Will this case be left unclosed by sidekick blue and super sleuth?

Pay attention, keep close notes, and you just might find out the truth.

They need to find the culprit soon whose lips are all but sealed,

Can you solve the mystery before all is revealed? 

Before the Storm

by Flamigiri

Two marbles stood outside the front entrance of a modest two-story party house; the devilishly clever Pinky Panther and the comparatively less clever Royal. They stared intently at the phone that the latter held between them.

“Tell me again, how much did you spend to rent this place?” Pinky Panther inquired.

“Oh, it wasn’t that much,” Royal replied. “I know someone.”

“Fascinating.”

“This is the eighth time you’ve said the word fascinating tonight.”

“Naturally. It’s the eighth thing I’ve found fascinating.”

Royal rolled their eyes as the two continued to scroll through the details of the house.

“Each of the rooms has a huge window that can open, except for the foyer,” Royal said. “And it says the entire building is symmetrical. Every nook and cranny on the west side is mirrored on the east side as well.”

“How curious,” Pinky Panther replied, no doubt musing deeply.

“This is the fifth… nevermind. Did I give you your cellar key?”

“Indeed you did! I tested it out myself. It works like a charm!”

“Ah, well, good. Apparently, one of the keys I handed out is broken, but I don’t know which.”

Pinky Panther stroked their chin thoughtfully. “Fascinating.”

“I know Spade’s works too, since I saw them earlier on. Speaking of…” Royal pulled out a checklist. “Not very many marbles actually came. You sent out all of the invites, right, Panther?”

“Yes,” Pinky Panther replied, lying.

“Right,” Royal replied, definitely believing them. “Well, we might as well go through everyone attending, for insurance purposes.”

Aside from the two organizers of the party, seven marbles had shown up: Rojo Tres, Mary, Billy, Momo, Orbit, Snowy, and Spade.

Royal threw Pinky Panther a look. “Did you only send one invite per team?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny this,” responded Pinky Panther, which meant yes.

Royal metaphorically rubbed their temples in exasperation. “Well, at least some marbles. It’s 9:40 already. We should head inside and enjoy the party.”

As the words left their mouth, the lights inside the house simultaneously turned off, leaving the pair outside in the evening darkness.

“Aha, the power went out! Fortunately for us, there’s an emergency power box by the front door!” Pinky Panther said, approaching it. “This will only take a minute!”

Twenty minutes later, Pinky Panther finally hit the switch labeled “on,” and the lights inside flickered back on. Unexpectedly, at that exact instant, Mary burst through the door.

“Hey! Are you guys alright out here?” they exclaimed, concerned, looking between the two marbles already standing outside.

“As far as I’m aware, neither of us have been harmed,” Pinky Panther replied. “We fixed the power as fast as possible.”

“Really? It felt like a pretty long time.”

“Anyways, we had best check up on the others,” Pinky Panther said quickly. “It would be less than ideal if one of them has tripped.”

The three entered the house. A glass of fruit juice had been spilled in the foyer, creating a glossy puddle of red in front of the ballroom door.

“Seems like this spill has been here for quite a while,” Pinky Panther said, leaning over it. “And it hasn’t been disturbed since it was spilled, it seems. No tracks.”

Royal rolled their eyes. “Now’s not the time to analyze a stain, Sherlock Rollmes. We need to check on the others.”

Sherlock tried to skirt around the spill but quickly gave up and rolled over it. Royal and Mary followed, but nothing could have prepared them for what they would find.

Lying in the center of the ballroom was the unmoving body of Spade. The dented metal candlestick lying next to them made it abundantly clear what had happened. Royal let out a yelp. Mary’s eyes widened. Even the normally level-headed Pinky Panther was taken aback.

After a moment that seemed to last forever, Pinky Panther delicately approached Spade. “No pulse. They’re dead,” they said flatly.

Royal let out another screech, loud enough for the entire house to hear. The remaining partygoers rushed to the ballroom. Rojo Tres arrived first, from the dining room, shocked into silence by the body. Next came Orbit, who let out a gasp as they barreled in. Snowy and Momo entered together. The former paled at the sight, while the latter recoiled instinctively. Finally, after another minute, Billy arrived and nearly fainted on the spot.

A heavy silence filled the room like a thick fog, each guest unable to find the will to speak. Seemingly an eternity before Royal sputtered. “Wh-who did this!?”

“Why, it’s elementary, my dear Kobalt,” Pinky Panther said gravely.

“Don’t patronize me.”

“If Royal and I were outside the entire time, that means…”

Pinky Panther paused, gazing at each of the other six marbles in the room.

“…one of you is the killer.”

Do You Want Mustard On That?

by Evolution

Mary rolled into the kitchen, with Pinky Panther and Royal trailing behind them. They each hopped onto the leather barstools around the island, covered with off-white linoleum on top and wood paneling on the sides. The kitchen was spacious—a large fridge, countertops that stretched across the wall, and tile flooring. Pinky Panther and Royal sat facing the window, which provided a view of the inky black sky and the base of an old, winding tree. The end of a fraying rope danced in the wind, stretching up past the view of the window.

“Alright, Mary,” Pinky Panther said, leaning in. “Let’s begin. Walk me through your night.”

“Okay,” Mary said. “When we first came in, Snowy and I were in the dining room having some drinks.”

