Oct 9, 2023
Beaches of Miami Beach, FL.
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Beaches of Miami Beach, FL.
Chapter 3 Trial: Consequences (#36)
“Did I miss anything?”
Beautiful ethnic wooden vase.
Baby bear log.
Hairpins.
Chapter 3 Trial: Consequences (#37)
“It’s time, huh?”
“Well! Who we gonna vote for?”
Chapter 3 Trial: Consequences (#35)
To make sure another murder would happen, Monochaperone tried to bribe us with money about a week ago. But it was some time later before anyone would consider killing... Two days ago, in fact. That was when Arthur, for lack of a better term, cheated on his girlfriend. This was no big deal to him and nothing but a little gossip to most of us... but not to the killer. To them this was a serious offense—serious enough to deserve death.
So a plan was formed to use the upcoming concert to their advantage. The coffee maker was taken from the kitchen, and a few other components were put together, like a note forged in Yuki’s handwriting. The culprit even used the concert rehearsal to test how long it took Arthur to move from backstage to the coffee shop.
The cymbal, the powder, and the magnesium from the road flares were all prepared in advance. Between the coffee maker hiding in plain sight and the other items tucked away, no one noticed them beforehand, not even when Yuki was setting up the refreshments in the coffee shop. The culprit also slipped the forged note into Arthur’s backpack. Since he was busy with his stagehand duties, this went by unnoticed, too.
The first half of the concert went by smoothly, but then it was time for intermission. The culprit didn’t flock to the coffee shop like the others...
...citing a guitar string they needed to go to their study hall to replace. But Mary Jane’s study hall was right around there as well. When they had the chance, the culprit donned gloves, tore open a bag, and prepared a fake fertilizer bomb. This would make it look like the culprit must have been present when the murder occurred.
People were still moving around freely at the time, so the culprit couldn’t just stroll over to the crime scene with evidence in hand. The best option was to stow it under their hat as they finally made their way to the coffee shop. They threw together a plate of food before urging the others to return to the auditorium immediately. After all, the venue was off-limits at nighttime, so it could have ended badly if the concert lasted longer than expected. At least, that was the culprit’s excuse. In actuality, they just wanted to be alone at the scene for a few precious moments.
Quickly, they arranged all of the pieces of the trap—placing the magnesium on the coffee machine tray, making sure plenty of flammable objects were lying around, spreading some additional powder near the door, and planting the fake bomb. Finally, they piled up an unstable stack of items in the cabinet and tied it shut with a length of string. They then sped back to the auditorium to resume the concert before anyone got suspicious.
Yuki came in shortly afterward to put the leftovers away. She noticed part of the trap...
...but she assumed it was a just makeshift repair. She gathered her first load to take to the kitchen and left, trailing some of the powder into the hall. While she headed to the kitchen, Itsurou entered the coffee shop. He sat down to write in his notebook, somewhere he could hear the music through the walls. He wouldn’t get to hear much, though.
The second half of the concert began as scheduled, meaning the culprit—who had total control over what song would be played—could time it all just right. Once the first song ended, they stuck their head backstage and sent Arthur to the coffee shop—just like they’d done several times the day before. He entered the room and made his way behind the counter. Whatever he’d been sent to get—probably a drink, since the culprit hadn’t brought one to the second half of the concert—had been placed right in front of the cabinet. That meant he was positioned just right when the coffee maker’s timer went off.
It spewed hot water directly onto the magnesium, making it catch fire. The flame hit the string nearby and weakened it to the point of snapping. If Arthur suspected anything, he didn’t have time to retreat before the weight behind the cabinet door flung it open. With the aid of the cymbal, a pile of powder was sent flying at and around him, and it all exploded into flames. It was so sudden that neither of the coffee shop’s occupants could make it to the door before the powder that had been sprinkled there caught fire, too.
Itsurou succumbed to the smoke first since he already had considerable lung damage. But Arthur wasn’t dead just yet. He managed to discover Itsurou’s body before pounding desperately on the glass, where we eventually found him. He managed to hang on just long enough to convey that someone had been left behind... but no longer. He drew his last breath while we were struggling to revive him.
But one of the people who tried to save him was the culprit themselves. I’m sure they were quite happy their plan had worked, even as they acted like it was the worst thing they could have imagined.
And they did a pretty good job of it—this wasn’t their first rodeo, after all.
Does that make the evidence clear enough...
...Tamiko Oshio?
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