melodiesoflife | Event || Cluedo

[Pens are extremely ineffectual weapons. Not that he ever tried stabbing someone with it, but when thrown, they are barely nuisances.

It must be linked to something else, such as a note or another dropped item that forms a trail of small objects. Ales has been to the airship district countless times; he works here. The office is locked during the night, so he can't check near there. Perhaps a clue can be found nearby, like on a crate or sign.

...Preferably on the signs closer to the ground, where he or a Tarutaru can easily read. But he doesn't have hopes for that.]

[Unfortunately, stopping to write on a crate or wall would not only hinder the process of running away, it's something a killer would likely notice and destroy.

No, she wrote on the only thing she had handy.]

[He jumps up to grab a crate and pull himself on top of it. This way, he can get a better overview of the scene.

...Is there a message written in blood?]

[Nothing so gruesome. She wouldn't have needed the pen for that. But it is likely she tossed the pen aside after using it. And anything left at scene risks being destroyed by the culprit. Unless you wrote your message on something they would have a hard time getting at after they killed you. Something that a frightened girl could access easily while running. Something already handy.

And something that might be suddenly encased in crystal, making the message very hard to simply rub out...]

[That would be too simple, when he thinks about it. The rain could easily wash blood off the ground. The only thing someone can reasonable write on is their arm, but--

No. That's stupid. The crystal would have wiped that out...unless it only "corrects" injuries, not marking. There's also the issue of it being seen on the crystal...unless she etched it on the crystal herself.

There's no other lead, so leaving the forensics to the others, off he goes, now to the Temple of Fire!]

Edited 2016-06-25 19:55 (UTC)

[Ellie arrived at a brisk trot, not wanting to outright sprint and cause alarm, but when her brigand contacts posted in the city got word to her that a murder had just occurred, she hurried as fast as she could with discretion.]

[She sees the pen. She sees Ales combing the area, trying to see if anything was written down, and her gaze flicks back to Alice.]

Check her left arm.

[If Alice was right-handed, that's what she would have used to hold the pen, making the left side the makeshift writing surface.]

[He sees Ellie just as he rushes out of the airport docking area, but continues running. She must have seen the crystal statue, then. He appreciates that she doesn't tell him the answer outright, but lets him figure it out himself.

Without a greeting, he enters the Temple and walks straight to Alice's statue.]

[Crystallization might fix injuries, but does it erase tattoos? Makeup? No, simple marks are crystallized like everything else.

She is right handed, so the left arm is the place to check. In fact, she seems to have made a conscious effort to keep that arm held out slightly from her body. As if she knew people might be examining it later.

The message is short, and hard to see. The crystal certainly doesn't help with that. And if someone wasn't looking very closely, they'd surely miss it.

It's just one word, scrawled messily on her wrist. 'ANTLERS' ]

[UGH. Holding it up so high just to spite the short people like him. Really, Alice?

No matter. He had his Moogle sit just outside the airport and follow him around while carrying his minocopter for moments like this. It's not heavy at all, but it gets cumbersome to carry around. He takes a few seconds to hold it above his head, then press it.

Floating just high enough to read the writing on the arms...

...Antlers.

What.

He turns off the minicopter and drops onto the floor.]

Don't tell me Dylas is suspect for this one, too!

[Obviously, Alice has nothing to say to that. Just that one word, and the effort she made to communicate it to her fellow heroes.]

[ The news of another murder spreads across the city like wildfire despite the late hour, so as soon as the crime scene has been properly secured, Ace rushes towards the police station. This time, he isn't returning empty-handed, possessing a piece of evidence unlike any they've come across, so far.

He has seen it happening with his own eyes.

The cadet isn't alone; Kidd walks into the station alongside him, but there's certainly something off about the way he refuses to as much as look at the assassin. His facial expression is that of complete solemnity as he directs his steps towards the investigators currently on duty. ]

I would like to give a witness statement regarding the murders which took place tonight.

[She sighs and caps the pen.]

The more I look at the crime scenes, the more it seems likely we're dealing with more than one killer...

[Which just makes everything that much harder.]

Everyone is spending so much time focusing on which jobs they could have used, but it seems like no two jobs would offer everything they needed. If they had an accomplice though, that's four jobs, and potentially two advanced jobs. That would be enough.

Oh. Oh.

Duster covers his mouth with his hand and looks to the side, but he can't hide how pink his neck turns. He really shouldn't have asked.

"Well, um. You're right," he stutters as he tries to focus on another topic. "We need to keep an eye out in case something like this happens again."

[She shakes her head.]

N-no. I-

[Maybe if she'd been braver, she'd have something more. Ib looks at the ground guiltily.]

When I saw the blood, I got scared. So I ran...

"R-really?"

She looks up hopefully. She would dearly love to mistaken about that, so Ib doesn't waste any time leading him back to the scene.

"Over here! It's this way."

Taking him by the hand, she starts running back the way she came. Unfortunately, by the time they get there, it's beyond the point where healing would do any good.

