Case of The Confounding Jester (Editing)

Chapter 3

Returning from the forensic lab, Blade sat down heavily and glared at the case file. I asked cautiously, "What did the forensic analysts say? Did they finished processing the scene?"

Blade nodded, "There aren't any leads. The analysts have turned up nothing, zilch. They checked the bike, the purses the jester juggled and the washroom for fingerprints. They were too many and were smudged. Besides, the jester's gloves would have protected him."

Blade continued, "They also collected hair samples. Since the restaurant is popular, the entire town is listed in the report. Either way, the jester was wearing a hat that covered his entire head. So, it wouldn't have helped."

"Let's grab a coffee," I suggested, highly frustrated.

On our way to the break room, Blade asked, "How was your niece's dance recital?"

"It was ...," I froze in my steps unable to recollect the recital. "I remember going to the school yesterday. But, I don't remember anything after that. All I remember is getting up today morning with a splitting headache," I said faintly. 

Blade narrowed his eyes, "Are you having blackouts?" 

I shook my head faintly, "No, that's impossible."

"There's been another sighting of the jester. Head to Cliff Valley School," shouted Mary. 

"That's my niece's school. Mary, is anyone hurt?" I shouted back. 

"Not sure, Tums. You better check it out," replied Mary kindly.

As soon as we reached the school, a little red-haired girl came running. Blade nodded at me and went ahead to meet the principal. The little girl jumped on me giggling, "Uncle Pete, Uncle Pete. A clown came to my class yesterday. He made loud honking noises and left. Then the fire alarm rang and we all went home. It was fun."

Hugging my niece tightly, I said, "I'm glad you had fun pumpkin. Here, take this bell. I found it in my coat pocket today. I think it's a part of your recital costume." 

My niece, Angel looked at the bell and replied, "Uh uh, it's not Uncle Pete. In fact, my recital got canceled. I think it's part of the clown's hat. The clown looked like you Uncle." I smiled at her imagination, gave her a kiss and went to join my partner.

"Thank you for seeing us. Can you tell us what happened," Blade asked the principal. 

"The jester came here yesterday. He ran into classrooms and blew loud horns. The security guards rushed to catch him. However, he pulled the fire alarm and escaped in the confusion," said the principal and showed the classrooms which the jester entered.

"Alright, we'll need to talk to the teachers, peons and remaining staff. We also need to talk to the children with their parents present to protect their rights," informed Blade. The principal nodded and left.

I turned to Blade and grumbled, "Darn the higher-ups for keeping our involvement under wraps. If they hadn't, we could have started our investigation yesterday."

Shrugging away our irritation, we checked with the homeowners in the surrounding neighborhood. They were all young working couples who were at work at the time of the incident. Being a low-income neighborhood, there were no cameras either. 

We returned to the school. "Please come this way. Everyone is here, ready to be interviewed. Please catch that rascal soon. The parents are very upset with us," begged the principal. 

We completed all the interviews. However, none had anything useful to add. Blade and I were frustrated. 

"Darn case. There are no leads. The jester seems to be very familiar with the investigation process," growled Blake.

I nodded and agreed, "It's confounding too. What does the jester gain by these antics? He neither steals nor destroys. What possible connection could there be between a restaurant and a school?"

I sighed, "I know we ruled out the bank since it is half a mile away. But, let's check it out. There isn't anything else to go on." 

Blake agreed and after due process, the judge signed the warrant to access the CCTV recordings. We poured over them. Our eyes grew tired and began to blur. But, we continued to persevere.

Unable to believe my eyes, I rubbed them, looked again and shook Blade, "Blade did you see that?"

Blade squinted, "Yeah! Yeah, it's him. The picture is of low quality and grainy. But, it's him running away. Hang on, isn't something different about him?"

I checked again, "No, I don't see anything different. Let's check with the forensic experts. They can improve the image quality and let us know."

***

Blade slammed the table, "Bloody experts. They didn't find anything. They checked the height, weight and studied gait characteristics of the jester. They compared it to the first clipping in the restaurant and said there's nothing different."

"Maybe you are mistaken Blade. Let's get some rest. We'll be able to think clearly tomorrow," I suggested.

Blade nodded but insisted adamantly, "Tums, I'm absolutely sure. There is something different. I'm unable to figure it out."

As we packed our backs to leave, Angel's words resounded in my head, 'The bell looks like it was part of the clown's'. I froze, realizing that my niece meant the jester when she said, clown. I ran back to my desk almost tripping my fellow officers. Quickly opening my laptop, I paused the new video and zoomed the hat. 

Unwilling to believe my eyes, I dragged Blade and asked, "Do you find anything strange about the hat?"

Blade looked perplexed for a minute and then shouted ecstatically, "Yeah, that's it. The bell is missing. If we can find the bell, maybe we can extract the fingerprints and nail him. Awesome jobs, Tums."