Police Quest: Open Season - Looks Like We’ve Got a Cop Killer On Our Hands

By Alex

Oh, baby, this game is throwing the kitchen sink at us. We’ve got rappers! Nazis! Murderous backstabbing women! Shoes! A shoot-out! Pixel hunts! Another dead cop! Things are total chaos in L.A.! What’s a cop to do?

I’ll tell you: stay alive and solve puzzles!I ended last session mildly annoyed at Police Quest IV, but still enjoying the game. I end this session mildly annoyed at Police Quest IV, but still enjoying the game. Note that, while this post is reporting on three hours and ten minutes of play time, I didn’t accomplish nearly as much as you’d think.

I was stuck, right? Out of leads. Nothing seemed to trigger the next game day, and I didn’t know who to talk to. I went back to Hickman’s house. Nothing. I went back to South Central to try to get into the Rainbow Café, noting that the music there sounded like the tune from the inn in Rasier in Quest for Glory II. Nothing.

Nothing.

I couldn’t get into the place where Hickman allegedly worked, according to Kim Chi (I still can’t believe that’s her actual name), the Korean owner of the Mini-Mart. I couldn’t find Raymond Jones III, aka Ragtop Spiff, leader of the RBGB gang, walking around anywhere. I found no other local lads to talk to about Mr. Spiff.

I was stumped.

So I went back to talk to Ms. Kim Chi (it’s getting to the point where it’s actually hilarious. Like, did this game’s writers just try to be as offensive as possible? I’m not one to get offended on behalf of other people, but it’s like naming a Greek character Gyro Spanakopitaopolous), who had nothing to say, but this time I noticed that the pixelated blob on the counter was a basket full of apples.

Yum yum!

I took an apple because, I mean, adventure game (2 points, 163 total), and even paid for it to boot (2 points, 165 total). “That too much. Apple old. Cost you less,” says Ms. Chi when you use Carey’s wallet on her, so you just need to fork over some spare change from Carey’s never-ending supply. The LAPD must pay good!

Carey can’t eat the apple, but I figure why not give it to Lasandra Washington, who is still playing by the fence (4 points, 169 total). That’s not creepy or anything. The little girl has nothing new to say, but at least she has a nice, healthy snack given to her by a nice, friendly stranger.

A digression: Let us go back to 1992, when rapper and actor Ice-T and his metal band Body Count released a charming ditty called “Cop Killer.” A song about Ice-T’s anger at police brutality, the number name checks Daryl F. Gates, preceded by the words “Fuck the police!” The song’s bridge, a very creatively poetic section of the song, contains the following lyrics:

“DIE, DIE, DIE, PIG, DIE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
FUCK THE POLICE!
Yeah!”

It's art, truly.

I mean, to be fair, Ice-T has never killed anyone in his life, cop or otherwise, and art and music has a long and venerable history of being used to protest what the artist thinks is unjust. As Ice-T explained it, “I’m singing in the first person as a character who is fed up with police brutality. I ain’t never killed no cop. I felt like it a lot of times. But I never did it. If you believe that I’m a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an astronaut.”

I understand this both intellectually and emotionally. But I bring this up to highlight the extant tensions at the time Police Quest IV was released. I mean, David Bowie might have taken on various personae, but he never advocated the murder of a particular group of people, and marketed towards a group with a particular animus about the subject of a violent fantasy that has already shown a propensity to conflate entertainment with reality. However, the most offensive thing about “Cop Killer” is that it is a bad song. Boring. I know it’s speed-metal/lo-fi hardcore punk, but even by that standards, it fails. I probably should have mentioned “Cop Killer” in the introductory post, but oh well, c’est la vie, etc. and so on.

Anyway, going around in a rough urban black neighborhood and giving apples to little girls might be a wee bit reckless on a white police officer like Detective Carey’s part. But yeah, adventure game. What would Jim Walls say?

