Max looked the other way and started whistling to himself as the fight erupted out, only turning back once Lucy tried to refocus them. "Right, fellas, let's not get too heated over this. I know from experience! Fightin' with customers only ends badly, so let's try to be reasonable here, yeah?"

"So, uh... let's maybe go through this line of reasoning from the beginning and see if it helps here", he suggested. "So we got here from thinkin' about the walkie talkie. Turns out that when you narrow the suspects down a lot, you find that only two people coulda used it at 5:35 and had time to plot out the death trap afterwards- Rammy and Myrion! Problem is, both of 'em seem pretty unlikely to have done it. Then it turned out that the kid n' Devin had the walkie-talkies from the start, with the kid still havin' his on him. Devin claimed that she didn't have her walkie-talkie on her, but it doesn't seem like there's more than one pair of these things involved in the crime, so I think we can safely assume the lil' gizmo I uncovered is hers."

"So then, problem is now that it's pretty likely it was used in the crime, making ol' Devin a suspect, I'm afraid to say. But then the problem of her alibi arises. The thing is, she was occupied from 5:40 onwards, and I'm pretty sure from the time that I was with her, I didn't see her use any ol' walkie-talkie at all. But if you think about it, the death trap doesn't actually require the killer's interference in any of it, as somebody tripping over it woulda caused the whole thing to work just fine. So all she had to do was set the thing up, which coulda been done from 5:10, when she left the sleeping quarters till 5:40, when she entered the cafeteria. 30 minutes is a good enough amount of time to set up everything, and she probably wouldn't have been seen by anybody. Thing is, that way she wouldn't have a guarantee that anybody would come over to the soundstage and activate the whole thing."

"And that's where this whole accomplice theory comes into play!", he declared with a tip of his hat. His arms were waving like mad, his usual mannerisms were returning with renewed fervor and energy. "Since the kid had the walkie-talkie, the two of 'em could collaborate and he'd bring everyone over to the soundstage so that the trap would go off. And now Devin, who'd have plenty of time on her hands, could go off and give herself an alibi for the rest of the day. It'd be a fairly simple matter that way. Of course, you could argue that she maybe coulda set it up way before then even, and then that way basically anybody coulda done it. Thing is though, there's two factors in play. She was the only one with the walkie-talkie here, and I think it's pretty doubtful at this point that somebody stole it. If they did, she could've mentioned it earlier at least, but now that's pretty hard to swallow. Second thing is if she was the killer and set things up before 5:00, why didn't she give herself a more concrete alibi for the rest of the day? If she did, then it'd be even more doubtful she'd be involved. And... that's basically it", he finished.

"Though that bein' said, I know what you're all thinkin'- the kid was in on it? Hard to believe, right?" He nodded. "Yeah, well, I agree. Kid doesn't seem very likely to have done all this, and there's seemingly no reason for him to have gone with the plan. Maybe he didn't mean to and the whole thing with them going to the soundstage was just luck but that's not really likely at this point, right? I can't personally claim to know the motive here. Most I can think of is that the kid got blackmailed, or just got told it was for somethin' else entirely. If it were the latter though, I feel like he'd have spoken up about it already, so... Yeah, that's that", he said, giving a small shrug. "Another thing I'd consider is the walkie talkie bein' broken. I found it by the costume depot door, but Ryleigh and 'Sue probably didn't see it when they left. So it musta been placed there after 5:40 or so, but we all know Devin was occupied from that time onwards. So who kept it there and broke it? I don't think it coulda been the kid. He had an opportunity durin' the blackout, assumin' Devin hid it there for him to remove, but the soundstage and costume depot are pretty far apart, so... Yeah. Most I can think of is that Ryleigh and 'Sue just missed it while goin' there, and Devin just threw it down as she was makin' her way to the cafeteria. Kinda contrived, though", he said, shaking his head, unsatisfied. "Anyway, that's it! It's kinda weird pitchin' theories rather than sales, but I gave it my all. I don't think it's perfect, but I'm strugglin' to see how else it'd all add up... Unless you're claimin' that like, Rammy stole the ol' W.T and used that to commit the crime somehow, but that's an even harder sell to make, I'd say", he added, smirking a bit. "Maybe there's another, less contrived possibility I'm overlookin' though, in which case feel free to correct ol' Max!"

