Chapter 18 Tack and Tillie
Shellock frowned as he walked through Stonebrim. The sun was finally starting to rise, casting the glimmering morning glow that it was so famous for over the town. But even with this bright light and actually decent morning vibe, Shellock couldn't help but yawn and rub his eyes at this sight. He felt beyond tired like the very feeling of exhaustion was being poured on top of him by one of fate's surly, less flattering forms. He felt like he should take some time to rest, that he should head home and get some shuteye.
But how could he do that? There was no way he could put his investigation on hold; this was too dang serious! Shellock was supposed to be solving not one, but TWO mysteries! He had to solve the mystery of what happened to Roy and Celia IN ADDITION to what the deal was with the phantoms. Those mysteries weren't going to put themselves on hold if Shellock took time out of his busy schedule to take a break. Quite the contrary; one minute of rest for the great Shellock Holmes would equal at least ten more items for the phantoms to steal, and one more victim who could be harmed by a thief like Roy Koopa and Celia Patch were.
So no, he wasn't going to rest. He felt that was the best choice… while also being the choice that made him feel most like the walking dead. He dragged his feet over the ashy ground, feeling like he was going to collapse. He had to stop, for even the least amount of movement was exhausting. He realized that, if he wasn't going to try and get some sleep, the least he could was get himself some coffee. Just where could he get it?
"Lemmy?"
Shellock blinked. Where had he heard that voice before? He turned around and smiled when he saw Tack, the same koopa who had helped him and his siblings last night, appearing to get some mail out of his mailbox. He had been friendly to them, he had taken part in helping to locate Roy and Celia before they had gotten attacked. Maybe he could help! Maybe he could direct him in the direction of an answer (or at the very least the direction of a coffee house).
So, Shellock gave him a charming smile. "Greetings, Tack." He adjusted his hat as he approached Tack. "I am the great and brilliant Shellock Holmes. I am right in the process of solving a mystery."
"A mystery?" Tack paused before his face lit up. "Oh! Are you talking about what happened to your brother and his girlfriend?"
"That is part of it, yes," Shellock said. He got his bubble pipe out and took a puff. "The last night has been crazy; over-the-top I suppose you could say." He looked into Tack's eyes. "My family and I have also been chasing some phantoms."
Tack's eyes grew wide. "P… phantoms?" He pushed his hair back. "That's… that's terrifying."
"Indeed it is." Shellock took another puff of his pipe. "The phantoms in question have been stealing various objects from various people. There doesn't appear to be a pattern to their thefts, only that they have stolen stuff that belongs to people I know personally." He paused. "And they've stolen stuff that has some form of emotional significance for their owner." He sipped some more of his coffee. "Like a time machine or someone's entire shoe collection."
A look flashed across Tack's face but was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "That's interesting." He paused, looking a little uncomfortable before his face lit up. "Hey. Do you need my help with anything?"
Shellock thought about this. "That's the thing, dear chap; I don't know if you can help." He chuckled. "Not unless you can point me in the direction of a nice cup of joe."
Tack laughed. "That won't be a problem!" He gestured to the house. "Come inside! I can brew you something in no time!"
Shellock smiled. "Oh. Thanks; that is much appreciated."
And so, they went inside. The first thing that Shellock noticed about his house was the cleanliness of it. Seriously, as someone who described himself as a bachelor, his house certainly looked like he had a wife that took the time to clean it. He supposed, because of that observation, he shouldn't be so surprised that there WAS a woman in his house. With long, dark green hair done up in a bun, very heavy makeup, and a REALLY bulky figure, she sat alone at the table in the kitchen. Shellock blinked when he saw her, confusion taking over.
"Tack," he said as Tack started brewing the coffee. "I thought you told me that you were a bachelor."
"I am!" Tack said. He gestured toward the woman. "This is my friend and neighbor, Tillie. We've been friends for a while." He chuckled as he scooped some coffee grounds into the paper filter. "I was even friends with her before she was a woman. Am I right, Tillie?"
"Yes," Tillie said gruffly. Shellock raised his eyebrow, expecting her to say more in response to that observation. She ultimately didn't.
"Huh. Not much of a talker, I see." He took a seat across from Tillie, all at once noticing how she was looking at him. She didn't take her gze off of him, didn't even blink. In a way, it was a little… off-putting. He wouldn't go out of the way to call it creepy, but… well, Shellock wasn't one hundred percent comfortable being on the receiving end of that thousand yard stare.
