Part 43: Returning the Tape Recorder

Music: Gusty Town


Tell me what's on the tape recorder.

Tell me what's on the tape recorder.
Why should I share details of my private property with you, Mr Hyde?
Now you listen to me, old man!
More importantly...
How did my tape recorder come into your possession in the first place?



I'd rather not say

I'd rather not say.



That can't be good...

Let's recap, shall we? You accuse Tony without just cause. I happen to find your precious tape recorder and even have the decency to tell you.
But you still choose to act as if everyone around you is up to something shady.
You really are a petty individual, Mr Hyde.
Why have you jumped to the conclusion that I doubted you from the start?
You mean to say you didn't?
No, I didn't. But I may have been mistaken.
At first I thought you were completely different form him, but I must have been wrong.
Seems you're just as much of a scumbag as Tony. Such a shame... I really thought you were better than this.

Frank leaves after saying his piece.

(What's his problem? Seems to be in the habit of running off at the mouth.)



Music: Blue Lady


This also can't be good...

Could you explain exactly why you're inside another tenant's room?
It's nothing, really.
The door was open and I just thought I'd better take a look inside...
Is that so? I've just run into Mr Raver from room 302, Mr Hyde.
He told me all about how he'd lost a very important tape recorder.
He had some very interesting things to say to me.
He believes there's a thief operating from inside these walls.
Oh?

New Music: Lonely Goodbye
I hate to have to ask you this, but...
You don't have Mr Raver's tape recorder, do you?
Er...
That's a very odd expression you're making, Mr Hyde.
You do have it, don't you!
It's not what you think, Mrs Patrice!
I'm not interested in excuses! I'm calling the police!

This Game Over is just . At least we got a new music out of it.

Music: Dream's End
(Oh, come on!)





You've got it all wrong.




Tony: 5
Mags: 2
Dylan: 2
Frank: 2
Rex: 1
Marie: 1

Frank is starting to become the second most unlikable neighbor in this game.

Music: Gusty Town


It really seems like this game is enforcing honesty. Unlike Hotel Dusk.

It was on the laundry floor

I found it on the floor in the laundry.
You did?
You told me you went to the laundry today, didn't you?
...
Are you maybe beginning to realise that you got the wrong man?
Perhaps now you can tell me why you were so quick to point the finger at Tony.
Isnt' it obvious? He looks like the kind of person who'd go round lying and stealing.



Once a person has commited such crimes, it's very hard to break the habit.
He might think he wants to put all that behind him and start a new life, but he can't.

Louie managed to live criminal-free!

I don't think it's up to ou to make that decision.
Of all the people who want to start a new life, there's always some that succeed.

Good to see that Kyle doesn't forget Louie

I think the numbers are very low, though.
In Tony's case, I'd say it's next to impossible.

That doesn't mean you can just blame him for theft. He might do other crime instead. Like fraud or assault!

He can't change, at least not until he feels genuine remorse for his shady past.

(How do you know about his past?)

What kind of things did he do?

Tell me what you think Tony did.
He is responsible for a violent incident that caused a lot of pain and suffering.

That's really vague.

When did this take place?
Actually, it happened twice. The first time was five years ago and the second, four.



Remember when accusing Louie of being guilty causes a Game Over? Remember how eventually Louie become our best bro? Good times.

How do you know about Tony's past?

Tell me how you know so much about Tony's past.
I've got friends in the police force, Mr Hyde.
They give me information.

What is it?
Are you trying to say that you're an ex-cop?
About time you pieced that together.



Now I'm beginning to make sense of all this. Mr Raver.
What is it?
I don't really give a damn if you were a cop once or not but I strongly recommend you stop assuming people are guilty without gathering all the facts.
Hmm.
Tony didn't take your tape recorder. He had nothing to do with it.
Searching his room won't make a blind bit of difference, cause I already found it elsewhere. It was on the floor in the laundry all along.
Here, this is it, right? *gives broken tape recorder to Frank*
Wh-what happened to the case? It's cracked!
I guess it must've cracked when it fell off the table and hit the floor.



What now?

Where's the tape that was inside?
I have no idea. This is how it was when I picked it up.
I see.
I may have misjudged you a little, Mr Hyde. I want to thank you for returning this.
I'm not interested in your thanks.
Maybe you should try giving Tony an apology instead!
Once the tape is safely back in my possession, I shall do just that.

Frank says his piece and leaves.

(So Frank's tape has gone missing...)
(But more importantly than that, he's left this room practically upside-down.)
(Maybe I'd better clear away some of this before Tony gets back.)

Music: Overstepped Memory


This is the description for the broken tape recorder. I forgot to show it earlier.



Now that we chased Frank off from snooping around Tony's room and had 2 Game Overs because we got caught here, let's snoop around!

Music: Hidden Proof

Wash sink There's a wash basin next to the bathroom door. I see a few lumps of toothpaste stuck in it.
Sink shelf There's mould on the shelf. No joke.
Mirror This technically counts as a mirror, but it's so grimy that it's ceased all usefulness.
I'm regretting this already
Fridge It's a refrigerator with a freezer built in. I'd call the thing retro, but it's just old.

Food The only food in here is a packet of ham and a jar of pickles.
(I can understand having snacks to go with the booze, but he must need more food than this.)
Milk There's a huge bottle of milk at the bottom. Not sure I expected that.
(I won't smell to see if it's still fresh.)
(Curious as I am, even I have limits.)
Wise choice.
Bottles There are a few bottles of cherry juice on the inside of the door.
(Huh.)
(These looks like they're from the vending machine in the lobby.)
I'm more surprised it's not all booze.
Top right shelf The lacquer on the front of the cupboards is peeling off pretty badly.
Top left shelf Some of these cupboards are missing their handles.
Kitchen sink Tony's left a bunch of dirty dishes in the sink.
(And I think they might have been here a while.)
Bottom right shelf The drawers are completely disorganised. The ones that open, that is.
Bottom left shelf The doors to these cupboards look like they're barely holding on.
Exhaust There's grease all over the extractor. Tony's clearly never cleaned it.
Kettle There's a kettle on the stove. It still has some water in it.
Stove The oven looks surprisingly clean. He probably never uses it.
Right cupboard There's a locking cupboard there, but the door's all warped so it won't open.
Left cupboard All of Tony's cups and plates are in this cupboard...and it doesn't amount to much.
(How does he manage with so few cups?!)
Bottom cupboard I'm not touching the cupboards at the bottom. Eurgh.




Curtain The shower curtain is slightly damp...and damp isn't a good word.
Shower head There are a few drops of water on the shower head. My great eyesight comes in handy again.
Faucets Yes, these are the taps for the bathtub.
Bathtub There's limescale all over the bathtub. I doubt he's ever even attempted to clean it.
Towel There's a bath towel hanging on the side of the tub. Not the best place for it to dry...
Bottle Tony's left his shampoo on top of the toilet. It's a popular brand, and soft on the scalp.
(I used it once. The commercials told me I'd never go back. They lied.)
Toilet There are marks on the side of the toilet that must be from the shower spraying on it.
Tissue I'm not entirely surprised by the location of the toilet paper holder. Nor by the fact that Tony's almost out of toilet paper.




Lamp The bulb is dead in this lamp.
(Isn't the one in my room dead too? I'd forgotten all about it.)
Blinds The blind is all grimy. Oh well, not much to look at outside anyway.
Bed The bed cover is a sickly brown colour.
Left pillow Tony's pillows don't look too comfortable. But I'd rather not touch them to find out.
Right pillow The pillows are all ragged and misshapen.
Jeans Tony has left a pair of vintage jeans lying on the bed.
Poster There's a poster of a dame in a bathing suit hanging up next to the bed.

Zoomed-in poster She's an attractive lady. Can't say she's my type though.



And now for our main attraction.


Poster It's a poster of a young man in a terrible outfit looking far too proud of his guitar.

Zoomed-in poster Now that I look, I think it's a poster of Tony in his glory days.
Records Some records have been hung up on the wall.
(These must be Tony's greatest hits.)
Keyboard I see a keyboard but no stand. I'll be generous and assume it's in one of the boxes.
TV A small television. Like the rest of Tony's possession, it's garish and faded.
Table Well, I guess you could call this a TV stand, but it's basically just a small table.
Guitar This guitar looks like it's seen better days.
Right shelf These shelves are full of jazz and rock albums. They almost reach up to the ceiling.
(Looks like we have a few records in common.)
Bottles on shelf I see Tony's left some empty whiskey bottles lying around.
Headphones These headphones seem a little oversized.
Record player There's a record player on top of the shelves. Hey, they make them pretty small these days.
Upper shelf I've heard most of these bands. I think they're all pretty popular.
Lower shelf The records on the bottom shelf are covered in dust.
Bottles on floor These empty whiskey bottles are all over the floor. I guess that could be Frank's doing...
Record on floor This record's fallen on the floor and been left there.
Tapes The tapes scattered across the floor all have labels reading "Audition."
I wonder what his songs are like?

Papers



This letter paper... I don't believe it!
It's the same as the order sheet I received!
(What's Tony doing with paper like this?)

(Did Tony send the order sheet?)





We'll see later if Tony will punch us for the fourth time, I guess.