“I’d say what kind of crappy police game doesn’t even have a driving interface? Do you even have to walk around your car every single time before you enter it? How can there not be a hooker your main character falls in love with? Daryl F. Gates? More like Daryl F. Lame.”

Alas, my apple adventure ends here, as I cannot buy another to give, serpent in the Garden of Eden-like, to unsuspecting young females. This is getting very deep. Let’s move on. I give old friend Two Jack some more change (2 points, 171 total), but he has nothing more to say save that he thought Bobby Washington was going to be a big-league ball player. I don’t remember if he said that before. It doesn’t help with the case, but is just sad.

Back at the Parker Center, I find nothing helpful. Bored, I go to some of the other floors just to see if the obstruction preventing me from exploring further changes, and it does a bit. I forgot which floor I was on, but the line has different people in it than before. I look at some of them because I’m bored, and the narrator has many useless, slightly entertaining asides, such as:

• “Oh my God, it’s Steven Segal!”
• One of the guys “must be an Oregonian.”
• One guy looks like he’s from Andromeda, a clear reference to the two Space Quest creators/Spaceventure grifters crowdfunders.
• One guy apparently looks like the Incredible Hulk.
• “Look! It’s Mr. Cheese!” Ha ha, what the hell?

Nobody looks like Mr. Cheese to me.

This is a waste of time. I go back to Carey’s desk and try to call 411, but get nothing. I can’t even dial 0. Even Leisure Suit Larry let you mess around with the phone. So did Police Quest II. This is a major, major downgrade. I blame the lack of Jim Walls and his well-known love of telephone shenanigans (source: I made it up).

Speaking of elevators, I get very tired of walking around the Parker Center, it’s dead hallway scenes, waiting for the elevator; it’s a little too realistic for my tastes. Even worse: Carey can’t even eat the candy bar he got from the lobby vending machine for a slight bit of enjoyment to stave off the drudgery.

At this point, I got frustrated after over an hour of futility and consulted a walkthrough. It turns out I was right! You do need to take Bobby Washington and Bob Hickman’s personal effects and—hey, both victims were named Robert. I see a connection: our serial killer hates those named “Bright Flame.” Their resounding brilliance makes these sinful schemers so jealous that their only recourse is to lash out in rage. Carey needs the police to put out an APB (I don’t know what that means) to alert all Roberts in the greater Los Angeles Area! Robert Stack, Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Blake, Robert Conrad, Robert Pattinson, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Robert Redford, Robert Patrick, Robbie Robertson, Rob from Milli Vanilli, Robert Mitchum, Robert Davi, Robert Zemeckis, Robert Aldrich, Robert Rodriguez, Robert Hays, Robert Guillaume, Robert Loggia, Robert Shaw, Rob Schneider, Rob Reiner, Rob Zombie, Rob Gronkowsi, Robert the Bruce, Rob Roy, Roberta Flack, Robby Benson, Roberta Williams, Robert from accounting, and of course, all Bobs in Hollywoodland: we’ve got a real sicko out there.

I calm down a bit and go back to the morgue. Do you want to know where our two Bobs’ personal items were? Huh? Huh? Do you? I’ll show you.

See where the “Hand” icon, or “Finger” icon, really, is pointing? There. Those are two manila envelopes. My goodness, game, could you hide the ball even more on me? I’ve got blog posts to write. I don’t have time for this nonsense.

Adventure games, man. Adventure games.

As an aside, the music here sounds like the Baba Yaga theme from Quest for Glory I. Also, while the tunes themselves in Police Quest IV are just fine, they don’t sound good. I wonder if it’s an emulator setting, but the music sounds worse than old EGA games.

I take Hickman’s stuff (4 points, 175 total) and Washington’s (4 points, 179 total). Carey can’t open them, because that would be weird, so I go to deliver said personal effects to the victims’ respective families. Cathy (Kathy?) Hickman is obviously glad to get her late husband’s things (3 points, 182 total), and gives Carey Bob’s old Kevlar vest. “Maybe it’ll keep you safe,” she says, in a not-so-subtle bit of foreshadowing. Carey says goodbye and heads to South Central.

