#ruse:plot

[dcpdruse]

This is Deputy Macalino from the DCPD to update you on the recent case. Just over a week ago, on May 25th at 11:43pm, Raúl Francisco Suarez’s body was found in a pool of blood in his office, located on the 22nd floor of the Heroes Union. This occurred at the same time of the 15th Anniversary of the Heroes Gala, where Suarez gave an opening speech around 8:37pm. With multiple stab marks to the chest, the victim was concluded to have died shortly near after.

However, while PD has been trying to uncover more details about Suarez’s death, principal investigators stumbled upon a memo in his desk. This memo is solid evidence that Suarez has been in corroboration with the Underground, a network of criminal organizations conducting illegal research and terrorizing Diamond City.

It is not only our duty to investigate such matters and bring the appropriate parties to justice, but to prevent any further incidents from occurring. We are surprised by the recent discoveries, given that Suarez was instrumental to the construction of this city as a beacon of hope. With the rise of the Underground and emboldening of criminal mutant organizations, we urge citizens to take precautions as the DCPD swiftly handles these matters. It is vital that the investigation of Suarez’s death runs without interference, including that of the Heroes Union, to investigate recent circumstances. As we continue, we expect utmost co-operation in this matter.

Statements must be taken. Because so many patrons were unaccounted for at the Heroes Union building, we are investigating people who attended the Gala as well as those with connections to Suarez. 

Police Investigation.

( This questionnaire is optional but highly recommended. These questions are to be answered in character. As such, your character can either tell the truth or lie, and the statements will be used in our plotting. Feel free to throw accusations at other characters and start in-character drama. Please see THIS PAGE for a timeline of the Gala’s events. Please tag your responses with #ruse:statement. )

FOR THE RECORD

Full Name:

How long have you lived in Diamond City:

SETTING THE SCENE

Why were you at the gala (If you were at the gala at all)?:

What you were doing prior to the time of the murder? (11:52pm):

Location at the time of the murder? (11:52pm):

Anyone who could corroborate your story?:

How did you know the victim (Did you know them at all)?:

Were you aware of the allegations against the victim?:

Did you notice anything or anyone suspicious at the Gala?:

Anything else that the police should know?:

[dcpdruse]

This is Deputy Macalino from the DCPD to update you on the investigation on Suarez’s death. This investigation has been slow, difficult, and extremely time consuming, but we are reporting to reveal the latest details about the case. DCPD has discovered new evidence that has pushed us closer to the truth of what happened the night of Suarez’s murder. 

Let’s start with the recent breakthroughs on the case. We are elated to announce that Suarez’s body has been located and retrieved, after having previously gone missing. It was found buried deep outside the perimeter of All Star Comics and Games in a vault of ice. Authorities will continue to investigate why the body was placed in this location and the theft’s purpose, while the coroner will work quickly to uncover the remaining details about Suarez’s death.

Onto the facts about the case. We believe that the scene of the crime was not actually Suarez’s office on the 22nd floor, but a different location altogether. Under consultation of Criminologist Remington, we have deduced that the location of the murder was not in fact the office. Instead, luminol testing has unveiled that trace blood was found in the stairwell leading up to the 22nd floor, indicating new possibilities for the scene of the crime. In fact, there are four possible locations for which blood of the deceased has been found:

The stairwell of the 19th floor, where a trace pool of blood was found under luminol testing.

The janitor’s closet on the 1st floor, where blood was found on the mop.

The freezer room in the basement, where a pool of blood was found against the end of the vault door.

The kitchen on the 2nd floor, where a cart found on the 15th floor that originates from the kitchen contains traces of blood found under luminol testing. Alternatively, the 15th floor outside Suite 1532 where the cart was found could also quality as the site of murder.

The women’s restroom on the 3rd floor, outside the Gala, where blood was revealed under luminol testing in the rim of a toilet in one of the stalls.

With this newfound evidence, police have began investigating these locations and individuals who were in the area at the time. Given the time that would be needed to transport Suarez’s body up towards his office, we speculate that the murder could have happened any time during the Gala, therefore increasing the suspect list tenfold. We highly encourage that you report anyone that could have been in these locations during the Gala.

DCPD stands by its original assertion that the murder weapon was indeed a dagger in a homicide case. That is, given that the scene of the crime is a completely different location, it would be impossible for the victim to have travelled to his office without extensive blood loss and die by suicide.

With the cooperation of Detective Remington after determining a correct autopsy and location, we will be one step to solving this case. We anticipate that this case may be wrapped up as early as next week, though we ask all citizens to continue to cooperate with us as necessary.

The following individuals have been suspected and will need to be taken in for further questioning. Previous suspects, unless listed, are not considered suspects.

LILLA GILLIAM. We strongly believe that Gilliam was located somewhere at the Gala but are unable to pinpoint exactly where. As such, as police have whittled down suspects, we have decided to add Gilliam to the list because of the ambiguous and nebulous time frame that Gilliam has presented to us. We are currently reviewing security footage to verify her alibi. Of all of our suspects, we have reason to think that Gilliam may have the least connections with the case, but are unsure given that we found a document in his office with her name on it.

