Home
Explore games
Help
Log in
Playfic is now in read-only mode.
You can still play existing games, but new signups and game editing is disabled.
Read the announcement.
Log in
Username
Password (
Forgot it?
)
Login
Murder in the Big Apple
by
Max Sze
Played 1,338 times
View game source
(spoilers!)
Download the
.z8 file
Source Code
"Murder in the Big Apple" by "Alex and Maxwell". Include Basic Screen Effects by Emily Short. Include Simple Chat by Mark Tilford. When play begins: forbid exiting on zero. Understand "talk to [someone]" as talking. Talking is an action applying to one thing. Understand “break [something]†as breaking. Breaking is an action applying to one thing. X is a number that varies. X is 0. Every turn: if the player is in a room (called the current space): move Alex Joo to the current space. Every turn: if the player is in a room (called the current space): move Maxwell Sze to the current space. When play begins: say "Detective Indigo Johansson of the NYPD’s 39th Precinct has been assigned to the city’s homicide division, and is called to a crime scene late at night. The victim? Guile Indovino, a 63-year-old Italian businessman and executive at JP Morgan. Play as Johansson and attempt to discover the culprit behind this high-profile murder." The 20 Conduit Drive - Condo Entrance is a room. The 20 Conduit Drive - Condo Entrance is south of the Lobby. "I walked into the entrance of the apartment building. 20 Conduit Drive- this should be the correct address. I can tell just by looking at the building from the outside that this is obviously a luxury condominium, which meant that I’d most likely be dealing with rich, fancy-pants witnesses likely unwilling to cooperate. Cripes- not exactly my ideal second case ever. It’s already 9 pm, and I even had plans reserved at a nice restaurant for the night. Not to mention how my car broke down on my way here. I take a deep breath and turn to Maxwell. Considering how I was called here without being told any details other than the fact that there had been a homicide, I should probably ask Maxwell about the case. Besides, if I’m going to be working with him and Alex for my first few cases, I might as well get along with them. I see the lobby to my north, so I should probably go there first. This first-person game requires you to interact with basically everything and show things to the other 3 characters. Not every character can give you the information you need, so if there's no reply, ask another person." Maxwell Sze is a person in the 20 Conduit Drive - Condo Entrance. Instead of talking Maxwell Sze, say “'We’re both relatively new to our jobs. I think it’s very important to focus on the important aspects of this case and discuss about anything that seems off. If we take too long to find a lead and our results come as inconclusive, the case will likely be transferred off of our hands. So let's get back to work and find out who was behind this.'" Instead of asking Maxwell Sze about something, say “‘To be honest, I don’t know the details of the case either. I didn't expect to be called so suddenly by Lieutenant Choi this late at night. I guess we’ll ask about more details when we get there. From my knowledge, the Lieutenant and Alex are already on the scene. I guess we’re actually the late ones this time. Well, we’ve stood around here talking for long enough. Come on, let's go inside. I’m excited to find out what this case is going to be like.’ Isn’t he a bit too excited for a homicide? I mean, to be fair, he’s always had a good work ethic, but I’m genuinely curious if it’s ethical to be excited to investigate a crime scene. In any case, I should enter the apartment. Can’t say I’m too excited to go to talk with Alex though, he’s a bit of a nuisance to work with." The Elevator is a room. The Elevator is down from the Living Room. The Elevator is up from the Lobby. “Just a regular elevator- for rich people. It would be normal besides the golden clockwork decorations. As redundant and unnecessary as it is, I will admit that it looks quite beautiful. Up is the way to the living room, while down is the way to the lobby. I comment aloud by accident, and Maxwell quickly says, ‘I’ve never taken an elevator will golden doors before. Maybe it’s a time machine and we’ll be transported to the prehistoric era to fight dinosaurs. Let's find out!’ Oh Maxwell… You never change.†The Lobby is a room. The Lobby is down from the Elevator. The Lobby is north of the 20 Conduit Drive - Condo Entrance. “The apartment lobby. From the looks of it, this seems more like a five star hotel than any condominium. I’ve heard rumours of how the luxury suites in New York City look and just how incredible they are, but this was truly beyond my expectations. Just by walking on these carpeted floors, I feel the most luxurious I’ve ever felt in my life. Almost makes me forget that I’m here to do work. I’m almost tempted to come back here on a weekend in my free time to just enjoy the rich atmosphere. Of course, everyone I’m working with is here with me. To get to the elevators, I have to go up.†The security desk is in the Lobby. The security desk is fixed in place. The description of the security desk is “A plain, regular security desk. From my knowledge, this table seems to be an exquisite amberwood. There’s a fat old man slumped over, sleeping and drooling over what seems to be a remote control for cameras and his name tag, which seems to read ‘Kyle’. I find it really aggravating that even at times of a murder, the security guards of New York City remain unwilling to cooperate with the police. Does no one respect the work that us police put in every day anymore?