---

"Hmmm..." Great Dragon said after Lucy makes her statement. "Maybe you're right, Lucy. Whoever set up the death trap actually stole the walkie talkie to make Devin looks suspicious. Perhaps Great Dragon was being too rash in his judgment."

"So, it's down to Myrion and Ramon..." The wrestler said as he thinks about the evidence. "Wait, in order to make the tripwire mechanism, you'd need a lot of floss, right? After using that much floss, the killer's hands would probably smells 'fresh'. Although, it's doubtful that information could be useful as the killer would definitely get a whiff of their hands and realized that; they'd mask the fresh smell with other smells. Either that or the floss didn't leave behind enough traces that would give off the fresh smell." On a whim, Great Dragon takes a whiff of the air in the room.

"We don't seem to be on the same page here..." Ramon mumbled. "If we're still thinking the trap could have been made before 5:30 instead of after, doesn't that open up other possibilities too? If Devin's walkie-talkie was stolen, then, maybe Max or Luke did it? No-one seems entirely able to account for their positions until 5:20."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to think it was Max. I mean he just went on a rant about how he's like narrowed down the suspects, but his theory of why I did it is like the exact same reason he could have done it," Devin fumes, still shaken.

"That's a nice strategy I guess, but I also think this type of trickery is how we got so mislead in the first place."

Max raised an eyebrow, not looking particularly shaken by the accusations against him. "I'd have thought you guys would know better than to suspect ol' Max, considerin' you know how bad he'd be at murderin' somebody first-hand", he quipped light-heartedly. "Plus I wouldn't exactly say I'm much of a brainy type. Brainy 'nuff to come up with a crazy death trap like this, anywho... If you look at things that way, Rammy, y'could say anybody here coulda done it. When did Devin say she last had her W.T? 4:00, right? That's a lotta time for anybody to have taken it, and we dunno what everyone was doin' back then. Plus, if I were the killer, I'd at least do a better job of procurin' myself an alibi. Even if I somehow set up the trap from 5:00 to 5:20 and couldn't get myself an alibi for that time, I coulda at least stayed in the theatre from 5:50 to 6:00, right? By leavin' so suddenly, all I did was make myself look kinda fishy for that timeframe? If I just stayed there normally, I'd have myself the same alibi as Devin and the others. I'd be equal to 'em, basically, so why'd I go out of my way to just ruin it if I was Mr. Killerino? Only reason I could think of is to dispose of the walkie-talkie, but I'd have run into those two there!" He pointed at Ryleigh and Tsubasa. "It'd be way easier to just pretend I uncovered it durin' the investigation or somethin' rather than go outta my way to do that!" He proclaimed. "...Well, I suppose you could claim I just did that, thinkin' about it", he realised somewhat awkwardly.

"Though this actually reminds me, we don't actually know what ol' Luke was doin' from 5:00 to 5:20. Might be helpful if we heard him out, maybe the guy saw me restin' in my bed or somethin' like that", he suggested, looking at the mechanic.

---

"U-um..." Tsubas peeked her head back up from behind her podium after all the yelling and arguing that went nowhere. "W-why was the trap set before 5:30 again...? D-didn't everyone go in the p-props room for about f-fifteen minutes...? A-after going to the soundstage, I mean... ...um, a-actually... d-didn't Great Dragon say they s-set some lights up by the green screen first...? I-if the tripwire was already up by then... s-someone probably would have, uh, t-tripped on it... r-right...?"

---

"They said it was by the green screen, so maybe they didn't actually get onto it? Though I suppose it's best if G.D himself answers this one", Max said. "If they actually did get onto it though, then we're once again back to where we were before."

---

"Well, we actually were setting up lights around the green screen. None of us stepped on the green screen, as far as it concerns Great Dragon." The wrestler replied as he cross his arms.

