Case: The Leaked Turnabout

[LostSanity]

With Fire still in the chief's office, Earth needed to continue distracting him until she was safely out.  He decided to go on another tack of questioning.  "Motive and intent is all very well, but we won't figure out who has been leaking information until we learn how it was leaked.  You may have looked into this already, but I'd like to know where all this information came from, who wrote it down, and who would have access to it during all the times when it wasn't under your personal supervision and security.  I'm assuming the original files were not actually lost, only copied or had the contents related.

 

"Once we find an intersection of all the ponies who would have been able to do what we know was done, it will narrow our suspect list considerably.  At this point, we only have one name and the whole department under suspicion.  There has to be a way of narrowing it down.  Could you walk me through how the office operates?  That'd be a good start to collating all this."

 

Cole sighed.

 

"When a pony gets a case, that begins the 'chain of command.' I'm assuming you at least know what that is? Regardless, the pony that is given the case is the first pony in the chain of command list. They then go to the records room to get any information that they have on their case from the two ponies that work in their Will Forge and Keen File. The chain of command then passes from one of the ponies there to me. That's pretty much it for the most part. Things can get a little complicated though when it comes to evidence and that would take even longer for me to explain. But do you at least understand what I told you for the most part. Admittedly, though, this type of chain of command only applies to ponies that work here. Chain of command is obviously different for each police department" answered Cole

 

"How careless of me, must thank Earth Writer later" Fire sighed, frowning. She looked around and noticed a yellow Manila folder sitting on Cole Gotem's desk. She put on a cheeky grin on her face as she examined it. There was a chance that Cole could have hid something after the crime occurred, but that is if he had something to hide. Fire had this habit of making everypony a suspect even if there are no leads. Maybe she was just excited.

 

Once the folder was opened, there seemed to be three pieces of paper inside.

The first... was what looked to be... a job assessment? It seemed to be for a new 'lieutenant' for the PPHQ.

Evidence Obtained - PPHQ Lieutenant Assessments:
Two “character assessments” for two ponies. It is for what seems to be something similar to that of a “job opening.” Apparently, Cole has been looking for an assistant, basically, a new lieutenant for the PPHQ. The two assessments for the two ponies Cole is considering for the job are inside with the “job opening” as well.

The first assessment... is for a pony by the name of... Will Forge.

 

Evidence Obtained - Will Forge’s Character Assessment:
The character assessment for Will Forge for the position of lieutenant for the PPHQ. Very few “pros” and lots of “cons.” The only “pros” listed is that he comes to work on time, is very organized, gets all work done and turned in on time, and has the most experience in the policing field. The “cons” are… several. He has just as many complaints on his record as Fiora does, perhaps even a little more. He treats everypony the same whether they’re a victim, suspect or witness and always thinks they are continuing to hide something, aren’t being truthful about everything, and are leaving the most important stuff out and aren’t telling it to him. That’s not even the worst thing on there. That would be rumors and accusations of forging evidence by victims, suspects, witnesses, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and even fellow officers. His mindset seems to be that the first suspect they bring in for questioning for committing the crime is the true, actual, and only suspect, and he will do anything and everything, whatever it takes, to ensure that they are declared guilty for the crime they “obviously” committed.

The second assessment... is for... Lane Logikin.

Evidence Obtained - Lane Logikin’s Character Assessment:
The character assessment for Lane Logikin for the position of lieutenant for the PPHQ. The exact opposite of Will Forge’s character assessment. Lots of “pros” and not very many “cons.” “Pros” include similar “pros” to that of Will Forge. Comes to work on time, very organized, gets all work done and turned in. However, there’s more. He treats everypony with respect. He treats victims, suspects, and witnesses differently. Basically, he treats every individual with how that certain individual should be treated. He doesn’t instantly assume that the first suspect they bring in is the true and actual criminal. Not only that, but, he has lots of compliments from… victims. This is because he tries to keep in touch and contact with victims to make sure they are doing alright. The victims even state that, at first, they felt like he was intruding and bothering them too much. It eventually got to the point where they felt like they could actually “talk” to Lane and he would actually “listen” to them. Basically, victims of crime really liked Lane giving them all the support he did and could, and really, went above and beyond the call of duty to do so. The “cons” are obvious stuff, like his age and inexperience at policing. There are also mentions of him always second guessing himself, criticizing himself too much, not being sure that a theory of his is right or not, self-confidence issues mostly.