†Kyle is a person in the Lobby. Instead of talking Kyle, say “Maxwell suggests we flash our IDs like those agents do in cool movies, but I turn down his offer. There’s no point in trying to talk with this man, he seems like the type of person who doesn’t care about anything, least of all security. I certainly don't want to live in any condominium guarded by THIS man.†The Living Room is a room. "It's the living room of the apartment suite. Just by looking around, I can tell that this residence doesn’t belong to a middle-class, everyday joe. All of the furniture is maintained in pristine condition, and the room shines from bottom to top. As much as I would want my house to look like this, I came here to do my job as a detective, and my 'detective’s intuition' is nagging at me to inspect a few off-looking elements of this room. Good grief; it seems like Lieutenant Choi’s words are already getting to me. Before I know it, I’ll be walking around telling kids to get off the street and back into school... As if I have any time for that. Anyways, I see Lieutenant Choi waiting for us, Alex, Maxwell, a shoe rack, a sofa, a fireplace, and a TV. I do a quick check of my surroundings to find that there is a balcony to the north, bedroom to the west, an open-concept kitchen to the south, and what seems like a master bedroom to the east. Better get to work before the lieutenant starts yelling at me." Lieutenant Choi is a person in the Living Room. Instead of talking Lieutenant Choi: increase x by 20; say “‘Finally getting to work I see. Now that you’re here to ask me, I’ll give you an outline of the details of the case that we know thus far. I’m sure you’re all aware that this is a homicide case, or at least I hope you’ve been aware of that. The victim has been identified to be Guile Indovino, aged 63, the owner of this apartment suite who had been known to live alone for the last forty years. Although the autopsy is far from complete, considering how the body was warm when we had first found it, it would seem unlikely that the man has been dead for anything more than two hours. The man had been shot to death in his own residence. The corpse is in the kitchen, and I’m trusting you to not mess this up. I’m entrusting you to Sze and Joo over here so that you don't act irrationally on your second case. Got it?’ As if I’m the one who needs to be watched. Who even let Alex become a detective?†Alex Joo is a person in the Living Room. Instead of talking Alex Joo, say “‘Alright, look here [‘]Detective Johansson[’]. This isn’t your police academy training drills anymore. You mess up, and I will instantly report it to the lieutenant. God, I can’t believe he put me on babysitting duty. Just when I was ready to go home too.’ What a prick." The shoe rack is in the Living Room. The description of the shoe rack is "Other than the copious amounts of diamonds embedded in it and the shine that the beautifully managed pearls emits, this seems like a normal shoe rack. There seems to be four pairs of shoes, all of the same size and...Jordans? Damn! Anyways, there’s no visible disturbance on the rack that would indicate any human contact within the last two hours. It would be wiser to probably let forensics dust the rack for fingerprints rather than to inspect it any further. Whatever they do with this rack, it’s certainly none of my business." Instead of showing the shoe rack to Maxwell Sze, say “‘Hm? What about the shoe rack? I looked over every spot and checked the sizes of the shoes and found them all to be men’s size 12. It most likely all belonged to the victim. Certainly nothing out of the ordinary. From what I asked, it seems forensics were unable to gather any evidence off of it either. I guess it really goes to show you that not everything on the scene is always related to the case.’†Instead of showing the shoe rack to Alex Joo, say "He doesn't care." Instead of showing the shoe rack to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The sofa is in the Living Room. The description of the sofa is "Well, this is a nice sight. Pure leather, white, with soft cushions and an exquisite golden floral pattern to decorate the cover all work together to make this sofa look as comforting and luxurious as possible. I can certainly respect the time and effort that went into manufacturing this piece of furniture. My hat is off to the decorator who designed these sofa sheets. Anyways, there’s obviously no sign of a struggle or a human contact. All cushions seem to be neatly organized, as if it hasn’t even been used a single time since it was last cleaned. I strongly doubt that there’s anything about this sofa that has anything to do with the case." Instead of showing the sofa to Maxwell Sze, say "Maxwell seems busy." Instead of showing the sofa to Alex Joo, say “‘What do you want? It’s just a damn sofa. If there had been any blood or traces of a weapon on it, we would've easily seen it on the white leather. Now stop pestering me about your stupid deductions and get the hell back to work.’