“From the kitchen?” Panther interrupted.

“From the cellar,” Mary replied. “Snowy went down to grab them.”

“Why are there drinks in the cellar?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t put them there.”

“Why are you asking so many questions about that? It’s not important,” Royal said impatiently. They were more pleasant as they turned to Mary and asked, “How long were you in the dining room for?”

“About half an hour, I think. Snowy left before I did.”

“And you were just sitting in there?” Panther asked, their suspicion evident.

“Yeah. Playing on my phone a bit and looking at the furniture. There’s a really well-crafted vase in there, so I sent a picture of it to Imar,” Mary said.

“Where did you go after you left the dining room?” Panther asked.

“To the kitchen,” Mary replied. “I heard some noise, so I went to see what happened.”

“And what happened?” Panther prompted.

“If you stopped interrupting me, I’d tell you,” Mary snapped. Royal gave Panther an ‘I told you so’ look.

“It didn’t look like anything had fallen, but Rojo Tres was there,” Mary explained. “They seemed kind of dazed, and went to the dining room after saying hi.”

“How curious,” Pinky Panther mused. Royal rolled their eyes.

“I stayed in the kitchen after that and made myself a sandwich,” Mary continued. Panther opened their mouth to say something else before Royal bumped their side to shut them up. Mary noticed, and said with a smile, “Ham and cheese with honey mustard. There was some fruit juice in the fridge, too.”

“What did you do after that?” Royal asked.

“I ate it and went into the foyer. I heard another noise, and then after a little bit, the power went out. I stayed in there until it came back on, and then I ran into you two,” Mary said.

“And that’s all that happened?” Pinky Panther asked.

“That’s all that happened,” Mary confirmed.

Panther nodded. “Then some follow-up questions,” they said confidently, re-adjusting in their seat. “The power went out, but the only way to get into the fuse box is with a screwdriver. Do you know anything about that?”

“Oh, Momo doesn’t know how to use a screwdriver,” Mary said. When met with a look of confusion from the detectives, they elaborated, “Back in 2019 when Team Momo visited us in Van Gotterdam, Prim and I asked Momo to help mount a new painting Prim made to decorate our training facility. We left them alone for a few minutes and when I came back, it was the saddest thing I’d ever seen. Them holding a screwdriver with a bunch of screws scattered around, looking like they were just told their puppy went missing,” Mary chuckled. “They still don’t know how to use one to this day.”

Royal blinked. “Alright. And you were saying that Rojo Tres was acting strange in the kitchen?”

“Yes,” Mary replied. “They were standing in the middle of the floor just kind of staring. There was no food or drinks out, so I don’t know what they were doing, or what fell over to make that noise.”

“Very fascinating,” Pinky Panther said.

“If you want to know what I think, looking back on it now, I think Tres did it. They were acting too weird in the kitchen,” Mary said. “And you know, back in 2016 we trained with the Rollers a couple of times. Tres seemed pretty strong then. We went to this climbing gym and they were clearing some of the exercises like it was nothing. And training with a Marble Rally athlete for so long, they must know how to get around quickly. If I had to take a guess, the thud I heard was Tres striking Spade with the candlestick, and then they ran into the kitchen and were contemplating what they’d done when they saw me,” Mary finished.

“Well,” Pinky Panther said, taking a breath. “I think the killer is you, Mary.”

“Woah, where’s this coming from?” Mary exclaimed, backing up in their seat.

“I’ve been butting heads with Panther all night, but I agree with them on this,” Royal admitted. “You’ve been acting suspicious this whole interview. I think after the power went out, you killed Spade and tried to run from the scene through the foyer. But when you saw us outside and realized that plan wouldn’t work, you acted innocent and walked with us to the body to try to clear your name, and now you’re passing the blame onto somebody else.”

“And we can’t even get started on the stories everyone’s heard,” Panther interjected.

“That is true,” Royal murmured. “I never gave much stock to those, but maybe they were true after all.”

Mary seemed frozen in shock at Royal’s accusation, but as soon as Panther spoke, Mary’s eyes narrowed. “Hold on. What have you heard?”

“That you light things on fire for fun, use dangerous chemicals and metals willy-nilly, play with knives and other dangerous tools. The list goes on, really,” Panther said.

Mary seemed like they knew more about these stories than they were letting on. “Uh-huh. And who told you that?”

Pinky Panther thought for a moment, but finally answered, “Prim. It’s sad that the words of your kin became evidence for your conviction.” Unlike Panther, Royal realized the implications of what was said and flushed with embarrassment.

Mary clicked their tongue. “That explains it. We have this game where we spread exaggerated lies about each other and see how long it takes for it to get back to the other marble.” They let out a sigh. “Sucks that it came back to bite me during a murder investigation…”

“That’s preposterous!” Panther exclaimed. “They’re so widespread, surely some of them must be true.”

“Well, every lie has an ounce of truth,” Mary began. “The fire thing probably comes from all the ceramic stuff I do. I’ve gone to a couple of wood firings throughout the years. I loaded a couple during university, actually. They’re really cool-looking, the flames spit everywhere when it gets to the highest temperature. Dangerous chemicals I think could be the solvents we use for art restoration—ones for removing glue, removing dirt, and varnishing. Knives and other tools I’m not completely sure of. I guess it’s whittling knives, I did some whittling while Prim and Aryp were away for season three of Marbula One.”