"How many walkie talkies do you all think are involved here?" Lucy asked. "I'm just curious, is all."

When Lucy asked everyone how many walkie talkies there were.

"Huh? Now why would you ask that question, Lucy? Unless...." The wrestler's eyes widen as he realized what Lucy could be hinting at. "Adel, maybe now's the time to try out your walkie talkie? Maybe we're dealing with more than just your walkie talkie and Devin's walkie talkie."

"Adel's walkie talkie is likely not on the same frequency, otherwise he would have heard things, right?" Lucy dialogue tagged in an attempt to steer this the right way. "So what does that tell you?"

"That two more people had walkie talkies on the same frequency and were communicating? One of whom is the murderer...?"

"Wow, Luke, great detective work! What happened? You were on fire last trial!" Lucy cheered. "It also means that Adel isn't the accomplice if you believe him when he said that he didn't hear anything."

"There is a lot of blind faith in this trial, anyway..." Ace muttered. He took a flask out of his jacket and took a swig.

Last edited by WinterCoat on Fri Apr 10, 2020 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

"That's what Great Dragon is thinking, Luke." The wrestler said. "But if the smashed walkie talkie was one of the set used to communicate between the killer and their accomplice... That means either the killer or the accomplice have the other walkie talkie..."

"Look, this shit is hard, okay?" Luke snarks back at Lucy, "Anyway, I'm assumin' that the walkie talkie was destroyed because we'd be able to trace it back to someone if we found it normally. And there's really only two people we know have walkie talkies. Adel and Devin, yeah? We can believe Adel when he says he didn't hear anything 'cause he had people around him, but Devin's an entirely different story, no?"

Lucy clapped, but it didn't make any sound.

"Wow!"

"Wow, thanks, Cortana!" Luke claps back with a fake laugh.

-Who could come up with a scheme like this?
-Who could be an accomplice?
-Do you trust the people in this room?

"Ask yourself these questions, and don't think too hard about it, but remain critical," Lucy said calmly.

"Well, the plan is about killing someone indirectly, right?" Deirdre said, doing her best. "... What about Myrion? The one who can't kill anyone directly?"

I'm doing my best too, WC. Please don't put me in the cage again. I'll be a good player.

"It's the exact fucking opposite of this, though! I'm one of the only people who could have had a walkie talkie on me and it would have been normal! So why would I destroy something and then put it out there for everyone to find and ponder about when I'm the one who should have had it on me? Like your logic actually sucks ass, not that there's anything wrong with sucking ass."

"W-well... d-did you give any walkie talkies to a-anyone else...?"

---

"Could he though? Mmm... I guess he could? He had a good opening after Max and I left the quarters. He'd be super close to the soundstage if he went through the vents, and he probably knows how to set up a trap like that. I doubt someone like Ramon could, anyway. Assuming that Devin is his accomplice, it'd make sense for it to be Myrion, yeah?"

Luke looks over to the robot, putting a finger on his chin. "Uuuh... I dunno who else it could be, robobuddy..."

"What the fuck Luke. You're just going off with me being an accomplice when it makes no fucking sense. I don't even know what I'm even supposed to be helping with? Like I didn't know about the photoshoot or anything," Devin taps out a rhythm with her pen against her fingertips.

She turns to Tsubasa.

"Nah, Tsu. I just had a pair for me and Adel. I thought it would be cool, but I guess it wasn't."

"Okay, let me put it in plain words for you." Luke takes a small pause.

"You're basically the most suspicious person here. You knew about the walkie talkies but it can't be you because your walkie talkie was conveniently broken. We know that the killer and his accomplice were using walkie talkies and by that point there were two people we know of that had them. You, and Adel. If you had a walkie talkie that worked, all you had to do was smash it after the deed and there's absolutely nothing we could do to prove it was you. Get it now?"

"S-so... the crushed one is y-yours...?" Tsubasa scrunched her face up in confusion. "B-but I thought you said it got r-ruined by some water... o-or something... w-why would it be c-crushed if it didn't work a-anyway..."

