Liberi Reader

...Shelly is dead.

What?

First Dalton, now Shelly... What's going on here?

I said, Shelly is dead.

What's with that tone?

Anyway, thanks for coming to inform us that another accident occurred. We're shocked too.

The last person she met before she died was Michael.

......

Don't make baseless accusations, Tip.

She was watching movies with you and Moira. I heard all about it.

Exactly. She was with us, but left partway through after she got a message. Molly and I didn't ask, and we didn't go with her. But maybe we should have...

Which is why we need to find out exactly what happened. So I asked around, and—

Someone saw her with you at the studio near the warehouse!

I just bumped into her!

She looked distracted. I thought she must've been feeling guilty about interrupting the shoot, so I offered to comfort her.

How was I supposed to know she would take her own life?

Comfort her? In an empty studio? Just the two of you?

Come on, babe, you know you're the only girl for me.

Just shut up already!

So did you really kill Shelly?

Two accidents in as many days?

And not just accidents, fatalities. Of all the film crews in Wrankwood, how'd I end up in this one? Just my rotten luck...

Oh, come on. You blame your luck whenever a can of paint gets spilled, whenever a shadow dashes across the studio door, even when the intercity net has a bad signal.

Well, I say this is our big break! Do you even realize how much the tabloids will pay for a firsthand account from a witness?

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go make sure I remember every last detail of Shelly's corpse.

Ugh, could you not? And we still have work to do on set.

You go first, Hautin. I have notes to take!

......

Abner said Shelly's been out of sorts for a while now. Did the shock of Dalton's death drive her to suicide?

Sounds plausible, but it's not much of a story.

If there's more to it than meets the eye... then I wouldn't have to worry about rent for half a year. Why should I be holding up mics just to make ends meet?

Huh?

Didn't the medical team say she died of hypothermia? Then what's with all these wounds on her left palm?

Yikes, that's creepy. Is it some kind of occult ritual?

Not a ritual, but the sign of a struggle against herself.

...Struggle?

Isn't everyone saying she walked into the cold storage from stress? Could there really be a dark secret to this...?

Whoa, Lucian! Where'd you come from? I didn't hear you at all!

I suggested that she fight her hallucinations with pain.

She had been hearing echoes of the past, but wanted to finish her work and bring this movie to a satisfactory conclusion.

She wouldn't have taken her own life out of despair. The self-inflicted wounds on her hand are proof of that.

This time, however, the pain was not enough for her to escape.

That stubborn, neurotic, and paranoid Shelly actually listened to you? Now that's hard to believe...

But it sounds like you knew her well, Lucian.

Not especially.

Are you kidding me?

I killed Shelly just because she rejected me? Babe, do you even hear what you're saying?

......

Tip, you said she left because she got a message, right?

I noticed her holding her terminal too. So whoever sent that message must've killed her, right?

And you're saying it wasn't you?

I'd also like an explanation, Michael.

The terminal was damaged by the cold, making it impossible to retrieve the logs, but everyone on the film crew was given the same company-issued model. There shouldn't be anyone but crew members on the contact list...

And what's that supposed to prove, Detective?

It could just as well be Greta, or Melanie.

They sure weren't happy with how she interrupted the shooting that day. Maybe one of them decided to give her a piece of her mind.

Shelly and Greta are glued at the hip when working, giving them plenty of opportunities to deal with anything unexpected.

And Melanie is a stickler for the rules and etiquette of the industry. She always respects the crew's schedule and would never disturb a coworker when they're off the clock.

The only clue we have is that she was with you right before she died.

Look, I don't know who sent her that message either, okay? I just ran into her at the studio!

At that hour, wouldn't you normally be drinking with the girls from the art team, or in Marion's room?

Aren't you usually busiest at night?

So why did you go back to the filming area, Michael?

Oh, my lovely little birdie, are you jealous that you haven't had the chance to drink with me yet?

Well, you'll have plenty of chances once you grow up—

So you came to the studio for whatever unknown reason, where you ran into Shelly, who had left the prop room to meet someone else. If all you did was offer a few words of comfort, why won't you give me a straight answer?

Did you really have nothing to do with her death?

......

What, after working every stupid little oddjob in Wrankwood, from cleaner to stagehand to set decorator to background painter, now you're playing at being a detective?

Or did Shelly become an honorary member of your little sisterhood with Moira after watching a single horror flick together?

Give me a break.

How many times has she yelled at you for those scribbles you call work? You're hardly friends. I don't see why you're coming after me now.

And you think there's a culprit behind every accident? Maybe all those movies have rotted your brain!

...In the two months I've known Shelly, she's almost never smiled or praised anyone's work.

Sure, I got more criticism than anyone. I've had to put in a ton of overtime to make a background we were both happy with.

But I've also seen the joy on her face when she was checking the film at the end of each day. And she could catch all the obscure movie references I snuck into my backgrounds.

If... she was in so much pain that freeing herself of it like this seemed like the best option, then I'll just have to accept that.

But if someone else was messing with her feelings, and taking away her chance to enjoy the movies she loved so much... then I'll never forgive them!

......

I really did run into Shelly by chance. I went to the studio to... see someone.

See someone? Can anyone corroborate that?

I...

It was me.

......

Molly?

Michael came to see me last night.

Were you close to her?

I simply empathized with her pain.

She needed to stay lucid. So did I.

(Mutters) Hm, a mysterious curse, or a love turned to hate... Which would sell better?

Ahem. So, where were you last night?

The second-floor office.

That's where Shelly and Greta keep their important documents. What were you doing there?

Solving a puzzle.

Anyone see you there?

Miss.Christine.

Hah, I'm supposed to take the word of that creature who's always following you around? She doesn't even talk!

......

Come on, don't look so pissed.

I saw you perform opposite Dalton the other day. I know how good an actor you are. You could tell me anything and it'd sound believable.

But to tell you the truth, I don't even care how Shelly died. And I wouldn't tell the police even if you were involved.

Heck, getting your name in the tabloids might even make the cops less suspicious. Tons of people read them, but no one believes a word they say.

So, how about you cooperate a little—what's this puzzle you were solving in the office? Trying to set a trap for Shelly?

You're not worried that a murder occurred on the plate?

Hey, this film crew's got no shortage of grudges and scores to settle... And how else am I supposed to make a living? You think there's any money in being a camera assistant?

Even if the answer might threaten everyone's lives?

Hah! You sure can talk big.

Then I must ask you to keep this a secret...

Of course! The tabloids will pay good money for it, so why would I give away my own golden ticket?

What?!

A Catastrophe is about to hit the plate?!