THE FIRST INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

THE FIRST INVESTIGATION

[Good morning, Titled.

Well, it's mostly a good morning. Those who are waking up in their bedrooms wake up to another boring morning. At least as boring as this place can allow, but even so, everything seems perfectly fine in that wing. Perfectly normal.

However, that feeling of normalcy might not stick around for too long. Especially as people start approaching the stairs going down to the food court...]

Comments

[steelmagnolias]

[WHAT IS IT WITH YOU KIDS AND PUTTING STUFF WHERE THE OLD GUY CAN'T REACH

he'll just nudge it over with his foot.]

EVIDENCE

[strangerpeople]

[O O P S

It's a small gold chain.]

[steelmagnolias]

[He'll snap a shot of it and...

Well, no choice but to suck it up and pick it up.]

[strangerpeople]

[Sorry, Pokedad.

Want to do a final check to make sure you didn't miss anything?]

[steelmagnolias]

[Sure, but first, are there any distinctive marks on either jewelry pieces he's picking up? ]

[incrediblystressedout]

[Joey arrives 15 minutes late with nitrile gloves.]

Hey I'm...oh, you just used napkins. Sorry. Was there anywhere else we still needed to look?

going to work now so I'll be back

[steelmagnolias]

Looks like there could be a lot of other stuff around here.

Joey-chan, my back's not so great, [and he'll rub the small of his back as he says this], maybe you can check the floors?

[incrediblystressedout]

Oh! Right. Yeah, definitely.

[Let's just strap on some gloves and get down on the ground to check the floor.]

[strangerpeople]

[Aside from the items Pokedad found, there doesn't seem to be anything else on the floor.]

[incrediblystressedout]

[What about the pumpkin?]

Okay, looks like the floor is clear...sorry.

[She looks around for anything else that might be weird here. Maybe (something else) in the food prep area?]

[strangerpeople]

[There is a garbage pail that looks more full than the others, actually.]

[incrediblystressedout]

[Oh thank God, Joey's family aren'y the only people who leave the trash sitting next to the fridge.]

[I mean.]

[She's wearing the gloves, so she's less disinclined to pop that garbage pail right open than she normally would be.]

EVIDENCE

[strangerpeople]

[There are a lot of bloody napkins in that there pail.]

[incrediblystressedout]

[Oh. Okay. It's technically in the right place so it's a little less awful.]

Uh...I think. A fight definitely happened in here.

[Click goes the smartphone and she's just going to close the pail again.]

[Okay. Think calming thoughts. Thoughts about dancing. Ballerinas. Stars. Stars are good. Okay.]

[Anything else of note back here?]

[strangerpeople]

[Nothing else, no!]

[steelmagnolias]

[Meanwhile, Ren's going to check anything on the counters and cabinetry.

Anything?]

[strangerpeople]

[Nope! All clear!]

[strangerpeople]

[Probably the most distinctive characteristic of the chain is that it's braided. It also looks loosened on the ends, as if whoever took it off didn't do so properly.]

[steelmagnolias]

[and the cufflink? ]

[strangerpeople]

[It's distinctively rectangular, and also looks like it wasn't taken off properly.]