Part 98: Episode 4, Day 2, Investigation: The Caretaker
Part 98: Episode 4, Day 2, Investigation: The Caretaker
You know, I didn't really think this game would be pulling out jump scares this late in the action, and that one got me last time. Watching this old man bob back and forth is oddly soothing after that sudden introduction.
Eeek!Sound: Light Bulb
Sound: Guilty
Where have you two been! I've been worried sick. ...Good news for us, the star witness for tomorrow has dementia or something. Karma's going to have fun getting useful testimony out of him. Crossing him, however, is also going to be a nightmare....
Uh, I think I'll leave this one up to you, Maya. Meg!Sound: Shock 2
Y-yes!?Sound: Light Bulb
M-my mind?Sound: Realization
Sound: Guilty
P-pasta?Sound: Realization
Sound: Light Bulb
You make your old man proud.Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
Looks like Grossberg's theme music is getting leveraged for all old men.
How'm I supposed to keep this place running, an old man like me?
N-Nick! What was that!?Sound: Light Bulb
A parrot... the one on that perch. Keith! Y-yes!?
But I thought Maya was taking over? I mean, Meg?
N-Nick? What's the "Wet Noodle"? Um, based on the available evidence, I'd say it's the name of his pasta shop.
That's a relief, isn't it, Polly?
Ayup... ...
With his mission accomplished, the old man falls asleep.
He fell asleep... I guess he's relieved.
Uh, I guess we'll look around before waking the guy back up to talk to him?
Wow, there're lots of various fish in Gourd Lake, aren't there!
...? Something's funny, Nick.
I wouldn't be surprised if this guy thought he lived on the ocean.
Look, a little safe! Hmm... ...
It's locked.
This TV would qualify as an ancient artifact today.
Wow, he has a television in here, too.
This fishing pole looks expensive.We've got a lot of one-liners in here today.
That's a great idea, we should do that at the office.Sound: Light Bulb
And what, talk about murders?Sound: Realization
Aw, you're a party pooper, Nick!Sound: Whack
I guess that's one way to keep your food warm? Except he's got a fruit bowl on there...
Looks like a kitchen unit. It's pretty clean.Why is there a kitchen unit in a boat rental shack? Does he live here? Did it used to be a pasta shack?
You're forgetting, Nick... He's running a pasta shop, here!
Wow... what an amazing parrot that is.Sound: Light Bulb
Good morning!
Hello!
"..."
It ignored me!
*Zzzzz*
Sound: Gavel
Old man wakes up to offer us advice. Yes, his bubble-popping sound effect is the same as the judge's gavel. It's not bad, actually. Just took me ten minutes to figure out.
What, you forgot, Meg? You gotta call her name first! Her name? Polly! How ya been!?
The caretaker keeps rocking back and forth whenever he's not talking. It's mesmerizing.
See? Neat! So the parrot's name is "Polly"!
Sound: Select Jingle
...I have no idea how this parrot is supposed to help us later.
Too bad all she can say is "hello"... Har har har! Old Polly can say lots of things!
...Did Polly witness the murder?
The "secret words"...?Sound: Realization
After that introduction, we apparently need to examine the parrot again.
Polly! Polly! What's your name?
Hee hee! Cute!Sound: Light Bulb
(Maya's found a new friend.)This day is big on animal companions.
I wonder if talking or presenting evidence will wake this guy up first. I guess we'll start with our badge as usual.
*Zzzzz*
Sound: Gavel
...!Sound: Realization
Music: Silence
Y-yes, it is! (I don't believe it!) (This old guy is the first person to recognize my badge!) ...
Huh? Ayup... I got you figured out now!
Sound: Objection
Uhh maybe we made a mistake here.
...Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
N-Nick!
Sound: Light Bulb
Umm... sir. No, I'm not Keith. And I'm not Meg, either!
...
I just had to capture that fist-shaking animation.
Please, help us! ...
Sound: Realization
Please, mister... Alright, I'll help.
What's that? When this case is over and done...Music: Silence
Sound: Realization
I'm not promising that. I'm 90% sure that the "Wet Noodle" doesn't actually exist anymore.
I can't make that promise. ... I-is that any way to treat your old man!?Sound: Damage 2
Uh oh... now he's grumpy. Not to mention he still thinks we're his kids.Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
(Maybe we should just lie and say we'll run his shop?)quote:
Choosing to lie to the old man up front just skips the previous lines and proceeds straight to the next set. However the music doesn't start until a little later in that case.
Okay, we promise.
Sound: Light Bulb
Hey, anything to get this case solved. Also... Who wouldn't want to eat "Phoenix Noodles"? I... guess so.
Sound: Swoop 2
quote:
If we skipped the earlier lines by promising to take over the pasta shop right away, the music starts back up here.
Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
W-wait, didn't I just say...Sound: Stab 2
Sound: Guilty
Y-yes!?
