At 20:00, the show began. Exie and a collection of lesser-known idols took to the stage to perform for the raucous crowd.

Exie lost herself to the performance, getting really into it. Apparently this was the norm for her. Her movements on stage became increasingly reckless, culminating in her chucking a prop at the ceiling in her excitement. By some stroke of misfortune, the prop hit a stage light, which became detached from its supports. It fell with a crash onto the stage, hard enough to punch right through it and leave a large hole, scattering all the idols as they ran screaming. The crowd cheered: apparently this, too, was a relatively normal occurrence at an Exie concert. The show had to be paused while the damage was repaired, leaving an embarrassed Exie and the shocked lesser idols to wait backstage for a while.

Once the show resumed, Exie looked like she was trying to keep more of a handle on things to avoid a repeat. A little later however there was another interruption: a blackout. It was hard to make out anything happening over the commotion being made by everyone.

The next, and last, scene was from a totally different perspective, after power had been restored. It was now 21:19. They were now backstage, following a police detective flanked by officers as he headed for the main dressing room. Endea and Kat were outside the door, looking pale. The detective nodded to them, then pushed inside the room.

Inside, just as the police call had said, was a body. The limp form of Don Carcharo.

"Finally got what was coming to you, eh, Don?"


"Sir! You can't say that!"
"...Can you?"


"He was a mobster. No-one who matters will miss him."


"Fair enough."
"Haha, loser!"

The detective, whose name was Bobby, sighed. Ella was, somehow, the most senior officer there other than him, and was usually assigned to assist him on investigations. He still hadn't worked out which higher-up he'd angered to earn this.

He was a scruffy, gloomy-looking fellow, smoking a cigarette even though he probably shouldn't. He'd seen Kat smoking outside though, so he had an excuse. He ignored the dead observers, treating them as if they somehow had the right to intrude upon a crime scene. Possibly he perceived them as additional officers.

[Bobby: https://i.imgur.com/qOreG02.jpg]

Ella meanwhile was dressed more like an actual officer... sort of. Really, it was a wonder she was allowed to dress like that on duty. Judging by the donut she was happily eating at the scene of a murder, she was the sort of person who lived life at her own pace and somehow got away with it.

[Ella: https://i.imgur.com/ZM4EZR0.png]

Bobby soon found an excuse to send Ella elsewhere, leaving him to investigate the scene and question the witnesses in peace.

Don's body had been taken away for autopsy, leaving a tape outline in his place. Bobby took a long look around the dressing room, taking it all in. This was the dressing room Exie, as lead idol, used. She was the only one with a key to the door, which should have been kept locked.

The dead also began exploring. The room around them was fairly standard for its kind, yet apparently it was the best in the venue. There was a large, three-segment mirror over a table. Upon the table were a sad, dry, neglected vase of flowers, a few cards from fans and a hefty amount of make-up. There were a few pictures on the walls, a couple of chairs around the place, and a clothing rack for Exie's one-of-a-kind outfits.

GUNS, who was skating eagerly around the room, searching for clues, tripped over something and went sprawling. That something was a very out-of-place object: a metal pipe segment. It looked clean, and no-one remembered Don having been notably bleeding anywhere.

There wasn't much else to find, and Bobby realised as much. He left the room to go talk with the two women outside.

---

"So, Katherine, you own this dump?"


"You sweet-talk everyone this way, or just me?"


"*sigh* Look, I just need to collect a statement, then you can be on your way."


"Yeah, this is my place."
"I try to run things as best I can."
"I was there watching the show earlier."


"Ah, before that, what can you tell me about Exie's actions leading up to the show?"


"Exie? Well, she arrived at the venue earlier in the day."
"Later went to her dressing room with the make-up artist to prepare."
"Changing into her outfit and all that."
"She was accompanied just about all the while, if you want to confirm it with people."
"Why, suspect her or something?"


"She's a person of interest."


"Wouldn't put it past her to do something like this."
"She looks bright on stage, but she's got a pretty shitty attitude beneath all that glamour and make-up."
"A diva through and through."


"And what makes you say that, Katherine?"


"I've worked alongside her for years now, I'd have to be blind not to have seen it."
"You know, just a week or so ago I heard her acting up while passing by the dressing room."
"Her make-up artist had found that she'd gone and surgically removed her mole."
"Exie was trying to hide it with make-up, but obviously she couldn't fool a professional."

"Don't give me that look, detective. It might not sound like a big deal to you, but an idol's image is everything."
"That mole was one of her defining traits. Part of her 'charm'. The fans would be devastated to learn she'd removed it."
"Yet she was talking about how she'd planned to do a 'surprise reveal' on stage, showing off her new look."
"She couldn't see how much of a slap to the face that would be to all her fans."
"She only thinks of herself."


