❧ I shot the sheriff!
[the sound of a police siren splits the late evening's general silence. for those who happen to be in sight of the Janus Theatre and White Rabbit Pub, streetlamps light up the yellow police tape that has been set up in a wide perimeter, cordoning off that section of the block. the deputies who have been patrolling the town all week can be seen milling about, snapping photographs of whatever is beyond the yellow tapes, and telling off the crowd of townspeople who've gathered around, each one trying to see what has happened. if one happens to look, a traumatised Audrey can be seen at the window of the pub visibly shaking before Verita takes her gently by the arm, the pair retreating further into the building.
a middle-aged man wearing jeans and a leather jacket exits the pub with the air of authority and ease about him. he sighs a bit before holding his hands up in supplication, stepping forward towards the crowd of rubberneckers.]
All right folks, let's get moving along here. We've got a job to do and I'm certain most of you do, too, before curfew begins. I think everyone's favorite deputy is pretty fond of polka music these days, so unless you want that noise following into your dreams, you'd better leave right now. You don't want to spend the night in a cramped cell together, do you? [the look on his face says he means what he says. the townspeople, thankfully, catch his drift and begin wandering away. any nearby businesses draw their curtains and some are even closing up early. once most of the crowd has dispersed, he turns to face the deputies and the crime scene, a grave expression on his face.]
What a mess. What an absolute, fucking mess. And we're sure this is--no, the clothing is enough of a clue. Fuck me... Just when I was beginning to enjoy an early retirement. [he falls silent for a moment] All right, finish bagging and tagging the evidence, find me the goddamn murder weapons, then take care of the body. I'm sure Ernesto will be ecstatic.
[he turns away and taps a star-shaped pin on the lapel of his jacket and when he does, his CAT device turns on, as do the CATs of everyone in town as well as the vidscreens.]
If I can have your attention; this shouldn't take too long. This is former-now-no-longer-former Sheriff Iussus speaking. Some of you may be wondering where Sheriff Teger is, and it's my unfortunate duty to tell you all that his body was found outside the White Rabbit Pub about fifteen minutes ago. I won't give you exact details, but he did not die a peaceful death. Not unless you consider multiple stab wounds and a gunshot wound to--[he stops himself.] The point is, people of Luministi, there is a murderer amongst us. Mayor Caligin has asked me to step in and make sure you all stay safe while we're tracking down the suspects. If you know anything or saw anything strange today, call the Sheriff's office and we'll set up a time for you to come in for questioning. Even the smallest, seemingly most insignificant detail can blow a case like this wide open.
This goes without saying, but stay safe. And for the love of god, don't do anything stupid like trying to find the suspect yourself. I don't want to find your corpse next.
[as he steps away, just before he turns his CAT off, the smashed remains of a phone booth can be seen behind him. poking out from under a sheet on the ground, a bloody hand, covered in glass shards, is seemingly reaching toward it.]
❧ Plot Details: I shot the sheriff!
a middle-aged man wearing jeans and a leather jacket exits the pub with the air of authority and ease about him. he sighs a bit before holding his hands up in supplication, stepping forward towards the crowd of rubberneckers.]
All right folks, let's get moving along here. We've got a job to do and I'm certain most of you do, too, before curfew begins. I think everyone's favorite deputy is pretty fond of polka music these days, so unless you want that noise following into your dreams, you'd better leave right now. You don't want to spend the night in a cramped cell together, do you? [the look on his face says he means what he says. the townspeople, thankfully, catch his drift and begin wandering away. any nearby businesses draw their curtains and some are even closing up early. once most of the crowd has dispersed, he turns to face the deputies and the crime scene, a grave expression on his face.]
What a mess. What an absolute, fucking mess. And we're sure this is--no, the clothing is enough of a clue. Fuck me... Just when I was beginning to enjoy an early retirement. [he falls silent for a moment] All right, finish bagging and tagging the evidence, find me the goddamn murder weapons, then take care of the body. I'm sure Ernesto will be ecstatic.
[he turns away and taps a star-shaped pin on the lapel of his jacket and when he does, his CAT device turns on, as do the CATs of everyone in town as well as the vidscreens.]
If I can have your attention; this shouldn't take too long. This is former-now-no-longer-former Sheriff Iussus speaking. Some of you may be wondering where Sheriff Teger is, and it's my unfortunate duty to tell you all that his body was found outside the White Rabbit Pub about fifteen minutes ago. I won't give you exact details, but he did not die a peaceful death. Not unless you consider multiple stab wounds and a gunshot wound to--[he stops himself.] The point is, people of Luministi, there is a murderer amongst us. Mayor Caligin has asked me to step in and make sure you all stay safe while we're tracking down the suspects. If you know anything or saw anything strange today, call the Sheriff's office and we'll set up a time for you to come in for questioning. Even the smallest, seemingly most insignificant detail can blow a case like this wide open.
This goes without saying, but stay safe. And for the love of god, don't do anything stupid like trying to find the suspect yourself. I don't want to find your corpse next.
[as he steps away, just before he turns his CAT off, the smashed remains of a phone booth can be seen behind him. poking out from under a sheet on the ground, a bloody hand, covered in glass shards, is seemingly reaching toward it.]
❧ Plot Details: I shot the sheriff!
- The poor sheriff, alas, we barely knew him! But pulled out of retirement to take his place, conveniently enough, is Sheriff Dante Iussus. He will be joining our cast of contactable and important NPCs. And here Iussus thought he'd here for a quick visit.
Unfortunately, there really is a murderer out there. But why start with the sheriff? Where and when will the next murder occur? That's for characters to discover! Because there will be more. Unfortunately, someone in town has snapped, but on the surface, nobody seems any different. The murder, and any consequential ones, are all the other town residents will talk about now. It has them all spooked, to be quite frank. Wouldn't you be? There hasn't been a recorded murder in Luministi since the records burned in that fire. They'll be calling the Sheriff's constantly with tips, so unfortunately, any characters who try to call in as well will find that the line is always busy no matter when they try to call. Also, the curfew is still in effect until noted otherwise, but characters who lost access to their credits have access to them once more--that is, until they get caught violating curfew again.
Worse still, that phone booth has been destroyed! Like we said in the last post, it was damn near indestructible, but it seems...someone found a way. Unfortunately, those who actually withstood the past week listening to an incessantly ringing telephone (though we do wonder at your sanity level at this point if you did!) have missed their chance to hear the message for themselves, but characters are more than welcome to continue sharing information with one another as always. And those special sunglasses still work to hide characters from the deputies at night, just as they have for the past week.
If you would like, characters can have gathered at the crime scene and can comment here ICly, but any conversation with the Sheriff will probably be short. Later in the week, the Sheriff will be calling people in for questioning regarding the night of the murder and anything strange going on in town. Bear in mind that what characters tell the Sheriff during this session could have future consequences. It may also be the characters' best chance to get information about what's really going on. This will be done in a separate entry to the main comm, as will the coming murders. We'll be warning and lj-cutting for character death in case people are uncomfortable with that sort of thing.
To make things even more fun, characters may spot dark figures lurking outside their windows or flitting about the darkness if you're out at night, but no matter how quick you are, you won't catch anyone or see who might have been there. Is it the murderer(s)? Or something or someone else?
This plot will last a week and a half, and until further notice, all future plots will last this long!
As always, if you have any questions, comments and such, please leave them here!