Part 2: Ep. 2: A Dog Divided

: Last time on MySims Agents: A park full of trouble! A dog in danger! Is Poppy lying, or the mysterious stranger?! ... hey, that rhymes, pal!


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Our next neighborhood-detective tool activates: the notebook. Sam writes in it constantly in order to keep track of what we've done and provide hints as to what we still need to do. I'll use the notebook icon and bold text to indicate something Sam is writing instead of saying out loud.

Anyway, let's talk to the mysterious dog.



: I don't know why I thought that would help.

To Morcubus.

: Morcubus, I'll figure this all out.

: What's to figure out?! Killfang is mine and that is that!

: You could really tell he'd spent hours perfecting his Evil Laugh. Probably used it as his ringtone.

And Poppy.

: So, you lost the ball around here somewhere?

: Um... yeah! We were playing with it earlier. It rolled away somewhere...

: 'Somewhere'. Helpful. I tore the park apart.



No ball.





Still no ball. Next, let's go check under all the bushes.

















: Here boy, do you like the bouncy ball?

: Woof!





: A solid piece of evidence in Poppy's favor. Not that I ever doubted her. Much.



We pull out our trusty magnifying glass and...



: The prints show the dog walking this way of his own free will. There's no evidence of dognapping. Is Morcubus innocent?





But what's this? Another set of footprints! Let's follow them.

: Hmm... her footprints are going to the pizzeria. Did Poppy eat lunch during all this?

Consulting our notebook, Sam decides that we have three potential avenues of investigation. We should ask Morcubus if he has any proof that the dog is his; we should ask Chef Gino if Poppy ate lunch at the pizzeria; and we should try to figure out why the dog is so oddly excited. Let's talk to Morcubus first.

: So, Morcubus, what do you know about the dog's habits?



: Is this what you, the owner, normally let him do?

: Hahaha! Why, yes! My work provides me with many leftover bones to give to my stalwart mutt!

: Alright then, we'll see how much he enjoys them. I'll be back...

: Chewing bones? Interesting. I'll have to test that claim. I gotta find a bone...

And where better to find a bone?







: I got a bone, but that's only half the test.

Sam takes the bone back to the park.



Note we have a choice here. Let's offer him the bone first.



: The dog didn't like chewing on the bone, even though Morcubus said he would. A strike against Morcubus.



Now let's ask our questions.

: Hey boy, I have some questions for you...

: Yip?

: Why are you freaking out over here, boy? Is it because you love Morcubus?

: Grr... yipyip!!!

: Oh. You don't seem to like him. What is it, then?

: Yip yip yip! ... *drool*...

: Oh yeah? Something over there? Okay... I think...

: The dog isn't here for Morcubus. He's anxious and hanging around this wall. I wonder if he's looking for something behind Gino's pizzeria?

Back we go to behind the pizzeria.



Oh, hey, locked crates. Good thing we've got a tool for that! We equip our crowbar, jam it into the space between crate and lid, and...



... shake the wiimote rapidly...



... until the crate pops open and dumps us on our ass. Unfortunately, there's nothing in that crate. We'll crack open the others. In the last one:



: Was the dog after this jerky? I need to find out!

But first, since we're over here anyway, let's pop into the pizzeria and talk to people. First, Travis:

: Do you know who owns the dog in the park?

: I'm not sure!

: Okay, Trav. Thanks for nothin'!

: Heh, sorry dude!

Then Gino:

: Hi Gino. Have you seen Poppy and her dog recently?

: Poppy? Why yes! She came in here just recently to eat lunch.

: I see. And did you see her dog with her?

: Her dog? No, I didn't see a dog with her.

: Thank you very much, Gino.

: Poppy lied, but why? Is she covering for something?

Gasp! A shocking twist! Let's go confront Poppy right away! Back to the park!

: Poppy, about your visit to Gino's...

: Earlier on you said that the dog was always with you.

: But I spoke with Gino, and he claims that you went into his pizzeria to get lunch, and he didn't see a dog with you.

: Oooohh....! Yes, it's true... I left Dogwood by himself. But it was just for a moment! I promise!

: My big sister Violet said that I'm too young to take care of a dog, and I didn't want to disappoint her... that's why I lied...



: I figured that she was upset enough as it was. Didn't stop me from thinking it, of course.

: That's okay, Poppy. But remember, I'm trying to help you. I need to know the truth!

: Okay! Sorry, Sam...

: Poppy lied about abandoning Dogwood. What else might she be lying about? She's acting suspiciously.



But enough of that. Let's go see how the dog reacts to this jerky.

: Here, boy... is this jerky what you were looking for?



: The dog was just interested in the smell of jerky, not in hanging around Morcubus!



Investigations in this game are all essentially 'three strikes the other guy is out'. We found three pieces of evidence that the dog is Poppy's, so the case is closed!

: I should report back to Poppy with the results of my investigation!

: Poppy, I've solved the case!

: That's great!!

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A slow pan across our complainants.



Zoom in on the wall-eyed object of contention.



: Hooray!

: Come here, Dogwood! Here, boy!



: This is an outrage! I demand an explanation!

: You told me that Dogwood loved chewing bones, but clearly he does not.

: What?! Who doesn't love chewing on bones?!



Sam returns the ball to Poppy, who starts playing with Dogwood.

: But that little girl lied about me taking the dog! He just walked up to me!

: He was just hungry. He only walked your way because he was trying to get over to Gino's jerky.

: That man's glare could have melted ice. I'm pretty sure he must have practiced it in a mirror.

: Feel pretty clever, don't you, Detective?

: Well don't! You've made a very powerful enemy today.

: It's just a dog.

: I don't care about the dog! That was just entertainment. But you... you tried to make me look like a fool.

: I didn't do anything except find the truth.

: The 'truth' is you'll rue the day you crossed...

: ... the infernal Morcubus!!

: And with another of those Evil Laughs he ran from the park like his fancy red trousers were on fire.




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: It took me years to realize that Poppy might not have left those footprints until she came running to the pizzeria looking for me. Not my proudest moment as a detective, to be sure--

: Another case... closed! Tune in next time for more of the thrilling adventures of... uh... Sam The Neighborhood Detective... Of Good!

: ... what is that you're humming? Tell me you didn't make up a theme song.

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Morcubus: Mine Is An Evil Laugh
Video version! Yup. He's evil, all right.

Concept art: Morcubus
- by Genevieve Tsai