"'A blow to the head made by a blunt instrument,'" Vivara recited, crossing her arms.v "The time of death was around 11:09 AM, and as we all know, she was found on the casino floor, Tiger's Eye in her hands."
A somber expression passing over Finnian's face. "Right. And the way she was holding it, as well as Mercy's testimony, implies that Eriko knew she was going to die. For those who don't know, she... she was holding it to her heart. Let us pray that the Tiger's Eye gave her the strength she needed to pass on peacefully."
Vivara nodded. "Yes, let us pray."
She paused, then took a deep breath. "And let us make sure we find the person responsible for killing such a sweet young girl. Eriko wasn't here for as long as we would've liked, but for every second that she was, she brought joy wherever she went. Her smile was contagious and her passion inspiring."
Mercy held her stand for balance, heart knotting. It should've been me.
"As for finding her killer, we found some promising leads inside of the casino. Namely, these." Vivara held up a bloodstained piece of jewelry, her eyes almost immediately falling upon Clair. Upon looking closer, anyone could see that it was one of two emerald earrings that Faqir had given the Ultimate Makeup Artist. And as if that wasn't enough to point all fingers at Clair, Vivara held up in her other hand a lock of hair that had striking similarities to Clair's hair.
Mercy's eyes shifted to Clair, silently thankful she wasn't placed anywhere near Eriko's stand. Seeing her picture crossed out would only drill in the fact that she was dead, which as much as she hated to admit, Mercy had been trying to avoid from the moment she saw the girl's body.
"Clair," Vivara began, "anything to say about these?"
Clair.
Suddenly, it clicked. Mercy straightened her posture, grip tightening on her stand. "Clair asked Eriko to come to the casino. She specifically asked Madoka to bring Eriko to the casino, and when we got there, she was nowhere to be seen."
"One of the machines was cleared out," Vivara pointed out suddenly. "In the casino. Someone had taken all of the stuff out of one of the machines, making a space big enough for a small person to fit. A place small enough for someone like Clair to fit."
"Explain yourself," Mercy very nearly growled.