Take...Responsibility?

[kingmakereffect]

Unlike previous weeks in the Vault, there was no specifically allotted time for investigation; for the first time, this weekend the elevator doors remain closed at the end of the first floor corridor. There's no getting down into the courtroom from here – but then, you don't need to. After all, no one is dead. Just the same, however, a crime has been committed; perhaps not one that warrants any sort of death penalty, but one of your number was attacked by someone else still walking among you. The dining hall has been chosen as the allotted meeting place for the day; it's not the same as the trial circle by a long shot, but even so, the portraits of the deceased watch the proceedings from the far wall. Ten Survivors still remain. Let's see who wanted to lower that number by one – or nine.

Comments

[amygdalae]

[Shakes his head and quickly waves it off.]

It's perfectly fine. Don't hang yourself over it.

[cherryblooded]

Of course.

...Now, if you wouldn't mind, could someone describe the crime scene for me? I wasn't there, and it might help to go over the important details anyway.

I mean I can guess some from Gabriel, but...

[amygdalae]

[yes... time to get to that.

Bruce turns over to address the group at large.]

Detective Mouri and Stan were looking around the room, so they'll talk about what they have on their own end; for myself I more or less only investigated the mark around Gabriel's neck. The mark matches the chain of his tailsman, and from the pressure and the way the marks look its most likely that he had been attacked from behind, like so.

[Bruce closes one hand in a fist and holds it from a distance behind his head, simulating the chain being yanked from behind.

(Also look at this, Bruce using everyone's first names now. Isn't that amazing.)]

[garudynamic]

So it was probably a crime of opportunity?

[amygdalae]

Possibly. It doesn't seem like it was premeditated, at least.

[cherryblooded]

I'm not sure about that. The library's not very big - if the culprit had come in after Gabriel, then Gabriel would have seen him enter, and even if he'd come in before Gabriel would have noticed him unless he was hiding, wouldn't he?

[garudynamic]

So they planned it but couldn't pull through?

[cherryblooded]

Probably. Especially with a knife around - odds are he intended for this to be a stabbing and couldn't work up the nerve, went with a strangling instead.

Less messy. Easier. Also harder to actually kill someone with.

[isafraid]

Or they thought they'd done the job well enough that they didn't need to stick around.

[garudynamic]

Though with how the books were everywhere the odds are they tried to choke him and panicked when he passed out and fumbled out of there. I mean it takes a long time to legit kill someone that way, if I remember right?

[amygdalae]

Around ten minutes for irreversible damage via strangulation, yes.

[...don't ask how Bruce knows.

Just don't.]

[garudynamic]

So yeah, if the attacker either freaked out or didn't think to check if he was dead that'd make sense. Not many of us left have killed someone with their bare hands.

[captainobnoxious]

Just like most of them. He just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time, or however it goes here.

[penduli]

From behind? [ ...huh... ] I guess that's one way to make sure your victim doesn't see your face.

...or would-be victim in this case. [ No one died, after all. ...gabriel has probably just realized whether or not he's into asphyxiation ]

[goodforsomething]

It's funny...I found one of those throwing knives on the ground by the chair. Gabriel says it wasn't his, so they could've just stabbed him.

[cherryblooded]

No blood?

[amygdalae]

I didn't see any on Gabriel himself, at the very least.

[cherryblooded]

So no injuries other than the marks from choking... That makes things easier, at least.

[goodforsomething]

Nah. It's right here, looks clean.

[Stan just sets the knife on the table.] Easier showin' stuff around like this.

[cherryblooded]

[That sure is a clean, unused knife.]

Certainly does help not to be across a pit in the dark.

[captainobnoxious]

[nnnnuuuggh]

So the attacker got cold feet on that front. Good for them, saved us two more deaths.

[garudynamic]

Knife?

[Yosuke goes a little pale and laughs breathlessly]

If I didn't know better I'd say this looks like I attacked him.

[Knife fail, stuff knocked over, not having the balls to finish choking someone out...]

[penduli]

[ ...yosuke... ]

You do have pretty much all the knives around here now, don't you.

[captainobnoxious]

Oh, honey, trust me, I know that exact feeling. That fancy toe's trial would've been my own ticket to the pit, knowing what I can do. Don't worry about being framed too much as long as you've got a good conscience.

[cherryblooded]

It doesn't, actually.

[And while part of that is Cherryblod's insistence that Yosuke would never hurt one of the others-]

You've used a knife before. There's no reason using one would be impossible for you now.

[...aside from the 'against another human being' part.]