Muddled Mediterranean Madness, Part 7
Day 6, Deadly Life
1:45 P.M
"While I admire the four of you going together and making up something to cook," Susan started. Her fingers were pinching the bridge of her nose. Rapunzel, Max, Adam, and Chyna stared at each other as they occasionally scratched each other's neck and gulped. "I'd expect you all to at least do some more cleaning."
"Sorry Mrs. Heffley," Max sincerely apologized.
"We were going to clean it later," Chyna spoke up.
"I accept your apology, but later isn't good enough," Susan scolded. "I wanted to cook something in the oven but because of the pizza I have to clean the oven."
"Well, you don't have to do that," Rapunzel started. "Adam and I can start cleaning that."
Adam shot Rapunzel a panicked look before immediately composing himself. "Yes, it should have been my responsibility," Adam meekly said. "We'll take care of it."
"That's good. So we can start–"
BING BONG DING DONG!
The conversation screeched to a halt while they looked at each other. A look of mutual confusion appeared on all of their faces. "What was that?" Max recoiled.
"AHEM!" Monomouse announced on the speakers. "A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! EVERYONE REPORT TO THE BEACH FACING THE HOTEL MONOCOSTA!"
"Body?!" Chyna shouted.
"Oh no…" Susan looked to Adam. "We have to go, don't we?"
"Y-yeah," Rapunzel said. She rushed to the kitchen door, tripping slightly over her hair before adjusting herself. She opened it as Max, Chyna, Adam, and Susan filed out. The five of them rushed past the elevators that chimed open into the conference hall, out the door, and lined up behind Mike, Evie, Justin, Camilla, Will, and Wendy.
Behind Chyna, Ivy placed her hands on her shoulder. "You're alive," Ivy whispered.
"Who are we missing?" Chyna asked over her shoulder.
"I'm here," Kevin rushed up while Will kept pace
Aladdin and the Ghost Host came from the tunnel closest to the Museum. The Ghost Host seemed to be hovering over with an even more grim look than normal. Aladdin screeched to a halt as he almost ran into Jessica. The two steadied each other while Thalia muscled her way forward amidst the crowd.
Goliath held Stanley steady as the two of them joined the growing crowd. "It's not you," Stanley sighed as he walked next to Goliath.
"No, I'm not dead," Goliath said bluntly. "But from here I can see…"
"What happened?!" Lizzie shouted as she and her familiar finally joined the group.
They all fanned out. Max and Chyna opted to stay behold while more of the adults took a step forward. Basil stood on the bow of a black gondola. "She's gone," he started in a loud voice. "Tara Adams is dead."
Ivy let out a horrified scream once the reality finally sunk in. Rapunzel buried her face in her hair as Will did the same. Goliath extended his wings for Stanley and for Kevin as he hung his head low.
Tanner clung to Sally for support. He voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"Now what?"
"NOW WHAT?!" Monomouse exploded from the sand, landing on the sandcastle. "NOW ONE OF YOU IS DEAD! AND ONE OF YOU KILLED THEM!"
"You're lying!" Max shouted.
"NOPE! THIS IS THE NATURAL COURSE OF ACTION! OTHER KILLING GAMES WERE LIKE THIS, SO WHY WOULD YOU BE ANY DIFFERENT?!"
"Other killing games?" Jessica asked, her voice struggling to remain composed. She shook her head in an exaggerated manner. "It's time to focus on this death in this… 'game'. What will happen to the one who did this to Tara?"
"They got away with it," Adam said bitterly.
"NOT QUITE MISTER YOUNG, OR SHOULD I SAY MISTER DUMB?! UPUPUPUPUPU. THE CRIME WAS COMMITTED BUT WHERE'S THE FAIRNESS IN JUST LETTING THE KILLER GO FREE?"
"Fairness, speaking of fairness at a time like this," Evie spat.
