[TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

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

Post by Calvinball »

Connie nods at Ledger's proposal, evidently agreeing with his proposed course of action.

Apparently Connie is, at least at present, willing to accept the risks inherent to Ledger being the viewpoint character.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Ferdielance »

Spoiler : OOC :
I've been sick and also on vacation, but I'll try to post a little here and there as I can!
Crowe nods along with Ledger's thoughts. "Biggest things we need to worry about... in my opinion, are how the lorazepam got to the victim and where the missing items are. But checking with Smiles might let us ask about that vacation and the watch."

He seems... surprisingly okay with viewpoint Ledger. He whispers something to him.
Spoiler : Prosecution :
"This your first investigation?"

He doesn't wait for an answer.

"Make a list of top priorities, and keep an eye on the defense. Don't be afraid to press Smiles a little. And keep an eye out for hiding spots. We'll also want to look at the physical layout of that bridge. Rope's still suspicious to me."
"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 »

Fulbright stops the over-the-top hand motion he was in the middle of, and his arms stand awkwardly at his chest. "Eh? Didn't I send you all an email about that last night?" He pulls out his phone and starts checking...

It looks like Crowe's making Fulbright run around in circles might be causing his concentration to slip. But based on Crowe's previous record of making searches/reminders about evidence... The prosecution may want to run and hide at this point!
[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 Enthalpy »

Fulbright eventually finishes his frantic search and turns up empty.

"It, uh, appears that I never sent that email after all. My apologies... It was bad enough that we missed this the first time." Not good.

"Anyways, the search in Moebus's car that the defense requested yesterday. We, uh, found some things." Definitely not good. Why do you have the bad feeling this may relate to that previous dream sequence?
External Hard Drive wrote:An external hard drive. Black, deck-of-cards shaped, and predictably covered with the victim's fingerprints. This is thicker and has an obviously different texture from the notebook. Fits with the cable found at the crime scene, and can connect to a tablet device or a computer. The ASI (agency she worked for) are examining it and will return it afterwards.
Chloroform Rag wrote:A rag found in a compartment in the trunk of Ross Moebus's car, wrapped around the external hard drive. Has some of Ross's fingerprints, more of Kranf's fingerprints, and nobody else's. Her prints are only on one side, while his are on both. Additionally contains traces of dirt, lipstick, and chloroform. Chemical analyses have matched the dirt samples to those in the area, and DNA testing on the lipstick stain has found traces of Alexandra Kranf's DNA, and traces of chloroform sandwiched between the fabric and the lipstick.

It is indisputable that this is the rag used on the victim, and that Ross Moebus touched it.
Alexandra's Notebook wrote:A small, spiralbound notebook. Black, deck-of-cards shaped, and predictably covered with the victim's fingerprints. This is thinner and has an obviously different texture from the hard drive The ASI (agency she worked for) are examining it and will return it afterwards.
DEFINITELY not good for the prosecution. Abort, abort, abort!
Last edited by Enthalpy on Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
[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 Ferdielance »

Spoiler : OOC :
Checking: did you mean to say the defendant's prints were on the hard drive or the victim's?
Crowe gives a long, slow whistle. "We still need to see how Ms. Kranf ended up drugged. As it stands..."

There's an unspoken "...the Prosecution is not in a good place."
"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 spd12 »

"An e-mail? N-Nooooo," Ledger casts a few glances around. As a rookie prosecutor, he has much to learn about scolding detectives. The way he shrinks, he seems almost like he's the one who did a bad thing. (It's Ledger, so he probably has committed some sort of embarrassing newbie transgression...)

He takes one hand to the back of his head, looking especially worried. "I-It's not just me, right. I didn't forget to check my--"

Fulbright to the rescue! He didn't even send an e-mail at all! He breathes the biggest sigh of relief just about anyone could over the last few days. "Okay, maybe it wasn't... anything important, I mean, if it was, you w-wouldn't forget t--"

Ping. Ledger gets out his phone. "Oh. That was... fast. Okay. Um. Well, let's see the... latest deposit in the evidence ba--"

He doesn't get to finish the latest forced financial pun. "Th-that was in... Mr. Moebus'..."

Beats pass. Ledger looks up, and down, and up, and down.

"Um. Ms. Harper...?" Ledger slowly approaches. "Um, this is... this is awkward, but," he casts a glance to the side, "my current phone, it's... it's a hand-me-down. From my... my mom. Very old. Y-You know. Hard to see the... the fine text. Sometimes? S-so, uh. Um."

"Can I... re-read that on your phone?" He asks in desperation, his voice going down in volume yet up in octaves with every passing word.

Connie wouldn't need to lend Ledger her phone - she has her own pair of eyes and could read it aloud just fine.

"Please?"
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Enthalpy »

Spoiler : :
Thanks for the catch, Ferdie. Fixed.