---

"But Adel knows I have it you fucking hog! So please tell me how that gets rid of any fucking proof?!"

"Lucy are we allowed to just kick people out of the room if they are deeply unhelpful and very dumb and probably drunk?"

"Fun at parties..." Lucy mumbled.

"Devin, as much as I understand your frustration, no, we cannot. Everyone must be present during a High-Stakes Game," Ace said. "Apologies."

"Everyone except King and Queen!" Ramon huffed. "And also Deirdre that one time... Is that really a rule?"

"When you make the rules, you can bend them over any way you want," Ace said before taking another sip from his flask. "Like a prostitute."

"Okay, surprise, I don't give a FUCK what Adel thinks! If you don't show it then all I know is that you're lying your ass the fuck off!"

"Let's see, I was accompanied until 5:25 and you saw me entering the temporary living quarters. The trap could only be set up from 5:00 to 5:35, according to what we have discussed so far."

"...Oh. I guess I am pretty suspicious, then." Myrion said with his usual smile.

"But um... there might be something I didn't tell you. Well, I didn't want to tell you, but it's my only defense... at 5:30, I heard someone talking to me in the living quarters...." he turned to look at Lucy apologetically.

"And after that, I would have roughly 5 minutes to set anything up. So it's not me!"

"I don't know if it's mine, but mine did still work. Lucy is talking like there were other handheld radios floating around, so I'm not too sure on that front."



"Luke, you are inco-fucking-herent right now. Adel knowing I have a walkie talkie is proof of me having a walkie talkie, period. If you are still confused trying to climb out of the fucking McDonald's playplace in your skull, I need you to please just stop talking for just like three hours."

Lucy was surprised by Myrion's defense. "Y-You were awake...?"

"Dios mío..." Great Dragon mumbled as the argument broke out between Luke and Devin. "Guys, if you two are still arguing over the walkie talkie... Maybe we should settle this matter if Adel could just... tune the frequency on his walkie talkie? But, given that there's a lot of frequencies and no way of knowing which one's the correct frequency... Great Dragon think that might take a while until we find the right one that would proves if there was another walkie talkie or something."

"It's not like we have a lot of options left to find the killer, do we?" The wrestler added on, seemingly concerned.

"I wasn't entirely conscious but, yes, I could still kind of tell what was going on around me. So I could hear you... and Ryleigh shrieking in the vents. I'm sorry we couldn't have a proper conversation. "

"I-I guess...you guys could see it," Adel said, offering his walkie talkie to anyone who wanted to tinker with it.

"So, you're just letting one of us try to tune the frequency on your walkie talkie? But, you said it yourself that this walkie talkie was a gift from Devin, right? She would have told you how to use it... But... Well..." The wrestler said as he thinks about this.

He waited a few minutes for someone to step forward to offer to tune the frequency on Adel's walkie talkie... However, it seems like no one was interested in doing that.

Great Dragon sighed as he went over to Adel to take the walkie talkie. "Alright, Great Dragon will do it." He said as he made his way back to his podium. "Great Dragon will be careful with your walkie talkie, Adel."

Then he started tuning the frequency on Adel's walkie talkie. "This might not get us anywhere but it's worth a shot..." Great Dragon focused on the task at hand.

"Great Dragon, I'm not sure that's going to work at all. I mean if there was another radio on another frequency the killer probably already turned it off... You're not gonna catch it that way."

"Also I would like my notepad back at some point," she says, unless it was already given back to her but I'm too lazy to look back in the thread.

Lucy smiled. "Ah, well, I probably would have said more had I known that, but... I'm glad to know you have an idea about how I feel, at least. I would have spoken up earlier to verify your alibi, but that would probably ruin ratings, or something..."

Great Dragon sighed as Devin reminded him of the notebook. "Right..." The wrestler said as he picks up the notebook, that the writer neglected to write in a previous post. Then he readied the arm that is holding the notebook... And threw it at Devin.

"Guess the killer probably turned off their walkie talkie like you said, Devin." The wrestler said as he looks at the walkie talkie in his hand.