Chapter Two: Obstruction of Justice

…

"Hi, Officer. Sorry, Joth can't come out to play; he's busy hiding from the law."

"Wha—" Officer March uttered when he realized that the person standing at the door was not Brookstone. After his brain comprehended who had answered his knock, he snapped, "Dammit, Fieldview! What is wrong with you?!"

"If you believe everyone else, I'm just arrogant and annoying," Link replied with a grin. He had changed into a cleaner pair of black trousers and a short-sleeve, green tunic that hung loose from his scrawny body. He pushed the door to the small apartment open further and leaned one shoulder on the doorframe, arms crossed to further express the smug look on his face. "But, really, Mara says I'm special."

"Does Mara know you're out here?" March asked. "You know? Getting in my way?"

"Probably not," Link said with a dismissive shrug.

"How did yo—… You lied to me. You knew Brookstone would be here, but you gave me his home address instead."

"Technically, I didn't. When you first mentioned you were looking for Joth, I started stalling you by being as annoying as possible. He would have been home when I finally gave you his address, but I know his routine better than you. He would have left just minutes before you showed up at his doorstep."

"What?" March paused as he thought about the situation. "But… but I thought you just woke up."

"I did. Irritation makes a poor coffee substitute, but it still gets me motivated in the morning."

March pointed at him with a finger. "Fieldview, what you've done is very damn close to obstruction of justice."

Link made a disagreeing sound, "Pfft. The court would never prosecute, and you know it."

March's tone turned heated as he said, "I told you not to get involved."

"Yep. You also told me to have it my way. That overrides not getting involved; I fully intend to have it my way."

"Now listen here. Whether charging you with obstruction sticks or not, I can still haul you down to the jail and lock you away for the day. You won't be much good to Brookstone then, will you?"

Again, Link gave a dismissive shrug. "You'd have to take me there yourself, and she'll have to come along for the resistance I plan to commit. That's, what, an hour there, an hour back? Joth'll be gone by then, and you'll have to hunt him down all over again. Put succinctly, if you drag me in now, I'll be out by the time you find him."

"If it'll get you out of my way…" March began as he reached a hand around his back.

Detective Sergeant Navi, having gone unnoticed during the conversation, carefully grabbed March's wrist as he stepped forward with a pair of manacles in his hand. "Mister Fieldview," she said in a clear tone of relaxed authority, "perhaps we can reach an understanding."

"You're welcome to try," Link answered.

"It is clear that you intend to impede this investigation to help your friend save face," she said. "And perhaps you are correct in assuming his innocence and that we are at fault for jumping to a hasty conclusion. Would you step aside if we promised to only ask questions here? You may even stand with him for moral support; Brookstone could probably use the strength."

"Uh-huh," Link replied in a flat voice. "Well, my problem is that you're still gonna ask questions. How many can you get through before it becomes an interrogation?"

"If you expect us to put him on the burner, I can assure you that we do not have to take it that far."

Link shook his head. "You don't get it. Every question is an interrogation."

"Even if I only ask one? Say, ask Brookstone where he was during the event in question?"

Link's face turned into a stone-cold glare. "One always counts."

Detective Sergeant Navi put on a stunned look and exchanged glances with March. March shrugged and said, "It's part of his philosophy."

"What do you propose then, Mister Fieldview?" she asked, her tone remaining level and professional.

Link held up a finger. "One question. I ask it. No one argues with it," he told them. "Then we all leave."

"What do you expect to find out with one question?" March asked. "I know you can get more out of a person with three or two questions, but not one."

Link smirked. "One always counts. Just stop debating it and agree."

March gave a deep growl as he replaced the manacles behind his back. "DS Navi, it's your call," he said, "but Fieldview has a point."

"I hardly believe this to be an acceptable condition to an investigation to what amounts to a Crown felony," DS Navi answered. "However, as a local officer and being familiar with both boys involved in this matter, I feel it appropriate to yield the decision to you, Officer March."

March sighed and scratched his balding pate. "All right, Fieldview," he relented. "One question, and then we go. And none of your secrets, either; if you got something, I wanna hear it."

