Consulting Detective Vol. III - The Banker's Final Debt

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Haha, the person we pay rent to is a terrible cook, take that for giving us a good deal!

Inspector Gregson is having tea with Holmes and Watson. Glad the game remembered him, having Lestrade be a friendly figure felt like something out of bizarro world. Holmes is more interested in a crossword puzzle than the on-going conversation about a murder of a respected banker. After insulting their landlady's cooking, Gregson gets to the crime. The chief accountant for the Bank of England, Oswald Mason, was found murdered in his home at 10 o'clock last night by his wife. Holmes is being called in because Mason was doing important work for The Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer wants to make sure it isn't related.

I check the newspaper, it's April 11th, and Mason died yesterday, with a rather uneventful article in the paper. Not really much else I can do before finding evidence.

I don't see what I've captured until after the fact, but it seems that Holmes is trying not to laugh at Lestrade's incompetence...

At the Investigations Department of Scotland Yard, Inspector Lestrade is acting his usual smug self. Glad to see he's gone back to normal. He doesn't think Holmes was needed. A man broke into Mason's house from an upstairs window, and moved his way downstairs into the study, where he came face-to-face with Mason. A fight ensued, and after killing Mason, the man fled through a window in the study. Nothing was taken and none of his government papers were disturbed, leaving the reason why he died a mystery.

Watson is either practicing his sleepwalking or he's trying not to sock the guy after misnaming him again.

H.R. Murray in the Criminology Lab talks to "Witson", and informs us that David killed Mason. Who's David? Why a copy of a very early Michelangelo piece. Quibbling, but does copy really apply when it's clearly just part of the original sculpture? David also isn't THAT early. Either way, what the sculpture technically is doesn't matter when it was at Mason's home.

That must have been quite the struggle.

Arriving at Mason's home, we are greeted by a whistling Constable Parks. We get almost all the information we just got to start with. Firstly, we discover that Mason was murdered with his head on the desk. Implying that the man was of great strength to hold him down and then use his other hand to hit him with something. Holmes finds a palm print in plaster residue on the window, and shards of plaster on the floor. Parks then explains what he did with all the evidence, which we already know, and where the wife is. She's at her sister's, Dahlia Farmer.

After working up the nerve to tell us about the tragedy, we get the wife's story. She went to her sister's for their weekly Whist game, and came back, apparently with her sister, at about ten. She then describes the ghastly scene. She doesn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her husband, as just last week he bought her a replica of the Venus de Milo and said they were going on a trip. She assumes to Paris, where they saw the real one. Despite the seeming dead end we find ourselves in, it did tell me why the husband was murdered. There was something in replica that has something the murderer wanted.

Who actually hunches over a book like that?

Trying another approach, I head to the Bank of England. The guy there tells us the same story about his work with the Exchequer. It's highly confidential and he isn't privy to the details. If we want to learn more, we should go to Lionel Foxcroft. Holmes asks to examine his office. Fortunately, we got here before his secretary, Mabel Brown, sorted through the papers. Holmes finds a few things there. On April 4th, he drew up a personal check for 240£. Another check for passages for two to Greece from Aberdeen Navigation. (which is a dead end) Another to Evenson and Co. Giftshop for two statues. A bill at the Langham Hotel for 2.60£.

I like my screenshotting skills, there's a great tragedy, and now instead of the appropriate tone she has, it looks like something awful happened off-screen.

Mabel Brown informs us that nobody really has any reason to kill Mason. Least of all her, as they treat her like a daughter. The other statue went to her for her birthday. She begins to break down and cry as she recalls how the statue was demolished just a few days before, which she now takes as an omen. I think it's time we went to that giftshop.

This lady instead looks like whatever happened didn't faze her at all.

The owner of the shop is quite surprised that we came to her, as she doesn't think anyone would find a murderer there. She tells us, after having been asked, that Mason bought two Venus de Milo statues, sent one to himself and one to Brown. She wonders if he was having an affair, to which Watson doesn't suppose anything. Watson asks if he could purchase one, and she says she sold three to another gentleman on Wednesday, but that the manufacturer, J. Small and Co., should have more.

Is that supposed to be blonde or white hair? I'm confused at what this character is supposed to be.

J. Small is dead, but his wife still works the shop. Who despite having hair that suggests an elderly lady looks suspiciously young. She tells us that a gentleman, allegedly from Southampton came on Wednesday, purchased five of them and asked where he could get more. Watson, still wanting one for himself, asks where they were sent. Evenson and Co., and the British Museum Giftshop. Holmes asks about the statues. She tells us that her late husband made up 15 such statues 3 years ago. His death, a fortnight ago, was not one of much concern, as he wasn't very reputable. He might also have been an energy drink addict, she says the only one who will miss him is the barman at the Red Bull Inn.

At the British museum, the plot thickens. The man informs Watson that the five they had were sold to a woman yesterday. She said her name was Mrs Smith, but he thinks that isn't it, and he saw her on stage. He can't remember her real name. That completes the set of 15. Five here, five at Small and Co., and five at Evenson and Co.. Clearly, the one with something inside was at Mason's apartment.