"That's how the game works, games can be won, and games can be lost," Monomouse adopted a momentarily meditative stance before suddenly slapping itself out of it. "NO NO NO! Once you kill you become the blackened.! Your feeble hearts become full of the weight of the guilt you get from killing someone and your mind becomes bogged down with those heavy ugly feelings you contain while the others' consciences remain spotless. Now we have new rules–"
Their handbooks lit up with a notification. "BUT SINCE YOU'RE HERE, LET'S GET IT OVER WITH!"
They followed along as Monomouse read the rules.
10) Once a murder takes place a class trial will begin shortly after. Participation is mandatory for the remaining Enchanted Conference Attendees.
11) If the guilty party, the blackened, is exposed, they alone will be executed.
12) If the guilty party is not exposed they will escape with related conditions from prior rules and motives while everyone else will be executed in their place.
"Execution," Stanley said hesitantly.
"Yep! Hanging, Firing Squad, Lethal Injection, Gassing, you name it we've got it! And to tip things off, what'll start off this trial will be a helpful hint from your very own Monomouse. Have these case files!" From nowhere the mouse produced a file and threw it into the sand.
"SEE YOU AT THREE THIRTY PM AT THE GLOBE!" Monomouse jumped into the air and disappeared with a poof.
Basil was the first to rush to the case file. He read the contents out loud while some others took a photo.
Monomouse Case File #1
Victim #1: Tara Adams
Cause of death: Strangulation
Injuries: Scratches on her wrist. Bruise above eyes on face. Slight scratches on exposed skin.
The time of death took place in the window of 1:28 PM.
The body was discovered on the beach at 1:50 PM.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Monomouse File #1
"We have to do this," Basil said with a look of grim determination on his face. "This place is huge so what's going to happen is that we are going to divide into groups. I do not want any of us to split up."
Wendy opened her mouth to object before closing it. Clearly there were more important things. "The basics are as such," Basil explained. "TAnner, Sally, and I were on the beach building the sandcastle when we saw Tara's body in the gondola on the Monosea. That means the body has to have come from the Gondola station. So there will be some of us investigating the gondola storage and some of us investigating the gondola starting station."
"I'll go to the gondola station," Lizzie spoke up. The others looked impressed before she meekly hung her head. "That's if no one else wants to lead that."
"I'll go with you," Ivy chimed in.
"Then I'm coming too," Chyna said.
"And I'll be there too1" Will echoed.
"I will check the gondola storage," Sally spoke up. "Justin and Mike, you were also there with me the other day. I request that you join me."
Justin nodded as Mike voiced his approval. "Let me come along," Goliath grunted. "I haven't seen this storage before but I'm sure it's near the station."
"Excellent!" Basil clapped his hands. "Take photos. I will be right by Tara. Wendy, I need you to investigate the hotel with three others. Start with Tara's room and her bathroom."
Wendy gave a hard nod. "Adam, Jessica, Evie, can you come with?"
"Of course," Jessica walked over.
"And if I didn't call your name and you didn't volunteer for a location, get your alibis straight. I'll be taking notes," Basil said.
Out of his hat, Stanley pulled out a notebook and handed it to Basil. "I think this will help," Stanley offered.
"It does," Basil said as he pulled out a tiny pen. "NOW GO!"
The attendees scattered where they needed to. Basil held hsi hat close to his heart as he looked over Tara's body. "We'll have to do it for you."
2:00 PM
"I can't believe it," Ivy shook. "One of us really bit it, and another one of us did it."
"Do you really think that?" Lizzie nervously asked.
"It has to be," Ivy said. "I don't want to think about anything but it has to have happened."
Will and Chyna hung back while they turned to the gondola queue station. Chyna's hands shook as she opened her handbook. Again she read aloud the death file before choking. "Tara…"
"She was our friend, but we have to work to avenge her," Will said. The four of them looked at hte rather simple queuing station. There was a monitor that had a giant 'pay here' sign in elegant font. Chyna and Will walked up to the monitor. 'Please deposit one monocoin for the ride', the same elegant font said on the screen. Will tapped the screen repeatedly to see if anything would change.
