[day14, Kaiba and Erika]

[very_good_end]

[At Kaiba's invitation, Erika would follow him to an abandoned classroom where there was no one else around and they had some degree of privacy.]

Who would think Kaiba-shacho would have come looking for me? I wonder what this is about.

[she smiles]

Please, do not do me in with suspense, Kaiba-shacho. What would you have of me, Great Detective, Furudo Erika?

Comments

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

You seem back in fine form. A whole four deaths, it must be like Christmas.

...What do you think of all this? Especially with regards to the alibis, or lack thereof?

[very_good_end]

What do I think? I think it must have indeed been a busy night...

Indeed, it's surprising that so many people came forth with no alibis. I myself didn't have one, but that was an accident.

We have an accidental death, likely Jack Wolcotts, one confirmed suicide in Aoba Tsumugi, and two more deaths in Dazai Osamu and Harukawa Maki.

... I was of the mind that perhaps one of those dead people had themselves committed a murder. That would leave us with one culprit to find and execute... It stands to reason, I thought, that if there were indeed two separate culprits, the raccoons would give us two votes? That would make it even more difficult a vote.

...However, it was pointed out to me by Kurusu Akira that is not necessarily the case. The raccoons promised even if there were two deaths by two murderers, only one vote would occur. This essentially lets one murderer get off 'scott free' so to speak.

[She sneers, distastefully.]

It is... disgusting, a situation. But, whatever. I can't control the lack of decorum done to us here.

That is my impression so far... though I understand Kurosaki-san has a theory that perhaps Aoba-san was the killed of Osamu Dazai... which would bring our number of culprits down to just one.

In which case, I wonder.

Who knew Harukawa Maki? And who knew to murder her? She apparently had a connection to Saihara Shuichi... a friendship, so to speak.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Kurosaki's theory is...interesting, I'll give it that. But I don't know that I'd leave the bulk of my thinking to him.

Saihara claimed to have known Harukawa from before...he said they were survivors of some previous "contest" like this. He seemed plenty shaken by her demise as well, which seemed genuine. His rendezvous with Akechi seems solid enough as an alibi...at least on his end.

That said, I'd imagine if someone were to target Harukawa, it would be because she had so few connections--easier to miss, harder to find clues. It could be anyone.

[very_good_end]

You believe Saihara-san's alibi for Akechi Goro?

...I don't.

Or at least, I don't believe it to be as solid as Saihara-san has made it out to be.

Saihara-san has testified he fell asleep at some point. However, he has tried to claim that it would have been impossible for Akechi-san to leave the room at this time, because it would have woken him.

--Somehow, I doubt. At the very least, if that were the case, he would have to confirm a good reason as to 'why'.

Can you think of a reason, Kaiba-shacho?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I can believe Saihara didn't kill Harukawa. And I can believe that he and Akechi were physically engaged in such a way that he'd believe he would notice Akechi leaving him during the night. But I'm not prone to believing Akechi's innocence, no.

...Even so, I'd have pegged him for Dazai's death before Harukawa's.

[very_good_end]

Can you believe perhaps that Saihara-san might have been persuaded to create an alibi for Akechi Goro in this manner?

Oh, don't get me wrong. Perhaps not with the knowledge that Akechi-san was going off to murder his friend... but perhaps if Akechi-san said "Oh, I am only leaving for a second. I will be right back, trust me," Saihara-san would not be in the mood to ask so many questions. That sort of thing.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I haven't interacted with Saihara enough to know. I hear that Akechi can be pleasant to talk to, though that has not been my experience. That said, if Saihara really has been sleeping as poorly recently as he claimed, one might imagine that vigorous physical activity could tucker him out enough for Akechi to slip away unnoticed.

[he crosses his arms, pursing his lips]

...That said, I did want to ask what you thought of those two you found in the hole.

[very_good_end]

...Hm.

They claimed they were trapped together all night. Done so because one of them was stupid enough to cut the rope that was there as a ladder. I retrieved the knife and compared the fingerprints and found a match on the overlays to Aino Minako, lending credence to her story. Furthermore, the knife had no trace of blood, which I tested for using science lab chemicals.

[ASSUMED, minako didn't confirm but she probably will]

Barring they had some way to enter and leave the morgue, their alibi is consistent, if rather stupid.

[she shrugs]

Though it was Saihara-san who was lowered down to them. Perhaps he saw some evidence and did not report it to us? That is a possibility, though small.

Kurusu-san and Kurosaki-san were also present when we discovered the trapdoor.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Aino told me she'd had the knife in her pocket, which sliced through their rope ladder. And as I understand it, her partner was equally coy about the whole incident. Perhaps I'm just jaded, but it seems rather contrived that a knife suddenly somehow could do that without slicing through her clothing or her leg.

Though I'm disappointed to hear about Saihara... You didn't want to confirm the scene yourself?

[okay he couldn't resist]

[very_good_end]

[nods] Yes, their story about the knife is certainly suspicious. For one, it's a serrated bread knife... it would require a sawing motion to actually cut.

Second, it was found outside the trap door, with Minako-san claiming she threw it up there from the bottom. --Though what purpose that supposedly served, I can't know.

Do you think the morgue was an excuse? A place to hide in, and the cutting of the rope-ladder a distraction?

