13C - Mysterious Murder Case

It's now 2:20 PM, and Mario, Luigi, and Goombario emerged from the other end of the frozen Warp Pipe into Shiver City, which was mostly covered with snow. Because Mario and Luigi were superhumans, they were not affected by the cold temperatures, whereas it made Goombario shiver a bit.

"This is Shiver City. It's usually completely covered with snow and ice," Goombario explained. "It's perfect for penguins, but it's a bit too cold for me. You seem to be fine, though. How do you do it, Mario and Luigi?"

"I have no idea," Mario replied. "But for all me and Luigi know, it kind of feels like we're in an air-conditioned room or something."

"Does it really snow all year round?" Luigi asked.

"Apparently, yes. Given that the city is located near the north pole, I can understand why."

As Mario and friends began exploring Shiver City, they saw multiple Bumpties walking up and down the cobblestone road. It was a small city with 8 buildings and a giant frozen pond on the east end.

Next to the frozen pond was a green Bumpty wearing a police hat. Mario approached him to ask for directions.

"Excuse me, sir. Can you show us what Shiver City is like?" Mario asked.

"I'd love to right now, but I'm currently investigating a report of a suspicious character wandering around the city," the police chief answered.

"Okey-dokey. I hope you solve the case." Just before the group could take off, the policeman thought of something.

"Wait a minute. You're not him, are you?"

"No. Absolutely not. We just came here," Mario said.

"This is our first time in the city," Luigi added in.

"All right. Whatever."

Over on the far end of the east side, a Bumpty was standing in front of the archway.

"Um, we need to go to Starborn Valley from here," Luigi requested. "Can you let us through?"

"Not yet. We're on alert because a stranger appeared in the city. So, I can't let you pass without permission from the mayor," the Bumpty said.

"Where's the mayor?" Goombario asked.

"He's in the house on the west end of the city."

"Thank you so much," Mario thanked the Bumpty before leading Luigi and Goombario to the mayor's house. They expected the mayor to be standing in front after they went inside, but to their surprise, they saw the mayor lying on his back with his eyes closed.

"No... The mayor better not be dead..." Mario muttered. "Unless he fell asleep earlier..."

"What do we do?" Luigi asked.

"I don't know. Let me see how he's doing." Mario walked up to the mayor and tried to take his pulse. There was no heartbeat. "Oh no... They're gonna blame us now..."

Suddenly, he saw a small piece of paper in the mayor's left flipper that said "Herringway".

"'Herringway'? What kind of name is that?" Mario asked himself. "Bro, this is getting a bit weird."

"We should just-" Luigi started to say before the door opened. The group turned to see a female Bumpty walking inside.

"Darling, would you like a cup of tea?" the Bumpty asked, thinking the mayor was okay.

"This must be the mayor's wife," Luigi whispered to Goombario.

"Hmm..." The wife now believed the mayor was sleeping. "Dear, you know you'll catch a cold if you sleep there!" She walked up to the mayor with Mario standing next to him.

"Um, ma'am? I can explain," Mario said with hesitation.

"Not now, sir," the wife responded before taking the mayor's pulse. She immediately became frightened at the mayor's apparent death. "NOOO!"

The wife ran out of the house crying, "Help! Somebody! Anybody! My husband is dead! He's been murdered! It's a penguin murder mystery!"

"I knew it!" Mario said with frustration. "They're gonna kill us!"

"Calm down, Mario," Luigi coaxed Mario. "Let's just act natural." The group heard another voice talking to the mayor's wife.

"What's going on here, madam? Just calm down now. You need to speak slowly so I can get to the bottom of this." When the door opened again, the police chief came inside with the mayor's wife.

"My husband is dead! Look at him lying there! Oh, my darling husband! Somebody clipped his flippers!" the mayor's wife cried.

"Step aside, please," the police chief ordered Mario. He took the mayor's pulse too and didn't feel a heartbeat.

"By golly, you're right, madam! The mayor's been murdered!" the police chief exclaimed, worrying Mario, Luigi, and Goombario even more.

"This is like a mystery novel! Except it's real! How tragic! But madam, if I may ask... Who would have reason to put this penguin on ice?"

The mayor's wife didn't hesitate and yelled, "Him! Right there! The man with the suspicious mustache! And his two friends next to him! I never wanted anyone to come in the house, but they barged right in! My husband was alive right up until these people showed up! They must be the murderers!"

"No! No! It wasn't like that!" Mario tried to confess. "We were just-"

"Hey! Stop talking and listen to me!" the police chief interrupted Mario. "That includes you two!" Luigi and Goombario also turned to listen to the policeman. "This good woman's accusing you. What do you say for yourself?"

"We were just going inside to ask the mayor for permission to go to Starborn Valley beyond this city," Mario said.

"We would never downright kill anyone like that!" Luigi chimed in.

"We're good people just like her!" Goombario said too.

"Don't try to play ignorant with me. I'm a professional. We've got a witness here. Isn't that right, madam?"

