Who Shot Badaboum?

Who Shot Badaboum?
By Michael Dell, editor-in-chief

It brings LCS: Guide to Hockey great sorrow to inform you, our valued readers, that Badaboum may be dead. And police have reason to believe foul play was involved.
Nevada State Police are currently investigating a possibly fatal accident involving the car of the former Quebec Nordiques mascot. While no body was found inside the vehicle, Badaboum's car was discovered by police at the bottom of a ravine just outside of Las Vegas. Authorities were called to the scene when passers-by noticed a guard rail down and flames coming from the bottom of the steep embankment.
"The car was discovered at 5:15 AM on Sunday morning, June 22," reported Officer James Foster of the Nevada State Police. "We were lucky enough to salvage the license plate from the fire. It was a Canadian plate and was registered to one Irving J. Badaboum. Further checking revealed that it was indeed Badaboum's 1982 Pacer."

Badaboum, our hero

As fate would have it, Officer Foster is an avid reader of LCS Hockey and was aware of the search to find our big blue hero. He called us mere minutes after the car's positive identification.
"I figured you boys were the closest thing he had to next of kin," explained Foster at the time. "Not many other people seemed too concerned about his well-being these past few years."
Upon receiving the phone call I immediately headed for the airport and made my way to Las Vegas. Not long after the plane touched down that Sunday night, I was meeting with Foster to discuss the details of the case.
"At this point it is still publicly being viewed as an accident," Foster told me during our initial face-to-face discussion. "There's no body, so it can't be classified as a murder. But there's no doubt in my mind that Badaboum didn't drive that car of the road himself. Someone forced his vehicle off the road."
When the car did go astray, it busted through a guard rail and rolled some 150 feet before coming to a rest on its driver side at the bottom of the ravine. Foster's skepticism about the validity of the accident stems from a discovery he made while combing through the charred remains of the car.
"The interior of the vehicle was pretty burned up. While I was giving the driver's side a quick going over, I noticed a shiny piece of metal among the ashes on the floor. It was a .38- caliber bullet. It was flattened out, as if it hit something extremely hard before finding the floor. I kept searching and found two more slugs, one stuck in the back seat behind the passenger side and one in the head rest of the driver's seat."
The windshield, while busted up, showed no signs of bullet holes. The driver's side window, though, was rolled down. That fact, combined with the trajectory of the bullets found lodged in the seats, leads Foster to believe that the shots were fired through the driver's side window from an angle in front and to the side.
"Someone was obviously trying to kill Badaboum. They knew he'd be traveling this road and they set up an ambush. This was an attempted murder," summarized Foster. "Whether or not it was successful is still unknown."
Unknown because no body was found. Did Badaboum dive clear? Did he crawl to safety after the car made its plummet? Or maybe his body was removed by the perpetrator?
Before the investigation could go any further, one obvious question had to be answered. What was Badaboum doing in Las Vegas?
After Foster and I did some checking around, it turned out the United Mascot Federation (UMF) was holding a week-long convention at Caesar's Palace. Mascots from all over North America were pouring into Vegas for the festivities that started Saturday night, June 21. Could it be a coincidence that Badaboum was in town the same exact time as the UMF convention? Not likely.
We decided to pay the Caesar's Palace hotel a visit on Monday night and found some old familiar faces. The guest list read like a who's who of NHL mascots: Calgary's Harvey the Hound, Buffalo's Sabretooth, Pittsburgh's Iceburgh, San Jose's Sharky, Toronto's Carlton the Polar Bear... the list went on and on. But to me, there was one name that stood out. Bippy the Snow Elf.
It was back in issue 59 that we first chronicled the special relationship between Badaboum and Bippy. Once bitter college rivals, Badaboum was responsible for saving Bippy from a life of drunken excess and then leading him back to the straight and narrow. The two were best of friends right up until the time the Nordiques left Quebec and Badaboum disappeared. If anyone would know why Badaboum was in town, it would be Bippy.

Bippy Sincere?

