The gumshoes first case by Bruce Herbert

The gumshoes first case

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"The gumshoes first case" by Bruce Herbert


The release number is 1. The story creation year is 2013. The story headline is "First day on the job.". The story genre is "Detective story". The story description is "Will the gumshoe survive his first case?".

When play begins: say "The city at night. A heaving mass of stench and bad attitude. And yours truly, waiting in the middle of it all. In the cold.

It had taken some doing, but I finally tracked him down to a sleazy dive in a crummy part of town. Hell, everything's sleazy in this crummy town.
If his old lady hadn't hired me to find out about what he'd been up to, then I'm sure he would never spill to it.

She was convinced - I was convinced - all I had to do was wait.

If he was involved like we suspected, then it would all be up there, waiting. Waiting for me to find.
I'd nail him, no doubt.

Then his wife, his daughter, their family. All of them. They can all get on with their lives, after all these years, and turmoil.

And this is my job. I am on the case. The first of manyâ€¦

"

The Darkened Street is a room. "[if unvisited]Dark. Dingy. Smelly. Just the kind of place I'd hoped to start my career in.

[end if]I can see the apartment from here, and it looks like there's still someone up there.

There's an alley way off to the east.

I'd better wait to see what happens."


Report asking a person about:
say "Are you kidding?"
instead.

Report telling a person about:
say "You -really- must be kidding this time."
instead.

A person called Rodia is in the Darkened Street. A person called Fyodor is here.

Instead of asking Fyodor about "brevity", say "He smiles wanly. 'You must be joking.'"

Instead of asking Rodia about "whining", say "Rodia looks at you coldly."

test me with "ask fyodor about life / ask him about brevity / ask rodia about axes / ask him about whining"

The lamp post is scenery in the Darkened Street. The description is "It's a nice looking street lamp for leaning on. So, I guess I will."


The Alley is east of the Darkened Street. 
"[if unvisited]This stinks even more than the street. Gross.
[end if]
[if visited]That bottle again. I think I should look at it. Like my future depends on itâ€¦
[end if]"

The bottle is in the Alley. "There is a bottle, smashed on the ground."


Instead of examining the bottle: 
say "Caught out! As you leave the dark alley, you didn't notice that your target was hiding in the shadows. [one of]He sticks a knife into your ribs, and runs away. You are dead. [or]You see him run off into a crowded street, and lose him.[purely at random]";
end the story.