Thankfully, Tack came to the coffee with three cups of coffee. He gave one to Tillie, one to Shellock, and reserved the last one for himself. Shellock took a sip, gleefully noting that it wasn't too bitter. He gave Tack an approving nod, which the Koopa responded to with a playful chuckle and another sip of the coffee he had prepared.
"So," Tack said as he put his cup down. "Have you made any progress on solving your mystery Lem… uh, I mean, Shellock?"
Shellock paused and sucked some air through his teeth. "Eh…" He made a so-so gesture with his head. "Honestly, all the clues I've been fortunate enough to find have just led me right back to square one." His heart sank. "I find something that could potentially be a lead, but then I find out something else that makes me… frustrated."
Tack chuckled as Tillie got a book out of her hammerspace and began reading it. "That's the story of my life, honestly. I think I have everything under control, and all the answers I can possibly have, but then something or someone pulls the rug out from under me." He laughed. "It's really frustrating, am I right, Tillie?" He looked over at Tillie, who by this point had her nose buried so deeply into her book that she might as well not be in the room. Tack tapped on her shoulder. "Tillie, honey?" Tillie lifted her head, giving him an annoyed look. "Tillie, we have a guest. I think you reading about Prankster Comets can wait."
Tillie looked supremely pissed off for a minute before sighing. "Whatever." She closed the book. She looked like she was going to put it back on her hammerspace, but Tack pried it out of her hands and put it in his hammerspace instead. If she was annoyed by this, she didn't comment on it.
"Well, anyway…" Tack turned back to Shellock. "So, you've made absolutely no progress whatsoever?"
Shellock sighed. "Well… not exactly." He took another sip of his coffee. "I did run into this bandit who acted really suspiciously when I talked to him. I have a theory that he was the one who took Celia's star bit ring and attacked at least her, if not Roy too."
"Ooh!" Tack's face lit up. "That's great! So… mystery solved, right?"
Shellock shook his head. "Yeah… no. No no no. I haven't actually seen the star bit ring in his possession. His behavior might have spelled it out as clear as day that he was guilty, but… without any evidence, I can't convict him."
"I see." Tack leaned back in his chair. "That's disheartening."
"Indeed."
The three sat in silence for a little bit. Shellock allowed his mind to focus on the situation, on the bandit's behavior. He needed to get more evidence. He needed to find out how to get into his house, search the place. But… unfortunately, he didn't know how he could do that.
"You okay, Lemmy?"
"Shellock, Tack, Shellock." He paused, looking up at the pristinely clean ceiling. "I'm just… frustrated. I am really frustrated."
"That makes sense." Tack looked at Tillie, who by this point had her eyes locked on his hammerspace, before looking back at Shellock. "Maybe… maybe you need to search the bandit's house? Maybe, if you found a way to get in, you could find out where he's hiding the ring."
"Precisely what I was thinking." Shellock chuckled. "But, alas, I don't see how I can do that."
Tack's eyes twinkled. "Well… why don't Tillie and I help?"
Shellock raised an eyebrow. "Help me? How?"
"Well, believe it or not, Tillie and I have interacted with the bandit from time to time. In fact, you could even say we're prett friendly with each other. We could distract him for you so you can enter his house. You can search to your heart's content until you find that starbit ring."
Shellock's eyebrow remained raised. "So you want me to break and enter?"
"Well… I wouldn't look at it like that." Tack placed his hand down on the table. "Shellock, if this bandit is the true culprit. He's committed numerous crimes, like stealing and assualt and battery… all over the course of one night! He took time out of his holiday to cause you and your family grief. So, really, wouldn't breaking and entering be the least he deserves?"
Shellock sucked some air through his teeth. "I… I suppose…" he looked down into his coffee cup. "I don't know…"
"Shellock, look at it this way. You need to find out what happened to your family, and right now, this is your only lead. And I don't know about you, but I think it's a fairly strong lead. You need to take advantage of that. If you don't… well, that would give the bandit more opportunity to cause more chaos, to hurt more people."
A pang spread through Shellock's heart. "That… that's true." He looked at Tack, then he looked at Tillie. "You're right. You two are absolutely right. We need to get into his house." He pushed his chair back and stood up, placing his palms face down on the table. "We need to get into his house to prevent anything more from going wrong."
"Yeah! Exactly!" Tack laughed and looked at TIllie. "What do you think, Tillie? Do you want to fight for the greater good and try to get into the bandit's house?"
Tillie shrugged. "Eh. Sure, whatever."
"Love the enthusiasm!" Tack looked back at Shellock. "We're doing this! We're actuall going to do this!"
Shellock thought about this before smiling. "Yeah." He sat back down, taking another long sip of his coffee while smiling. "We're gonna do this."