Pinky Panther and Royal both stared blankly. At last, Royal spoke up. “Then, if you guys make up lies about each other as a game… does that mean that Prim didn’t actually drink their paint water once in university?”

“No, that was real.”

By a Peacock’s Feathers

by Momoikkai

The landing area of the second floor was unarguably the most boring part of the whole house with its severe lack of interesting things from the walls to the floor; thus, it made for a perfect interrogation site.

“Alright,” Pinky Panther started, continually rolling around Momo for dramatic effect, “tell me what you know about the murder. The one you committed, to be specific.”

“I know I didn’t do it,” Momo deadpanned. “What makes you think I would do something like that? Someone who had to witness their teammate get hurt so badly all those years ago wouldn’t dare to do the same to someone, so thinking I’d go a thousand steps further with killing someone is kind of rude…”

Pinky Panther didn’t flinch. “Everyone’s going to say that. Your claims mean nothing without proof.” They put on an expression of deep thought, obviously fake. “For all I know, your pride could be your downfall.”

Momo scowled at the sudden accusation. “My pride? What are you even talking about-“

“It’s elementary, my dear Momo. Surely the winning dumpling would want more titles to their name,” Panther started, still circling their suspect. “Doesn’t winning both the Marbula One individual championship and Most Valuable Marble award in a single year sound too enticing to pass up? Why, the easy thing to do in order to ensure that caliber of victory… lessen the playing field, of course.”

“The Black Jacks aren’t in the League this year,” Royal said disappointedly, “and Momo can’t even win the award anymore. Are you sure you were a detective before joining the League…?”

“So, what do you know?” Pinky Panther repeated their request as they finally came to a stop in front of Momo, acting as if Royal had never said anything. “Now’s your chance to prove your innocence… if you even can.”

“I’m not a killer-“

Royal mouthed something to them in the middle of their small outburst; it looked something like “just talk.”

A frustrated sigh from Momo. “…okay, fine, I’ll talk if it means I can enjoy the rest of my night without you randomly accusing me of murder.”

Pinky Panther smiled. “That’s what we wanted to hear. Explain away, dear Momo.”

They took a deep breath before starting. ”Well, I started my night in the ballroom. Orbit and Spade were also there. At some point Orbit and I kinda started dancing together. I don’t consider myself a good dancer so I’m sure whatever we were doing looked like a mess, and I think I knocked them over so hard once that they dropped a key or something. It still worked after that, though…” Their expression turned from irritated to sheepish after the admission. “That’s the last I saw of Spade all night, I swear.”

Royal started scribbling notes down. “Then what?”

“I went into the kitchen after I had enough of embarrassing myself. I saw Snowy there and we started to talk. We talked about the usual things you talk about with others; how the season is going, wondering how the final results might look, maybe some assorted gossip we heard from our teammates, stuff like that. Nothing about murder because I’m not a murderer, unlike what some marbles here might think.” As if to stress the last bit, they gave the detective a cold look.

“Fascinating… oddly specific with that last bit, but fascinating either way,” Pinky Panther mused.

Royal looked up from their notes. “Was Snowy the only other marble you saw the whole time?”

“Mhmm. The two of us kept talking as we rolled around the place. Very beautiful, I might add. Sort of makes me wonder how much it cost you to rent it out. We went upstairs after a bit and then we split up around here.” Momo motioned to the social room. “I don’t know where Snowy went, but I went into the social room. And just as I do so, the lights go out! Nothing I can’t handle, but definitely a little annoying.”

“Did anything stand out to you in there?” Royal asked. “I know you couldn’t see anything if you’re telling the truth, but maybe something felt off?”

Momo looked off somewhere. “I heard someone crying in the bathroom, I think. Whoever it was must have been having a terrible night… I can’t help but feel bad for them…”

“Fascinating. Any chance you know who it was?”

“I’m not entirely sure… it wasn’t Mary, that’s all I could tell you. Unless they were crying over other things, I don’t see any reason for someone who begs for the lights to be turned off during scary movies and enjoys painting starry skies at weird times in the middle of the night to be sobbing during a blackout,” Momo answered.

“How curious…”

“Do you only have two responses to everything…?” Royal muttered under their breath.

“I stayed put until the lights came back on. When they came back on, Snowy was back at my side as if we hadn’t split. We barely got to continue our conversation before we heard the screams from downstairs and needed to see what was going on… that’s all I have.” Momo shot a glare towards the detective. “Anything else you need?”

Pinky Panther stared at them for a bit before asking, “Could you tell us a bit more about Mary in contexts that pertain to murder, actually? You two seem awfully close, with Momary being a bond that never dies and all. Perhaps you two are just looking out for each other?”

Momo’s expression turned to shock. “Are you accusing them of murder too!? Mary would never! I mean, they’re pretty strong as they’ve shown in pushing and climbing things so maybe that counts for something when it comes to effectively killing others, but plenty of marbles who aren’t murderers are good at those things.”

“Interesting…”

They tutted and shot another glare at the detective, obviously unhappy with the direction of the conversation. “Honestly, is there no set of ethics for being a detective or what? What sort of investigator just comes out swinging with murder accusations out of nowhere?”

“This one does,” Royal replied with a nudge to their partner.