And no, the prosecution is not in a good place at all.
[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 Ferdielance »

"Don't panic," says Crowe to Ledger, reassuringly. "Fulbright, please check for fingerprints on the handles and trunk of Moebus's car. It'd be best to put behind us any possibility that this evidence was planted. As for the chloroform... Hmm. I have a few ideas. Where in the car was that notebook found? And did anybody have access to his car, besides detectives, after the police arrived?"

A Prosecutor's job is never done!
"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 Calvinball »

Connie stands stock frozen as she reads and re-reads and re-re-reads the updated evidence list on her own phone. She vaguely remembers requesting a search on Moebus's car after feeling prompted to by Judge Ayala, but she'd been expecting some cigarette butts not this.

For a moment it's all she can do to open and close her mouth in succession. Her eyes dart to Ledger, who she thinks is trying to get her attention, then back to the phone, then to Ledger, to the phone, to Crowe, to Lawrence and Ita, as though asking if they're seeing what she's seeing -

And finally the cycle ends and Connie's face cracks into a grin.

A big grin.

And then everything about Connie changes.

She stands up a little straighter. Her eyes get a little twinkle. Her hands tighten into a fists, she squeezes her eyes shut, and a tension builds in her whole body until she leaps into the air with a cheer.

"YES!" Connie jumps straight up as she shouts, but upon landing she straightens herself up, schooling her face into displaying a calm, cool, and collected facade.

Which immediately breaks when Connie pumps her fists and screams, "YES!!!" again. And then, "YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!" Oh dear.

"Prosecutor Crowe!" Oh no... She marches up to Prosecutor Crowe, definitely invading his personal space a bit - before thankfully taking a few steps back after realizing how close she'd gotten. She takes in a deep breath, points, grins, and shouts.
"IN -! Wait, maybe I shouldn't."

She coughs, and suddenly everything about Connie looks sheepish again, but she recovers quickly and re-adopts her original arrogant stance. Then, pointing at Crowe, she says, "In. Your. Face," punctuating each word with a gentle mock jab in his direction. The smugness quickly breaks into straight glee after only a moment, though; Connie's face cracks into another grin and she just can't help but squeal (really?), and it's all she can do not to dance back to where Simon Lawrence and Opal Ita stand.

"Well, it looks like we've got a new wind in our sails!" Connie says, her grin still wide and present. "The evidence has been found in Moebus's car with Moebus's fingerprints, and so far the police have found nothing tying them to Mr. Johnson!" Then, turning to Crowe and Ledger with a smirk that seems far too large to possibly fit on anyone's face, Connie adds, "I think this is checkmate, Prosecutor Crowe! Go ahead and call for those searches. Johhny Smiles never saw Nick Johnson leave the island after Ms. Kranf's window of death, so I don't see how he could possibly plant anything in Moebus's car at all!"

She doesn't seem to consider the possibility that Crowe just wants to investigate thoroughly for the sake of catching the killer, whoever it may be, Johnson or not. Either way, it's clear that Connie's back to her old self - though she managed to exercise enough restraint not to scream in Crowe's face. So maybe that counts for something.

Connie stands smirking for a moment, almost seemingly basking in the "victory" (for a certain definition of "victory" wherein the success was found only by luck and through no real work on her part), before she perks up and turns to Ledger. "Oh, right, you wanted to know what the evidence list read. Well, I'll say it slowly. You're. In. Trouble. Nah, I'm kidding! It says that all the missing evidence like the hard drive, chloroform rag, and notebook were found in your star witness's car!"

Well, now that's just mean.

"But let's not get too distracted!" Connie says, still beaming and smirking, despite being the one who just got distracted for about five minutes doing the equivalent of a gambler's victory dance. "We were on our way to see Johnny Smiles, right? Detective Fulbright, let's hear the answers to Prosecutor Crowe's questions first. But I'm guessing you'll have to take time to check the car for fingerprints and such like he requests? If so, we can talk to Johnny Smiles in the meantime while you get that for us.

"Also, if I may ask a couple questions of my own. You said you searched the car yesterday: when that day did you search it? Where was the car? Where was Moebus at the time?
Spoiler : OOC :
As before, if Connie's crossing lines for you, tell me OOC and I'll dial her back. Apologies for my chronic inactivity, but I'll try to re-make a habit of stopping by at least every three days, as was the original minimum.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Bad Player »

The din from Connie's conundrum somehow manages to wake Simon up. He looks around a bit, blinks a few times...

