Part 11: An Onslaught of Surprises

Last time, we discovered that Sissel can't read. But he's determined to check out D99's blackboard anyway, so let's find a way to get over to D99's cell.



The first step is fairly simple. If you were paying attention during the alarm, you'd notice that the rocker reacts to the alarm by flushing a piece of paper with an X on it. So sound the alarm, jump over to the pad of paper with X on it, and...

(Music: DEADLINE)







(Music: The Imprisoned)



: ...this must be the curry-lover from the police department siege case. But never mind that! Where did he just come from?! (What's going on in this cell?) Anyway, there's a little blackboard here too. (Just to be safe, maybe I'd better check the curry-lover's schedule for tomorrow, too.)



Yes, let's. But on the way up there, we have to go through the bell...I give it a little ring.



The reason for ringing the bell can wait for a minute while Sissel checks out the blackboard...with the expected result.



: But I'd better go check out Prisoner D99's cell anyway. Maybe I can find some kind of information that might help Lynne out. (Besides...I want to see what this prisoner Lynne is investigating looks like...)



Wait a bit, and fatso waddles over to the toilet. He brings his spoon with him, which is important since that's the only way to get to the other side of the cell.



And now that he's helpfully tossed us over here, we can get out of his cell. On the way to the cell next to his, we end up possessing another phone...



...which is just like the phone upstairs in that it can only send us to other phones within the prison. But more importantly, we can get into D99's cell from here!



At least he's found a jail hobby that doesn't involve playing horrible guitar chords or trying to dig out of the cell with a spoon.

: What a strange cell...and the prisoner inside it. He seems to be...enjoying himself. This is the last cell in this area. So that means this man humming to himself must be Prisoner D99. According to what the guards said...



D99 shot his wife. Yeah yeah, we know that already.

: What in the world really happened? And why is Lynne so concerned about this prisoner? I don't know the answers, and I guess there's no need for me to know. I have only one objective. And that's to find out what this painter's work schedule is for tomorrow.



It's a fairly direct path to his blackboard, but we have to open up that photo album first.



: Photos, eh? I wonder if these are of his family? This one looks like a young woman holding a baby. Their faces have been blotted out with black paint. Did he do it out of hatred, or some other emotion? Thankfully, that's not something I need to know right now.

And right after that is a newspaper article, which I'm sure would be enlightening if Sissel could read.



: Unfortunately, I can't read it...It's probably about D99's case -- "Man Murders Wife" or something like that. There's a picture of the alleged culprit in the article. (Yup, it's this prisoner all right.)

And now we get to the blackboard. Who knows what Sissel is expecting to get out of it, but...



: ...the information Lynne's looking for, should be written on this blackboard. Unfortunately, I've lost the ability to read...but here I am, anyway. The least I can do is take a look. ......(Huh? What could this mean?)



: (I think something was written on the blackboards of the other prisoners, but this board is as clean and blank as the day it was hung there.)

That's awfully convenient, isn't it? Assuming that a blank blackboard means something to Lynne, anyway.







: Not being able to read, I was wondering how this was going to turn out...some things in this world can be "read" even if one can't read. "Prisoner D99's work schedule for tomorrow is blank." I'd better get this important information to Lynne as fast as possible.





: Ahh, and I'm absolutely crazy about this chicken.
: ......
: It's too bad it's all cold and hard, though. I'd say it's been about two hours since it's been cooked, judging from the way it feels.
: ......D99? I know it's kind of pointless to ask now, but just the same, I still want to know. Why did you do it?

(Music: Towards Nothingness...)

: .......I agree. It's pointless to ask now. My case is colder than this chicken, and has been forgotten by everybody. Myself included.
: Detective Jowd...
: Now, then! Let me eat in peace, before it gets too cold to cut!
: ......there's one more thing I've been wondering for a long time.
: What's that?
: Who is the man in that painting?
: Oh, this? Well, being in prison like this, you start to forget faces, you know? So I paint the faces that I don't want to forget. And this is the last of those faces...



...welp.

: Now, could you leave me alone for a bit? Let a man eat in peace.
: Okay, sure. Sorry to bother you.

(Music: A Dashing Enigma)



: What in the world could this mean...? Why is there a painting of me in this man's cell?







As many questions as you might have about this...you're not getting any answers now. There's nothing Sissel can do but go to report back to Lynne.