†Instead of showing the sofa to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The fireplace is in the Living Room. The fireplace is an openable and closed container. The fireplace is fixed in place. The description of the fireplace is "Now this isn't exactly what you see in an everyday apartment suite. An actual, real-life, authentic fireplace! I can tell that there’s a chimney, likely leading to the roof of the apartment. An authentic fireplace in an apartment room… The wonders of modern technology truly continue to surprise me. Upon further inspection, I see half burnt newspapers in the fireplace. I turn around, and Maxwell says, 'Woah… It’s a real fireplace! What are we waiting for? Let's burn the wood and see this thing in action! Although, to be honest, I have this odd feeling that the lieutenant would remove us from the scene instantly as soon as he sees us tampering with the scene. What a bummer.' Great. Now I gotta keep an eye out for a possible fire.†The newspaper is in the fireplace. The newspaper is an openable and closed container. The description of the newspaper is "New York Times, this morning's copy. There's a key buried between the sections." Instead of showing the newspaper to Alex Joo, say "He doesn't care." Instead of showing the newspaper to Maxwell Sze, say "Maxwell seems busy." Instead of showing the newspaper to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The key is in the newspaper. The key unlocks the black safe and the grey safe. The description of the key is "A rather large key with a unique pattern on the tip. This seems slightly too big to be the keys to the door, but it definitely seems important. It has a silver tint and square-shaped bumps at the end of the key. The key looks so brittle and old that it looks like it could break at any moment on usage. It would definitely be best to be careful with this thing. It certainly isn’t made of titanium, so to speak." After examining the key, increase x by 5. Instead of showing the key to Alex Joo, say “‘Hey, be careful with that thing! It seems like important evidence, and I’ll be damned to see you break that thing like an idiot. It’s likely going to be helpful so just keep it on you for now. Don’t give it to me because if anything happens to it, it’ll be your sole responsibility.’†Instead of showing the key to Maxwell Sze: increase x by 5; say “‘Oh nice, a key. Oh, a square pattern! That reminds me. Just last week, I watched this documentary about the fabrication of keys, and in the video, Keith Ferguson, a master in the production of keys, said that triangle patterns had been in use since the late 1960s, but before those times, older locks all used square shaped patterns on their keys. The more you know right?’ Honestly, I have no clue what he does in his free time, but I think I’d rather not know at this point." Instead of showing the key to Lieutenant Choi, say “‘A key? Keep it on you safely for now. That seems like crucial evidence. Speaking of keys, I recommend you talk to Sze about more details on this key. Ever since last week, he’s been going on and on about this documentary about keys. To be completely honest, I need you to talk to him about keys because if I hear another useless fact about keys, I’m going to absolutely lose it.’†The TV is in the Living Room. The description of the TV is "60-inches and 4K. This really makes me wish I was at home right about now. My favourite show is on and it ends in an hour! Seriously, of all times to randomly be called to work, why did it have to be now? In any case, there seems nothing off about the TV. It looks untouched and in pristine condition. In fact, it’s not even plugged in. It seems like the owner of this TV cared more about looking rich than actually using any of these expensive household appliances. Really though, this TV is massive." Instead of showing the TV to Maxwell Sze, say "Maxwell seems busy." Instead of showing the TV to Alex Joo, say "He doesn't care." Instead of showing the TV to Lieutenant Choi, say “‘I certainly hope for both our sakes that you weren’t just about to turn on the TV and start watching shows on it.’ Wow. He really is as sharp as they say." The Living Room is south of the Balcony/Garden. The Living Room is north of the Kitchen. The Living Room is east of the Bedroom. The Living Room is west of the Master Bedroom. The Balcony/Garden is a room. The Balcony/Garden is north of the Living Room. "A veggie garden? This Indovino guy had a green thumb, eh? None of the food's ripe though. There’s a table in the corner with a bottle of wine and four chairs around, with a book sitting on one of the chairs. Pretty common. Turning back to the south is the window I came through." The bottle of wine is in the Balcony/Garden. The bottle of wine is edible. Instead of showing the bottle of wine to Maxwell Sze, say "Maxwell seems busy." Instead of showing the bottle of wine to Alex Joo, say "He doesn't care." Instead of showing the bottle of wine to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The description of the bottle of wine is "Champagne, Dom Perignon, 1999. This guy had good taste." Instead of eating the bottle of wine, say “I could, but I’d have to arrest myself for tampering with evidence, which would be really weird." The vegetable garden is in the Balcony/Garden. The vegetable garden is fixed in place. The description of the vegetable garden is "Mostly tomatoes and cucumbers. Nothing interesting here, plus, the food isn't ripe yet." The window is in the Balcony/Garden. The description of the window is "This is the window we had to open to get in here. It’s made of… well, glass, and there seems to be no sign of stress on the window. With little damage sustained to it, this could indicate something about the location of the shooter. I should ask my partners about it.†Instead of showing the window to Maxwell Sze: increase x by 5; say “‘Well, we know that there’s no damage sustained on the window’s behalf. This tells us the shooter couldn’t have been outside when he shot the victim, or else the glass would’ve shattered.’