EPONA + RATATOSKR + TIAMAT + JACK PANTHER

[soulping]

[You are ushered out of the parlor and into a cozy sitting room. The storm continues to rage outside, but a roaring fire keeps the room nice and toasty.

As you enter, you find your clothes have changed to something vaguely 1940s Noir-ish and appropriate to your character. You all look very dapper, though you may be surprised to suddenly find yourself cross-dressing. At the same time, knowledge suddenly enters your mind- the role you will be playing in tonight's performance, information on some of your fellow guests, and the rules of the game, as well as the setup for the story.]

[RULES:
THIS IS A MURDER MYSTERY GAME! Investigate your surroundings, speak to your fellow guests, and solve the mystery! Points will be given for completing goals and appropriate IC roleplaying.

You can make private, friends-locked posts to other players for secret discussions, but you MUST include squeakofthedevil on the filter and drop a link here!]

NOTE: In this group, the parts of Kira Graves and Tod Mises are unclaimed. ICly, Kira will have been unable to attend due to both of her children being ill. Tod simply refused the invitation because he thinks his dad is a jerk.

Comments

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

[And she's younger than you both, LOGIC.]

Let 'em come, then I can kick their ass!

[Office, HO!]

[soulping]

[You reach Phil Graves's office on the third floor. It's a finely furnished room with ceiling high bookcases (packed full), a massive mahogany desk (currently buried under various files and papers), a large stone fireplace with photographs on the mantle, and a luxurious Persian rug. And, of course, the doors to the balcony.]

[lifehacker]

[ Immediately begins to look for any footprints - dirt, impressions on the rug, any water tracked back into the room by the killer from being out on the balcony in the storm. ]

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

[Going to check the files. See what's open, what looks important, what might be odd for him to have out now, being the son who helped with business and all.]

[onebullet]

[ Moves to the desk and starts searching through the drawers. ]

[carptricks]

[heading to the mantle to check the photographs first]

[soulping]

[Photographs of his family, especially his children when they were young. Actually, there don't appear to be ANY recent pictures of them. Surprisingly, his wedding photos with both Dee and Layne are up there, right next to each other, in matching gold frames.]

[carptricks]

[blinks]

Odd. . .

[checking behind the photographs]

[soulping]

[Nothing much to be seen back there, sorry.]

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

Did my father only try to contact you recently?

[soulping]

[They appear to be mostly dry business reports, information on stocks and budgets, lots of snooze-inducing numbers. There's also a number of newspaper clippings scattered about- they all appear to be articles about Phil's various philanthropic activities over the years.]

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

[Why does he have his newspaper clippings around? Is there any pattern to the articles besides it being his philanthropic activities?]

[...do the snooze inducing numbers make sense? I do have the mind for abundance of data IC and OOClyor Roxy's OOC, however that works, I CAN DO THIS. Looking for funny math.]

[soulping]

[Nothing about the articles themselves that especially stands out, but you notice that the vast majority of them are dated within the last ten years, although you know very well that he's been a charitable man all his life.

Numbers say: His company is doing very well lately, but his charity donations have been taking bigger and bigger chunks out of personal profits.]

[thevoidsdarkhorse]

[Paaaaause.]

Ten years....

[With this and what Mr. Inalie said....]

[Will check to see if it's the SAME charity, or different ones.]

[Then checking drawers with Angela.]

[soulping]

[Unnoticeable unless you look closely, but the floor between the balcony door and the fireplace is slightly damp...]

[lifehacker]

The fireplace, huh.

[ Getting closer to the fireplace, checking for anything that might have been thrown into the fire. ]

[soulping]

[There's a pile of ashes in the fireplace that look very recent. They're cool enough to look through, if you want.]

[lifehacker]

[ Definitely picking through them - there might be some document the culprit tried to remove, or a weapon. ]

[soulping]

[You find...buttons. Brass buttons like those on a coat or robe. They're still ever so slightly warm.]

[wingtamer]

[. . . . looking at the door, frowning as he looks at the floor - seeing if the latch on the door is on properly. . . ]

[soulping]

[The door to the balcony appears normal. The latch is unlocked but not forced.

The floor around the door looks slightly damp, though...]

[wingtamer]

[. . . . touching the floor, to feel how wet it is, and looking over to the "butler"]

- Excuse me, when did you find the body? And - did you close this door?

[soulping]

[Not very wet, like it just got a quick spray.]

The gardener discovered it...I suppose, a half hour after you had all gathered, but it appeared to have been outside for some time. And, no...I do not usually disturb Master Graves while he is working, so I have not been in this room for several days.

[wingtamer]

How frequently does the gardener work in that area? And - the rain . . . what time did it start, do you remember?

[soulping]

Every day, Miss, unless there is a storm like this. He had to retrieve something from the tool shed today, though, or he never would have spotted the body.

The rain, ah...it started after I had gone to bed, so it must have been late. Sometime after midnight, I suppose?