OoC: Saved, just in case. ^_- And so we begin the fun part…

BiC: “Alright. I think I have all the evidence I need,” Tracey responded as she entered the main room, coming down the stairs tentively. She carefully eyed all the participants in the game just in case one of them should give off any body language that she deemed suspicious.

“It was me! I did it!” Con suddenly shot up from his chair, gasping while wringing his hands in his hair. “How could I have done such a thing?”

“You… you killed her?” Tracey suddenly responded in shock, reaching for a pair of handcuffs she possessed in her bag. No way it was this easy… the murderer was confessing just like that? The rest of the company stared on, completely in shock.

“I can’t believe it was me that murdered the person! This game sucks!” Con exclaimed, bending over and flicking his green game piece off the board. “Huh? What? Me killed…” He suddenly seemed to realize what he had implied. “No, no!” His normal poker face lost validity for a moment, taking on a sense of panic. As quickly as it came, it left once more, leaving no reflection of emotion in its wake. “I’d never kill… her… or anyone in real life.”

“Well…” Mark returned from his study moments later, before anyone could make remarks on the awkward moment. “I’m done with the autopsy…” He seemed to look a little pale. “Miss Tracey, did you find any evidence?”

“I did, indeed. Can you run a few DNA tests and such on it for me?” She handed her bag over to him after a moment, which contained the items she picked from the room.

“Yes, I can.” Before anyone could object, he turned to Monroe. “He’ll come with me to make sure I don’t tamper with any of it. Just so all of you can believe me. It should be done shortly. My technology and chemicals will provide the answers quicker than you can believe… especially since… I must know.” Giving a short nod to Monroe, he handed Tracey a small vanilla folder containing the report. “Here’s the autopsy. I did what I could, even though I’m not a doctor. I also need something from all three of you.” He pointed at Con, Jackie, and Sarah. “I need your blood… or a lock of your hair. I have to have some DNA to test. I already have DNA from Zorlo and Selene. They've been here before. I make it a habit to collect DNA from visitors for testing...”

“DNA?” Con asked, seeming to act a little uncomfortable.

“Yes. Why, do you have a problem giving me your DNA?” Mark asked, narrowing his eyes a little. “A lock of your hair will do, even that will work.”

“Fine… here.” Con sighed and reached into his jacket for a moment. He took out a comic book and began to flip through it. After a moment, he scratched his head, pulling. He then revealed a few strands of hair. “You can take them.” Jackie did the same after a moment, followed by Sarah.

Mark accepted the strands of follicles and put them inside different plastic bags, handing them to Monroe. “Let’s go and get this done so we can figure out a few things.” The two left the scene for the time being.

Tracey flipped open the report the scientist had given her and read it to herself, briefly, intending to use every angle she could find. Her eyes intimately scanned the words on the white page.

Autopsy: Cause of death determined to be punctures and lacerations to face and body, also evident strangulation by unknown item.

She stopped there, eager to go on to the next part. “Alright, let’s start testimonies.” She nodded, crossing her arms with a determined look on her face. “Who wants to go first?”

“Oh, I will!” Selene exclaimed, waving a hand wildly in the air. “Can I? Oh, can I, please?”

“Certainly… will you step up to the podium, please?” Tracey waved a friendly hand towards a small desk and chair that had been set up facing the couches, just as if it were a real court case.

“Okay!” Selene chirped, leaving the game and seating herself before the company.

“You may begin.” Tracey waited for the angel to speak, but she said nothing. “I said you can go… what’s wrong?”

“What? Begin what?” the speaker asked.

“Your testimony, of course…” Tracey seemed distraught at the fact that Selene seemed so naive.

“What’s a testimony?” Selene blushed a little. “I’m sorry; I guess I just got excited. What do I do?”

Zorlo took charge for a moment, knowing he could explain it to Selene in a way the angel could understand. No one really blamed her, since she obviously was still innocent in mind. “You tell us where you were that night of the murder and what you were doing, or anything you think was suspicious. Just explain things like that.”

“Okay, then what?” Selene asked, smiling lovingly at her future husband.

“You… well, normally, someone cross-examines you. I’m not sure if Tracey will be doing that or not, though.”

“I think I’ll listen to them all first, and then I’ll see what I want to do.” Tracey figured it was better, since there were so many, to listen first. She took out a notebook and a pen, ready to scrawl notes as the angel spoke. “Okay, so now that you know what to do… tell us, what happened on the night of the murder? First, give us your name and relation, or when you came to the mansion.”