We found Bippy in his hotel room. He had obviously already heard the news of Badaboum's apparent car crash. The lights were dim and empty liquor bottles were strewn about the floor. On the bed was a copy of that morning's newspaper which carried the story. Bippy was still visibly shaken by the events.
"It just isn't fair," cried a distraught Bippy. "All those months of worrying... and then once I finally see him again, he gets taken away... it just isn't fair."
Bippy collected himself long enough to share his story of how he came to know Badaboum was in town. It was Friday night. Bippy had just checked into his hotel room at Caesar's Palace when there was a knock at the door. When he opened it he was startled to see Badaboum.
"There he was, big as life!" recalled Bippy. "I was so happy to see him... so happy."
After the two chums shared an emotional greeting, Badaboum told Bippy that he was in town to see all the old gang. He wanted to make up for lost time.
"He wouldn't tell me where he had been the past few years. He just said he wandered around trying to find out who he really was," Bippy said, still wiping tears from his eyes. "He apologized for not contacting me earlier, but he said he had to get some things straight... I didn't really care, I was just so happy he was healthy and safe... it's not fair."
The two friends chatted into the wee hours of the morning. Bippy asked if Badaboum was staying in the hotel and he said he wasn't. It was a little out of his price range. Bippy invited Badaboum to share his room, but Badaboum declined, saying that he was staying at a motel just outside of town. That was a definite lead. But before we followed up on it, we wanted to find out what else Bippy could tell us.
"He left that night and went back to his motel, but we made plans to meet again the next night at the party," continued Bippy, referring to the Saturday night bash the UMF was throwing in the hotel's main ballroom to welcome all the mascots.
Badaboum did return the next night at 10 PM. He and Bippy then made their way to the ballroom as planned.
"Everyone was so happy to see him. It was like welcoming back a member of the family. The convention itself almost took on secondary importance," admitted Bippy. "The important thing was that Badaboum was back."
But as the night wore on, and the booze started flowing, the atmosphere changed a bit.
"Badaboum was drinking more than I ever remembered. He never used to touch the stuff, but he was pounding it down pretty good that night. It was probably just the excitement of seeing everyone again," theorized Bippy.
After knocking back a few more cocktails, Badaboum informed Bippy that he had an announcement to make.
"He asked me to gather up all the NHL mascots. He then told everyone he had just signed a big contract with Green Leaf Publishing to write a book about all his days in the NHL. He said it would blow the roof of the mascot world... I thought it was a great idea. I mean, no one ever writes about mascots. But I guess not everyone shared my opinion."
Bippy told us that the initial reactions to Badaboum's announcement were positive. At first, everyone cheered with a show of support. But as the gathering started to break up, a few mascots began to seem uneasy about the prospect of a book.
"Harvey the Hound came over and had a few heated words with Badaboum," said Bippy. "But that was just Harvey being Harvey. Those two never really got along. I also saw Carlton and Sabretooth talk to Badaboum, but not much came of it. I really don't know what was said. After everyone else split, Badaboum and me hung out for a bit. He took off around 3:30. Said he'd come back on Sunday and we'd go play some golf... but I never saw him again... it's just not fair."
With that, we left to let Bippy get some rest. He was a wreck. Outside in the hallway Foster and I agreed... we had our motive. We made a call to Green Leaf Publishing and talked to one Ms. Alicia Sebastien, the person in charge of new talent. She informed us that Green Leaf signed Badaboum to a $300,000 contract six months ago after reading the outline for his proposed book. He was given a small advance and the rest of the money would be paid on completion. They weren't expecting a finished manuscript for another few weeks, but they fully anticipated it being filled with juicy material. In Ms. Sebastien's words, "No secrets will be kept and lives will likely be changed. It's gonna be hot stuff."
Obviously the prospect of Badaboum writing a tell-all book ruffled more than a few feathers among his mascot brethren. But what did Badaboum know that would drive someone to murder in order to keep him quiet? We didn't have the answer, but we felt Badaboum's motel room was as good a place as any to start looking for it.
Since Badaboum's car was found heading away from Caesar's Palace, we surmised that he was on his way back to his motel late Saturday/early Sunday, depending on how you look at it, when the incident occurred. After consulting a map and a phone directory, we began visiting the various motels along Badaboum's projected route. On our fifth try we struck gold.
The Majestic Motel hardly lived up to its name. It was the kind of place that would give Norman Bates chills. The man at the desk confirmed that a mascot matching Badaboum's description had checked in the previous Thursday, which would have been June 19. He paid for a week in advance and signed in under the name "Danny Ocean". No one ever uses their real name at cheap motels. Badaboum's choice of aliases refers to Frank Sinatra's character in the classic movie "Ocean's Eleven". The film was about a group of old army buddies that went to Las Vegas to knock off five casinos on New Year's Eve. Perhaps the choice of name reflected Badaboum's mood. Maybe he felt like he was going to Las Vegas on a mission.
Badaboum was staying in room #6. The motel clerk said he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary the last few nights, but was eager to provide us with a spare key so we could see for ourselves. When Foster opened the door a disaster scene was revealed. The room had been ransacked. It didn't appear to be from a struggle, but rather a deliberately brutal search of the premises. The mattress was flipped, drawers were tossed about, and the garbage was poured across the floor. It was impossible to tell if whoever did it found what they were looking for, only that they gave it their best shot. Foster began dusting for fingerprints, but then we remembered... mascots don't have fingerprints.
Was the manuscript for Badaboum's book the reason for the search? If so, who would have known he was staying at the motel? Before Saturday night, the only mascot who knew he was in town and staying at a motel was Bippy. No one else met Badaboum until the party on Saturday. And if someone would have followed Badaboum home from the party, how did they get to the motel room first to ransack it? Badaboum's car went off the road while he was on the most direct route from Caesar's Palace to his motel. It just wouldn't make sense for Badaboum to drive all the way back to his motel after a night of drinking, thus allowing his attacker to follow him, then get back in his car and drive back into town, before returning once more for a second time in order for the shooting to take place. Whoever tried to rub out Badaboum had to know where he was staying prior to Saturday night. That makes Bippy a suspect.
With this new bit of information at our disposal, Foster and I went back to Caesar's Palace Tuesday afternoon to continue the investigation. While things were pointing to Bippy, our guts told us he was innocent. We wanted to talk to the other parties involved. We started with Harvey the Hound. We found him at the hotel bar.
It's no secret Harvey hated Badaboum. Not only had Bippy seen the two go at it during the party, Harvey was also less than helpful when LCS Hockey first contacted him about Badaboum's disappearance back in issue 61. When Foster and I asked him about Badaboum's accident, he wasn't exactly sympathetic.