"Hey, there's something like a book in the corner," Chyna tapped the icon that appeared on the screen. The screen finally changed to what looked like a log of everyone who managed to use a gondola within that day.
Wendy - 9:15 AM
Kevin - 11:45 AM
Thalia - 12:56 PM
"Only three of us used the gondola today," Will pointed out.
"Then Wendy, Kevin, or Thalia committed the murder?" Chyna started to think.
"Might not be that simple," Will pulled out his handbook. A photo was taken.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Gondola Queue times
"I want to see if there was something dropped along the gondola path," Lizzie spoke up. "Just hop on and see where it takes us."
"It's as good an idea as any," Ivy said. "ARe you two coming with us?"
Will and Chyna nodded as Lizzie pointed to a gondola nearby. Ivy, Chyna, and WIll hopped in once Lizzie paid for it with a monocoin. Chyna looked over the edge. "This is my second time in this," Chyna said. "Had I known something horrible would happen with this, I wold have paid more attention. Instead of singing…"
"Hey, that singing was really good," Will replied from the same side of the vote. "I know your voice was great at the party and Tara knew it too."
"Thanks." Will saw the tween give a forlorn smile in the scattered reflection of the water.
"Do you see anything over there? I'm wondering if I need to see an optometrist after this big mess is over," Ivy commented from the otherside of the boat.
"Can you make one for me too? Because I'm not seeing anything either," little Lizzie replied.
Big LIzzie turned on her handbook. Just as they passed the volcano the time on her book read 2:20 PM. "Nothing over here close to the front!" she announced to the other three.
The gondola passed by the middle of the sea that was accessible by the beach. Will gave a cursory wave to those on the beach but barely received any acknowledgement. Will let his hand touch the water as the gondola started its way to the party islet as many had taken to calling it. The gondola passed under the bridge just as Will took a look up.
The gondola docked at the start once again. "The time right now is 2:28," Lizzie noted.
"I had a talk with Rapunzel after one dinner and she said that the route takes fifteen minutes," Ivy contributed.
"When did we all hop in the gondola?" Will looked over the monitor thinking aloud. "We hopped in at 2:13. Here it says that Lizzie paid for it even though we all rode it."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Gondola Route
Truth Bullet Updated: Gondola Queue Times
Ivy still sat in the gondola as she moved to the bow. The gold decor at the front looked slightly loose as she leaned over. She knocked it off to reveal a small bit of computer mechanics, a compass, and other wires. "What is–" Lizzie started to ask.
"If I had to bet, it's how the gondola gets back here!" WIll put two and two together. "But I can't confirm… Let's take a photo of it."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Gondola component
"Do you think Adam or Kevin could confirm this?" Ivy turned to Will.
"Sounds like we need to head back and ask, at least before the trial," Will said.
"I'll stay here with Chyna," Lizzie said. "Maybe there's something more to see."
"Good idea," Will grabbed Ivy's wrist and the two ran off.
"I PASSED P.E. WITH A C! DON'T RUSH ME!"
"Well I counted five gondolas here," Chyna said as she and Lizzie watched Ivy and Will rush off. "Do you think there's anything in the water?"
"That'd be a good place to throw away anything, but would that count as littering?" Lizzie replied.
"Though there isn't a rule against littering," Little Lizzie pointed out.
"I guess that would be hard to enforce. But the gondolas are so tightly packed together here," Chyna mentioned. "I don't know how Tanner was able to push that gondola."
"Maybe the gondola was moving while Tanner was pushing?" Big Lizzie replied.
"WHen you push something it moves!" Little Lizzie facepalmed.
"Well, maybe the water isn't as still as we thought. Something has to make the waves right?" Chyna contributed.
"I guess," Lizzie sat down at the edge of the queue. "Do you think we can find who did this?"
