second trial

[stagemanagers]

[Just as with last week, once the investigation finishes, that slow, ominous sound from the main lobby rumbles through the opera house.

The doors to the court room have opened and the time has come for a trial.

The court room looks just as it did before: the grand chandelier glittering above your heads, the fine red velvet seats. In the orchestra pit your circle of wooden podiums awaits you, just the same as before save for a few recent additions. Like Valjean before them, D-ne, Gabe, and Hime's podiums have been draped in black crepe with their greyscale funerary portraits. Behind them, where the performers themselves stood only a week ago, a metal pole stands with a softly glowing lightbulb atop it.

The curtain is closed, waiting to open when a decision has been reached and an execution can commence.

When everyone is in their places, the Balladeer's voice echoes loud and clear through the theatre. He still sounds slightly bewildered by all of this.]

Okay, everyone, you all know how this works now. Trial rules are the same, still no time limit, just...keep at it until you figure out what happened. You can do this.

Comments

[robitussin]

[When Natalie begins to speak, there's none of her normal sarcastic or flippant in what she's saying. She sounds much more quiet and subdued than she has while she's been here. Her eyes drift to that portrait before she glances towards everyone else in the room.]

Last time we started with the evidence everyone found, right? Let's do that again. We can get a list going or whatever so we can figure out who did this.

[blackstache]

The woman had baked a cake the night prior to her demise, it seemed. Hook quite enjoyed it.

[allicareabout]

[As much as Billy was absolutely not here for the investigation portion of this, he seems to calm down significantly when they assemble for the trial; there are a few fundamental things that are true in any courtroom, and that being the fact that law doesn't involve feelings – if you're involving feelings in your law, there's going to be a bad time later on, and the fact of the matter is that he's better than a lot of people are at just shutting all of that off.

Doesn't make what he has to say any more pleasant in content, but you know what, he can only work sufficiently small miracles.]

So. Gabe Goodman.

[His words are even and projected enough for the room to hear; just going to be facts from here on out, sounds like, though he's adjusting the cuffs on his jacket a bit as he speaks.]

It looks like he took a single blow to the back of the head - the hit was pretty high, like he was hit from somewhere above him, and whatever it was that did him had a straight edge to it. Probably made of wood given all the splinters embedded in the wound.

So he was hit with a lot of force, enough to kill him, and judging from his facial expression, he probably didn't see it coming.

[which, you know, back of the head and all - ...listen this is why we have coroners, they describe all this shit and then give him a good long period of time to figure out how to make it sound pretty, he's new at this]

There was also some sort of splinter in his hand, also wooden, decidedly smaller than the ones in his head.

And that's what I've got.

[robitussin]

[Deep breath. She can do this.]

If there was a splinter in his hand, maybe he tried to block it before...

[dechagny]

[A blow to the head? Splinters? Raoul is Concerned for reasons.]

So is it possible that, although the bodies were in different places, both Gabe and Miss Hime were assaulted by the same item?

[sunshineprincess]

Wait, what about the dummy? Does anyone know what that was for?

STUNT COW?

[trettende]

[ They'll be sentencing someone to death no matter what today, so Hans is far from smiling when he steps up to his podium today. Across from him, Hime and D-ne's portraits almost seem to stare at him.

The killer will be found, he'll make sure of that. ]

I believe this thing I found is the murder weapon? Though I'm not sure if it was used on one or both of our victims...

[ He produces the evidence in question. A... stunt cow? The body of which is cracked jaggedly, producing splinters. The jagged edge even has blood on it. It's broken, (though not in half or anything) as if it was hit very hard. ]

This was in the first floor lobby, under the mannequin we all saw. But there wasn't enough blood in the area to make me think that the murder happened there.

[robitussin]

...Is there any chance the attacker would have splinters in their hands, too? Or... I guess they would have taken them out by now, but maybe there are scratches left behind or something.