Lasandra is no longer by the fence and is now standing near her house. I talk to her, and she tells Carey that she saw a “really pretty lady” in the alley the night before “when m brother was dead.” Her voice actor sounds like –it’s weird. Anyway, I now get a menu of topics to ask poor, sweet little Lasandra:

• Lady’s Activity: “She was smoking.” (2 points, 184 total)
• Lady’s Description: She was pretty and had “pretty clothes.” (2 points, 186 total)
• Lady’s Clothing: The lady was wearing a pretty red dress. (2 points, 188 total)

Interesting. I wonder if the bit with the apple was to get Lasandra to open up to Carey.

I give Ms. Washington Bobby’s things (3 points, 191 total), and she looks them over before crying. The music changes, which is my cue to get out of there. I fruitlessly walk around South Central some more before going back to the Parker Center.

Chester at SID has no new information, but here’s something I didn’t write about last time: the weird romantic-sounding jingle that plays whenever Carey first goes up to Officer Julie Chester. Does Carey like her or something? Woo woo! Loverboy Carey on the prowl! Rawr! Just be careful about workplace relationships, you know? I’ve seen Mad Men (I actually haven’t seen Mad Men, so don’t ask me about it).

So I do what all good cops do, and go out for a coffee. No wait, that was in real life. The lines are blurring, man. In the game, I go to Carey’s desk. Carey’s phone is ringing and Hal yells at Carey, telling him it’s been ringing all day.

Exciting telephone action!

Carey answers. Is it Varaz from CRASH? No, it’s Emo Jones, who we spoke with in South Cen! (2 points, 193 total). Mr. Jones tells Carey he has some information about the murders and will be waiting by the field in South Central if we’re interested. We are, so away we go!

It’s night when Carey arrives, and just like he said, there’s Emo. But what’s this?

Holy cow, man, someone pops up from behind the burnt out building and straight-up guns Emo down . . . and then starts shooting at Carey! I got my first death by just walking like a dope away from Careys’ car, and was sorely disappointed.

The screen just turns red and you get a weak-sauce death message. Lame!

After a quick reload/resurrection, Carey is back in action and under fire. I have him don his friend Bob Hickman’s old Kevlar vest (3 points, 196 total), and then duck behind the car. And then the angry Latino waiter from the Rainbow Café emerges and starts shooting. I look at him, and it’s . . . Lt. Varaz of the CRASH unit? What the hell? He was undercover, I guess, and I can assume with Hickman.

Anyway, I use the gun on our assailant and can’t seem to hit him. Carey keeps running out of ammo and then dying from multiple gunshot wounds. Stumped, I remember that Carey has a freaking shotgun in his trunk. Okay, I lied. I had to look for that reminder in a walkthrough as well, because I kept trying to hit the gunman—who, by the way, has a machine gun—and kept getting hit while never getting any indication that I was hitting him. If I were in charge of designing Police Quest IV, I’d at least give the player a message or some other clue that Carey’s Beretta just wasn’t cutting it, and that he’d need something a little more high-powered.

Using the “Walk” command, Carey can inch over to the trunk.

Carey needs to open the trunk with his keys, and then unlock the shotgun from its holder (7 points, 203 total). Imagine being cool enough under fire to do this. What a rough job.

When you leave the trunk screen, the viewpoint shift’s to over Carey’s shoulder, facing his assailant who is on the left side of the screen while Lt. Varaz shoots back as well. He never seems to run out of ammo, and neither does the gunman.

The cursor turns into a targeting reticule, and you have to blast the gunman a few times just to survive the shootout (5 points, 208 total). When you do this, more officers appear at the scene and help in pacifying whoever it was shooting at Carey, and who gunned-down poor Emo Jones.

Let’s pause to appreciate Emo Jones. The poor guy was just trying to do the right thing, giving the police information that can lead to the arrest of the person responsible for murdering a cop and a child, and he gets blasted to Kingdom Come for it. There is truly no justice in the world.

After this exciting adventure, the game shifts to day two . . .

Day Two

. . . and Carey getting completely chewed out by Lt. Block

My God, man! Detective Carey was almost killed, and all Block does is say he made a mistake putting Carey as the lead of this investigation. “You shove reporters! You broke up a CRASH operation to break up a gun-running ring, costing the department thousands of dollars and months of paperwork! You acted like a cowboy wandering into a warzone, guns a-blazin’!” Blah blah blah.

Carey explains, very logically, that he received a tip and arranged to meet the witness, but to no avail. Lt. Block, safe from the confines of his desk, goes on to tell Carey all the things he did wrong. Friends, I think we’ve found the true villain of Police Quest IV.

Anyway, when his tantrum is over, Block has some information for Carey:

• Raymond Jones III, aka Ragtop Spiff, has been captured, and was the gunman last night.
• Emo Jones survived, and is in the hospital. He told officers that Spiff was trying to get Bobby Washington to run guns for him, but the boy refused.
• Hickman’s gun was found in Spiff’s apartment.
• SID has ballistics ready.

But wait, there’s more: another dead cop was found last night, one Rene Garcia. There goes my Robert theory. Anyway, Garcia was found dead on the front lawn of rap superstar Yo Money’s house at approximately 4:00 a.m. after a part thrown at the residence. “No cowboy tricks,” says Lt. Block, “just try and be nice, okay?”

I hate this guy. He talks as if it was Carey who decided to speak with bullets the previous night, and not Spiff. God forbid Carey gets injured on the job—is Block going to blame that on Carey too?

Back in the main office, Hal is involved in a particularly acrimonious phone call. “Goddamn broads,” he says after he hangs up, before telling Carey that “playing cowboy” is no good, and that he needs to “curb” his “appetite for action.” You too, Hal? Why is everybody blaming Carey for this?

I thought we were bros, Hal.

Hal actually has some new information for Carey:

• Hickman’s Gun: Found in Spiff’s mattress. SID is confirming ballistics.
• Shoot-out: The punks had automatic weapons. The “big boys” will want to talk about this with Carey. Hal suggests Carey sees a shrink to “get it into perspective.” Not a bad idea, Hal, considering how freaking blasé everyone else is about Carey being in a damned shoot-out the night before.
• Firearms: John’s gun was also taken for ballistics, and will need to be picked up at SID.

So there are few additional things on Carey’s to-do list. Note, dear reader, I had wanted to complete game day one in my last post, but was unable to. This post will take us all the way to day three. I have Carey call Varaz to see if I can get any useful information from him, but nothing. Next, I fill out another report, this time about the shootout (2 points, 210 total), but can’t give it to Hal now, as he’s back on the phone. I also figure it’d be good to talk to Spiff and Emo, but nope. I’ll save the suspense and tell you there is no way to contact either man. I take a moment to try and find the police psychologist, you know, to take care of Carey’s mental health, but none of the floors where they might be opens up. Just more dumb lines.

Looking at the women gives the message, “Oh my God, it’s Julia Roberts!”

Off to SID first, to flirt with Chester see if Chester has any good news for Carey.

And she does! First, she returns Carey’s gun (3 points, 213 total), and then tells Carey that she and Nobles are going to the Short Stop after work for a few drinks, and asks Carey to join them. “Are you asking me out on a date?” Carey asks. “Not in your wildest dreams, detective,” Chester replies. Dang! And here I was, hoping that this game would turn into Leisure Suit Larry Quest IV: Open Season (on Boobs). Enough flirting. Time to get the skinny:

• Spent Wall Slugs: These matched the slugs in Bobby Washington’s body, not with Hickman’s ballistic test on file. At least we know Hickman’s gun wasn’t used to murder the poor boy, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was tragically killed way before his time. Just awful.
• Spiff’s Weapon: SID is running the ballistics now, and it looks promising because it is a 9mm with a high-capacity magazine.
• Garcia’s Toxicology: In process, nothing yet.

I think it’s safe to say the game is implying that Spiff killed Bobby Washington, but nothing is conclusive yet.

A new location opens up on the map screen: Yo Money’s house. But first I head to the morgue.

This dork again . . .

Nobles has some information about Officer Garcia, but the body isn’t there. As Nobles cleans his examination table, he repeats the invite to come to the Short Stop. John says he’ll try to make it, and has some questions:

• Garcia’s Autopsy: Garcia was tortured the same way as Hickman in all respects save he was missing toes and not a finger, and it was his mouth that was glued shut, and not his eyes. In other words, says Nobles, he could watch his own torture. He also had a ruptured GI tract.
• Cause of Death: Poison, maybe, but no telltale signs. Nobles speculates it might be a poison they don’t yet have a test for.
• Lividity: Primarily on Garcia’s buttocks. Secondary lividity appeared on his upper back and shoulders. Nobles thinks Garcia was tortured while sitting down and then moved somewhere else where the torture resumed, indicating that the killer has transportation and “could strike anywhere.”
• Physical Marks on Garcia: There were restraint marks on Garcia’s wrists and ankles; the fibers found were sent to SID. He also had bruises on his shoulder blades, making Nobles think Garcia had his arms tied over his head.
• Toxicology: Body fluids sent to SID, nothing yet.
• Burn Marks: These were consistent with cigarette burns. Ash samples were found and sent to SID.
• Fibers: Fibers were found at the restraint points. Additional fibers and ash were found in Garcia’s hair; these fibers were red. All of this was sent to SID
• Anything Else?: Neither Hickman nor Garcia had any food residue in their stomachs, which struck Nobles as odd. Garcia was found naked; when Garcia’s mother came to collect the body and his personal effects she went “ballistic.” “A word of warning, John,” Nobles warns, “I think she’s gunning for you next.”

Thanks for the info, and the heads up. In addition to a cop killer, I have to worry about an angry mother. But her anger is justifiable.

Off to Yo Money’s!

Nice digs! Aside, you know, from the chalk outline on the front lawn. Carey notes the location where Garcia’s body was found (2 points, 215 total) and moves on to the front door.

A dog barks if you try to go any further to the right, so up to the house it is. After knocking, a big burly mustachioed bodyguard appears. You can tell he means business because of the ‘stache. I wish more people understood this. Anyway, his name is Big Danny D, and after Carey flashes his badge (2 points, 217 total) . . .

. . . Big Danny D lets him inside to see Yo Money.

Mr. Money is sitting on the arm of a nice couch while a pretty lady in a red dress, smoking a cigarette, immediately rips into Carey, saying that the whole thing with Garcia is ruining Yo Money’s sales, and she thinks the cops did it to ruin a “controversial rapper.” Carey can’t get a word in edgewise before the phone rings. The lady picks it up and starts talking angrily to someone who won’t quit calling.

Pretty lady . . . red dress . . . cigarette smoker . . . hmm . . .

I was obviously supposed to snag a cigarette butt from the ashtray while Yo Money and the lady were distracted by the phone call, but I did not. And then the phone calls stopped coming. Anyway, Yo Money is willing to talk to Carey:

• Phone Call: Was just “unfinished business.”
• Dead body: Officer Garcia was “just there”; he and Danny D saw him.
• Whereabouts: Yo Money was at a house party here last night; he said he knew all the guests save for some girls who were here for his “bros.” Yo Money claims he was upstairs with Nicolette, who I’m guessing is the woman in the red dress.
• Enemies (3 points, 220 total): Carey asks Yo Money if there is anyone he knows of who wants to ruin his career. Yo Money tells Carey there is some “Nazi Dude” who doesn’t like seeing “a brother doing well.” He always sends Yo Money “shit in the mail.” Gross! I’d be upset if someone kept sending me human feces in the mail, too, although I actually think “shit” is being used colloquially here and not literally. I hope. The good thing is, Yo Money has a name: Dennis Walker.
• Dennis Walker (3 points, 223 total): Walker, Yo Money says, is a “racist asshole” who used to drive by heckling Yo Money. Yo Money got a restraining order against him—good thing the police weren’t defunded in those days!—and got him arrested for trespassing a while ago.