Harvey Jealous?

"Ha! Good for the no talent bum!" erupted Harvey. "He was drunk as a skunk that night. He probably just blacked out and drove off the road. Maybe now people will finally forget about that overgrown bath mat."
It was hard to ignore Harvey's blatant malice towards Badaboum. His every word was drenched in hate. When we informed him we had reason to believe someone may have murdered Badaboum, Harvey's response was even more despicable.
"Even better!" he exclaimed. "I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see it."
If Harvey did kill Badaboum, he wasn't doing a very good job of drawing suspicion away from himself. We hardly needed another motive to pin Harvey to the crime, but we asked him about Badaboum's book anyway.
"That big dummy couldn't write his name let alone a book," responded Harvey. "And even if he did, he's got nothin' on me, Jack! Why the hell should I care what he does? I'm Harvey the Hound, dammit! I've got money, I've got power, and I've got women. Badaboum can have the book-of-the-month club. He could choke on it for all I care."
Harvey didn't have an alibi for Saturday night. He said he was with some show girl, but he couldn't remember her name. When asked if he owns a gun Harvey replied, "yeah, I've got a gun... in my pants! Now beat it, you're crampin' my style." Typical Harvey. He's still very much a suspect.
The remaining two names on our list were the other mascots seen by Bippy to be talking to Badaboum after the book announcement: Sabretooth and Carlton. We were on our way up to Carlton's room when we saw Sabretooth milling about in the lobby. We decided to hit him first.
Unlike Harvey, Sabretooth seemed genuinely upset about the accident. He shared a few stories about the old days when the Nordiques and Sabres were Adams Division rivals. As in LCS Hockey's earlier meeting with him a few months back in issue 60, it sounded like he was friends with Badaboum. If he was, the more information Badaboum could know about him. Maybe he knew more than he should.

