week 2 - trial

[productions]

week two trial



[At 9 AM precisely, the old grandfather clock chimes once again, and the doors to the drawing room are opened. They will remain open until everyone has come inside, after which they will shut behind them. It is not possible to leave on your own, although perhaps if you have a specific purpose the hostess will allow you to go, as long as you are accompanied by a partner.

The room is set up comfortably, with several tables by the fireplace set out to assist with the trial. The Hostess will also remain in a seat near the fireplace, next to the scales on the mantle. At lunch, the doors will open to bring in a large meal on an automatically rolling buffet, and at 3 PM, tea and finger sandwiches will be served. You'll be able to enjoy the trial in comfort, of course, but the information cards set out on tables will not allow you to forget your true purpose here.

At 7 PM, the trial will adjourn for the day. Players will be escorted by the Hostess to the ballroom, where dinner and wine will be served until 10 PM, at which point players will be required to return to their wings in groups with their wingmates and will be locked in their bedrooms until 8:30 AM the following morning.]

victim



suspects



Character Statuses
Setting
Manor Rules
Cheat Sheet
Voting

Comments

[obsideo]

Let's put together what we know.

(I'm just going to assume the information everyone found has been reported back, hope that's okay!)

Minatsuki was on the "dispensable" list, so you would think she'd be trying to be careful. But she really liked flowers, so it seems like she must have spent a lot of time in the garden. Maybe she usually went out there when she woke up. It probably didn't seem that risky because she knew she could defend herself, and someone, Gundam Tanaka, was usually out there around that time. I think we can say that's where she was killed...her room seemed pretty clean. The Sapphire wing bathroom is still a possibility, but you'd think if they'd been doing a thorough clean up job of a crime scene, they would have cleaned the dirt off the window sill.

So let's assume she was out in the garden in the early morning. Someone either knew or didn't care who they were going to target, just waited for there to be someone in the garden. I guess if her body could be hidden for a while, a live person might be able to hide too. Or else someone came through the dining room window, or climbed down, or something, I don't know. Whatever happened, they killed Minatsuki, and then it seemed like they climbed back up the wall. That dirt on the window sill of the Sapphire wing bathroom...that's not a coincidence.

Minatsuki's keys were found with her...but we don't know whether the windows were unlocked or left open, right? Only it would probably be pretty risky to get caught coming out of a bathroom that wasn't your own around the time people are waking up. So that should narrow down our suspects for sure.

But we still have a huge gap, right? The cause of death. We don't know how she got those bruises on her neck, or why her eye was like that. If the killer did stab her, they would have been able to clean off in the bathroom, of course...though they'd still have clothes to deal with. And if they were going to stab her anyway, why bother with anything else?

What are we thinking? I have a feeling that if we can get the how, we can get the who, but we don't have much time.

[godwhisperer]

Indeed, I was frequently in the gardens at that time, yet often on another side of the house. I have little interest in flower gardens. Mere trifles, decor.

But had I been there this morning...

[obsideo]

I know how you feel.

Last week, I wished I had just gotten to the bathroom earlier to help Lydia. But it wasn't your fault, Gundam. It was the killer's.

[godwhisperer]

You misjudge me. I have no desire to claim culpability in this matter.

[vytis]

I think, even if they did end up stabbing her, that can't have been what they intended to do. Minatsuki's card does say she can control her blood, so giving her blood to work with would be really dangerous. While her pupil's condition does match hanging, you're right that the bruises are really light, but we can probably extrapolate out that if a hanging would cause it, damage to the neck would, too. Could the bruise be from someone kicking or punching?

I think we should also consider trying to figure out which of our suspects could have made a climb like that, since climbing seems to have been involved. It would have to be someone who was absolutely certain they could manage it, I'd think.

[obsideo]

Could they have tried to choke her? Or grabbed her neck or something? They probably didn't want to risk any noise, and grabbing someone's neck is a good way to shut them up.

I'm looking at the cards. Annie has martial arts and military training that might include climbing, Kanaya has unusual strength and speed that would make it easier to scale a wall, Kaoru has speed and healing, so she'd know if she fell she wouldn't get too hurt, Poland's the same, high pain tolerance and stamina, and Ukraine is physically strong, too. I don't feel like we could rule any of them out based on that.