Sadly, the phones in the prison don't offer as many distraction opportunities as the regular ones do. Although when we go back to the guard room...







: They're making preparations now! No problems, sir!
: How much longer, then?
: One more hour, sir.
: I see. Carry on, then. Oh, one more thing. Inspector Cabanela wishes to speak to you.



(Music: Cabanela ~ A White Lovely Lanky Man)

: Evening. Cabanela here. How you boys doin'?
: Inspector Cabanela! Fine, sir!
: You got another little call tonight, didn't you? From my baby?
: From Lynne? Uh, well, yes...
: Did my girl have anything...iiinteresting to say?
: Uh, not especially. She hung up almost immediately.
: I seeeee...next time she gives you a buzz, be sure to let me know riiight away. Thaaat's a good fellow.
: Yes, sir.
: You try to cover it up, and I'm sure you'll regret it very much. Veeery much.
: Yes, sir! I'll call you right away, sir! Immediately!
: Don't forget. She's a fugitive, after all...
: Yes, sir.
: Carry on, then. I might "pop in" a little later.
: Yes, sir! Looking forward to seeing you, sir!





(Music: A Dashing Enigma)

: Lynne should be heading for the chicken kitchen now. But the call from police headquarters intrigues me, too. (It's looking pretty obvious right now. That white-suited inspector suspects Lynne. And she's being considered a fugitive...this is not good.) Wonder if I should go check in on the chief and the inspector in white, too?

: Inspector Cabanela seems to be looking for her, too...your Lynne, I mean.
: Inspector Cabanela? What would the Special Investigation Unit want with Lynne?
: I don't know. I guess something happened that we don't know about.
: Tonight, of all nights.
: Inspector Cabanela must be upset tonight, too. Weren't he and Prisoner D99 -- Detective Jowd -- good friends?
: You sure about that? If they were such good friends, how come Inspector Cabanela never came to visit him?
: He's the head of Special Investigation. He's a very busy man.



: Wh-what's wrong?
: Jowd was my hero, you know. I wanted to be a detective because of him. But look at me! Rottin' away in a place like this! And I can't even do anything to help Lynne...what am I doing with my life?!
: ......Th-this new side of you is kind of...endearing...
: ......
: Anyway, the thing to do is work on fixing what you can, little by little. Like, for example, your house of cards. It collapsed.
: *groan*



Alas, it's time to bid farewell to these two. And we seem to have a choice of where to go next, which means...well, you can take a guess.





: I feel like that red-head has turned me into her lackey.
: Ah, that's good. I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well.
: I have to go meet up with her at that restaurant...(...but there's some activity down at police headquarters that's got me curious, too.)
: Police headquarters, you say.
: They seem serious about capturing Lynne.
: I see...sounds to me like things are beginning to escalate. It's probably best to check out anything that catches your interest.
: Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.
: No time to be standing around here talking to a desk lamp!
: (Says the one who's only capable of standing around.)



: It sounds like the tale of love is reaching its climax. The little girl appears to be asleep. She's probably having some pleasant dream or another...
: Papa, help! I'm gonna be killed!
: Hmm, I guess not.



: Or maybe even just catch a cold...if I caught a cold, would Emma take pity on me? Would Amelie cry for me? No, I don't think she would...



: ......oh, if only I could blow up and fly into a million pieces!
: I don't think I need to come back here again for a while.



: I just want to crawl into a hole. And just maybe, this is the entrance to my true destiny...
: Go ahead. Here, I'll even push the "close" button for you.
: It doesn't look like I need to come back here for a while...

And that's all for now. Sissel has nothing new to say back at the park, and nothing's going on anywhere else. Now it's time to pick whether we go to the Chicken Kitchen or the police chief's office. Well, as interesting as what's going on with the police may be, we still have a duty to report back to Lynne. The Chicken Kitchen it is!



: This is where that little lady and Lynne are supposed to meet. But...I don't see either one of them here. (I guess they haven't shown up yet.)



Okay then, looks like we're stuck eavesdropping on the cops some more.



(Music: CHASE)

: ......
: We were just a little too late. So close, eh, Inspector?
: We still have a little time left, Chief. Not much, but some. We've had Point X surrounded all night. If he shows up, we nab him, and we can still make it.
: By the way...what's going on with that other case? The junkyard murder? She did it, eh? No question about it?
: ......she's a bad little baby, disappearing from the scene like that. Wonder where she ran off to play?
: What did he just say? "She did it." Did I hear that right? (I think they were talking about the culprit who killed me...) ......(N-No way...)



