SIXTH TRIAL

[splitaseam]

[The whole trial thing must feel like the norm to everyone right now, and one can't help but wonder if this will keep happening until everyone has died.

There are three new epitaphs for Star Butterfly, Maui, and Fiddleford.

Here lies Star Butterfly
One of our most toughest girls
Went out with a pretty twirl

Here lies Maui
Claimed to be a great demigod
But it turns out he was a fraud

Here lies Fiddleford McGucket
He tried to wipe his mind
And ended up getting left behind

Well you all know what to do by now, huh?]

Don't spare any of the gory details.

Comments

[sixfingeredstan]

No, actually. Not on its own. It's combustible when combined with certain other chemicals, though. So it could have been mixed with something.

[kindaruledatit]

Yeah, that makes sense. Plus I found the bottle of it open and hidden under the sink, so...

[She glances at Ford.]

Hey, do you remember that jar you found?

[sixfingeredstan]

Hm—oh, yes. It smelled like there were traces of alcohol inside. I'd assumed at the time it was the last dregs of Fiddleford's moonshine...

[kindaruledatit]

Yeah, I found the lid for it.

It had some bleach on it.

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford's brow furrows, and then clears.]

Then it's possible that the two were mixed, somehow...and combusted.

[Fuck. He knows it couldn't have been Fiddleford—he'd have known better than to combine volatile chemicals.]

[kindaruledatit]

Whoa, whoa, hold on a sec. You mean something could have... exploded last night?

[sixfingeredstan]

It's looking more and more possible. It would explain all the...burning, certainly.

[It had burned hot enough to melt Fiddleford's glasses into twisted wire, at least.]

[kindaruledatit]

...But it doesn't really explain the water.

[sixfingeredstan]

The water? What water?

[kindaruledatit]

The water, dude, all over the floor. Not to mention all the burned towels down there.

I think someone might have been trying to clean things up last night.

[sixfingeredstan]

Pardon me, I wasn't...really looking at the floor.

[He couldn't really drag his attention away from Fiddleford.]

[outsidethecircle]

So...it couldn't have started it?

[What is chemistry can you eat it]

[sixfingeredstan]

Not unless it was mixed with ammonia, or turpentine, no.

[chainbroke]

Do... we have those here?

[outsidethecircle]

[Hmm...]

What about alcohol?

[sixfingeredstan]

Well, that would make chloroform, which...

[Which, when mixed with acetone, is highly combustible.]

His mouth. And the jar. They both smelled like ethyl acetate. That would cause an explosion, certainly.

[outsidethecircle]

They exploded? Why were they just on fire, then?

[What the hell, guys? Couldn't just douse yourselves in gasoline and set yourselves on fire, could you?]

[sixfingeredstan]

I don't know. I don't know. The explosion caused flames, obviously, that's how explosions work.

[His brain hurts. He's not running at full capacity, here; he can't make the same leaps that he normally would. But God, is he trying.

[chainbroke]

B-but, wait, what about the match I found?

[sixfingeredstan]

You found a match?

[This is starting to paint a very troubling picture.]

Where? Where was it?

[chainbroke]

[ She nods and holds out the hella burned match. ]

It was in the foyer.

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ah, yes, that sure is hella burnt.]

In the foyer? That doesn't...make any sense. If the fire started in the kitchen, how would it end up out there?

[chainbroke]

I don't understand it, either.

[ She frowns. Then, she gestures to the cup of ash. ]

And the ash I found, it... it kind of smells like burned hair.

[outsidethecircle]

Um, I didn't get a good look at them but... Did Maui have his hair?

[kindaruledatit]

We sure do have a lot of that.

[Bunch of alcoholics is what we have here.]