Can I ask you...as nations, do you guys have to fight? Do you have training?

[vytis]

In my world we do fight alongside our people during wars, usually against the other nation, so we are trained. I don't think I could climb up or down the mansion, though. Well, not quickly enough to try and use it in a murder. I can't speak for Poland or Ukraine, though, since I don't know them outside of this mansion.

As for choking, would that be fast enough? They would have had to been trying to incapacitate her pretty quickly. I imagine they'd have to know where to strike, too, but that would depend on what they did specifically.

[obsideo]

That's assuming they didn't have help. If they'd used a rope or something, they could have ditched it by now and we'd never know.

[vytis]

They had to have used a rope, right? Or something like it? Could you really climb up the mansion without one? [The idea of not using rope at all hasn't really entered his mind as an option.] Using a rope, though, they'd need something to tie it to.

[speakveryclearly]

If this is an insight to the time of death, what if we more closely examined our claimed whereabouts? Someone well-seen within the manor early Wednesday morning is extremely unlikely to have been out in the garden murdering Minatsuki, while an otherwise innocuous claim to have slept a while longer provides an interesting interval.

[obsideo]

I'm not sure. Someone who had just committed a murder would probably try to make sure they had a solid alibi, like Bernkastel did, right?

I do think it looks like it would've been hard for you or Kaoru to do it, if the murder happened around 6 or 7. Hard, but not impossible.

[speakveryclearly]

I will concede that if it were less like 7 and more like 6 it's not entirely impossible I could have had the time.

What about Poland? Would anyone staying in the amethyst wing like to corroborate his presence there?

[obsideo]

He took an hour long shower. Turn on the water, slip out, lock the door, and who would know?

But...I do think it makes more sense to look at people who had access to the Sapphire wing bathroom. Since that's how the killer had to get back in, right?

[balzams]

I may be wrong but... They found out she had haemophilia, right? I think the bruises would be a lot worse if she were hanged.

M-maybe it was a blow to the neck instead. You can kill people by punching them in the throat if the windpipe swells too much in reaction...

[obsideo]

I don't think she was hanged either. But if she was punched, wouldn't there just be one bruise?

[balzams]

She might have been struck multiple times to make sure?

But... it does say light bruising. I don't know if any blow that would only cause light bruising would be enough to kill her. She would bruise more easily, wouldn't she?

[obsideo]

Oh. Because of hemophilia? Could be.

Maybe they just grabbed her neck to hold her still while they stabbed her? But because of her condition, it left a big mark.

[terriblesister]

Um... with that mess... if they climbed up the wall after stabbing her, wouldn't that leave bloodstains too?

Not just dirt, I mean.

[obsideo]

Yeah, Annie mentioned that, too. You're right...

[souredsweet]

Mr. Spain has pointed out that they may have thought of it ahead of time and brought extra clothing to change into in the garden.

It is also possible that the wounds were inflicted at a distance, since it is seeming more and more likely that they were not the true cause of death...

[humanic]

Yeah, I'm thinking the stabbing's gotta be a way of disguising the real cause of death, right? I mean, it just doesn't make any sense otherwise. If the killer could ambush Minatsuki and make sure she couldn't hurt them with her powers, then why not just slit her throat or something quick and fatal like that? Stabbing her a bunch of times would make it riskier because they'd get blood all over them and she might fight back or start screaming if she didn't die fast enough.

[obsideo]

I...

(She looks a little guilty.)

This is just speculation, I'm not accusing her yet. But I had an idea that maybe they stabbed her so many times because the murder weapon would leave a distinct wound. Like a pitchfork...

[vytis]

She would have had to climb the wall with the pitchfork, wouldn't she?

[obsideo]

Hmm...yeah, that would be hard, and it would be pretty hard to safely stash it anywhere. Unless she could somehow use it to help her climb, or if she could tie it to her back...

But you might be right.

[motheringnation]

I left it in my room if you want to examine it.

[Said calmly because at this point what is even her life.]

Also as a suspect, anything I say is up for questioning. But cleaning a pitchfork is ...very difficult. It's metal and wood. I think you'd be able to tell if I tried to do so recently.