when suddenly he turned around and gave her a thoughtful look.
"Just one more thing... "
She looked annoyed.
"What was the horse's name?"
- "George."

He was hailed in by old Toby, the nightguard, after a good knock on the door. The old man was leaning in his seat, smoking a pipe. After a few brief questions it became clear this man couldn't offer an easy answer either. Toby gave Percey a measuring look and pointed at him with the mouthpiece of his pipe, his wooden eye not seeming to follow the focus of his regular eye.
- "It seems to me that, after excluding all logical solutions, the remaining answer, however unlogical, might prove true."
Percey mumbled something about not having any answer under his breath.
- "What son?"
"Nothing Sir."
- "Perhaps you ought to focus on where he went with the horse."

Percey looked up and brightened, thanked the man and returned to the stables, checking the footprints. With his expertise on making horse shoes he should make a good tracker, he thought. After a few minutes, he accepted defeat.

He saddled his own horse and decided to check with the watch towers overlooking the RedRidge pass. They only offered a blank report, not having seen a thing that night. He turned west to Goldshire and handed his horse to the stable boy. It would take a lot of time to question all these people... He was cursing his bad luck when a thought hit him. He ran to the stable and shouted,
"George? Here boy.. Here boy.."
A pinto stuck its head out of its box and turned its ears.

Only just read this XD Loved the referencing!

Now I know why you were asking me all those questions before... ^^