[irreprochable]

But this thing was also on the second floor lobby. We found indentations in the carpet that seem to match its size.

Hime's Cause of Death

[dechagny]

[Alright. Raoul can do this. He...he's not going to freeze up like last time, he can't. He has to help. Has to.]

Miss Hime...from the look of her bruises, it seemed she had died by...falling down the stairs. Initially, I had thought it might have had an innocuous cause, such as tripping or slipping, but there was a wound on her forehead that contained this.

[He holds up the splinter he found so everyone can see it.]

It therefore seems possible to me that she was climbing the stairs to the second floor and was struck with some kind of weapon on her forehead, sending her backwards, and that injury coupled with the fall was Hime's cause of death.

[sunshineprincess]

[Anna frowns at that. She still doesn't understand who would kill someone as sweet and kind as Hime.]

Do you think maybe she was going upstairs to meet someone and they hit her?

oops lemme do this here

[trettende]

Right now it seems either the "cow" or the box were wooden and could have caused those splinters... Was the bruise perhaps caused by a corner, or more a straight edge?

Cake murder aka Kitchen

[sunshineprincess]

[Yes, Anna brought what was left of the cake with her to the trial. If anyone wants some, feel free to come over and get some.]

I went into the kitchen after... Well, I didn't see anything there, but I got curious and opened the fridge. There was a cake and a note in there. The note said it was for Hans' Halloween party and no one dying. [That last part is depressing.]

After Captain Hook smashed the cake to see if there was evidence in it, which it's really, really good cake, I found there was writing on the back of the note. [She holds the note up.] I think I can guess some of the words that are erased on here. Does anyone else want to try?

[dechagny]

[Make Raoul try the cake because right now he's staring at it forlornly. Hime.......

Also oh no that note has cute doodles on it]

Is...the handwriting on the back a match for the notice not to eat the cake? It is a good bet that Hime wrote the notice, so it is possible she would have written that other part as well. But then, if that is the case...was she merely recording her thoughts? Or was the note written to converse with someone else?

[solomonjihad]

...

[She is gong to try that cake. Om om. Then she steps right back to her podium.]

Hans was going to throw a party?

[trettende]

Oh, no... She made cake and everything.

[ That's just too sad. Hans was trying to do something nice :( ]

Poor Hime... She was so excited for Halloween.

Death Box

[solomonjihad]

[Hey everyone, guess who brought a giant box into the courtroom!]

I...found this down in the second floor lobby.

[trettende]

Is that... blood on that box?

[ Yikes. ]

Did it-- are the corners splintered, too?

motive talk

[robitussin]

So... Let's talk about the motive, too.

Right after the envelopes got passed out, I said we should just all tell each other what ours were so there would be nothing to kill for. Heather, Anna, Astarte, Seymour, Winslow, and Javert told me theirs, and I think Hans told Anna what his was. I don't think that completely rules them out or anything, but it's probably less likely for them to have done it if they were willing to tell someone about what their secret was? Probably.

And before anyone says it, I told mine to both Heather and Astarte, so.

[solomonjihad]

Did Gabe or Hime tell...anyone theirs?

A...Theory?

[solomonjihad]

[After a long, long silence and thinking about it...two killers, two weapons, the motive...she doesn't want to upset Natalie, but...]

Is it possible...that Gabriel was one of the killers?

[Meanwhile of course]

[robitussin]

Okay, again, that's complete bullshit. Even if it wasn't and you were right, which you aren't, how does this even help us figure out the other person involved?

All the Single La--er, Tall People

[solomonjihad]

Hey, um.

If you're about six feet tall or...taller, could you...come out and stand somewhere together?

This is important.

[dechagny]

[Raoul might be around 6ft or so, he'll be happy to be in a lineup.]

Where would you like us?

HANDWRITING CHECK

[trettende]

[ Hans may not have found the note himself, but they can't ignore the message that was found behind it. ]

Everyone, if I could have your attention, please? This note Anna found... If the murderer acted in self defense, it's possible they wrote this note attempting to... apologize or whatever else. The point is, this note could lead us to the killer.

