week 9 - trial; day 2

[vicedirector]

seven vices case 9 trial, day 2 ♫ Saturday At 9AM, every television will go off, loud enough to wake anyone sleeping. The calm, apathetic voice will advise everyone to gather in the chapel for the trial. Static will continue to blare in the head of anyone dillydallying. Once all of the guests have gathered in the chapel, the doors will lock. Most of the pews have been moved aside to allow for more space, and a few tables have been set up on the altar. On the first, there is an additional copy of the rulebook, and the information cards of the victim and suspects laid out, with space for the suspects to provide their whereabouts, as well as an autopsy report. There is also a large wheeled chalkboard upon which you may write theories. On the second table is a pitcher of water and some glasses, as well as very simple sandwiches and pastries. The door behind the altar has finally been unlocked. It's a rather plain room with an area set off by a folding screen. Inside, you will find a table on which the victim's body has been laid out. Next to the table, two black and white photographs have been hung on the screen. they are close ups of the victim's body, as it was found when the body discovery announcement chimed. A few sticks of incense burn in the corner to avoid any smells. At 6PM, the trial will adjourn. Everyone will be escorted back to the hotel by Miata, after which everyone is allowed to head to either the kitchen to get dinner, or to their rooms. Attempting to wander off into the other areas of the hotel will trigger the static alarms in everyone's heads/televisions. >Discuss? victim suspects VOTING cast setting rulebook

Comments

[hopefragment]

...Then... Let me present an argument as to why Faize is innocent.

Looking at the timing of it all, the killer would have had to have struck Urashima between when you left the scene, and when we arrived at the schoolhouse. That should be... about fifteen or twenty minutes, I think. If we assume Faize is the culprit, we have to consider that he either injured himself and pretended to be unconscious -- in which case, we'd need to look for any other wound on his body other than the obvious -- or that he wounded himself that badly, and still somehow managed to do everything that happened in this case.

Based on the condition we found Faize in -- unconscious, barely breathing, still bleeding, and visibly disoriented when he finally woke up -- I don't think it's possible that he could have had that kind of a head wound and still managed to overpower and kill Urashima, slice him in half, attach him to the tree, drag his legs and himself to the playground, all in that short span of time. I don't buy it.

[billarious]

My opinion doesn't have much weight as a suspect I guess, but I'm still gonna have to back Bagel up on this one. Just seems way too unlikely. Pretty sure "above average endurance" doesn't cover getting whacked with a rock and still being able to kill someone? Hazelwood's pretty amazing but probably not that amazing.

[hopefragment]

Yeah, I agree with that. It's way too risky for him to just... plan to do that kind of injury to himself and then hope he can still get away with it. Especially since we found the rock at the schoolhouse, meaning the wound definitely would have had to have been inflicted before Faize entered the void to get to the playground.

[muties]

Can someone actually seriously bash their own head in and then still murder a guy? Kinda doubt it. Blunt-force trauma is no joke.

[ in other words, she agrees with this ]

[hopefragment]

Yeah, exactly. Not to mention... anyone who's spoken to Faize for like, five minutes knows how into logic he is. There's no way he'd do something that doesn't make sense like this.

[So... if the murder is more logical and planned out, clearly we gotta vote Faize.]

[dereban]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, but it's possible that it could be the other way around... in regards to timing. I'm not accusing him, since I personally don't think that he's the murderer, but I can't just blindly trust someone without looking at all of the possibilities.

I have to doubt them before I can truly trust them. [ A shrug. ] But that's just my two cents on the matter. We don't really have much outside evidence to work on.

[hopefragment]

You have to explain further then, because that doesn't make sense. You guys found him unconscious outside the schoolhouse, right? That's fact.

What "other way around?" There was so much blood at the schoolhouse that it doesn't make sense for the murder to have occurred at the playground. Not to mention you were with Urashima before this all happened, so he couldn't have been killed before you both found Faize.

[symbologic]

I think, perhaps, she is suggesting that I was pretending to be unconscious, then murdered Urashima after she left, then hit myself over the head.

[hopefragment]

[Ugh Faize shh no??]

Then I'll just have to prove that's not the case.

[He's got you, bro.]

[symbologic]

[CONSIDER ALL ANGLES, HINATA. He's not even mad that Inaba is playing devil's advocate here. Though the actual scenario she's suggesting...that stings a little.]

Mmmm...I believe that you will. After all, while it is a valid argument, it's...rather shaky, wouldn't you agree?