Pinky Panther returned Momo’s intense look before smiling. “I think that’s all the information I need. Thank you for your time, Momo. This was very productive!”

Momo started to roll away, but not without a roll of the eyes and a scoff.

Once Momo was out of the picture, Royal turned to Pinky Panther. “So… what do you think? Do you think they could have done it? Did they say something we need to keep an eye on?”

“I’m not sure,” they admitted, a smirk finding them, “but I do know that tonight got a lot more… interesting.”

A Scarlet Number

by Vector

“Ahh, the dining room. 94% of murders take place there, did you know that?” Detective Pinky Panther mused as they made their way down the stairs and towards the aforementioned room. 

Royal looked back at them, baffled. “That’s not even remotely true. Like, at all. How would that actually be proven? It’s such an unverifiable statistic and I for one-“ Royal was cut off abruptly after Panther ‘accidentally’ shut the door in their face as the detective entered the room without them. 

Sighing deeply, Royal reopened the door and headed into the dining room to join Panther. “Who are we interviewing now?”

The mansion’s dining room was excessive in its excessiveness; between the chiseled-from-stone wallpaper and the polished mahogany table with its abundant maximalist decoration, the room very much felt indulgent in itself. Pinky sat down on one of the cushioned dining chairs, chewing the scenery. “Hmm… how about Rojo Tres next?”

“Ready when you are.” The aforementioned Rojo Tres appeared next to some kind of antique cabinet, holding a balled-up towel, surprising the detective and their assistant.

“How long have you been here!?” Royal asked, startled.

“Longer than you two have.” The Rojo Roller went to take a seat at the table next to Panther. “Broke a cereal bowl over, had to clean that up- I was just looking for a place to put the towel. Not murdering anyone, I promise!” Tres stifled a chuckle.

“Sure… y’know most people don’t usually joke about murder on the night of a murder.” Royal contended.

“Sorry, sorry! Just nerves is all. It’s been a tense night.”

“…Okay Tres, can you walk us through what you experienced  tonight?” Royal asked.

“I mean I was asleep for quite a while… so I might not know all of what happened.”

“That’s fine, just tell us what you know.”

“Ok. Like I said, I was asleep until about a quarter past nine- wait no, it was slightly later than that. Either way, I was awoken around that time by a sharp, loud noise. I think someone was crying.” 

“Crying?” Royal was intrigued. “Any clue who it was?”

“Could it perhaps have been the tears of… the murderer!?” Pinky Panther chimed in.

“In what way would Tres possibly know that?!”

“Trust me, Royal. You just aren’t as experienced in the detective process as me.”

Royal rolled their eyes and once again let out a deep sigh of regret. Meanwhile, ignoring Panther completely, Rojo Tres continued. “I have no idea who was crying, but my word if it wasn’t the loudest spate of noise I had ever set ears upon. In fact, I was about to get out of bed and search for whoever was making all the fuss when it felt like a floorboard came loose or something- and I just slipped and ended up in the kitchen!”

“A floorboard?” Royal looked perplexed.

“Well… I suppose it wasn’t just a floorboard, but that’s what it felt like. Either way- I fell from the bedroom to the kitchen.”

Panther, who had finally managed to start taking the situation seriously, began to ask questions themselves… “The fall must have been pretty loud itself. Was anyone alerted?”

“Yes, actually!” Replied Rojo Tres. “Mary was in the kitchen drinking something. I don’t think it was soda, but I’m not sure. Although… I guess they only heard me? Because they went into the dining room almost as soon as I fell. I assume they thought the noise came from here? I honestly have no clue.”

“Did you actually get to speak to Mary at all?” Asked Panther.

“Nope… by the time I picked myself up off  the floor and got into the dining room they had already left. And then… well, there was another loud noise- not crying this time, just this abrupt thudding sound- a-and then that’s when the lights went out…” Rojo Tres trailed off, looking shaky and nervous all of a sudden. 

Royal took over questioning again after Panther suddenly decided that one of the artificial apples laid across the table’s grandiose display was apparently worth investigating. “Ahh yes. The blackout- we believe around that time the murder took place. Now tell me- did you hear or see anything after the lights went out?”

“Nope. Nothing. I just stayed put. Didn’t move an inch. Didn’t see anything, didn’t hear anything. The next time anyone talked to me was… well, it was when we met in the ballroom.” Tres paused briefly. “I’m afraid I never really interacted with Spade all that much, I can’t tell you anything about them you probably don’t already know- the last time we actually had a conversation was maybe 2022- us and our team members went to a climbing gym with Momo and the Rockets right around the end of Marble ManiaX. Other than that… I guess we spoke a little around the 2018 qualifiers?”

“Interesting.” Royal glanced over at Panther, who was attempting to cut the fake apple with a knife, and then back to Tres. “Thank you for your cooperation. ”

With that, Royal pulled Pinky Panther away from the plastic fruit on the table, gathered up their things, and headed out of the dining room to grab Billy. 

“…So… did you find anything with the apple back there?” Asked the detective’s assistant, earnestly trying to make small talk. 

“Well, being a detective requires you to search every nook and cranny of a room in order to find clues, and sometimes you end up pursuing a rad herring- but oftentimes that red herring in and of itself can lead you to an actual clue, and…”

“You didn’t find anything at all, did you?” 

