Taunaki cringed as the shriek echoed through the hallways and couldn't help but sprint towards the Grand Staircase.

Skidding to a stop, she nearly tripped herself, but managed to regain her balance and in time too, as she spotted several others down at the bottom of the staircase.

And two of them were..."*Sparkle? Liesl? Oh NO, again?"

No! No. Nooo! Sparkle and Liesl had been her friends. Now they were ghosts. Sparkle seemed to be having a harder time about it than Liesl though. After all, Sparkle had just blurted out that ill timed declaration of love.

"There, there," she said trying to comfort the oh so sparkly ghost, "It isn't The HH's fault. The killer could have gotten to anyone of us on the train. He does seem rather determined to find the killer now though. That is a...er...good thing."

She thought for a bit. Like everyone else was saying, you wouldn't think the murderer would be too hard to find. However, she was at a loss. "Okay, will the murderer be so kind as to raise his or her hand please...." Of course no one did. "Well, it was worth a try," Crystal muttered as she sat down.

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"Nice try," Clarissa told Crystal, "but if these merciless killings have taught us anything over the last few days, it's that this killer isn't stupid by any sense of the word. He's clever, clever enough to avoid being caught all this time, clever enough to give us subtle hints along with each perfectly murdered victim--hints that, try as we might, no one has really been able to make sense of, that I'm aware of--and far to clever to fall for such a trick like that. No, the time has now come to get to the bottom of this once and for all! Tonight, we shall have a scene worthy of the the great Agatha Christie herself! Tonight, the killer shall be revealed!"

Clarissa paused then, hoping the others would think it was for dramatic effect when really she had just run out of things to say. "Er...anyone care to offer any theories to start us up? Anyone at all? Now is not the time to be shy!"

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Moririellë wanted to laugh but she didn't. It was not an appropriate time to do so. She gave her credit for trying. "Do not be silly Crystal, dear," she said. "The murderer will not identify them self just like that. Although it would certainly make it easier."

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And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

"Eh, it was a thought. We could hook everyone up to a polygraph machine. This place is creepy enough to have one lying around," Crystal said in response to Moririellë. "At this rate everyone looks guilty."

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"Indeed," Moririellë replied. "I don't think you can trust anyone here anymore. I wonder if one can even trust them self at this point."

_________________
And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

"Well, I can trust that I'm not the killer," Crystal replied. Then backing up and eyeing Moririellë she asked, "Are you the killer?"

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"Have we checked to see if there are any finger prints?" Alariya asked hopefully. "But I guess that wouldn't work as Clarissa made clear: he's not stupid."

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Age is a state of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Mark Twain



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"Of course not!" Moririellë said, a little taken aback. Even if she were, they had already made a point that the killer was not going to openly admit that they were. "They're turning us all against each other," she said looking all around her. But of course, no one was whom they appeared to be any longer.

_________________
And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

"Look, guys: unless the rest of you want to be ghosts as well, I suggest we all work together. Alright? Let's not fight; let's be friends. What clues do we have so far? We want to wrap this mystery up as soon as possible!"

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Age is a state of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Mark Twain



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"Alariya is right," Moririellë said. "This will not help us solve the murders, in fact, I am sure who ever is responsible would want for us to turn against one another. Let us all take a breather and focus on the clues."

_________________
And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

"Right," Clarissa said. Maybe going over the clues once more in her head would make it easier--after all, every single Christie novel had Poirot or Miss Marple going over every single piece of evidence and red herring before an audience just like this one! This could be her greatest performance yet, her finest hour, solving this crime! She closed her eyes for one moment, allowing herself to get into character. "Right," she repeated, opening her eyes. "The clues. We had the two books, each turned to chapter 13, which was pointed out by you, Liesl," she said, turning to point to the ghost. "It was you who made the connection."

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Sig set and banner by the amazing Nurr!!

"13? Okay, so it could mean our criminal is 13 years old, 13 is their favorite chapter in both those books. What were the titles again? Or they joined on thee A-U forum on the 13th... maybe?" she thought these were pretty stupid answers, but it as worth a try...

_________________
Age is a state of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Mark Twain



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"That is one clue that baffles me," Moririellë said. "What could the number 13 mean? There could be a number possibilities. To some, 13 is considered an unlucky number, perhaps the murderer is superstitious? Or maybe they are the opposite. 13 is a lucky number to others.

_________________
And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

"Possibly... But what would 13 - the "unlucky" number - have to do with anything? This is strange."

_________________
Age is a state of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Mark Twain



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"Hmm. . ." Liesl thought, tapping a finger to her chin. "Maybe our murderer is in room 13? Or, like Alariya said, the person could be 13 years old."

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AKA Crutchie


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