†Instead of showing the window to Alex Joo, say "He doesn't care." Instead of showing the window to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The Bathroom is a room. The Bathroom is north of the Bedroom. “Just a plain old bathroom attached to the bedroom. Nothing is really special about this room, and it looks completely devoid of any human activity within the last two years. The cabinet is crawling with dust, and to be honest, all I see is a dusty cabinet and a toilet. To the south lies the bedroom I came from, and Maxwell and Alex are in here with me.†The toilet is in the Bathroom. The toilet is fixed in place. The description of the toilet is “I don’t exactly need to use the bathroom currently, but it’s good to know that in case of emergency, I can always come here. Investigation wise, there’s nothing off about it, it’s just a plain old toilet with no sign of tampering.†The cabinet is in the Bathroom. The cabinet is fixed in place. The description of the cabinet is “I open it… to find absolutely nothing but dust. As I expected, it seems like the owner of this house never even used this bathroom. In fact, it doesn’t even seem like a single human has entered this room in years. Safe to assume that this room likely has nothing to do with the investigation.†The Bedroom is a room. The Bedroom is west of the Living Room. The Bedroom is south of the Bathroom. "A bedroom other than the master bedroom? I thought the victim had lived alone. What's the point in paying so much for a luxury condo with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms if you’re never going to use them anyways? I’ll never understand the rich. But that’s not what's important right now. This room- is a complete mess. And not just poorly maintained, it's been heavily tampered, almost as if there's been a struggle in this room. Maxwell and Alex are in this room with me, and my detective’s intuition almost instantly goes off. The objects that stand out to me in this room are the drawer, the closet and the bed." The drawer is in the Bedroom. The description of the drawer is "The first thing I notice is that someone has been hastily searching for something in a desperate manner. All compartments have been forcefully taken off and thrown aside to the ground, which indicates a likely chance that someone was hastily searching this room for a certain item. I can logically deduce that this was not the actions of someone who had lived here, for they would have likely known that this room is nearly empty, and it wouldn't make sense for a resident to desperately tear things apart in order to search for a certain item. Well… maybe if it was something like a credit card or wallet, but otherwise this seems to be the actions of an intruder. I should ask my partners about this, they work closer with forensics than I do. Although, to be frank, I wouldn’t be able to name a single forensic officer if I tried, so that’s not exactly saying much." After examining the drawer, increase x by 5. Instead of showing the drawer to Alex Joo, say “‘Look, me and Maxwell already asked forensics about it. There's no samples of DNA found anywhere near that thing. Just give it up, there’s no need in trying to deduce conclusions from it. Take it from me, there’s nothing to be gained in life by butting your head into other’s business or doing more than you have to. It’s just going to make your job even more dull and boring as hell.’†Instead of showing the drawer to Maxwell Sze, say “‘We asked the forensics team if they were able to find any traces of a person other than the owner on the drawer. They weren’t able to find anything, but that in itself is a lead. Think about it, why would there be no prints on something so obviously tampered with? Because whoever was in this room must have been wearing gloves! From this we can deduce a few key facts. First of all, the perpetrator had entered the building with gloves on. This indicated that this was a premeditated crime, and they had come in with the intention of murder, and had worn gloves to prevent any prints from appearing on the scene. Second, they had a clear intention of stealing something specific from this residence. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made such a mess with the drawer. Ha! How’s that for detective’s intuition? I think I deserve a raise!’" Instead of showing the drawer to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The bed is in the Bedroom. The description of the bed is “Well, first of all, the sheets are all over the place. It’s quite evident that this bedroom was nearly never used, these plain white sheets look covered in dust. Yet whoever came in this room threw all the sheets and pillows to the floor. Although there are definite signs of tampering, there’s no sign of a violent struggle, with no blood or any other suspicious material found on the bed. Whatever happened in this room, it seems like it wasn’t an act of violence.†After examining the bed, increase x by 5. Instead of showing the bed to Alex Joo, say “‘How much longer are you going to waste my time in this room? Who cares if the bed is messy? The lonely sad man living here probably just never took care of this room.’†Instead of showing the bed to Maxwell Sze, say “‘No fingerprints, which indicates the use of gloves in human contact, and the copious amounts of dust- it’s pretty safe to assume the owner of the house hasn’t been in this room in quite some time but someone else definitely has.’