September 24, 2024

Sweetie's POV

It was starting to get really boring here at the Lookout. I wish I could do something like boss around and all, like I used to do back at the castle. But I knew I couldn't do that anymore, definitely not in here.

"Hey, Sweetie! Everything alright?" Rubble asked.

"Oh, uh... I'm fine, just bored, I guess," I answered. "Anything interesting that happened that I missed?"

"Well, Skye was called in for questioning yesterday. That's what happened yesterday," Rubble replied.

"Ugh, I knew it... She always looked like she was hiding something," I muttered.

"But I heard she said she didn't do it. She didn't kill the princess," Rubble said.

"Any killer would say that, Rubble. She wouldn't just admit to Chase's face that she is responsible for it," I continued.

"Pardon me?"

Rubble and I turned our attention to who called out. It was Skye.

"What was that you were saying, Sweetie? Can you repeat that again?"

"Don't be so stupid, you heard all of that. If you could overhear Ryder talking to the princess that night, then you, of course, would've heard us blabbering about you!" I argued.

"And where did you even get that information?" Skye questioned.

"The Earl told me. He saw you eavesdropping on Ryder and the Princess and caught you lashing out at her. He told me that same night before the Princess went to bed," I answered, "Tell me, Skye! You did it, didn't you?"

"No, I did not!" Skye snapped.

"Liar!"

"YOU TWO!" Rubble yelled, "Can you both just... stop?!"

"You caused this, Skye... Now fix it! Well, if you think you still can," I finished and walked away in anger.

Marshall's POV

I heard from Skye about her heated argument with Sweetie. Well, I guess these arguments are not going to end while this murder case is still ongoing.

"Ughhh, that spoiled little brat!" Skye complained.

"Skye, chill out... Just forget about it, okay?" I told her.

Skye took a deep breath.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Skye apologized.

"It's fine," I replied.

I could tell Skye still has a problem.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. "If this is about yesterday's questioning, you can tell me."

"It's not just myself I'm worried about..." Skye opened.

"What is it?"

"Ryder seems kinda off lately. It's like there's something he's not telling us."

"Well, have you found out yet?" I asked.

Skye nodded, meaning she hadn't. I thought, maybe I should try and find out what's going on with Ryder.

"I can help you... I'll try and find out what's wrong," I told her.

"Are you sure, Marshall? Isn't that... risky? I mean, Rocky knows you can eavesdrop and all and... You know what I mean, right?"

"Don't worry, Skye. If Ryder is somehow involved in the murder, we have to know about this."

"Okay, be careful..."

I went inside the Lookout to find Ryder. He was nowhere to be seen, but I scanned the shelves and other stuff, trying to find anything suspicious. I grabbed a book or two, thinking there might be something behind it. Turned out there was something.

"What's this?"

I looked closely, but when I figured out what it was, I gasped in shock. I was so shocked that I accidentally knocked over a metal can on the small table.

CLANG!

It didn't break, but the noise rang in the entire room.

"What was that?" Ryder called from his bedroom.

I couldn't hide my facial expression of what I saw, so I just ran out of the room, hoping Ryder wouldn't see me.

What was that thing doing here anyway?

Zuma's POV

I was just having some alone time in my pup house. After all the chaos and arguments going on, I definitely want some peace and quiet. It all got interrupted when there was a loud clanging noise from inside the Lookout. Right after that, a terrified Marshall speedily ran out the door.

"Marshall, what the heck!"

"Oh... Sorry, Zuma," Marshall replied.

"What's all the racket there? Why do you look like you've seen another corpse or something? You haven't, right?" I questioned, "Oh, I can't stand if someone else is dead again!"

"No, no, no corpse at all..." Marshall answered, "Everything's fine."

"Then what's with the face? Why do you look so scared?" I continued to question.

Marshall hesitated to answer me.

"Wow, you think you're so good at keeping secrets, huh? Well, that's over. Spit it out, Marshall!"

"What if Ryder did it to the Princess?" he let out.

There was an awkward amount of silence from both of us.

"What? I wasn't expecting... um... but... What made you think so?"

"Just don't tell anyone. I can't let everyone freak out right now."

"Yeah, okay... What is it?"

"I saw-"

"THERE YOU ARE! I KNEW IT! IT WAS YOU!"

A voice yelled from behind them. It was Chase.

"Chase? What's going on?"

"Where's Sweetie?" Chase blurted.

"Why? What for?" Marshall asked.

"JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

"WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS ALL ABOUT NOW?!"

Sweetie yelled back at the top of her voice, coming close to where all the yelling was happening.

"I sent some people to investigate the shop near the castle. And the seller said you bought that chemical substance a few days before the murder. The same substance they saw during the autopsy. You killed her, didn't you?!" Chase accused.

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down-"

"I'm telling you, Chase! I didn't do it!" Sweetie replied.

"Then prove it! That seller seemed reliable enough. You're not!" Chase continued.

"Sweetie, was it actually you who bought the poison that day?" Marshall asked.

"But you said you wouldn't do such a thing!" Skye added.

"Of course, she said it... She's a liar, and she is trying to trick all of you. All of us," Chase answered.

"Alright, fine! I bought the poison. But it wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"Then why did you buy it? Were you trying to kill someone else?" I questioned.

"Yes!"

This only led to even more arguments.

Ryder's POV

The racket of all the pups arguing was getting even worse by the second. So I finally decided to come out and stop it once and for all.

"EVERYONE!"

Everyone kept quiet and turned their glance at me.

"Ryder, I'm just trying to figure something out here while everyone else is thinking I'm jumping to conclusions that fast."

"I didn't say anything," Rocky said.

"Well, you were, Chase!" Sweetie snarled.

"Sweetie, keep it down!" Rubble said.

"JUST ANSWER MY STUPID QUESTION, SWEETIE... WHO WAS THE POISON FOR?!" Chase repeated.

"If I say that now, you'll all hate me forever!" Sweetie replied.

"I don't care, just answer-

"It was me... I did it," I said, silencing everyone.

Chase just stared, jaw-dropping at what he heard from me.

Rocky's POV

"Ryder, I know it's not-"

"No, Chase... It's me, I did it. I killed her. I killed the Princess." Ryder repeated, while we stared at the guilt in his eyes.

"I told you it wasn't me," Sweetie mumbled.

"Sweetie, just cut it out!" Rubble yelled at her, running to his pup house to burst into tears.

"Ryder, why- how?" Skye couldn't even form a proper sentence because she was so shocked.

"So that explains the bottle of poison I saw earlier," Marshall muttered.

"The what?" I asked.

"Yes, Marshall. You saw it right."

Chase stared at the one policeman standing behind him.

"I guess I'll have to..."

"Go ahead, Chase. Just take me," Ryder said, as if he were surrendering himself to his own pup and the police.

Everything else quieted down as soon as Ryder was taken away. Though, I still want to know who Sweetie was supposed to target with the poison in the first place.

"I'm sorry, guys," Sweetie said.

"Sorry? Sweetie, it's not your fault," I answered.

"The truth is... I actually bought the poison. But I never intended to kill the Princess. Honest!" she opened up.

"Who was it for then?" Marshall asked.

"You'll hate me forever with this... I was gonna kill Ryder to stop the Princess from going after him," Sweetie answered.

We all sighed.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore since Ryder is, well... the mastermind now," Zuma agreed.

"But where is the poison now? Your plan never worked," Skye said.

"Yeah, it never worked. It went missing," Sweetie replied.

"You mean this poison, right?" Marshall brought up as he grabbed the bottle of poison he saw in the Lookout earlier.

Everyone else realized Chase had forgotten to bring that bottle with him.

"Well, seems like Chase forgot about this," I muttered.

Sweetie looked confused as she stared at the bottle.

"That? That wasn't the one I bought," she said. Our eyes all widened.

Hey Detectives!

I'm sorry to say this, but Ryder is the mastermind. Or is he? Questions still arise, and the investigation is not over just yet.

I can see a lot of people saying that Ryder did it. But did he really? How come the poison inside the Lookout was different from the one Sweetie had?

Let's keep investigating in the next chapter! See you next time!

-Detective Skye-