"I got an earache," Link told him with a smart grin. Then he beckoned to them with a hand. "C'mon in, don't touch anything, and no flash pictography."

"'No flash pictography'?" DS Navi asked March. March could only shrug his own confusion as they followed Link inside.

The apartment's anteroom looked quite bare, the only real items of interest being two pairs of casual shoes next to the doorway and a door to the next room which had been made of a single panel of wood. Once Link led them past the door, even DS Navi could not maintain her professional attitude, her face melting into a look of shock that Link took notice of with subtle glee. In the next room, newspaper clippings and pages out of library books coated all four walls almost as far as the ceiling. True to what both March and DS Navi believed about Joth Brookstone, Princess Zelda occupied most of the images. One cluster that did not look to be pictographs of her, upon further examination and some squinting, turned out to be a collage of pictures which formed an image of Zelda with its vast array of differing colors. One table against the wall to the left of the front door bore various crafting utensils among an astounding amount of scrap paper. Another table, sitting in the middle of the room, had been covered with parts from maybe six different pictoboxes. None of them appeared to have been damaged, but March was sure that some of the parts had been jammed together when they were not meant to be compatible. Pictography books and pictograph albums took up most of the bookcase on the right side, its shelves warped under their weight.

Link stepped toward a door on the opposite side of the room and pulled a crate closer to himself so that he could sit down. "Sorry he doesn't have any chairs," he told March and DS Navi. "Those broke a long time ago."

"Link?" someone called from behind the back door. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's still me," Link replied to the door.

"Is it safe to come out?"

"Yep. Don't worry; I'll protect you."

There was a pause. "Okay."

The door opened, and DS Navi's stolid expression collapsed to a bout of shock that Link grinned at while he took note of it. She recovered and looked Joth Brookstone up and down. The obvious detail about him was that he appeared to be a few years older than Link. His skin sported red spots on his face and under a short mop of red hair, the beginnings of an outbreak of dermatitis. His eyes seemed to bulge, and one eye was noticeably askew from the direction that he appeared to be looking. Joth was heavy-set and dressed in a baggy, grey shirt and trousers with large pockets further down the legs.

Joth eyed March and Navi for a moment, causing Navi to steel her features again. Then he offered Link a stack of pictographs. "These are the ones you asked for, Link," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't have them developed earlier."

Link offered a casual shrug as he started looking through the pictures. "That's okay, Joth," he said. "We all do strange things when our routine changes." The thought caused Joth to grin, showing teeth left crooked by bad formation and yet white from constant care.

"What did he—" March began to ask.

"Well, well," Link interrupted in a loud voice as he stood up. "Masterpieces, all of them." He turned to Joth. "You know, if it wasn't for this obsession with Princess Zelda, you'd do pretty good for yourself as a professional pictographer."

"Well, she, uh… do-do you really think so?" Joth asked.

"Oh, yeah," Link said as he paused to compare two pictures with each other. "Especially this set here, the one where she's throwing a disc for charity."

Joth blushed and bowed his head a fraction. "Those ones are my favorites. She is so graceful."

"You can make out a lot of detail," he told Joth. "Especially the pink rose earrings, the garnet necklace, and the gold bangle that went missing." Link then glanced at the two visitors, using the pictures to cover a smug grin.

March had a confused look on his face. He glanced at Navi, and that was when he noticed that she had changed. In addition to having a shocked look on her face, her hair had turned deep blue. March was sure her hair had been black earlier. But her expression caused him to ask, "Detective?"

Navi regained her composure and asked, "How could you possibly know? You weren't at the event, and I never mentioned the items, not even to Officer March."

"Pictures never lie," Link said. He took two pictures into his free hand and turned them to show her and March. One picture was a close-up of Princess Zelda standing at a podium, ostensibly addressing the crowd. The other showed her standing among a group of children, hand poised as if she had just thrown a flying disc. "And yet," Link commented as they examined the pictures, "she never bothers to take off the tiara for the disc throwing. That's dedication to your station."

