Part 80: Investigative Team-Up

The thread voted to give Tiger the benefit of the doubt here.

[BGM: Eyes of the Dragon]


I trust you, Tiger! I don't think you could do this.

I knew you believed in me!

But Mouse, did you not listen to all the evidence I just laid out?

That's just it, it all seems too neat. Do you really think things are that simple?

Things usually are. I'm sorry, but I'm not going anywhere until we settle this.

Fine. I'll just have to look around and prove that Tiger's innocent!

If you can, please do.



Things were settled. While the others looked for Minor Trinkets, we'd investigate Dragon's murder. We all briefly went into separate rooms to input our actions for the next round, and then we returned to work.

[BGM: Silence]


Don't try anything funny, Tiger. You're strong, but I've confiscated the sniper rifle, and there's four of us.

I'm not going to do anything!

Ah, investigating a crime scene. It's never a fun time.

You do this often? ...I guess you would, being a police officer and all.

Yeah.

So, as a cop, what do you think?

[BGM: Dog Days]


I think I need to see more. But there are a few oddities in the scene that make me think Ox is being a little hasty.

Let's try and look for anything that stands out of place if Tiger was the killer, and see what we can make of it.

So, where to check first?

We're actually given a list of options to check for this section, but we're meant to look at everything before we can continue (you can't miss anything), so I'll just cut the in-between stuff and we'll just go down the list.

So I heard gunshots.

We all did, yes.

What was that about?

So the sniper rifle was fired four times. Thrice in quick succession, and then a fourth a few moments later.

I heard that. I mean, where did the gun fire? Surely we should be able to tell where the bullets went, right?



That we can, and we have.

Obviously, there are four impact points. Two are against the left wall. One hit a nearby chair. And one hit the end of the metal pipe.

The metal pipe?

Indeed, it is quite strange.

Do you think the pipe could've been used to block a bullet?

I quite doubt that. I'd think it more likely that the pipe was leaning up against the wall that was shot at and was incidentally struck. ...But I can't completely deny your proposal.

There wasn't much time between those shots and us getting to the crime scene, was there?

No, no there was not. Whatever happened after those bullets were fired, there wasn't much time for anything else.



As someone not currently favoring the defense or prosecution of Tiger, I must say that those shots are the detail that sticks the most out to me like a sore thumb. It is the hardest to frame in any cohesive narrative.

For that reason, it is either the most or least important part of this whole thing.

Well, thanks for that totally unhelpful unsolicited advice, Snake. Keep being you.

That I will.

It is interesting that the killer didn't take the gun with them.

Maybe they were afraid they'd be seen with it.



True, but they could at least take the pistol or the poison, don't you think?

I guess. They must not have had enough time.

No Trinkets were taken, either, even though Tiger was unconscious. I was actually the last person to give her a Trinket, so I know the number collected was six. All six are present.

But wait, doesn't that raise a problem with...



I asked the thread for some input on this one, too – though the question I asked was different, since it's a little hard to tell what this is actually asking. In any case, they decided what would stand out more to Mouse is...

Isn't it strange then that Dragon was here?

What do you mean?

People have been visiting Tiger to drop off the Trinkets they've collected, right? If Dragon didn't have a Trinket with her, why was she here?

Huh.

I mean, if Tiger was the killer, it's not like she could leave to go looking for someone to bring them back here. So either Dragon came here of her own volition, or she was killed somewhere else and brought here to frame Tiger.

But if Dragon wasn't dropping off a trinket, why would Dragon come here? I suppose she could've been passing by, or she could've come to talk with Tiger, but that seems kind of coincidental.

You're right. That is odd.

I don't know, it might be nothing. I was just thinking about it. Anyways, let's keep looking around.



I want to check out Tiger's head injury some more. Shouldn't looking into that prove whether or not she made the whole thing up?

I don't know about that. It is worth looking into, though. Looking at the bits of blood on the end of that metal pipe, it's clear what the weapon was.

