Part 117: Dunning Smith

Music: On the Rocks
Mila!
Hey, good-looking! Am I ever glad to see you safe'n sound!
You all right?
Got yourself quite a series of hideouts, Dunning. You make 'em all yourself?
Nope.
Yeah? Then who did? And why?
None'a yer business!
Time to come clean. You're going to tell me everything you know.

Start talking!
All right, I hear ya.
But just the two'a us! I am to talk at ya alone!
Louie, take Mila upstairs.
Don't ask me twice!
C'mon, Mila, Rosa's waitin' in the wine cellar. Let's go see her.
...No.



Louie, please.

Stop playing the fool, Louie. Get her out of here.
Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.
Let's go, Mila.
No. I'm staying here. I need to hear what he says.
Aw, c'mon, Mila!
No! I need to hear it!

Fine. You can both stay.
Ya tellin' me I gotta talk in front of the girl? And DeNonno? Ain't happenin'! No, sir! It ain't necessary, and it ain't gonna happen!
It might not be necessary for you, but it is for them.
What're ya talkin' about?
Mila's the daughter of your former partner. Mila came here to find him. To find her father. And the info rattling around in your head is the only lead she's got.



And Louie here...
You hit me, didn't ya? You lousy, no-good, tightfisted backbreaking old coot! WAs you tryin' to KILL me? Hell, you coulda just fired me! I woulda walked away!
'Course I wasn't tryin' to kill ya! Don't be daft!
Louie drifted out to the West Coast three years back. You know why he left the city? Because his childhood friend Danny was murdered.
Murdered?
Let me lay it out for you. Danny was killed trying to steal a painting. It was in a warehouse run by a crime syndicate called Nile. A painting of an angel.
...What?
Think you're surprised? I'm the one who just found the thing in the damn basement!
What do you say? You going to share your story with us?

Music: Resolution


It's 'cause... 'Cause I wanted her to see the place.
Why?
...Well.



What do you mean?



You talked to him here.

The last place you spoke? What did you chat about?
Now look, that ain't-
About Osterzone?
No!



I found your secret room. I know what's in there. I found Angel Opening a Door.
Ya found... Ya found it, did ya?
Yeah. Why is it here?
Persistent, ain't ya?



I think I know who left it here.



It was Bradley.

It was the other Kyle Hyde. Wasn't it?
Hey! Who told ya that?
You did. Just now.
Hmph. So ya know the guy or somethin'?
Yeah. The guy who stayed here six months ago was my partner. My friend. He's the ghost I've been chasing for three years.
Partner? Didn't know that door-t'door salesmen had partners!
Yo, Mr. Smith? Lemme introduce... Uh... Officer Kyle Hyde. Until three years ago, he was a detective with NYPD.
Ah, crap.
My partner's name is Brian Bradley. Three years ago, he was investigating a crime syndicate called Nile. But he decided to steal your angel painting and slip town. Hasn't been seen since.
Nile, huh? Well, I'll be damned.



I found an old letter in the cellar lockbox.
I see.
Read it, didja?
Yeah. Then I used your little code machine and-
Real smart guy, ain't ya, Hyde? So smart ya can't keep yer nose outta my business! Well, lemme guess...
No need. I'll tell you. I know the secret you and Evans were hiding.
Oh.

Music: Secrets


I told you everything about the night Jenny got taken away! Everything...
So you have to tell me where he is! You have to!

You know where Evans is, don't you?

I remember when Papa and I came here ten years ago. We ate dinner, and then he said he had some business to take care of. He told me he was going to meet a friend. And that I should play with Jenny until he got back.



But he never came back. We were tired and sleepy. And we...we both fell asleep. Then the man... The door opened, and there was a scary man.
He grabbed Jenny and tried to take her. Jenny started screaming. Screaming and crying. She was crying so hard.
I...I thought she was going to die... So I yelled at the man! I ran to him and told him to stop, and... Then I was flying...



