third investigation

[stagemanagers]

[The Opera House is quiet on Friday, just as it was quiet last Friday. There's no immediate smell of blood the air and most everyone was pretty blase about the motive earlier in the week this might just be a deathless week.

The only way to know for sure is to investigate.]

Comments

[allicareabout]

[Okay, look, it's Friday morning and he's already not in the greatest mood because Reasons, but at least the lack of blood is a good thing - if someone messed with the god damn library he's going to have to be very fucking annoyed again, but that's where he's going this morning.]

[stagemanagers]

[The library looks as it usually does, books on shelves, books on tables, books on chairs and the like. But Billy isn't alone in the library this morning.]

[allicareabout]

[...Well, that's ominous!

Who exactly is he being joined by...? Or, well, what, I guess. It's possible his companion is Son of Arm Thing or something else equally ridiculous.]

[stagemanagers]

[Ominous indeed.

For good or for worse, his companion is most definitely human-shaped and seated in one of the comfy reading armchairs. It's still dark on that side of the room so turning on a lamp might be a good idea.]

[allicareabout]

[...Thaaaaaat is not a good sign - sleeping isn't permitted outside the dressing rooms and reading in the dark is kind of not something most people do, so unless somebody's just kind of. Unconscious. In here. It's incredibly likely that they're not exactly one of the cast anymore.

All right. All right, then, let's just kind of give one of those odd, sharp exhales that people do when they're not entirely certain they want to deal with whatever's about to happen but hell if they're not going to psych themselves up to do it anyway, and move over to turn on a lamp in this person's general vicinity.]

[stagemanagers]

[When the lamp clicks on it sheds some unfortunate light on the situation. It reveals a feminine figure in a slightly frilled black robe over a light blue nightgown. Her arms are draped limply in her lap, chin to her chest so a curtain of long dark hair hides her face from view.

There's not reaction to the light turning on, not even the involuntary twitch of someone asleep being surprised by sudden light.]

[allicareabout]

[...He's going to regret reaching out to touch her or trying to shake her awake, isn't he.

Unfortunately, natural instincts die hard, and that's going to be what he does.]

...Hey. Are you -

[...Actually, is she breathing at all, um.]

[stagemanagers]

[She is most definitely not breathing. Not only that she feels cold, much colder than someone with a pulse should and, for some reason, her shoulder feels damp.]

[dechagny]

[Raoul: walk in just in time after a shower.]

- Monsieur? What is going on?

[allicareabout]

What does it look like?

[It's delivered pretty blankly, though; kind of irritated, but it's more or less an undercurrent.]

[dechagny]

[He can't blame you because HE WAS HAVING A LOVELY MORNING AND THEN THIS SHIT OCCURS

Coming over to get a closer look himself.] Dear God...

[allicareabout]

Trust me, I don't think God's going to help us at this point.

[He has not been having a lovely morning, but he'll deal.]

She's kind of damp for some reason? And she's cold, probably been here for a while.

[dechagny]

[All of these facts make Raoul sick to his stomach. They...need to confirm who it is. Who's...]

[allicareabout]

[Well.]

[allicareabout]

[...Oh, that's swell.

All right, then. Let's just...tip her head up so he can get a look at her face, how's she doing in that regard.]

[stagemanagers]

[Her face isn't hecked up if that's what you're worried about. With her eyes closed and her face s relaxed she looks like she just nodded off for a nap a few minutes ago and could open her eyes at any moment and ask what was wrong.

But she won't because Eliza Hamilton is dead.]

[allicareabout]

[...Okay. At least she doesn't seem to have been desecrated or anything, and she seems...peaceful enough, and that's- ]

...Raoul, go find the others, they should probably hear about this.

[dechagny]

[Oh God. Oh God, Eliza. He was just with her yesterday afternoon. They were - baking together and -

He takes a breath, steels himself. Okay. Okay. None of this is okay, but. Okay.]

I - yes, of course. I'll go looking.

[Wish him luck]

[allicareabout]

[His reply is blunt, but it's more of the...feelings-off, entirely-business sort of blunt as opposed to something completely callous.]

They're not going to take this well. And be careful with how you tell some of the ladies.

[...Astarte's kind of handled corpses poorly for the last two weeks.

That said, good luck and godspeed.]

[dechagny]

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