robowest | [ WEEK FIVE

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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[And so after talking to Hal...figured this might be important.]

Sheriff Hal just confirmed that we're working with two Bandit kills and two independent kills in this trial. Russell's murder was one of the Bandit kills. One of the Bandits...specifically asked for Annabeth's killer. That's when Hal revealed to them it was Russell.

He also said the Bandits don't necessarily have to go after the same person. They just have to help each other out, and with what we know that probably means that each Bandit is responsible for one body a piece. [So. There's that? What a mess.]

[He lets out a light, sardonic laugh.]

So our Bandits were especially bloodthirsty this week, then? On top of our two independent parties...

[ha. . .]

If that's true, I don't think it would be the first time. Remember our third week here? Three murders, three culprits.

I'd be surprised if two of those murders weren't committed by Bandits.

[and this mysterious independent third party that keeps murdering because WHY]

Seems that way, doesn't it? [A grim expression.] Last week's independent killer drugged and chopped up Lust. This week we found Ana disposed in a similar manner...and Damian and I wondered if she was drugged, too, or killed elsewhere since we heard nothing. Think there's a connection?

[It's

an uncomfortable thought.]

There was an independent killer when Riku was murdered, too. Do you think all three murders were done by the same person?

...In which case we'd have a serial killer.

Now there's a comforting idea.

Really helps you sleep at night, doesn't it?

[Ugh.]

...[Now...that...Jason's brought it up.]

We only found Riku's head because someone cut it off. [AHHHHH.] We found Lust in pieces, and we found Ana in pieces, too. That definitely seems like a heck of a coincidence, doesn't it?

It does. But I don't believe in coincidences, especially not three times in a row.

Riku and Lust both seemed like [he chokes back a retch] they'd been hacked apart, right? I... Did anyone see if Ana looked like she'd been [ugh] cut open the same way, or if it was cleaner?

I walked around carrying her heart in my hand. [Just. The most exhausted voice in the universe.] Damian and I found different body parts in like seven different rooms and her guts out by the women's bath house.

...[A shudder.] The first part of her we found had a really, really messy cut. Everything else we found was kind of the same way. Her torso was cut into slabs. Her head was in the fridge. [It's fine, Okabe, he sort of looks like he's ready to puke on the table, too.] If I had to guess? Hack job. They didn't seem to care much about where her organs went either.

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Did anyone ever ask if the same person has killed more than one person?

No, I don't think anyone has. Think you could do the honors?

[He's a little, ah, tongue tied.]

Yeah, I'll go see what he says.

Why can't we go a week with just one body? Holy fuck.

I don't know, personally I'd be good with no bodies, but maybe that's just wishful thinking now.

Yeah, that's the dream, ain't it...

Probably never gonna happen.

[Just... CONSIDERING THE TRACK RECORD.... sob.]

Definitely wishful thinking. The Sheriff said he had a failsafe in case nobody decided to murder, remember?

[All the way back during the first town hall meeting. It feels like a lifetime ago.]

... So that's two other bodies we have no idea who to even begin with.

Exactly. [Sara, this is a nightmare?] Makes this twice as hard to even start to figure things out.

Elizabeth had the bag on her head like the victims the Sheriff's killed, or had us execute. I assume he'd take responsibility for her death if he'd done it herself, so...

[ hmm. ]

So it was someone among us. Same with Ana...she was killed in a similar way that Lust was being all cut up, but...I think she was in more pieces? [Everything is awful, grass is green, etc.]

And there was Riku at the very beginning... but there's a chance someone could have been a copycat killer.

... Then we're dealing with someone sick enough for that kind of thing either way.

We never found Riku's body either, so it could be that the first person didn't know how to cut someone up? [Ugh.] Sara, how are we supposed to find these people?

Process of elimination, maybe, but we don't have a whole lot to go on at all.

[ She doesn't look all that happy, either. ]

But the Sheriff seems a little more willing to offer up information every week. If nothing else, we're getting there.

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