September 22, 2024
Ryder's POV:
I woke up this morning to the sound of my pup pad ringing. It was a call from Chase. It was so early but it sounded important, so I picked up the call anyway.
"Good morning, Ryder..."
"Oh, morning, Chase!" I greeted back.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Chase asked.
I didn't want Chase to feel embarrassed so I told him that I was up already.
"Oh, no, you didn't... I... I was up already when you called."
"Oh, phew. I was afraid I woke you up, it's still early."
"Anyways, how are you? How is the investigation going?"
"I'm fine... I called because I got the autopsy report this morning for the Princess' death,"
"Wow, that's good news... I mean, well, not so good since it's about her death, but... good news for you and your investigation."
"Yeah, I hope I find something useful in here," Chase said.
"I'm sure you will. Alright, I'll let you focus on that for now. Call me if you need anything," I replied, as I was about to hang up.
"Thanks, Ryder... I will. Bye," Chase answered, and I hung up.
Chase's POV
I had mixed emotions as I was tearing off the envelope to see the autopsy report for the Princess's death. I was a little excited because I might get my questions answered, but I also felt nervous at the same time. As I scanned through the paper and understood it carefully, I found out what caused her death.
"Her death wasn't caused by the knife stab... She was poisoned."
But then I wondered? But how? There was a knife but it's not the weapon that killed her. This report only gave me more questions to ask myself.
Marshall's POV
After we had breakfast, I asked Ryder if I could go see Chase at the police station.
"Hey, Ryder..."
"Oh, hi Marshall. What's up?"
"I was wondering if I could go see Chase today at the police station. I know he could be busy, but I just miss my best friend right now."
"Of course, Marshall. I don't think we have any calls for rescues right now, so I think you're free to go."
"Thanks, Ryder. Call me when someone needs us," I said.
"I will..." Ryder replied.
I hopped onto my fire truck and drove towards the police station. The station seemed kinda peaceful, nothing chaotic going on at the moment. I walked down the hallway, checked the rooms and found Chase in one, all alone, probably working on something. I gently knocked on the door.
"Come in!" he called.
Chase saw my head pop into the room and greeted me.
"Oh... Marshall... uh, hi," he greeted.
"Hey, Chase! Mind if I come in?" I asked.
"S-Sure..."
I sat on the empty chair right in front of him. I think this was the same room and chair when the questioning happened.
"So, how have you been?" I asked.
"I'm fine, pretty much. Just busy and... well..." he replied and paused.
"Well?"
"Well, some new things have been popping up here today," Chase opened up.
"Like what?"
"Like this..." Chase said as he pulled up a document and placed it on the table.
"Autopsy report? What's that?" I asked.
"It shows what's the cause of the Princess's death," Chase replied.
"Ohh..." I nodded.
"Yeah, and it says that the knife wasn't the cause, but she was poisoned," Chase explained, shortly.
"Poisoned?" Marshall asked.
"Yes, and I have no idea how it could've happened. I can't even find a trace of the poison. There was no sign of it when the police inspected the place."
At that moment, I suddenly remembered something that night before the Princess was killed.
"The glass," I muttered.
"Huh?" Chase looked at me in confusion.
"The nearly empty glass of milk," I said.
"Well, what about it?" Chase asked.
"Remember Zuma was going to taste that nearly finished glass of milk at the crime scene?" I recalled.
"Ohhh, I remember that..."
"What if that glass was contaminated with poison already? And the glass was nearly finished," I said.
"Hmm... Did you see who gave her the milk last night?" Chase questioned.
"Uhmmm..."
*Flashback*
September 18, 2024
I was walking down the hallway, heading to the bedroom where all of us pups were going to sleep. I stopped when I heard Rocky from not far from me, talking to the Princess.
"Here you go, Princess. Here's the glass of milk you asked for," Rocky said.
"Thank you, Rocky." the Princess answered, "Oh, and by the way, did they find out yet about our plan?"
"Um, no... I don't think they know yet that I was involved. But don't worry, our secret is safe with me," Rocky said.
After their conversation, I looked away immediately so Rocky wouldn't think I was eavesdropping this whole time. But the truth is, I heard everything they were talking about that night.
"Marshall?"
"Oh, uh, hi Rocky!" I greeted, sheepishly.
"Were you listening here this whole time?" Rocky asked.
"Um, no... I just came out of the room. I-I, I needed to go," I replied.
"Okay, you better be not eavesdropping on me..." Rocky said, and walked off.
I walked the opposite direction to make Rocky think I really needed to go. What I heard was really suspicious. I mean, what secret are they both keeping?
*End of Flashback*
"I... I, um..."
"Marshall? You okay?"
I didn't realize I was awfully silent and staring at him for a long time.
"Oh, I... I'm fine," I said, shaking off my mind what I just recalled.
"What's on your mind?" he asked.
"It... It was Rocky... I was there and I saw him give the milk to the Princess," I admitted.
"Y-You saw him? A-Are you sure?" Chase asked.
"Yeah, but that's not all..." I added.
"Well, what else did you remember?"
"Rocky was talking to the Princess about some secret of theirs. He didn't say exactly what was the secret but he said their secret is safe with him."
Chase was shocked and upset at the same time. He couldn't believe what he just heard.
"I knew Rocky was hiding something. He's been acting suspicious since a few days before we went to Barkingburg."
Hello, Detectives!
Well,that's anotherpiece of evidence. Looks like you found the next suspect. What is Rocky hiding? Can he keep his secret long enough or will he give in and reveal the truth? I guess we'll just have to find out... in the next chapter, of course. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you next time!
-Detective Skye-