“…Well, no.”

Green With Envy

by Millim

When Panther brought Billy into the social room for interrogation, the next step of their perfectly planned investigation, they expected things to go fairly cleanly. Ask the pertinent questions, note any suspicions, and get a little closer to solving the question of who was culpable for Spade’s murder. 

What they were getting was not what they expected. As soon as Panther had gotten Billy down on one of the chairs, they’d broken out into a flurry of violent sobs, a torrent of emotions flooding forward all at once as their eyes grew even redder. Panther and Royal had sat in silence, watching awkwardly as the breakdown progressed, Panther occasionally checking their watch. By their measurement, it was almost ten minutes before the tears concluded. 

“S-sorry,” Billy mumbled, voice hoarse from sobbing. “I-I can’t believe Spade is dead…”

Panther made a silent note inside their head; too dramatic; potentially suspicious. “It’s a terrible tragedy. But if you answer some of my and my investigative accomplice’s questions, we’ll solve the mystery in no time. Even if you did it.” 

Billy’s expression morphed into one of panic. “I didn’t do it! I promise! I’d never do anything like that! Really!” 

Royal turned to Panther and whispered to them underneath Billy’s startled objections. “Would they actually have a motive?” 

“Loudly insisting they didn’t do it is exactly what someone who did do it would do,” Panther whispered back. 

“Yeah, but that’s not a- ugh, never mind.” Royal turned away from Panther and towards Billy. “Look, we’re not trying to incriminate you. Just be honest, and if you’re innocent, everything will be fine.” 

Billy sniffled in their direction. “Don’t I get one phone call I can make? Like you see in films?” 

Not willing to risk making them cry again, Panther nodded. “Alright. But just one.” 

Billy approached the landline phone plugged into the wall and began to dial a number. Panther listened intently as the call went through. 

“Alright, I’m going to say this for the very last time- I don’t want to talk about any sort of warranty, so you can go and-” 

“Bombay! It’s me!” Billy said, still sounding panicked. 

“Oh! Ignore that little monologue.” Bombay’s voice was a little difficult to make out from where Panther was sitting, but they could just about hear them. “What is it?” 

“Um. I’m a suspect in a murder case right now.” 

“Oh dear,” Bombay said. “But you didn’t actually kill someone, did you?” 

“Of course not!” Billy exclaimed. 

“Then just be honest. Anyone can tell you wouldn’t do something like that, so you’ll be able to get this cleared up in no time.” 

“You’re just saying that because we’re family. Of course you think I’m obviously innocent.” 

“I could come round and show some of your school photos-” 

“Uh, nope, no need to do that at all!” Billy squeaked, quickly slamming the phone down and ending the call. 

“That’s your one phone call over,” Panther added unhelpfully. Royal shot them a glare. “Ready to answer some questions?”

Billy sniffled again, more pointed. “I guess.” 

“Alright. First one; where have you been all night?” Even when they were inside, Panther couldn’t recall seeing much of Billy past when they’d greeted them at the door. 

“…I’ve been in the social room all evening. But I haven’t seen anyone else.” 

Why Billy would come to a party and not socialize with anyone was beyond Panther, but it wasn’t on their list of questions to ask.

“Second question, then. We’re thinking that a rope might have something to do with the case. What do you know about everyone else’s climbing skills?” 

“Well… Snowy’s really bad at climbing. Like, terrible. I guess it makes sense that someone who skis would be more focused on going down than up.” 

For someone so soft-spoken, it was a pretty offensive thing to say. But Panther wasn’t there to comment on that; they just noted it down. 

“Third question. Can you use a screwdriver?” 

Despite how upset they were, Billy seemed almost offended that they’d ask. “Of course I can. I work on light aircraft in my free time. Ask Tres if you have to- I’ve worked with their team before.” 

“Alright, alright.” Panther noted that down too. Only one more thing left. “I already know you have a working key, but do you know anything about anyone else’s key?” 

“Um… I don’t know if I should give you that information.” 

“Suspicious…” 

“O-Okay, I’m sorry. Uh, I haven’t seen a lot of anyone today, since I was in the social room for so long… but I did see Rojo Tres and Momo testing their keys earlier, and both of them worked. So… I hope that helps.” 

Panther didn’t answer that. It would be giving away too much, they decided. “I’ll see if it does,” they said ominously. 

“Can I go now?” 

Royal tried their best to smile at Billy. “Of course.” 

Panther watched as they left, eyes narrowed. The plot was thickening for sure. Billy seemed to have no motive- but could that be concealing something?

“Hey, don’t get distracted!” Royal chided them.  

A Plum By Any Other Name

by Flamigiri

Pinky Panther, Royal, and Orbit sat in the bedroom. The lights were dimmed, set by someone else earlier, and Panther could not figure out how to turn them back up. Moonlight streamed through the curtains, highlighting a piece of rope whose bottom dangled down out of view. The occupants of the room were much more focused on the interior, however.

Orbit seemed much calmer than the other suspects the detective duo had interrogated so far. Naturally, that made them suspicious.

“It was you, wasn’t it!?” Pinky Panther cried.

“Just a moment, please,” Royal said through gritted teeth, grabbing Panther and dragging them out of the bedroom. Once they were alone on the landing, Royal glared at their crime-solving partner. “I told you. No more baseless accusations.”

