Third Trial

[stagemanagers]

[Once again, the sound of opening doors echoes through the opera house as the investigation draws to a close.

Time for your third trial.

The courtroom looks the same as ever, save that Darla and Eliza's podiums are now arranged in the same funerary fashion as the other deceased cast members. The lights from the bulbs standing in their places seem to cast the rest of the house even more in shadow, even as the crystal chandeliers still glitter dimly above. The Balladeer is hidden backstage once more, somewhere behind the red curtain drawn shut across the stage. Once everyone's taken their places, he speaks up.]

Alright. Let's do this.

Comments

[dechagny]

I'm sure I can, but...separate, from the cookies, Anna.

[He's still tea buddy but please don't bring over any snickerdoodles]

I'm afraid I wouldn't know if that was the case. Depending on the type of cookies that were used, vanilla might have been a better pairing...and, perhaps, there was so much vanilla at the murderer's disposal, they felt it would be enough to overpower the smell of the poison?

[sunshineprincess]

Oh. Then we just have cake with it then.

[Stop talking about food.

She nods.]

Do you think maybe they didn't smell the garlic because it was fresh frosting and cookies at first? Maybe when everything cooled down the smell became noticeable? I know with some foods that they smell amazing when warm, but awful when cold.

[dechagny]

That could be possible too. I wonder, though, where in the world would someone obtain arsenic here? I cannot recall seeing anything like that bottle before. And...aren't some of the cleaning supplies already toxic? It might have made more sense to use something easier to find.

[sunshineprincess]

[Uhm...]

I know back home arsenic was used to dye clothes and preserve wood. Isn't there a workshop with wood in it?

[It's the only place that makes sense where it would be.]

[dechagny]

[...One of the few places he hasn't investigated. Of course.]

I suppose wood would be in a workshop, yes.

[sunshineprincess]

So it'd make sense then, right? But someone here had to know how poisonous it was. Billy the Lawyer said it was used as a tonic for skin.

[Which sounds gross and super dangerous.]

[dechagny]

[Yeah after today CHRISTINE WILL NEVER GO NEAR IT for her own goshdarned safety]

Yes...they would have to know what they were doing in order to successfully poison Darla and Madame Hamilton.

[sunshineprincess]

[But who would know...]

So someone who could bake knew how to make frosting and was familiar with tea... and knew how deadly arsenic is.

[dechagny]

And who wore enough stage makeup to leave smears of it on what they handled, perhaps?

[sunshineprincess]

[.......... quite a few people actually.]

I know Darla would have, and I think Winslow liked it, too.

[dechagny]

But then that would make Darla the culprit, if she handled the poison...but then why would she poison herself?

[As for Winslow...no, no, he wouldn't believe it was Winslow. Not now, not ever.]

[onthebusagain]

Unless they touched her before putting the poison away.

[dechagny]

That could be possible as well, if Darla was heavily made up at the time of...you know.

[sunshineprincess]

She was always made up. I don't think I've ever seen her without a ton of makeup on.

[dechagny]

I don't think I've ever looked that closely at her to tell.

[And now the little girl who tried to drown cats is dead.]

[sunshineprincess]

Well, you're not a girl. Only another girl or a guy who wears makeup can tell just by looking if someone is using it or not.

[dechagny]

[Huh! This is new information that Raoul has learned.]

Is it really so noticeable?

[sunshineprincess]

Well, yeah. Little girls don't need to wear makeup. She was an actress, so she has to look perfect all the time, right? And makeup hides things like wrinkles, too.

[dechagny]

But how in the world would a little girl have...

[On second thought, he doesn't really want to ask why.]

[sunshineprincess]

What color was the smear again?

[Because that might considerably narrow down the suspects again, and she for the life of her wasn't paying attention to that part.]

MODS A LITTLE HELP S'IL VOUS PLAIT

[dechagny]

Let us take a look at the bottle...

[Alright, so what shade of makeup smear is on the bottle?]

[stagemanagers]

[It's sort of generically white-person colored, I guess? It's the same shade as the stuff everyone received in Week One.]

[sunshineprincess]

[That doesn't absolve anyone now.]

Everyone got that... I tossed mine out.

[dechagny]

[Y'all could've said "peachy" and I would've died laughing]

It seems...that it would blend with most of our skintones. I placed what I received in the costume shop.

[solomonjihad]

I don't even remember where mine went. Its probably somewhere in my room.

[It probably doesn't surprise anyone that she wouldn't wear make up. That and Anna can attest to the, um, messiness of her room]