"We have Basil, Kevin, Adam, Susan, Jessica, Camilla, and the Ghost Host. That's just the adults. WEll, I don't know how old Mike and Goliath are and it'd be rude of me to ask. But we have them, and we have each other. One of us had to come up with the answer, right?"
Both Lizzies stared at each other before turning back to Chyna. "Right."
2:00 PM
"So this is the storage," Goliath looked over the shack. "It really is a small place, isn't it?"
"With the rest of the buildings looking so modern and mediterranean, this building really sticks out like a sore thumb. Ugly and outdated," Mike opined.
"If this is where the gondolas are stored during the night it may provide a lot of clues," Sally said. "That and this is where Tara wanted to store the party supplies."
Justin opened the door as he felt a shiver come over him. He didnt like the building before but now there was an extra sense of ominous winds about them. "Anyone have a flashlight on them?" Justin asked.
He took a step forward and suddenly stumbled. "Justin!" Sally called out. "What happened?"
"I tripped," Justin pulled himself up. "I tripped on–"
Goliath opened the door as big as he could letting some more light come in. The room was more visible thanks to the light reflecting off of the water and the door. Justin looked at his foot. "Is that Basil's skateboard?" Justin asked.
"WHat's that doing here?" Goliath bent down and picked it up.
"That's something we can bring up later," Mike continued.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Modified Skateboard
Sally raised her hand upward in search of the hooks. As best as she could remember there were two dozen hooks all spaced out roughly evenly. She traced her steps close to the wall, bumping into a shelf. "Mike, do you remember this shelf being here?" Sally asked.
"Yeah, I do," Justin brushed himself off. "I don't think it was this far away from the wall. I remember it being more flush."
"Flush?" asked Sally.
"Pushed up against the wall closely. I think it's what?" Mike tried putting the words together.
"That's eight inches away from the wall now," Justin estimated. "It'd be a tight squeeze but I think I can pass through…"
Justin shined his light behind. There wasn't much of anything behind the shelf. Sally looked at the arrangements on the shelf as she tapped Mike and directed him towards gaps on the shelf.
"Then that's where the murderer could have been hidden!" Goliath pointed his finger triumphantly. "But who is small enough to– Basil?"
"Could be," Mike noted. "There's some gaps on the shelf so theoretically anyone could have reached around the shelf and hooked Tara on the back."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Shelf
Sally put her hands in front of her face and her hand caught around a rope. She followed it down to see a rather low hanging hook close to the shelf they were in front of. "Did Tara have a bruise and scratch on her?" Sally asked.
"She did," Mike nodded. "Why do you ask?"
"There isn't much here that could cause that, besides these hooks," Sally pointed to the one in her hand.
"It's lower than the others," Goliath picked it up. "But why would there need to be this many hooks out there?"
Mike fiddled with his handbook for a moment before he found a suitably bright screen. He angled it upward and they counted. "Twenty four?"
"Twenty four," Sally confirmed. "There are six gondolas I believe. Two black ones and a red, blue, green, and yellow one."
"So four hooks per gondola?" Justin quickly calculated.
"Must be," Mike tapped his fingers together.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Hooks
The four of them made the walk around the open water to the other side. "Is everything here?" Justin asked.
"Don't look at me," Goliath mentioned. "I can see that the props are all there. The props from the photo booth that is."
Justin bent over at the box and started rummaging through the box. "No, it all looks different somehow," he mumbled.
Mike picked up the scarf and tossed it aside. It was covering other props and Justin could hardly feel around for the rest of them.
"Hey," Sally chimed in. "Goliath, does this middle of the scarf feel off to you?"
Goliath took the scarf from Sally's hands. He thumbed the middle of the scarf and the edges analytically. He nodded. "It's subtle, but I could feel my thumbs closer in the middle."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Scarf
Mike held up his screen as Justin looked through the rest of the props. "Nothing," Justin sighed.
"Hmm, I feel like there's more here," Mike mused.
"There were more props during the party," Goliath mentioned. "The box only looks halfway full."