Another lead. Carey tells Yo Money to call if he remembers anything. The lady, sadly, refuses to talk to Carey and eventually kicks him out, and Big Danny D won’t let us in.

Back to the station I go, with an idea on how to find Walker’s whereabouts. Remember the computer? Remember how it had a “Hate Crimes” section where you could enter a last name? So do I. First, I give my report to Hal (2 points, 225 total) and then log on to the LAPD’s system, find “Hate Crimes,” and type in Walker (2 points, 227 total).

Bingo. I learn about Walker, see his priors, and note that he is a member of Aryans for Justice, a group led by one Erik Strauss. I find Strauss in the computer as well. The interesting thins is that this opens up Walker’s address on the map (I think; or did talking to Money do that? I can’t remember), but not Strauss’s. Which is fine; Strauss isn’t a suspect in anything . . . yet.

I have Carey fill out another report, this time about his interview with Yo Money (2 points, 229 total), and give it to Hal (2 points, 231 total). I want to talk to Walker to see if he has any info about Officer Garcia, but I wonder why I can’t talk to Garcia’s mother to get more information about his whereabouts, any enemies, etc.

Ah, well. I suppose it’ll be more fun to talk to a Nazi. Well, “fun.”

Walker resides in a shabby apartment building in a run-down neighborhood. He comes to the door when Carey knocks; Walker is a large man who “appears to have a nasty disposition.” He confirms his identity when Carey shows him his badge (2 points, 233 total), and lets Carey in. The narrator notes that Walker can’t be “all bad,” since he has an aquarium, but the huge Nazi flag and swastikas and other Nazi-related graffiti speak otherwise.

Real subtle.

There is loud German oom-pah music playing; when asked, Walker says “It’s from the Fatherland. It’s my fuckin’ favorite.” I remember this line well, because when I played this part of the game years ago my mother was sitting in the other room, and I she said “What did that game just say?” Yeah. I mean, I was 17 or so at the time, but still. Mom wasn’t thrilled.

The thing is, that’s the only thing Walker will say. Although the Menu lets you ask about Yo Money and other things, Walker just says “I can’t hear you” or something like that, because the damn music is too loud. When you ask about the volume, Walker tells Carey he can turn the stereo down. I do that (3 points, 236 total).

But when Carey’s back is turned, Walker hightails it out of there and some woman comes up with a knife and, well, you know the rest.

Not a difficult puzzle. You just need to make sure Carey pulls his gun on the woman (3 points, 239 total), who looks like “a nasty little bulldog.” You then need to use the “Talk” icon to tell her to freeze and put her hands in the air (4 points, 243 total), to drop her knife, put her hands over her head, and get to her knees (4 points, 247 total), and then Carey can safely cuff her (3 points, 250 total).

Subduing the Nazi woman.

Back at the station, Hal tells Carey that Garcia’s mother is giving Lt. Block the business, and is “one tough bitch.” All right, Hal, a little decorum here. The lady’s son was tortured to death and found naked. Can you blame her?

Señora Garcia comes out and asks Carey if he’s the lead investigator. Carey tells her he is, and tries expressing his sympathy, but Señora Garcia is too livid to appreciate it. She tells Carey that her son was a good boy who lived with her, helped out, went to church, was waiting for a “good girl,” and was saving himself for marriage. Obviously, being found naked and ritually abused was out of character for Officer Garcia. Horrible. This cop killer needs to be found before any more brave officers are destroyed.