Sabretooth Greedy?

"The only reason I was mad about him writing the book is that it was originally my idea," offered Sabretooth as a reason why the two mascots exchanged words that fateful night. "We talked about writing a book together four or five years ago. But he said he didn't want to do it. Then here he is showing up out of nowhere to say he's got some big publishing deal for a book. I just felt he was cheating me out of my share of the deal, that's all."
Sabretooth assured us he still wasn't mad, but money is always a good motive for murder. He also didn't have a real great alibi, saying that he just went straight to bed after the party. He jumped to the top of our list.
We found Carlton the Polar Bear in his room. He opened the door wearing a smoking jacket and holding a pipe in his right hand. He was spending the afternoon in, occupying his time with a copy of "Hamlet". He invited us in and offered us a martini. Carlton hardly appeared the murdering sort.

Carlton Worried?

"I didn't really know Badaboum that well," explained Carlton. "I became the Leafs' mascot in 1995-96. Badaboum was already out of the league by then. It was a shame to see the poor chap disappear like he did. I heard tell that he was quite the showman."
Carlton was one refined bear. It was hard to imagine him getting his paws dirty in murder.
"The only reason I objected to Badaboum's announcement about the book is because I feel it denigrates the occupation to write about it in such a way," said Carlton. "We should conduct ourselves as gentlemen at all times. Having one of our own write such tell-all drivel is embarrassing."
Not surprisingly, Carlton didn't have an infallible alibi either. He said he left the party early and retired for the evening, falling asleep while reading in bed. We were surprised, however, to find out that Carlton was familiar with firearms. In fact, he had one in his room.
"Don't be scared, dear boys, it's not loaded," said Carlton as he opened his bedside table drawer to reveal a .22-caliber pistol. "But one does need a means to defend oneself against the criminal element. And you need not worry officer, I have a permit to carry it. I have permits for all my revolvers."
The .22 was the only gun Carlton had with him and it didn't match up with the slugs found in Badaboum's car, but the fact that he knew how to handle a weapon was very interesting.
While we uncovered some clues, we're really no closer to finding out who tried to kill Badaboum. We've got four main suspects.

Bippy: Is Bippy really as torn up about Badaboum's accident as he lets on? Or are his emotions meant to cover up the fact that he tried to kill his formal rival and supposed "best friend"? He was the only mascot to know Badaboum was in town before the party. His career has thrived since Badaboum's disappearance. And Badaboum would certainly have enough dirt on Bippy to make his book some anxious reading for the Snow Elf.

Harvey: Harvey's just one ornery S.O.B. His enormous hatred for Badaboum is only surpassed by his massive ego. Harvey hardly needs a motive to try and kill Badaboum, but jealousy over the book deal could have pushed him over the edge. And you can bet good ol' Harvey has some skeletons in his closet, a few of which would have likely ended up between the covers of Badaboum's book.

Sabretooth: He claims the idea to write a book about the lives of mascots was his. By Badaboum leaving him out in the cold, that means Sabretooth is losing out on at least a $150,000 split. Greed usually equals murder.

Carlton: Is trying to uphold the good name of mascots really a reason for getting into a verbal battle at a party? That seems kind of fishy. There might be more to Carlton's dispute with Badaboum than meets the eye. He also knows how to handle a gun. That tidbit shouldn't be overlooked.

Finding the guilty party won't be easy. And even once we discover who tried to kill Badaboum, there's still the small matter of finding out what happened to our furry blue buddy. If he's dead, where's the body? And if he's alive, where's he hiding?
Unfortunately, I had to return home to finish preparing the Season Review issue before solving the mystery. Foster and the Nevada State Police are continuing the investigation and I hope to join them again soon. So be here next season, same LCS Hockey time, same LCS Hockey channel, when we try to answer the question...
Who shot Badaboum?