Chapter Ten

The Wrong Ringer

"Tails, you okay, man? You've been quiet since we left Spagonia."

"Hmm? O-oh. Sorry, Sonic." The golden fox looked up, eyes taking a moment to adjust from the light of his laptop. His best friend peeked over Tails' shoulder—the screen seemed to be filled with nothing but police reports and blurry photographs. "I'm just trying to put two and two together. That's all."

"And what would two and two be, exactly?" Sonic asked, moving to hover over the boy's shoulder. Tails' flushed a bit. He hadn't exactly wanted to show his prying to his friend. He wasn't quite sure of his lead, after all, and it almost insulted his genius to not to have everything together before presenting a theory. He was an intellect at heart when it came down to it.

"W-well…you remember how I told you about how that girl is Spagonia fought to get away from us? Well, me, I guess…" Tails scratched the back of his head nervously. "I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd seen her face before. But I KNOW I haven't seen her with the Hooligans before. So I was kinda looking through some old files in the missing persons catalog…and I think I might have found something."

"Hey, shoot it at me, buddy. We're dead on leads as is. We only caught them in Spagonia because it was the quickest route out of Eurish." Sonic sighed as he rested his elbow against the fox's shoulder. Tails' eyes were focused back on the screen and the files, clicking rapidly out of them to get to the bottom of the pile. "Even if it's a small lead then I think we could do good to have it."

"Stella Frost. I saw her registered as a missing person about a year back so I checked the database. It surprised me. There was the lack of publicity yet it if we can trust our eyes, then she's a member of a very wealthy and prestigious family." Tails brought up the photograph—the widely smiling white fox's profile matched the girl perfectly. "The Frost family. And their only known heir at that. You'd think if the ONLY child of the Frost family went missing, that there would be more of a fuss, right?"

"Well, I haven't heard of them, but if they're as big-named as you say…" Sonic considered it. "…then yeah, I'd wager it would only make sense if there was some sort of fuss about it."

"Well, I looked into the records. Aside from a oddly under-reported event at the Frost manor that she apparently turned up to then disappeared again afterwards, there's been no major reports on her runaway…or kidnapping." Tails' voice was loaded with implication as he brought up an old article. It featured a photograph of the police with a tired looking fox woman in cuff. Behind her stood the little girl. "But no. There was nothing. So I took this article photograph and enhanced it, and…"

Tails clicked open a photo file on his desktop—it was a carefully enlarged version of the photograph. The screen had been focused in around the small black haired fox in her light purple party dress—the dress that, from a distance, had masked an arm resting on her shoulder. It was an unmistakable purple fur, hidden under a familiar glove. Sonic's eyebrow rose a bit.

"…We can't be sure, though."

"It seems like one heck of a coincidence." Tails elaborated, shaking his head. "I mean, we can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure that the Hooligans were at this ball. Even the article kinda reflects it. The entire 'story' about the Frost matriarch rigging an elaborate plot only to be fooled by a nine year old is full of holes, specifically ones that could be filled with a lot of gunpower and a lot of pure muscle. I'm just guessing but it seems like they were purposely omitted from the article for some reason."

"Well, yeah, I guess, but what reason?" Sonic questioned. He wasn't quite buying it yet, Tails could see. He brought up another picture from the article—a copper red fox with blonde hair curling around his ears, looking tired and worn but wearing a strained smile. A thin champagne glass was balanced between his fingers.

"Eric Fairfield. He's the current owner of the Frost estate in the absence of his niece…and his wife." Tails replied. Sonic was silent, trying to digest the information being fed to him so rapidly. "Apparently at this party of theirs, his wife—Stella Frost's aunt and the previous controller of the fortune—was arrested for attempting to murder her niece. Sounds like a weird thing for an aunt to do, right?"

"You suggesting that Fairfield paid off the Hooligans to frame his wife and take off with the only heir to the fortune? So the story and this kid missing was covered up by him?" Sonic asked. Tails nodded briskly. "But…why?"

"I assume it was to get to the fortune. Like I said, the Frost family is a prestigious old money family. They're rolling in assets and gold just ripe for the picking by criminals. But that's only a theory. There could've been dozens of reasons, and I doubt Fairfield is going to answer any of the questions we have. But…" Tails brought up another picture—this time black and white—of the same fox woman from before standing sullenly against a lineup background. "…you don't need to take my word for it. I think there might be someone who we can actually ask about the event. And she's was just transferred three months ago to a Spagonian prison."

