15strangers | THE FIRST TRIAL

THE FIRST TRIAL

[Almost as soon as the investigation is over, a loud DING echoes through the mall.

The elevator doors in the food court, before completely inaccessible, have now opened for the Titled. It will not close until every last Titled has gotten in. Nor will everyone have to wait long for potential stragglers; a thought comes to everyone's mind, a realization that they need to get into the elevator. They need to go.

They need to find out who did this.

The elevator is a small freight elevator inside, and its just big enough to fit everyone in it. After a short ride, the elevator opens...

And they are on the roof. Despite it clearly not being that late in the day, the roof seems to be surrounded by an air of cool, perpetual sunset. Beyond that, good luck making out what's beyond the roof - there seems to be a city, but it's utterly unidentifiable. Not that anyone can jump off the roof to try and get closer - there is a translucent barrier surrounding the roof that is utterly impenetrable.

The main attraction of the roof, however, is not the fuzzy landscape beyond. It's the large, stepped circular platform which is a mere ten paces from the elevator. On this platform are 15 podiums, surrounding a large, empty, circular floor. Instantly every phone pings, giving everyone their platform assignment based on their bedroom number. And - upon arriving at their designated podium - they will find a dock for their phone to slide into. As soon as they do so the XAMINE app will pop up, revealing everyone's findings regarding the murder.

Not Wake, though. His podium is lower, and bare save for a white cloth.

Still, everyone - including Ren, who will find that whoever arranged this whole deal has given him a chair to sit in - will need their strength. Which is why each Stranger also has a bento box lunch, carefully prepared, waiting for them at their podium. Each meal is tailored to every Stranger's specific tastes and allergies, as best as a bent box meal can be. It even comes with a cup of their favorite drink.

So, take a few bites, take a few breaths, and get ready, Titled.

The trial for the murder of Wake Archus, The Feeling, has begun.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Meridies-san... do you think the murder actually happened in the bathroom?

Edited 2017-12-02 21:53 (UTC)

It would fit the evidence. The bathroom would provide a source of water, which would also provide the trail of water and scuff marks--Wake would have to be dragged from there. The drawer may have been insurance, or maybe to throw us off or something. It's possible that Wake was holding the chain well before he even made it to the restaurant, and simply let it go there, or that it was used to conduct electricity and wasn't retrieved because the killer might fear it holding a charge still or-or something.

[ She's racking her brain, trying to make the clues all line up. ]

Or maybe, it even just snagged on one of Wake's cufflinks when he was thrown into the drawer. Which would mean Dio didn't even notice it was dragged off--he was too focused on slamming Wake into the drawer.

....

[Yuuri's head bows, his fists clenched on his podium. It's clear he's beyond furious and upset.]

I don't think we need to talk about this any more. The pieces all fit. It's clear who's guilty.

Actually, I think it's more likely that the culprit got themselves wet from the crab tank while arranging the victim, and cleaned up in the bathroom.

We also have no evidence that the bruises on the victim's legs and the damp marks were acquired at the same time. The wires were also damp, after all.

No. No, that can't be what happened at all. There was this huge bloody struggle in Unsteak My Heart, and then the cause of death was electrocution, with electrocution wounds from exactly the wires in Crab-O-Licious. The culprit was probably just on their way out of the scene.

See, I'm here helping you guys solve the case, of this tragic murder, committed by someone else.

The wires could've been used in the bathroom sink, then Archus-san's body and the wires were all dragged to the crab tank. Like the shirt, the tank was a distraction.

No, the victim was still convulsing from the electricity when we found him. The source of electricity was a radio plugged into the wall and dropped into the tank.

We learned in biology that dead frogs will twitch if exposed to electrical shocks. Is that possible in a human?

Yes, it's caused by the electricity causing nerve impulses independently of the brain's activity. So long as the nerves that control the muscles are intact, running a current through them will cause motion...assuming, of course, that rigor mortis has yet to set in.

...Yes.

[ Local scientist here to help. ]

Then the convulsions you saw... they could've been post-mortem. And if the crabs were electrocuted in the setup with the tank, to make us think they and Archus-san all died at the same time....

...Dio. There was a second wire and burn on his wrist. The neck wound was likely a cover for the real electrocution elsewhere.

[ Also, just checking. That picture of the cufflink. Is there only one? ]

[There is only one.]

...I think my theory bout the cufflink catching the chain is correct. There was only one found in Un-Steak My Heart right next to the chain.

THE FIRST TRIAL

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