"Yes! That's right! They did it in cold blood! I... I saw it with my own eyes!" the mayor's wife shouted. "Besides, they're the only ones who came into this room! It all adds up!"

"You're not making any sense, ma'am!" Mario said with irritation. "You can't just jump to conclusions immediately! We need to take this one step at a time!"

"Yeah!" Luigi and Goombario agreed.

"So, you're sticking to your story, claiming you're not the culprits..." the police chief wondered.

"Me and Goombario here were with my brother the whole time! I swear on my own grave, we are innocent!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Hmm... If you're telling the truth, then we're dealing with a backroom murder case. Oh, I never trained for this..." The police chief paced around the room, unsure of how to go from there.

"A backroom murder case... A high-ranking penguin slain... How could such a horrible plot twist hit our peaceful city?" Finally, he thought of an idea and turned to the group again. "All of you! The twin Mr. Mustaches and Goombario! Once more for the record! You swear you didn't do this?"

"For the third time, all of us are innocent. Nothing else," Mario stated.

"Very well. If you do say you're innocent, this means we have to find the true murderer..." Again, the police chief stopped to think it over.

"Ah! Perfect! Since you claim that you're not the guilty party, then you must bring me the murderer yourself!"

"We can do that," Mario said.

"If you find him, I'll believe you. It's the only way... But until you legitimately prove you're innocent, I must forbid you to leave the city. Now, off with you."

Mario and friends immediately left the mayor's house in search of whoever did kill the mayor. They initially asked most of the Bumpty residents, but they refused to help, assuming that they were the murderers too. However, in the second building from the left of the east archway, there was a cabinet that was opened halfway.

"There was a paper that said, 'Herringway' on it," Mario said. "Could there be more about him in this cabinet?"

"I don't know. But maybe there's a book with his name on it," Goombario answered. Both Mario and Luigi opened the cabinet and rummaged through it for a couple seconds; suddenly, Mario discovered a gray key hidden in the very back.

"Did I see a lock on the building next to this one?" Luigi asked. "That should be where the key goes."

The group exited the building and went over to the lock on the next building and unlocked it before going inside. It turned out to be a two-story storehouse filled with wooden crates, old books, and chairs lying all around.

"More books?" Mario asked himself upon seeing the pile of books. "Maybe there's a diary in there." Both Mario and Luigi sifted through all the books and skimmed the pages to find random writing within, but there was still nothing.

"Let's not give up hope before you complain, Luigi," Mario said to Luigi. "At least there's another floor to look over." The group went upstairs to the second floor, upon which a yellow trampoline sat beneath a hole in the ceiling.

"What's up there?" Luigi asked while looking through the hole. He immediately hopped on the trampoline, which catapulted him out of the building. He then landed on the snowy rooftop and slid for a second before stopping himself from falling off.

"Guys! Up here!" Luigi called from the rooftop. Mario and Goombario made their way to the roof and inched toward the edge where Luigi was standing. There was an open chimney on the next building in front.

"If we're going down that chimney, we need someone else to help us," Mario said before swapping Goombario with Bow.

"That's a lot of snow," Bow remarked while looking at her surroundings. "What city is this?"

"I'll explain later, Bow," Mario replied. "We're on a mission right now, and we need to be sneaky. This is where you come in."

After Bow nodded in agreement, she touched Mario to make him invisible, but Luigi moved out of the way, keeping his promise to never touch a ghost.

"Please, Luigi? It'll make things easier," Bow requested.

"You remember what I told you?" Luigi asked.

"All right. I understand." The group leaped over the gap to the next building and approached the chimney. Bow and Mario immediately jumped into the chimney before Luigi slowly straddled downward.

Inside the building was a Bumpty with big white eyebrows; he was writing some notes as part of brainstorming for his next book. Luckily, he didn't notice Bow and Mario tiptoeing toward him. Upon reaching the bottom, Luigi hid inside the fireplace, waiting for the right time to show himself.

The Bumpty turned away from his desk to go to his water cooler when he saw sooty footprints in front.

"Did someone break and enter?" the Bumpty wondered out loud. Knowing the footprints came from the chimney, he started to walk toward it. Suddenly, Bow and Mario revealed themselves and screamed as loud as they could, causing the Bumpty to fall over and crawl backwards. Luigi then came running out from the fireplace and grabbed him to stop him from moving.

"We got you now, Herringway!" Luigi declared.

"Wha- How did you know my name?!" Herringway asked with fright. "And why are you in my house?! All of you, get out!" He pointed toward the front door, but Luigi pinned his flipper down.

"We're not leaving just yet," Mario said. "Tell us what you know about the mayor's murder."

"What do you mean, 'The mayor's been murdered'?"

"Some unknown suspect barged into his house and clipped his flippers before knocking him over," Luigi explained. "He was not breathing after he left, and the cops blamed me, my brother, and our friend Bow just as we entered Shiver City!"

"And why should I care?!" Herringway demanded.

"Because you're the chief suspect! That's why!" Mario answered with anger. "You'll pay for turning the residents on us!"

"Yeah! How about we turn you in?" Bow asked.

