After Marie got a match of the person who snuck into the red party's office, she and Jones saw that the person in the picture who snuck in before Adam was killed was none other than the blue party's candidate Martha Price. Confused and curious, Jones asked, "But what was she doing in the mayor's office in the first place?! Could she have been the one who killed Adam?"
Seeing how insane it was, the two officers bolted to go and talk to her. However, Chief King was standing in their way and he said to them, "Mrs. Price can wait. I want you two to go secure the stand where the election's winner will be announced."
Shocked and confused by what he just heard, Jones protested, "What?! But sir, we can't lose time on..."
"Finding Adam Bentley's murderer is the top-priority, but so is the election winner's security! We cannot leave anything to chance! Marie, I'll be counting on you for this. Go and talk to Martha Price, but don't forget to check the election stand on the way," Chief King ordered and the two officers saluted to him.
Before they checked out the election stand, Jones and Marie decided to talk to Martha first. Once they approached her, Marie looked at her sternly and said, "Mrs. Price, we have proof that you snuck inside the red party's offices when no one else was around!"
Shocked and surprised by what she heard, Martha protested, "I wasn't! This is a lie! This is all Johnson's doing, he's trying to shift the blame onto me!"
"Mrs. Price, we have actual video footage of you inside the offices. There's no room for doubt here," Jones said.
Getting nervous, Martha explained to them, "Look, this has nothing to do with Adam Bentley, I swear it! You know how it is! I knew Johnson would have something planned for today. We campaign for months, but is when everything really matters! I just wanted to check out what they had planned and to be prepared for a counterattack! That's all!"
After Martha walked away, Jones let out a sigh and said, "You know something Marie, I'm really glad that the elections end today. I don't think I could deal with these bloody politicians for one more day! What really gets me off is that we can never trust them about anything! It's like lying is built into their DNA!"
"Ranting won't get us anywhere David. I'd say we go have another look at the hotel lobby. After all, it's the last place Adam went to before he was killed. But first, let's take the chief's word and check out the election stand," Marie pointed out and Jones nodded in agreement.
Once they arrived at the election podium, Jones said, "Alright baby girl, since King insisted on us securing this stand, we might as well take his word and be thorough."
It was then that Marie found a trash bag and thought that she should search through it. Marie also found a broken statuette that looked less messy to deal with. After Marie cut open the bag, she searched through the garbage until she pulled out a gun. When she showed Jones the gun, Marie also spotted scratches on it when the serial number was supposed to be and that got Jones thinking that it looks super fishy. Marie knew that she dealt with hard codes before, so deciphering the code on this gun wouldn't be too hard.
Before Marie could look at the gun, she decided to repair the statuette first. In a few seconds,
Marie repaired the statuette which was actually a garden gnome that looked like Mayor Johnson and it really creeped Jones out and he thought, who ever thought that it'd be a good idea to create a garden gnome that looks exactly like the mayor?! Jones then looked at Marie and said, "I hope you're aware that this might haunt my dreams for years to come Marie!"
Marie looked closely at the gnome's eye and she said, "Look at this Jones. There's a camera in this gnome's eye. It seems like someone was planning on spying on the election ceremony. I think we need to send this recording gnome to Alex straight away!" And Jones agreed in order to get the little horror out of his sight.
After Marie sent the Mayor Johnson gnome to Alex, she got to work deciphering the serial number on the gun that she found in the trash. After she deciphered the serial number, Marie sent the gun to the lab to find its owner. Once Marie was done with the gun, she and Jones went back to the hotel lobby to check it out. After looking around for a while, Marie found the hotel's lost-and-found box and she decided to snoop through to see if Adam forgot anything.
In a few seconds, Marie pulled out Adam's notebook and she noticed that a page was torn out. The officers decided to get a closer look at the notebook to find out what was written on the missing page. Soon, Marie brushed her powder over the page until the writing was visible. Jones and Marie noticed that the page that was torn from Adam's notebook was about money. Jones thought in his mind, well that makes sense.
It was then that Jones and Marie the names, Jerry Bigwall, Walter Fairbanks and even Roland Vane and they saw that those men were Adam's dead "friends." When the two officers read the sums next to the text, they started to wonder if Adam was borrowing money from them. On the bottom of the page, there was a text that said, 'Need more money!' Jones rolled his eyes thinking, that's obvious since he was renting his suits and his cars.
Marie let out a low-whistle and said, "Trying to fit into Maple Heights must've cost Adam a lot. The constant need to spend cash must've been overwhelming."
Jones nodded in agreement and said, "Who knows what the need for money might've driven him to. We definitely need to keep this in mind Marie."
While they were waiting for Alex to finish examining the Johnson gnome and the gun's serial number, Jones and Marie decided to do a little snooping on their own to find out some facts on Adam Bentley. The first thing they did was they spilt up to get different information. Marie went to the courthouse to get some info on Adam's foster life and his living situations, while Jones decided to ask around different people in the city if they're familiar at all with Adam or his name.