Hey Tiger, would you mind if we look at your injury a little closer?

Sure thing!

Tiger sat on the floor as Bunny started inspecting her head through her hair.

Hmm... I see. Well, if I can say one thing for sure, she didn't inflict this wound on herself. This was a hit to the left-back side of her head from a horizontal blunt strike with a whole amount of force, and I don't know how you'd self-inflict that.

Could you maybe hold it behind your head and try to swing?



I don't think you get how much force I'm talking about here. It's possible she could've been concussed, or even killed from something like this. It's literally impossible to get that sort of momentum by just moving your wrists and part of your arms. AND its only a single strike.

So that's it, she's proven innocent with this, right?

I don't know about that. After all, even if she was hit, that doesn't necessarily mean she couldn't have gone on to kill Dragon and then faked being knocked out by it.

However, it certainly makes it a lot less likely. A blow like this would absolutely send even someone like Tiger to her knees for quite a bit of time. Someone striking like this? That's someone who's not afraid to kill.

I guess it's just tricky for me to see a scenario where Tiger gets hit with this and somehow gets the upper hand. She'd be brought down, and even if she wasn't unconscious, she wouldn't exactly be in any fighting shape.

She was found lying by the left table, right?

Yeah. The iron pipe and the sniper rifle were both lying near her.

Say... what's that?



Is that a pen gouged into the wooden table?

I think you're right.

The pen's just stuck in there, sticking out. Who would do something like that?

Who knows? Doubt it has much to do with anything, though.

I guess.



The most damning piece of evidence against Tiger would have to be that note, right? Then we should probably focus on it a bit, don't you think?

Makes sense to me.

Let's take a look at this thing.

I walked over to the counter where the note was written. Indeed, it was easy to see how Dragon could quickly start scribbling on that sheet of paper with the provided pen in a moment of desperation. But is that what happened?

Let's go over the details of this note. Maybe that can help source its authenticity?

Yeah.

This was a critical point. If the note was forged, Tiger was definitely being framed. If the note was real, Tiger was almost certainly the killer. Those were the only options.



Unfortunately, we don't have a sample of Dragon's handwriting to compare this to. If we did, well, that'd make our job a lot easier.

However, the jagged writing and messy nature of it does suggest it was written quickly, in a fit of panic. The unfinished Z in particular is very convincingly done.

And while we're talking about the Z, the fact that it was unfinished does imply she was struck down while writing this. As do the pattern of blood flecks. They're not in the middle of the paper, more splayed a bit to the sides.

This is in line with where they'd generally fall if they came from a blow directly to the top-back of a head right in front of it. The angle of the flecks, too, that's hard to fake.



I'll go on the record and say that the blood at least authentically came from an attack happening right near this sheet of paper. But that's not to say the writing's legit. That could've been forged, hell, it could've been written after the blood got on the page.

Wow. That was certainly a detailed analysis.

This stuff's pretty standard for a crime scene investigation.

Anyway, I think the existence of this note is the biggest mark against it.

What do you mean?

I mean people aren't stupid. Do you think Tiger really wouldn't notice this written down like that? And if she did notice it, do you really think she'd just leave incriminating evidence like that lying around?

No, no she'd have trashed it immediately. Convincing as the writing may be, I've gotta say that the whole thing's probably a scam. ...Probably.

Okay.

I made a note of everything Bunny said, and continued onward.



We for sure have to look at Dragon's body, right?

Well, it IS a murder investigation, so that'd sure be handy.

Right, right. I'm not looking forward to examining a corpse...

If you want, I could do most of the examining.

...Yeah, that'd probably be for the best. I'm not trying to be a baby or anything, it's just kind of... You know?

Say no more. I used to be just like that. It's honestly probably disturbing that I'm as fine with looking at dead bodies as I am.

Isn't that normal for a cop?

It is. Doesn't make it less disturbing.

...But I digress, let's get to examining!