Another dialog bubble pops up as soon as Trick Time starts, and we're not getting any further until we hear what they have to say. But let's be honest - why wouldn't you want to hear more about what's going on here?

: I just don't believe it. Why would she do a thing like that?
: 'Fraid I don't have the answers for you, Chief. I don't want to believe it any more than you do. And yet...



: Is that the security tape the investigation unit just delivered? I can't deny, it's some pretty solid evidence against her...
: Evidence...



: Nothing like it, baby...



: Hmph! Why a murder case now, on such an important night?!
: Tsk tsk. I think you have that wrong, Chief. A murder case, for the very reason that it IS such an important night.
: Before I go find Lynne at the Chicken Kitchen, it sounds like there's an important piece of info here I shouldn't miss. ("Pretty solid evidence," he says. This, I have to see...) But it's funny...why do I have this bad feeling about what's on this tape?



Well, there's a pretty simple path over to the tape...which involves us setting up the area for a little video-watching while we're at it.



And from there, we can possess the remote, and...well, just watch what's coming up next.





The truth on tape

(Music: Intermission ~The Deepening of the "Night")





: The truth is the truth, no matter how many times you watch it, Inspector Cabanela.
: It wasn't me who played the tape just now, baby.
: Oh, by the way, Inspector Cabanela. There's something on that tape that troubles me.
: And what's that, Chief? I'm all ears.
: I had a look at all the photos of the crime scene as well, but...



: (Hey, he's right. That's strange. The hitman in black is the one who kicked me downstairs. But I changed his fate, so he should've been out of the picture. But there I am, down on the lower level...)
: I have the answer to your mystery riiight here, a few minutes after the murder took place.



: Is that...a black cat?
: You got it, baby. A furry feline messed up our crime scene...and then the little cat culprit vanished into the night.
: (Hmm...it looks like my destiny of being knocked downstairs is very hard to alter.



(Music: DEADLINE)

???: This is Point X! Come in, Chief!
: The Chief here! Did he show up?
???: Uh, no sir. Not yet. But--
: Idiot! I told you stay off the radio unless it was important!
???: B-but this IS important, sir! somebody else showed up...our rookie detective, Lynne.
: Whaaat? You see my baby over there, do you?
???: I heard she was on the lam...what do you want me to do, Chief?
: What do you say, Inspector?
: Detective! Get my baby away from Point X! Do it now, man! And then hold on to her!
???: Yes, sir! I'll go get her now, sir!
: What is the meaning of this? Why would Lynne show up at Point X? It took the Special Investigation Unit six months to pinpoint that location!
: Don't know Chief, but I'd say it wasn't a coincidence...perhaps--

*CRASH*



: Wh-what happened?! Detective, come in!
???: ......
: Now what?! What happened ths time?!
: Dammit! This calls for a telephone call to Point X! Allow me!



: So Lynne has shown up at some "Point X"? But I thought...she was on her way to the Chicken Kitchen...? What's going on? But one thing is clear...something big just happened!

Well then! Let's go possess the phone and find out where this Point X is!





: Now I finally understand! I finally know what it's like for our poor hungry customers who have their food deliveries delayed!
: Excuse me...but this IS the Chicken Kitchen, is it not?
: What?! Aren't I talking to the police?
: The police...? Did something happen there you need assistance with?
: "Something happen here," you ask! More like "there's nothing left here!" I gotta go!
:Wait! Waaaaait!

: What's going on?!
: Something, that's what. Something is definitely going on...and that "something" is far from "nothing," that's for certain! Thanks for the tea, Chief. I'll be on my way.
: You going to Point X?
: Point X, eh? I'll leave that to the boys. There's someplace else I gotta be...
: Inspector...your being there isn't going to change anything. Why put yourself through it?
: ......I have a responsibility, and I'm gonna see it through to the end. Besides...it's not quiiite over yet.
: Right, that's true. Do what you must, then.



(Music: GHOST TRICK)







New & Updated Records
Sissel
Lynne
Prison Guards
Rock Jailbird
Curry-Loving Jailbird
Detective Jowd
Police Chief
Prison
Special Investigation Unit HQ