CHAPTER
TEN: SUSPECTS
"I
can't find Junior anywhere," Bowser announced frantically. "He's
disappeared completely!"
"Yeah,
I haven't seen him since yesterday morning," Diddy replied. "I
wonder where he could have gone."
Everyone
was silent. Diddy could feel everyone's piercing
stares.
"What?"
"Oh,
nothing," Wario said with sarcastic nonchalance. "It's just
that you sort of brawled with him in the dining room the other
day."
"You've
probably already stashed the body in the cellar," Shy Guy said
bluntly.
Diddy
began to sweat heavily. "I didn't kill Junior, guys! I didn't
kill him then, I won't have killed him now!"
"That's
what they all say," said Shy Guy. "You probably killed Daisy,
too. You killed them all. You're a murderer."
Diddy
was hot with fury. He curled his hands into fists and lunged at Shy
Guy; he was held back by Yoshi.
"You
don't know what you're saying," he muttered as he walked away
from a chuckling Shy Guy.
Later,
Mario and Peach met up again, this time in the bathroom with the door
locked to prevent interruptions.
"Things
have changed," said Mario. "Diddy is most likely the
killer."
"Just
to be sure, let's make a list of suspects," Peach reasoned. Mario
agreed.
"So,
let's see. Diddy is probably the killer, but then there's Shy
Guy." Peach nodded. "He is very quick to blame Diddy and make him
seem suspicious. This could be to cover up the fact that HE is
actually the killer. I'm not sure how he may have killed Daisy, or
how anyone killed Daisy for that matter, but he just stood there in
the corner in the morning on the day Toad died. He could have somehow
spiked his food with poison without being seen, although I'm not
sure how he did it without direct contact. Either way, I suspect him.
Killing Bowser Junior may have been an act to pin the blame on Diddy.
He may have even put the body in the cellar, like he said – to make
it seem so obvious it can't possibly be true.
"Wario
could have done it, too. That day the vase exploded, his behavior was
pretty fishy. Although I don't know how he killed Toad. And he
could have killed Junior as easily as anyone else.
"And
although I hate to say it, Yoshi seems pretty sketchy as well. He
told me about how Donkey Kong died, and I'm not sure how he knew.
He could have done it himself and blamed Junior for the act. He
hasn't made himself very noticeable since…"
"What
about Bowser?" asked Peach.
"Bowser
is still a suspect, though we needn't be too careful about him. He
wouldn't have the heart to kill his own son."
They
opened the door to find Diddy and Shy Guy arguing.
"It
wasn't me!" Diddy exclaimed. "I didn't kill anyone! I never
would!"
"You
wanted revenge, and you went too far. Justice must be brought to this
forsaken place!"
"Diddy,"
Wario interrupted, "We all know it's you. You can't deny it.
The timing is too convenient!"
"Exactly!"
Shy Guy agreed.
"No
way! I wouldn't hurt a fly! Never! Junior's death was either an
accident, or he was killed by one of you!"
"Who
ever said Junior was dead?" Bowser interjected. All eyes were on
the sweating Diddy.
"I
– I never – I just assumed –"
"GUILTY!"
Wario yelled in unison with a loud crack from outside, signifying the
beginning of a lightning storm. Rain pounded against the roof almost
immediately.
"SOMEBODY! I KNOW WHO DID IT! I CAN TELL YOU!" Junior yelled from the cellar. He had yelled out the killer's name nonstop all through the night and into the day. "Please… just let me out, I can reveal it to everyone…" he continued to be unheard. "Please…"
