As Shadow was heading out to his car, Amy was bold enough to ask him a question:
"So Shadow, where do we begin?"
Shadow whipped around and thrust his index finger in Amy's face:
"Let's get one thing straight, Rose: I don't like you. The only reason I'm letting you follow me around is because if I don't, then they'll fire my ass. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll make sure it stays shut, understood?"
Amy pouted. "Y-you don't like pink girls?"
"Oh, don't play the crying game with me. I…"
Speaking of crying, that was exactly what Amy did, much to Shadow's consternation:
"No, wait…don't cry! I…"
Amy burst out laughing.
"HA HA! Fake tears!"
Amy stuck her tongue out at Shadow, who facepalmed and shook his head.
"Come on, let's just go," said Shadow.
Amy giggled. "Sure thing, handsome!"
After coming out into the parking lot, Shadow and Amy headed for the former's car, a Starlight Black 1970 Pontiac Trans Am with the Black Arms emblem on the hood.
"Is that YOUR CAR!?" Amy put her hands on her cheeks. "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* That's such a nice car!"
"Just get in."
"Whatever you say, handsome!"
Shadow whipped around and thrust his index finger in Amy's face. "And stop calling me 'handsome'!"
"But it's the truth, silly!"
Shadow lowered his finger. "Whatever."
Shadow and Amy got in the Trans Am and buckled up before Shadow started the car.
"Why aren't we moving?" asked Amy.
"Well, aren't you going to clear us first?"
"Oh, right!" Amy picked up the radio mic. "Uh…what's our callsign?"
"We're Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta."
Amy keyed the mic. "Central, this is Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, over."
"Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, proceed, over."
"Central, we request patrol clearance, over."
"Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, clear. Central out."
With that, Shadow put the car in gear and headed out.
"So, where are we headed to?" asked Amy
"The MER. I want to show you something."
The "MER" – short for "Medical Examiner's Repository" – was the Constabulary's name for the Emerald City Morgue, located on 1113 23rd Avenue in the Piccadilly Park neighborhood, which was in the City Center borough. After parking the car, Shadow got out and led Amy inside. Amy's nose turned up at the faint smell of corpses, but she did her best to stomach it. Here, they met up with Espio the Chameleon.
"Good evening, Shadow. I was unaware that you had a partner."
"Espio, this is Detective Constable 1st Grade Amy Rose. Amy, this is Espio the Chameleon, one of the best MEs in the city."
"Hi!" Amy waved at Espio.
Espio smiled. "Charmed to meet you, Detective Constable Rose. What brings you two here?"
"Remember the Morgan slaying?" asked Shadow.
Espio nodded. "I do. Why do you inquire?"
"I wanted to see her body, help Amy with the investigation of the Emerald City Ripper."
"As you wish."
Espio went to where Rosario Morgan's body was being stored and opened the vault, revealing the body of a light blue squirrel. Amy gasped and put her hands over her mouth as she attempted to stomach the sight of an actual corpse.
"Amy, look at the corpse." Shadow removed the sheet from Morgan. "Tell me what you notice."
After composing herself, Amy looked over Morgan's body carefully.
"The throat's been cut neatly, and it looks like the killer cut into her abdomen. Maybe the killer was a surgeon?"
Shadow nodded. "You're sharp; I'll give you that."
Amy put her hands forward, palms up. "But how are we going to find the killer this way? There must be thousands of surgeons in the city hospital system!"
Shadow raised his index finger. "That's the thing: we're not going to comb through the lists of surgeons; I have a better idea."
"What?"
"Why don't we go over the files of all the prostitutes who were killed by this suspect?"
"But what will that tell us?"
"You'll find out."
Shadow and Amy headed back to the command, where they went over all the files of the prostitutes who had been slain by the Emerald City Ripper. It wasn't long until Amy came up with something:
"Shadow…"
"Yes?"
"This might not be anything, but I found a connection with all of the victims: they were residents of the Echidna Sanctuary House."
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "The Echidna Sanctuary House?"
"It's a shelter for women affected by domestic violence. A friend of mine went there once."
"Do you know anything else about it?"
"Hmmm…" Amy put her finger up to her chin, and then snapped her fingers. "Wait, I remember…it was founded by a rich businesswoman named Lien-Da! She's #200 on Forbes' Global 2000."
