Sonic Cluedo

~~~

Sonic Cluedo

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

~~~

Harley: It’s the last clue chapter. Oh, and there’s some SonAmy in this chapter. I don’t usually do SonAmy but hey, it’s good for a laugh. Vital clues are in this chapter! Also some dirtiness but the major rating was always for the murders.

Froggy: We’d like to thank reviewers. Of course we’d like more reviews. We’d also like it if you could put in why you think whoever is the killer. Incidentally, all the clues for who the murderers are were planted in the first chapter. The subsequent chapters just involved proof.

~~~

Chapter Four: The Closet

As the two other groups of guests split up, Tails loyally stuck next to the black and red hedgehog, his bright blue eyes looking around the large room curiously. He gently nudged Shadow in the ribs with his elbow and said, "Come on, Shadow. I think I know where we should investigate first."

"What, Sonic's room?" Shadow asked. The black and red hedgehog was still shaken up from seeing Maria's body, "He's in Gerald's will, now. I found that out yesterday."

The fox blinked, taken back by the suggestion and understandably so. He had been friends with Sonic for a long time and could not imagine the blue hedgehog being the culprit. "Actually, I thought we'd check out Rouge and Knuckles' room. They seem to be the most likely suspects to me. Knuckles was angry at Gerald and Maria, and Rouge has a lot to gain, as well as the skills needed to pull this off."

"Of course, of course," said Shadow, although he didn't sound very convinced. He walked up the stairs to the guest bedrooms, with Tails following him, and walked into Rouge and Knuckles' room. Only he couldn't, because the door was locked, "Easily dealt with," he said, pulling out a set of keys from thin air and unlocking the door.

Tails smiled, seeing the uses of having the family servant helping in the investigation. The fox stepped inside and began to look around, rummaging through things here and there, looking for something out of place. "You've worked here for a long time, Shadow", the fox spoke up, "Have you noticed anything unusual lately?"

"Hmmm..." Shadow walked over to the window, "Well, Amy joined the squad. It's slightly unusual. Considering she tried to scam an old lady out of her money in her last job. And the pink bitch has been poking her long nose into everything I do as well."

"And she would also have keys to the mansion..." Tails mused quietly to himself. The fox sat down on the floor with his chin in his hands and his twin tails wagging behind him. "I guess we should check out her room, too. But what reason would she have to kill them?" he asked the black hedgehog.

"I don't know... maybe she just loves the blue asshole that much?" Shadow suggested, looking under Rouge's bed and pulling out her suitcase.

Tails puzzled over that while Shadow looked through Rouge's suitcase. How would killing the Robotniks help out Sonic? Well, there was the matter of Gerald's will. Maybe Amy killed them so that Sonic would get it? It wasn't entirely out of the question, and she did seem a bit unstable at times...

"Humph," said Shadow. He had found a gun in Rouge's suitcase, "Innocent, I don't think," he said, "What's this doing here?"

"Self defence?" the fox suggested, "She lives a rough life, and neither Gerald or Maria were killed with a gun." The fox paused and frowned as he reached under the mattress of their bed, and he pulled out a large, heavy wrench that had a drying bloodstain on the end. "But this might have done it,” he said, the skin under his fur turning pale.

Shadow's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, that could have done it," he said, "It still looks a bit wet. But Maria was drowned, not beaten. Anybody could have drowned her as long as they were stronger than her."

"Yeah, but it might have killed Gerald,” Tails said softly, wide eyes fixed on the improvised weapon, "And this is mine. It went missing from my tool box."

"Hmmm... good point," said Shadow, "Did you see anybody take this? It's always possible Sonic put it here to frame one of them..." the dark hedgehog's hatred for the blue hedgehog was becoming more and more obvious.

"Or Amy,” Tails pointed out, tearing his eyes away from the tool, "She had the keys, remember? She could have stolen it, used it, and then hid it here with no problem."

"That's true," Shadow said, "This door was locked, remember. But," he looked at the window, "The window is open. Rouge could have flown out through it."

"You're right,” Tails admitted, nodding his head, "She could have done it, too. In fact, she could have done both of them. That's two good suspects. Or even better...what if Rouge and Knuckles were working together?"

"It's possible," said Shadow, "In fact, if one is a criminal, it's likely that both are, or at the least, one is protecting the other."

"They could have killed Gerald and Maria at the same time. Both can glide, one is a thief, and the other certainly has the strength!" Tails added. It all fit together almost perfectly.

"That's means, and opportunity," said Shadow, "But motive... that's harder. They won't admit they want to kill Gerald."