"The gondola had some more props," mentioned Sally. "I looked over while I was trying to help Tanner with the gondola. But why scatter the props?"
"To conceal the weapon," Goliath grimply gulped. "I've seen a lot of attempts at covering something up and trying to improvise."
"So was this a spur of the moment crime?" Justin asked.
"AT least the cover up," Sally contributed.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Photo Booth Props in Box
"Alright," Goliath clapped his hands together. "My eyes feel a lot more well adjusted. How is the drainage here?"
"Drainage?" Justin asked.
"Because there's a splash on this side of the gondola storage," Goliath's hand moved like a shadow. Justin could see roughly in the direction he was looking.
Confused, the teen walked closer to the exposed area of the gondola storage. It was subtle but he could tell that there was some water scattered on the floor. "I'll be careful," Justin replied. He looked over into the opening. He couldn't see much of anything as a small current was messing with the water. He lowered himself more but still couldn't find much.
"Could there be something in the water?" Goliath asked.
"No," Justin said. "If there was something in the water there'd be more turbulence lower."
"I'll go check, hold me tight?" Sally asked.
"But you're a ragdoll?" Mike asked.
"Yes," Sally replied. She lowered herself into the water as Justin held a helping hand out. She gazed into the water as she tried to find something. She stood on a sloped part of the bottom of the channel and almost lost her balance, nearly dragging Justin in. "Pull me up!"
"Did you find anything?" Goliath asked.
"No," Sally replied. "I guess that was a waste of time."
"I know Tara would have considered it the best. Maybe the killer pushed something in the water," Mike hypothesized.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Puddles of Water
"Is that all in here that's out of place?" Goliath asked.
"Must be," Justin sighed. "I wish this place had more information."
"I'm going to stand outside to dry," Sally sighed. "And compose my thoughts."
"Need someone to join you?" Justin followed Sally outside.
Mike and Goliath took one last glance at the gondola storage. "I hope we have enough," Goliath mentioned.
"Me too," Mike echoed as Goliath took a photo of the room. "We have to trust the others now."
"And they have to trust us."
2:15 PM
"My testimony is that Aladdin and I were both having a conversation in the museum regarding the history of both of our hometowns. That is all that I can say, and Aladdin can vouch," The Ghost Host hovered.
"Well it isn't much," Kevin wrote in another notebook. "But if you're under the radar then you can use that alibi."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Ghost Host and Aladdin's account
"How accurate is the Monomouse file if I may ask?" Kevin talked to the Ghost Host.
"It's quite unfortunate, but the symptoms of the suffocation are quite similar to my own. I left the mortal plane with a rope around my neck. It was the fall that got me," the Ghost Host ominously stated. "The angle of the strangulation was roughly level. So it must have taken place in a position where they could sneak up on Tara from behind. I can't explain the bruise or the scratch."
"She went down fighting," Aladdin grit his teeth. "And probably hit her head on something that was close by. I'm not sure what was close by."
"So we have to fight for her," The Ghost Host hesitated.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Ghost Host's autopsy report
The Ghost Host pulled Aladdin aside for a moment. "Do you know what happens when a ghost is no longer in the afterlife?"
Aladdin was too stunned to answer. "Neither do I. And neither do any of my friends back home. That's why I'm going to fight for Tara. I am not ready to find out yet."
"Do you think she was ambushed?" Aladdin asked. "Maybe she had the beanie on tight and the headphones on because she wanted to figure something out with music."
"Ambush is likely," the Ghost Host agreed. "One of the beanies is frayed so that might have been destroyed in the scuffle. And Tara's headphones look slightly askew."
Aladdin took a photo of the headwear and the objects in the bottom of the gondola. None of them were wet as far as they could tell.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Headwear
Truth Bullet Obtained: Photo booth Props in Gondola
Basil was still standing on the gondola investigating Tara's body. Tara was an average human teen, whereas Basil was just a mouse, so just investigating this big of a corpse was a monumental task. He was glad that so many of their compatriots were taking this death and investigation seriously. "Buck?" Camilla jumped up from the sand onto the gondola's side.