"Then why don't we pay her a visit?"
Lien-Da's mansion was located in the Hyman Point neighborhood, in the North Lake borough. After passing through the entry gate, Shadow parked his Trans Am out front, and Amy picked up the mic:
"Central, this is Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, over."
"Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, proceed, over."
"Central, show us Code Six at 35 Gateway Drive, over."
"Wilco, Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta. Central out."
Shadow and Amy got out of the car and headed to the front door, where Lien-Da herself opened it up. She was a red echidna with blue eyes, a tan muzzle and long dreadlocks, two of which framed her face. She was wearing a long black dress.
"Can I help you two?" asked Lien-Da.
Shadow and Amy flashed their badges.
"I'm Detective Corporal 1st Grade Shadow the Hedgehog, Royal Mobian Constabulary, and this is my partner, Detective Constable 1st Grade Amy Rose."
Amy put her badge wallet away. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about the Emerald City Ripper, if that's all right with you."
Lien-Da nodded. "That's fine. Please, come in."
Shadow and Amy entered, while Lien-Da closed the door behind them.
"So, what is it you'd like to know?" asked Lien-Da.
"We looked up information on the Ripper's victims and they had all received services the Echidna Sanctuary House, which you founded," said Shadow. "Is this true?"
"Yes, the victims did indeed stay there for a time, but as far as I'm aware, they never returned to their old lives as prostitutes."
"Our records show differently," said Amy.
"Impossible! Peddling prostitution in the open streets is illegal in Emerald City!"
"Be that as it may, the victims were indeed soliciting out in the streets. Now then, what were the victims like?"
"They were nice young women, but they were very troubled. The ones I spoke to did tell me about various troubles they suffered at home."
"What sort of troubles?" asked Shadow.
"Oh, you know…absentee parents, fighting between parents, getting beaten frequently…gosh, I shudder just thinking about this sort of thing."
"Were any of the victims drug users?" asked Amy.
"Yes, some of them were. However, we worked closely with local drug intervention programs to help them lose their habits."
"What about STDs?" asked Shadow. "Were any of them infected?"
"We did have a few that suffered those maladies, one of whom had AIDS. Again, we assisted in their treatments."
"Do you know of anybody who might have wanted them dead?" asked Amy.
Lien-Da shook her head. "No, not as far as I'm aware."
"Miss Lien-Da, the manner in which the victims were killed suggests that the killer is a surgeon," said Shadow. "Please try to think of anyone who might have a bone to pick with them."
"Well, one of our clients – a Miss Bella Leone – had surgery to correct an extra bone in her foot."
"Do you know what hospital she went to?"
"Not offhand, no."
"Thank you, Lien-Da, that'll be all for now. Have a good night."
"You too, Corporal."
Shadow and Amy exited Lien-Da's mansion.
"Well?" said Amy.
"That woman is hiding something," said Shadow. "I don't know what, but I could sense that she's involved in this somehow."
Amy nodded. "I sensed it, too. What do we do now?"
"Let's head back to command, get a tac team on this."
"No! I understand if you're suspicious of her, but we can't do anything rash without probable cause!"
Shadow threw his arms up. "Screw probable cause! Innocent women have died because of her! What if that was you out on the streets!?"
Amy dropped her jaw and put her hand up to her chin. "Shadow, what are you saying?"
"I…" Shadow sighed. "Sorry, I'm just worried about you. As much as I dislike you, you are my partner, and I have to watch out for you whether I like it or not."
Amy smiled. "You care about my well-being? Awww, that's so sweet of you!"
Amy gave Shadow a big hug, causing him to gasp and blush.
"W-why are you hugging me?"
"Because I know, deep down inside, that you're a good guy and you deserve to be loved!"
Shadow hugged Amy back. "Thank you."
Shadow remained in the embrace for quite some time. As much as Amy got on his nerves sometimes, he had to admit, not only was she beautiful, but she was a nice person, and her bubbly attitude actually made him feel things other than seething rage and flat-out depression. He hadn't even known her for a day, but already, she meant more to him than most people did. All he could think about was wanting to get to know her more as a person and doing intimate things with her. Plus, she was so soft, warm and cuddly that he wanted to hold her forever and ever. However, she let go eventually, but not without making him feel that much better about himself.