"Yeah, but the motive is there,” Tails reminded the black and red hedgehog, "Gerald turned on Knuckles. It's not a solid case, but it's something."

"Would he kill for that reason though?" Shadow asked. He considered the echidna's prideful temper, "Yes, he just might," he said after a moment.

"Yeah, I can see it,” The fox agreed, standing up and walking over to Shadow, "Still, it can't hurt to check out Amy's room too. She's still a possibility."

"Humph," Shadow straightened, placing Rouge's gun back in her suitcase, "Amy is nuts. She never stops talking about Sonic, and how he's going to marry her."

The young fox shuddered at the thought. "Yeah, that's just plain creepy. But... what do you have against Sonic, anyway?" he asked.

"He's annoying, and Gerald was always saying how much better he is than me," Shadow said sourly, "That jerk never did a day's honest work in his life!"

Tails scratched the side of his head, thinking about it... and Shadow did have a point. Sonic wasn't known for his hard work ethics, "Gerald really said that to you?" he asked quietly, finding that hard to believe after how loyally Shadow had served his family.

"Well..." Shadow hesitated, "He often tells me that I should cheer up and be more like Sonic," the hedgehog explained, "But if I was like Sonic, I'd never get all my work done."

"You do seem awfully... serious all the time,” Tails said, wincing and hoping the black hedgehog didn't take it the wrong way, "I mean, just because someone has a cheery attitude doesn't mean they can't get anything done. You could have both, you know."

"Have you ever seen Sonic work?" Shadow replied, "I believe he's heavily in debt at the moment. Of course, if I ever accused him of being a lazy bastard in front of Gerald, the old man would say I'm just jealous."

The fox looked saddened by this. People always said Shadow was too creepy or serious, but that didn't mean his opinion should be discounted entirely. He was hard working and loyal, and those were traits to value. Hesitantly, the fox reached out and placed a hand on the hedgehog arm and said, "I'm sorry, Shadow. You don't deserve any of this. Sonic, Maria... it's just all messed up."

Shadow looked unhappy, "I loved this family so much," he said, "Now it's gone. Gerald is gone. Maria is gone. And all that's left to do is bring justice to their murderers."

"I'll help you. They deserve that, and so do you,” the fox said helpfully, moving closer and placing his hand on the hedgehog's shoulder, "But once you've done that... what next? Are you going to serve Eggman?"

"I'm in the will," Shadow replied, "I'll serve whoever I'm handed over to." So saying, Shadow pulled away from Tails, and went downstairs to the servant's quarters where Amy slept.

Tails followed after the mansion servant towards Amy's quarters, thinking to himself, "Hey, Amy's fur was damp when she went out to the pool, right?" he said to the hedgehog's back.

"Yes," Shadow said, "Although she did say she was showering at the time. Although..." the hedgehog said thoughtfully, "I was washing up then..."

The young genius scrunched up his forehead in concentration. "Yeah... and isn't an old mansion like this set up so you could only have one shower going at a time? The plumbing is ancient! Maybe we should see if her shower floor is wet."

"And quickly too, before it has a chance to dry up," Shadow said.

Tails picked up the pace, hurrying along behind the hedgehog, and upon reaching the door, stepped aside, gesturing for Shadow to go first.

Shadow entered the bathroom, and soon discovered that not the slightest sign of a shower had been taken there. There were no wet footprints on the floor, and the shower itself was quite dry. He smiled thinly, "Now why would she lie?" he asked, "Why would she lie about such a thing, and where was she to get herself wet?"

"Looks like we caught her in a lie,” Tails agreed with a little smile, thrilled by this dangerous mental game. Either Amy or Rouge and Knuckles were the killer. The couple seemed like the more likely, but he certainly could not discount the pink hedgehog now.

"But," Shadow said, as if considering something new, "Amy could not have killed both Maria and Gerald. Maybe she killed Gerald and planted the weapon in Rouge's room. Maybe she drowned Maria and feigned to have washed. But she couldn't have killed both."

"But who else could she have been working with?" the fox asked, blinking and looking up into his eyes.

"She could have been working with Sonic," said Shadow instantly, "Perhaps he cares for her more than he lets on."

"...Maybe,” Tails relented, "It's a bit far fetched... but not impossible." With that thought, the young fox started to look over Amy's bed, just in case there were any loose blue hair or semen stains.

Shadow began to prod about in Amy's wardrobe. In it he found many photographs of Sonic's 'heroic deeds', and poetry about him. The poetry was quite bad. The discovery made him boil with anger and jealousy, despite the fact that he acted similarly around Maria.

