week 1 - trial

[productions]

week one 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. 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.]

victim



suspects



Character Statuses
Setting
Manor Rules
Voting

Comments

[obsideo]

Just in case the chloroform freezing doesn't give us our guy...or girl, I guess. Let's talk about alibis.

With Susan's theory, we think the crime actually happened probably between 12:45 and 1:15, maybe as late as 1:30. And I think Susan also said at least twenty minutes. I would say even more. It took us like ten just to get the door to work, but let's start with twenty.

So...if Susan's theory is right, and I'm not saying that's a sure bet, it seems like me and probably Clyde are both off the hook. I went straight from lunch to the library, that only gives me like a minute in that time frame no one saw me. Also seems like Clyde was at lunch the whole time the crime could've happened, so that would be him off the hook too if people saw him.

Okay, so then you have Bernkastel, who has a fifteen minute window, but otherwise, she's covered. And Sharon, if people saw her at lunch, also has only like a fifteen minute window.

That leaves Susan. If no one saw her in the courtyard, that seems like a wrap, right?

So...is anyone seeing the huge problem with this? The way the times are written out, it doesn't seem like anyone could've done it except Susan, and, uh, if it was Susan, laying at the theory that implicates her was probably not the smartest move she could've made.

Which makes me think there's either a problem with the theory, or a problem with the alibis people gave.

[inthebones]

If no one actually saw me in the courtyard, I'll eat my cloak. Every window in the ballroom faces that way; you'd have to be purposefully staring at your plate for an hour to not notice.

I would suggest that a fifteen minute gap is sufficient. No one would notice if, for example, Bernkastel or Miss Carter left lunch 5 minutes earlier than they said. 12:55 is the same as 1:00 in most people's minds; 12:40 close enough to 12:45. No one would be able to vouch for the time that precisely.

If you think the time period is tight, I would ask you what else the murderer would do following the crime. It would be stranger if they dawdled for ten minutes before appearing in the place they want to establish an alibi.

[obsideo]

Yeah, you've got a point. I said in mine I got back to my room at 2:30, but it was more like five minutes later.

I think we just need the people corroborating times to be sure they remember exactly what time it was.

[inthebones]

As the only person noted with an eidetic memory in this house, I would suggest that will be nearly impossible. You are noted to have an excellent attention to detail and even your own time is '2:30-ish'.

[A slight pause.]

My own estimates aren't precise, either, unless you think people only move at intervals of multiples of 10. I wasn't looking at the clock, you understand.

[obsideo]

Right. You know, from now on, I think I'll start checking my watch when I leave a room.

So we can say a 15 minute window is probably more like a possible 25 minute window. Which means Bernkastel or Sharon could've done it, too.

[inthebones]

It will be terribly tedious having to write down the exact time whenever I enter or leave a room.

[Still, this is stated as if Susan is quite ready to do it.]

I think it could be stretched that way, yes. I'm willing to acknowledge that you and Mr. Barrow have the best alibis for the new time period given, although it's possible he was left alone after you departed at 1:15, giving him an unaccounted period of time between 1:15 and 1:30.

[obsideo]

Yeah. But I definitely know it was 1:15 when I left, because it was kind of late and lunch was cleared out, I was checking the clock, and I did see him there when I left.

[inthebones]

That leaves him 15 or possibly 20 minutes to work with. It could be done if he were lucky or very skilled.

He is talented with improvisation.

[Still, Susan is inclined to think it might not be enough time. 5 minutes was really rather a lot when you were speaking of a murder.]

[obsideo]

Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way.

The answer isn't when they did have time so much as when they didn't. If they took the time to set the scene up like this, you can bet they would've given themselves a solid alibi for the time of death.

[inthebones]

That would be what we covered earlier, then. Bernkastel and Mr. Barrow are attested for practically every moment between 2 to 3. I even saw Bernkastel in transit between her two locations. Miss Carter and the two of us have significant gaps in time.

[obsideo]

So both of them had reason to set it up, but both of them barely had any time to do it.

Then again, both of them have abilities that could save some time.

[inthebones]

...Probability is a very dangerous thing. I've spoken of luck once or twice, but you don't need luck if you can toss a crooked die. Bernkastel could have done it quite quickly where it would have taken any of us much longer.

As for Clyde, the improvisation bit seems to indicate a quick mind. Who would really have seen soluble adhesive tape and thought to use it in a drowning murder? He strikes me as necessarily handy as well, given his... likely occupations, past or present, and the bit with the wires would require some dexterity.

[A slight pause]

There is the bit with the hair glop, I suppose.

[This is spoken as if she doesn't believe it relevant in the slightest.]