Private Outfit

Luna was pensive. Belladonna, Nicoletta, Roland, Richard, and Miranda. And Wolf was apparently stabbed without a struggle. And then there was the fact that the perpetrator went off their way to stab his tattoo of Miri. Unless it was someone who came in and did that after the fact, and it was a red herring?! She shook her head, surely she was making this more complicated than it was.

Would Wolf really have trusted Roland or Richard enough not to incur defensive wounds from them? That would make one of the females more likely then, she thought. Why not start with Nicolette? She's a quiet sort, probably tried to find somewhere to escape to during the party. Luna set off to find the bathroom and/or powder room. Maybe someone left something behind inadvertently on the sink or in the trashcan or purposely hid something in the bathroom cabinets? (Or even in the toilet tank?! She shook her head again, her crazy thoughts were starting to get out of hand.)

Sorry to ping, just wanted to make sure that you see that I repurposed this post for chapter 3 instead of making a new post. So many possibilities, I'm really excited :D

Seoni waited until the the officers were not looking. She took off her heels and tucked them under her left arm. She then walked towards the kitchen, her bare feet silent on the floor. The look on her face was casual, in case she was caught and questioned.

After all, the kitchen was where the snacks were made. IF she didn't find a clue she could help herself to a few pasteries to nibble on until the police let her go. She hoped Miranda was in good company. The poor girl. It must be hard to lose someone you are head over heels in love with.

Outfit Not Found

Detective Fields informed her she was free to leave. Was Miranda really a suspect? Skylar had to go home, but had somehow made her way to the kitchen maybe it was the exquisite smells. She hadn’t been able to make it inside because there was a trail of disheveled kitchen utensils and pans. Almost as if someone had left in a hurry.?.

'Chapter 3 Check In

[box=#ffdbe9]You notice the confusion of voices and unfocused attention of the police officers, trying to calm everyone down by saying they had enough information and the best thing to do was going home. Sneaking behind this whole stir, you're able to get to the garden, where most of the party was planned to happen. Maybe you can ease your curiosity and even help the police, who knows?

Even though you feel brave about it, you decide to stay a bit close to where the interrogatory was happening, just in case something happens to you: there's a criminal on the loose after all. Reaching for your head, you free yourself from that flowerband you're wearing, destroyed after all the confusion caused by Wolf's murder. The petals are falling from it and it may leave a trail leading directly to you.

Peeking through the bushes, you notice some familiar flowers: lilies, peonies, chrysanthemums... But a couple of unknown species pop out: tiny little white flowers in small bunches, and those buches forming a bigger bunch of tiny bouquets, resembling a cauliflower; the other one is purple, it looks -- and hangs -- like a bellflower, but with bigger, yellow fillets coming out of its core, and the plant has small round fruits, so dark on its purple-ish color you could almost say it was black. You decide to collect some of them to investigate further, and the musty smell of the tiny white flowers comes to your attention right after picking it; you ponder for a second and decide not to smell the other flower.

After contemplating all those beautiful flowers and collecting some of them, you see the crowd of police and civilians is much smaller now, so you tear a page of newspaper from a gardening table nearby and wrap up the flowers, hiding them in your cardigan. For now, it's better to come back before someone notices you're missing. [/box]

What??? Wolf is dead? I thought it was Miranda who had been killed, thought Caroline. She tried to go upstairs to comfort Miranda, but the police had set up that yellow crime tape across the staircase to keep everyone away from the crime scene. What was Wolf doing upstairs anyway, thought Caroline. Miranda certainly had not been with him. Had Wolf been planning on a little tryst with one of Miranda's friends? And what about that strange tatoo on his arm? Did it mean anything? Caroline decided to hang around in the kitchen and have a sandwich. All this thinking was giving her a headache.

Lilah headed out to go home, but as she walked through the garden near the site of the party, she had second thoughts. Maybe it would be better to look around and see if she spotted anything the police or other guests had missed?

And if she found something, she'd have an excuse to go talk to that nice police officer again. She wandered around the garden, looking for anything that might catch her eye.

Chapter 3 Check In'

(OOC: Wolf was the victim?! Dun dun dunnnnnn!)

Chapter 3 check in, I have to go to bed soon but I'll try to post something tomorrow

Chapter 3 Check In.

Liliana was headed to the house already to check on Miranda when she heard people talking a little bit more at ease again, knowing that all guests were cleared now.

Where to look for her friend now in the big house, she thought. Let’s try the art room first, Liliana muttered to herself, Miranda loved this room for its bright and friendly atmosphere. Many a day she had spend hours with her friend in there, Miranda painting, rose motives mostly, and herself reading or embroidering small accessories. Happy times!

Entering the spacious and airy room, Liliana’s hopes were dashed. Miranda was not there like expected. Perhaps she was still questioned? Or locked herself into her bedroom?