Or was there perhaps a third person who cut the rope, and then left both girls there, and they are covering for them, for some reason?

...Of course, I wanted to inspect it myself, but I did not trust the rope. Furthermore, even if I went down, I was not confident I could climb out again. I did not want to rely on the kindness of having someone pull me out.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Avoiding the so-called kindness of others is probably wise.

[anyway, thinking more about this]

If the morgue was so far down that you'd need a ladder to get in or out, how exactly could one throw something as poorly weighted as a serrated knife out of it? And then, how would the trap door be closed? That itself would lend credence to them being forced down there by a third party. Was the rest of the rope--or anyone else--down in the morgue?

[very_good_end]

Those would all be pertinent questions... but unfortunately, you're wrong on one part, Kaiba-shacho.

--The trapdoor was open when I found it. Furthermore, there was nothing else in the morgue except locked cabinets, so report all three involved. Perhaps the rope that fell escaped notice?

They then claimed they shared ghost stories through the night to pass the time, and if either of them had been murderers, they likely would have just murdered each other. Of course, that would be a dead give-away, so to speak. [shrugs]

At any rate, that's all that can be said about the morgue. If you'd like to inspect it, the door is in the ball-pit.

Any other persons you have suspicions about?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[considers this]

...You began the night with your violent little friend, didn't you? Tell me about it.

[very_good_end]

Violent? I'm not sure that is an attribute I would ascribe to Honda Futayo-san... that is who you're referring to, correct?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Maybe you've got her tamed, but she is ready to sic most anyone else.

[or at least him. mostly him.]

[very_good_end]

[snerks]

Have you done something to anger her, Kaiba-shacho?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I have no idea what's behind her mercurial moods. She might want to consider some herbal supplements. Anyway, that wasn't the question. The question was, how did your night go?

[very_good_end]

[she shrugs]

I met with Futayo-san with the intention of exploring the playground, which was where I proceeded in the morning.

Unfortunately, a raccoon interrupted and declared we were 'boring' because we had paired up too many times before.

It is true that I was Futayo-san's exploration partner every night except the first.


The punishment was we would have to find a new partner. I didn't care and intended to explore it myself, so I was thrown in my dorm room and the door was locked.

I asked Futayo-san the next morning and she says she was also told to go to her room, and did so for the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, I can't confirm her whereabouts with my own eyes, beyond that her story was identical to mine.

I will also state for the record I did not commit the murder act last night. Let's be perfectly clear. I was locked up alone, against my will, because of a whim of the raccoons which I had no way to predict or avoid.

[shrugs]

C'est la vie, so to speak.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

You aren't the only one who was unexpectedly sent home by the rodents. I was simply curious how long you got before "curfew" was enforced...if it was the same for everyone.

[very_good_end]

Was it?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I didn't ask everyone. But your experience was the same as mine. And the few who explicitly mentioned being sent to their rooms in their alibis were the same.

...Funny how the people here with corroborated stories are the ones who seem the most untrustworthy.

[very_good_end]

Do you think so?

We only have one vote... and therefore, only one culprit.

The question is, was the killer someone Harukawa-san trusted? If we assume yes, there are too possible leads.

One, is Saihara Shuichi-san himself... a claimed close friend, and also with an apparent alibi. What if Akechi Goro-san was the one creating the alibi for him? Well, it may perhaps be unlikely.

On the other spectrum... Miss Mae.

Harukawa Maki trusted her enough to go exploring with her the other night. Therefore, there is a connection.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

She seemed shaken by the announcement. I don't know her well enough to guess at her acting skills.

Still, I wouldn't say it's a done deal that Harukawa trusted the murderer. Not that it means much, considering how the body's been tampered with already, but in normal circumstances, someone who trusted you wouldn't need that many stab wounds.

[which, from his expression, he knows is still a weak argument]

[very_good_end]

Hm. Perhaps we'll receive another... it's unfortunate to say 'clue' in this context, but another... 'message'... so to speak.

Incidentally. We're in private, aren't we, Kaiba-shacho? I wonder if you would share with me something.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...What?

[very_good_end]

What were you threatened with the night before?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

None of your business. But I didn't kill Harukawa. Since that's something we're putting on the record.

[very_good_end]

Defensiveness? That's surprising... or do you not trust me to keep it a secret?

I merely wanted to know for my own reference... of course.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Don't take it personally. I don't trust anyone. Rest assured that either way, I won't be jerked around by some idiot robots.

[very_good_end]

So you say.

[...]

Whatever it was, it must have really gotten to you.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Oh?

[very_good_end]

Am I wrong? [shrugs :)]

You tell me.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[gives a thin smile]

Very. How'd the sesame rice go, by the way? I forgot to ask if you finished that up.

[very_good_end]

[hmphs]

I did, indeed, eventually finish separating the sesame seeds from the salt. Thank you for your concern.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Excellent. I'd hate to see you having trouble like that again.

Anyway, I suppose this wasn't a completely unproductive meeting. Maybe we'll be lucky and the others will be done blubbering by now so we can finally get some answers.

[very_good_end]

Oh? And what did I do to deserve you being so concerned...? Last I remember, you were telling me how much you would enjoy watching me fail, and even entered a vote for myself at the execution.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Priorities change. Now I think we should try hating other people. But know that your eventual downfall will always have a place in my heart.