Bunny approached the corpse and started looking over it. After a time, he returned with a report.

There's not really any surprises in terms of cause of death. She was definitely bludgeoned to death by a single hit over the head with that lamp. I believe the lamp was previously sitting on the table on the left side of the room.

Anyways, there was one detail which caught my eye. There was bruising on her neck.

Bruising?

Basically, she was choked out at some point. And not with a tool, someone wrapped their hands around her and just started squeezing tight.

Horrible.

Horrible, but also telling. Think about Tiger's strength. I don't think it's exaggerating when I say she could probably crush a human's windpipe if she really wanted to.

Could she? I'm sorry to say but I don't know the strength needed for windpipe crushing.



You need a lot, but not more than Tiger has. The choking attempt definitely failed, that's not a mistake. So I guess I'm thinking that Tiger wouldn't have failed.

Someone with average strength, like me for instance, could easily try to choke her out, but fail to and let Dragon temporarily escape. If Tiger had her hands around that neck, she could just squeeze and it'd be over like that.

That makes sense.

...But, that's pretty loosey goosey when it comes to evidence, that doesn't prove anything by itself.

Was there anything else you noticed about her?

No, that was basically it.

Hmm.

Are there any other clues to be found here?

...I got it.



We should check Dragon's tablet.

Her tablet?

Yeah.

Why?

It might be nothing, but it's worth checking.

Instead of explaining, I walked over to the tablet and turned it on. I moved to the information section of the tablet. I wasn't expecting much, but...

Oh my god!

What?

[BGM: Mousetrap]


No way. I never would've thought Dragon was like this!

What is it?

Dragon had the hateful personality.

What?

Seriously?

People started crowding around me and looking over my shoulder. Sure enough, it was written as plain as day, and in green text for whatever reason. Why would she hide this from us? Was she scared we'd turn on her?



I knew it. There was something fishy about that girl.

It certainly makes me feel better about this whole thing.

Snake!

Does that make me sound crass?

I suppose it does. But, speaking factually, she was something of an inevitable casualty if we planned for the group to survive. In a sense, it makes her murder... meaningless is probably the wrong word, isn't it?

Yes, it is!

Mouse, let's get back to focusing on the investigation. I mean yeah, this was a pretty shocking piece of news. But I don't actually know if it changes much.

Oh, it changes things alright.

[BGM: That Pesky Rodent]


The pieces were starting to come together.

I think that's pretty much everything that I had to look at... but I don't know how much it clears up. Give me a second, I'm going to think about all the evidence and try to piece together the crime.

Take all the time you need piecing things together.

As for me, I'm convinced. Tiger couldn't be the culprit here, there's just too many oddities.

Seriously? You've been swayed just by looking around this room? You better have found some conclusive and convincing evidence.

I don't know about conclusive, but it's definitely convincing. It convinced me, anyways.

Did it? I'm sorry, but if it's not substantial, I won't change my mind on this.



Gosh, how much do you hate me? It feels like ever since you started suspecting me you've not let up on me whatsoever! You're like a shark who's smelt blood. It must be your cop instincts that make you such a predator.

...For the last time, it's prosecutor. You know there's a real cop standing right over there?

Tiger's right, Ox, you seem unfairly fixated on her guilt. She was clearly attacked, and you're blaming her? Even the note central to your case against her doesn't make any sense, it shouldn't be there!

I'm not saying I know everything. But where do you propose the killer escaped to? I already covered the possible exits. If not Tiger, the culprit would either have to be you or Snake.

My, the moment Tiger seems like less of a target, Ox moves on to the closest others for his next target. What frightful instincts on this one.

I don't care if I'm 'frightful'. I'm trying to keep us all alive. We can't trust Tiger.

Don't you see the longer you waste on this, the less time you spend looking for Minor Trinkets? So let's just stop talking about this already!

...Got it.

What?

I've made my decision. After looking things over, I think there's a clear answer.

What's that?

On the matter of Tiger's guilt...