†Instead of showing the bed to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The closet is in the Bedroom. The description of the closet is “I thought it looked strange from afar, but really, it doesn’t seem too out of place. What is notable is that it’s open despite there being nothing inside- not even a single coat hanger. Why would the owner of this house, who knows that there is nothing inside the closet, open it? All of this seems to suggest the presence of another person in this room.†Instead of showing the closet to Maxwell Sze, say "Maxwell seems busy." Instead of showing the closet to Alex Joo, say “‘It’s just a damn closet! What the hell are you thinking, wasting our time like that? There’s nothing to be gained out of searching it!’†Instead of showing the closet to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The Master Bathroom is a room. The Master Bathroom is south of the Master Bedroom. “I’ll be completely honest, this is the first time I’ve been inside of a luxury bathroom. I’m not exactly one with the most exquisite of taste, but despite seeming like it costs ten times as much as a normal household bathroom, I personally can’t see the charm in trying to coat everything you have in expensive brands and decorations. Anyways… Beneath these blinding lights, I can see a cabinet, Jacuzzi, and a nice sink coated with expensive jewelry. In here with me are both Maxwell and Alex, and the only room connected to here is the master bedroom, which lies directly to the north.†The large cabinet is in the Master Bathroom. The large cabinet is fixed in place. The large cabinet is an openable and closed container. The description of the large cabinet is “The knobs on the cabinet are made out of what seems to be clear diamonds. The amount of money some people can afford to just throw away will never cease to amaze me. I should probably open it to see what lies inside.†The scrap of paper is in the large cabinet. The description of the scrap of paper is "The paper itself is a tiny scrap, torn hastily with many visible cuts on the paper. It certainly doesn’t seem that youthful per se, with the ink barely legible. On closer inspection, despite how torn the paper is, it doesn’t seem that old. Reading it, I can distinguish the words. I can read the words ‘Break open the mirror with a pan.’ I’m not sure how relevant this is to the case, but I should hold on to it for now.†Instead of showing the scrap of paper to Alex Joo, say “‘Are you quite done grabbing at every little detail throughout a dead man’s house? We’re detectives, not vultures. I don’t see how in any sane man’s mind this irrelevant, old scrap of paper can hold any relevance to the case. Throw it out and grow up, or get off my crime scene.’†Instead of showing the scrap of paper to Maxwell Sze, say “‘Break the mirror? Huh, seems odd for such a rich man to keep such a strange slip of paper alone in this expensive looking cabinet. I guess everyone has a few skeletons in the closet. Or in this case… the cabinet. Ooh! That was a good one. I should write that one down for later.’†Instead of showing the scrap of paper to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The jacuzzi is in the Master Bathroom. The jacuzzi is fixed in place. The description of the jacuzzi is “I never thought I’d be saying this, but this is just a plain old Jacuzzi. I think ever since I started investigating here, my senses have gone numb to seeing fancy, rich-people belongings. As irrelevant as this is to the case, I do wish I could have one.†The sink is in the Master Bathroom. The sink is fixed in place. The description of the sink is “Just a normal sink… with jewelry covering everywhere but the basin. I wonder if even the water here is higher quality. At this point, I don’t think I’d be too surprised anymore. It’s completely dry, and nothing that would indicate a DNA sample can be found here, so I don't really think it’s going to be any helpful for the investigation. Bummer, I wanted an excuse to try using the sink.†The Master Bedroom is a room. The Master Bedroom is east of the Living Room. The Master Bedroom is north of the Bathroom. The Master Bedroom is south of the Study. “So I guess this is where the owner slept by himself, huh? Seems about right, an overly large bed, expensive curtains, designer clothes in the drawer, an expensive wallpaper, and yet another massive TV right in front of the bed. Yup, this is truly a rich man’s bedroom. It’s kept relatively clean, with the bed still properly made. There’s just too much in this room for me to search through everything in here. I should just stick to inspecting the most important items, which includes a large mirror, a bookshelf and what seems to be a postcard lying on the cupboard. To the south, there is a master bathroom, and to my north lies what appears to be a study. Of course, Alex and Maxwell have followed me into the room.†The mirror is in the Master Bedroom. The mirror is an openable, closed, and locked container. The description of the mirror is “Wow… This mirror is kept in incredible condition. The frame of the mirror is completely embedded with diamonds throughout, and both the frame and the mirror itself are kept sparkling clean, obviously cleaned at least once a day. Yet, there exists other things in this house that are likely worth much more money than this mirror. Why the obvious favoritism? Something about this mirror rubs me the wrong way, and it’s not the copious amount of jewelry meant to make it look expensive. I should note this mirror down in my mind.