 

After reviewing both character assessments, one thing becomes abundantly clear. If Cole were to decide who would get the job today… the next lieutenant of the PPHQ… would be…

 

Lane Logikin.

 

This evidence... is major. It might be wise to be very careful with this evidence. Particularly when it comes to who you end up showing it to. There was no other important items in Cole's Office.

[SymphonicFire]

Fire felt like she hit the jackpot, yet she didn't know what to do with the money. It was the same here; she didn't know what to do with the evidence. It could be useful in the future, but she can't show it to everpony every time or she'll get caught for snooping. She walked out of the office and gave a hoof up to Earth Writer. She looked around to see if she could collect any more evidence, soon spotting pieces of paper on the desk outside the offices. She carefully examined them.

[Blueblood]

(Fire, please exit the office.  I can't do much while still keeping the chief occupied!)

 

"Yes, I've head of the 'chain of command.'  We have something similar in the offices of the Chronicle, though in our case it's shaped like a pretzel.  It's more important to be at the nodal intersections than on top."  Earth Writer left his final thought unvoiced.   *Which I think holds true universally, at least when it comes to an organization getting anything actually done.*

 

In any case, the questions had not been fruitless.  At least he now knew where to look next once Fire got out of Cole's office.  Of course, she would have to actually get out of his office, and Earth couldn't very well leave until she did!

[LostSanity]

((Rackenhammer, did you see Fire's post before yours? She's already left the office. ))

 

Fire felt like she hit the jackpot, yet she didn't know what to do with the money. It was the same here; she didn't know what to do with the evidence. It could be useful in the future, but she can't show it to everpony every time or she'll get caught for snooping. She walked out of the office and gave a hoof up to Earth Writer. She looked around to see if she could collect any more evidence, soon spotting pieces of paper on the desk outside the offices. She carefully examined them.

 

The two papers seemed to be different in terms of size. One was thin and the other was thick.

 

The thinner of the two papers... seemed to be... a simple police report of the crime that was committed against Clyde Riches.

Evidence Obtained - Assault Police Report:
A simple police report detailing the assault on Clyde Riches. Contains all of the information about the assault, what happened, how the victim was found, the current suspect being suspected of the crime, and so on.

 

The thicker paper... seemed to be a list of assaults that the vigilante has been committing against suspected criminals. Apparently... they have been keeping track of the assaults the vigilante has been committing, once they found the pattern in the assaults, in hopes of using this information to eventually track down whomever the vigilante actually was.

Evidence Obtained - Assaults on Suspects Compilation:
A large stack of police reports dealing with the similar manner; assaults on current suspects of crimes. All of these reports are relatively similar, with the same circumstances and victim condition when found. All of the assaults are just like with Clyde Riches’ assault. Severe blows to specific areas to do the most damage resulting in the bleeding and massive bruising of the victims. Most of the suspects were more than likely to be found guilty for the crimes they were charged with. However, there were some suspects where there was not a lot of evidence against them and the general opinion was that they were innocent. Yet they were assaulted anyway. All of them were assaulted the same way as well; as they were being transferred to the Ponyville Detention Center to be held until their trials. It looks as though there are similar incidents going on. However, the Clyde Riches assault was the only assault where a suspect was found, detained, and arrested for the crime.
 

 

"Yes, I've head of the 'chain of command.'  We have something similar in the offices of the Chronicle, though in our case it's shaped like a pretzel.  It's more important to be at the nodal intersections than on top."  Earth Writer left his final thought unvoiced.   *Which I think holds true universally, at least when it comes to an organization getting anything actually done.*

 

In any case, the questions had not been fruitless.  At least he now knew where to look next once Fire got out of Cole's office.  Of course, she would have to actually get out of his office, and Earth couldn't very well leave until she did!

 

"Any other questions? If not I have work to do..." remarked Cole.

 

Earth Writer didn't have to stall him anymore, as Fire was already out of his office.

 

It seemed there was only one piece of evidence left to find.

[Blueblood]

Oh, wait.  Earth Writer had missed the point where Fire had exited the office, only noticing she had left when he saw her over by the desk looking at the other papers.  Not bad sneaking skills.