I think, therefore, we should compare everyone's handwriting to the note, perhaps we can get whoever wrote it to explain themselves.

[dechagny]

[Yes, let's do this! Good good good.]

Does anyone have a pen and paper? I would be happy to submit a sample.

EY YO GUYS

[allicareabout]

So. What do we have so far?

[The question is largely rhetorical, the sort of thing that comes right before someone tells you exactly what we have so far, but it's more for the sake of procuring everyone's attention anyway.]

It's likely that Hime was hit in the face and proceeded to fall down the stairs; if the hit didn't kill her, the fall probably did. Meanwhile, Gabe was hit in the head from behind and above. There was only one serious injury on him, to the back of the head, and given the shape of it it's incredibly likely that it came from the cow. He also doesn’t look like he fell down the stairs, for reference's sake.

Gabe also had splinters in his hand, smaller than the ones in his head, that probably came from the box. Given that the box was probably used to hit the blue-haired kid in the face, that's a little suspect.

We know the cow was on the second floor at some point. We have no idea why, but it was either weighted for a short time or sitting on the carpet for a longer period of time, depending on how we want to take those dents in the second floor lobby. There wasn't a lot of blood in either lobby, which is also a little strange, if you ask me, but not impossible.

Hime apparently baked a cake and probably wrote some really insecure-sounding notes to herself. Motive-wise, a bunch of us had secrets that we weren't willing to kill over, but who knows. People lie. Based on what has been said, though – Hans is clear, Pirate King's clear, and Darla was a really terrible example of "people who probably wouldn't be able to kill someone larger than her" given that she apparently sank a boat full of animals on her own, and for that Natalie has my apologies.

[...thanks, Billy.

Anyway - ]

Raoul and I have apparently been entertaining the same completely ridiculous theory for some time now, so let's just throw it out into the open – that being that there's rope on both the second floor and tied around the cow. We think it's possible that somebody set something up. Strung the cow up and pushed it towards one or both of the victims.

Somehow I didn't think "cow pendulum" was a thing I'd be arguing in all seriousness today, but there we have it.

[robitussin]

If you think he tried to kill her, why would he hit her with the box if the cow thing was already set up?

Another Theory?...

[solomonjihad]

[At some point after Anna raged, and once Hans pointed out a specific possibility, Astarte's head came up. Clasping her hands together, she looks around, taking a deep breath.

You know what? She may as well just...put out a theory. She tries to take everything people said into account, her hands tightening as she thinks more.]

Ah...everyone...what if...

[Ok, she can do this.]

I'm sorry, Natalie...I don't think Hime would have...baked a Halloween cake if she intended to kill us all. So, I...

Suppose Gabriel set it up. He used the dummy to lure Hime, after she'd baked her cake. He had the cow set up. He swung it at her...

[She looks at the box.]

...But...Hime...she's a magical girl. She could have avoided the hit from the cow. Magical girls...they're fast. So...before she could react, maybe...Gabriel...picked the box up. He may have had it in case the cow hadn't...worked. Or it was there because...that's...where the cow came from. Or maybe the...wig and dummy. Or...I don't know.

Anyways...it was there. And, he had to be quick. He had to swing hard enough to really get her.

[It could explain why he was so shocked. Someone who'd never faced a magical girl, or a sailor soldier, wouldn't know how quick they could be, even in civilian form. It was a panic response, maybe.]

But...he wasn't quick enough to avoid the cow coming back on him. So he...was hit. And......

...someone...as Hans and Billy said - the...[Just going to point to the lawyer.]...Gabriel didn't fall down the stairs, or tied...the cow or dummy together.

Maybe someone else put them there.

[dontfeedplants]

[Okay he wants to ask what the heck is a magical girl specifically, but that can wait until after all this.]