†After opening the mirror, say “Well, that was probably the most expensive thing I’ve ever broke, and if I can’t find a good lead from this action, the Lieutenant will likely come to let me know of the termination of my job. Luckily, I see what seems to be a rather large blue page at the bottom of the frame of the mirror, now accessible thanks to breaking this mirror, possibly higher in value than my net worth.†The blue page is in the mirror. The description of the blue page is “Thankfully I didn’t cut my hand with the glass shards while reaching for the page, but it seems to be a net flow statement that lists the owner’s salary, amounts paid in tax, and all debts. Yet something instantly strikes me as strange. The address directly matches that of this residence, and yet the legal salary is definitely nothing special. To be fair, it’s quite high, but not enough to support this much of a lifestyle. I’ll definitely submit this as evidence later, but for now it’ll be quite wise of me to hold onto it.†Instead of showing the blue page to Maxwell Sze: increase x by 10; say “‘You’re right. None of this adds up. The lack of a salary necessary to support such a lifestyle, and the ridiculous amounts of tax evasion starting from nearly a decade ago, none of this information makes sense. How could any man get away with breaking the law for nearly ten years without any litigation taking place? And just where did this man gather the money to own such a house? There must have been a police officer assigned to investigate this man, and yet no action has been taken by the police. Something is definitely off here.’ Maxwell is right. It’s impossible to go unnoticed for that long while breaking the law, meaning an NYPD detective was likely assigned to the investigation. Yet the lack of police involvement… I’m starting to think that this goes deeper than a random murder.†Instead of showing the blue page to Alex Joo, say “‘Where the hell did you get that? And what are you doing with that thing? Please, enlighten me. How in the world does clearly private information about the victim have anything to do with our case at hand? Are you some kind of crazed lunatic? Letting the detective title get to our head are we now? Put that page back where it belonged before I report you for misconduct.’ As if I’d do that.†The bookshelf is in the Master Bedroom. The description of the bookshelf is “Classic novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Moby Dick that I pretend to have read, but in reality never bothered doing so. I bet if I had a bookshelf like this, I’d look a lot more classy when I brought someone back home. Although to be fair, it’s not like I ever bring anyone to my home other than a few friends to have a drink. There is a book sticking out of the shelf titled Frankenstein. On it lies a sticky note that reads ‘Use in case of Grade 10 Gifted.’ What does that mean? Either way, this likely has nothing to do with the case. Back to the investigation I go.†The postcard is in the Master Bedroom. The description of the postcard is “To those poor victims who had lost their lives in the tragic New Zealand shootings, I pray that they rest in peace. My condolences are with all families affected by the tragic events that had occurred that day. May they truly rest in peace.†The Study is a room. The Study is north of the Master Bedroom. “Oh man… Just how big can one apartment suite get? This room is massive! The shelves filled with books, magazines, and business awards. Certificates and photos with celebrities are neatly displayed and line the wall. But, I am a detective. What sticks out to me above all else are the two safes that are embedded into the wall right next to the massive bookshelves. To me, that screams a crucial lead, and I’ll see to it that I uncover the truth behind it. To the south, lies the master bedroom that I had come from, and in this room with me are Maxwell and Alex. This room has an ominous feeling to it, almost as if there’s something constantly watching me from behind. The dimly lit lights certainly don’t make it any better. The only thing worth investigating in this room are the safes. There lies two of them, the black safe, and the silver safe, both opened with a key but with different keyholes.†The black safe is in the Study. The black safe is an openable, closed, locked container. The black safe is fixed in place. The description of the black safe is “First thing I notice is the nature of the metal. There’s visible rust on the safe, and it seems quite old. There are slight dents that appear on the surface, and it’s quite evident that it’s not exactly the most sturdy case. It can't exactly be opened by brute force, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see someone be able to break the safe open if they had the tools to do so. Unfortunately, neither me nor my partners have any suitable tools for this so I guess we’ll need to open it with a key, assuming there even is a key for this safe. What did Maxwell say about keys again…?†The grey safe is in the Study. The grey safe is an openable, closed, locked container. The grey safe is fixed in place. The description of the grey safe is “Well, this safe is certainly kept in great condition. No signs of rust or any lasting damage, the cleanliness of the silver, and we have what seems like a rather new, highly sturdy safe on our hands. This certainly won’t be budging anytime soon unless we try opening it with a key, but that’s assuming that there is a key for this specific safe, which is unknown. I should be careful before deciding to try and open different safes, I don’t want to break a key. Now, just what did Maxwell say about keys again?