Part 50: Blackwell Deception - Update 9

Update 9

Yesterday, Rosa and Joey visited Lisa Tenzin, a street psychic with links to the mysterious Gavin. However, she seemed more interested in fleecing us for inventive spiritual bullshit.

Deception Tension



Outside, Joey is set to badmouth Lisa, but Rosa is actually concerned about what she's heard.

A blocked aura. Do I really have a blocked aura?
How would I know? For that matter, how would she?
Because maybe she's a real psychic? I'm pretty sure they exist. I'm living proof.

Perhaps you should start charging $200 a pop for your services, Rosa? Joey is absolutely not convinced.

I don't know anything about auras, sweetheart. But I know a phony when I see one. And that woman in there? A bona fide phony.
So what am I, then?
Beats the hell out of me.
Hmph.

Hahaha



Rosa quickly checks back in with Jeremy, to see if the name Lisa Tenzin means anything to him.

Lisa? That's right. Lisa. I almost forget all about her.

Apparently it does, though he doesn't seem as worked up as he has with previous names or locations we've mentioned.

I only just met her. I met her through Penelope, like you.
Crazy, isn't it? Who knew how big this was! That's why we need to break it wide open. You see?
I... don't. No.

Jeremy is ranting away here, all with that big grin. Again, I'm not sure that he's meant to have a huge grinning portrait in this scene, but we'll go with it for now.

Come on, Rosa. You see them on every street corner. These phony psychics. These rip-off artists. They say they can see auras, or even talk to the dead.
Imagine that.
But it's all a lie. Everyone knows that. Or do we? Why do people keep going to these places? There's something beyond this. Something incredible. I'm so close.

So Jeremy's big story is that he's uncovered a conspiracy surrounding street psychics? I guess it's not implausible, given what we've heard about Gavin. It's not unreasonable to think that there could be a group of crooks fronting as street psychics in order to brainwash vulnerable people into handing over their cash.

Unfortunately, this is all Jeremy will say on the matter, so we'll need to dig a little bit deeper.



The next little puzzle is surprisingly tricky, though perfectly sensible. Remember Jeremy's notebook that we got from the City Post? Rosa refers back to it here.

I think he meant Lisa.
Did he say anything else?
Maybe I should check it again.

There's a little hint for us to check the notebook again, since it would be easy to have forgotten what was written in it by now.



The follow-up who tried to scam him is almost certainly Lisa. The key piece of information here, though, is that Jeremy left his phone there when he visited Lisa. That might be useful to find.

Annoyingly, we can't ask Lisa about it, because she refuses to even acknowledge that Jeremy visited her at all.



We can, however, ring Jeremy's phone. Fortunately, only a couple of days have passed since he died, and so his phone still has power.

This is actually a pretty cool puzzle, even though it only takes one step to solve. How would you normally locate a lost phone? By trying to ring it in the vicinity of where you think you lost it. It's quite natural, yet somehow it's not immediately obvious while you're playing the game. Funny how that works.



Only one way to find out.
You gonna help, or what?
Being dead means I don't have to pick through garbage. It's one of the perks.
Right.

Funnily enough, Rosa refused to look through the trash when we asked her to earlier. You should have listened to me, Rosa

Naturally, retrieving Jeremy's phone from the trash earns us a "Dumpster Diver" Steam achievement.



I think "confusion" is more likely than "appreciation", Rosa



Before heading to Jeremy's place, Rosa places a call with Durkin to inform him of this vital new piece of evidence!

I found Jeremy's phone outside of a psychic's office.
You did, huh? Where is it?

Rosa proudly announces:

I've got it with me.
...
Hello?
You found potential evidence... and removed it from the scene?
...yes?
*sigh* Forget it. It's just junk, now.

Oh Sorry, Durkin!



Rosa has more evidence for Durkin, though.

A psychic? Is it relevant?
I don't know.
Well, we'll keep her on file. Thanks for the info.

At least we didn't get shot down that time! That's all the extra info we have for Durkin at this time.



You mean the phone I found.

Joey asks about Jeremy's phone.

Sure, whatever. What are you planning on doing with it?
Haven't decided yet. It proves he was at Lisa's. Maybe that's enough?

Jeremy and Rosa



Time to give Jeremy another nudge to see if we can get him to acknowledge his death. Rosa asks him to produce his ghostphone.

What, this?
Yes. Now, take a look here.



The two of them hold out an identical phone.

No, Jeremy. It's your phone.
No, it's not. I've got mine right here. I called you, remember?

Time to finish the job, Rosa.

I don't know how you did that, but that's not your phone. This is. You lost it outside of Lisa's. It was in the trash can.
That's impossible.
I called it. It rang. It's yours.

The easiest thing for Rosa to do would just be to just ring Jeremy's phone again, but before she can do that, Jeremy starts to get upset.



Jeremy...
No! Just when I'm getting close. You're trying to... confuse me. You're trying to make me forget... Forget... my appointment!
Appointment?
Yes. At the High Line.

In order to ignore what Rosa is saying, Jeremy suddenly finds himself remembering the High Line appointment.

I'm meeting with someone who will explain everything. I'm going. Don't try and stop me.



With that, Jeremy storms out. I don't think he's going to like what he finds at the High Line Rosa and Joey quickly follow him there.



Rosa and Joey arrive to find Jeremy staring at the chalk outline. The music cuts out for a brief period here, leaving only the sound of stale wind. By this point of the series we've become familiar enough with the sound to recognise that Jeremy has become aware of his death.