"Ah, yeah, that'll help heaps," Basil replied.
"Bawk Bawk Bawk, buh caw, cawk, buh buh caw bawk bawk kaw, kaw kaw buh," Camilla explained. "Kaw Caw buh Juck baw e buck buck caw…"
"So that accounts for you, Justin, Evie, and Wendy," Basil nodded. "Though not necessarily Evie because she wasn't with you until closer to the death."
"Well," Rapunzel walked in, holding her hair. "Before Evie went to see Camilla, Justin, and Wendy she was with me helping prepare a picnic for the fortress."
"Noted!" Basil shouted.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Camilla, Evie, Justin, and Wendy's account
Truth Bullet Obtained: Rapunzel, Max, Susan, Chyna, and Adam's account
"I wish I was there," Rapunzel sighed. "Maybe I could have helped her out sooner."
"Bawk baw caw, buck buck buck," Camilla comforted.
"I know…" Rapunzel sighed. "But I'm supposed to be the healer. I already helped others with my gift. I don't know how much longer that's going to last."
Also on the beach, Tanner was walking a small circle. "How can Basil be so chill about all of this?" Tanner fiddled with his hands. "That was a gnarly scene."
Sally gave him a reassuring shoulder pat. "I know bodies aren't that easy for humans to see," Sally explained. "Where I'm from, corpses are quite commonplace. But I will admit they usually aren't so… lifeless."
"You live in a funky town," Tanner stated bluntly. "Do you think if I was there sooner it'd help things out more?"
"No," Thalia walked up to Tanner and Evie. "She was dead before you swam out if my calculations are right. ASsuming that she died at 1:28 PM. Though…" Thalia tugged on her pants, a drop of water coming out.
Sally looked over at the goth girl with hesitation. "When did you step into the water?" Sally asked.
"I thought there was something near the gondola and tripped," Thalia explained. "I guess I didn't get that wet because I dried off rather well in this sun."
"You were saying something before?" Sally continued.
"I saw Tara. She wanted me to come with her to the Gondola storage to check in on the storage. I walked with her before I got a message on my handbook. I told her to go ahead and that I'd join her later."
"And you didn't see her after?" Tanner asked.
"N-No," Thalia crossed her arms. "I really should have done something…"
Truth Bullet Obtained: Thalia's account
"So…" Max walked up to Stanley.
"It actually happened," STanley said in disbelief. "I was just in my room trying to lie down for a nap. When the body discovery thing went off I went to the elevator. Ivy was in the elevator by the time I was going down."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Stanley and Ivy's Account
"I've never seen a dead body this close. Troy Mcginty used to threaten people with death but I dont think he'd do it if he had to see the body," Max gulped. "I was cooking pizza and getting scolded by Susan."
"Speak of the devil," Stanley glanced to his right, Max's left, as the advice columnist walked up to them.
"Oh Stanley, that's rather uncouth of you," Susan said. "I take it you were trying to find out what happened with Max? He has witnesses, myself included."
"That I gathered," Stanley said. "Just my luck that I'd get scolded." He mumbled.
"Max," Susan started. "How far away do you think the fortress is from the gondola station?"
"Six hundred feet? Maybe a thousand?" stammered Max.
"Can you and Stanley help me with something?" Susan asked. "I want to test out how long it could take to run from the fortress."
The two boys nodded while the three of them walked away from the beach, taking care to let Kevin know where they were going. Kevin looked out into the sea as the gondola passed by carrying Chyna, Will, Ivy, and Lizzie. He returned a wave once he saw one of them waving. It was hard to see.
The engineer focused his attention to the bow of the ship. There was a golden decoration at the very tip pointed up towards the sky. He put both his hands on it and shook it. The sounds of metal clanged against the gold decoration before the gold pulled straight off. Curiously, he looked at the electronic components underneath. There was a compass, computer mechanics, wires, and what looked like a very tiny screen.
