User blog:Metool Bard/Fanfiction: The Fool Who Cried Foul (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3: Going On Record
Even after everyone cleared out, the stage was still a mess. Chicken feathers were scattered everywhere, and I could tell that the amps were badly damaged. It looks like the chickens were all rounded up, though. I can’t decide if that’s good or bad, since we still need to confirm if those chickens really came from Liam’s farm.

“Alright, let’s start looking for clues, Jack,” I said. “Keep your eye peeled for anything that might look suspicious.”

“On it, Ace,” said Clyde with a salute.

I nodded back and took a careful look around. Hmm, where to start? Well, first thing first. We need to know how the chickens got into the building in the first place without anyone noticing. Considering that the entire stage was swarmed, my best guess is that they came from backstage. And the lights were turned off, so the roadies probably didn’t see anything. But that still doesn’t answer how the chickens got into the mall itself. If I’m gonna catch this guy, I need to get into the right headspace.

“Luan, mind if I ask you something?” I said.

“Shoot,” she replied.

I took a deep breath. This is not going to be easy to say.

“Let’s say, hypothetically, of course, you were the one pulling a prank like this,” I said. “How would you get the chickens into the mall without being seen?”

Luan sighed and collected herself. I knew that kind of statement would get to her, even if it was a hypothetical.

“Well, that’s simple enough,” she said. “I would just disguise myself as a delivery person and sneak the chickens in through the backdoor.”

“But wouldn’t security ask for an ID or something?”

Luan gave me a small smirk. “Not if you’re good at bluffing. Part of the beauty of pranks is that no one sees them coming until it’s too late, and that means you need to use a lot of misdirection.”

“So, like a magic trick?”

“Without the magic.”

Alright, that’s easy enough to follow up on. We just need to find out if the mall received any strange deliveries today. Maybe we can ask mall security about it later. For now, we need something more substantial in the way of clues.

“Any luck, Clyde?” I asked.

“Just chicken feathers,” Clyde responded. “I guess we can take these to Liam to find out if these are really his chickens, but other than that, I’m not coming up with much.”

I took another quick scan around the room and sighed. “Ditto for me. This is one puzzling case, buddy.”

“Yeah, you said it,” said Clyde. “Especially since we don’t know how the culprit got to the lights.”

Hang on, I think Clyde’s onto something. “What do you mean, buddy?”

“Well, think about it,” said Clyde. “Roadies like Chunk always work backstage during shows like this. Wouldn’t he have spotted someone messing with the lights and caught them before anything could go wrong?”

Luan sighed and shook her head. “Clyde, Clyde, Clyde. You think a good prankster wouldn’t know about something like that? You have to be at least three steps ahead of your mark if you want to pull off a successful prank.”

“So you’re saying whoever did this might’ve disguised themselves as a roadie just to get to the fusebox?” asked Clyde, raising an eyebrow. “Would that really fool someone like Chunk?”

Luan furrowed her brow. “It wouldn’t be easy, especially if the crew knew each other’s schedules and whatnot. But it is doable if you’re smart enough.”

Meaning we need to find out just what happened backstage during Luna’s opening act. I think we’ve got our first lead.

“Then let’s go find Chunk and get his side of the story,” I said.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” said Clyde. “Didn’t Luna say that Chunk was talking to Pucker about this whole fiasco? I don’t think he’s gonna be willing to talk to us right now.”

“He’s the only one we can talk to right now,” I said with a shrug. “Besides, once they realize we’re there to help, maybe they’ll be more willing to share some information with us.”

“And how are you gonna convince them of that?” asked Luan.

I smirked and tossed my cape back. “Just leave it to the master of persuasion.”

Luan sighed and shrugged. “If you say so.”

Wow, Luan looks really out of it. She didn’t tease me or try to take me down a peg or anything like that. This must really be hitting her hard. Which is all the more reason we need to figure out the truth.

“C’mon, let’s head backstage,” I said. “That’s probably where Chunk and Pucker are.”

“Right behind you, Linc,” Clyde said with a salute.

Luan nodded as well, following behind me and Clyde as we dashed off.

***

“Listen, I don’t blame Luna or her band for any of this, but we’ve got a schedule to keep. Unless you’re willing to travel with us on our tour, we can’t have Luna’s band open for us.”

“Have a heart, mate. Luna’s got a schedule to keep, too. And she really needs this gig. It’s a big step in her music career.”

“I understand all that, but our hands are pretty tied here, Mr. Monk.”

Sounds to me like negotiations aren’t going so well. I’m glad Pucker isn’t mad at Luna or anything, but it doesn’t sound like her band is gonna be able to play with SMOOCH. Well, I don’t know anything about fixing that, but I do know what I can fix. I walked up to Pucker and Chunk and cleared my throat.

“Hey. Sorry to interrupt,” I said.

Pucker gave me a somber smirk. “Well, if it isn’t one of my biggest fans. Sorry, I’m not in the mood to do autographs right now.”

“We’re not here for that, Mr. Uppenheimer, sir,” said Clyde. “We’re actually investigating what happened here tonight.”

Pucker raised an eyebrow at us. “Aren’t you two a little young to be detectives?”

I scoffed and tossed back my cape. “Good crime fighters care not about age limits,” I said.

“Oh, brother,” Luan groaned, rolling her eyes.

“The point is, we suspect someone sabotaged the performance tonight,” Clyde continued.

Pucker stroked his chin in thought. “Well, that much is obvious. But I didn’t think they would stoop so low.”

Wait, what did he just say?

“Who are you talking about?” I asked.

“Hitmaker Records,” Pucker said.

Chunk snorted. “Those blighters? I doubt it. They don’t have the guts.”

Hitmaker Records? Why does that sound familiar?

