[ WEEK ONE – TRIAL ]

[sheriffexe]

TRIAL

In the morning, the town comes back to life. Birds crow overhead, a snake nearby hisses, a lingering coyote dips behind a shop before disappearing into the wild. It's a frightening contrast to the stillness of yesterday but it doesn't mean it's over yet. After all, today is the trial. The Sheriff stands on the porch of the Town Hall and brings his hand up to his mouth to let out a whistle. He'll thumb back to the Hall behind him and very clearly state -- "Trial time, folks. Get in here and figure out who did it." And then he'll turn to leave before pausing and adding on, "Bring a snack or somethin' too. The Town Hall is set up more like a court house, a Judge's bench at the front but instead of at center, it's off to the side as if more for observation than participation. There's a table at the front of the room already holding a small box and a pad of papers and pen, for voting apparently. A side room containing only a metal gurney is next and today it's obvious why there's a gurney there at all with the corpse, resting right on top of it. Aside from that, there are rows for everyone to take a seat and it's only after everyone is inside and settled, that the doors close and the Sheriff speaks. "Well, have at it. You've got till nine." And then, he points to a clock on the wall that reads 12:00. Good luck. Welcome to the trial post! Characters are free to discuss everything related to the trial here. They won't be let out of the room until 9PM when voting ends. Every character must vote and the voting post can be found here. If there are any questions, please shoot a message to this journal or to robowest.

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THE SHERIFF

[sheriffexe]

[ During all this, the Sheriff will be at the Judge's bench, quietly watching everything.

Well, "quietly" in that he's got a piece of wood out and is working on carving it with a knife, along with having a cigar hanging between his lips and puffing away. Kind of obnoxious, actually. ]

THE BODY

[sheriffexe]

[ Ao's body, still covered in dirt and dried blood, rests on the gurney in the side room. If the smell gets too bad, the Sheriff will close the door and save everyone the trouble. But for now, the door is open and her body is there for all to see. ]

[feminitis]

[Figure out who did it, huh...

Sei really doesn't like the idea of playing along with this, but Ao's body on the gurney is an ever-present reminder that they need to avenge her death by catching the killer, so here goes.]

I know we're all going to say we were in our rooms, but I think we should go over our alibis anyway. Especially since we all have roommates - anyone who's innocent should be able to have someone confirm it.

[thatsthespirit]

[MILLA BROUGHT EVERYONE LUNCHABLES!!! literally lunchables, you're welcome. she also brought some fruit and fizzy drinks]

[but that aside, once they doors are closed, she gets down to business]

Let's make a list of everything we've found relevant to the murder. Something in these clues must point to the killer.

[impulsiveness]

I'm guessing she was killed after we got locked up in the hotel... But do we have any approximate hours? An alibi isn't worth much if we don't have a period of time to focus on.

[hydrokinetics]

[It's way too early for this, but...they should start brainstorming what's going on. It happened already. There's no going backwards. Alibis are important and relevant clues are important, but there's one other thing bothering him.]

Any guesses on how our jailbirds were set free? I don't think any of us knew where the keys would be to unlock their cells. Who spoke to them in the last week?

[ceded]

9 PM.

[ She pipes up, slightly hoarse, but very serious looking. ]

That's when the front door of the hotel locks. Our rooms lock at midnight.

[impulsiveness]

I didn't really speak to them, but the cell doors didn't look like they were forced open when Ana and I checked them. No scratches. No weird dents. I think the Sheriff might have been the one to let them out.

[feminitis]

We might be able to figure that out by taking a closer look at the body, but for now, we can focus on alibis for the period of time between curfew and when we were let out.

[Sei opens her rulebook, which she'd brought with her, and taps the relevant line.]

Murders eligible for reward will occur Thursday nights... we know it had to have occurred then, because killing her without trying to get the reward would be senseless. Not that going for a reward is a good reason, but...

[tightly]

[ She's going to write something down and pass it to Milla. Possibly through a convoluted game of "pass the piece of paper". Do you like me y/n? ]

There was some sort of incident on the train tracks near the rail station. I'm not sure what to make of it, but there were blood handprints going in one direction and footprints going in the other.

[hydrokinetics]

Which means our murderer was probably working with the Sheriff. [Which is even better, great.] He did say that we needed to consult with him or whatever before we killed people, which means that they would have had to find time to sneak out before lockdown and catch him at the station.

So what happened with Tiara? She wasn't bloody or anything, was she?

[feminitis]

When we went back to the church and the graveyard, we found a broken shovel in the shed there. I'm not sure if it's exactly relevant, but... considering the graves were disturbed, it may be.

[elemancy]

[noct will share what he knows with the class:]

Talked to Tiara the other day. Said the Sheriff was the one who locked her up there and that he told her she "had a purpose."

[so. take that as you will, everyone.]

[hydrokinetics]

The only thing Mr. Barnham and I found was the trail of blood we followed once we saw it through the windows of Town Hall, but most of it looked like it pooled more toward the railroad and got thinner closer to the graveyard. So, it supports the idea that somebody was moved from point A to point B.

[ceded]

A ... purpose?

[ Xion breathes out hard through her nose. She knows Yuna really cares for Tiara, but... ]

The ... same purpose as Ao, maybe? To ... demonstrate to us. How this is all supposed to work.

[ ... implicating some troubling things about Tiara's own role. ]

[feminitis]

I'm guessing she wasn't able to elaborate on what that purpose was, was she...

[Either because she didn't want to, or because the Sheriff didn't tell her. Sei glances in the direction of the Sheriff and purses her lips.]

Do you think he might be any more forthcoming about it now, if we ask?

[ceded]

You mean, like, in addition to the shovel Riku was using?

[ Riku and. Other people. You know. Whatever. ]

[thatsthespirit]

No, she wasn't. We found her in a room in the second floor of the saloon, unharmed physically.

The Sheriff didn't allow us to question her about the events of Thursday night, as he said she was resting. But he did let her stay at the hotel with Yuna and I.

[flippity]

When I spoke to Ao, she had no idea why she was here or why she was different than the rest of us.

[ she at least definitely acted super nervous as well... ]

I guess Tiara was probably the same?

[feminitis]

That's right. It was a separate broken shovel, inside the shed.

[elemancy]

She said he would only say she has a purpose. No idea if he told her what it was.

[he wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, but noct shrugs, frown deep on his lips.]

Guess it can't hurt to try. I'm... not sure he'd be willing, though.

[feminitis]

Probably. If that's the case, it's a little disturbing. He told us why we were here - it would only be fair for him to tell them the same thing.

...I'm gonna go have a chat with him.

[ceded]

So ... two shovels were used, then. But ... wasn't the one we were using ... bloody?

[ She seems to remember seeing something like that, but she wasn't terribly close to that whole ... situation. ]

Um... did the broken one show any signs of use? Like, was it dirty or anything?

[feminitis]

There's only one way to find out. I'll give it a try!

Questioning Tiara

[abasing]

[So, here's Tiara! After a night spent with Milla and Yuna, she looks a little less frazzled, though her hands are still pressed gently to her chest as she watches the proceedings with wide eyes.

Now's the time to finally question her, if you want to.]