Vacillating what to do now, Liliana let her eyes wander over the room. Near the entrance to the balcony, a stack of old books was piled carelessly, on the verge of collapsing. That was unknown of this immaculate place. Normally, when a room was left like this, domestic hands arranged it quietly back to perfection in no time.

Curious, Liliana bent down to inspect the books from a closer distance. They were old and dusty and some even had a brass lock. The titles decipherable were all about birds. One volume was opened and a page was torn out. Looking around, Liliana noticed a wadded sheet on a low table nearby. She picked it up and opened it, wondering what would be so important to rip it out of a precious book…..

[img align=center]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/1000014.png[/img]Hanna felt like she was going to be sick. Poor Wolf, stabbed to death at his own engagement party! Miranda tended to get emotional about even the most mundane things; she was going to be devastated over his murder. "Please excuse me," Hanna murmured to Detective Fields, feeling queasy.

She walked quickly to the nearest powder room. A wave of nausea swept over her, then passed. Hanna took a few deep breaths and ran cold water over her wrists. "That's odd," she frowned. The silver tray was empty of disposable hand towels, something highly unusual for one of Miranda's well-coordinated fêtes. She opened a cabinet, hoping to locate them, and instead found a lavish bouquet of Juliet roses crammed into the space. Before closing the door, she snapped a picture of the blooms on her phone. Why would anyone hide such a costly arrangement?

Garrin is sure of one thing, this was a strange tea party indeed. After leaving Officer Fields in the library he walked down the hallway and casually walked off into one of the downstairs rooms. He snuck back through the hall and stropped in a closet near the office and overheard a lot of what Officer Fields was reporting to a junior officer about Wolf being killed. After hearing about the manner of death and the postmortem wound to the poor mans arm, Garrin grew very suspicious of the gardener for some reason.

After a few tense moments of silence, Garrin leaned out into the hall to find it had been cleared and sprinted off into the gardens to find Roland's private gardener closet and ask it some questions.

After a few moments more of searching Garrin stumbled upon a whole collection of various garden sheers and wondered if these could actually have been used to stab someone, they were sharp. They didn't really come apart to form a knife though. There were rose clips and rose care books all over one shelf in the garden supply closet. "Roland really loves his roses apparently." Garrin thought aloud.

After a few quick minutes of searching in vain, Garrin realized he should probably check out other areas in the actual house and follow where other clues may lead. He heads back in the direction of the house as quiet and purposeless as possible, trying to appear nonchalant and maybe a bit loose in the head.

Kat was still hungry because the tea party had been interrupted, and she was a diabetic so she fretted being low. Granted she did want to snack but a little investigating would not hurt while she was there. She went into the kitchen and started searching the cupboards. Would she find some poison? She also smelled of all the food still simmering in the pots and pans. Dare she take a bite? Perhaps this was how Wolf was killed? She took a bite of a tea cake anyways. Couldn't hurt, and if food was to kill her she could imagine worse things.

So it had been Wolf, the man he had introduced himself to not thirty minutes prior. Murdered in cold blood, stabbed to death. Cin’s stomach lurched and he pushed his way into the closest restroom. Minutes passed. His stomach ache subsided. Going to the sink he splashed some water on his face, pushed a hand through his hair, and stared at himself in the mirror. This was supposed to have been a celebration. Cupping some water in his hands Cin took a few slurps to help settle his stomach further, now glad he hadn’t had the chance to eat an actual lunch.

If anything he would have suspected poisoning, going after someone with a knife was sloppy, left room for error and probably pointed to it being a crime of passion. Heat of the moment sort of thing. The only person who had access to an abundance of the sharp implements was the chef, Richard… But was that too obvious? Or had Wolf’s apparent dislike of the man been warranted?

Honestly the only person Cin actually suspected of harboring murderous intent was the Aunt. Though she was probably smart enough to pay someone else to actually do the deed. Use a knife, frame Richard and save the family fortune for… well the next tall, dark, and handsome rogue to steal Miranda or Nicolette’s heart.

With that thought in mind Cin decided he would casually explore the guest wing of the estate. Maybe Auntie or another house guest had left a journal or something that would help him get a better idea of what was actually going on inside these lavishly decorated walls. Upon arrival Cin checked each door handle softly to see if any were locked. The ones that were opened he quietly slipped inside to have a look around.

Beryl leaves the bedroom and moves towards the kitchen. "Well, they did say he was covered in knife wounds... maybe the murder weapon is missing from the kitchen?"

Looking around the halls, Beryls feels a chill that leaves her in goosebumps. "I wonder why the tattoo was removed... And why can't I find Miranda? She just up and vanished... so weird."