After Marie got the files she needed, she was exiting the courthouse when she heard someone call her name. She looked behind her and saw that it was Judge Hall, out of her robes and in casual clothing. When the judge approached her, she said, "What you doing here? I thought you were investigating a case now."
"I am Your Honor. It's just that Jones and I have some free time, so we decided to get some extra info that'll help us," Marie told her.
Judge Hall rolled her eyes and said, "Honey, when it's just the two of us call me Olivia, okay? So what extra info are you collecting."
Marie then said, "It's actually about Adam Bentley; the upcoming socialite who was murdered in the red party's office.
After she heard Adam's name, Judge Hall's eyes went wide and said, "The Adam Bentley?! Marie, honey, you don't need files to find that out! I've had him in my courtroom more times than I can count!"
Getting curious, Marie asked, "Really? What did he do? I mean so far, the men he borrowed money from were the murder victims I solved in the past."
The judge nodded and told her that's exactly what she means and soon she dragged Marie to a coffee shop to tell her. At the shop, Judge Hall and Marie ordered a couple lattes and Marie flipped through the file she got. When Marie read it, she said, "It says here that Adam was abandoned when he was ten years old. His mother died giving childbirth to him, his father remarried and became an alcoholic. His stepmother was a heroin user and abused him constantly and after that the two of them ran off leaving Adam behind. It was then that he was fostered by the Vane family until after he was in high school."
"But shortly after, Mr. Bentley dropped out of college and worked at different odd jobs. I have a friend who takes care of con artists who works at taking care of pyramid scams and it turns out Adam went to one of them," Judge Hall said after she took a sip from her drink.
After she heard that, Marie asked, "What did he do?"
Judge Hall then flipped through her phone and explained, "Apparently, he was targeting those that are really wealthy that make about $25,000 to $30,000 a year. But get this, he doesn't even live in Maple Heights, but a run down apartment in the Industrial Area! He was a frequent customer at the Blue Flamingo back when Marconi was its manager. After that, he continued to con in the Financial District by sneaking in some of his own stocks in the GB Stockmarket."
It was then that Marie's phone rang and when she saw that it was Jones, she answered it and said, "What do you have David?"
"We'll get this baby girl! I'm right by Al's hotdog cart and he told me that Adam always jogged by his cart and joked with him about becoming the next candidate for mayor! And there's another thing, he happened to be a patient of Dr. Bishop before Bishop killed and went to the cuckoo house! Also, I have someone here that might help you shed some light," Jones explained and he handed his phone off.
After Jones did that, Marie heard the voice of one man that she knew that she'll never hear again. On the other end, Marie heard the voice of Ash Bison from the Vipers. On the other end, Ash said, "Hey there kid! Long time no see! I heard you're looking for some info on Adam Bentley. Well, guess what, I got some for you! Turns out your victim was conning money off of everything and everyone! He even messed with my gang too! One of our boys was planning on getting a small business loan, but he got denied because someone stole his name, credit card number everything! After that, his girl dumped him, he lost his home, his car, everything! And now he's living like One-Toothed Sam from a few months ago!"
Judge Hall then showed Marie her phone and she said, "We managed to find the guy conning another person a couple months back while you were in the Historical Center. He was locked up for a few days before someone anonymous posted bail. Adam Bentley's been in and out of jail more than once and the same person bails him out."
"But why go so far just for money? It doesn't make any sense," Marie asked while clutching her head.
Judge Hall gently took her hand and said, "Only you can find out about that hon. I know you will."
After a while, Marie thanked Judge Hall for the latte and Jones thanked Ash and Al for the info and soon, they headed hack towards the station. Back at the station, Jones placed a Burger Boy bag on Marie's desk and she began to dig in while Jones leaned against the file cabinet. He then let out a sigh and said, "After hearing all of that, it feels like we're dealing with Bernie Madolf and his Ponzie schemes!"
As Marie unwrapped her burger and took a bite out of it, she read through the file and said, "Apparently, Adam was living in the same building as Sally Stone and Dan Broke. So we know that Adam living in a run-down apartment is the truth. However, there's something really fishy about this file."
"What is it baby girl?" Jones asked curiously while looking over her shoulder.
Marie then began to flip through more of the file and said, "Well for one thing a lot of the pages in the back are blank. And the same thing goes for the other pages. It's like Adam was hiding more than his con games from us."
Jones stole a couple fries and munched on them and said, "Well whatever he was hiding, we'll be ready for it!"
After a while, Alex was done examining the gnome and the serial number and he called Jones and !arie to the tech lab to tell them the results. The first thing Alex explained to them was the garden gnome and ice they were in front of him, he said, "Well Marie, I had a look at that horrible gnome's spying system and I know who left it out in front of the election stand. The video doesn't leave room for imagination, but the person who placed this gnome was none other than the mayor's own mother Serena Johnson!"