"...I see. Well, uh, back to what you were saying earlier."
"You watched the performance?"


"Sure. Making sure things ran smoothly."
"Which, of course, they didn't."
"Exie just had to go and make a mess of things as usual."
"She might have been embarrassed, sure, but not remorseful."
"No concern for everyone she'd just inconvenienced."

"I sent out a call to every technician in the building to come fix things."
"I wanted the show back up and running as soon as possible."
"Exie's performance afterwards was... stilted, though."
"Still embarrassed, maybe. She was much calmer than usual."
"I suppose she didn't want to break something else too."

"Then... the damn blackout."
"I waited a short while, hoping it'd be fixed, to no avail."
"I got a bad feeling about it and headed backstage."
"I headed here, to this dressing room, and inside..."


"You saw the body."


"I saw the body, and Endea next to it, phoning the police."

Bobby nodded, satisfied, and turned to address Endea.

---

"So, what's your story? Not a good look for you."
"Wouldn't be the first murderer to call the cops to try and look innocent."


"I did not kill him. I found him here, and did my civic duty."


"Yeah, sure. Why come here in the first place?"


"My sister invited me to visit after the show."
"I was told to wait in the dressing room at 21:15."
"My old keycard is still valid. They must have never deactivated it."
"I used it to enter via the back door."
"The lights were all off, but that was no reason to stop. I used my phone light to navigate."

"I proceeded to the dressing room, where I was to meet Exie."
"I entered at exactly 21:15, only to find someone collapsed inside."
"When I went to help, I heard someone run out of the room. They must have been hiding inside."
"I did not see them. I chose to stay and help the prone man, but... It was too late."
"I called the police immediately. Kat entered at that point."


"There was someone already in there?"
"Yikes. Must've been the killer. You're lucky they didn't attack you too."
"How're you so sure about the time, anyway?"

Endea flashed her wrist at him. She was wearing the latest model of smart watch, and it was currently displaying the time.


"This wonderful device allows me to perfectly schedule my activities."
"Among other uses."
"It's really very convenient."
"I can wholeheartedly suggest getting one."


"Er... Sure, yeah, uh, thanks for the recommendation..."

---

Just then, an officer came running up to Bobby. "Sir, we've found a suspicious person!" Exie was in tow behind him, flanked by two more officers. "She was hiding in the office." Bobby nodded, unsurprised.


"Take her down to the station for questioning."
"The vic was found in her dressing room, and she's the only one with a key to its lock."

In an effort to track Don's movements, Ella had been sent to the café to collect Barry's testimony.


"These donuts are amazing!"
"Seriously, I could eat these all day!"


"Hey, thanks! I have a personal supplier. I can't settle for anything but the best! She uses an old family recipe, updated for modern ingredients and techniques. Or so she tells me. She doesn't let anyone see inside the kitchen, because she doesn't want anyone to discover her secret! She could be summoning them from magic circles for all I know."


"It would explain the flavour!"
"They're soooo delish!"

...Eventually, Ella actually did her job.


"So you saw that loser- uh, the victim, here earlier?"


"Yeah, along with O. And some woman with awesome red hair!"


"Oh, that rude lawyer was here too?"
"Yeah we know about her, her alibi's solid."
"Just tell me about the other two, please!"


"Let's see... O, er, Endea got here at exactly 19:00. She's punctual like that. The other guy got here some time later, maybe 19:37 or so. Endea left to go for a walk afterwards, at exactly 20:40. She returned at exactly 21:00 to buy a quick snack. Don left barely a minute later, then Endea headed out again at exactly 21:10."

Ella nodded absently, playing a game on her phone.


"Sure, sure."
"Could I ask you to write that all down for me, please?"
"Oh, and I'd like to order another donut!"

Promethea pushed past the police backstage to reach the crime scene. She wasn't supposed to be there, but sheer force of will usually made up for that, at least for a while.


"Oh. You again. You sure you're not cursed?"
"People seem to keep dying around you."


"You scared? We seem to keep meeting like this."
"Maybe you'll be next, if I really am cursed."


"Har har."
"I know why you're here, but I'm not letting you in the crime scene."
"We only just arrested our suspect, you can't have become her representative already."


"You've already arrested someone? Who?"


"*sigh* I suppose you'll find out eventually. Exie Thurman."
"You know the rules. No entry unless you're official."


"Hpmh! There's plenty to find elsewhere, just you wait!"

---

She'd go down to the station later. First she wanted to explore the backstage area a bit. She headed in the direction of the venue's rear entrance, and the dead followed. Near the entrance was what remained of a vending machine, after it had been completely taken apart for some reason.