 

"No, I think we're pretty clear on all this now, thanks."  Tipping his hat, the reporter took leave of the chief, trotting over to his fellow-investigators.

"The records room is probably going to be our next stop.  Did you find out anything from your... search?"  He spoke in low tones, hoping for a briefing before he went in to face the two ponies on duty.

[SymphonicFire]

Fire turned to Earth Writer as he walked over to them. She snickered and showed them all the evidence that she collected. "I have a suspect, but I may be wrong" Fire said, a grin on her face, "Is there a way to make an excuse to check out the Records room? We might find something interesting"

[DavidCortez]

((Rackenhammer, did you see Fire's post before yours? She's already left the office. ))

 

 

The two papers seemed to be different in terms of size. One was thin and the other was thick.

 

The thinner of the two papers... seemed to be... a simple police report of the crime that was committed against Clyde Riches.

Evidence Obtained - Assault Police Report:

A simple police report detailing the assault on Clyde Riches. Contains all of the information about the assault, what happened, how the victim was found, the current suspect being suspected of the crime, and so on.

 

The thicker paper... seemed to be a list of assaults that the vigilante has been committing against suspected criminals. Apparently... they have been keeping track of the assaults the vigilante has been committing, once they found the pattern in the assaults, in hopes of using this information to eventually track down whomever the vigilante actually was.

Evidence Obtained - Assaults on Suspects Compilation:

A large stack of police reports dealing with the similar manner; assaults on current suspects of crimes. All of these reports are relatively similar, with the same circumstances and victim condition when found. All of the assaults are just like with Clyde Riches’ assault. Severe blows to specific areas to do the most damage resulting in the bleeding and massive bruising of the victims. Most of the suspects were more than likely to be found guilty for the crimes they were charged with. However, there were some suspects where there was not a lot of evidence against them and the general opinion was that they were innocent. Yet they were assaulted anyway. All of them were assaulted the same way as well; as they were being transferred to the Ponyville Detention Center to be held until their trials. It looks as though there are similar incidents going on. However, the Clyde Riches assault was the only assault where a suspect was found, detained, and arrested for the crime.

 

 

"Any other questions? If not I have work to do..." remarked Cole.

 

Earth Writer didn't have to stall him anymore, as Fire was already out of his office.

 

It seemed there was only one piece of evidence left to find.

 

 

Oh, wait.  Earth Writer had missed the point where Fire had exited the office, only noticing she had left when he saw her over by the desk looking at the other papers.  Not bad sneaking skills.

 

"No, I think we're pretty clear on all this now, thanks."  Tipping his hat, the reporter took leave of the chief, trotting over to his fellow-investigators.

"The records room is probably going to be our next stop.  Did you find out anything from your... search?"  He spoke in low tones, hoping for a briefing before he went in to face the two ponies on duty.

 

 

"Yeah...That's a good question."

 

((I'm so bad at this. At least I know now that I won't get a new comp until the end of the month now. And I need to make sure I remember to check this within two to three days.))

[LostSanity]

Oh, wait.  Earth Writer had missed the point where Fire had exited the office, only noticing she had left when he saw her over by the desk looking at the other papers.  Not bad sneaking skills.

 

"No, I think we're pretty clear on all this now, thanks."  Tipping his hat, the reporter took leave of the chief, trotting over to his fellow-investigators.

"The records room is probably going to be our next stop.  Did you find out anything from your... search?"  He spoke in low tones, hoping for a briefing before he went in to face the two ponies on duty.

 

Fire turned to Earth Writer as he walked over to them. She snickered and showed them all the evidence that she collected. "I have a suspect, but I may be wrong" Fire said, a grin on her face, "Is there a way to make an excuse to check out the Records room? We might find something interesting"

 

"Yeah...That's a good question."

 

Sharing information with one another and trying to plan their next move probably was a good idea.

 

However, there was still one area in the PPHQ that had remained unsearched as of yet. Lane Logikin's Office.

[Blueblood]

Canterlot ponies were statistically more likely to click their tongues upon provocation.  Earth Writer was not exactly native-born to that city, but he'd picked up its habits.  Peeking over the personnel files, the journalist kept the corner of his eye open for prying eyes as he secured them underneath his jacket.  "We'd better not let these get out before we uncover the whole thing.  From what I can tell, the Records Room will probably be our last stop, and we'll want to present a united front when we confront the ponies inside.  That means all three of us; four if we can bring Lane along.  Shall we mosey on over to his office?"

