The witnesses we interviewed stated the entire incident happened relatively quickly. None of them could tell me exactly how it started, or what exactly ended it.
As I inspected the area it was clear a fight had taken place. More precisely, it had been a battle.
The grass was blackened and charred in places, with what seemed to be electrical burns. There were also splashes of acid which had melted rocks and discolored the ground.
I marked several areas which I wanted sampled for testing in a forensics report.
Near the center of the fray I found a single rose which had been discarded and subsequently trampled. I bagged it as evidence.
I hadn’t seen this kind of violence since I left Wyndon. I’d transferred to the outskirts so that maybe I could find some calm, yet even here violence follows me.
As I searched the crime scene something else caught my eye. Something glistening behind the tall grass, the afternoon sunlight catching it just right – reflecting light across my face.
I put on my gloves and bent over to pick up whatever it was, but I was beaten to it by another hand which zipped out from behind a nearby bush, snatching up the object in a flash.
Surprised, I jumped backwards.
I was even more surprised to see a young woman emerge from behind the bush. She had chin length blue hair and held a delicate lace fan in front of her face which she lowered to reveal a coy smile.
“Oh excuse me detective!” She began. “I was just looking for this!”
Her voice was odd, as if she were sick, like she was trying to cover up the hoarseness a sore throat.
“I’m sorry, but what is it that you have there miss?” I finally asked, after the initial shock of her sudden appearance.
“Oh nothing, I just dropped my earring. That’s all!”
She held up the earring between her finger and her thumb, I noticed she had awfully large hands.
The earring itself was a ridiculously large green orb, it was cartoonishly big.
The woman was dressed in an unseasonably elaborate gown which bordered on gaudy but I noticed something more important about her ensemble, she wasn’t wearing any earrings.
She didn’t even have pierced ears!
I took a step toward her.
“I’m sorry miss, but this is a crime scene. I’m going to have to take that earring as evidence until after our investigation.”
Something wasn’t right here. Her charming attractiveness wasn’t enough to deflect my suspicions, besides she wasn’t my type, and she was slightly taller than me.
As I stepped closer the blue haired young woman got a squirrely look in her eyes.
I could tell she was getting ready to run for it. I instinctively reached out and took hold of her wrist and attempted to pry the earring from her grip.
“Leave me alone!” She shouted, trying to draw attention to herself. “You brute! Unhand me!” She continued to yell as she swatted at me with the folded fan in her other hand.
I was reaching for my handcuffs, ready to apprehend this suspicious woman when suddenly everything went to hell.
I don’t exactly know what happened – it was all kind of a blur.
From behind me someone or something pulled my feet out from under me. I crashed so hard I saw stars and the breath was knocked from my chest.
I could have sworn I heard an angry “Me-rowr!”
Before I even realized what happened, the area was engulfed in a cloud of greyish fog – a smoke bomb.
As I rolled on the ground stunned, coughing and weezing, I heard a quick ruffling of clothes and then maniacal laughter.
“Hee hee hee hee hee! I’ve got it Jessie! I found it!”
The voice was familiar, it was the blue haired woman – but it wasn’t. It was a man’s voice, clearly the true voice of the person I’d been dealing with.
A clever disguise. Of course it was – if it was good enough to fool me.
I heard other voices then too, they were nearby.
“Me-wow! I can’t believe you sent him back to find your missing jewelry!”
It was another man’s voice, it held an unsavory tone and was most likely the one who got the jump on me knocking me to the ground. Undoubtedly a big brawny fellow if they were able to overpower me!
“I didn’t want anything leading back to us! You flea bitten dolt!” A third voice said, this one a woman.
“And after all” she continued “Just think of how stupid I’d look with only one earring!”
“Couldn’t be any worse than your hair! Hee hee hee hee!” the voice of the man in drag replied.
“Oh what do you know! Now hand over my earring and let’s get after those twerps!” The woman demanded, she was clearly the brains of the operation.
My mind was racing – was this trio of criminals the individuals battling in the park? Why would they risk returning to the scene of the crime? For an earring? But why?
I may never know.
As the smoke dissipated, I dusted myself off, and got to my feet. As my vision cleared I saw something I couldn’t believe. Rising from behind the tree line was a hot air balloon in the shape of a massive Meowth head!
I stared dumbfounded.
I should have stayed in Wyndon.