Fourth Trial

[bathymetric]

[ After the evidence (and what a large batch of evidence it is, this time) has been gathered up, after actually patiently waiting a longer time than usual to make sure everything's been grabbed, the speakers over New Rapture crackle to life. ]

Time's up, everyone. You know where to go.

[ The lower number of bathyspheres, as you descend, is starting to become really notable, isn't it? The descent is the same as ever, lower and lower into the sea. The bioluminescence of those slugs on the ocean floor is almost brighter today, somehow, and some of them have even crawled up the cliff face around you as you pass them.

The dome approaches, slowly as ever, gleaming red in the darkness. The bathyspheres land in a row, doors opening one by one to reveal the familiar sight of the trial room, three more podiums now darkened. ]

Take your places, ladies and gentlemen. You've got a doozy of a situation to discuss. Ass Man and Silver Fox are dead. You know what happens if you can't figure out whodunnit.

[ Welcome to your fourth trial. ]

Comments

ice cream parlor, the parlorening

[daimakaicho]

[ y’all please use the diagram and key, there’s a lot going on here.

also here’s the link to her investigation, if you want to look back yourself. ]

Right.

[ Once she gets to her spot, Hild sighs. There’s a lot to get through. ]

Floyd and I managed to break our way into the ice cream parlor, where the door was jammed with a door under the handle. The chair itself broke after we got through, but one of the legs had some blood on it.

The door also had some kind of trap set up, with a tripwire made of rope going across it that set off when the door opened. This one led to the fire extinguisher that was hanging from the ceiling.

There were also frayed wires running under the tables. Not connected to anything, but clearly put there on purpose with open wires. Talk about a fire hazard.

Someone seems to be a fan of tripwires, because there was a second one running across part of the parlor, with this one involving the fan.

I also found a lighter [ she pulls it out (don’t ask from where), it’s pretty melted to hell ] and a knife block with blood on it.

The strangest part of the scene was someone was messing with the airflow in the parlor. When we came in it was rather stale and admittedly hard to breathe, but it cleared up well enough with the door open. Someone had managed to attach pillows to all the air ducts in effort to stifle the air. Strange, isn’t it?

ice cream parlor, the parlorening…2!

[dullshooter]

Like the good, upstanding citizen I am, I was helping out Hild and Floyd in the parlour. The fire extinguisher had some grey hair on it - probably Undertaker’s, unless the stress of this place has started making people age early. Which wouldn’t surprise me, and I think we could all sympathise.

[Anyway…there’s a lot to get through and you can tell he’s trying so hard to get it in order.]

Something definitely went kaboom in there - place looked like there was an explosion around the counter. Soot, melted junk, et cetera. You get the deal. Not a clue what did it, but there was this microwave on the counter. With a thingy [He doesn’t know what a sotoba is] jammed in the handle. Prolly ‘cause it electrocuted me when I touched it.

[Said very casually.]

Nothing in it though. One of the tripwires Hild mentioned was on the on/off switch of the fan, which had a bowl of white baking stuff in it. Emphasis on the ‘had’, ‘cause it had all been blown around the place.

Is that it? I think that’s it.

[pairtner]

[Aiba was pretty much tuning out so much, but when she heard about Misfire getting electrocuted she snapped back to attention]

Are you alright?!

[dullshooter]

…Did I say something weird?

[He doesn’t get the concern.]

[pairtner]

Electrocution can be fatal! Are you alright or not? Do you feel any different?

[dullshooter]

Oh, right. Yeah? Think so. Still kinda tingles.

[buriedstar]

[ looks over, sighs. ]

You're fine, right?

[dullshooter]

Aw, you worried about me?

[buriedstar]

You're not really expecting me to say no, are you?

[ That might sound just the tiniest bit pouty. He is not a tsun. ]

[dullshooter]

Nah. Just wanted to tease.

[Fingergun and a wink!]

I’m a-ok. Lucky it was me and not someone else, though, right?

[buriedstar]

Mmhmm~.

[ On both counts. ]

[sastruga]

["b-baka!"]

ice cream parlor 3: the jukebox strikes back

[capreelcious]

[ Here's Floyd's investigation, if you'd like to take a peek at it! ]

[ Floyd nods in agreement to all of what Hild said, all the while putting the evidence he found down on his podium. Yeah- he didn't really change his clothes before the trial, so he looks a mess still. ]

While Lane Snapper [ Hild's fishsona unlocked! ] and Flying Fish were looking at the room, I looked at Barracuda's body...

[ His jaw tightens as he figures out how to phrase it. ]

He was stuck under the jukebox when I found him, so I moved it outta the way to get a better look. He had blunt force trauma to the back of his head, enough to break his skull but not enough to draw blood. He also had a real deep stab wound in the back of his neck.

[ He holds up the bloody knife in a cloth. ]

I'm pretty sure this is what did that. Found it on the floor between the cutlery counter and Barracuda's body. Also, his eyes were glowing green, even after he was dead? I dunno what's up with that.

I also found this wooden sotoba thing, and it kinda looked like he was reaching for it? There's blood and flour on it. Some sort of weird explosion happened and there was a bunch of flour near the other counter... And also a handmade lever near it too? It was part of the counter that got blasted off.

[daimakaicho]

[ LANE SNAPPER........... ]

[capreelcious]

[ Lane snapper!!!! ]

[sastruga]

Huh... was it the flour that exploded?

Like a dust explosion.

[inaclearing]

That can happen. That's why you can't use it to smother a fire, it just combusts in the air.

[daimakaicho]

It does feel like they tried to use it to curtail that, even if it was the wrong move. It would explain blocking the airflow, at the very least.

[pairtner]

That's very dangerous. A dust explosion draws oxygen and burns it away, meaning that without good ventilation an enclosed space can turn unbreathable.

[If they blocked the airflow before trying to put out a fire or something, then they were making things much worse]

[sastruga]

Well, someone died, so the dangerous part is pretty evident.

[specialyellthing]

[this is probably the part where she should tell mafuyu to be nice but like....

shes literally looking the other way.]

[daimakaicho]

[ no, no. let her be rude ]

[capreelcious]

That makes sense.

[capreelcious]

I think it was less in the explosion and used in more of a distraction... Flying Fish said it was hooked up to the fan, so maybe they did it to blind him?

[sastruga]

...That's probably the purpose of the fan, then. To spread it through the air.