Nah, nothing important is probably going on. His head droops back down.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

Connie sighs and frowns deeply at Simon Lawrence's display. "Oh, come on! You can't sleep through everything, Mr. Lawrence!" Connie says, her voice rising slightly in an attempt to rouse him. "Did you not hear? Incriminating evidence was found in Ross Moebus's car! The prosecution is on the ropes!" That's probably at least a bit of an exaggeration. "There's been a reversal! A turnabout! A one-eighty An about-face! A volte-face! Doesn't this interest you at least a little as a member of the defense?" Connie runs her hands through her hair, suddenly exasperated. She takes several deep breaths in and out - her emotions were still running high, so she reacted a little out of proportion (not that that's unusual for Connie).

After a few moments of breathing, she's calmer, and she sighs. "Why am I the only one of us celebrating?"
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by spd12 »

"Oh, whew," Ledger seems relieved, "I, I really thought my screen was going ba--"

"Wait. That... that's still very bad." Did he really just realize that? How far is he willing to bend suspension of disbelief about his own cognitive ability to process facts and events?!

Ledger suddenly seems inclined to look at his own hands, which are still wearing gloves.

He starts to rifle through his pockets for reasons that are obscure, while Connie presses on the offensive against a Crowe who has his task laid out before him for damage control... he looks up and signals something undecipherable to... no one?

As this doesn't bring anyone any closer, it's not certain what that gesture actually means. It's probably nothing important.
Spoiler : OOC :
Ledger basically exists to be humiliated and emasculated by the universe at large, don't worry. He is your case 1 chew toy.

Maybe he's actually someone else's case 2 through 4 problem... I'd feel bad for them in advance.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Calvinball »

Connie decides that it's probably important.

"Prosecutor Ledger?" She quirks an eyebrow at him. "What exactly are you doing? Crossing yourself? Signaling passing planes? Pledging allegiance to the flag of Japanifornia?"

Connie smirks a bit at Ledger, and suddenly she realizes that this whole time she's been in a position to put a little pressure on the prosecution - she was so stuck on Crowe that she didn't pay enough attention to Ledger. "So, Ledger!" she says brightly. "How'd a guy like you end up on a case like this, anyway? Must've seemed straightforward enough... locked room, no other suspects... those must've been the days, huh?"

And not it's clear that Connie actively regressing in terms of maturation over the course of the trial. Joy. Hopefully she'll cease with the arrogance relatively soon and find a happier median, but for now... one can only watch.
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by spd12 »

Irrelevant flavorful paragraphs of fun start here.

"I'm... confused?" So confused he adds a question mark at the end! That's very confused. He appears oblivious to the outright mocking, if not to the overwhelming dread that comes with the prosecution being knocked up against the ropes.

"Um, aaaaaactually, I was... I was kinda hoping to get in on a case involving former Bluecorp executives? Y-You heard about all that, right?" This is absolutely irrelevant backstory, obviously, it doesn't matter who has or hasn't. "I... I don't even know how I got assigned to this one instead, but, um, we're... we're kind of not... done, because..."

Oh, this will probably be one to savor. What sort of easily destroyed theory does Ledger have this time? He's not even making eye contact with Connie, as if he knows this is stupid and desperate and probably about to be easily destroyed by a simple present.

Irrelevant flavorful paragraphs of fun end here.

"If... if Mr. Moebus did touch the rag," that's not an if, he did, "and... and was there for... y'know, that, um. Um... how does he, er, get fingerprints all over the rag, but... virtually nowhere else on the victim's body?"

Ledger's back to looking at his hands. "Mr. Smiles... said Mr. Moebus wasn't wearing gloves when he saw him, so... it... it kind of seems like there should be... more prints? I mean, the victim was searched, and... I don't think I heard anything about... fingerprints being found there? Or... or any smears of chloroform, or anything, if... if you're gonna say he just picked stuff up with the rag."

"I, I don't remember if there was any checks for that specifically, but, um..."

Ledger's voice trails off as he gets his phone out again, and... is he checking the AAO TBP wiki at http://aao-tbp.wikia.com?!

That's irresponsible. He's on the job here!!! Going to an entertainment site while working. Pfft...

"I dunno, seems kinda... incomplete a picture?" Didn't the case go to court on what was a hasty and incomplete investigation to begin with?!
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Re: [TBP] Turnabout of the Elements (Investigation!)

Post by Ferdielance »

Crowe reacts to Connie's outburst about the same way a large tree or small boulder might. There... might be a slight twitch of the eyelid in annoyance. But when Ledger starts making valid arguments, he perks right up.

"Good, Ledger. Not to mention the problem of the chloroform container. All looks a little too convenient. Why did Moebus keep all of this in his car if he had a chance to go home? Why not destroy the rag, at least? Detective, can you check if this car has a GPS tracker? It's conceivable that... the destination history might hold something."

He mulls this over, then adds, "Defense is celebrating, but I'm not seeing any confetti yet. Besides, the Prosecution has another ace in the hole."
Spoiler : Prosecution :
Aside to Ledger, he whispers: "Just need to figure out what it is."
Last edited by Ferdielance on Thu Jan 07, 2016 4:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
"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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