Take Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

And once the allotted time for investigating comes to a close, those elevator doors slide open at the end of the first-floor corridor, offering another of those fast, smooth rides down to that black void of a courtroom Twelve out of the original twenty-seven are dead; there are four less of you present for this trial than there were last week. That's incredibly obvious as soon as the doors slide open and the podium circle comes into view where it's encircling that dark pit in the center of the room; Norman, the King, Tarrlok, and Lynne have joined the deceased, photographs in greyscale watching the proceedings from their podiums draped in black. Of course and as always, the Kingmaker is watching too; he waits until everyone is settled at their podiums to begin speaking, though it's still impossible to tell exactly where his voice is coming from. "Assured and Perceiving have been taken from you. You guys are really getting excited, aren't you? Two people dead in one night... Whether the guilty party succeeds or not, though, is up to the rest of you." Fifteen Survivors remain. However many will be down by the end of the day is up to you.

Comments

[amygdalae]

[Bruce nods. Just as there is suspicion of her because of this burned letter, the possibly of it being forged is also prevalent.]

But if framing Miss Misa was the intent of the note, why even go through the trouble of burning it?

[To make it more suspicious??]

[goodforsomething]

...maybe they were usin' it for somethin' else? We're all slidin' notes under doors all the time. If I got one from Misa tellin' me there'd been an accident some night, I'd go upstairs and check it out.

[happysweets]

Uwaah! So they used Misa-Misa's handwriting to lure him out?

[amygdalae]

[...!]

What if the note was used to call for Detective Lynne?

[pokexplorer]

To claim that Tarrlok was involved in an accident? Then his body certainly couldn't have been at the bottom of the stairs at the time if Lynne went all the way upstairs...

[amygdalae]

We've more or less ascertained that Mister Tarrlok's body had been moved, so the possibility is there.

[pokexplorer]

[A nod.]

This seems to be more evidence to support that, if our line of thinking about the note is correct.

[happysweets]

Lynne and Misa-Misa are good friends! If she saw a note that looked like I wrote it, I'm sure she'd come running!

[amygdalae]

[Nods.]

Right. She wouldn't have just ignored a call for help like that, too.

[sleepingkogoro]

That is another possibility.

The note was either intended to be for Tarrlok or it was about Tarrlok.

I suppose the only way to know for sure is to know who died first.

[goodforsomething]

I was thinkin' it was for him - she'd have noticed if he was lyin' dead at the bottom of the stairs.

[prismbloom]

I think before we proceed, we have to figure that out. But... how, exactly?

[notjustawriter]

If it was for Tarrlok, why would it be addressed in the third person?

I agree with Bruce, it sounds like it was bait for Lynne.

[prismbloom]

Surely she would have alerted us if she had seen him dead. I agree with you and Bruce, too.

[amygdalae]

As it stands now it could easily have been one or the other first; although considering the fact that Mister Tarrlok's name was on the note, the chance of him being the first victim might be higher.

[happysweets]

Well, we don't know what this note said for sure. If we knew more about it other than just the scraps, then...

[amygdalae]

[Yeah, they can't prove anything for certain without the complete note.]

All we seem to have are these two scraps, so the best we can do is to make the best assumption we can make.

[captainobnoxious]

Say that he is and Lynne was tricked. Wouldn't someone be smelling like the burny water?

[amygdalae]

...why would you say that?

[That's... not what Bruce had been expecting.]

[sleepingkogoro]

She could have been burned by a different chemical, though. It isn't 100% confirmed bleach caused the burns, after all.

Tarrlok-san's crime scene had many corrosive chemicals in bottles, any of them could have done the trick.

[garudynamic]

Not only that, but the blood on Tarrlok was already pretty dry, right? Lynne was wet and the floor was pretty damp too. If she died first she'd be way drier.

The sauna wasn't on or used, so there's no reason for it to be wet in there.

[sleepingkogoro]

...huh. Good point!

That should settle the matter of who died first. Nicely done, Hanamura-kun!

[penduli]

Maybe Mr. Tarrlok's name started the note? Not everyone writes "Dear so-and-so" when they write a letter or something.

[notjustawriter]

If it was slipped under his door why address him at all though?

It's a possibility, though.

[sleepingkogoro]

That is...not a bad idea. 'Tarrlok, there has been an accident, come help'. It would explain why it would be burned, if anyone recognized Misa-chan wrote it then she would be immediately the prime suspect.

Supposing she is the culprit, of course.