Broker did it…but he was under hypnotic suggestion from the Hypnotist. Here’s how it all went down.
Broker is one of her Paramours. But she was planning to runaway with Victim.
The night of the incident, she and Victim were spending their last evening together before leaving town.
Desperate and distressed Broker comes over. He recognizes the wallet, as he suspected, his IOU is inside. With half the IOU pulled out, the wallet is snatched away from Broker by its owner the Victim. Ripped half of the IOU falls to the ground. Victim is Broker’s brother. An argument ensues. Broker snaps and stabs Victim. Harlot runs or her life, leaving everything behind.
Stunned Broker pours himself a drink and contemplates ending his life with the two pills found on the table. He can’t go through with it and ends up finishing the sweetwater.
Back Story:
Hypnotist has been treating Broker, Victim and Harlot. He has a crush on Harlot, but she’s not interested. Through his sessions with them he finds out about their relationships with each other and Harlot’s plan to runaway. Jealous, he hatches a plan to get back at them. Through hypnotic suggestion he incited Broker to kill Harlot and Victim, then take his own life after.
As an alibi, Hypnotist puts up signs to make it look like he’s out of town. The next morning, while eating his banana breakfast, Hypnotist goes to the apartment to check that the deed is done. Instead of 3 bodies he finds a drunk Broker with dead Victim but no Harlot. With his pocket watch, he tries to hypnotize Broker into telling him what happened to Harlot. They are interrupted by Sleuth snooping around. In his haste, to leave undetected, Hypnotist drops his pocket watch and Ane Choi receipt from the day before.
Broker manages to stagger away as well before Sleuth arrives.
Sleuth was hired by the powers that be at Club Lithe to keep an eye on Harlot. Harlot develops a friendship with her shadow Sleuth. He discovers the body before the police, puts 2 and 2 together, then takes off in search of the runaway Harlot.