After they heard Mrs. Johnson's name, Jones and Marie knew that she was overprotective of her son, but placing a spy gnome put was going too far. Before they left to get an explanation, Marie asked, "What about the serial number from the gun Alex? Did you identify its owner?"
"Well you'll never believe this Marie, but the gun you found hidden in front of the election stand was registered to Tony Marconi," Alex said to them.
Shocked and surprised by what he heard, Jones exclaimed, "What?! But he's in prison! I mean, the way he goes about it, it sounds like he's in a hotel, but surely people wouldn't..."
Alex then continued to explain, "Wait there's more to it! Nathan ran a series of tests on the gun and compared the bullet fired into Adam's head to the bullet from the gun and it turns out they match! Marie, you found the gun which was used to kill Adam!"
Shocked, the two officers exclaimed, "What the hell?!"
Marie then looked at Jones and said, "I'm not as thrilled as you are David, but Marconi better have a very good explanation for this!" And Jones nodded in agreement.
The first person they decided to talk to was Serena Johnson and know more about her spy gnome. As soon as they arrived at the red party's office, Serena noticed them approaching and she looked at Marie and said, "Why Marie, what a surprise to see you. But I'm afraid I don't have much time to talk though. There's so many things to do, you understand right?"
It was then that Marie showed the old woman the garden gnome and she smiled instantly. Serena then said, "I see you've repaired my gnome! Isn't it handsome? It looks just like my darling boy!"
Jones rolled his eyes and thought, yeah, darling. He then said, "About the gnome Mrs. Johnson. We'd be really interested in knowing why you hid a camera inside it."
"Well for security of course! How else could I make sure that nothing would happen to my son when he gets re-elected?! Short of taking a gun with me to the election speech, which I still intend to do. I happen to be a very god shot you know," Serena explained to them.
Surprised by what they were hearing, Marie said, "But Mrs. Johnson, the election results are not even in yet!"
"But it's pretty obvious that Howard is gonna win! And there are many people who might not be too pleased about this! I mean, just look what happened to Mr. Bentley. He was killed in my son's offices and whoever did it might've been targeting Howard! And I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not convinced that you're doing your best to protect him," Serena said with a smirk.
After they were done talking to Serena Johnson, Jones and Marie headed to the prison to speak to Tony Marconi about the murder weapon. As soon as they were in front of his cell, Marconi smirked at Marie and said to her, "You again Miss Holmes? If it's about someone's death, I can assure you that I've been locked in my cell all day like a good boy."
Marie kicked the cell bars angrily, clutched them and said, "If you were "locked" up like a "good boy" Marconi, then how come Adam Bentley was shot with your gun?!"
After he heard that Adam was killed with his gun, Marconi smirked and said, "How clever. But surely you must know that the gun you have was confiscated to me by the police forces years ago? I'll admit that the execution sounds like me cause I've always been really good with a gun or else I wouldn't have survived for so long. But I had no interest in Mr. Bentley whatsoever."
Jones clenched his teeth and said to the ex-gangster, "I know you've got something to do with Adam's death Tony and we'll prove it! What's to say that you weren't on one of your temporary releases today?!"
Marconi shook his head with a tsk and said, "I can only go out on Saturdays Jones, remember? And Marie my dear, next time you visit me, I suggest you leave your angry mutt at home cause his barking is so much worse than his bite."
Later at the station, Jones and Marie were at their desks, when Jones let out a deep sigh and said, "Marie, something tells me that Adam's murder is going to be a devil to solve. So far, the only certainty we have is that Adam was killed by someone who's right-handed and who's really good with a gun. And he was executed in the mayor's office, which can't be a coincidence!"
Marie got to thinking and said, "Do you think Adam's friendship with the mayor could be a reason for his death? Cause I'm guessing that Mrs. Johnson wouldn't appreciate a "nobody" turning her precious son around. And Adam trying to get into Martha's good graces wasn't clever either. Cause you don't play in both camps without angering everyone and we both know that Martha had access to the crime scene."
Just then, Alex showed up and said, "Mind if I butt in Marie? Remember how Marconi's gun was used to kill Adam? Well, I thought it was kind of strange with him being in prison and all, so I decided to dig a little deeper. It turns out this gun was confiscated from him years ago when he got arrested for driving under the influence! And the one who confiscated it was Chief King!"
Confused by what he heard, Jones said, "Wait a minute, you're not seriously telling us that you think the chief could've kept the gun all this time are you? I mean, he's the chief!"
"He wasn't back then and I'm not saying he stole it either cause the gun was filed as evidence upon Marconi's arrest. But at some point it disappeared," Alex said to them.
Jones got to thinking really deeply and he looked at Marie and said, "Marie, what do you think about all of this? I mean, sure, Chief King has always been fiercely protective of the mayor. And he did tell us that we should consider the fact that three of Adam's "friends" have already been killed as a threat to Howard Johnson."
Marie then got a look of horror on her face and then she looked at Jones and said, "It may not seem right. But this means that, Chief King is a plausible suspect!"