DIE HARD [1st Investigation]

[akudamods]

It's been almost a week since the X-Class Akudama found themselves in Dotonbori, and the days since Bunny and Shark's little announcement have gone on, seemingly falling on deaf ears. But now, as the sun begins to rise and turn the hanging smog red across the sky, it truly seems that blood is in the air. Not a soul is around on the streets... who will be the first to venture out?

Comments

[pr159]

[ Roger. Turning to Akira for a moment — ]

If you could look over my clothes briefly so you can attest that any blood that might transfer from the body when I touch it wasn't on me already?

[ People will probably trust Akira's word more than any crime scene selfie he could take. Not that all the red he wears makes it easy, but he doesn't appear to have any blood on the clothes he's wearing if checked!

So, whenever that's settled, he'll get down on the sidewalk and carefully lift Marcille's body up to turn her over. Does anything else feel broken in her torso or anything as he moves her? ]

[akudamods]

[Absolutely yes. Her torso feels pretty tender -- broken ribs, most likely. Thankfully, nothing seems to have broken through the skin, but just from the feel it's pretty clear these are some pretty serious fractures.

Something else may be noticeable as soon as he turns it over, though: a cut on Marcille's throat, still stained with blood. It's not the only grostesque finding this corpse will have, but it certainly is the most noticeable one right away!]

[pr159]

[ Oh, that sounds ominous.

How does the cut look, besides bloodstained? Do the edges of the wound give any indication what size or type of blade (serrated vs. smooth, single or double-edged) might have been used? How deep is it/what blood vessels were cut? Any sign of hesitation? ]

[akudamods]

[Looks like a pretty clean cut! Smooth, thin, uninterrupted and pretty much deadly, that's for sure. It didn't hit any arteries, but it's deep enough to compromise a good number of blood vessels.

As for signs of hesitation, Rideaux's expertise should be enough to be able to tell that no, the smoothness and cleanliness of the cut show whoever made this cut wasn't hesitating at all!]

[pr159]

[ NOT THAT THAT NARROWS THINGS DOWN MUCH WITH THIS GROUP OF ASSHOLES, but noted... It doesn't look like they were targeting a specific vein or artery or anything then?

Is the wound deeper at one end than the other, like did the killer pull back any as they finished slicing, or does it look like they just used consistent strength all the way through and then pulled the blade back out straight? ]

[akudamods]

[Doesn't seem like it was aiming for any specific point, indeed.

The former!]

[pr159]

[ Okay I'm sorry Nick YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING so let's establish right now that this we are using Marcille's right and left as the basis for all directions I'm asking about, not the right and left of the person looking at her!!

Is the deeper side of the wound on the right side of Marcille's neck or her left side?

Also, like, since it's not situated over a specific vessel, is the entire wound more to one side than the other or like, right in the middle of her neck? ]

[akudamods]

[Oh hey, you guessed I'm the one tackling this, haha! Hi!

The deeper side of the wound is onto the right side of Marcille's neck -- the spot where the object used to make the cut went in.

Picture the wide, squishier part of the neck, between the airways and the important arteries. That's where the cut starts, ending on a similar area on the other side of the neck]

[pr159]

[ look we all know each other's writing styles by now!!

Okay, so moving on, how's her face looking? Is it scraped up, anything broken? ]

[akudamods]

[Hm! Her face is largely intact, with only a very small patch of abrasions on it. Most of the noticeable abrasions are onto the front of her body. Some blood is smeared there, too, but there are no nearby wounds it could have come from.

Plenty of things broken on the rest of her body, though -- a limb, ribs, some spinal injuries...nothing too bloody, though.

Ready to check the torso? Of course, if you have other questions feel free to ask them, too!]

[pr159]

[ Any bits of just like, Sidewalk Dirt visible in those abrasions?

Aside from that, yes, ready for torso times! Though actually I guess I should ask first what she's wearing, is it that dress(?) + cloak in her billboard picture? Does the dress lace up in the back or something? ]

[akudamods]

[There's bits of gravel, but it doesn't look like Sidewalk Dirt!

Oh, that's correct! It's the clothes she's wearing in the billboard. As for the dress, it's pull-over, not one you lace up in the back. It's cinched on the waist with a belt, but it's nothing that can't be undone with ease]

[pr159]

[ All right, then. And no particular damage to her clothes that he should note as he removes them (in a purely professional medical manner)? ]

[akudamods]

[Nothing worth noting on her dress in terms of damage! Just the fraying on fabric you'd expect from such abrasions.

Her cowl, all the way up on the head...it does have a small rip, and some fibers from it are missing. May as well give that right away, since we're speaking of damage on clothes.

Other than that, nothing to report]

[pr159]

[ Noted!

So once that's all out of the way, what are we looking at on the torso? Presumably at least some bruising and stuff around the broken ribs? ]

[akudamods]

[Yeah. Blood vessels rupturing, pooling blood against the skin, matching the ribs that are broken. So far it makes sense, no?

So perhaps it's a little more surprising that, on her midsection, among the bruises that do make sense, there's a bruise that doesn't seem to really fit that:

A large, round bruise around the size of a cantaloupe. It's a bit hard to see, but it's there, a darker area that doesn't seem to be like the rest of the bruises. Hm!]

[pr159]

[ Hm!! That's interesting. This is on her front? Is it in the rib area or below that? ]

[akudamods]

[On her front, correct! A bit below the ribcage!]

[pr159]

[ Hm, okay! So it doesn't look like it would have done direct damage to a vital organ or anything, right? Just a general punch in the gut, sort of?

I don't know how visible this would be with everything else going on, but is there any dirt or bruising or anything specifically on her back side that would indicate she might have been knocked backward by this murder cantaloupe and fallen backward (like, just wherever she was standing, sometime before the probably roof fall)? Trying to figure out what hitting her with this thing accomplished!!

Also does it look like she has any defensive wounds or anything on her hands or anything under her nails if he checks those? Any odd markings anywhere on her limbs or neck or shoulders or anything that would indicate she'd been forcibly restrained? ]

[akudamods]

[Rideaux's expertise will allow him to realize it didn't rupture anything or cause any deadly damage. It was an unpleasant injury, but definitely not deadly.

All that there's to say about this is that the scenario Rideaux has in mind is plausible enough given some bits of gravel, but it's impossible to confirm or deny with evidence.

No defensive wounds! No marks of any sort either! But there is something he'll find while he's examining her hands, at least by proximity:

There's a slit on the wrist -- a cut. Hard to see at first glance given there's no blood on or around it. Hm!]

[pr159]

[ Which wrist is this on? Or is it on both?

Assuming it looks deliberate and not like a paper cut or something? ]

[akudamods]

[Only on one wrist -- let's say the right wrist.

It's, without a doubt, deliberate. It's too clean and straight to be accidental or a paper cut. Around a couple inches long, deep enough to hit veins, and pretty clean-looking]

[pr159]

[ GLANCED AT GAI'S THREAD and assuming these are the same kind of wound I guess it looks like it could have been a scalpel, huh!! NOT LOVING THAT!!!!

After getting a picture of this in its current state, can he like... open that cut up some more with his needle to get a better look and see if it looks like anything was inserted in there or anything? ]

[voidseeing]

[Welcome to the "Not Loving That" club, current membership: 2]

[akudamods]

[It's pretty much the same kind of wound, yes. Love it, Rideaux!

Either way, nothing to report! Everything looks like it should. Perhaps that's a relief.

Other than this cut the one other thing that's worth noting is that it seems some of Marcille's hair was cut. Just some hair cut away, that's all]