"So that's when she took them off…" Navi murmured to herself.

Link turned the pictures around to look at them again. "Nice to see that lens we fit together works."

"Yes, it's a lot of help," Joth said, grinning at him. Then his smile dropped as he made to point at the next set of pictures Link was sifting through. "Um, those ones, I tried without the lens, though. You-you can't see much."

"Oh, you can see plenty," Link said as he slid one particular picture out of the stack. "Including one little hand where it shouldn't be."

"What?" March asked as Link turned the picture around. The photo was a wide shot centered around Princess Zelda as she greeted a crowd of children. Little hands were raised around her. But near Link's finger were a short row of tables covered in blue sheets. The contrast allowed both him and DS Navi to see the princess's missing items on the surface.

There was also a small hand reaching across the table toward the items. View of the owner was obscured by the table since the owner was hiding behind it.

March finally allowed a half-smirk. "I'll be damned," he commented as both he and DS Navi stood up straight again after having to lean in closer to see the picture.

However, Navi's look was dubious as she surmised, "So, we're to assume that these items are in possession of one of the children at the event. It only makes this a matter of looking through the visitors' list for the children's names."

Link shook his head as he returned the picture to the stack. "I wouldn't count on that, Detective," he told her. "This is a 'crane game'. The kid's the claw."

"A… a 'crane game'?" Navi asked March.

"You know those crane machines they recently started putting in supermarkets?" March asked. He mimed his words as he explained, "You put in a single rupee, and you turn the crank until the claw at the top settles on what you want? Then you let the crank go, and the claw dives for the prize and drops it in the side slot?"

Navi's voice came out a little annoyed as she replied, "I am familiar with the contraption."

"Right, well. Imagine an adult thief as the operator. You can't go for the prize because you have no way of reaching it without getting caught. So, you get someone on the inside to do the job for you. In this case, it's a kid. The kid's small enough to slip in, grab what it needs, and then get right back out."

"It's been a bit of a problem around here," Link chimed in. "I spoke to a psychologist friend of mine about it. Kids are easy to manipulate into stealing because, once they reach a certain age, they're eager to please any adult they come across."

"Even a complete stranger," Navi noted with a hint of skepticism.

"Out here, yeah," March replied.

"Kids out here tend to think that, even if they don't know someone, someone they do know must know the stranger, too," Link said. "Otherwise, the stranger wouldn't be near them."

"So… we must identify the child in the photo," Navi reasoned. At this, both March and Link shook their heads. Her frown deepened as she asked, "Why not? The child would be able to provide a description of the suspect."

"That's another problem we've had with this issue," March said. "Kids are notorious for getting details wrong when they're trying to remember an unfamiliar face. I once had to chase down a man with only one nostril and a left ear made of cheese."

"Kid witnesses are unreliable," Link added. "Their imaginations get the best of them. Witness identification isn't out of the question, but you'd probably be chasing your tail for days looking for a man with a face like a sewer rat."

"And witness identification by a kid is too easy to call into question," March said. "A decent defense attorney knows how to turn one of those on its head."

"Okay then," Navi told them. "We cannot expect the child to identify whoever put them up to this. Even though we forgo the fact that you have not excluded any of the parents present at the event."

"You're right; we're not," Link said. "But we still have a few things working in our favor."

"Such as?" Navi asked.

Link resumed his search through the pictures. "Whoever did this would prefer that no one see it happen. Who chances getting caught in the open having a kid deliver stolen goods, especially belongings of the princess of Hyrule?"

"A rather mundane fact," Navi said. "Most people use seclusion."

Link turned to push some of Joth's camera equipment aside on the center table and began laying out some of the photos. "Then. Whoever did this likely had a rough plan."

"How do you arrive at that conclusion?" March asked as they stepped forward to view his layout.

"The event has been news around the province for over a month," Link said. "If no one knew it was taking place, it's because they were deaf. That makes the spontaneity of the crime pretty low. There's also the fact that our perpetrator used the crane game to pull it off."

"This assists in your conclusion?" Navi asked.

