Part 5: The Hand Sandwich - Part 4

My luck at getting screenshots when characters have their eyes closed continues.

It were Carrière, weren't it?

Yes, it was. No one else could have done it.

You only have to look at the heavily contrived dying message to see it.

Aye, it were a bit too good to be true, eh?

You did realise that, didn't you?

Yes! Of course I realised. I'm a detective par excellence, I'll have you know!

Okay, then. Well, let's examine this elaborate dying message a bit more, hm?



This so-called dying message that names 'Phelps' as the culprit... It's clearly a fake, concocted by someone who didn't know the man very well at all.

Someone like Carrière, you mean?

Yes. There's even evidence on the scene to support that theory.

I suppose you're expecting me to find it, are you?

An excellent deduction, Lucy. Get to work, then.





This is it!

Aye, this receipt's a dead giveaway. It clearly shows the dying message can't have been left by Aldwich.

That's right. I'm glad you spotted it.

Just so we're clear, what is it about the receipt that exposes the dying message as a fake?



The receipt's been signed by Aldwich, but she's forged her fellow's name and written 'Bosco Felps'. But going from the sarnie message, the spelling's 'Phelps'.

So he got the spelling wrong! It's spelt with an “F”, not a “Ph”.

Precisely.

And since the receipt was signed by Aldwich, the man's lover, we can be confident that's the correct spelling.

Which proves that the dying message int' sandwich weren't Aldwich's work at all.

That's right.

In the interests of being thorough, could you verify the correct spelling with the man himself?

I'm sure if you explain why it's so important, he'll cooperate with you.

Aye, leave it with me, Prof.

Lucy briefly disappears.

All done.



Once I told him what were going on, he were actually very helpful.



Good, so our deductions were correct.

It's in the bag then, eh? It were Zach Carrière. No question.

Almost no question. But we've yet to find some truly decisive evidence.

What we need to focus on now is finding evidence that he was the one who actually killed her.



Evidence that Carrière committed the crime? Ee, I don't know where to start, really.

Well, the sandwich is the most glaring contender.

: Right. That were to create summat that looked like a dying message, weren't it?

If you wanted to incriminate Felps, there's a somewhat more obvious message, wouldn't you say?

Oh, now I think I'm starting to see what you're driving at.

Good. The evidence is all right there.

Evidence that shows why he had to put Aldwich's hand in the sandwich.

No...Sorry, Prof. You've lost me again.

Okay, well, you've had a look around the crime scene, so let's turn our attention to the statements. Is there a particular statement that makes you stop and think?



Well, all this talk about perfume and aftershave and that in this statement seems a bit odd to me.



Music stops.



Eh? It is?

I'll explain later. Call Carrière back, would you? Quick as you can.

Consider it done!





We now have enough evidence to prove Carrière committed the murder. This time we'll crack him.






The final showdown takes place in what looks like an interview room, rather than Alfendi's office.

I am surprised you 'ave asked me to come 'ere again.




Pardon?

Mr Felps didn't kill Ms Aldwich.

No, the real killer is....





Mon Dieu! I cannot believe what I am 'earing. You 'ave already established that Phelps is the killer, non?

Oh, that's yesterday's news.

You're the new kid on the block today. And it's going to stick.

Are you out of your mind?




If Mr Felps were truly the culprit, surely he would have gone to greater lengths to hide the murder weapon.



Bof! Impossible!

If you 'ave this evidence, show it to me. I do not believe you.



You may have noticed, there's no score, or energy bar on the screen; this game doesn't have any sort of a penalty system.

I have heard that the Japanese version gave players a ranking at the end of each case, depending on whether you guess the killer correctly at the start of the case, how much evidence you collected, and how many questions you answered correctly, but if that's true it was removed for the English version.

In a way the lack of a penalty system makes sense; we're not trying to convince anyone of the culprit's guilt here, we're trying to get a confession. On the other hand, it makes it far too easy to just present everything and anything until you get the correct answer.

This receipt is the proof!

It is the receipt of the room service, non?

Exactly.



What can this possibly prove?

Have a look for yourself. You may notice it's signed 'Bosco Felps'.

Oui. And?

Ah. Non. Non.

Aye, you've seen it now, haven't you? Felps is spelt with an 'F', not a 'Ph'.

And this signature was penned by Ms Aldwich.



...Mais oui. In normal circumstances, you are right of course. But the sandwich was Ms Aldwich's dying message, that she 'as created while she was being murdered.



True, that would make perfect sense.

But if Ms Aldwich was in a panic, then something else she did doesn't make sense at all.

And what is that?

A certain piece of evidence should make everything clear. Lucy, do you know what piece of evidence I'm referring to?



It's this piece of fried fish with pickle juice on it.

That means it were int' sandwich originally, either just above, or just below the pickles.

I'm sure I don't need to point out what the first letter of 'fried' or 'fish' is, do I, Mr Carrière?

Non...

Anyone who knew the proper spelling of Felps wouldn't have taken out the fish finger and stuck in a hand.



Zut!

: The idea that someone could think to remove some fried fish...and put their own hand into a sandwich while being strangled to death is a little too hard to believe.

No, the person who created this had plenty of time, but sadly didn't know the spelling of Felps.




Oui, per'aps it was not Mademoiselle Aldwich who left this dying message.



We have proof.



Mon Dieu, you 'ave just told me! To create the misspelt dying message, non?

No. That's not it. There was another motive for making sure the victim's hand was in the sandwich. Lucy?



Characters revert to a single pose when a multiple choice question is asked, regardless of the current situation. This can be a slightly jarring, as with Carrière here, he's reaching breaking point, but as soon as a multiple choice question comes up, he goes back into his "standard" relaxed pose.

You wanted to mask the smell of your aftershave that were on Ms Aldwich's hand!

Ugh...



That could be an arrestable offense in itself.

While you were throttling her, I bet Ms Aldwich were grabbing at you, getting that scent all over her hand.

So you needed something to disguise the smell.



But you knew that the victim having her hand in a sandwich would raise too many questions. So you created a diversion, in the form of the dying message.



I think Alfendi was quite well-written. It would have been easy to have made him more or less a carbon copy of Hershel, but they managed to make Alfendi's personality noticeably different, while still retaining some similarities.



We have proof. If I'm not mistaken, Ms Aldwich must have left a mark on you.



You 'ave no basis to say this. Can you see such a wound, uh?

Not at the moment. Because you're hiding it.

You're hiding it...





It's on your neck!

That's the normal place where folk apply aftershave. There or on their wrists.

And I noticed something about you the very first time I set eyes on you.

That unusual way in which you wear your neckerchief.






We'll be able to compare the shape of the wound with Ms Aldwich's fingers to ascertain the truth. Unless you'd rather spare yourself the embarrassment and admit to it now?

I...Non...



She was...



No dramatic breakdowns in this game.

Oh? You were paying her money, were you?



Good luck to them!