Zeben yelps in alarm.  I take a second to process what Iris has just said.  He's just owned up to it.

"You... you did the chess boards?" Azrael asks hoarsely, his voice shrinking to a whisper.  God, I'm so grateful to not be him right now.

Iris holds his gaze. "I did."

I can't even believe what I'm hearing.  All this time, I knew in the back of my mind that the person choosing to tamper with crime scenes instead of helping was one of my classmates, but actually seeing the person reveal himself... It just feels so wrong.  I never thought someone like Iris, who can't even take a compliment, could... oh my god...

"And I assume that's not all you're responsible for," Stolas says.

Iris smiles. "Of course not."

What else?  What the hell did this guy do??

Then, I realize.

"We found the first chess board in the barn before Tristan died," I announce. "With the blood message and the dead cow.

Meaning that the person who did all that...

...That was you, Iris."

"There's no point in denying it," Iris agrees. "That was all my doing."

"Why?  Why are you so calm about this?" Will shouts.  I can hear the sheer horror in his voice despite his angry words.

Azrael has gone pale and beyond silent.  He stares at the floor, seeming unable to hear everything that's going on.  I feel awful for him right now.

Iris finally responds, "Because I've accepted what I've did, but I also know that it was the right move."

"You're sh*tting me right now," Dana snarls.  I nearly flinch at her harsh tone.

"You mean to tell me," she continues, her grip so tight on her podium that I half-expect it to snap it half at any moment, "that slaughter, a creepy message in blood, and tampering with crime scenes was the right thing to do?  In what f*cked up world do you think you live in?"

The flautist seems completely unfazed by this. "I only needed to get a message across.  And we all know that actions speak louder than words.  Nobody would've really understood if I'd just came forward immediately about this."

"About what?" Stolas inquires, his tone even.  He sounds as calm as Iris does about this.  I don't know who to be more afraid of in this moment.

Iris's eyes gleam with an unsettling intensity as he says, "Balance. Our lives here depend on balance.  If we can't learn to live with each other properly, then everything will descend into chaos.  There needs to be order, and to do that, I wrote that message to weed out the people who would disrupt balance for their own selfish intentions.  That's what Rori did."

"No, Rori felt pressured by the message because he was worried for his life!" Zeben defends.

"His own life.  Besides, it just proved that there was someone who would cause imbalance, and they had to go.  Unfortunately, Tristan had to give his life in order for the traitor to be removed."

"And that's what the chess boards symbolize," Stolas adds. "Not just the idea that we are all pawns in this twisted game, but also sacrifice.  In order to maintain balance, according to you, there needs to be sacrifice."

"Correct!" Iris laughs.  God, it shakes me to my core. "It took you long enough to understand."

"No, I still don't quite understand your mind, but I'm trying to get a sense of it," Stolas corrects. "In addition, I've just come to realize something odd that I noticed at the crime scene."

"What?" Caim squeaks.

"I believe that the weapon used to strangle Furfur was actually left behind by mistake," the combat specialist says. "Something with straps that can blend in with a music storage room, even if it was forgotten."

Oh, right.  The bag that Stolas looked at weirdly. ...Wait.

"Iris, did you lose your flute bag at some point?" I ask him.

"Actually, yes.  I realized this morning that I accidentally left it in the hotel lobby, but when I went to check, it was gone," he answers.

"Could it have, by any chance, been left at the crime scene instead?" Stolas challenges.

Iris narrows his eyes. "What are you playing at?"

"Not only can the straps of your flute bag fit around Furfur's neck, but it was also found at the crime scene."

"Between everything you've done so far, murder is not too unbelievable," Evangeline comments.

"Did you forget everything I just said I stand for?" Iris snarls angrily. "Why would I go against the very balance that I'll go to such extreme measures to uphold?  Besides, the door to the storage room was already broken when I got there to set up the chess board.  Of course, I already knew that my bag had been moved while going to grab the chess board in the first place.  I never had the opportunity to leave my bag in that room."

"You could be trying to make it look like a framed murder," Will retorts. "Evangeline's right- you've already proved you have the balls to kill.  What if Furfur and Marzy did something you considered 'disruptive'?  Oh, and also, if you just 'knew' where the crime scene was and that the murders happened, then wouldn't you know who the killer was?  And how'd you know there were TWO bodies?"

The ash-blonde doesn't miss a beat as he responds. "To start from the beginning, I woke up when the tree branch fell.  I checked the time on my digital handbook- one o'clock, by the way- before considering an investigation.  However, since I'm close to Marzy and Furfur's cottages and was already near the door, I heard both of them leave their cottages.  If the killer cut the tree branch, then it couldn't have been Marzy or Furfur because they left their cottages after the tree branch fell.  So I assumed once I waited an hour and exited my cottage, after not hearing Marzy or Furfur return to their cottages, that both of them were dead.  I stayed in my own cottage because if two people had left their cottages and didn't return, then who's to say that the killer wouldn't take a third life?  Then, I went to get the chess board and also my flute bag, found that it was gone, and ran around in search of the bodies for a while.  That's all I did."

"Hang on, you said it was one o'clock?" I repeat. He nods.

"Furfur was killed at one-twenty and Marzy just five minutes after," Evangeline recalls.

"The killer couldn't have possibly dragged both bodies too far before they awoke," Stolas says. "So it's likely that somewhere around the central island, Furfur regained consciousness, and the killer decided to just put an end to the problem and stab her..."

As Stolas continues speaking, I drift away into my own thoughts.  Something isn't right here.  But I just can't remember what.  Furfur had to have been killed nowhere near the music venue, logically speaking.  Why wasn't there more blood, though?  The smear tracks would've been longer.  And Furfur probably wouldn't have had enough blood to make the spatter on the mirror-

Hold on.

"No, that's wrong!" I exclaim, cutting off Stolas.

"Sophie?" he asks, slightly puzzled by why I've just interrupted him so rudely.

"Furfur wasn't killed on the drag over- she was killed IN the storage room!" I announce. "The blood spatter on the mirror- I thought it was from her body being dropped.  But the droplets... it makes it look like she got stabbed right in front of the mirror!"

"How could both bodies have gotten to the music venue so fast, though?" Flauros challenges. "It's quite impossible, even for a demon such as myself who can call upon my Hellish abilities for assistance."

He's right, that part still doesn't make sense.  Even if it better explains the mirror spatter, it still could've somehow been from Furfur's body being dropped, especially because she was clearly dragged inside.

"Hang on, couldn't Iris be lying to save himself?" Will points out. "If he's the only one here who actually checked the time, then who's to say that it was actually one o'clock?"

"That's quite true, as he's already done a good deal of lying," Stolas concurs.

"I told you already, my actions are justified in the name of balance!" Iris insists.

"Hm, what if we consider a scenario where it isn't Iris?" Evangeline suggests. "Just in case."

"That would mean that the killer purposefully took Iris's bag, strangled Furfur with it, and then left it in the storage room... to frame him?" I try. "But why him if they didn't-"

Click.  Another piece.

"Sophie?  Would you like to share?" Stolas urges gently.

"What if... the killer really did try framing Iris because they knew he was the chess board culprit?" I say slowly.

"But wouldn't they expect him to come to the scene, then?" Zeben asks.

I slam my hands on my podium when I realize. "That's why the door was broken!  So Iris couldn't find his bag and take it back before everyone saw it at the crime scene!"

"Iris is still smart enough to have planned all that out," Will grumbles. "It explains the timing better, too."

"You know what's weird to me?" Caim interjects. "The knife being left at the crime scene.  Why not put it back afterwards?  Isn't it better for the culprit if we don't know the murder weapon?"

That part's weird to me too.  All of this is.  If the killer isn't Iris, then there has to be a different explanation to the timing, the knife, the prior knowledge of Iris's crimes... None of it makes sense.

My heart stops.

None of it makes sense... except in one scenario.

"I... I think I have it," I whisper to myself, then say it louder. "I think I have it."

"Then spill!" Will demands impatiently.

Oh god.  My heart drums loudly in my chest.  I have to say it.  Even if it's wrong, the idea needs to be put out there.

I begin slowly, trying to build the courage to keep going. "Iris isn't lying about the time.  The killer first grabbed the hatchet from the barn to cut the branch, then discarded it nearby to put an emphasis on Iris's previous uses of it once his secret was brought to light.  By this time, the killer had also already gone to the kitchen for the kitchen knife when they found Iris's bag, which was when they really knew they could pin it on him.