"Our perpetrator could plan on using the crane game to get the goods, but it doesn't take long to set up. Just find a kid who'll listen and give some basic instructions. A few of the cases I've read even talked about the perpetrator using candy to bribe the kid." Link glanced closely at one picture, and then a few others before he said, "But he did take his time waiting for his opportunity."

"How do you know?" March asked.

Link pointed out a few photos as he talked. "If we suppose that the time between these photos is pretty close, then it looks like it happened right after Princess Zelda took the items off. But Joth took off the lens, which was probably a couple minutes. Put that together with some of her movements and locations, we get at least a five-minute window in which the theft occurred." He turned one photo toward March and Navi. "Also, look at this table arrangement."

"That is the buffet table," Navi pointed out. "So?"

"This is spontaneous," Link said. "The perpetrator spent time watching for someone to take anything off. Which means no one suggested that she take her things off and put them on the table, right?"

"One of her personal guards mentioned this to me," Navi said. "She will take off small pieces of jewelry if she becomes uncomfortable wearing them."

Link's attention snapped back down to a set of pictures near the edge of the table. "Her personal guards didn't think to watch the jewelry?" he asked.

"The guards' priority is the princess."

"But there was no sort of altercation to draw their attention away?"

Navi gave him a curious look. "Do you believe that the princess's guards were involved?"

Link gave a shrug. "It's just as likely that they really didn't care about the jewelry, but it isn't a bad note. I was just surprised that they let their attention lapse when the Watch is making a big deal out of this."

His comment caused Navi to glare at him. "Priorities," was all she answered with.

"Okay, so," March said to interrupt whatever verbal jousting he felt was about to start. "You've given us an idea of what kind of suspect we're looking for, Link. Did Joth's camera catch any suspects?"

"Oh, yeah, all over the place," Link said. He began pointing out adults that appeared in pictures throughout the spread, including photos that were taken indoors and away from the scene of the crime. "He's a suspect… she's a suspect… him, him, and her… them… ooh, I think this guy could be a suspect, too. See how he's trying to drink champagne through his nose."

"I get it, I get it," March told him, one hand held up to stop him. "It could be anyone, everyone, or no one. I've heard this spiel before."

"What Joth's camera caught is a bunch of scenery, though," Link said. "This is clearly Mayor Bo Park just across from the school's building site. I don't know exactly where they're standing, but the edge of the tree line…" He paused and pointed out a row of trees in the background of one picture. "… and the large field gives me an idea of what might be around."

"What do you need?" March asked.

"I need to see the park," Link said. "The sooner, the better."

"Wait," Navi spoke up. She turned to March and asked, "You are not involving a civilian in this matter, are you?"

"Detective," March said as he casually squared up to her, "Link Fieldview is a frequent consultant to both the Subordo District Police and the Ordon Sheriff's Office. He has a history of contributing to cases which have stymied seasoned detectives."

Navi blinked at him in confusion, and Link cast a grin at her hair. "If he is so successful, why have you not inducted him into the sheriff's office?" she asked.

"He's only seventeen. The law says we can't take him for one more year." March then turned to Link. "It'll take me a bit to get a wagon here."

"Thirty-five minutes as soon as you use the police box one block south on Branberry Street," Link said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. Then he collected the pictures. "Joth, I want to take these along so I can use my table at home to spread them out more."

Joth, having gone unnoticed throughout the conversation, looked over his shoulder from the newest picture of Princess Zelda that he was tacking to his wall next to the dark room. "O-okay, Link," he answered.

As Link gathered up the pictures, March pointed out, "Wait a minute. You never asked him your one question, did you?"

"Yes, I noticed a distinct lack of questions in his direction," DS Navi said.

"Joth," Link said. Joth looked over his shoulder again. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes, I did," Joth replied with a large grin. "It was such an opportunity. I only regret that I couldn't talk to her."

"Happy?" Link then asked Navi.

"What was that supposed to prove?" March asked.

Link gave a smart grin and turned to leave. "That his eyes never left Princess Zelda."