[ WEEK THREE – 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

[insincerely]

Nope.

[thatsthespirit]

I don't know. All I know about her body was that it was significantly charred.

[so it's hard for her to say]

[hydrokinetics]

By leaving her to burn when they went off to do something else, you mean?

[thatsthespirit]

[NO IT ISN'T]

There wasn't anything we could have done, had we heard her screaming. We were locked in the clinic all night.

[alcobrawlic]

[ She's going to just rub Xion's back. ]

[sating]

Will.

[ Maybe now isn't the time to be an asshole within earshot of the guy that dove under a porch to fight a coyote. All Hannibal says is Will's name, but the tone makes his concern pretty clear. ]

[insincerely]

Mr. Sheriff confirmed the other three were Higekiri, Ao, and Mr. von Karma.

Though you're right about the body.

[hydrokinetics]

The saloon's pretty central to the bonfire and the stocks, too. That's something to consider but why would they stay so close to the scene of the crime?

[impulsiveness]

[F...elix............. Jason pulls away, looking uncertain.]

... She said she was in the lobby. Alone.

[elemancy]

[noct winces, placing his palm gently atop her head—don't push yourself.]

Thanks for letting us know.

[he's got a question, though.] Did he go to his room much? Since, you know... [what he told her yesterday about the homestead. it may make a difference in figuring out what order shit happened in.]

SUBGROUP - Nui's murder

[sidearmofthelaw]

[ Nisha's gonna jump in on this one. ]

So, Nui. She was headshot, probably from a distance, and her corpse was dumped in the chemical vat. Her clothes were also burnt a bit. That means she had to have been by a fire. And it means our culprit was a good shot, whether or not the shot was the killing blow, and it means whoever it was dragged her corpse over to the pit. Am I missing anything?

[hydrokinetics]

[...thank you for actually making him cry, Will, but he's not going to even remotely say why. He's scrubbing at his face though and clearing his throat.]

No. [And that's all he says.]

[ceded]

[ The touch calms her a little, sick as she still feels. Picturing all that blood, remembering what it felt like...

God. She can't focus on that. She can't. ]

[thatsthespirit]

[Milla's here too, since she one of three people who heard the gunshot]

She was also killed at or around midnight, based on what Natalie, Yuna and I overheard. Otherwise, that covers everything.

[feminitis]

...to be fair, I don't think most women would want to tell someone your age what they were up to if they were doing that, Mister Jason.

[she's part of the chane fan club

#bias]

[sweats]

[ fuck hannibal ]

You mean, the corpse soup? [ will, don't grin ] That would mean two different killers decided to use the Sheriff's stew for convenience sake. If they weren't completely dissolved by the time you found them, you can estimate the time of the dump. It takes about 8 to 10 hours for a lye bath to work and if the Sheriff is using a mix of chemicals, I'd wager there's more than lye in there. Especially if the bones were still there in the morning.

So, curfew lifts at five am. Everyone was out there around seven? Maybe... two am, would be my guess. Annabeth might not have finished burning at that time, the flesh would be too hot for a few hours for anyone to touch long enough to carry to the bath.

[ will, why do you know about these things ]

[alcobrawlic]

Breathe in through your nose, hold it for five seconds, then exhale.

[ceded]

No, [ she answers quickly, looking up at him. ]

No, he never stayed in the hotel if he could really help it. He only stayed there ... on Thursdays. He said ... he didn't want to miss curfew. And ... I told him it'd be safer.

[ She actually laughs, a bark of heartbroken and humorless sound. She has to press both hands to her face to keep from spiraling off into tears or worse. Deep breaths. ]

[impulsiveness]

She could have just said she was with him. Not what she was doing with him.

[he's

very unsure.]

[sweats]

That's a shame.

[ mr. profusely unaware of the situation here ]

[sweats]

[ WHAToh

oh. hm.

yikes. ]

[feminitis]

True, but you could have guessed, since they're married... so admitting she was with him would be tantamount to admitting what she was doing, wouldn't it?

[ceded]

[ It's like she teleports by his side she's there so far, coooonsidering her foot. But she takes hold of his hand and leans against him just a little and if looks could kill Will Graham would be fucking dead. ]

[elemancy]

Right... thanks, Xion.

[he'll keep his hand there a minute longer, because—he gets it.]

Take a breath—take a second. [don't get too overwhelmed for now, because they have too much left to do. later, though... later, she can let it out more.

he's not great at this, but he's trying.]

[sweats]

[ OOPS ]

... Sorry.