I'm sorry, Mila.
Ah, Jenny...
You know what happened then, Mr. Smith? Mila was in a coma. Spent the next ten years layin' in some hospital bed. Then six months ago, she wakes up and starts looking for her pops.
...Damn.
Are you mad at me? Are you mad that I couldn't stop those men? The ones who took Jenny? Is that why you won't tell me where my papa is?
No, girl, that wasn't it.
I was just...I don't know where Evans is. That's why I'm here. It's all I can do. Just sittin' and waitin' to hear from Evans. Waitin' for my Jenny t'come home.

New Music: Limits of Doubt (Actually the usual On the Rocks plays here, but this music isn't used anywhere in the game, so there it is.)


What did you and Evans discuss?

You and Evans talked about Jenny after that night, right? Fill me in.
I asked him why Jenny was taken. He said... Said it was 'cause I wouldn't paint no more. Said if I'd just pick up the brush, Jenny'd be reunited.
Kidnapping is a rough business. I bet I know who organized it...



Evans wouldn't organize a kidnapping in a way that would traumatize his daughter.

It was Nile.

It was Nile.
Likely as not. Leastwise, that's what Evans said. Told me these Nile fellas knew the truth 'bout Osterzone. Said they wanted me to do more paintin'.



And that's why they took m'Jenny away.

Why'd you stop painting?

Why did you tell Evans you weren't going to paint anymore?
'Cause I was tired! More popular Osterzone got, the lousier I felt. Evans's plan was movin' ahead without a hitch, but... To really make it stick, I had to bury my own work. Bury who I was...
People loved my paintin'! Collectors wanted 'em! But all the praise, all the glory... Osterzone got it. Not me. Couldn't take it no more.

What did Bradley say?

What did Bradley tell you?
Night he stayed here, your pal invited me to have a drink with him. Well, one turned into a whole bunch, and soon I wasn't feelin' no pain... That's when Bradley stops chattin' 'bout this n' that and asks if I knew Evans.
Some stranger asking you about Evans? I bet I know what you told him...



I would've answered "kicked him out", but that's not an option.

You lied.

You're smart. You lied to him, right?
Yep.
No way I was gonna tell some mystery man I knew Evans. So this Bradley fella got real quiet-like and stared at his glass for a bit. ...Then he looked up and stared me square'n the eye. Told me he was being chased by Nile. Said they was after him 'cause he knew Evans's secret.



What is Evans's secret?

What was Evans's secret?
This is what yer pal told me, so ya might want to take it with a grain'a salt. He said Evans actually chose to work with Nile. 'Cept they knew him as Norman.
Norman?
That's what he said. Said Evans was in deep with Nile. Said he chose t'stay there.

Is Evans going to contact you?

Is Evans going to contact you?
Hell, I dunno. Three years after I lost m'Jenny, I... I hit rock bottom.
I was sad and pissed off. Told him I knew Jenny ain't never comin' home. Took a knife to the paintings I was workin' on and slashed 'em to ribbons. I was even thinkin' 'bout breakin' m'hand so I couldn't paint no more.
Well, Evans saw how crazy I was.
He talked me back from the edge. Said he'd take care of everythin'. Promised me he'd get m'Jenny back. Said I should just sit tight and wait here. And that he'd contact me soon as everythin' was square. Then he turned'n walked off the face of the earth.
Would a guy like that mention his own daughter? Let me take a guess...



Nope. Dunning didn't know about Mila's fate after that.

He didn't say a thing.

Evans never told you what happened to her, did he?
Sure didn't.
That night ten years ago, we had a couple'a drinks and talked about what was what. When we went t'get the girls, Mila was on the floor, and... Jenny was gone.
Evans grabbed mila and raced her to the hospital, and I... I thundered 'round like a madman looking for my little girl. Next mornin', Evans came back from the hospital. When I asked Evans 'bout Mila, he told me it was nothin' and she was fine.



Why'd he keep Mila a secret?

Why didn't Evans tell you about Mila?
I dunno. Ain't got a clue...

Music stops