[ 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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Comments

Scene of Crime Discussion

[a_sin_for_him]

[Well, this all really seems like a waste of time, but since it's apparent the whole thing will be picked apart and talked to death...]

I was the first one to arrive at the saloon. The front doors were bloody, very obviously so. I called out, and was joined by three other individuals - [She points to Ezio, Eliot, and Tarvek] -

Inside was, as you're aware, a mess. Signs of a struggle, blood trail leading out the other door... There was broken glass and toppled furniture in the area of the bar itself. The glass came from a bottle, Ezio inspected it. Blood was in copious amounts.

That's all I remember clearly.

[If she missed anything, she hadn't been the only one there.]

[hydrokinetics]

[Hold it.]

If the fight occurred in the saloon and then blood went out the back door, how'd it get on the front door? Unless it started somewhere else?

[a_sin_for_him]

Someone smeared it there to draw our attention, I assume. The murderer, or the sheriff himself.

Or some unknown, unseen party involved in the greater conspiracy.

[hydrokinetics]

Doubt it was the Sheriff. There was blood at the railroad tracks wasn't there? Could have been Ao running in to escape and the final blows were delivered inside. I don't get how the trails connect.

[expelliarmed]

They could have been placed deliberately to throw us off the correct trail.

[ What a pleasant thought. ]

[hydrokinetics]

Good point. [HOW LOVELY.] Yesterday when we were checking stuff out did anyone see how old the blood looked?

[dubiousalignment]

Indeed, that's what I saw, too. Unfortunately I left almost immediately, so I can't confirm anything about the investigation itself.

[He had gone to unsuccessfully look for Yuna and prepare her for the inevitable body belonging to one of the girls from the jail.

But yeah, Tarvek has officially separated himself from this particular discussion]

[elemancy]

Out the back door... towards the station and the graveyard.

[that's what the lengthy blood trail implies.]

Why that path, and how it got that way. Gotta figure that out too. Did Ao actually try to run? Was she carried, or was her weight dragged that way...

[the handprints and the footprints are a factor too, but he's just kind of thinking out loud to try and pull some more things together.]

[alcobrawlic]

If she did run, it'd make sense if she went to the closest thing to an exit... the graveyard, not so much.

[elemancy]

With where she was in the graveyard....

You think she could've made it to the station and got dragged the rest of the way? [to hide the body, obviously.]

[ceded]

It could ... explain why the blood is so all over the place.

[ she looks a little sick. ]

[impulsiveness]

The trail goes from the Saloon to the Station, and then from the Station to the Graveyard. It'd make sense if Ao tried to run for the mines, but collapsed before she got too far — hence the handprints.

[dubiousalignment]

It depends on what wounds she had. If her neck was already wounded at that point, it's unlikely she lasted long. A minute or two, tops.

[A lot of blood would be gushing out, which fits the scene in the saloon.

[impulsiveness]

Even less. Hit one of the big veins, and you either bleed out or die from lack of oxygen real fast. Not enough time to get to the Station if her neck was as fucked up as we saw it.

[a_sin_for_him]

Unless it was a two part affair. An initial attack in the saloon, damage done, a pursuit and the final deed.

[impulsiveness]

So they attack her in the Saloon, but she manages to make a run for it. Gets to the station. And then— what? Her attacker knocks her down and finishes cutting up her throat?

[He hums, looking troubled but...]

It'd explain the hand prints and the pool of blood, at least, if that's where she bled most heavily.

[impulsiveness]

Do you think the broken glass came from the bottle they used to slit her throat? [Since it had to be nice and pointy to do that.] Or was there way to much to be from a single bottle?

[a_sin_for_him]

I would assume so. But without the ability to do any sort of tests on the glass in question...I couldn't say for certain.

Or how much glass there was in correlation to unbroken bottles. It was a rather grisly scene.