†Instead of unlocking the grey safe with the key, say "The key breaks, and along with it, my heart also stops. The key… didn’t belong to this safe. I hear the footsteps of Alex behind me, this is really bad. I turn around to face him. ‘What the hell are you doing with that thing? Is that the key I told you to keep safe on you? Are you serious? That’s it, I’ve had it with babysitting these idiots. I’m reporting your mishandling to the Lieutenant right now. Expect to be removed from the crime scene immediately. Hope to never see you again, punk.’ No! I can’t let it end like this! I was getting so close to figuring things out! GAME OVER" The letter is inside the black safe. The description of the letter is “I open the envelope, and I see a block of text to read. The contents of the letter read out: March 12th, 2019 Hello Mr. Indovino, I am writing to you for the final time to let you know that this will be your last chance to pay me all the due payments that you’ve missed for the last four months. I believe I have waited quite enough, and have given you sufficient opportunities to pay, yet I have received no updates within the last four months from you. And so, as a gentleman, I am providing to you one final opportunity to pay for this month’s payment and all overdue payments I have yet to receive. I will be expecting the money to be in cash, delivered straight to my doorstep before the end of the week, for that will be as long as I am willing to wait. Let it be known that I could have, at any time, reported your illegal activity, which would have resulted in your immediate detainment. Do not attempt to change your phone number or move to a different address. Don’t doubt the abilities of the New York Police. I’ll be able to track down your information faster than you’ll be able to change it. Let’s not forget who’ll be responsible for investigating any incidents that involves you. No one will know what would happen if you were to disappear one day. This is absolute vital information to the case. This isn’t an ordinary murder case. There’s so many more people involved in this case than I thought. It seems like Indovino didn’t attain all this money through ethical means, and was subject to blackmail. I’m tempted to show this to my partners… but I have a feeling I should really keep this to myself.†After examining the letter, increase x by 40. Instead of showing the letter to Alex Joo, say “I’m tempted to show this to Alex, but a desperate voice inside my head is telling me to not let him see this at any cost." Instead of showing the letter to Maxwell Sze, say “I’ll likely let him know once I transfer the evidence to the trial, but for now I should definitely keep this info to myself.†Instead of showing the letter to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The Kitchen is a room. The Kitchen is south of the Living Room. "This seems like a rather large kitchen, but from the looks of it, I instantly see that this room has a lot of investigation to do in it. What would have been an ordinary high-class kitchen on a Friday night has had it’s elegance ripped away from itself by the scent of blood and smoke, the once exquisitely decorated walls now stained with the very blood that used to cherish it so. Oh wow… That was actually quite poetic. I should write it down somewhere. It might help me with impressing women. But, back to work. I see the corpse, blood, and bullets alongside Maxwell and Alex. To my north, there is the living room that I came from." The stove is in the Kitchen. The stove is fixed in place. The description of the stove is "Inductive, with lines of blood splattered across the cooktop." The pan is in the Kitchen. The pan unlocks the mirror. The description of the pan is "Heavy, as it's cast iron. Possibly a weapon, so you might want to ask Joo about it." Instead of showing the key to Alex Joo, say “‘DID I TELL YOU THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA? NO, SO GET BACK TO WORK, AND STOP WAVING IT AROUND. YOU'LL KNOCK SOMEONE OUT ONE DAY, AND I'LL BE THERE TO ARREST YOU FOR ASSAULT.’ Man, who pissed him off?" Understand "body" and "dead body" and "dead guy" and "dead man" as corpse. The corpse is in the Kitchen. The description of the corpse is "This… feels wrong in almost every way imaginable. Right off the bat, I can see 3 bullet wounds. One in the right shoulder, another in the upper right chest area, and one straight through the man’s temple. Seeing that this bullet went straight through in the head, I can safely deduce death was instantaneous, assuming that the bullet through the temple had not been fired significantly after the first two shots. Yet the placements of the wounds seem strange to me, as if they’re following some sort of pattern…? I should ask Maxwell and god forbid - Alex about it." After examining the corpse, increase x by 10. Instead of showing the corpse to Maxwell Sze, say “‘Something about the body seems off. We know for sure that he was shot to death, but where is the location of the shooter? Take a look at the placements of the wounds and blood trails. I’m sure doing that will allow us to figure out the general location of the shooter.’†Instead of showing the corpse to Alex Joo: increase x by 20; say “‘Well… We can see that the bullets have all entered through the right side of the body. This leads me to believe that this old man had not been facing the shooter, or else he would’ve sustained injuries from the front. This would likely suggest that the bullet to the head was the first bullet shot, else he would’ve reacted to the shot by turning. We can also rule out the possibility of suicide since we don't see a burn mark on his clothes as a result of the bullets. The lack of a burn mark from the bullets would suggest that they were shot from at least two metres away, meaning that it had to be someone else. Anyways, that’s all I have to say about it. Now leave me alone, I don’t want a stupid kid like you pestering my during an investigation constantly.’