Tails could see the anger flash over Shadow's face, and it was a scary thing to see. So much repressed feeling... it couldn't be healthy or pleasant for the hedgehog to have that much inside him. "Hey, don't let that get to you,” he spoke up, walking beside Shadow and looking down at the pictures, as well.

Shadow shook his head, "There's no proof of alliance here. Only proof that Amy is a nutter. Let's check out Sonic's room."

Tails nodded and reluctantly agreed with checking out his friend's room. Like it or not, the blue hedgehog was a possible suspect, and he had to be investigated like everyone else. The two-tailed fox led the way, taking Shadow away from Amy Rose's downstairs room to Sonic's on the second floor.

This time Shadow followed Tails. Sonic's guest room was a tip, and it would be intensely difficult to find anything in there. Shadow started by looking under the bed for blunt objects.

Tails wrinkled his nose upon stepping into the room, a musty scent in the air that he didn't quite recognize. Along with the mess all over the floor, it was obvious that Sonic didn't care about being tidy in the least. Shaking his head, the fox joined the hedgehog in the search of the room.

Shadow continued to dig around the bed, and soon found something worrying, "Is this what you've been looking for?" he asked Tails, holding up a few strands of pink hair.

"Huh?" the young fox uttered, reaching out to take the strands. Pausing a moment, he reached over and placed his hand on the mattress. It still felt warm and was moist with sweat. Tails blushed and shook his head, sighing. Sonic had obviously been very busy, very recently. "Well, I guess that settles that. They've certainly been, *ahem*, together..."

"Yes, but when?" Shadow asked, "When would they have the time?" he hesitated. There was a rattling sound coming from the closet. He strode over to it and swung the doors wide open.

Tails groaned and slapped his forehead as Sonic and Amy were revealed to be hiding in the closet, hiding their naked and sweaty forms from the intruders by holding each other tightly. Sonic blushed and grinned nervously. "Um... hi guys! You, uh, kinda caught us at a bad time..." the blue hedgehog said.

"Sonic, do I really have to tell you that two people were murdered in this house less than an hour ago?" Shadow growled, "Or do I need to remind you?" he looked around Sonic, at Amy, "By the way, pinky, wearing no clothes? That's a good look for you," he said nastily.

Amy cringed away from Shadow while Sonic just smirked in a relaxed matter. "Well hey, that just makes it more exciting, you know?"

Tails groaned louder, looked at the ceiling, and said, "Sonic's not the killer, Shadow. He's just an idiot."

"It's hard to believe anybody could be that genuinely stupid, though," Shadow said, "Maybe it's all an act to get us off our guard, eh Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Dream on, Shads. This hedgehog isn't the killing type. You're just jealous that I'm getting some and you ain't!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes, "Me, jealous? Jealous of you? Jealous of you getting with that stupid pink whore?"

Tails backed up slowly, seeing Sonic's good-natured smile turn into an angry glare. "What did you call her?" Sonic growled, pulling away from Amy and standing up.

"Nothing she hasn't been accused of before, I'll bet," Shadow replied, "Have you told her how in debt you really are, or does she believe the newspapers? Gerald was giving her a second chance after she robbed that old widow-"

"That's a lie!" Amy shouted.

"Look who's defending her honour. The naked woman in the closet," Shadow sneered.

Sonic's response to Shadow's sneering and insults was to smash him in the face with a clinched fist. "I'm not taking that from some damn stalker, you creepy asshole!" he snarled. Tails thought it best to be elsewhere and slipped out of the room, watching the unfolding fight from the hallway.

Shadow staggered back, rubbing his nose, "I am not a stalker!" he insisted.

"Sure you're not!" Sonic snapped back sarcastically, "That's why you had so many of these, right?" Taking a few of the photos they had stolen from Shadow's room, he tossed them in the black hedgehog's face. "You better say you're sorry to Amy, or things are going to get ugly!"

Shadow stared at the photographs, "You were in my room?!" he asked, rage registering solidly on his face.

"Yeah, kinda like how you are in mine!" Sonic shouted, stepping protectively in front of Amy.

Shadow flicked through the photographs. The rage left his face, to be replaced by sorrow, "I loved her so much..." he whispered.

"Yeah, which is why you drowned her, right? You sick freak!" Sonic shouted, stepping forward and shoving Shadow hard, pushing him out of the blue hedgehog's room.

"No!" Shadow insisted, "I would never hurt her! I love her! If you think I could kill Maria, why aren't you worried about Amy?"

