FOURTH TRIAL

[beautifultomorrow]

[The usual scene plays of everyone going into the elevator after they finish up investigation. But when the elevator starts moving, they will hear John’s voice instead of The Narrator’s. It clearly sounds like he’s reading from some sort of script.]

Picture of Belle, a book lover born well before her time. She desperately wanted society to treat her like a human being, and to respect her love of books. Belle had made many friends and many enemies because of her personality, and now… Her final resting place will be in a book simply titled… The Twilight Zone.

[... Strangely, however, the elevator doesn’t drop this time, the doors instead open as soon as John finishes his speech, leading once again to The Tip Top Club. Now Reyna and Belle’s pictures are in grayscale and, instead of Rod sitting on stage, John is there, looking at some papers. He offers the guests a comforting smile when they enter.]

I shouldn’t complain that Rod’s doing something creative with his time, but I have to admit, I don’t get what he sees appealing about writing something like this. Don’t know why he had the elevator set to “ride” mode either.

I, uh...made some old fashioned lemonade for you guys. [He motions to the lemonade pitcher and cups on the counter.] Feel free to help yourself.

[He’s… really trying to attempt to lighten the mood of this situation. Please humor him.]

Comments

[coulombslaw]

Someone rearranged the furniture in Belle's room. Something must have happened in there.

I also found this. [He puts what seems to be an ice skate without the blade] I think it came from the penny press.

[nocasetoobig]

A shoe?

[forgottenfounder]

[...!]

Is that an ice skate? Because I think I found the blade for it.

[coulombslaw]

Where did you find it?

[forgottenfounder]

...Ugh. [He sucks in a breath.]

I found it in Belle.

[lusito]

... So someone decided that they wanted to be extra rather than using a knife from the kitchen like the good old fashioned way.

[geomanctic]

Why would anyone----

[coulombslaw]

What the hell...?

[That's so cruel]

[forgottenfounder]

She was stabbed in the chest with it. It was pretty bloody.

[Or... not as much as you'd think, if you asked someone else.]

[theduck]

How bloody is 'pretty bloody'? Do you think it pierced her heart?

[forgottenfounder]

From where the wound was, it probably stabbed the heart.

[He thinks about it.] I'm not really sure about the blood. There was enough that it stained her clothes, at least? ...And enough to write with.

[theduck]

Hearts kind of bleed a lot. You don't think the amount of blood was unnatural, do you?

[like, he's not a medical expert or anything but he's been through enough shit with Scrooge to know way too much about injuries so...]

W-write with? What do you mean?

[forgottenfounder]

...Sort of? I don't do the body investigations often, and everything's different here then back in Wasteland.

[More... bloody. Ugh.]

Anyway, I found some writing in blood on the table Belle was on. There's a high chance that she wrote it herself. [Not that he isn't ruling out shenanigans...]

All it said was KYL.

[nocasetoobig]

Kyl?

[LOOKS...AT KYLO...]

[darthfanboy]

I wouldn’t.

[hallotween]

It could be a sappy goodbye!

[darthfanboy]

She would’ve wrote BEN.

[nocasetoobig]

...you were her friend.

[But. Goofy was Merlin's friend, too, right? And Reyna...well. He rubs his face]

Would there be another reason...?

[darthfanboy]

Has it not occurred to you that there’s a possibility I’m being framed?

[hallotween]

So either he killed her, or she was trying to write some kind of sappy goodbye.

[forgottenfounder]

...Or he was being framed? I'm not sure why someone would write that name instead of his real one though.

[Maybe it was heat of the moment...]

[theduck]

It's just that you mentioned blue nails- and Tadashi said it means lack of oxygen. No oxygen means no bloodflow, right? It'd add up.

[...his first thought is absolutely 'Kylo' but he'll try and be nice and think of other explanations, at least? pointing fingers this early every other week usually just made everyone start yelling and punching each other.]

Um... maybe it... stands for something? Belle could've been trying to tell us something without the murderer knowing what it meant.

[like... kill your lelf... okay yeah actually he has no good explanation for those letters. at least Chip said it so he didn't have to]

[coulombslaw]

Um, was her finger bloody or something?

[forgottenfounder]

Yes. I checked and her index finger had some blood on it.

[geomanctic]

No! [That ice skate-- it can't---]