"No! Don't do it!" Herringway pleaded. "I'm innocent!"

"Not listening," Mario answered, putting his hand in front of Herringway's face. Luigi led the way while holding Herringway's flippers behind his back. They eventually arrived at the mayor's house; the mayor's wife and police chief were still standing next to the mayor's body.

"We found him, sir!" Mario announced as Luigi pushed Herringway in front of the police chief.

"He's all yours!" Luigi said.

"Wait! Before you do anything else, isn't this the mystery novel writer named Herringway?" the police chief asked.

"His name was on a piece of paper the mayor was holding," Mario said.

"So! If that were true, I most certainly would've noticed it. Now, where's that paper?" It took a few seconds for the police chief to see the paper in the mayor's flipper. He then read the text slowly to take in what was written.

"It's a message about his death!" the police chief exclaimed. "With his last breath, the mayor told us the murderer's identity!" He turned to Herringway with an angry smile on his face. "Mr. Herringway, you cold-hearted murderer... It all makes sense now. No wonder your novels are so exciting and suspenseful. You live out your own plots."

"Dear man, do you have any idea what kind of bull you're saying?!" Herringway loudly asked. "You actually think I would do this to the mayor?! He's a great friend of mine!"

"Oh, really? What makes you think he's your friend?"

"Well, we've known each other-"

"Enough! Not another word!" the police chief interrupted. "I'm not gonna hear your coverup story that alienates everyone into thinking someone else did this despicable crime!"

"All right-y. Can we go now?" Luigi requested, letting go of Herringway's flippers. "This case is over."

"Uh-uh. Not until I have a say," Herringway disagreed. "I would never be so predictable. Besides, I'm completely innocent. I've been working in my house on my new novel for two and a half weeks. I didn't have time to sneak over here to kill the mayor."

"I'd just like to say that I still think these two mustached men-" the mayor's wife tried to defend her point.

"Will you shut up already?!" Mario shouted, silencing the wife immediately. "I don't want to hear another freaking word out of your mouth! God!"

The police chief sighed with disgust. "This penguin murder mystery is getting more confusing... What do we do now?"

Suddenly, the mayor groaned and stretched his arms while still lying on his back.

"He's alive..." Luigi whispered to Mario.

"What...?" Mario replied with disbelief. "How could he be...?"

"Oh, my aching skull..." the mayor said with pain, holding his head with his flipper. He inadvertently scared his wife while getting up.

"NOOO! My husband's a ghost!" the wife screamed. "Get him away!"

"Oh jeez," the mayor murmured. "What is going on right now?"

"Hold on! Hold on a second!" the police chief ordered. "Mayor, we thought you were dead! Our backroom murder mystery is a wash! What a plot twist!"

"I was dead? What are you talking about?" the mayor asked. "I seem to remember going to the shelf to get this souvenir for Herringway..." He took a couple seconds to remember what happened before he knocked himself out. "Oh, yes, of course! I reached up, slipped, and then hit my skull on the floor. Yes, that's what happened!"

The mayor went to his bookshelf on the far end of the house and made sure not to fall off while climbing up. He then retrieved a blue and white wreath before handing it to Herringway.

"Here you are, Herringway," the mayor said. "I heard you wanted to put this wreath above your fireplace. You might as well take some pictures of it and send them to me."

"Umm... Thank you, I guess..." Herringway thanked the mayor with confusion.

"Well, it's about time this ordeal was done," the police chief stated. "Mayor, please be careful next time. The whole city was up in arms." The police chief left the house to go back to his business.

"Yeah. I'm very sorry," the mayor said to Herringway.

"Hehe. I thought it was rather entertaining, actually," Herringway remarked.

"Entertaining?!" Mario cried. "How could an injury like that be entertaining?! Do you even realize the mayor could've died if he fell from a higher height?!"

Herringway stood in silence, realizing Mario was right. He slowly walked out of the mayor's with his head hung toward the ground.

"Please forgive me, fellows," the mayor apologized. "I never meant to cause a ruckus in the city."

"Yeah. I'm sorry too," the wife added in.

"Did I just say I don't want to hear another word from you?" Mario reminded the wife. "Leave now."

"Can you not tell me what to do?" the wife asked. "I just-"

"But you've been on my nerves for the last half hour!" Mario exaggerated with frustration. "I don't want to see your face again!"

"Just wait in the kitchen, dear," the mayor told the wife, who walked into the kitchen.

"That wasn't necessary, bro," Luigi told Mario. "You can't boss someone around like that."

"Enough. Let's forget this matter for now," the mayor requested. "Since you're in my house, I assume you wanted to ask me a question, right?" Luigi stepped forward.

"Yes. Me, Mario, and our friend Bow want to go to Starborn Valley from here, but there's someone guarding the exit."

"I see. Well, I'll call him up now and let him know you are leaving," the mayor responded. "Good luck out there, fellows."

The group immediately left the mayor's house toward the east archway. After they reached the archway, the Bumpty guarding the way out stepped to his left, allowing them to go on to Starborn Valley.