[SymphonicFire]

"That would be a good idea" Fire nodded as her fellow investigators spoke. She quickly looked to the left and quickly glanced right, as if she was looking for ponies who were watching them.

[LostSanity]

Canterlot ponies were statistically more likely to click their tongues upon provocation.  Earth Writer was not exactly native-born to that city, but he'd picked up its habits.  Peeking over the personnel files, the journalist kept the corner of his eye open for prying eyes as he secured them underneath his jacket.  "We'd better not let these get out before we uncover the whole thing.  From what I can tell, the Records Room will probably be our last stop, and we'll want to present a united front when we confront the ponies inside.  That means all three of us; four if we can bring Lane along.  Shall we mosey on over to his office?"

 

"That would be a good idea" Fire nodded as her fellow investigators spoke. She quickly looked to the left and quickly glanced right, as if she was looking for ponies who were watching them.

 

There were lots of ponies around. However, Cole nor Lane said anything, or even gave any indication, that there would be a problem investigating Lane's office.

 

((Basically you can do it and not have anything to worry about. The 'distraction' rule really only applied to Cole's office. ))

[Blueblood]

(I was simply meaning that we should tackle the records office last.)

 

Earth Writer took a peek inside the office.  He wasn't the sort to dive into the details of a room until he'd scoped the whole.  Lane kept a tight ship, from what he could see.  Not fanatical in keeping a clean desk, but generally keeping only recent business ready to hoof, and not letting things accumulate in the in-box.  "Let's see what you've come up with, sunshine."  The reporter murmured as he entered the room, keeping a look out for any notes.

[LostSanity]

Earth Writer took a peek inside the office.  He wasn't the sort to dive into the details of a room until he'd scoped the whole.  Lane kept a tight ship, from what he could see.  Not fanatical in keeping a clean desk, but generally keeping only recent business ready to hoof, and not letting things accumulate in the in-box.  "Let's see what you've come up with, sunshine."  The reporter murmured as he entered the room, keeping a look out for any notes.

 

Lane's office... was pretty much the same exact size as Cole Gotem's office. It also held similar material inside. There were file cabinets to the left and right of the office once you entered the office. There was also a bookcase behind Lane's office desk as well. There were lots of books in this bookcase, too.

 

 

There only seemed to be one thing of possible interest in his office. There seemed to be yet another piece of paper on Lane's desk.

[Blueblood]

The office, such as it was, was ordinary-enough as far as it went.  Which was not very far, as far the investigation was concerned.  Far from feeling as if he were making progress, the very word "far" was beginning to ring in Earth Writer's ears as a strange word, like snark or boojum.  

 

This had to stop.  The reporter trotted over to the desk, levitating the piece of paper so that all three of them could easily read it.

[LostSanity]

The office, such as it was, was ordinary-enough as far as it went.  Which was not very far, as far the investigation was concerned.  Far from feeling as if he were making progress, the very word "far" was beginning to ring in Earth Writer's ears as a strange word, like snark or boojum.  

 

This had to stop.  The reporter trotted over to the desk, levitating the piece of paper so that all three of them could easily read it.

 

Apon reviewing the piece of paper, it seemed to be a list of suspects that have been detained and arrested by police ponies in Ponyville for every crime you could imagine. It has all of the information about the suspect, the crime they are accused of committing, when they are being transferred to the Ponyville Detention Center, and other basic stuff.

 

All of sudden, a voice spoke up behind the group of ponies.

 

"Only certain police ponies are allowed to have their own copy of this list. You should probably keep that in mind. Because, to be honest, I"m not sure if Fiora has one of these or not" informed Lane

 

Evidence Obtained - Suspect List:

A list of suspects that were detained by Ponyville police ponies. It contains all of the information about them, as well as the crime they are accused of committing, when they are being transferred to the Ponyville Detention Center, etc. Only certain police ponies have this and have access to it. It's unknown if Fiora has one of these or not.

 

If anypony were to look outside Lane's office, they would notice, at least slightly, that Cole seemed to be talking to Fiora, the current suspect.

 

((That's pretty much it. Next would be another round of "Testimonies." But since only Rackenhammer seems to be active right now... not sure how well that would work. ))