Selene put a finger to her lips, her other hand holding her elbow across her chest. “My name is Selene Vlaxen. I’m not related to the victim, but I’ve known of her for a few months. Both Zorlo and I came here probably four or five weeks ago. Hm….”

“It was late that night, and I wanted to go for a walk outside without Zorlo. I left my room and met Mina in the hallway. She said she was thirsty. I didn’t think she should have been up that late, so I offered to get something for her. I made a cup in the kitchen. I heard some noise and went to see what Mark was doing in his study, because I figured it was him. When I got back, I had completely forgotten about the cup. I would have gone back to bed, but I didn’t want to wake up Zorlo, so I went to the library to read, instead. After reading for about an hour or two, I returned to our room, calmed and ready for sleep.”

She smiled and tucked her hands behind her back, closing her eyes for a brief moment, looking happy. “That’s it!”

“Hm…” Silence reigned for a few moments after Selene finished. Tracey prodded her chin with one finger. Interesting… “This detective calls you to the stand!” She used the same finger to point to Con, who grumbled as he got up and sat in the chair. “State your name and relation to the murdered, if any, and when you came to the house.”

He leaned his cheek against his fist and twirled a piece of his hair with his other hand. “My name is Con. I’m not related to the little girl, I’ve only seen her around a couple times. Never talked to her or the scientist before I came. I came to the mansion about two weeks ago with Jackie for a place to stay. As for the night of the murder…” He seemed pensive.

“I don’t recall much about that night, although I know I didn’t sleep much. I never stepped outside of my room all that night, since I was sort of adamant against meeting other people, but especially those in his mansion. I’ve never been good at making friends or anything… so I first got a glimpse of the body when I saw it dead beside everyone else.”

“That’s fine, Con.” Tracey scribbled a few notes down, thoughtful all of a sudden. “So where does everyone stay in this mansion? Where are the rooms and who do they belong to?”

“Oh, you want me to scribble down a little map for you on a piece of paper? I can do that.” Con reached over and took a piece of paper Tracey handed him, doodling a quick diagram of the mansion. “There you go.”

“Come on, Con, that’s just sloppy.” Jackie snatched the paper and looked at it. “You could do a better map than that. Here, I’ll draw you a reliable sketch. Here you go.” She handed the new drawing back to Tracey. “Look, I’ll even explain it to you from what I’ve seen…”

“Here’s the bottom floor. Think of it like a big rectangle. There’s the stairs in the middle to the next floor, the study in the right top corner, and the kitchen near the entrance of the mansion, across from the study in the bottom right. On the left, near the entrance is the library, and near the stairway is the basement…

If you move to the second floor, it’s more like a square, divided into two sides, each with three rooms vertically. On the left side, nearest the stairs is Mina’s room, of course. Next is Mark’s room. Finally, there is my room. On the other side, Con is the first room nearest the stairway, and then there’s Sarah next to him. Finally, on the top, there’s Selene and Zorlo. They were together. Or at least that’s what I think…”

“Okay… thanks.” Tracey accepted the map, taking careful note of the rooms and their places. “And the murder scene is Mina’s room…” She nodded slowly. “Okay. Well, before we halt for a few minutes, I want to hear one more testimony. You.” She pointed at Jackie as she pocketed the map.

“Alright, then. I see no problem with that. My name is Jaquline Syphera, but everyone calls me Jackie. I have no relation to the little girl, Mina is her name, but I do know people’s names around here, unlike Con. I try to learn about people as I meet them, and places, too.” She seated herself in the wooden chair.

“Okay, now give us your version of what happened on the murder night…”

Jackie cleared her throat, and tilted her head while her arms lay at her side.

“I slept almost all night. I kept hearing noises from below me. I decided to see what was going on down there, so I went downstairs and I saw the angel in the kitchen fixing something. I entered Mark’s study to ask him to be quieter. The noise had stopped, and no one was inside. I went back to bed. No one was in the hall. That’s what happened.”

Tracey’s expression showed she thought it may be more difficult than first anticipated. “Thank you. Okay, now all we need are the testimonies from Zorlo, Sarah, and Mark… and that’s it. Maybe Mark will be finished after Zorlo and Sarah are finished with theirs. Who’s next to testify?” she asked, reviewing the little she had to go with for the time being.

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Thanks to you... <3 Selene, Raziel, Arlen and Kate