Sonic focused green eyes in on the woman standing against the lineup. Her light eyes were lidded and narrowed, a nasty scowl running across her features. Lipstick smeared across her mouth and her eyeliner seemed to be running down her cheeks. A ballgown, probably once one of the nicest that could be found, was in shreds on her shoulders and her dark hair stood up like she had been burned in a house fire. Something about that look seemed so untrustworthy…

…but he wouldn't file the Hooligans or anyone who worked with them under trustworthy either.

"Where is it?"

The lights of the visiting room were dim; the cheap bulbs seemed to flicker weakly every few seconds across the dirty cement walls and worn down green folding chairs. A guard stood poised and prepared by the door, a shotgun in his left hand and a handgun visibly available at his side. He gave the pair a jerky nod of the head as they entered the solemn room, looking through the bulletproof glass to the woman from the photograph. She did not fear meeting their eyes; rather, she stared right back with almost livid determination.

Vanessa Frost surely looked better than her lineup photo, with her hair smoothed down into a ponytail and scowl no longer present on her face. Her eyes still seemed to radiate irritation and an almost everpresent icy coldness, but in person the elder Frost seemed a bit less intimidating. Perhaps, Sonic concluded, it was the lack of the running makeup and explosive hair. She still seemed a bit unfriendly, though.

"Are you Vanessa Frost?"

To their surprise, Sonic's question was met with a snort as the woman looked away from them crossly. The hedgehog turned to Tails, who shrugged helplessly. The woman was already giving them trouble. "Look, I'm here to ask you some questions. My name is Sonic the Hedgeh—"

"I know who you are." She said crisply.

"Huh? Oh, well of course you do." Sonic said, his chest puffing up proudly despite himself. His smaller friend just rolled his eyes and stepped forward to slam a folder on the table cut in half by the bulletproof glass. Vanessa's attention was gained again. She looked down at the files curiously, eyes flitting back and forth between the printed article, the photographs of her husband, and the close up of her niece. A smile seemed to be cutting through her coldness.

"You are here about that incident?"

Something about the way the woman said it made Tails uncomfortable but he nodded anyways. "The Frost party where Stella Frost permanently disappeared? Y-yes, that's what we're here about. We think it might be able to give us a lead on a problem that we're working on right now."

Vanessa's smile grew. "You mean the Mina Mongoose Affair."

"Is that what they're calling it on television now?" Sonic questioned; all her got was a small guffaw and a nod. "Wait, how did you know what case we…"

"What else would you come here for? There's only one case that the famous Sonic the Hedgehog would be working on that connected to the annual Frost Ball." Vanessa tucked back her laughter and tapped the side of her head. "The weasel, right? The weasel and his cronies. You want to know what they have to do with this whole Mina Mongoose affair."

"You're…pretty perceptive." Tails commented.

"I knew from the second that they told me that you two were here that it was about those three. There wouldn't be any other reason for you to visit me during this sort of major dilemma." There was something about the way that she said it that made Tails shiver a bit—something just made him feel not quite right about this woman. Glancing over to Sonic, though, it seemed that his best friend didn't share his feelings. He wore a grin instead. "Let me guess: you saw the girl and you want my help to get your girl back."

"That's the gist of it. Sort of. We mostly just want to ask you a few questions. We're hoping that it'll help us know what their final destination is." Sonic supplied. "Like why they'd kidnap Mina at all, and why they have your niece with them."

Vanessa sat back in her folding chair with her hands cupped in her lap against the striped prison pajamas. Her eyes stared contemplatively at her fingers as they ran across each other. Across from her, the pair of heroes watched her expectantly; finally, from underneath lidded thick eyelashes, she looked up to them with a mysterious smile that barely was visible. Her fingers curved together across the back of each hand as she leaned forward towards them.

"I'm sure you've figured out that they have something to do with my family."

"Yes."

"And that they were at the Annual Frost Ball."

"Yes."

"And that they have my niece."

"Yes…"

"The article left a lot out, you know. It was a calamity." Vanessa said quietly, not looking at them—her face was hidden under a fringe of hair as she dipped her nose downward. Tails arched to see her face but it was in vain. "It has been quite an effort of his to get me out of the Frost family. I had been taking care of it in the absence of Stella's mother but I was foolish and let my guard down."

"You mean…Mr. Fairfield?"

"Erik, yes. Erik…" Vanessa's head did not lift but they could see her form shaking as her fingers curled tighter around each other. "He pulled the rug out from under me and betrayed me, saying I wanted to kill my niece. Such ridiculous drivel. My niece is all that I have left of my beloved sister, and yet he claimed the whole thing was a coo in order for me to gain control of the fortune…but in the end it was him who got the fortune. He got those fools to kidnap Stella and it left him our hard earned fortune when he blamed her near death encounter on me!"