She leaves, and I have Carey fill out another report, this time about the encounter with Walker (2 points, 252 total). Apparently, Little Nazi Girl is named Wendy James. Carey gives Hal this report (2 points, 254 total) and then heads to the computer, where we learn that Wendy is Erik Strauss’s daughter. I can’t talk to either Wendy or her dad—I have no way of contacting Strauss, and the game doesn’t let me go into the jail downstairs, so I assume she’s not there—so maybe I need to find Walker. Unfortunately, there are no leads, and I can’t do anything at Walker’s house. I can’t do anything at the Rainbow Café because the operation has closed down, and I can’t talk to Ragtop Spiff. Worse, when I go back to Yo Money’s, Money and Nicolette don’t get distracted enough for me to snatch a cigarette butt from the ashtray.

Nothing left to do now but shoot!

That’s right, Carey gets a little more practice in, filling out another 13.5.1 form (2 points, 256 total), paying for ammo (1 point, 257 total), wearing his head gear (1 point, 258 total), and finishing the course, this time with 220 points (4 points, 262 total). If anything, after surviving a shootout, maybe this clears Carey’s mind. I still think a psychiatrist would be helpful too, but anything to retain a modicum of normalcy is certainly good.

Remember how TAG’s own Corey Cole played the police psychiatrist in Police Quest III? Couldn’t they have brought him back for this game?

Anyway, around this time I got annoyed, and asked for some hints. Both Laukku and Anonymous nudged me in the right direction, with PsOmA chiming in as well. The main hint was to remember how Yo Money first became aware of Walker, which was the mail. There is no mailbox, though, at Yo Money’s or anywhere else. However, here I look at a bush I previously did not inspect my first few times at the rapper’s estate.

Check it out, a red shoe. Dorothy was here, obviously. Carey takes the shoe (2 points, 264 total), a stiletto with the heel broken off, then notes the bush (4 points, 268 total) before showing the shoe to Big Danny D (2 points, 270 total). All the bodyguard has to say is that he hadn’t seen it before, and that there were so many “babes” coming and going all day and night, “Who knows their names?

I show Yo Money the shoe as well (3 points, 273 total), and he just goes on a diatribe about “Lots of booty coming and going around here.” I also show it to Nicolette (3 points, 276), who resents the implication that she’d wear “such a cheap piece of trash.” Worse, I still can’t take a cigarette butt.

I’m a bit stymied. I go back to Carey’s office, and notice a memo on the basket on his desk. It’s from Lt. Block. I take it (2 points, 278 total) and then read it (2 points, 280 total), learning that Hickman’s funeral is at 10:00 a.m. today. Or was. I’m pretty sure Carey missed it. Would’ve been nice to have gotten the memo earlier.

Carey shows Hal the shoe, but he says it’s hard to know if it’s connected to Garcia’s murder. “Any gal large enough to fit that shoe would be large enough to life a man,” he offers, saying that the shoe is “huge.” Likewise, Teddy Baker won’t book the shoe into evidence because it’s not really connected with any crime, but he comments he’d love to meet a girl who wore a shoe like that, as it is clearly designed to attract a man’s attention. Okay then.

The only other thing I can think of is for Carey to go to Hickman’s house and pay Catherine his respects.

She’s dressed in funeral black, of course, and she is not offended that Carey missed Bob’s funeral, nor that he didn’t call. Cathy understands the life of an LAPD officer. She tells Carey she heard about the shoot-out, and that she was worried. She also asks about the investigation. Carey lets her know that Bob has been cleared of any wrongdoing in Bobby Washington’s death, and that the poor boy’s killing was unrelated to her husband’s. “We might have a cop killer on our hands,” Carey tells Cathy. He ends with asking her to think about anything out of the ordinary on the night of Bob’s murder. All Cathy can recall is that they had an argument because he got violent after taking his sedatives with alcohol, and he didn’t take the car. It’s good that Bob at least didn’t drive while intoxicated. However, due to the argument, Cathy beats herself up, fretting that she “sent Bob out to be killed.” Awful. This game deals with a lot of heavy themes related to a police officer’s family life in a way that the first three Police Quest games only hinted at. Carey tries to console her.