NICHOLAS NOVAK. We can confirm nor deny that Nicholas Novak has personal connection to Nicholas Cage, for the record. Officer Paul is an avid fan of Justin Bartha and long anticipates a sequel in the series. We suspect that Novak may be tied to some of the recent deaths in Diamond City. Unfortunately, with the majority of our workforce still working on solving this case, we are unable to investigate his connection more than we would like. We will say this: while there is an astounding lack of evidence, the police have determined that Novak warrants another look.

HUGO BERGMAN-RYU. The son of esteemed Silas Bergman-Ryu has come under suspicion. A witness statement from one of the security guards, as well as another onlooker, revealed that Bergman-Ryu had travelled to the 22nd floor around the time of the murder. While police have determined that this location is not the scene of the crime, it places Bergman-Ryu within the timeframe of when the body was moved to the office.

RIDLEY SHAW. We are aware that the Shaw family’s personal funds were extorted, and that evidence unveiled in Suarez’s office strongly indicate that he was one of the guilty parties. Due to this, we offer that Shaw may have the strongest mens rea to enact revenge. Given her ability to create portals, it would not be impossible for her to enter the Heroes Union. With such a precarious power, we would need to investigate the matters a little more closely. Still, there is a lack of tried and true evidence to prove Shaw’s culpability.

CLARICE GRAVES. Detective remain divided on whether Clarice may be a viable suspect. We have learned that Graves works as a private investigator and may or may not be responsible for uncovering and/or destroying a laboratory in Suarez’s possession. That is unclear. What experts remain divided upon is whether her power of Invisibility may have allowed her to slip in at any point during the Gala. While we think this is highly unlikely, we need to continue our previous assertions given that the scene of the murder has now changed.

CLEO RAJA. Raja is not a prime suspect on our list, but with how skeletal her statement was we decided that further questioning may be necessary. Specifically, we understand that Raja may be connected to the Underground, but have not investigated the matter yet.

PATRICK WOODS. We are extremely suspicious of Woods’s alibi given that he did not show up for a follow-up interview and has the ability to fuse with other mutants and humans. It is likely that, if Woods is the murderer, then he either has an accomplice or possessed someone to carry out his plans. Recently, we found a document in Suarez’s office that might put him in connection with the Underground. We have sent officers to seize the laboratory that he works at, but have not had any luck locating the facility. We cannot detain Woods at the moment without further investigation and testimony. However, a warrant has been put out on his name. If you see him, please call authorities immediately.

ROWAN OAKREST. Oakrest has nothing to do with the Gala. However, we have reason to believe that Oakrest may be connected to Suarez’s disappearance from the morgue. Given that he possesses the power to manipulate ice, along with the fact that the body was discovered in proximity to his workplace, we highly suspect that Oakrest could have been involved in such a ploy to abduct Suarez’s body. Authorities are now investigating this location.

As such, DCPD thanks the good citizens for their compliance in helping us to solve this case. We know that the events surrounding his murder may go down infamously in history, and we hope to recuperate and repatriate all necessary justice to the appropriate parties. 

We are in the penultimate stage before we reveal who Raúl Suarez’s killer/co-killer is. By the next DCPD post, we will also reveal a plot twist in the case that will shake things up!

To prepare for this, please answer the following questions OOC to any length you desire. Please tag your statements with #ruse:statement003.

Where truly was your character during the Gala? If you so please, you can trace their involvement in the Gala by using our Gala page as a reference. If they did not attend, where were they and what were they doing? Why did they attend / or why did they not?

Is your character the murderer? If so, why did they murder Raúl Suarez? We will collect these responses to determine his killer/co-killers, so if you’d like for your character to be the murderer elaborate a little bit on what they would gain or why they would do it.

If your character was the murderer, how would they have covered their tracks? Feel free to make up different ways they have concealed evidence, murdered people, or strategically avoided authorities and/or law enforcement. You can make up anything you’d like, such as falsify evidence, led authorities astray, powers, etc.

[dcpdruse]

Good citizens of Diamond City. We are here today to release a statement that severely changes the outcome of the case. As you all are aware, DCPD has been working tirelessly to solve the mysteries of Suarez’s death, one that coincidentally — or perhaps not so coincidentally — happened at the same time of the Heroes Union Gala. The investigation has dragged on for much longer than we had anticipated, and we expect to wrap our investigation by next week. DCPD is, in essence, tying up any loose ends and confirming the outcomes we have deducted.

It comes as a shock that we must announce something that will unearth a dark secret. A twisted truth that will shake this city to its core and change everything...

                    The deceased is actually Mateo Suarez.

The coroner’s report has made no mistake. The DNA belonging to the deceased is unmistakably Mateo Suarez’s and not Raúl Suarez, as we presumed.

Furthermore, the DNA samples conducted at the Coroner’s office, interestingly, do not match the traces of blood found at the Heroes Union.

As police wrap up their investigation, we will quickly locate the cause of this switcheroo discrepancy. Though we investigated with the intent of bringing closure to Suarez’s death, it seems that we had gone into the case with a premise entirely different than what had occurred.

This brings us to our next matter of action: if you spot Mateo Suarez, we ask that you immediately call authorities to bring them in for questioning. Given this recent discovery, we are not sure who the figure posing as the deceased is. We can only speculate that the person posing as Mateo Suarez is actually, instead, his father.

That is all.

Deputy Macalino.