This guy's dress sense reminds me of a roulette dealer.

To the Red Bull Inn, we talk to the barkeeper. He's quite the wild one. "It's no surprise he came to such a violent end". What violent end? The bartender suggests poison, but when I checked the paper later, he was hit by a carriage in a hit and run. There's tales about how he came by the money for his shop, he might have been involved with the Drummond's Bank robbery and other heists. Despite this, he took care of his mates. The question is, who were his mates? I feel like I'm going on a wild goose chase now, even if I know this is the only option...and the bank is a red herring. At least, going there is. Well, none of the other locations I have will result in anything good, so let's go to the Regulars.

Why does Holmes need a barrister? Wrong answers only, 10 CAPs for the best one.

Henry Ellis tells us about his government work, which wasn't important enough to kill him over. That's reassuring. Edward Hall tells me paydirt. He tells me about Small and his compatriots, Leroy Eakin and Nate Cook. The Three Musketeers, who were suspected of performing several major robberies, but not evidence to do anything about it. The gang broke up when Cook was arrested for jewel theft. They haven't been heard of since. We have our suspects now, but Cook isn't in the directory, presumably since he just got out. I can go to Eakin, but it's a red herring, he isn't there. To the newspaper.

This guy could be the murderer, since finesse isn't his strong suit.

Some of the stuff in here is curious, but not terribly helpful. Evenson and Co. had a break-in where nothing was stolen. Meaning we could have three people searching for this. The man buying them, the man who broke into this place, and the woman. Or the break-in was the first man, who couldn't get where the other ones went legitimately. I find some elements connected to the last case which are mostly just there for flavor. Guess I just have to brute force my way through Cooks then? Nah, red herrings.

Without a better option, I go to Foxcroft. Holmes asks who he thinks killed Mason. He doesn't understand why. So Holmes asks about the papers he was working on and who would know about that. There are only two people who knew of his work, Foxcroft and Adrian Longquest. Holmes then asks about what he was working, before Foxcroft begins to go into a boring discussion about the history of the bank only for Holmes to cut him off. Well, this is useless, there's no Longquest in the directory. I don't even know if that's how you spell his name. But I did find Small's name, which is a different place where I can talk to Small's landlady. She tells me the shocking news that he's a no-good alcoholic wifebeater. Shocking.

I go through the rest of the Regulars until I meet with Disraeli O'Brian, who is proving the most useful member of the Regulars. He tells me the same stuff about the criminals, until I find out that Cook is still in Millbank Prison. Bingo!

I must be the guy to play FMV games in the future, every time I take a screenshot I have a talent of nailing something that looks awkward or rude.

Cook won't meet with Watson. To which, Watson says "I wouldn't care to be the cause for the upset of a hardened criminal". The guy here does talk to Watson though. Cook hasn't done very much in prison, as he has a hundred thousand in diamonds waiting for him on the outside. Obtain through the De Vries Diamond Robbery. The only confident he had was his cellmate, Errol Hawk. He was released on Monday, where his ladyfriend picked him up, who apparently is so beautiful that the guards forgot they ever saw a woman before and has quite the singing voice. I think we have our suspects. Unfortunately, that's no help, so I continue through the Regulars until I find out that Longquest is at The Treasury.

Ah, there we go, something that doesn't insult the talent of the actors who played the characters.

Not sure how I missed this one. This reveals what Mason was investigating, irregularities in the books. His death, if it is connected to this, is quite useless, because it won't stop the investigation. All his papers were accounted for. What was he investigating? Bacon and Co. were responsible for many of the Exchequer's assets, unfortunately, they were in danger of going bankrupt, not enough liquid assets to cover their poor securities. When the Exchequer audited their books, they discovered that they had far more bad investments than they mentioned. Adrian tells us that the ones most likely to benefit from the embezzlement were the directors, Michael Essex and Mitchell Yourke.

Essex, naturally, has nothing to say to us, but he does look like he's about ready to fall over. He does tell us to talk to his barrister, Charles Dixon. Going there results in nothing pleasant, just a chewing out from Dixon's lackey. If we go to Yourke's place, he's on holiday. I'm really not sure what I expected at this point. What did I miss earlier then? De Vries Diamonds.

This just clarifies the point regarding how Cook is in jail, she doesn't know anything about his compatriots or companions. Maybe the owner, Thomas De Vries? He's not there. What about that hotel bill from way back at the start? Nothing, he rented their conference room for business meetings. Okay, well, let's start going out on fishing expeditions, we know we're looking for an actress, so let's check acting establishments.

This guy looks like he could be the talent, not the manager.

Success, the Oxford Music Hall has what I want, but I think I skipped a step. The guy there says "So, it's Violette Blue you're looking for". She's been ill last night and won't appear today either, helpful. There's another one there, Sandra Gamble, who is apparently a real fetcher. Man, the vulgarities in this game, and to say that about a lady! Even if a singer in a musical is barely above a tart! It's still crass!

Another victim of the same person who killed Mason...at least, that's what it would have looked like if I stumbled in here.