[hopefragment]

[He is!! But also,]

It is. I believe in you, Faize, I know you didn't do it. But we have the evidence here, we'll be able to solve it and convict the true killer.

...I think you were meant to be the victim, not Urashima. It just... the timing doesn't make sense for you to have done it. Though if she didn't see the rock...

Hey, you're not hurt anywhere else, are you?

[Not going to strip him (yet), just ask.]

[symbologic]

And, as always, I am pleased to hear that you believe in me.

[Small smile. What would he do without you, bagel?]

I am not injured anywhere else other than my head, no. I would have noticed that by now.

[Since he DID take a bath once Hinata got him back to his room Thursday night. Gotta get all that blood off.]

[hopefragment]

...Do you think it's possible you were hit with something other than the rock first?

Like... just to try to explain that, if someone were to hit you with a blunt object but not break the skin, you could still be unconscious and injured when Urashima and Inaba found you. If they hit you later with the rock, after killing Urashima, they were maybe trying to... hide what you were actually hit with?

[...???? Maybe??]

[billarious]

Well if you hit yourself in the head afterward, and Lil Creep's head was definitely dropped in the void, I guess that could explain it. You could have dropped it in whatever state you were in while you were moving?

[He doesn't sound convinced about this at all though. He's just trying to do this "discuss until things sort themselves out" thing you're supposed to do when you're trying to clear someone.]

But she says Lil Creep told her you were hurt. So you should have already sustained that wound by that logic. Unless you're hurt somewhere else?

[symbologic]

Theoretically, I suppose that's possible. Though, of course, I will say that is not what happened. I assure you, I was completely unconscious at the time, unable to move of my own accord.

[Proud of you guys, for considering all angles. Even if you're not convinced because they make no sense.]

As I mentioned to Hajime, I am not injured anywhere else.

[But if you guys want to strip him to be sure, well...he can't really refuse, can he?]

[billarious]

Theoretically yeah. I trust you completely, you know that. But if we bring up all the theoreticals and disprove 'em, then everybody else is gonna have to trust you too.

[Well look, even if it is an angle, it Makes No Sense. How can they believe something that makes no sense?]

If that's the case then yeah, you definitely got hit in the head before they found you. You'd have to have a seriously hard head to be able to do any of this and nobody's gonna be testing that. So that's clear!

[He could probably have Faize strip but there's still a little blind faith going on here...if he says he's not hurt, then he's not hurt!]

[dereban]

It might be because I wasn't paying much attention to the crime scene, but... I don't recall seeing the bloody rock until we came back.

[ If it was there, she doesn't recall it at all??? ]

[hopefragment]

Is it possible it could have been covered by Faize's body, or behind it? Just because you didn't see it doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't there.

Besides, that's way too risky a ploy to try to make. Faize never goes to the schoolhouse, not for weeks. Just laying there... what, covered in fake blood? [????] for who knows how long hoping that only one or two people might wander by? What if it had been a whole group?

There's too many variables to take into account. Faize is really smart. I'm not just saying that because he's my friend, he's right in his profile -- "genius level intellect." I find it hard to believe he couldn't come up with a better plan than just using himself as bait.

[dereban]

It's definitely not implausible, since I never checked the body myself.

[ She should have, though. Why didn't she? The guilt eats at her again and she can't meet anyone's eyes, instead she just glances away as she chews on her lower lip. It's clear that she doesn't like talking about this at all. ]

But if he hasn't gone to the school for weeks, then that only raises the question as to "why would he do so now"?

[hopefragment]

When I talked to him yesterday, at the trial... he said he couldn't remember. The only thing he could think of was that someone must have asked him to go. So... either he accompanied someone there, or they called for him.

...You should know why he wouldn't go there himself, right?

[If she's friends with Alisha, then she should at least know that the two of them would stargaze on the roof together.]

[dereban]

Hm... yeah, that seems like the most likely scenario.

[ She doesn't say anything else. ]

[okuri]

[In the interest of solving this and only because of that:]

Charlotte had never been to the record store before that week in her case.

[dhaosu]

Hinata mentioned something about someone possibly accompanying him, however. So, perhaps they managed to convince him...?

This may be a little different than Charlotte's case.

[ Only a little, regarding that. ]

That said, Faize seems to have some trust in this person, so it could be he was taken advantage of.

[okuri]

It wouldn't be the first time its happened.

[hopefragment]

That's not important. There's a really good reason Faize doesn't go to the schoolhouse anymore, and you've got your friend "Charlotte" to thank for it.