[Sephiroth is in an adjoining room to the office in which the majority of the investigators work around the clock. At that moment debriefing and handing over shifts to the next small group of men that will be dispatched out into the streets of Aqures Ixen to support the local personnel in patrolling and enforcing the curfew.

It's probably not a good idea for him to consider how many hours he's pulled today. But at the very least news is traveling faster.

Coming out of the office as Ace and Kidd both walk into the vicinity, Sephiroth glances around to any other investigator who might also be still in the office and not yet at the latest crime scene. Before turning his full attention towards the two witnesses. One is hardly a first-timer.]

It's good that you've come forward so promptly, please- [He gestures to one of the emptier desks, where there are seats free, as Sephiroth himself looks around for someone to second this statement testimony.]

[Ib returns the smile shyly and hesitantly as she takes Akane's hand. Akane's confidence is doing a lot to assuage her fears. Surely they'll be alright. The police will know what to do.]

Okay. Thanks...

[Ib's statement is short. She ran away too quickly to really investigate. She'd found James Kidd standing over Jade who was lying on the ground. She thought at first that Jade was sleeping, or perhaps they were playing a game- until she saw the bloody wound in Jade's chest.

She turned to flee and noticed two other bodies lying nearby. She was too scared to stay and look though. It's clear she feels bad about leaving without trying to learn anything, but the authorities are quick to assure the little girl that she made the right choice.]

[The snap of the pen being capped seems to dictate the way that Sephiroth blinks and looks away around them again, as if putting a cap on his own sometimes overbearing attentiveness towards others. Was it all innocent til proven guilty, or the other way around which should be the logical thought train here?]

It certainly seems to make sense for there to be more than one culprit, either that or we're dealing with a highly skilled wielder of several jobs who probably had a job switch implemented as part of his -or her- plan.

[That latter concept is enough to make any of them shudder; is there someone among them who could be so coldly calculative?]

...if it's even a Hero of Light, and not some other type of foe we've yet to encounter. I dislike either possibility, as I'm sure you do too.

[ And for Ace, it feels rather strange to find yourself on the other side of the desk after so many months. Having had his share of often unsuccessful attempts at finding the truth hidden in between the lines, he knows to keep it concise. ]

Oh, it won't take long.

[ Maybe Sephiroth is pushing it a little bit too hard with the official attitude, given they both are more than familiar with the code of conduct - under such circumstances, however, he decides not to question it. This is where his role of a fellow investigator ends, and he will wait for the others if there's a need.. ]

I am not here to discuss the pieces of evidence. [ A beat. ] I have witnessed the murders.

I think the first thing is more likely. Quickly switching out jobs requires you to have the Bard job, right? So the most one person could get out of it is the benefit of three jobs. And one of them has to be Bard.

[She shrugs.]

Honestly, I'm less worried about how they did it than why they did it. Why target heroes of light? They have to know that we'll crystallize and revive. That's common knowledge...

[She frowns as a very unpleasant thought occurs to her. No, that's crazy...]

[Lydia had gotten Ales' word, and had been waiting for this. Grabbing notebook and pencil, along with her camera (that was most important), she is soon in bat-form winging her way over wherever Ales said to meet. On the one hand, she's not eager to look at a murder scene, but on the other...

It's not as if she hasn't seen plenty worse either in movies and tv back home, or in the Neitherworld. She is not squeamish. Finding the Teensie, she transforms back to her normal form nearby holding her camera at the ready]

I hope I'm not too late to help. I have to be careful with my shots, I had a full roll of film when I got here, but it's down to about 20 now.

[Meaning she can't just snap like crazy, much as she might like to.]

[Seeing Ace walk in with Kidd and that stilted air around them, almost stopped Saori's heart. Without hesitation, she walked over to where the three were. Others can take care of the scene.]

Witnesses...? Alright. Let's get started. I can take down Kidd's statement, Sephiroth. We should question them separately. I'll take one of the rooms.

[As much as she wouldn't question the validity of a co-worker and Kidd, they needed to be sure both statements were without the others' influence. If there were contradictions however...]

Woah!

[Ales skids to a stop when Lydia appears before him.]

Er, you're not too late to photograph the scene but there's something I need to check at the temple right now.

[ And there's a reason for Saori to be worried, one she has yet to discover. To be honest, Ace wished to leave her out of this, given her... possible lack of objectivity when it came to Kidd. Needless to say, he's not at all surprised that she's the one volunteering.

The cadet exhales and then looks at Saori, his face blank. ]

A witness... and a suspect.

[ A short silence precedes the next words that leave his mouth. There is no backing out now that he's made such a serious claim. ]

If you're concerned about the contradictions, I can confirm that our accounts will be different. Let us proceed with the statements, then, for now - but by the time this is over, I will be forced to request that James Kidd is detained on a charge of murder.

Twilight sighed in defeat. This is ridiculous - there was no way she or her brother would ever try to do such a thing. She shook her head before speaking again. "Fine, I'll go in, but just be careful - if my brother finds out before I can tell him, he's probably going to get all "protective big brother" here. And he will, too."

Event || Cluedo

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