Ch 5 Part 3: Investigating the Jester

Another day and another shocking event. This time Gray was witness to damning evidence. All of last night he watched Adam's every move. He visited people's homes, reported to the security office, and rested in his apartment with a cold beer. Gray monitored each step he took.

So why was it that someone went missing again? This time a robotic Brawler. Someone he'd seen just the day before. A sweet and savory Brawler that did nothing wrong except give out delicious confections at a dangerously low price.

Here For You, Snow Cone Lou.

Gray was just at the Snowtel. He'd seen Lou not even twenty-four hours ago. He was smiling, laughing, handing out treats, and most importantly...

Talking to Chester. The last person that Gray saw with Lou in secret. And Lou looked uncomfortable while he was around him.

He decided to dig deeper. He couldn't rely solely on nighttime observations. This cretin had to be observed through shade or shine. He began his infiltration by sneaking into Mandy's Candy Shop. He positioned himself on the outskirts and partook in monochromatic candies. After slinking past their vision, he opened a dimensional door into Mandy's office. It was a mess much like his. Guess that comes with being a Starr. It took him a few minutes but he found what he was looking for. A physical record of all shop deliveries and their time of completion.

He slipped away using another dimensional door and escaped to his office. Mark his surprise when he discovered the shocking truth. For every disappearance, Chester was there. Dynamike's disappearance outside the mines; he was delivering rock candies just two days earlier. Poco and Emz's kidnapping; he had to deliver to the Wild West on the same day. And now Lou, everywhere Chester went someone disappeared.

He wouldn't let Chester out of his sight. He followed that cart's every turn. Stopping at the Roaring Rapids. Delivering to the castle. Rushing around Tara's Bazaar. If it sold sweets Mandy's Rainbow Candy delivered. It was the perfect alibi. He was just making deliveries. It's sheer coincidence that he is at the scene of every crime. Only a fool would believe that.

But what didn't make sense was how he was doing it. He wouldn't be able to kidnap all these Brawlers by himself. Where would he keep them? How did he kidnap multiple people in a single night?

No. He must have had help. Could it be Mandy? It didn't seem like it. Sure, Chester is insane but Mandy is supposed to be his living corral. It's her job to contain the crazy. So is it someone else?

Gray peeked out from behind the bushes. Chester had been delivering to the Greenery very often. Too often. Every day often. The shipments were always small. A single crate here. An extra box there. Nothing more than enough to last the day. Maybe Rosa didn't want to order too much and have it go to waste. The Greenery isn't really the place for snacking, but ordering like this was working at a loss.

Chester helped load off a crate which Rosa quickly snatched up to hold over her head. She was toting it as if it were a basketball that a toddler wanted to take from her. A gesture that might have besmirched Chester's masculinity. He slipped into his cart's seat and talked to Bea some more. Bea was too scared to hold a proper conversation, but Chester was patient.

When Bea finally managed to remove herself from the cart's frame Chester drove off. Gray took a moment to write something down before he began his chase once again.

1) Adam is a bit too friendly with the Brawlers.

He looked back to the Greenery's entrance. A group of plants shifted away without a word and held themselves apart for Bea. She ran in after Rosa as the larger, ebony Brawler pat her back warmly. Gray scribbled down.

2) Rosa is oddly friendly with Pam. What are they working on?

Then he followed the tracks of the Candy Cart. He jumped into a dimensional door and reappeared just ahead of Chester. From the cover of bushes, he watched as the clown smiled along inside his canopied vehicle. The final and most important note was underlined.

3) Chester is at the center.

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