Panther shrugged sheepishly. “It felt justified to me.”

Royal sighed deeply. “Whatever. Do it again and I’m doing this interrogation alone.”

The two reentered the room, where Orbit was waiting patiently on the bed.

“We’re going to ask you a series of que-“

“Did you do the murder!?”

After Royal locked Panther in the bathroom, the interview resumed.

“Tell me what you did tonight,” Royal prompted.

“Well, it was around nine when I last saw Spade. We were in the ballroom with Momo. You didn’t hear it from me, but they’re not the best at dancing. Spade was there watching, having a good time.”

“I see. And you didn’t see them again?”

“No, I don’t recall seeing anyone for the rest of the night, at least until we were all in the ballroom again.”

Royal jotted this down in Panther’s notebook, their neat, even cursive a heavy contrast to the nearly indecipherable chicken scratch already on nearly every page. They motioned for Orbit to continue.

“After that, we split up. I went to the foyer, and Momo went to the dining room or the kitchen. I don’t remember exactly. Then I went up to the bedroom and stayed there until I heard you shouting downstairs.”

“And you didn’t see anyone during that time?”

“Not a one. I heard some doors opening somewhere, and I heard someone crying in the bathroom during the blackout, but I didn’t see anyone.”

“Not even Rojo Tres?”

“No leading questions!” Panther scolded, muffled by the door between them. Royal rolled their eyes. 

“Hm, well, I didn’t see them at all. I can’t imagine they had a good time during the blackout, though. I’ve heard they’re terrified of the dark. Can’t move a muscle if the lights go out,” Orbit explained.

Royal wrote this down. “This may seem like an odd question, but can you use a scr-“

“Ask them about screwdrivers!” Panther called from the bathroom. “Did you do the screwdriver question yet?”

“Yes, I’m literally asking it right now!” Royal exclaimed back, exasperated.

“Uh, well, yeah, I can use a screwdriver. I thought it was a pretty common skill. Snowy can use one too, I think. I’ve seen them working on different odds and ends. Mary can too. Maybe it’s part of their job? Or related to it? I don’t remember.”

“Alright, I think that’s plenty of information. Thanks for being so cooperative. Some of the other interrogations haven’t gone as smoothly…”

Pinky Panther appeared suddenly in front of them. “But they have all been fruitful, in no small part from my excellent deductive reasoning!”

“How did you get out of the bathroom?” Royal sputtered.

“Uh, don’t bathrooms usually lock from the inside?” Orbit offered.

“But of course! With my excellent logic skills, I was able to escape your makeshift prison!” Panther said.

Orbit squinted at them. “It took you that long to figure out you could unlock the bathroom door?”

Panther ignored the question, instead taking a step and falling directly through the floor.

Orbit threw a questioning glance at Royal, who simply shrugged.

“Must be the trapdoor.”

Little White Lies

by Mystic

“I swear I haven’t seen Spade all night, it couldn’t have been me!” Snowy pleaded with Pinky Panther.

“No one said it was. Just answer our questions and you’ll be free to go,” Panther replied gently, attempting to calm down the frightened Snowball for the umpteenth time. “Take a deep breath Snowy. We don’t want to cause any more trouble tonight.” 

Snowy, Royal, and Pinky Panther all took a seat in the Foyer. Snowy coughed. “So… w-what do you want to know?” they asked shakily, anxiously glancing out the window.

“Let’s start at the very beginning-”

“A very good place to start,” Pinky Panther interjected, immediately interrupting Royal.

“Now is not the time for musical references, Sherlock. We have to get to the bottom of this.”

“It was worth a try. Go on.”

“Okay,” Royal gathered themselves once more and began their question, “Where were you when the party began?”

“I was with Mary,” Snowy responded nervously.

“And what were the two of you doing?” Panther interjected.

“We were drinking soda… a lot of soda.”

“No fruit juice?”

“Why would we be drinking fruit juice?”

“Unimportant,” Royal responded, shooting a disapproving glance at Pinky Panther. “So you were drinking soda with Mary when the night began. How long did that last?”

“About ten minutes if I had to guess. I went to throw away my soda can and found Momo in the kitchen.”

“Interesting. Did you stay in the kitchen with Momo?” Pinky Panther inquired.

“Not for long,” Snowy responded, slowly gaining confidence as they recalled the night, “We moved here not long after.”

“Is that all?”

“No, we rolled up to the landing. Then we split up and I went to the bedroom. The lights went out as soon as I got there.”

“Was anyone there?” Royal jumped in.

“I didn’t see another marble, but the lights were gone as soon as I rolled in. So, I guess maybe?”

“Interesting, how did the dark make you feel?” Panther paused before adding to their question, “In fact, how does the dark make the others feel?”

“The dark? I’ve never been bothered by it. It’s always prettier back home at night,” the Snowball began to zone off.

“Save the reminiscing,” Royal snapped Snowy back to the moment, “Does anyone here have a different opinion on darkness?”

“As far as I know Billy really does not like it. And there was one time that Tres got frightened when the stadium lights turned off for the Closing Ceremonies. They completely froze up.”

“Good to know. You mentioned Billy, how much have you seen them tonight?”

“Not much, they helped me get into the cellar at the start of the night. I didn’t get my key until a little later.”

