Transcript of this chapter:

crystal: Oh, so sleepy...
crystal: I've been working on this code for hours, and I'm still not closer to cracking it. It's like it's a different code each time.
crystal: And poor Annabelle is still in the basement, gorging herself on brains and crying into a pillow.
crystal: And Barlow's still out there trying to spy on Turnip... with no success, I assume.
crystal: Oh, maybe he's finally back.
sheriff: Hello, Crystal. I saw the lights were still on, and I was passing through...
sheriff: Hmmm, what's wrong? I can identify a frustrated demon when I see one.
crystal: Nothing big. It's just a bunch of little things.
sheriff: Well, what's the biggest?
crystal: We've got a heart-broken zombie.
sheriff: Heart-broken, eh? Are you sure she wasn't trying to break into Alex's heart... and eat it?
crystal: That's what everyone says, but she's not taking the rejection very well.
sheriff: An unfortunate but necessary consequence. That love potion she made would've destroyed our fragile balance, and this whole episode has been distracting you from what's truly important.
crystal: Annabelle's emotional well-being is still very important to me.
sheriff: With all respect, I think there are other things you should be concentrating on. That's what brought me here.
crystal: I can't make any headway into this code. It's like it keeps changing somehow. I can't seem to pick up any pattern.
sheriff: Well, maybe your talents lay elsewhere.
crystal: No! I know that I can do it, I just need more time.
crystal: Barlow is out bungling his own investigation. No big loss, really... It's just rather embarrassing to watch him try to act like sneaky gumshoe.
sheriff: So you doubt that Barlow will find anything important?
crystal: He's got a faulty theory that requires talents that he doesn't have. I'd say his chance of success is roughly zero.
sheriff: And what about your methods?...
crystal: We haven't seen much of you around recently.
sheriff: That's a problem?
crystal: Usually when you show up without warning, you've got some kind of agenda.
sheriff: You don't miss much...
sheriff: Actually, I'm here because we're not quite satisfied with your performance recently... you and Barlow both.
crystal: What?
sheriff: Ah, here he is now.
barlow: I'm back. No new developments.
crystal: Meaning that you lost him somewhere.
sheriff: Right, That's why I'm here...
sheriff: Rebecca and I have been watching your progress on this case. We're very interested in finding out who is leaving those messages, but... we're afraid the investigation is becoming a little stale.
sheriff: Barlow, I'm not sure you have the dexterity or tact to trail a suspect without giving yourself away.
barlow: No! I'm just... really tired.
sheriff: And you, Crystal... Well, your direction might not be a good match to your talents...
crystal: Barlow is the one on the wrong track! He's blaming Turnip based on a silly theory about a connection to Hatchetpaws.
sheriff: There are plenty of legitimate reasons to suspect Turnip, but that's just my own biased judgment.
sheriff: Barlow might be on the wrong track, or he might be on the RIGHT track but with the WRONG methods.
barlow: Right! See?
sheriff: The point is that BOTH of you are ill-equipped for what you each have planned.
crystal: There's nothing wrong with MY direction!
sheriff: Your direction is fine. We'd all like to know what the messages say, but maybe you're not the one best equipped to do the work.
crystal: What are you implying?
barlow: He's saying that you're not smart enough.
crystal: We don't see you doing anything about this.
sheriff: I do what I need to do, and I don't do what I don't need to do.
barlow: Isn't that redundant?
sheriff: Not at all. I'm the sheriff, and I take care of everything that has a certain degree of sheriff-nature. This mystery with the gondola and those messages has nothing to do with civic crime.
sheriff: I COULD worry about the code and spend time solving things, but there are others who are better equipped with their own talents and natures.
crystal: You could at least help us a little.
sheriff: Of course! That's why I'm here now. We've been watching your methods, and we're getting a bit concerned about the results you're getting.
crystal: So you're here to tell us what we're doing wrong.
sheriff: Rebecca and I were discussing things, and we thought it might be useful to make a few changes.
crystal: Exactly what do you have in mind?
sheriff: We would like the two of you to switch places. You're more proactive and tactful, Crystal, so you'd be better at following up on the Turnip-Hatchetpaws angle.
barlow: I'm not that bad at it!
sheriff: And Barlow is better equipped for the more cerebral path, such as cracking the Sprawling code.
crystal: But you agree that breaking the code is more important.
sheriff: Well... breaking the code would be nice, but I think someone should be keeping an eye on that paper mammal, too.
crystal: Why do you want ME to follow Turnip?
sheriff: I know he's a criminal, I just don't know if he's involved in this mystery. Let's just say that it'll be up to you to clear him.
crystal: Oh, so he's guilty until proven innocent?
sheriff: Where he's concerned, that's how I always feel.
sheriff: And let's face it... since Barlow and Turnip are supposedly good friends, I'm afraid Barlow might be too lenient towards him.
crystal: You really think that Barlow can crack the code?
barlow: You think I can't?!
crystal: You tried already, didn't you? You tried, and then gave up.
barlow: I found another angle! If Hatchetpaws-
sheriff: Yes, but we'll leave that up to Crystal. I do think that you would have more success with the code... if you had all of the samples that Crystal has.
barlow: You found more codes?!
crystal: Yeah, but they're not new. They were in a book.
barlow: I only failed earlier because I didn't have enough samples.
sheriff: See? This sounds like a good use for Barlow's skills.
crystal: I've got better things to do with my time than help Barlow...
crystal: For one thing, I've got to lend my support to Annabelle in her time of need.
sheriff: She'll get over it.
crystal: And I'd like to know how Alex knew the pastry had a love potion in it.
barlow: Ha! Obviously she didn't make it right... or maybe Alex already was in love with her.
crystal: No, he knew about it somehow. When I did inventory at the diner this evening, there was a pastry missing from the freezer... and a slightly different extra one was stuffed into the back.
sheriff: Well, I guess we shouldn't be eating pastries for a while.
sheriff: I'm sure we'll find a solution to that little mystery eventually. For now, though, we'd like you to concentrate on keeping tabs on Turnip.
crystal: What's in this for me? I don't want to waste time on Barlow's silly theories.
sheriff: But in return, Barlow will be working on your angle.
sheriff: Think of it this way... Isn't there a long-standing tradition of demons and humans making pacts, each doing something that other can't do?
barlow: Sure, but that never actually works out for the human, does it? That's exactly the sort of thing that demon-hunters are around to prevent.
crystal: Okay, but I know that I'm not going to find anything. I know that Turnip is innocent and Hatchetpaws is just a red herring to throw us off the trail.
sheriff: Good, then you should have no trouble finding evidence to clear his name... or maybe you'll find that you were wrong.
crystal: I can't depend on Barlow to do my work.
barlow: And Crystal isn't taking my investigation seriously.
sheriff: You two of you live in the same house, and yet you have so little trust in each other.
crystal: But we're separate people. We don't have to place any trust on each other.
sheriff: Or is that you're both afraid to?
crystal: Are you trying to interfere with our methods?
sheriff: Not at all! Your methods are perfectly sounds... it's just that the wrong people were assigned to them.
crystal: I guess it's possible that he might have more patience with the code...
barlow: And I guess that Crystal might be a little better at spying on people...
crystal: Hey, that's not exactly a compliment!