I was here. This is me. I was standing right there. Then I heard... a pop? And then... Then I was calling you. With a phone that couldn't exist. Somehow, I just knew you were the one who could help me.
Like I said. It's what we do.

A pop? I guess Jeremy was shot. As Rosa starts talking with Jeremy, the Jeremy and Rosa theme swells up again.

Could you tell us who you were meeting here?
I was meeting a man named Gavin. Lisa arranged it. I've heard stories. People change around him. They destroy their lives, sometimes even die.



So that's the conspiracy story Jeremy has been alluding too. It sounds like Penelope was one of the luckier ones if she just gave away her money and sabotaged her relationship with her family. Gavin must be one hell of a smooth talker.

Jeremy, I'm so sorry.
No. No, it's okay. I don't know why, but I feel good. Relieved, even. You'll find him, won't you? You can take over?

This whole case has obviously become quite personal to Rosa, and she promises to carry on Jeremy's work.

We'll find him, Jeremy. This won't happen to anybody else.
Thank you. I'm ready.

Deception Lament



Time for Joey to do his thing.



Joey hands his tie to Jeremy, and the other end to Rosa, and without a word, she pulls Jeremy into Nodespace.



Jeremy stares at the infinite Universe in awe, while Rosa stumbles back to her feet.

All this time. I never imagined. This is your life now?
This is my life now.

Unlike all of the other ghosts Rosa has helped to move on, Jeremy is someone who actually meant something to her before he died. Even though they only reconnected after his death, it's clear that this goodbye is very difficult on Rosa.

Not quite the Village Eye, is it?
Beats writing book reviews.

The two exchange a tiny bit of small talk, but it's only delaying the inevitable.



It's painful to watch, because both of them clearly want to express something meaningful, and this is their last chance to do so... but there's nothing left to say.

So, I guess I should just...
Yeah. The light.
Just go through it?
Just go through it.

Unlike all of the previous ghosts who have left us with some parting words of wisdom, Jeremy says nothing at all as he leaves... but his silence expresses more than any of the previous ghosts.



Jeremy hesitates for only a moment before taking the leap into the place of existence. Rosa watches him go, then silently walks out of Nodespace, pausing only briefly to consider what has happened, and to compose herself for the return to reality.



She wakes up and speaks with Joey.

You okay?
Sure. Nothing an entire bottle of wine won't fix.
Well, you know what they say. Bacchus knows best.

The night is not quite over, however. Lisa sent Jeremy to Gavin, and now that Rosa has Jeremy's phone, she can prove it. Time to pay Lisa another visit.

Deception Tension



Lisa agrees to meet with Rosa again, under the guise of Rosa purchasing the $200 candle. Instead, though, Rosa pulls out Jeremy's phone.

Lisa, I found Jeremy's phone. It was outside. In the trash.
It's a public street.
So he was here?
He might have been outside. I can not say.

She's clearly lying here. Rosa calls her on it.

I know you spoke to Jeremy, Lisa. Why are you lying to me?
Lying? What makes you think that?

Rosa can either claim to "simply know":

I just know.
You just know.
I can tell when people are lying. And I think you are.
I have been called a liar before. I can live with it.

She can claim to have spoken to Jeremy:

Jeremy told me.
Didn't you tell me he was dead?
Whatever he told you, it's not true. I never spoke to anyone named Jeremy.

Or she can claim to be psychic as well:

I'm psychic. Like you.
You have the gift?
Yes.
Somehow, I doubt that.

Either way, Lisa does not take kindly to Rosa's probing, and become quite angry.

I think this interview is at an end.



"Unless you purchase this $300 candle!"

Your mind is closed off. You aren't seeking help. You only want to destroy.
What? No. I only want to-
Your very presence is damaging the aura of peace I spent years trying to create. I insist that you leave. And I also insist you give up this line of inquiry.

By this point, Rosa's emotions are bubbling at maximum.

Deception Lament

Give up? That's not an option. Not for me.
Nevertheless.

Rosa stands up and faces Lisa.



You can either help me, or you can get in my way. But one way or another, I am going to find out what happened. I'll be in touch.

Lisa doesn't even bother to respond as Rosa storms outside.



Whatever. Let's just get out of here.

Rosa's Theme



With the night coming to a close, Joey reflects on the day's activities.

I guess. We still don't know how or why Jeremy was killed.
That's not really our problem, is it?
Maybe. It's just... kinda personal this time.

Joey has a point. Generally they don't bother themselves with why somebody died, or at least, they don't bother any more than is required to help the ghost to move on. But in this case, it's personal, and Rosa isn't just going to let it go.

Yeah, I guess. Look, you get some sleep. You might feel different tomorrow.
Yeah, you're right. It's been a long night.

Besides, if Gavin is responsible for Jeremy's death, there could be other ghosts out there in the same situation. Jeremy mentioned that some people die when they spend time around Gavin. If nothing else, investigating what happened might lead to new ghosts who need saving.



Rosa is about to turn it in, when she suddenly turns around for one last question.

Yeah?
The old man at the nursing home. Who is he?
...

Joey freezes for a second, before coldly responding.

Get some sleep, Red.




That's the first day of Deception complete! Jeremy has been sent to his rest, we have a couple of names to follow up with, and Joey's still an emotionally-stunted manchild. Join me tomorrow as we see what the next day brings for Rosa and Joey!