“So Billy has a good key,” Panther said, under their breath.

“What?”

“Nothing. Back to your evening. Did you see anyone else again?”

“I did find Momo in the Social Room after the lights came back on. Apparently, they’d been there the whole time it was dark.”

“Is that the last thing that happened before you came downstairs?” Royal asked.

“Before I heard you screeching? Yeah, that’s all.” Panther laughed at Snowy’s description of Royal’s reactions.

“I did not screech,” Royal retorted, “I simply… expressed my shock through a slight noise.”

“I don’t know, I quite like how Snowy recalls it,” Pinky Panther said with a smile, “Thank you for your time Snowy, I don’t think we have much left for you.”

“No problem,” Snowy said before rolling out of the room as fast as possible.

“Well, that’s all of them,” Royal said, turning to Pinky Panther. “Do you think you can crack the case?”

“We’ll just have to see, my dear Watson.”

A Showdown of Wits

by Flamigiri

Six suspects stood silently surrounding Spade’s slain shape sitting stock still center-stage in the ballroom as Pinky Panther contemplated. They weren’t sure if Panther was thinking about the murder or of more words that started with s.

Royal rolled their eyes impatiently. “Look, do you know who did it or n-“

“I’VE SOLVED THE MYSTERY!” Panther exclaimed in all caps. “I know exactly what happened in this house on this night.”

“Whoop de doo,” Royal said, ready to be disappointed.

But disappointed they would not be, for the brilliant Pinky Panther really had cracked the case. They played a jazzy detective theme on their phone, hidden from view, so that to the others, it seemed like their life had incidental music.

“The first mystery we must solve is that of the blackout. How did the murderer get into the cellar?” 

“Uh, through the door, obviously,” Royal said.

“That’s where you’re wrong, my true blue-hued companion,” Panther said. “For if they had entered the cellar through the ballroom, Spade would have become suspicious when the lights went out, and they may have been alive right now.”

“That still leaves the foyer and the dining room doors, though.”

“If that were the case, then the culprit would have bumped into Mary or Rojo Tres along the way.”

“Then the culprit must be one of them. Simple.”

“Wrong again, my ultramarine underling. There is a third possibility.”

Royal’s face twisted into something between utter annoyance and complete resignation as Panther continued.

“Is it true, Rojo Tres, that you fell through the floor in the bedroom into the kitchen?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Tres replied, not expecting the question. Panther turned to Mary.

“That explains the sound you heard and the sudden appearance of Rojo Tres in the kitchen.”

Royal piped up again. “But that’s the kitchen. How does that have to do with the cellar?”

“Well, my dear Royal, you’ve answered the question yourself,” Panther explained. “Was it not you who said the building is symmetrical from east to west?”

Mary chimed in. “Then that means there’s another trapdoor that leads from the social room to the cellar!”

“Exactly correct, my artistic amigo. Rojo Tres and Mary both heard another thud just before the blackout, which must have been the sound of the culprit jumping down to get access to the fusebox!”

“Or it could have just been one of them lying,” Royal countered. “What about the juice spilled in the foyer in front of the ballroom door?”

“Simply a red herring,” Panther explained. “Our friend Mary here spilled it when the power went out. Or so I suppose. The spill wasn’t there at the start of the night, and you were the last one in the foyer, yes?”

“Well, uh, yeah. I didn’t think it was important,” Mary admitted.

“Think nothing of it. The spill was untouched Royal and I entered the house. That means no one used the door between the ballroom and the foyer during the blackout, so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.”

“Oh, well, then, you’re welcome?” Mary said.

“But there’s someone else I know has been lying to us,” Panther said darkly. With a dramatic flourish, they pointed. “Billy.”

Billy’s heart stopped for a moment as their name was spoken, but Panther kept talking.

“You claim to have been in the social room the entire night, correct?”

“Y-yes…” Billy stammered.

“But how can that be the case? You would have seen Momo and Snowy in there when the lights turned on.”

Billy paled. “I-I… can explain.”

“No one saw you the entire night, it seems.”

“It wasn’t… I d-didn’t…”

“I did, however, notice something interesting. Rojo Tres, Orbit, and Momo all claim to have heard crying in the bathroom at different points in the night. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Billy remained silent.

“You were too ashamed to let everyone know you spent the entire party crying in the bathroom, so you lied about your location! Everyone else was seen elsewhere in the house, except for you. Unless the house is haunted, those cries could only have come from you!”

Billy remained silent.

Royal piped up, feeling bad for the Green Duck. “Uh, it’s alright, you don’t have to-“

“No, no, I admit it,” Billy said, wiping tears from their eyes. “I spent the entire night in the bathroom like a weirdo. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Think nothing of it, my canard comrade!” Panther replied, clearly getting the vibes wrong. “The truth revealed itself in time.”

“But that doesn’t help us with the murder,” Royal said. “You just embarrassed Billy in front of everyone for no reason.”

“On the contrary, it was very helpful. Billy is no longer a suspect in this case, and we know now that the culprit could not have ever visited the bathroom! Otherwise, they would have been seen by our green g… friend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But that means we know the path the culprit took to complete their murder. They jumped from the social room down to the cellar, opened the fusebox, cut the power, entered the ballroom, killed Spade, and entered the kitchen to hide!” Panther exclaimed excitedly.