TV Head heard someone muttering nearby, and loudly pushed open the door to a nearby janitor's closet. The police officer inside jumped in surprise. "Oh! Hey, don't scare me like- Why are you wearing a TV? Never mind. Look, I'm busy here, please don't bother me. The fusebox is in here. It's been damaged, we're thinking someone sabotaged it. It would explain the blackout. I've got the details written down here: if I give you this, will you leave me alone? I need to analyse the damage."

TV Head triumphantly took the note and returned to the others.

After this, Promethea went the other way down the corridor and eventually arrived at the staff lounge. Inside she found Charlie Bolton, who probably had to stay put while the investigation was still ongoing. He looked happy to have someone to talk to.


"Howdy! Oh hey, are you a plain-clothes cop?"


"Er, no mate, I'm a lawyer."


"Oh. Oh no. I'm not supposed to talk to lawyers..."


"Did I say lawyer? I meant... toyer. I, er, make toys."


"Oh, that's alright then!"
"What a cool job you have!"


"Heh, thanks!"
"So you were here during the incident?"
"Just, er, you know, making conversation."


"Sure! I was working on the vending machine out there in the corridor."
"I tried to buy a drink from it earlier, but it just stole my money instead."
"I believe in the utmost importance of a customer receiving the product or service they paid for."
"The economy needs to function correctly for society to work right!"
"So I spent a bunch of time doing that."


"Yeah I... saw your handiwork earlier, I think."


"It was a harder job than I'd expected..."
"This whole backstage area is in a pretty sorry state, honestly."
"Makes me wonder if the building's even had a proper inspection recently."
"Even if I did fix the vending machine, it'd only be a small part of the problem."


"Yeah, what with the blackout and all. Place is a tip."


"I'm the one who fixed that, you know! The fusebox, I mean."
"When the blackout happened I was right near it, so I figured it was worth a try."
"Took a few minutes, but I got the power back on eventually."


"Nice one, dude!"
"Well, I got something to take care of, see you around."

After waving goodbye to Charlie, Promethea headed down to the station to meet her prospective client.

---

Exie looked far more subdued than usual, on the other side of the glass. She'd readily taken Promethea on as an attorney; apparently no-one else had been willing to.


"I don't really have much to say."
"After the blackout happened, I panicked."
"I remembered what happened to poor Lucksy, and thought, what if it's some kind of curse?"
"What if the building's haunted?"

"I ran backstage. I wanted to hide in my dressing room, but I heard someone moving around inside."
"Now I was even more scared, so I kept going and went inside the first room I could find."
"Turned out to be Kat's office. The cops found me there later, and called me suspicious..."
"But I swear, I didn't kill him! I'm not a killer!"


"Hey, it's cool, I believe you!"
"A lawyer should always believe in their client!"
"Now that you've officially taken me on, I can go investigate properly."
"I'll find something that proves you're innocent!"


"Thank you so, so much! I'll..."
"Well, I'll still be here. Can't really leave."
"Good luck! You've got an idol rooting for you, so I'm sure you'll win!"

Promethea grinned reassuringly, then hopped down from the visitor's stool she'd been crouching on. It was quite late in the day, and she didn't want to waste any investigation time. She headed straight back to the Venus House of Arts.

---

"Rep papers! Autopsy report, please."


"Yeah, yeah... These days I always get an extra copy printed."
"You're a real troublemaker, you know?"


"Nice! Thanks, mate."

The dead crowded around Promethea to look over her shoulder and read the report. The results were... unexpected.


"He drowned?"
"That wannabe gangster was in a dressing room, not a bathtub."


"His face was wet, and his lungs were filled with water."
"Seems like someone held his head underwater, the fiend!"


"An attempt to create an impossible murder?"
"Clearly the work of an amateur. There are restrooms down the hall, he was probably drowned there."


"Long distance to drag a body, though."
"Why even bother? Maybe the killer was jacked."

The group decided to go check out the restrooms regardless. They seemed to be the only source of water in the area; Mai half-jokingly suggested someone drowned him with drinks from the vending machine, but it turned out that even that only sold sugary drinks, and the autopsy report clearly stated it was water in Don's lungs.

The restrooms were pretty fancy. The taps were the automatic kind, only turning on when they detected movement underneath, and GUNS was amazed to find that the toilets talked to her.


"Hey, someone try sticking your head down one of these!"
"Someone other than me, I mean. That would be gross!"

Everyone except TV Head and Akari, who were excluded for obvious reasons, stared each other down as they prepared to play rock-paper-scissors to see who should do the honour. Then Pat suggested they simply measure his head with a piece of string and compare that instead. Everyone decided this was a better method.

As it turned out, it was impossible to fit someone's head all the way down the toilet. If Don drowned here, then it had to have been in one of the sinks.