Athena hears the stream moments before we spot it ahead. No wider than the last one we spotted, it trickles down from above. Something dead and furry is mucking it up, but that's further down. Up here, it looks fine.

"It's not far from those trees, either," Juniper comments. "There are probably quite a few animals and good plants around if we look for them."

I peer at the grove, a little farther from the stream than we are now. "We'll be sure to check it out."

"For now, we might as well steal some water." Klavier starts toward the stream, fumbling with his water bottle clip to get it off his belt, though he doesn't have much success.

"Hang on!" Trucy holds a hand out towards him, staring at the trees.

"Hm?" He swings his head around to look.

I follow Trucy's gaze just before a tribute hurries toward the stream. It's the last non-Career outside of this alliance, carrying a small, plastic tub and some sort of globe on a staff. Not the biggest threat to an alliance our size, but...

"How about we wait a minute on that, Klavier?" I try to keep it down. "No need to run into him if we don't have to."

"Indeed. Such an undemanding victory is hardly worth pursuing." Simon watches the tribute from 6 kneel by the bank. "Although..."

"Wait, that's Aristotle!" Juniper gasps.

"Er, yeah, it is." I give her a look before realizing that her whole little trio of friends has stiffened. "You don't think we could get some useful information our of him, do you?"

Juniper covers her mouth, looking down. "Well, I don't think he saw the moment Constance died, but..."

"But another testimony might be enough to piece together who must have done it." I fold my arms. "All right. I think it's worth checking out."

"Wait." Hugh steps in front of me. "This alliance is a force to be reckoned with—if we all come at him, he'll flee."

"Like a frightened rabbit..." Trucy crosses her arms. "How many is too many, though? However many he can't take on with that staff?"

I press on my forehead. "Yeah, that's probably about right. He may be able to handle two, given he escaped the Careers."

"Achtung!" Klavier has managed to turn himself around to face the rest of us. "What's this about Constance...?"

"Oh, look, someone who didn't eavesdrop on our private conversations." Hugh opens up his book. "In short, Constance was killed at the bloodbath by one of us—me, Juniper, Robin, or Aristotle. We've already discussed difficulties concerning time and motive, but he isn't the topmost suspect and could probably give us accurate statements without fear of us, say, trying to exact revenge on him."

"But only if none of you three are involved would he feel truly safe about giving his statement." Klavier swipes his thumb across his fingertips. "Am I right?"

I frown. "On the other hand, I'm not sure what he would think about a couple of uninvolved people asking questions about her murder."

"Uninvolved?" He pauses before smiling. "He didn't shadow his district partner during training. He can't be certain who interacted with or tried to strike up an alliance with her. Who's to say we weren't involved?"

"Good point." Trucy lets her arms drop. "So, who goes? Two of us, right?"

"Well, Simon would scare him off alone or otherwise, so..." Athena slouches.

"I'll take up one spot. Who else? Herr Forehead?"

"Sure." I feel like it would be best with me and Athena or me and Trucy—with both parties being decent at spotting lies—but he seems adamant about this. "Is everyone all right with that?"

"I can't see any reason against it," Athena says, Widget adding, "Good luck."

Trucy fists her hands. "Be careful. He could have fought off the Careers himself, you know."

"Without a single scratch or burn?" Simon smirks. "I dare say he merely outran them."

"Well, that's good for us!" my district partner responds with an emphatic nod. "All right, Polly! Go get to the bottom of this!"

I rub my wrist. "I'll be glad to."

I stay at Klavier's slow pace as we approach the stream.

I have to admit, Simon had a point—all of the viewers know what happened, so we're not really solving anything. Distrust is going to be stirred up among us even if Constance was the victim of some unseen party or a freak accident. But I have a chance to repair the trio's friendship, or at least their suspicions about each other, and that's what I'm going to do. That's what I'm obligated to do.

My fingers brush my badge before Aristotle catches sight of us. Leaving his container in one hand, he withdraws the other from the water and grips his staff.

"Good morning," Klavier starts.

Aristotle blinks, his small pair of glasses sliding down a bit on his nose. "Good morning." He smiles a bit too widely.

"Do you mind if we ask you a few things?" I cross my arms as we come to a stop opposite him, the stream lapping quietly between us. "We're not looking for a fight right now. Just some information."

He pauses before setting his water container down and giving us an "OK" gesture. "I'll do what I can. What is it you wish to know?"

"Constance Courte was your district partner, correct?" Klavier starts.

"Yes. She was a fine young lady, if a bit idealistic." He frowns in an oddly stern way. "It's a shame I wasn't able to remain allied with her after the bloodbath."

"You were nearby when she was killed, weren't you?" I keep an eye on his hand, but he's not tensing up to put that staff to use yet. "Did you see the culprit?"

His expression doesn't lighten. "I did. Not in the act, mind you—I wasn't in the most rational state of mind when the Hunger Games began, as I suspect was the same for many others—but I noticed enough before and after to deduce who it was."

"Well?" I point at him. "Who was it?"

He returns to his neutral smile. "I'm not certain if you know her—I believe she was from District 11?"

"Wh-whaaaat?" I draw back. "J-Juniper?!"

"Ah, was that her name?"

"Yes." Teeth gritted, Klavier stoops over a little bit. "Are you serious...?"

Aristotle slowly points toward the sky before giving us the creepy-grinned "OK" again. "I, Aristotle Means, always say what I mean and mean what I say, by all means!"

That is more than enough name puns for one sentence. He can't be telling the truth, though, right? Maybe I was too focused on his staff to tell.

"You said you had inferred it?" I slip a hand out of the crook of my elbow to prod at my forehead. "Would you mind telling us what details you had inferred this from?"