Now, what was that you wanted to know? Speak up, Polly!Sound: Realization
Er... (Now he's talking to the bird again! How do we get him to talk to us!?)
Now that he's awake, let's show the badge to him again?
You won't be needing that badge to run a pasta shop. Toss it. Uh, um, I think I'll hold on to it if you don't mind.
Let's just keep going.
... *Zzzzz* (He fell asleep...) *Zzzzz*Sound: Gavel
*mmph*All that for a generic "don't care" reaction.
This photo, however...
Y-you know something about this, sir!?Sound: Light Bulb
Keith. Y-yes?Music: Silence
Sound: Realization
...Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
D-Dad! You know something about this!?Sound: Whack
Phoenix is shameless.
Yes? Yes!?
Sound: Realization
Music: Silence
Whaaaat!?Sound: Stab 2
Tell us! Tell us what you saw!Sound: Whack
Well, I suppose.
I feel like we just unlocked a new conversation topic.
Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
You know about Gourdy? Nope.Best reaction yet.
The only other thing that this guy will talk about is his parrot.
Polly here's my only friend in the world. Isn't that right, Polly?
Ayup.quote:
We actually get a different reaction to all of our evidence if we haven't shown our badge yet (and thus woken hiim up and agreed to take over the pasta shop).
Sound: Gavel
We'll get that reaction for the photo, the article, Polly, and anything else in our evidence list that isn't our badge.
All right, plenty to talk about here. I guess we'll just go in order.
quote:
After some later experimenting, the first two topics are available initially (and the caretaker just snores a bit and then pops awake if we pick them before waking him up), the third topic is available after examining Polly and learning its name, and the last topic is only available after presenting both our badge and then the enlarged lake photo, in that order.
Umm... a pasta shop?
My father started it you know. So that makes you two the third generation! Meg... Y-yes!
D-dough tossing?Sound: Realization
You, too, Keith. Y-yes?
P-pasta wrangler? The West? I-isn't pasta from Italy? Meg!Sound: Super Shock
Y-yes!Sound: Light Bulb
R-right, of course. Everybody knows that. Nick...? Huh?
(This old man must know something about the murder...!) (We're not leaving until we find out what that is.)
Umm... this is a boat rental shop, right? What're you talking about!?Sound: Whack
This here's the palace of pasta, the "Wet Noodle"!
All the kids come up and say "Yo dude, we wanna ride in one of your boats!" That's why I keep them boats out there.
I'm pretty confused myself.I don't know, I kind of like the thought that kids came up to him looking for boats so he decided to keep some boats around to rent them. Maybe someone pranked the old man by sticking up a boat rental sign outside.
But this old man is the witness tomorrow, right? We've got to find some way of getting information out of him!
Ack, my memory's gotten worse of late.
Everything... important? Hmm, I wonder... Polly! What's the number to the safe!?
Sound: Realization
Alright!Sound: Light Bulb
H-hey! Polly! Watch it, will ya!Sound: Whack
(And a criminal mind...)
Sound: Light Bulb
H-hey! Don't get me involved in your little heist schemes.
The safe still has a checkmark, but now that we have the combination, if we examine it again...
Look, a little safe! Hmm...
...we get shot down by the old man.
Maybe later... ("Later"...?)
After everything we've seen so far, I'm not real hopeful that we'll get something useful out of this last topic.
Music: Silence
(It was after midnight, but okay...)
Sound: Weak Gunshot
Music: Investigation - Core
Then I heard another one. "Bang!"Sound: Weak Gunshot
Knowing these two shots actually came 25 minutes apart now, these eyewitness accounts seem pretty lacking on explaining that time gap. But the gun was fired a third time at some point, too....
Sound: Dump
We don't see anyone holding a gun in this retelling. Lotta's photo had the shooter on the right, but is it really the same perspective here? I went back and looked, and it appears to be the same perspective (the boat is facing the same way), but the silhouette on the right doesn't look quite the same:
Maybe that's just because they're holding a gun in Lotta's photo? Or maybe I'm over-analyzing it?
A little while later, this boat comes back.
He was mutterin' something to himself, ayup. What did he say? ... Ayup...Music: Silence
...
Sound: Whoops
...Ask Polly?
Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution
We need to know earlier than that...!The caretaker gave a better witness statement than I was expecting, but it figures that they key detail is missing.
Sound: Realization
Our reward for getting through both of the last two conversation topics is an extra scene.
Little Terry was just here. "Terry"...?
He was wearin' this tattered old coat. Got himself some whiskers growing out of his face. (He must be talking about Detective Gumshoe...)
Really...? (Somehow I don't think we're going to get much useful information out of this guy.) Maya... maybe we should be leaving. I think you're right.
Sound: Light Bulb
Huh? Polly! Polly! Have we forgotten something? *squawk*Maya is really crushing the clever interactions with the parrot.
Music: Silence
Sound: Realization
Well that was unexpected.