Instinctively he put two wires together, a black wire and a white wire, to see what would happen. There was a small beep and the screen displayed a rough outline of the route the gondola took. "Hmm," Kevin pursed his lips.
"Kevin!" Will yelled as he rushed forward, dragging Ivy all the way.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Screen on Gondola
"Yes?" Kevin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you know about it," Ivy replied, out of breath. "Here's a photo I took of the gondola we took. Hopefully you can use it."
Kevin zoomed in on the photo Ivy took. There was a small screen also visible with a small route on it. "Come on Ivy," Kevin said. "We're going to the office because I think we can print these photos."
2:30 PM
Jessica Rabbit stood in front of the store. Her train of thought would be easier if she could take notes and her handbook wasn't the best for taking notes. She could always text someone, but texting was impermanent, and it meant that whatever she sent was never truly her knowledge. She tapped the counter. This place is closed for investigations! A sign suddenly fell down.
Angry, Jessica kicked the counter and stormed off towards the conference room. Adam, Wendy, and Evie sat at one of the tables deep in conversation. A paper map of the conference site was visible on the table and Adam was sketching out relative locations. "Jessica, can I confirm something?" Adam asked.
"What is it darling?" Jessica asked.
"Wendy and Evie can vouch for each other. I think I can vouch for you but I want to confirm," Adam said. "I remember seeing red hair in the cafeteria while I ran with Max, Rapunzel, Chyna and Susan. But you didn't show up until after."
"That is true," Jessica pulled up a chair. She rested her hands on the back of the chair while she hummed to herself for a moment. "I didn't want to leave a mess behind. I heard Susan scolding you four through the open window."
"Open window?" Evie asked.
"The one that connects the kitchen to the cafeteria," Jessica explained. "And I put my stuff in a designated tub before walking out. I didn't want to run because I didn't want to mess things up."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Jessica's Account
"Nothing in Tara's room," Wendy sighed. "Nor on the fourth floor bathroom."
"For as big as this place is, we might be missing something," Evie contributed.
"Doubtful," Adam shook his head. "I'd wager most of the evidence is outside."
The four of them pored over the map they drew. As best as they could remember they pinpointed their locations at the supposed time of the murder and the body discovery with a set of makeup Evie had on her. "It doesn't help that this place is surprisingly big. I think I took a direct walk one night," Adam started. "And that direct walk took me 18 minutes since I was walking and not running."
The door facing the outside of the conference room opened. Max, Stanley, and Susan were out of breath. "What were you doing?" Wendy asked.
"Time… Time…" Max gasped.
Susan composed herself as she strode over to the table. Stanley leaned against the wall while he tried to catch his breath. "I wanted to test a theory of mine. Stanley, Max, and I ran from the fortress to the gondola station," Susan explained.
She pulled out her handbook and placed it on the map, crumpling it slightly as she swiped to a timer function. "STanley and Max are so much faster than I. It took them eight minutes to run at full sprint. I took fifteen."
Max wiped the sweat off of his brow. "Sometimes you have to run fast when you're delivering paper," Max explained.
"And running from bullies helps with my speed," Stanley added.
Truth Bullet Obtained: Time spent running
"Can I go get some water?" Max asked.
Susan nodded. Stanley and Max left the conference room and passed by Ivy and Kevin, both holding a paper. "What's that you have there?" Adam asked.
"Ivy and I discovered a component to the gondolas, a miniature screen, so we transferred it to the printer and got it printed," Kevin explained. He walked over to the large map they made. "We all know the gondolas start here–"
Kevin explained the routes the gondolas took and compared it with the map. "So they roughly started in the same place and ended in the same area?" Evie asked.
"Not quite, the gondola we found Tara in started closer to the hotel, and would have been closer to the gondola storage," Ivy pointed out. "But we have to wait to see if Justin, Mike, Sally, and Goliath have anything to say about that."