†Instead of showing the corpse to Lieutenant Choi, say "He seems busy." The blood is in the Kitchen. The blood is fixed in place. The description of the blood is "The blood splattered all over the walls and the floor as a result of the initial gunshots, and blood had formed a pool around his body since the time of his death. Seeing how the blood splattered behind the man away from the direction of the living room, I can deduce that the shooter had to have been from the living room." After examining the blood, increase x by 5. The few bullets is in the Kitchen. The description of the few bullets is "Well, I find 3 bullets on the scene, exactly matching the number of wounds on the body. Whoever the killer is, he’s surely accurate with his gun. Landing three for three shots is a hard task, especially on such a skinny man. Believe me, I would know. I for one had the worst aim in the police academy throughout all of training. I’m sure Alex would have good aim; he strikes me as the type that became a police officer to just carry a gun around. I see that no bullet shards are left within the corpse, as they had all clearly went completely through. The shapes of all the bullets are well preserved but I’m not exactly familiar with this stuff. Maybe the Lieutenant or my two 'partners' may know more about this?" After examining the few bullets, increase x by 5. Instead of showing the few bullets to Alex Joo, say “‘Hey kid, mind not touching and tampering with evidence if you don't know what to do with it? Put those back down and let the REAL detectives do the work.’ You’re only older than me by 3 months! Honestly there’s no point in understanding what goes on in his head." Instead of showing the few bullets to Maxwell Sze, say “‘Huh, are those the three bullets that went through the body? They seem really well preserved. Hang on…wait a second! These bullets appear the same as the ones issued to police officers! Whoever this shooter is, we now know that they have the same guns that we do. This…this is crucial information.’ Although that is a lead, not all police officers use the same gun. Besides, a 9mm Smith and Wesson revolver isn’t exactly rare here in New York. Most detectives in the NYPD are issued this model though...†Instead of showing the few bullets to Lieutenant Choi: increase x by 10; say “‘These bullets…I have no doubt that these are the same ones used in all 9mm Smith and Wesson revolvers. In addition, forensics concluded that all three of these bullets had come from the same gun. We can also see that the perpetrator is very accurate from the fact that we weren’t able to find a single stray bullet or hole to indicate. The shooter has the same gun model that all detectives in the NYPD own and is quite skilled at using it, but we can’t narrow down the suspects yet. After all, this is a common firearm model.’†Every turn when x is greater than 125: run a conversation from initiate. Report giving text for initiate: instead say "I definitely have enough information at this point to make a reasonable deduction to as who the most likely suspect is. Looking back at the investigation and how everything was pieced together, it’s obvious who the perpetrator is. This person is obviously…". Carry out finding responses to initiate: link to b1; link to b2; link to b3. initiate, b1, b2, b3 are chat nodes. Report giving link to b1: say "Alex Joo" instead. Report giving text for b1: say "It has to be him. His reluctance to cooperate, his lack of interest in the investigation, and the constant reminder to put evidence down, and the relevance of a police detective to this case. I have to be correct. He still stands in front of me, even now, unaware of what I have pieced together. This is a police detective I’m dealing with here. I reach out to my phone in my pocket and text Maxwell about what I have found. The real hard part has only now begun."; end the game in victory. Report giving link to b2: say "Maxwell Sze" instead. Report giving text for b2: say "Damn! That can’t be it. Maybe I’m missing something…? I thought I was able to figure it out, but maybe it really is too much for my second case. Dammit! I thought I had gotten so close too. By tomorrow, the case will be transferred to Alex. I guess all I can do now is just hope that he figures it out. I walk out of the condo and turned around to look at the building. The last thought I had before getting into my car was a sign of doubt. Perhaps… There was something I had missed in there? No, no. That couldn’t be the case. GAME OVER" instead. Report giving link to b3: say "Lieutenant Choi" instead. Report giving text for b3: say "Damn! That can’t be it. Maybe I’m missing something…? I thought I was able to figure it out, but maybe it really is too much for my second case. Dammit! I thought I had gotten so close too. By tomorrow, the case will be transferred to Alex. I guess all I can do now is just hope that he figures it out. I walk out of the condo and turned around to look at the building. The last thought I had before getting into my car was a sign of doubt. Perhaps… There was something I had missed in there? No, no. That couldn’t be the case. GAME OVER" instead.