“But no one entered from the kitchen when you discovered the body. You were with Mary, Tres came from the dining room, and the rest of us came from upstairs,” Momo said.

Orbit piped up. “Then that means it has to be either Rojo Tres or Mary, right? Even if you can get down from the top floor doesn’t mean you can get back up.”

“Actually,” Mary chimed in. “I think there’s another way to get to the main floor.”

Panther turned to Mary once again. “Very astute, my primary pal. There is indeed another way. Cast your mind back to the kitchen.”

Mary nodded. “Yes, there’s a rope dangling outside the window. I assume it leads to…”

“…the second floor,” Panther finished. “Specifically, to the bedroom window, where I saw the rope as well.”

“Ah, so the culprit could have escaped to the second floor after all?” Snowy said.

“Precisely, my shivery chivalry,” Panther confirmed.

“Alright, that one was pretty good.”

Panther did finger guns, then remembered they were supposed to be super cool. They coughed, then went back to their detective schtick.  “I believe now everything is clear, and we may deduce the murderer.”

“Really?” asked Royal, half impressed by Panther’s logic so far and half waiting for it to abruptly fail like usual.

“There are five things that must be true about the culprit: First, they must be able to move around in the dark. Second, they must be able to climb up a rope. Third, they must be able to use a screwdriver to open the fusebox. Fourth, they must not have been crying in the bathroom the entire time.” 

Everyone looked at Billy for a moment.

“And fifth, they must have a working cellar key.”

“Well, some of these are pretty easy. Both Orbit and Snowy said that Rojo Tres is scared of the dark,” said Royal.

“Well, given what happened tonight, I think that’s a pretty justified fear!” Rojo Tres said indignantly.

“I think it was Billy who said Snowy can’t climb,” Royal continued. Snowy threw a glance at Billy that said ‘Dude, what the heck?’ and Billy threw back a glance that said ‘Uhhhhhhhhh.’ 

Mary nudged Momo teasingly. “And you can’t use a screwdriver.” 

Momo opened their mouth to object, but decided against it, instead opting to pout.

“But how will we know which key is the one that’s broken?” Royal asked. 

“W-we could just t-test them right n-now…” Billy murmured.

Panther promptly ignored them. “Well, it’s quite simple, really. Exactly one key is broken. If we know each of the other keys works, then we know which one doesn’t.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Snowy said.

“Royal, Spade, and I all had working keys. Mary claimed that Snowy had a working key. Snowy proved that Billy had a working key. Billy said that Rojo Tres and Momo both had working keys. Momo explained that Orbit had a working key. That leaves…”

“…me,” Mary finished. “I guess that makes sense. I never tested it out since Snowy grabbed the sodas for us. But that means…”

“Yes,” Panther said. “That means, with every other possible suspect eliminated, there can only be one culprit.”

The other marbles in their room held their breath as Panther paced around the room slowly.

“You lied about being in the bedroom. When you went upstairs, it was to the social room instead. You waited for the perfect opportunity, then dropped down to the cellar through the trapdoor. You quickly unscrewed the panel of the fusebox and turned off the power. Under the veil of darkness, you snuck into the ballroom and struck Spade, who didn’t even see it coming. Then, you went to the kitchen, climbed through the window, and up the rope into the bedroom. Your plan complete, you waited for the body to be found so you could join the rest of the crowd by rushing down the stairs. Isn’t that right, Orbit!?”

A heavy silence descended upon the group once again at Pinky Panther’s accusation. A moment passed. Then two.

Finally, Orbit broke the silence. “Fine. You caught me. I killed Spade.”

Billy looked horrified. Momo let out a gasp. Snowy was pale as a sheet. Pinky Panther said “Booyah!” 

Mary glared at Orbit with contempt. “But why’d you do it?”

“Well,” Orbit explained. “It’s quite simple really. We won Marble ManiaX. That M1 invite was ours. We’re the superior expansion team, and those stupid Jacks stole our spotlight!”

“That’s absurd!” cried Royal. “You didn’t need to kill them!”

“Of course I did,” Orbit said plainly. “That’s the game.”

The ballroom rapidly transformed from an ornate hall to a quaint living room, with nine marbles crowded around a small table, cards, and dice strewn about.

“Dangit, why do you always win, Panther?” Mary complained playfully.

“I suppose I’m just cut out for this sort of thing,” Panther replied with a hearty chuckle.

“What did you think of my acting?” Royal asked cheerfully. “I think I played the part of “disgruntled assistant” pretty well!” 

“You did pretty good,” Orbit replied, scratching their head. “Dang, and I thought I would get away with it, too!”

Billy stretched. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom. And it’s not to cry, I promise!”

“Don’t worry, we believe you,” Rojo Tres said, grinning.

“Hey guys, can I stop lying on the floor now?” Spade called out. “I’m getting sore.” 

Momo helped them up. “You were pretty good as a corpse. I almost forgot you were here!”

The group laughed unabashedly. Snowy got up to grab more pizza as the rest of the group began to shuffle the deck and cast the rolls to start the next round.

Credits

• Writers: Evolution, Flamigiri, Millim, Momoikkai, Mystic, Vector
• Copyeditors/Editors: Evolution, Fouc, Millim, Stynth
• Graphic Designer: Flamigiri
• Release: 31/10/2023