WEEK 2; TRIAL

[killerwaves]

TRIAL

Whether you investigated or decided to take it easy, before you know it the speakers crackle to life instructing you to head to the beach. This is a demand not a request, and anyone who doesn't comply will find themselves forcibly moved there by the kitty bots—even if it takes a whole swarm of them.

Once you get there, you'll see that this isn't quite a beach party, instead a gigantic sandbar dotted with some type of constructs has risen out of the sea and tides. The path to the sandbar is solid enough even if it is relatively narrow, and once you arrive you'll find that you're far out in the ocean, way farther than it's comfortable to swim.

And once everyone is gathered, the pathway recedes back into the sea leaving you trapped here, all twenty-eight of you. At least there's ample seating, a kind of amphitheater made of sand with space in the middle for grandstanding or dramatic revelations. Though the area is mostly open, there are lone pieces of sand wall around the edges, maybe to dissuade you from tossing someone into the ocean without stopping you entirely. Thankfully, a lone outhouse rests again one of the walls just in case you need to use the bathroom, though it's not much in the way of actual privacy.

Settle in, get comfortable or just complain about all the sand you'll be tracking back, if you make it back that is. There's still another sacrifice to be chosen after all according to your administrators and—

Maybe you've noticed there's no palm trees or speakers here? It's just you, and the sand. For now.

(( OOC: Welcome to your first trial! You'll have 7 hours (8PM EST/5PM PST) to find the killer and send them off their death, if you believe in justice at least. Since this is scapegoat style, finding the correct killer is not mandatory!

Please remember to vote before then unless you've spoken to a mod, as votes are our stand-in for AC. ))

Locations Profiles Investigation Voting Main Nav

code

Comments

CHAI'S BODY

[conchy]

And then there’s the matter of Monsieur Chai’s cadavre. Billy found him lying in a pool of his own blood! Mm, someone had fun and it wasn’t Monsieur Chai. In fact, according to Monsieur Wuxian’s examen, he was in a state of panic when he died, but of course he was!

Anyway, there’s the matter of all that blood. Thanks to petit Xiao’s efforts, his body was discovered beneath the wreckage of the missing go-kart. In addition to the pool of blood Chai was lying in, blood was running down the left side of his chest and onto the ground. There were also blood splatters on his chest. If you want my expert opinion, this splatter is consistent with being struck by a blunt object.

What’s more, there is a gaping wound in his chest that was stuffed full of gummy worms! Heh-ahaha! How fascinating! After digging the worms out and giving Chai a thorough inspection, it became clear that whatever stabbed through Monsieur Chai cut clean through him, piercing his heart! The wound was quite jagged as well. My genius tells me that this was a straight stab, unrefined as it was.

Ah, and his ribs! The ones on his left! They made the most delightful crunch when Monsieur Wuxian touched them! Hrnnng! Très bien! They were quite clearly broken. He was covered in bruises as well, many of them uniform, which suggests a pattern! Those particular bruises are large and circular, but that’s not all.

He also has a wedge-shaped bruise consistent with the head of the golf club we found lying near his body. Ah, and do note that all of this bruising is on the left side of Chai’s body. There are bruises on the left side of his back as well, naturellement! Incidentally, Chai’s mechanical arm also happens to be on the left side of his body...

[hearnoplague]

Gummy... Worms? What sort of critters are those?

[ He's trying to picture a worm that fits the gummy description and all he's getting is a squishy thing with no teeth- ]

[conchy]

A type of sugary confection! We don't have such étrange sweets where I hail from either, but if you like, I can fetch one from his corps for you to sample... Heheh!

[hearnoplague]

... I refuse to eat the evidence.

[gluttoning]

It's just candy. Shaped like worms.

They're pretty good.

[hearnoplague]

AH, they're merely shaped like worms. I see.

[ It's better than what he was imagining. ]

But why fill the wound with them? Was this a poor attempt at hiding the cause of death?

[dupiety]

Ah, so you aided in handling the body.

[Just purposefully ignoring the overall delivery of said evidence...]

At least I know I can count on you to be thorough.

[conchy]

Bien sûr! Would you expect anything less from me?

[don't say yes]

[dupiety]

[Honestly? He wouldn't in this case.]

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately in this case, no. This is very helpful.

[dancing_flames]

You have any pictures of the stab wound I could take a look at?

[conchy]

Naturellement!

[He shows Shuda the photos WWX took that we totally didn't forget to put in the meta.]

mods!

[dancing_flames]

[Since Shuda is a swordsman, he'd be able to recognize a wound made by some kind of blade if he saw one. Does the stab wound look like it came from a blade?]

[idologue]

[ Lobelia......................... ]

Such cruelty... But I wonder about the order of events here. The stab would have instantly killed him, so it has to have been inflicted last.

Then the question is if the bruising was inflicted before or after the hit with the golf club.

[conchy]

[HE'S PROUD OF WHO HE IS, LACUS KNOWS THIS WELL]

Perhaps he was struck with the club in order to throw him off balance? The wound is jagged but the killer had no difficulty piercing through his body. That would suggest to me they had a straight shot at his heart.

[finalmix]

So the stab through the heart was what killed him probably buuuuuuut.

[ squints at the pics ]

Did everything else [ gestures at all the other wounds and stuff ] happen when he was still alive or nah?

[ medical/doctor people pls help ]

[idologue]

Since there was bruising... I would assume he was alive, right? The blood needs to be flowing for bruises to form.

[plunges]

Everything seems to be on the left. The dent in the Go-Kart was, as are his injuries. Perhaps the crash have been the cause of some of his wounds, given how much the kart was smoking.

[idologue]

This would suggest Chai was driving... and with the sabotage on the car, it doesn't seem unlikely that he'd crash.

But then, why was the gas pedal held down? Why would he do something like that if he was inside of the car, and could have driven himself?

[gravitys]

[ This would be the first thing I see on flatview... ]

The gummy worm thing is weird as shit. [ WHAT A WASTE ]

[conchy]

Monsieur Chuuya, watch your langue!

[Yeah. That's the most important thing here. No cursing, this is a proper(?) trial!]

[gluttoning]

[Chuuya gets it. RIP gummy worms. :(]

[solutionary]

Would you be able to say if the stab wound to his heart came from straight on, or at an angle?

[conchy]

It appeared to have been a straight cut given the angle of the wound. A wound like that would suggest Chai was already on the ground by the time the blade was driven through his chest.

CORRECTION

[conchy]

[Quick amendment because positioning is confusing, but Chai's mechanical arm is on his right side, not his left, as are the bruises on his body. Assume Lobelia told you this, please and thank you.]

[plunges]

[ WELL IN THAT CASE- ]

If his injuries are on the right, then that is on the same side as the dent on the Go-Kart.