When Carey leaves, Cathy tells him she and Valerie will be away for a few days at her mother’s place. It’s good for them to get away a little bit.

We then take you to the Short Stop! You know the Short Stop, that famous cop bar in L.A.! Everybody knows the Short Stop, between 2nd and 3rd . . .

Oh, come on, it was a pretty good joke!

Anyway, the Short Stop.

Not my screen shot . . . mine didn’t take, for some reason.

We don’t get to the drunken camaraderie immediately, instead focusing on the TV news, courtesy of KKAT TV (erroneously called KRAT in my previous post, a name I like far better). First, a fired-up Yo Money comes on, explaining that Garcia’s death was a plot to discredit his music.

“Pull my finger!”

Next, L.A.’s least-favorite anchoress, Kristy Bilden, comes on screen, stoking public fear and paranoia by wondering how can the LAPD protect the citizenry if it can’t even protest itself, etc. and so on.

No matter how much you hate journalists, you don’t hate them enough.

Someone who sounds like Hal trash talks Kristy, and then turns the TV off . . . which is odd, because Hal isn’t there. Maybe it was just another disgruntled patron. Nobles buys Carey the “cold one” he promised him, and then the game lets you interact with the bar.

The Short Stop, ladies and gentlemen.

There’s not much to do outside of chat with Chester and Nobles. Carey notes that “Julie sure looks beautiful tonight,” and their flirting is awkward. Carey isn’t much of a lothario, but whatever. As we’ve already established, Al Lowe was not involved in the making of this game.

Looking at the bartender, we learn that he is named Neil Small. The arcade game is “Stroids. Another fine adventure from the Sierra family of games.” Because what would a Sierra game be without shameless self-promotion? The guy is really into his pool game, the woman is a strong, independent 90s type (no, seriously, that’s what the game tells you), and I don’t remember what the message was when Carey looks at the George Costanza wannabe reading a newspaper in the table next to him.

Might as well talk to Carey’s co-workers. He asks Chester why she became a cop, and she replies that it’s the same reason they all did: because her father was one. Nobles is unable to tell Carey exactly how many autopsies he’s performed, but estimates over 5,000. All I have to say to that is ¡Ay, caramba!

The fun is short-lived, however, as everyone’s favorite bureaucrat, Lt. Block, bursts in, angry as all get out and ready to ruin everyone’s night.

Seriously, the guy is like the dean in an 80s college comedy: No fun allowed! What a dork. He tells Carey that the mayor wants to see him tomorrow morning to answer questions about this investigation, so he needs to go home and get some rest before he gets drunk: no hangovers in front of the mayor! He also admonishes Chester for drinking in uniform, even though she’s off duty. Someone get the PR-24 out of his keister, pronto.

And so ends day two, with Carey at City Hall, warned by Lt. Block to answer the mayor’s questions without divulging anything that could harm the case. It’s like getting called to the principal’s office but worse because, you know, it’s real life.

We’ll pick things up in Day Three, and just looking at this screenshot I’m having flashbacks to my courtroom days. Yikes!

My to-do list:

• See the Coroner
• Visit Bobby Washington’s family
• Visit Hickman’s family
• Comb the neighborhood where Hickman and Washington were found
• Track down Raymond Jones III, aka Ragtopp Spiff
• Get into the Rainbow Café (turns out this was a red herring)
• Get cigarette butt from Yo Money’s house
• Answer the mayor’s questions without harming the case

Session Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
Total Time: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Score: 280
Inventory: Funeral memo from Lt. Block, kit, Kevlar vest, glue, wallet, gun, clip, badge, change, shoe, Hickman’s valium, keys, handcuffs, notebook, Parker Center ID, 3.14 report form, qualification memo from Lt. Block, candy bar