Snake 10:00 A.M. Seventh Day
"The bruises." I suddenly interject. A ripple of confusion runs through the room, with everyone glancing around at each other. There are whispers of glee from our audience, the people in animal masks, but I simply ignore them as I explain.
"She had bruises on her arms, like she was being shoved in. The killer probably wanted to hide her in the washing machine, but her arms didn't fit, so they abandoned her and fixed the crime scene up in the morning." Horse nods at my words, and I see Tiger's smirk grow bigger. Sometimes I can't help but feel the bastard is enjoying this.
"If that's true, then we can almost certainly explain how the crime happened," Ox states.
"Mhm, then…after putting all the facts together, do we know who did it?" Sheep asks, he's still standing at the front of the room. I think for a second…the crime started last night when the killer grabbed the knife from the kitchen and sent Rat the note.
They killed her in the laundry room later that night and then tried to hide the body unsuccessfully. So they left her, and the next morning, they made plans to pin the crime on me while trying to hide where Rat was killed.
"Tsk…so convoluted," I murmur.
"Seriously, if they had kept it simple, it would've been easier." Tiger agrees.
"For them, or for us?" Monkey questions.
"For them, of course. Trying to muddy the crime scene can put people off at first, but it leaves more clues in the end." Tiger shrugs.
"But…even with all the clues, it's still difficult to figure it out." Horse sighs.
"Ah…really?" Tiger says, leaning back in his chair.
"If you know already, share with the class." I berate him.
"...Don't wanna." He smiles cheekily.
"Don't screw with us! We might stay here forever if you don't fucking tell us!" Rooster rages. Rising from her seat and pointing an accusing finger at Tiger, spittle flying from her mouth.
"How do I explain this to all of you…I don't need to tell you the answer. I figured it out myself. You guys can do it too; don't be lazy." Tiger chastises, throwing up a finger and waving it back and forth.
"Jerk." I huff, turning away from him.
"Hahaha! As if you wouldn't do the same thing." He chuckles.
"Fair point, but I wouldn't be grinning in everyone's face about it," I reply. In fact, the answer is already clear. From the precise cut on her neck down to the blood reused at the crime scene, there are only two people I have in mind, and one fits more than the other.
"If you two have any info, it would be nice if you could tell us," Ox says, trying to convince Tiger to give him the answer.
"Huh? Why include me in that?" I ask him.
"You've made it obvious that you wouldn't tell us even if you knew, and considering you are trying harder to get Tiger to say it out loud, I assume you're trying to use him to reveal the answer so you don't have to," Ox explains. Shit. Have I really gotten that easy to see through? I tilt my head in annoyance, trying to quell the need to bounce my foot in place.
"That's not exactly it, I bet if I told you, you guys wouldn't believe me. But since we've gotten this far, I might as well say it…I believe the killer to be Dragon." I announce, crossing my arms across my chest.
"What!?" A ripple of shock runs through everyone, and even harsher whispers come from our audience. I catch a few smirks when I look at them, and Mr. Cat is also glancing at us with a sickening expression.
"And what makes you think you can go accusing people like that, asshole!" Dragon shifts in his seat, glaring at me.
"I seem to remember everyone on your side doing the same thing…so I don't have any problems doing this," I tell him.
"You bitch! Where's your proof?" He questions.
"Yeah, you shouldn't just accuse people with no proof." Rooster scoffs. I usually try to keep my emotions in check, but I send Rooster a harsh glare, and she quickly shuts up.
"I have plenty of proof, the spot where she was hit on the neck is a very particular spot. She was probably hit there to kill her quickly, but not many people would know of a spot like that, not only that, but this person also had to know about the blood thing, so they could use it a few hours later. The only people who fit are Horse and Dragon." I explain.
"That's all speculation!" Dragon scoffs.
"He's right, that isn't evidence you can put forth in a court, it doesn't hold up." Horse says, shifting awkwardly in her seat.
"Saying it like that is a mistake though. This isn't some professional court; evidence like this is something we can accept if we want to, and personally, I think him being the killer is very likely," I say, crossing my feet just to move a little.
"Hm…I'll just vote for who everyone else is voting for." The tense conversation is interrupted by Sheep, who is still standing at the front of the room. In fact, he's leaning against the desk Mr. Cat is sitting at, putting his hand up to stifle a yawn.
"... Would you please sit back down." Mr. Cat says, glancing down at Sheep with a glare.
"Ah, sure." He responds, walking back over to his seat.
"Does this mean we're at an impasse?" Ox questions.
"Damn right! Don't try and treat me as a suspect just because of his nonsense." Dragon snorts.
"Wellllll, you tried your best, now it's time for the big finale, here it is!" Tiger suddenly shouts, jumping out of his chair and skipping to the front. He grabs something out of his pocket and unfolds it. It's a note.
"I'm going to read this out loud now, ahem, 'Dear Rat, meet me at the laundry room at 11, I think I found something important.' Signed, Dragon." He reads the note out word by word, and by the end, everyone is staring at Dragon with a stunned expression.
