[ 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

[moraled]

[...he's got nothing.

he's!! got nothing!!]

We do not even have names of potential suspects.

[hydrokinetics]

We don't, but we at least know that the Bandits were able to work well enough together to almost impress Hal. Does that give us anything?

[moraled]

... That they were capable of working together?

[...]

Very little. I can think of very few people here who would not be able to work together if they were forced to. Especially as he has already confirmed Ash was not one of the Bandits.

[hydrokinetics]

[He's trying, not-Dad :c]

It goes back to someone strong enough to haul a body into the water and someone who knows how to use a gun properly while also not shooting each other. Those two things don't have to come from the same person either. The Bandit that shot Simon is who our guilty party is, at least according to how Hal judged things when Manfred was killed.

[moraled]

Indeed.

[...]

We could very simply be looking at someone who could shoot a gun alongside someone strong enough to carry the body--if they were working together, there is no reason one person must possess both capabilities.

[You're doing well, Percy!!! He's grateful for that much.]

[hydrokinetics]

I think that's our most likely scenario, Mr. Barnham. [Which isn't cool, and he doesn't like it, but it's a step in the right direction.] The Bandits just have to work together. There aren't any rules that say just how they do that, I don't think.

[moraled]

I believe you are right in this case.

[Unfortunately.]

Spread out over two people, it is rather more difficult to pinpoint a single plausible suspect.

[impulsiveness]

No need to be GOOD with a gun to shoot someone at point blank, though. All they had to do was press it to his forehead and pull the trigger.

[Which... doesn't help narrow things down, but it's not as if nobody here has access to a pistol.]

[hydrokinetics]

[Except for Percy, whose pistol was digested by a coyote and he still hasn't replaced it? Thanks Jason.]

With a gun, would there be some kind of kickback or something when you fire it? Or at the very least they'd be bloody and they'd have to clean up from the kill wouldn't they?

[impulsiveness]

Kickback comes after you've fired the gun, not before. Not something to worry about if there's already a hole in your target's thinkpan. As for the blood: They had a convenient source of water next to them.

[hydrokinetics]

[He's from a world where guns do only minimal damage against monsters, leave him alone.]

They do, but then wouldn't that mean our Bandit returned back to the hotel wet? Or you think they stayed out long enough to dry off?

[generously]

What about alibis and such? She was your roommate, yeah? Did she say anything strange before she never came back?

[moraled]

She was my roommate, yes. She did not appear to be acting strangely that night at all.

[Frustrated as he feels about it because he should've!! Noticed something was up!!]

[generously]

[ Cocks his head... ]

So it's normal for her to be out on the night of curfew?

[moraled]

It is normal for her to carry on with her own life and leave as she pleases; I am not in the habit of questioning her actions.

... Particularly after last trial, she has seemed to need the time to be alone.

[After the Nisha thing.]

Perhaps I should have been more overbearing.

[generously]

Maybe. You're an Inquisitor.

...Was she the type to prepare her own food, or would someone else do it for her?

[ Now they're really just scraping at the bottom of the barrel, as far as suspects go. ]

[moraled]

[He's a genteel inquisitor, okay.]

She was an independent soul, and had stated before that she was tired of being forced to act according to others' whims.

I believe her to have handled as much of this place on her own as she could.