Truth Bullet Obtained: Maps of Gondola Route
"Well I guess we've covered all we could in this place," Evie took a photo of the map. "It's three o'clock. I might as well use the restroom. If I die I don't want to soil myself."
"A grim way of looking at things," Kevin said. "But a good idea regardless."
3:00 PM
Starting at three o'clock the conference attendees had met up at the globe. It was a grim sight, a layer of grief started to weigh heavily on them. Basil stood on Goliath's shoulder as he looked the group over. He was just a mouse, and he couldn't travel that far of a distance in such a short time, especially compared to the humans and others in the group.
Justin, the Ghost Host, and Chyna seemed to be locked in deep discussion. Similarly, their respective groups were exchanging information with the others. Jessica seemed to be leading the discussion of a group composed of herself, Camilla, Mike, and Goliath. Basil was able to hear most of that conversation. Wendy, Rapunzel, Will, and Aladdin seemed to be in rapt discussion about the position of others.
Thalia, Tanner, and Sally stood off to the side in discussion, the two girls comforting Tanner as best as they could. He was the first one to see the body and had gotten himself wet while doing so. The last to show up were Susan, Max, and Stanley at 3:20 PM. All three of them had bottles of water that they discarded in a nearby trash can.
"Alright, looks like all of you are here on time," Monomouse danced in front of the globe, suddenly appearing in a poof of blue.
"Where are we having the trial?" Rapunzel asked. "Are we having it out in the open?"
"Now how proper would that be?" Monomouse snarked. "No, we're having this serious trial in a serious courtroom! Now, if you don't mind…"
They watched as Monomouse did a little dance before pulling out a wand. Littila Wheela Bittitty Wobe, hormika kreesha quinilly zort, open the globe and take us to court!
The large globe that was a feature of the circular courtyard opened up much like a flower in bloom. EAch segment moved away from each other on a radial track. From the space a cylindrical elevator rose out of the ground. A door opened on the side furthest from the hotel. "That's some engineering," Kevin noticed.
"Hmm? Yes, it is, and it's magic," Monomouse smiled. "NOW GET IN!"
All twenty three of them entered the elevator. Once Monomouse shut the door the elevator started a descent down who knew how many feet into the depths of the park. After a minute it opened up into a peculiar looking courtroom. "This isn't a regulation court room!" Basil objected.
The courtroom they were taken to was a large circular room. It was filled with twenty four podiums faced around a stained glass center floor. The ceiling was surprisingly high but there were no windows lining the wooden walls. It was still brightly lit and decorated in dangling tapestry. Sheet music adorned the walls.
"Nope, it's better!" Monomouse suddenly appeared at the far end opposite the elevator. "Find your assigned spots, each podium can easily fit you despite what it may look like right now."
Directly in front of Monomouse was Thalia. She could feel the mechanical monster's eyes through the back of her head. Within her sights was a memorial photograph of Tara. She had a slight smile on her face as she looked demure and timid at the camera. Her hair was under a beanie even as several longer strands framed her face. Pink earbuds crossed her face as if signifying that she was just a name to be crossed off of a list. "What's that?" Thalia asked bluntly while she pointed to Tara's photo.
"Just because Tara's dead doesn't mean she doesn't get to join this trial! After all she is the player of the week. She and her killer that is," Monomouse cackled.
Thalia resisted the urge to say an insult. To the photo's left, that was meaning in a clockwise direction, she saw that it was the Ghost Host, then Jessica, then Max, then Lizzie and her miniature double, then Camilla, Stanley, Mike, Sally, Tanner, Basil, Rapunzel ,Justin, Evie, Aladdin, Wendy, herself in front of Monokuma, Adam, Kevin, Susan, Ivy, Chyna, Will, and Goliath.
A sense of dread loomed over the courtroom. At the same time each participant was propped up by a sense of determination. They would bring Tara to Justice, they would find out who killed her, and Tara's death would not be in vain.
23/24 Alive