"Does that clear things up?" He asks, addressing the room.
"W-what? I-I didn't write that." Dragon says, his face pale.
"I can't believe you. Why would you kill someone?" Horse turns to Dragon accusingly.
"I-I…" He stammers.
"Even if you were desperate…murdering someone…" Dog trails off.
"Something like that is bad, you're very bad, mister." Boar scolds.
"I can't believe I was sitting next to a murderer this whole time." Rabbit squeaks, backing away from Dragon.
"Urgh! Fine, I fucking murdered her! What more do you want?!" Dragon shouts.
"What a way to crack under pressure." Monkey sighs.
"I had to get out of here! I'm a surgeon, I've got people out there that I need to save! I had a ton of surgeries lined up, and I was the best in the hospital. I had to get out." He says through gritted teeth.
"I don't fucking care if you look at me like that, I did what I had to." He states.
"Pathetic, make excuses on why you did it all you want, you killed someone today. Isn't that the exact opposite of what you aim to do as a surgeon?" I shoot him a pointed glance.
"You bitch, it's your fault I'm in this situation in the first place, I could've been out of here by now if you didn't mention anything. It's not like you guys would've died in here." He says annoyedly.
"We all have careers outside of here, not just you, we have families and jobs and hobbies and friends! You just decided to take a selfish step forward and murder someone." Rooster berates him, getting closer and closer until she's pointing at his face.
"Don't get so close to him, he might kill you, too." Rabbit tries to pull her back.
"Don't worry, I will stop any attacks you try to make." Mr. Cat states, trying to calm our worries.
"Ahem, while this has been fun I think it's about time we get to the main event." Tiger interrupts the heated discussion to address Mr. Cat.
"You are correct, now then, for all those in favor of voting Snake, please raise your hands." Mr. Cat says, addressing us and the patrons sitting to the sides. Not a single person raises their hand.
"Now, how about for Dragon over here?" He moves his hand that was pointing out at me over to Dragon, who looks at him with a reproachful glare. Every single hand in the room raises, Mr. Cat doesn't even need to count before he claps his hands with joy.
"Looks like we have a clear winner. Now then, as the judge, I will reveal whether you are correct or not. And the answer issssss…" Mr. Cat commits to useless filler as he does a small drumroll, "Correct! Dragon did indeed murder Rat, and now for your punishment." Mr. Cat smiles.
"Ah, uhm, c-could we perhaps, not do that?" Dragon asks, stumbling back.
"No." Mr. Cat replies. Dragon turns around to try and run, but one of the staff members is standing there and grabs him roughly by the shoulders. Another one comes by to help, and they drag him kicking and screaming out of the room.
"Do we…go now?" Sheep asks, turning to Mr. Cat.
"Not quite." He responds mysteriously. All of us glance around nervously as a different staff member wheels in a TV and turns it on. The image it projects is Dragon, standing in a room, blindfolded and tied to a pole.
"H-hey, what's going to happen. C'mon, let me out!" He cries out desperately. When someone enters the room, he starts shouting at them. It's a staff member with an elephant mask on his head, and in his hands is a gun.
It's short and simple, as Dragon is mid-shout, the man holds up the gun and shoots him in the mouth. It goes through the back of his throat and cuts off his cries. All we can hear is a slight gurgling noise as the blood stains the pole behind him.
"Hk!" There's a shout, and Horse stumbles back, kicking her chair down. It devolves into chaos after that, Boar and Rabbit start crying, and others are shouting in outrage. All I can do is stare in shock. There's a difference between finding your friend's dead body and seeing someone get murdered on a screen in front of you.
"Why would you do that!?" Horse screams at Mr. Cat hysterically.
"He's a murderer, he simply got his due punishment. With that, the trial is over, and you may return to what you were doing before." Mr. Cat states. He waves us out of the room, and the staff members escort us to the door. I'm completely numb as I step out, just focusing on my feet in front of me. Everyone else walks off toward their rooms after a bit, but I just stand there and wait.
When Tiger tries sneaking off somewhere else, I reach out my hand and grab his arm. Everyone else has left at this point, so I don't hesitate to pull him closer.
"You…that note was fake, wasn't it." I don't say it as a question.
"...How'd you figure that out?" He asks, a subtle gleam in his eye.
"His reaction to that note was real, and there's no way he wouldn't have gotten rid of that note," I explain my reasoning.
"Why do you even care? It got the job done." He says, pushing my hand away from his arm and taking a step back.
"I don't care…" I trail off, looking to the side.
"Yes, you do. I don't understand why you're trying to avoid it in front of me, it won't work." He states, taking a step closer to me. I back up a bit, but I soon run into the wall.
"I still consider you my friend. You can play your cold persona up all you want, but just know that I know who you truly are on the inside." He leans over my shoulder to whisper the last part in my ear, the heat of his breath makes me tense until he backs up with a smile.
"See you tomorrow." He waves, skipping away.
"Fuck…"I curse, sliding down the wall with my head in my hands.
"Fuck."