"That's why I'm doing this!" Sonic retorted before punching Shadow in the gut.

Tails stood nervously off to the side, muttering, "Um... guys? You think you could... calm down? Oh, why do I bother?"

"You should see all the newspaper clippings and photographs in Amy's room!" Shadow pushed a few of them into Sonic's hands.

Sonic tossed them away, grabbed Shadow's chest fur, and shoved him against the wall. "I wasn't the one who turned up in the swimming pool, faker!"

"Maybe not yet!" Shadow shouted back, pushing Sonic away from him violently, "You have no understanding!"

"I know enough! You're not getting past me, Shadow! You're going down for this!" Sonic spat, pointing a finger at the dark hedgehog, backing up in the room towards his new lover, "You alright, Amy?"

"Yes, Sonic..." Amy said, her voice shaking as if she was ready to cry. She was holding a sheet around her body to cover herself up.

Sonic wrapped and arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek before leading her away from the closet. "Come on; let's get out of here." Tails, relieved that the fight seemed to be ending, slowly walked to Shadow's side again.

Shadow was literally shaking with rage as he watched Sonic and Amy walk out of the room, "Just who the hell does he think he is, accusing me of Maria's murder?" he asked nobody in particular, "Why, I practically raised her!"

"Maybe he's just scared,” Tails said in a quiet voice, spooked by the fight that had happened in front of his face.

"Come on, Tails," Shadow growled, "Help me find proof that he killed Maria or Gerald. He had the speed to do them both."

The fox lightly placed a hand on the hedgehog's arm, saying, "Alright, I'll try, but I don't think he did it. He does some dumb things, but that's just not like him. I'm... I'm sorry about what he said to you."

"Oh, so now you're sticking up for that arrogant blue prick, eh?" Shadow snarled.

Tails flinched away from the dark hedgehog, looking simultaneously frightened and hurt by the snappy reply, "I was just trying to help you!" the fox said.

"Sorry, I don't get a lot of that," Shadow replied. He bent down and started poking under Sonic's bed again, trying to find something more substantial than proof of a brief shag.

"I noticed,” Tails mumbled, sitting down in the floor away from Shadow, his arms curled around his knees. He made no attempt to look for anything else.

Shadow glared at Tails again, "What's wrong?" he asked sharply, "Why are you sitting there like that?"

Tails gave him the smallest bit of an annoyed glance before looking away, burying his face against his legs. The fox felt too hurt and embarrassed to say anything in return.

Shadow was no good at reading people. He continued poking under Sonic's bed until he pulled out the suitcase, then opened it. There weren't many clothes, but there were a lot of confidential papers.

Tails sniffled quietly, curling his tails around him as he tried to compose himself again. Everyone else needed him then, and he couldn't afford to let Shadow's abrasive attitude and Sonic's mindless ego get to him.

Shadow had no problem reading other people's personal papers. It was something he had been doing with Gerald for years now. He smirked when he saw that Sonic was even more in debt than he'd previously thought.

"What's so funny?" Tails asked, peeking out from behind his twin namesakes.

"Oh, just finding motive," Shadow said, "I just wish there was a large, blunt object in Sonic's room... but I guess we can track that down later."

Tails held up the wrench they found earlier and tossed it at Shadow's feet. "You could dust it for prints..." he suggested quietly, looking away again.

"Sonic's always wearing gloves," Shadow replied, "Don't we all? The important thing is whether it's really the murder weapon or not, and that requires a DNA test - something I can't do."

"Me either,” the fox admitted quietly. A moment passed, and he peeked out again, looking up at Shadow with his blue eyes. "You really loved her, didn't you?"

Shadow nodded, "Sonic wouldn't understand," he said, "I've been with the Robotnik family for generations. I don't even know how old I am. But I remember being there when Maria was born. It was like watching an angel."

"You think Sonic would really kill her? You don't want to get this wrong,” Tails told the dark hedgehog softly.

"I think Sonic needs money," Shadow replied, "Badly. And he wouldn't get as much money if Maria was alive. Maybe that's why he killed them both."

Tails said nothing else except to uncurl himself and to whisper, "I'm sorry..." The fox crawled over the hedgehog as he looked through Sonic's papers, and the young genius placed his hands on Shadow's back.

Shadow sagged and sighed, "I miss her so much... I am going to kill whoever did this to them," he growled.

~~~

Harley: Is Shadow putting on an act? Are certain people not as cute as they appear? Next chapter is the solution! All the clues are brought together! And you find out how right or wrong you are!