"I see…" Tails said quietly; it seemed logical enough to him, and Sonic's eyes were starting to set into that determined look he only got when innocent people were hurt. "Do you think Erik has something to do with this new kidnapping? Stella seems to be a part of this new plan, so…"

"I can't help you with that. But if he is responsible…" Vanessa finally looked up. Her ice blue eyes had a glint in them previously unseen. "…then I can tell you where he WOULD take her for pickup."

"Huh?! You can?" Sonic said in shock, bolting forward to slam his hands against the table. "Tell us! We can recover her AND your niece!"

Vanessa let out a hollow laugh. "Station Square. Erik has a fairly large amount of assets there. He has a personally run stocks firm that he directs from our…his manor. It would be the perfect place for him to send a kidnapping hit without it being directly tied to him. He could just have the package picked up by one of his interns and avoid any indictment if the exchange failed."

"Alright! Perfect! We know where they're going! All we have to do now is wait to pick Mina and those stooges up!" Sonic snapped his fingers jubilantly, not noticing the dour expression of his partner. Tails looked on to Vanessa with distrust in his eyes. All of this seemed far too convenient for him. He had just been suspicious of the girl that had been travelling with Nack, and yet all the pieces of that strange girl and her family seemed to fit together so perfectly with the puzzle…

"You ready, Tails?!"

The fox sighed and stood up—maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe he was just trying to make issues when they weren't there. After all, someone who successfully made a grab for an old money fortune wouldn't be the kind of criminal to just stop there. So it was reasonable that he was committing more crimes and hiring goons that he was familiar with. Even if the look in Vanessa Frost's eyes made a shiver run down his spine, she was wholly easier to trust than the Hooligans were.

"You know…" Vanessa's voice almost seemed like a death rattle; both boys froze and turned back to the chuckling fox woman. Tails was starting to think he had been in this dark flickering room for too long. Everything was starting to seem intimidating. He shook it off as the woman leaned forward towards the glass. "There is…SOME help I can give you beyond that."

"What? Really?" Sonic dashed back to her side again. Tails shook his head—he didn't want to say that his friend was a bit gullible sometimes, but in the present of those who had been wronged, Sonic would ignore anything. The fox quickly berated himself. There was no reason he couldn't trust Vanessa Frost either. He had to remind himself that it was her word against some of the most untrustworthy bandits on Mobius. Her word was bound to be the more reliable one.

"I have a bit of a club in Station Square that I used to participate in back before Erik, well…" She cast her eyes down pitifully. "…anyhow, they're a reliable bunch. We used to read books together, we did. But they're also rather fond of….strength, if you get my drift. I'm not doubting your strength or anything, of course, but they might be able to help you take down those troublesome four."

"I appreciate it, Miss Frost, but I think I can take them. I've done it plenty of times before." Sonic snorted. Vanessa only tittered with laughter again.

"Have you run in with them recently?"

Sonic paused.

"I thought so. They outdid you, didn't they? My dear, let me tell you something, your ego is one of the most important things you can have. I pride you on the pride you have for yourself. But don't let that pride come before the innocents. Should Mina and Stella come before such concerns?" Vanessa shook her head. "My little club can provide you with backup, and on top of that, I'm sure they'd be willing to provide your little singing sensation with accommodations once you've got her back. She'll need somewhere to stay after you save her, yes?"

"Well…yeah, I hadn't thought of that…"

"They'll be able to help you. I'm sure of it. Remember, you need to think of poor little Mina before you think of anything else." Vanessa crossed her hands across her muzzle, resting her nose against the bridge of her nose. From underneath the fingers, they could still see a smug grin. "And trust me, I didn't just meander around with the hoy-palloi either. They're a wealthy organization and they can accommodate any and all of her needs, and more."

"Alright, alright. You're pretty on the nose, lady." Sonic commented.

"I always try to be."

"So how can we get to them?"

"Oh, of course. Let me just see if I can remember the phone number." Tails could've sworn that the woman's smug smile had gotten even smugger as she listed out the numerals for Sonic to scribble down. "And when you call that number…"

"I should what? Say you told me about them?"

"That, yes." She chuckled, a charming yet dark sound. "And be sure…be sure to ask for Thaddeus."

Tails couldn't shake the feeling that they had just been duped—all he could do was ignore it.