As she finally enters the kitchen she uses her tea gloves to slowly check the area. "I feel like Miranda wouldn't do this, but with everything going on... Maybe the pressure of family and a fast proposal was too much?"

Beryl continues looking through drawers and cupboards. "Well, other than a few dusty boxes of tea and some peas, I'm not seeing much here," She looks at the drawer where the kitchen knives are stored and gulps. "Please don't tell me there is a missing knife, please let it be a full set! Maybe the gardener is missing a tool or.. or Wolf had a knife on him for defense and things just... got out of control?"

Beryl stands in front of the drawer fretting over the possibilities. "Defensive wounds means he knew the person... I don't know if he knew the gardener or the chef. So, that leaves Miranda, the aunt, and Nicolette. And with Miranda not being around, the odds aren't looking any better for her. I mean... I don't want to believe she did it. She wouldn't right? Right??"

Beryl continued her inner monologue and mumbling about potential who did its until sounds of running could be heard outside the kitchen. Slam at the loud noise, Beryl jumped. Looking around she moved away from the kitchen drawer without ever looking inside... "Let's treat that drawer like it's Schrodinger's cat... maybe there is a knife missing, maybe its all there..."

Outfit Not Found

Looking around again, Beryl finally sees all the dust and dirt everywhere. "You would think that for such a perfectionist, that the chef would have a cleaner kitchen."

Beryl leaves the cooking area and makes her way into the old pantry portion of the large rustic kitchen. "Maybe there is something in here...?" As she makes her way in she fails to notice the shadows moving past the kitchen entrance.

"EWWW! Cobwebs!" Getting tangled in trying to remove web from her hair, the door to the pantry shuts with a loud click.

Beryl looks at the door, and runs fast. While trying to re-open it, she utters frantically "Uhh oh... Hello! Hello! Anyone out there?" Jiggling the door knob only to realize its been locked.

"Great... just great. A murderer on the lose and my clumsy self is trapped in a dusty old pantry... covered i-in cobwebs... just lovely!"

Outfit Not Found

Lypsyl had only really come to the party so she could sneak into the library to borrow a book, or two or three. Miranda had invited her to check out the books time and again, so Lypsyl knew she wouldn't mind, and no sense in disturbing the poor girl.

As she perused the bookshelves, Lypsyl's eye kept getting distracted by the roses. Relief carving in the woodwork, metal roses in the wall sconces, they were all over the place. Strange that she had never really noticed before.

Chapter 3 Check-In, just in case!

On the computer, the history is filled with mostly websites for high end clothing. Seems like Miranda used this computer for her online shopping. Her taste is, predictably, expensive.

There's also the pits of cat videos that populate EVERYONE'S online history. And curiously there's a few pages visited from the Veta Gazette. Specifically someone had navigated to a short Obituary dated from a couple weeks prior

If one looked close enough around they'd be able to find a small pendant tossed carelessly in the corner of the powder room. The pink rose would suggest it belonged to Miranda, but it looks a lot cheaper then anything she would normally wear. The delicate petals also look deliberately crushed as opposed to getting damaged from being dropped.

While hunting for a snack you might notice the dozens and dozens of handmade roses scattered across the counter. Seems like one of the main reasons for how disorganized it is in here is because of how hard he worked to make them look PERFECT.

Outside in the gardens any evidence that could have been found appears to be woefully trampled by the feet of the many guests and responding police.

Roland's gardening implements may be sharp but he keeps them impeccably organized and labeled. Anything missing would have been immediately noticed.

But the exploration may not be completely in vain. This back pathway goes strait under the bedroom windows from the second floor oddly enough there's indication of someone landing hard and dashing off in a hurry. Looks like someone might have tried to climb down the drainpipe and slipped a little. The ground is unfortunately too hard to see any footprints clearly.

The room he's found himself in has several high end designer suitcases piled in a corner. There are several elegant dresses draped carefully over a chair. a few hats and purses lay on the bed. The sophisticated style would indicate this is the room Belladona uses when visiting her niece.

It easy to miss at first, but there's a curious glint of silver on the bed. Stuffed carelessly under a pillow is a long knife. It appears to be a kitchen knife. If it ever had any blood on it, it's been wiped clean.

In the corner of the pantry she's found herself stuck in, there's a pink ribbon stuffed in a corner. It's made of high quality silk and clearly belongs to Miranda. It's curious that it's here. Miranda DOES have a penchant for snacking though. She could have dropped it here last time she got some midnight munchies.

Roses roses everywhere. One might think Miranda was a little obsessed. Just outside the library, by the stairs were even more roses. Specifically those on the case of a familiar cellphone. The screen was smashed like it had been dropped, but still lights up. The last text received is displayed on the lockscreen, from an unknown sender;

Chapter 3 check-in! Will hopefully get something written. The story gets better and better :3