But that doesn't explain who set the cow and dummy up and we already tested everyone for splinters. Is there some way for us to tell if a third person was there?

VOTING

[tellthestory]

[After a brief chortle at Hook's expense, the Balladeer stands and schools his expression back into neutrality.]

Sounds like you've decided what you're going to do. You can all go ahead and vote now. Majority rules.

[And then he turns around and walks backstage again. The curtain sways a little behind him, but nothing's visible through it.]

[dontfeedplants]

[Gosh there is so much hesitation right now.]

So... we'll really die if we all vote wrong, huh?

EXECUTION: THE BALLAD OF THE DEAD

[tellthestory]

[As the final votes come in, the house lights once more drop abruptly. There’s a longer pause this time, before the curtain swishes itself open. The reason is pretty clear; this execution, if it is that, has an actual set, with a wooden staircase leading up to a high platform in the back. The Balladeer is sitting on them, strumming a simple tune on a banjo.]

So here we are again
It's always such a pleasure
Can’t believe someone’s tried
to do this twice

[One of the shadowy figures enters the stage from one side. This one’s dressed as Gabe, and has its arm around the shoulders of a tall blonde dummy on wheels. It turns as it enters, spinning the dummy around into his arms and flashing the audience a thumbs-up; it’s mugging. The Balladeer rolls his eyes.]

Oh how we laughed and laughed
Except I’m still not laughing
Under the circumstances
A boring week sounds nice

[Shadow-Gabe and his dummy approach the stairs. The Balladeer rises and stares them down for a moment before he steps aside with a mocking little bow.]

You want your freedom?
Take it
That's what they’re counting on

I still don’t want you dead
but
Couldn’t you have just moved on?

[Shadow-Gabe sets the dummy up at the top of the stairs, then turns and struts down them and back into the wings. A second later, he runs in leading a shade in a blue wig. They seem to speak for a moment, with Gabe gesturing frantically up the stairs, before Shadow-Hime turns to race up. Gabe lingers at the foot of them, turning to face the audience again – he looks like he’s laughing.]

She was a helpful girl
He called and she came running
Now little Hime is gone away too
One day they brought me here
So I could live in safety
It's such a shame the same
couldn’t have happened for you

You've got your
stupid
traps set
That's what they’re counting on
I'll let you get right to it
Still, you could’ve just moved on

[Hime reaches the top of the stairs, hand outstretched towards the dummy, and stumbles over the rope stretched across the doorway. As if on cue, a box suspended from a second rope swings down from above, hitting her in the face with a sickening crack. There’s no blood or any visible damage on it, not like there should have been from such a blow. Still, she falls backwards, hands still clutching at the dummy, and they both fall as she tumbles down the stairs.

Hime’s body comes to rest halfway down, but the dummy has more momentum. It flies over her head, to where Gabe is still silently pantomiming his glee, and smacks the back of his skull with a louder crack and a snap of wood. He drops to the floor, and is still. The Balladeer watches the entire thing happen, but he doesn’t move back towards center stage until everything is over.]

Goodbye to two more souls
God, this all seems so senseless
It’s almost funny
if it weren't so sad
Well, you all voted right
I still think you could get out
When you’re all back home, maybe –

[He opens his mouth as if to sing another line, then shuts it and turns away, looking up at Hime's still form for a silent moment.]

Let’s learn from these disasters
That's what I'm counting on
Someone might want you dead, but
Now I only want you gone
Now I only want you gone
Now I only want you...
gone

[The curtain slides shut before the lights go out this time, hiding the view of the Balladeer as they go. He doesn't say anything - you all know there's nothing else to be done here.]

[sunshineprincess]

[Oh no oh no oh no.... Anna had been right. She looks horrified. She lets out a quiet sob and backs away from the podiums. Part of her had been hoping a third party was involved, she really had. She feels awful for accusing Gabe and then Hime out of anger.

As soon as everything is done, she runs out of the room.]