"Anyways, once they used it to strangle Furfur and knocked out Marzy by other means, they quickly began to take the bodies in the direction of the music venue.  And they actually managed to get all the way there, then kill Furfur, and actually drag her body around outside to give the illusion of her being killed earlier to trick us into thinking it took more time than it actually did.  Marzy was killed after she was, and the killer discarded the knife and hung Iris's bag on the chair before leaving and breaking the door handle with the stool from the music venue stage.  This was to ensure that even if Iris found the crime scene, he couldn't interfere at all and therefore couldn't retrieve his bag to reduce suspicion on him.  All of this was done because the killer knew about Iris in advance.

"But then everything else doesn't add up.  Starting with the timing- if it only took twenty minutes to get both Furfur AND Marzy all the way to the music venue, then that takes a LOT of strength and speed.  Then, there's Marzy's bump on his head- now that I think about it, the tree branch was too big to leave such a small bump.  And also, why leave the murder weapon at the crime scene unless you want to ensure that nobody suspects a different murder weapon?  For instance, something with a hilt that can be used for blunt force to knock someone out, but can also be used for stabbing and slashing?  Because if there wasn't a knife at the crime scene, then the idea could have come up that the killer used a sword, and the only way they could have access to such a weapon is if they were none other... than the Ultimate Combat Pro... Stolas Urusa."

I can't even bring myself to look him in the eyes as I speak.

Stolas doesn't answer for a long moment.  But I finally hear his deep voice as he asks, "Do you really trust in Iris's words that much?  Sophie, I appreciate your creativity with your backstories, but such an accusation is quite bold."

"I remember when you carried Azrael and Iris at the beach," I say quietly. "You were able to carry one with each arm with ease.  Surely you would've had no trouble getting Furfur and Marzy all the way to the music venue in just twenty minutes.  Besides, you're the one who took the most interest in the chess boards.  I know how smart you are, Stolas.  There's no way you didn't find out sooner about the pattern."

"I had no knowledge of the pattern until Will's words gave me the idea," Stolas denies.

I want to wish his words are right so badly, but I know deep down that they're not.

"Everything in me wants to think it's Iris," Dana says, giving the person in question a glare as she speaks, "But I trust Sophie."

She gives me a small smile, as if saying, I've got your back.

"Well, then cast your votes and we'll uncover the truth together!" Monokumace giggles.

I don't want to do it.  I don't want to accept that what I've said is the truth.  Still, I know that I have no choice as I tap Stolas's name on my digital handbook.  Maybe just Dana and I voted for Stolas, and everyone else voted for Iris and were right.  I just made a mistake but it's okay.

"You all voted for the same person!" Ace announces.

Sh*t.

"...and you're correct!" they declare. "The blackened this time was Stolas Urusa!"

He lied to me.  I... he's guilty.  He betrayed all of us.  He's a murderer.  I... I can't believe it.

"What the F*CK, Stolas?" Will roars. "Why?!"

Stolas doesn't answer, but he keeps his head held high.  I reach over and tap his arm gently, and he turns his head to look at me.

"I don't get it," I say.

"My reasoning for what I've done is strictly private," he responds. "One day, Sophie, you will find out, and you will understand that what I've done was necessary."

Then, for the first time, he gives me the slightest of smiles.  "Until then, though, keep doing what you're doing.  You've done well, and will continue to do so even if I'm not there to assist you.  I'm proud of you, Sophie."

Well damn, no need to play with my feelings like that.  I burst into tears anyway, both from anger at him for what he's done and anger at him for leaving me.

"Don't go," I manage to choke out.

Stolas shakes his head and says, "I am the blackened.  I must face the consequences for my actions.  Goodbye."

"He's right on that!" Ace stands up on their throne, hands on their tiny hips. "Are you ready for this one?  'Cause it's PUNISHMENT TIME!"

***

(2506 words)

Damn, it STILL ran long.

Anyways I like to think that I absolutely COOKED with that murder case. It took me two attempts and four pages worth of notes to come up with it.

Unfortunately, Stolas's execution might take a while to do because I'm exhausted from today and have to jump right back into school plus other stuff.  Plus, I'll be trying something different for this execution...