View source for Liberi-tion of the Truth (Janine Liberi)

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2017/05/30
|Location=Alberichstadt City
|Synopsis=Detective Karl Vernunft investigates the case of the Wilderkinder attacking the Liberi household, and draws a link to one case he could never let go.
|Cast of Characters=909
}}
Karl Vernunft sits at his desk, his detective uniform rumpled from the past few nights he's spent napping in it. A thin cigarette dangles from his lips as his eyes fixate on the computer screen before him. A video is playing, frame by frame, each one scrutinized for anything he might have missed, anything that goes beyond what he was told, anything to give him cause to push for the case to be reopened.


His exhausted focus is broken by the arrival of Iman Abdul Mantiq who puts a takeout cup of coffee upon Karl's desk. "Here's your godforsaken double-brewed coffee, you abomination. Every time I get one of these for you, the cute barista shoots me the filthiest look. Your order is so vile it actually impedes my natural charisma, can you believe it?!"


The German ignores his partner's rantings, sipping the coffee that was brewed with grounds previously used. "People rely too much on the caffeine and sugar to keep them going. All I need is a bad aftertaste." The Iraqi rolls his eyes and sips at his own double-shot mocha with caramel-whipped milk. "Find anything?" he asks in-between sips of the teeth-rotting goodness.


"Nothing that contradicts what were told. The Wilderkinder just rolled up, unprovoked and began smashing the place up. The Liberis that live here haven't had any contact with them, and none of the visitors had either." The strange assault of the gang of burnouts on the Liberi household had been met with challenges from the word go. To start, there were so many witnesses that the officers were not able to get clear statements. The Italians would shout over each other, calling each other's testimonies into question and bouncing around all the languages of Europe in giving their own. Also, because there were so many to speak to, several key witnesses fell through the cracks. Those who were documented by external cameras as helping to repel the teenage hoodlums never gave statements. Frankly, it was a miracle that the police got the footage at all with how much resistance the family gave to further investigation.


And of course, when they pressed for information on where to find these witnesses, they were 'gently reminded' of their other duties by higher-ups, as the officer retirement fund enjoyed a nice swelling of cash from an anonymous source. Purely coincidentally, of course.


"So does that mean you can go home and sleep or plug yourself in to recharge or whatever it is you do?" Iman asks. Karl's only response is to scratch the thicket of stubble on his chin and say, "I did find something interesting though. Look." He rewinds the footage, showing a glimpse of the battle on the lawn. There, a young man slashes at one of the gangsters with what looks like a long knife. "Is that... August Kohler?" Iman asks, his smile faltering as he leans in and squints. "The one and only. Double-checked from other angles."


Iman rubs his own chin now... before taking on that cheeky grin of his and shrugging. "So what? Maybe young miss Liberi doesn't care for class divides in choosing her friends! I heard that she seemed nice from interviewing officers. Not at all bitchy like some Drachenblatt snobs." Karl exhales a cloud of smoke and taps his vice stick against an ashtray. "I was watching that interview. Her makeup was running a little at that point; saw some flaws in her concealer. For all the smiling she did, she doesn't have a lot of smile lines. Plenty of frown lines though." Iman laughs and slaps his partner on the shoulder, making some frown line of his own appear. "She's got that busted arm, maybe she's grimacing in pain a lot!"


Karl sighs, and stubs out that cigarette before closing his movie player and yanking out the USB drive the files were stored in. He opens a drawer, and places it next to his file on the August Kohler kidnapping case. "Maybe. Maybe not."