WEEK 3 - TRIAL

[productions]

week three 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

[inthebones]

[Susan will nod as she spots the injury from over Kaoru's shoulder.]

...It appears Beat may have been correct.

[souredsweet]

[Kaoru will be gently pressing the area, brow furrowed.]

With such swelling... I can only imagine there was a good deal of blunt force behind this injury. [a beat] What was his suggestion?

[inthebones]

That he was struck from behind while drawing, knocking him unconscious and explaining the bloodstain. Additionally, this also provides an explanation for the point you mentioned just now - how the victim suffered so many injuries while apparently not struggling at all.

It may still be premature, but I think it's safe to say that the katana and the planted key were part of an attempt to frame Mr. Strider.

[souredsweet]

Why would they do that? To garner sympathy by looking as though they were on the defense? [it seems a risky move. Kaoru gently places Dave's head back down.]

There is also the matter of whether the wounds or the fall came first, and why such excessive damage was caused if we presume Mr. Strider was unconscious from early on... [a gesture toward the bruising along Dave's front.] And the bruising here might be a result of blood pooling on the side he laid on after death rather than damage from a fall, but so many broken bones would suggest a fall from above the first floor, correct? In which case the attacker would have needed to carry him up to the second or third floor to drop him, unless they threw him down with enough force to imitate a higher drop.

[terriblesister]

I-It's to... frame someone else, right? They have to get away with it in the trial too...

They were probably hoping we'd think it was one of the other people set up as Deadweights... [at least this clears Siren, at least in her mind...]

[souredsweet]

That would potentially only leave Mr. Spain, Miss Ukraine and Mr. Beat if it is the case... However, I believe it is too early to rule out the other two just for being deadweights. The suspects are selected by audience whims, correct? So the attacker would have taken a gamble by assuming that the other deadweights would end up in trial.

[terriblesister]

I... don't think it's Beat [Yuzu you lean on moral character waaaay too much] and... honestly I'd be surprised if it's Siren. She's not the type. [she's a musician who collects business cards for crying out loud]

[souredsweet]

I do agree. However, their respective abilities make it easier for the group to point the finger of blame in their direction...

[a quiet sigh.] I do not mean to seem cynical. I only wish that a repeat of last week does not occur. ...It would be best, perhaps, to start by finding a potential time of death so that we may narrow down alibis from there. Finding something that might have been used to keep the elevator doors open may be prudent as well. Chairs in the dining room or in the bedrooms of the suspects, perhaps...

[terriblesister]

((ooc: was that meant to be 'Miss Belarus' we already killed Ukraine))

A-Agreed... we need to do this properly. Someone said the blood was 'tacky' right; can we get anything from that...?

[souredsweet]

((ooc; WHOOPS IT WAS everyone ignore that and pretend I typed Belarus... apparently killing Ukraine once just wasn't enough for me.))

The only thing that I took it to mean is that it had been there long enough to dry to an extent, but not fully. We could go take another look at the scene if you'd like, though. [SURE WHY NOT Kaoru's already rolled in enough blood to last a lifetime today.]

[terriblesister]

((talk about a nice visit to the countrycide))

[Yuzu swallows...]

W-We could... [...she knows she's going to have to get over seeing blood eventually]

[souredsweet]

((i just busted up why))

[Kaoru picks up on that hesitation, looking concerned.]

I can be the one to take a look.

[terriblesister]

It's alright. I'll help. Could we bring a torch or something?

[souredsweet]

If you are certain... [Kaoru will still offer to go down the shaft first, of course.]

I do not have one, myself. Do you know where one may be located?

[terriblesister]

...I don't either. I'll ask.

[inthebones]

Possibly so. Concerning framing, either of our Deadweights could have attempted it to frame the other as well. Michael Altman could easily claim that only Siren would have been able to fend off Dave with her abilities. Miss Reiko, on the other hand, could claim that if Dave had come after her, he would have chosen to nullify those abilities rather than choosing the sword and the key. As a final defense, an appeal for sympathy might sway some hearts as well.

[They weren't conclusive theories but they were perhaps, at least, workable.]

As for the fall, I'm almost certain he was stabbed first. ...It's possible the intent of all of this was simply to confuse the situation, but I don't have a satisfactory answer for that yet, no.

[souredsweet]

[Kaoru nods along with the theories; they definitely aren't solid, but there's no real way to eliminate any of the suspects just yet, either.]

If he was indeed stabbed first, I suppose the question turns then to the issue of blood only being on the elevator's roof. If not, then it becomes a question of how the doors were kept open from the inside while the attacker presumably finished their work.

[inthebones]

In this case, one suspect would probably have the means to suspend Dave over the shaft while standing outside of it.

But she's correct as well; we shouldn't jump to conclusions simply because she's the only one with the obvious capability for it.

[souredsweet]

I would not wish to jump to conclusions at all, especially if we take into consideration the fact that the doors may be held open with something such as a chair. Anyone could be capable of it, in that case... If he was not stabbed first, I suppose the larger problem would then be how they managed to climb out.

[a last glance toward Dave and Kaoru sighs, stepping back.] Miss Aihara and I will be returning to the scene with a torch to check the area shortly. I do not believe that it has been examined with light just yet. Hopefully we might determine if the attacker was indeed at the bottom of the shaft at any point if we can find blood on anything other than the elevator's roof.

[inthebones]

...Of course, it's possible the attacker could fly up, leaving no trace of blood behind on the surface.

[But then, Beat was probably the most unlikely murderer of them all.]

It's a good idea, though I'm not sure where you'll find a torch around here.

[souredsweet]

I had also considered that... [but then i spinned a glowb for 20 minutes happened and Kaoru joined the "could it really be Beat, really" club.]

Miss Aihara is asking. If she cannot find anything, I will simply bring along some candles from the parlor. Miss Rapture requires them, anyway.

[inthebones]

...

Does she require them for a seance?

If she does, would you mind terribly accidentally dropping them down the elevator shaft while you're investigating?

[souredsweet]

I do not know what a seance is, but she said that she required them for... something to do with the ghost of Miss Carter? To keep a possession from happening, I believe... [VOODOO MAGIC.]

If you think it best that she not have them, I will not bring them back, at the very least.

[inthebones]

[goshdarnit rapture]

...
...
...

[For a few moments, Susan looks as if she's just bitten into an extraordinarily sour lemon before she sighs in slight disgust.]

Good grief.

I suppose she's been helpful enough to merit some... indulgences.

[grumble mumble you can't get good help nowadays and so on and so forth]

[souredsweet]

[susan your patience and tolerance for shenanigans is much higher than expected!]

If you do not think it too great an issue, I will return with them, then. [because lbr Kaoru trusts Susan's opinions on these things just a liiittle more than Rapture's]

...Has Miss Carter's body been removed yet? [missed the whole Poland ordeal whoops]