Blue just left her apartment, but we find the remains of several statues, placing her and Hawk as clearly being two members who were after the statues. Two remain intact, allowing Watson to hold onto them...for "evidence". The owner tells us that he heard her boyfriend say they were going to Waterloo Station. That doesn't add anything to the investigation, but we do get a humorous interlude where Holmes gives Constable Parks, who is mysteriously there, a photo of Violette Blue. (Which he mysteriously has) Parks is quite the fan of her. This, it seems, is enough to solve the case. Though first I had to double check my work by going to every place again, since this wasn't done in one go.

Who was the murderer?

Errol Hawk, as we know the murderer was a man, Cook is in jail, and Eakin is somewhere else.

Why did he do it?

He had surprised Mason while attempting to steal the Venus.

What bearing did Mason's work on the Treasury have with this case

Nothing. A complete red herring.

What role did Violette Blue have in this crime?

She fled London with Hawk and the stolen property. Unmentioned, she was the accomplice.

How did Hawk know that Mason and Brown had the Venus statues?

He broke into the Gift Shoppe and got the names from the register.

To recap, Cook, Eakin, and Small did a robbery at De Vries Diamonds, unfortunately, Cook got caught. To ensure the goods would remain safe, Small put them in fifteen copies of the Venus de Milo. Cook must have known of this before going into prison, as he informed his cellmate, Errol Hawk. Once getting out, he and his girlfriend Violette Blue put into action a plan to steal the stolen diamonds. Unfortunately, Small died and his wife, not knowing their significance, sold them off. Mason, thus, was just an unlucky guy.

My final score was 595 against 61, utterly awful again. Let's see if I can't figure out how many locales I need. If ten locations would be 70, that means it has to be nine locations with one in which you use the Irregulars. Tell me if my math is wrong in the comments. (Holmes going somewhere, 7, Irregulars, 5) Trying to optimize it, I get

• Violette Blue (7)
• British Museum (7)
• Mabel Brown, with the Irregulars (5)
• Evenson and Co. (7)
• Dahlia Farmer (7)
• J Small and Co. (7)
• Oswald Mason (7)
• Millbank Prison (7)
• The Treasury (7)

That's the best I could do, which is a whopping 61 points. That's right, I got there! I wasn't sure how I was ever going to cut it down from 103 or so. Three locations which seem important and resulted in the most fretting were the Bank of England, which were a fairly important part of the red herring half of the case, and the two Scotland Yard locations. I guess we got enough for the cause from the actual scene. Frankly, I'd say that the British Museum could be removed since we don't necessarily need to see that all the statues were purchased, just that they were smashed.

The final cinematic has a happy ending. Lestrade, being on the ball for once, contacts Dover and the illicit duo are caught before they can flee to the continent. Holmes explains a few points I had no way of knowing. Cook had heard of Small's death, and wanting the statues to not get lost, confided in his cellmate Hawk before he was released. Holmes has no idea if Hawk ever intended to share the wealth with Cook. So, Hawk goes to J. Small and Co., only to find that only five remain there. Going next to Evenson and Co., he gets the three statues, and being unable to extract the names of the two customers that bought them, he returns later and gets them out of the register.

He tackled the next two on the same night, breaking into Mason's home and killing him by happenstance, before going over to Brown's and destroying that statue. The gems were in the statues found in the museum. Leaving Watson with two statues which probably don't have any diamonds in them.

I was going to mention this before the end of the case, but as it became clear the extent of the imitation, I decided to put this at the end. Unlike the last case, probably, this case is based off an actual story, The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. I think this worked against the case's favor. If you remember the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Elementary, Dear Data, you'll know that having enough familiarity with the stories can make solving them too easy. I don't need to be Commander Data to recognize elements of a story. (though this is probably not the point the episode was aiming for) I just watched most of the Granada series three times.

Once you know what the story is taking from, it's just a simple matter of spotting where the thread goes. Now, I could be wrong, but the first one, even if it is based off an original story, is vague enough to not fall into this. Undetectable poisons from a far away land are a simple enough idea that it would be hard to pin down a source. Gem in statue is very specific. This is actually worse because there are more of them. They can even buy thirteen themselves. This one would have lost nothing by cutting the number down to six or seven.

Take that away, and we still have a problem. The way to figure out the final piece doesn't really work in context of what this game is. In a story or even a more narrative game, there would be a scene where Holmes makes the connection between Hawk and Blue, but here, the player makes that connection...or just wanders through the music halls since looking through the newspaper every time you find a new piece of the puzzle is just as brute-force as going through every music hall.

Also, I don't know how this was played when it was a board game, but I can imagine this case when played with other people being incredibly annoying to play. In contrast to the first case, this was about two sessions, so that was about 3 hours. Played in a group setting sounds terrible. Even the most optimized possible route takes a ton of time, and when it's fairly obvious where it's all going, I imagine it can wear on a group to the point that they no longer care about doing it right, but about just getting it down.

Next up, the final case, The Thames Murders. We've got one in the plus column and one in the minus column, where will it go? Find out...hopefully not next week.

This Session: 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes