[TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

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spd12
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by spd12 »

Ledger leans over when Crowe murmurs something to him. He seems significantly less certain than he did before (and he wasn't looking certain even WITH that argument, this must be some serious uncertainty in the league of certain scientific theories).
Spoiler : Prosecution :
"I, I think I remember something else weird yestrday?" Good, Ledger, say it here, help fight back the momentum.

"Iiii... forgot what it was."

Damn it.

"Something about th-their theory of how Mr. Moebus removed evidence? It'll... it'll come back to me if they bring it up... I think..."

That doesn't help!!! At least, right now.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

Connie nods along as Ledger tells his story, and she only just manages to suppress a scowl at the mention of the ongoing Bluecorp trials; she'd lost with one of those cases.

At the moment Ledger brings up the confusing manner in which Moebus's prints were left behind, Connie sets a world record for fastest blanching as the blood rushes out of her face; and as if that wasn't enough, Crowe's comments about the strangeness of their even finding the evidence has her setting a world record for most unhealthily pale skin as even more blood rushes from her face. Frankly, it's almost a miracle she doesn't outright faint after hearing about the "ace in the hole."

"Well, that's - you see - maybe Mr. Moebus -" Connie stumbles and stammers for a bit, but she can't seem to come up with anything. "Well... if we assume Mr. Johnson is the murderer, his crime is far from perfect. He supposedly made no effort to hide the body, committed the murder in a time and place he would've easily been caught, and then made no effort to leave. Why shouldn't Ross Moebus be the same? Maybe he was just... too... stupid..." Connie falls silent and frowns deeply. "No, that's dumb. The current theories on how this stuff even got off the island already involves jumping through complicated hoops. You're not going to buy that Moebus made such a glaring mistake, are you?"

Connie crosses her arms and knits her brow. "Maybe... the background checks state that Ross Moebus hasn't moved from the house where he grew up. Does Mr. Moebus live with his parents? Or anyone else for that matter? While it doesn't quite explain why he didn't dispose of the chloroform rag, if there's anything he might value in the notebook or hard drive, maybe he couldn't safely hide it at home, so he brought them with him in his car for safekeeping. Detective Fulbright, does Ross Moebus live with anyone?"

Connie falls quiet for a moment before adding, "And Detective, when might the ASI get back to us on this evidence with their analysis? I'd also like to ask them about their hacking investigation, for that matter..."

Her gaze darts over to the whispering Crowe and Ledger, and... her lips curl into a smirk? But how?! The turnabout has done a turnabout? Normally, this is the moment when Connie goes into a conniption fit. For some reason, though, this time is different. Connie says, "So it's business as usual... Say, Prosecutors. Ever heard the phrase 'turnabout's fair play'?" She doesn't pause to hear an answer and just sort of rambles on, her smirk remaining and her posture becoming upright with confidence. "I guess this is what they call fair play. But it goes both ways, Prosecutors. You had your piercing question, Crowe. Now I have questions of my own.

"You suspect this might be planted, right?" Connie asks rhetorically. "In that case, how the heck did Moebus's fingerprints get on the chloroform rag? It's not like this is his own personal chloroform rag that's unconnected to the murder - people don't just have chloroform. Hm... though I suppose there's another possibility we should rule out as well. Detective! Would soaking a rag in chloroform wash away any fingerprints? Or do you think someone handling a rag with gloves might wipe away any prints already there? If not, I suppose you could say it's all a trick. But there's still another problem...

"The biggest question of all: who could've planted this evidence? Mr. Johnson didn't cross the bridge after Ms. Kranf's time of death - we know that from Johnny Smiles - so he couldn't have planted it before his arrest. And he obviously had no opportunity after his arrest. So who planted the evidence? Little locked room gnomes?"
Spoiler : @Defense :
"Let's keep a few things in mind," Connie whispers under her breath as she types out a list and texts it to Simon Lawrence and Opal Ita.
  1. Ross Moebus living with someone? Could his home be a bad hiding place for valuables?
  2. ASI analysis and hacking investigation?
  3. Prosecution explanation for Moebus's fingerprints on the rag?
  4. Who could've planted the evidence anyway?
  5. Need to talk to Johnny Smiles
Connie pauses, tongue in cheek, evidently contemplating something. Then she sends one more text:
  1. Doesn't Moebus have a relative with black market connections? Mr. Lawrence's theory on stealing the hard drive to sell is sounding better and better...
  2. We need to pin down our own theory, so we can identify any holes. Let's all keep this in mind - whenever you think of a complete 'solution,' so to speak, maybe just go ahead and blurt it out?
  3. We need to pin down the prosecution theory. Next chance I get I'm going to ask for their theory, plain and simple. No extra questions, no extra comments.
  4. Also, note to self: I need to ask shorter questions. Crowe always slips out of longer ones. Need. To. Remember. This.
"So... anyone else have any thoughts on the case so far?"
Spoiler : OOC@spd12 :
I figured it wouldn't be quite like Connie to note discrepancies with her supposed boon too early on, but you caught her pretty quickly anyhow! Though it looks like any way you slice it this evidence is very peculiar...
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Enthalpy »

The metaphorical ping-pong ball flies from person to person.

Crowe sends it over to Fulbright: "Negative for prints of people relevant to the case on the car. All the evidence was found in a compartment in the trunk. And his car left the lot before police arrived, so we couldn't control that."

It whizzes through the empty space, propelled by hot air, as it goes back to Fulbright once more. "We did the search not too long after you all left the courtroom yesterday. I'll arrange for Smiles when I'm not busy with this."

It volleys between the two prosecutors and Connie for a while before Fulbright sends it back again. "The ASI say they should have the evidence back by the start of the next trial, at latest. Quite possibly, earlier. The amounts of chloroform used on this rag would have degraded any previous prints. Yes on the living with parents."

And so the the ball goes for its next volley. Fulbright or the poor valet attendant probably should intervene, but they're as silent as 2/3 of the defense.
Spoiler : OOC :
About the ASI Evidence: Pacing, pacing!
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

"So that settles at least one thing," Connie says, smirking broadly. "Ross Moebus definitely handled a rag with chloroform! This same rag has the victim's fingerprints on it! Prosecutors Crowe, Ledger, how do you explain that?"
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Ferdielance »

Crowe thinks for a moment. "This isn't the courtroom. I'm not obliged to jump to an argument, and neither are you. But isn't it strange? No need for chloroform necessarily if the victim was already drugged... could've been to make there not be a struggle. But it's a good way to frame someone... someone who does maintenance and might leave rags around. But that brings up another problem... hmm... fingerprints..."

Mulling it over, he heads over to the valet. "Is there any way to tell if somebody besides Ross Moebus could've gotten into Ross Moebus's car trunk?"
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Enthalpy »

"Jumping to conclusions really isn't the most just," Fulbright agrees, evidently without realizing that the sword cuts both ways. His attention is distracted from this. "Wait, Prosecutor, isn't that a contr--" Luckily, he is cut off before he can finish his thought.

"Normally we record every use of the keys, but with the chaos of that day, the records aren't in this book. Again, you'd need to ask management to learn any more than that," responds the now slightly less perplexed Ms. Ravela.
[D]isordered speech is not so much injury to the lips that give it forth, as to the disproportion and incoherence of things in themselves, so negligently expressed. ~ Ben Jonson
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

Prosecutor Crowe wrote:This isn't the courtroom. I'm not obliged to jump to an argument, and neither are you.
"Bu - bu - bwah?!" Connie's jaw drops, and her eyes bug out. "You - but - no! If you don't answer right away, then I don't know what the problem is - which means you must be setting a trap! That's it, it's a trap, and you'll spring it at the trial, so it's probably - you're thinking - urgh!" Somehow, Crowe's declination of response has Connie in more of a huff than getting disproven.

After Fulbright speaks, Connie snaps her fingers, his comment having brought something to her attention. "That's right, Crowe! Detective Fulbright already explained that the chloroform on the rag would've degraded any prints already there. That means that Ross Moebus touched the rag after it had been soaked in chloroform. So why is that?" Connie pauses, and she frowns. "Of course, you're not going to answer that, are you?"

To Ms. Ravela Connie asks, "So where would we go to talk to managment? I still want to talk to Johnny Smiles, but it feels like it might be important to go get some more information from management afterward."
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Enthalpy »

"Do you have a map? There's a large building on it marked Administration. The secretary on the ground floor can direct you where to go next."
Spoiler : OOC :
I'll take this as a cue to update the the Wikia with the map, and Wikia and the front page with the new evidence. I could have sworn I already did the map updates, but oh well.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

"Ah, I see it now," Connie says, nodding as she looks at her map. "Thank you, Ms. Ravela."
Spoiler : OOC :
Cool! Many thanks, as this will definitely help.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by kwando1313 »

Spoiler : Defense :
Opal... Hadn't really been putting too much focus in the investigation thus far - admittedly she was rather distracted by other recent events that had passed by. But... Even she had to be intrigued by the discovery of hard drive, rag, and notebook. Admittedly, those could have been planted, but... What were the odds of that?

She turned to Connie and smiled.

"Looks... Like something finally went well in our case, didn't it? Still, finding out who had access to Ross' car will be quite important... Hopefully we don't hear something like "Nick Johnson was hanging by Moebius' car!" or something..."

She closed her eyes in thought.

"Still... If the prosecution is going to insist that Nick Johnson was the culprit... They might try and pin the blame on his siblings, no? For..." she proceeded to say this with heavy air quotes, "planting the evidence" "... that was found in the car."

She opened her eyes and looked at Connie.

"Also... Connie. It probably isn't the best idea to trade theories with the prosecution at this point - after all, it's not like we're on super solid ground either... And, well, while probing them for theories may let us understand what arguments the prosecution will bring up... It's also an easy way for them to gain information on us. And, well, I'd like to keep that a little bit closer to our chests for now... Well, until we get a little bit more information... Also, it's important, especially for someone who has... Well, that personal past connection with Crowe. Make sure. You keep. Your cool. It's important to make sure he doesn't play mind games with you. You need to make sure you remain calm and focused, and make sure you don't try and make an argument out here. After all... It's in the courtroom that we need to exchange barbs. Not here. Not now."

"But yeah... In addition... Well, it'd be nice to try and find out what this prosecution's supposed ace-in-the-hole is. They apparently have something that would be strong enough to disprove, or rather something strong enough to make this... Mountain of evidence against Ross seem relatively insignificant. I'm sure that someone other than the prosecution would know what that would be... So maybe the Detective would slip up and let us know what it means? And, well, at worst, it probably is evidence right? So... Maybe it's still somewhere left on the campus? After all, I highly doubt witness testimony can be strong enough to seed doubt into the evidence we see here..."

"Still, if the prosecution is going to allege that the chloroform rag was planted... Like you said, how did Ross' fingerprints get on it in the first place? I mean, it's not very easy to plant fingerprints on an object like that... And the victim's fingerprints were on there too, right? So, unless they're going to say that Nick Johnson magically made Ross touch this rag, it's pretty clear that he must have touched this rag... Well, unless we have some deeper conspiracy here, or something..."

"But yeah. I'd say our Ross culprit theory sounds quite plausible right now, especially with the evidence found in the car... But, of course, we don't want to base our entire argument off of that. It'd be nice to know if that hard drive was the same one that the victim was using, but... Alas, we can't find out until tomorrow... But until then, I think we'd better try and get as much information as we can."
After a (relatively) lengthy conversation with her defense team, Opal turns to the others.

"Let's make our way to the Administration building then, okay? After all, there's information to be found there!"
Spoiler : OoC :
Whoops. Sorry for the lack of posting on TBP. It's just been really really busy for me. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up!
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Enthalpy »

As Opal talks to her fellow attorneys, Fulbright looks at a message he's just received on his phone. "Looks like Smiles is already at the administration building at the moment, either way we're heading in that direction. Onwards, to Justice!"

And so, the general course of further movement being decided on, the group followed Fulbright along the path of justice... Or whatever he called it.
______________________________________________________________
As you get ready to enter the building, there he is. Downcast, an unmistakable odor of chocolate about him, and yet with paradoxically pristine teeth. Johnny Smiles perks up and salutes as he sees you. "Good morning, Detective! I don't believe you need any further testimony from me, so if you'll excuse me, I'm off to do important professional work." He tries to squeeze his way out of the door and away from the group...
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

Connie shoves Simon Lawrence in between Smiles and the door, counting on his immovably slumbering form to stop Smiles from escaping. Connie locks eyes with Johnny Smiles, and for a moment there's something as sharp as a razor in her gaze before her visage cracks into a smirk.

"So! Mr. Johnny Smiles, the one and only," Connie says, her voice bright and jovial, though the observant listener might detect a pungently sardonic undertone. "Why, you look nervous. Chin up, man! That's no way for a professional to act! What has you so worked up, Mr. Smiles?" Connie asks, suspecting that whatever has Mr. Smiles on the run is probably important. "And while we're at it, we may as well ask a few other questions, right? Don't worry about your 'professional work' - I'm sure Detective Fulbright can let your superiors know you were helping the cause of justice!"
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Enthalpy »

He looks around the group, evidently not realizing that Connie being in a good mood means bad news. An understandable mistake, since she was not yet on the team for his testimony. "It's very important work, already scheduled..."

It's on one kind of schedule, certainly... And it doesn't look like Smiles is going to want to change the topic from this.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Ferdielance »

That's right, Crowe! Detective Fulbright already explained that the chloroform on the rag would've degraded any prints already there. That means that Ross Moebus touched the rag after it had been soaked in chloroform. So why is that?" Connie pauses, and she frowns. "Of course, you're not going to answer that, are you?"
"That'd hinge on the cleaning and maintenance schedule... and how long it takes chloroform to evaporate." says Crowe. Oh, he isn't seriously raising the possibility that... no, that would be a ridiculously elaborate frame-up, wouldn't it?
As you get ready to enter the building, there he is. Downcast, an unmistakable odor of chocolate about him, and yet with paradoxically pristine teeth. Johnny Smiles perks up and salutes as he sees you. "Good morning, Detective! I don't believe you need any further testimony from me, so if you'll excuse me, I'm off to do important professional work." He tries to squeeze his way out of the door and away from the group...
"Well, we wouldn't want to keep you very long," says Crowe, mentally planning to keep Smiles very long. "You've said you have a pretty good memory, right? I'd like you to tell us a little more about that time Jackie and Moebus were talking on the bridge... and exactly what they were carrying. I'd also like to ask if you saw anything unusual appear on the far side of the bridge."
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Bad Player »

Spoiler : @Calvinball :
There is only one question: when Connie shoved Simon, did his grip from Fulbright's sleeve come off? Or did she shove Fulbright with him?

The answer to this will be quite important when the group tries to leave this area...
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