"Certainly." He somehow maintains that grin while he's speaking. "I'll do my best to remember the details.

"Before Constance was killed, before the Games even began, I was between yourself, Mr. Gavin, and that girl from 11. Juniper, you say?—was next to Constance. My district partner and I were able to locate each other quickly, and then we turned to investigate the goods laid out before us. When the gong sounded, we and most of the others took off. Juniper, however, hesitated before going forward. I didn't keep the sharpest eye on her, but I'm certain she was holding the awl that killed Constance before she bloodied it. I was preoccupied with supplies, picking up some things and going after a rather heavy crate of nonperishable food. It was while I was struggling with that that I first saw Constance's dead body face-down in the mud. The awl had been left in her side, but Juniper was still quite close. Why, if I had had a weapon and less self-restraint, I may have avenged my friend by any means possible right then and there."

"Is that right?" I fist my hands. "If you don't mind, could you describe the state of her body in a bit more detail?"

"I don't recall it so precisely." He strokes his chin before wrinkling his nose and dropping his hand. I guess he's used to the beard. "She wasn't holding anything with which she could defend herself. Her arms and legs were more or less together, I believe."

"What about Fräulein Juniper? You said she was close, but was there any blood on her? The way you've described it, Constance very well could have fallen onto the awl after Juniper dropped it."

"I suppose that's possible." He resumes his normal smile. "I couldn't make out blood on her, but these jackets hide stains well. It would be very odd for Juniper to innocently drop the awl at such a convenient time and place, though. The handle looked like light wood—I doubt it would have landed spike-up."

That's true. But I'm sure something he said didn't add up with someone else's account. Whose was it again...?

Robin's? Juniper's? Hugh's?

Juniper's, right?

"Objection!" I lower my eyebrows. "What you said conflicts with what we already knew about this death. Constance was actually found face-up!"

"Face-up...?" Aristotle adjusts his glasses. "And who told you that? After how much time had passed? I'm certain someone scavenging supplies later could have kicked her over a bit."

"No, this was right after she was murdered!" I fist my hands. "So how on earth did you see her face-down?"

"Indeed. I don't think she flipped over by her own power after she had been killed." Klavier slams a fist into the rock behind him. "Care to explain the discrepancy?"

"Hmm." He looks genuinely puzzled. "I'm certain I last saw her face-down, though."

I fold my arms halfway, pressing on my forehead with my index finger. "And you're also certain that this was right after she was killed?"

"Yes, it must have been just after. I hadn't turned away from her for long."

I feel a throb in my wrist. "Could you repeat that?"

He grins. "It must have been just after her death, as I hadn't turned away from her for long."

It wasn't until the very end—"for long"? That's where the lie is?

"What exactly do you mean by, 'for long'?"

He considers my question. "It's hard to say exactly, when I was so affected by adrenaline. I assure you I didn't turn away long enough for someone else to have come by, killed her, and escaped."

My bracelet didn't detect any lying there... But if he really didn't turn away for much time, and he tenses up when he says it wasn't for long...

"Hold it!" I stare at him. "Did you turn away from her at all?"

"What?" He adjusts his glasses as if that will let him hear me better. "Of course! I would have seen her death firsthand otherwise."

I cross my arms. "And what's so impossible about that? I think you've been lying to us, Aristotle, and that is the only thing we don't want."

"So, supposing you did witness her death, and that's the source of the contradiction we've come upon..." Klavier says. "Logically, that would mean that she fell face-down during her murder but was flipped onto her back a moment later."

"Sh-she..." The 6 wipes his forehead, frowning. "She must have clung to life for a moment and tried to push herself up."

I fist my hands. "What do you mean, 'must have'? Didn't you see this for yourself?!" I point at him. "I think the only reason you've lied about this is because you don't want us to know the true killer. And the only one that would benefit would be the killer." I fold my arms, smirking. "So, why are you covering for the person who murdered your friend? Since you're not allied with any of the other suspects, the only reason you could possibly have is to protect yourself!"

"Preposterous!" He puts a hand behind him to steady against a tree, but the nearest branch is beyond his reach. Overcorrecting, he stumbles forward, almost straight into the stream.

"Well? Can you explain yourself?" My ally pounds the rock behind him with a fist, the chains around his shoulder and necklace rattling. "Constance was an exceptional person, and I have no intention of letting the truth about her death slip past me."

"I see." Aristotle's mouth widens into his unnerving grin. "I assure you your friend is only jumping to conclusions. Why, just because I saw Constance before she was flipped over hardly means I did it myself."

"But it hardly means you didn't!" I counter. "You're going to have to tell us everything much more accurately if you want to claim innocence."

Klavier hasn't broken his gaze. "Tell us exactly what happened—for the sake of your district partner, if you ever cared for her, or... for your own sake."

The 6 slowly points upward and flashes an "OK." "Very well. Allow me a moment to gather my thoughts."

He watches the ground, adjusting his feet a bit so he's almost standing on top of his staff. Actually, there's a small, metal plate jutting off of the bottom—to ground it, I guess. Does he think we're about to try and take it from him? Klavier kind of sounded like he was threatening him, but he wouldn't actually do anything to Aristotle, right?

The tribute next to me hasn't unraveled any of his chain, though, and he's not going to reach him across the stream otherwise.

It's fine. All I need to do is listen to Aristotle again and see what I can get out of him. He's pretty much cornered if it was him—if it wasn't, well... I still want to know.

I turn my attention back to the 6 in time to see him pulling his staff up with a twist—and I can make out the gleam of the blade inside before he jabs it our way.

"Watch out!" I push Klavier to the side, but he shoves me back before I can get hurt.

As I'm trying to right myself, the spearhead plunges into his stomach.