“You think this was planned by some sort of record company?” Clyde asked, taking out his One-Eyed Jack notepad.

“That’s just it. I’m not sure if this is them or not,” said Pucker. “I know they hate our sound, but they’ve never tried to outright silence us like this.”

“Yeah, you’d think they’d learn their lesson after what they tried to do to Luna,” Chunk said with a chuckle.

Hang on. Luna! That’s where I remember that name.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but is Hitmaker Records the same company that hosts the Next Big Hitmaker contest?” I asked.

“Right on the money, mate,” said Chunk with a nod. “Those tunnel-visioned snobs reject anything that doesn’t sell a million albums.”

Yep, that sounds about right. Remember when I mentioned a couple of corporate goons who tried to change who Luna was? That was all during the Next Big Hitmaker contest some months back. But something about this doesn’t add up.

“I know Luna embarrassed them pretty badly at that contest,” I mused. “Could they still hold a grudge against her after that?”

“Doubtful. After that whole debacle, we never heard from ‘em,” said Chunk.

Clyde tapped his chin with his pen before turning to Pucker. “Mr. Uppernheimer, sir?  If you don’t mind me asking, were you ever in contact with Hitmaker Records?”

Pucker frowned. “That’s personal information, kiddo. I can’t talk about it with just anyone.”

“But you have to have some reason to suspect them of this,” Clyde prodded.

Pucker scoffed. “Smart kid. Listen, it’s not that big a deal. They just approached us with a record deal, and we turned ‘em down. Simple as that.”

Hmm. I wonder if it is that simple. Then again, considering what they almost turned Luna into, I’m not surprised SMOOCH turned them down. Still, it’s something to look into. Later, though. Right now, we have a different lead to follow up on.

“Chunk, do you mind if Clyde and I asked you a few questions?” I said.

Chunk grunted and sighed. “I’d say we’re in the middle of something, but honestly, it’s a lost cause at this point.”

“Look, Mr. Monk. If it was up to me, I’d have Luna’s band open for us at every concert on our tour this year,” said Pucker. “That song they opened with tonight was tight. Unfortunately, with our schedules the way they are, we can’t fit her in. I’m sorry.”

“Eh, not your fault. I just wish there was something we could do to hash this out,” Chunk said with another sigh. He then scowled. “I swear, whoever did this is gettin’ a good throbbin’.”

I heard Luan let out an uncomfortable moan. I know Pucker has another suspect in mind, but Chunk knows our family. If he suspects Luan as well, this is not going to be easy.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Chunk, sir,” said Clyde with a salute. “With Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack on the case, the deck is stacked in your favor. But you’re gonna have to deal us in.”

Chunk raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“He means we’d like to know your take on things,” I clarified. “After all, you’re the roadie. You must’ve seen something during the concert.”

Chunk furrowed his brow and folded his arms. “Not much to tell, chaps. Everything was runnin’ like clockwork until the lights went out. Once that happened, I radioed security and told ‘em to get to the mall’s circuit breaker. And, well, you all know what happened from there.”

Clyde made a note of this in his notepad. “Sorry if this is a dumb question, but did you notice anything suspicious while the lights were out?”

Chunk flicked his nose ring a couple of times. “Well, honestly, that’s what gets to me. I didn’t notice anything until Luna was knee-deep in those ruddy chickens.”

I see. So the culprit wasn’t actually near the stage during Luna’s performance. All they had to do was smuggle the chickens into the mall, trip the circuit breaker, and disappear. And since Luan left the concert to get Lisa’s earplugs, it would be easy to say she did it. But any crime fighter worth their salt knows that the obvious answer isn’t always the correct one.

“I think that’s all we can get for now. Thank you for your cooperation, gentlemen,” said Clyde with a nod.

“Eh, don’t mention it, mate. Anything to help Luna outta this rut,” said Chunk.

“Just make sure you stay safe,” Pucker added. “The entertainment world can get pretty gnarly if you aren’t careful.”

Wow. I didn’t think I’d hear that kinda thing come out of the mouth of Pucker Uppenheimer. This is the man that wrote “Grab life by the lips and give it a smooch”, for the record. Then again, he is an adult, and Clyde and I are still kids. But we’re kids on a mission, dang it. And as expert crime fighters, we’re gonna see this through.

“Kids? It’s getting late. I think it’s time we headed home.”

But that would have to wait for tomorrow. It’s just as well; I don’t think there’s much else we can do here right now. We turned to see Dad walk in with Luna and her friends.

“How’re things going here, Chunk?” Luna asked.

Chunk obscured his eyes with his cap. “Not so hot, luv. They ain’t mad at us, but we can’t work around the schedule. I think we best take a rain check for this gig.”

Luna sighed. “Bogus.”

Chunk gave Luna a somber smile. “Hey, hang in there, Luna. There’ll be another chance.”

“I know,” said Luna glumly.

Luan shuffled over to Luna, averting her eyes. “Luna, I…”

“Save it, Lu’.”

Luan simply sighed and hung her head. Dad then escorted all of us to the bus stop. All the way home, Clyde and I organized the notes we got and mapped out a plan for tomorrow’s investigation. I know I still have the talent show to practice for, but in situations like these, family comes first. Besides, when you live with ten sisters, you need to learn how to multitask.

“Don’t worry, kids. We can still have our Week to Shine,” said Dad. “One little fiasco isn’t gonna change that.”

…

I wish he hadn't said that. Now I’m more worried about something going wrong in the other events we’ve got lined up. Don’t tell Clyde I said this, but I think that’s the problem with Dr. Lopez’s advice. It always comes up at the times where it’s least helpful. Well, I don’t care if focusing on what could go wrong ruins my experience when things go right. After what happened tonight, I’m not taking any chances. Ace Savvy never leaves a crime unsolved, and neither should I.

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