Case of The Confounding Jester (Editing)

Chapter 2

"Yeah! Getting a new case," I sing at the top of my voice, making people on the street look at me like a crazy person. 

Hang on! Why is everything flying past me?

The next thing I know, I'm lying flat on my back in front of the police department with donuts in my hair, on my face and all over my suit.

Looking up, I notice Mary, the chief's secretary staring at me with a perplexed expression. 

"Hi, Mary," I greet her cheerfully, waving my hand from the ground. 

Sighing, she responds, "Only you Tums, can trip over your own feet, roll down the hill, end up covered with donuts and then say 'Hi'." 

Shaking her head, she makes her way into the precinct. 

"Sorry, Mary. I can go buy donuts," I offer. 

She throws me a half-exasperated and half-terrified look. 

Mockingly, she says, "Absolutely not. I don't want you anywhere near my desk. The last time you came near it, I had to replace my laptop and redo all my paperwork." 

"Hey, that was not my fault. The water can crashed into me and the water was responsible for all of that," I reply innocently. 

Mary's lips twitch but she simply shakes her head and walks to her desk.

"Let's go Tums. Chief's waiting," my partner, Blade calls out. 

"I'll just get cleaned up," I shout back, walking towards the restroom. 

Blade rolls his eyes, "No time. Besides, this look is not new." 

With a forlorn expression, I allow myself to get dragged away.

The chief takes one look at me, pinches his nose and asks, "Are we being sued?"

I shake my head vigorously. 

"Good. I don't want to know more. Let's begin," says the chief with a relieved sigh.

The chief shows us a video clip of a jester in a restaurant. 

The jester was dressed in a baggy, red and black jumpsuit and was wearing white gloves. His face was covered with a sinister, white mask and enveloping his head was a strange hat in a motley pattern. The hat had multiple pointed cloths with bells attached. Not an inch of skin could be seen. 

The only thing that seems identifiable are the brown eyes peeping through the mask.

Cackling loudly, the jester zipped between tables on a unicycle. He snatched purses off tables and juggled them in both hands. When a brave waiter stepped forward to stop him, the jester dropped the purses, snatched a wine bottle and threw it at the waiter's legs making the waiter stumble. The jester then got off the unicycle, made a quick bow and ran out.

I begin to observe the restaurant itself. A variety of cycles were hanging on the walls.

"That's the Cyclo Bar & Restaurant. I was there yesterday. When this incident happen?" I ask the chief. 

"Yesterday. Around 8:00 p.m.," the chief responds. 

"Oh, I must have just missed him. I was there till 7:30," I contemplate. 

"Well, if you are done pondering, go and find him," orders the chief.

"The jester did not actually break into the restaurant. While he did snatch the customers' purses without their permission, he did not steal anything. This seems to be a simple case. Why are we being assigned to this?" asks Blade. 

I smile proudly. My partner is really smart. 

The chief sighs, "I don't want this information to get out. The reporters are having a field day as it is. Since the past month, there have been reports of a jester spray painting people's houses, pushing old ladies into oncoming traffic and other silly mischiefs. Some of his tricks have been dangerous and luckily none have been injured yet."

The chief continued, ordering sternly, "Besides, after the Carla Zanders incident, you might as well begin at the bottom. Now, get to work."

Blade and I go to the restaurant and interview the waiters and staff. They all say the same thing and do not provide anything useful. 

"Sir, do you have any cameras in the restaurant?" I ask the manager.

"No, we don't. Nor do any of the other shops on the street. The only available footage was taken by a customer," informs the manager.

"Alright, give us details of the payments made that night. We'll track down the customers and interview them," asks Blade.

The next few days were spent in identifying the customers present during the incident and interviewing. They too had nothing to add.

We then created a timeline.
8:00 pm - Jester is first spotted near the restroom
8:15 pm - Waiter stops him
8:17 pm - Last sighting at the exit

"The fact that no one spotted the jester before could mean that he changed into the costume in the restroom," says Blade.

I ponder, "Yes, but no one saw him afterward. The security guard said he heard the screech of car tires. It could have been the partner with a getaway car."

Blade replies, "Maybe, or it could have been someone else."