[ WEEK FOUR – 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

[impulsiveness]

Maybe they didn't care about the reward and just wanted to have some fun.
We still have people like that, don't we?

[Not. Writing down any names, but it's not like it's hard to guess.]

Nui was sniped from afar. Simon wasn't. Point blank shots are easier. [Re: the skill set...] We have to consider why both bodies were dumped in the same location, too.

[hydrokinetics]

And why so far out of town, too. All of our murders up until now we're around. You think they were nervous about being caught? Most of us were at the hotel I think but I know not all of us were asleep.

I'd also like to know how they managed to get both Simon and Lust out there in the first place though. Is there a common factor here?

[elemancy]

Would it matter if they were both dead before they got there? Probably not much of a stretch if they've got all night to drag a couple of bodies out there.

[though this goes on a certain assumption.]

Could've been that they were both in one piece until they got out there. Make it look like two different things happened, or something.

[hydrokinetics]

[He wrinkles his nose.] We have all night, okay, but then it becomes who would be able to not only drag two bodies for that far of a walk but also do it in the dark while messing with the scene? It probably takes a different kind of skill, right?

[elemancy]

Two people working together. Probably wouldn't be that hard if they're strong enough.

[people do crazy things for murder in this town.] It's a pretty big window, you can do a lot with that many hours, even in the dark.

[he's not sure, but:] Seems easier to believe that than the both of them walking out that way on their own. Unless they really had a reason to.

[hydrokinetics]

Then we still have the problem of how nobody heard anything in town. I think. With last week the girls in the clinic at least heard the gun shot, so why not this time do you think? I could believe them being knocked out here and dragged that far but it also seems counterproductive in a way.

[elemancy]

[he... has a point there.]

Probably gonna seem counterproductive no matter what. Look at what we're dealing with here. [cutting a body into pieces? tying someone to a rock after they've been shot?

it's all needless convoluted.]

Kinda seems like we gotta start taking what makes sense out of it and just try to figure out who can or would be able to do these things.

[hydrokinetics]

Good point. The "would" is probably more important than the can. Murders are usually about the mind aren't they? What people will think up for themselves over what they're capable of doing.

[elemancy]

Yeah, guess so. Didn't really think of it like that... more thinking about who'd be willing but.

...You're probably right about that too.

[impulsiveness]

If they were chosen to be killed, nothing would have changed that.

[Like Annabeth.]

But I barely talked to either of them, so I don't know. Is there someone here who would have a better idea of what they had in common?

[hydrokinetics]

[Point. He frowns then but says nothing to that, thinking back to last week.]

When we were talking about the wanted posters last week, Lust mentioned that she's talked to Eliot on "numerous occasions" or whatever. He might have an idea? And Mr. Barnham was her roommate.

[insincerely]

[pops in here]

Are we talking about the victims? [NOT LIKE HE CAN TELL WHAT JASON'S WRITTEN DOWN, this is before passing to Xion happens, probably.] Simon was my roommate, so I can probably give an idea of what he was like.

[moraled]

[...]

I knew... Lust as well as could be expected, given the circumstances. I shall do what I can to assist in this. Deciding what they had in common may be difficult, but we must at least try.

[hydrokinetics]

[A squint. Shinnosuke you are on his watch list?? But okay, information!]

Yeah, we are. Trying to figure out if Lust and Simon have any similarities or people they would have spoken to. What can you tell us about Simon?

[insincerely]

[Wow?? What'd he do???]

Well, anyone who's seen him around could tell you that he acted fidgety and had Money—the monkey—who, according to Simon, believed that he owned our room and us. Was kind of a kleptomaniac—the monkey, that is.

Simon was a pretty paranoid guy, to be honest. Stayed in our room every night, barely slept, and was a light sleeper when he did. To be honest, he's not the kind of person I would've pictured leaving the hotel on Thursday night, so either something's up there or my perception of him is inaccurate.

[... He doesn't really know if he should be saying this next part since it was technically a secret—but then again, he also said that he would spill under the right circumstances, and Simon's dead now, so whatever??? Sorry, roomie.]

He was also a huge liar who knew how to manipulate people into thinking he was more harmless than he really was... Well, let's just say that I got along better with his real personality than that little cowardly act he put up, and he dropped the facade for that very reason. He wasn't someone who would have any problems with killing another person, at least, though I don't know if he would go out of his way to kill, either.

[hydrokinetics]

[Everything??? But you know. It's not important. But ugh. How annoying is that? He is really tired of manipulative people.]

Okay, so that answers some things. The one thing we should consider, too, is that you wouldn't have been in your room on Thursday and even if you were you couldn't see him leaving. It might have been the perfect chance for him to sneak out. Is it possible he might have killed Lust and someone killed him to stop him?

Maybe there isn't a failsafe for Bandits not to kill each other. Has he ever said anything about killing before, or just that he wouldn't have a problem with it?

[insincerely]

He killed someone shortly before coming here, though it was in self-defence. Of course, he could've been lying about that, but this was right when he was dropping the act, so it's not like he was trying to win me over then. He also admitted to disposing of the body to cover it up,

[But then that itself could be part of the manipulation. Who knows??]

We played a game where we asked each other questions. One of the ones he asked was whom I'd kill here if I had to—his answer to the same question was that he'd go after someone who deserved it. So maybe he wanted to be some kind of vigilante, or something.

[moraled]

[...????]

What? Truly?

[HE DID NOT EXPECT THAT....]

... I feel he did not have much in common with Lust, then. She spoke of wishing to no longer be at another's whims; I fear she was often in situations where she did not have control of her own fate.

[So this is extra shitty and he hates it.]

[insincerely]

[SURPRISE]

Guess we're back to square one, then.

[hitsitoff]

Yeah, she mentioned she'd only just gotten out of a shitty situation, before ending up here. Said she never really got a chance to be free.

[And now she's dead so. Ha ha welp.]

[feminitis]

...

[y i k e s]

That's... wow. [She stares at him for a few long moments.] ...I wouldn't have guessed that. [SHE IS APPARENTLY NOT AS GOOD A JUDGE OF CHARACTER AS SHE THOUGHT, she feels sort of bad for looking at him when the discussion of cowards came up last trial.]

...if he was outside on Thursday night, he must have been up to something. Was there anything he did that seemed odd before... well...

[Before Shinnosuke ended up in the stocks.]

[hitsitoff]

Yeah, we talked a lot. Dunno what of that's really relevant or what she's got in common with the other victim, though.

[Give him a sec, he's just going over everything she told him in his head right now.]

...She mentioned she's got involvement in espionage. Who knows if that's got anything to do with all of this, but that's a thing.

[hydrokinetics]

At this point everything is relevant until we can rule it out, I think. What kind of espionage involvement? Did she say?

[hitsitoff]

Specialty work for the government, she said. With a group.

She didn't go into too much detail beyond that and I can't really blame her. It's not the sort of thing you talk about lightly.

[hydrokinetics]

And she didn't tell anyone else did she? I'll be honest, I don't really get what all of that means.