"You're welcome!" said Amy.
"And Amy, I wanted to ask you something…"
"Yes?"
"If we get out of this case alive, can I…can I grab your breasts?"
Amy dropped her jaw and her eyes widened. "WHAAAAAAAT!?"
Shadow blushed again, covered his face with one hand and pointed his other palm at her. "I'm sorry, ignore that; that was a stupid thing of me to say! I don't know what I was thinking! It's just…they're so big, and…"
Amy laughed. "Shadow, I'm not angry at you; I just didn't think you'd ask anything like that of me! Of course you can grab them if we solve this case!"
Shadow slowly lowered his hands. "Oh. Let's just go."
After punching in some information on Shadow's in-car computer, Shadow and Amy headed to Burlington General Hospital, where Bella Leone had gotten her surgery.
"You know, Shadow, I haven't known you for a day, but I can tell you're not like any other detective I've ever met."
"So I've been told."
"No really! I can tell that despite your rough-edged exterior, you'd do anything for the people you care about!"
"Well, I did make a promise to an old friend…"
Amy smiled. "Awww, how sweet! Now tell me: what do you think of me?"
"You want to know what I really think of you?"
Amy giggled. "Of course!"
"Well, despite the fact that I find you super-irritating, I think you're a very kind, honorable person, and I like having you as a partner…sort of."
Amy giggled. "Don't sell a pink girl short, honey!"
"Anyways, looks like we're here."
Shadow parked the Trans Am in the hospital parking lot, while Amy radioed in to Central Dispatch:
"Central, this is Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, over."
"Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta, proceed, over."
"Central, show us Code Six at 454 54th Street, over."
"Wilco, Zone Detective 12-Charlie-Delta. Central out."
Shadow and Amy headed into the hospital.
"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist, a purple hippo."
Shadow and Amy flashed their badges.
"Constabulary, ma'am," said Shadow. "We wanted to ask a few questions about a surgeon who works here."
"Hold on, let me call the Chief of Surgery." The receptionist picked up a phone. "Dr. Liebert, please report to the foyer. Dr. Liebert, please report to the foyer."
Soon enough, Dr. Bernard Liebert – a black squirrel with white stripes on his head – came down.
"Who are you two?" asked Liebert.
"Dr. Liebert, I'm Detective Corporal 1st Grade Shadow the Hedgehog of the Constabulary. This is my partner, Detective Constable 1st Grade Amy Rose. We wanted to ask you some questions about a surgeon who works at this hospital."
"Do you have a Dr. Johan Hughes working here?" asked Amy.
Liebert nodded. "Dr. Hughes does work here, but he's not on duty at the moment. Why do you ask?"
"We've been told he operated on a patient named Bella Leone for an extra bone in her foot," said Shadow.
Liebert stroked his chin. "I do seem to recall that one…yes, I believe I was present for her operation."
"How would you describe Dr. Hughes?" asked Amy.
"He's a nice person, very dedicated not only to his work, but also to the well-being of his fellow surgeons and other hospital staff members. He does feel depressed sometimes, but I've never known him to be suicidal or anything of that nature."
"What about homicidal?" asked Shadow. "Does he strike you as the type to kill anyone?"
Liebert shook his head. "Not at all. He did have a bit of a feud with Dr. Lovering, but they managed to resolve it peacefully in the end."
"I see. No further questions, Doctor. Have a good night."
"You too, Corporal."
Shadow and Amy exited the hospital.
"Goddamn it…" muttered Shadow.
Amy put a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "What's wrong, Shadow?"
"Dr. Liebert was right. Based on what I sensed from him, there's no way that Dr. Hughes is the killer, so we're back at square one again…or so it seems."
"What do you mean?"
"This method may not have worked out for us, but I'm curious about something else…"
"What?"
"The Echidna Sanctuary House is a publicly-funded organization, so that means it accepts money from various donors, right?"
"Right, but what are you getting at?"
"We look up a list of donors to the place, see who's contributed the most."
And so, Shadow and Amy were ready to initiate the next phase of their investigation.
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.