Part 55: Blackwell Deception - Update 14

Update 14

So now we know that Gavin had a hand in another death besides Jeremy's. He managed to so thoroughly convince Tiffany of her destiny to be with Ken, that when he didn't want her any more she simply ceased functioning. Rosa and Joey head back to Lisa's shopfront to tell her what happened.

Lisa's Theme



Rosa pushes the buzzer.

Hi. Lisa?
Oh. It's you. Have you learned anything?

We certainly have!

I've learned something about Gavin and Tiffany.
You have?
I don't want to say it out here on the street. Can I come in?
... Yes.

If we come back at any point earlier, Lisa tells us to go away until we have learned something, though I guess Rosa could have just lied if she really wanted to get in.



Rosa heads inside and explains the story. Lisa is contemplative about it.

Tiffany. You should have seen her when she walked in here. So lost. Trying to find her place in life. Drifting from job to job, never finding what she wanted. She was a woman who wouldn't let herself be happy.
Was her aura blocked as well?

Hahaha, Rosa spits this line out with such beautiful sarcasm

Look. She needed to belive that her unhappiness was beyond her control. I gave that to her.
You hear that? She's doing a public service.
Judge me if you want, but she came to ME.
And then you sent her to Gavin.

Yeah, what's the deal with that, anyway?



Which is?
If I have a client who is determined to be unhappy, no matter what... I send them to Gavin.

So you specifically send the chronically miserable people to someone that we know takes advantage of vulnerable people? That's pretty fucked up.

And then they die?
I don't know that. And neither do you. Just because this one died doesn't mean they all do. I gave you two names. Look into the other one. And don't come back until you do.

Lisa is being unreasonable here, but Rosa agrees to it anyway.

I'll be back.

If Jamie died as well, we might have another ghost to deal with, so I guess they were going to check into it either way.

Columbia University Dorm



Rosa and Joey find their way to Jamie's apartment at Columbia University. Rosa actually attended Columbia when she was a student, though I'm not sure what major she took. Probably arts, I guess, since she became a creative writer.



Don't want him sneaking off into some poor co-ed's room.

Rosa is watching Joey, but he's busy trying to imagine Rosa's college days.

She really was a student here? I have trouble picturing her as a college kid.



Of course, Jamie's door is locked, though Rosa notes that technology has improved since her college days.

Keypad locks? Those are new. It's been years since I was last here on campus. Can't believe it took something like this to bring me back.

We can try guessing a password. After four digits it tells us we're wrong, so I guess there are 10,000 possible combinations. There doesn't seem to be a punishment for getting it wrong, though in reality I imagine the local security company would get a call after five or six wrong tries.

But why bother trying to guess a password when Joey can just phase through the door?



Joey calls out for ghosts...

Looks like the coast is clear.

...but none are forthcoming. If Jamie is dead, she's found somewhere better than this dorm to haunt. Joey takes a look around the room. An old cassette player:

I know what this is. It's a cassette player. I think it replaced the 8-Track, not too long ago.

Some high-heeled shoes:

Those are some fearsome looking shoes.

A band poster:

Looks like a poster for a band called... "Epileptic Fish?" Seriously. Epileptic Fish.

I believe Gilbert used to be part of a garage band called Epileptic Fish, which explains that reference. A whiteboard schedule:

Looks like a schedule of some kind. Every item is marked by a letter and number code. I can't make heads or tails of it.

A laptop:

I have no idea what this thing is.

And the pile of clothes:

Well we've learned one thing by coming here. Jamie's a slob.



On the back of Jamie's door, there is a piece of paper. Remember Waterloo?



A quick Oogle search later, and we have a contender for Jamie's password. 1815.



Sure enough, the password works, and Rosa enters Jamie's dorm. She takes a quick look at the whiteboard schedule, and sees something she recognises.

That's interesting?
Well, it is to me. She's even got the same professor.

Rosa doesn't say the name out loud, but she adds "Elaine Appleton" to her notes, so I guess that was her professor's name.



Rosa is a little more forgiving of Jamie's pile of clothes than Joey is. I guess you'd expect that from a tailor, though!



Rosa also tries to search through Jamie's laptop, but it's password protected, and unfortunately nothing relating to Waterloo works.



Doubtful, but you never know.

It might be an in. Elaine might be able to tell us something about Jamie, and at least as a former student, we have a reason to be ringing her.



Rosa doesn't recall her number, but once again, an Oogle search solves that problem.



We've also received another email, this time from our old friend Josie Park. Obviously she's forgiven us for accusing her of profiteering from Claude's death. Apparently nobody liked his painting of The Countess, which is strange because it was clearly the only half-decent painting he ever produced. Somehow I don't think Rosa will want to buy a painting of the lady her aunt murdered, and whose ghost then tried to kill her



Alright, let's give Elaine a call. Usually when we ring people we haven't seen in-game we don't get a portrait, but I guess Rosa remembers Elaine's face so we do get one here. Realistically she probably looks several years older than this, now.

Hi, is this Elaine Appleton?
That's me. Who's this?
Rosangela Blackwell. I was in your class, around ten years ago?
Rosangela! Yes yes. Of course I remember you.

Well, that's good. You know, between Jeremy and now Elaine, it seems like Rosa made a bigger impact on people than I would have expected.

It's been a long time. I saw you had a book published, is that right?
Something like that. Do you have a few minutes?
Sure sure. What can I help you with?

Oh geez, she's even heard of Rosa's ghost story, hahaha



Rosa takes the opportunity to reminisce a bit first.

Well it was my first year as a professor. And you did... stand out.
I did?
The coffee? The cup you spilled all over my desk?
Oh god. I completely forgot about that.
I didn't. I had to let those papers dry out all night.

Hahahahahaha, suddenly I'm a lot less surprised that Rosa made such an impact



Time to get to the point of the call.

Oh, her. Yes. So tragic what happened.
Tragic?
You mean you don't know? She died just last week.
I.. no. No I didn't.
Oh. Well I'm sorry to be the one to tell you.

Damn. Looks like Jamie is dead as well. Penelope was definitely one of the lucky ones, everyone else we know of that went to Gavin has ended up dead in short order.

Did you know her well?
No, not really. But could I ask you some questions about her?

Come on Rosa, don't use a conjunction at the start of a sentence when you're speaking with your old writing professor

I'm not sure what I can tell you that I already didn't tell the police, but go ahead.



I hate to speak ill of her, but she was... a disappointment.

That's... an odd thing to say about someone who just died. Rosa follows up on it.

How so?
At first, she was very keen about her work. She was a brilliant writer. But that brilliance soon faded. By midterm, she'd show up for class late and hungover, when she showed up at all. And as for what she was wearing... well, let's just say it wasn't appropriate.
What made her brilliant?
She had a way of infecting you with her passion. When she loved something, she could make you love it too. She had a keen interest in Middle-Eastern history. So it was no surprise that most of her work had Middle-Eastern themes to them. But as I said, that faded with time. She stopped having a passion for much of anything, I think. Such a waste.

I suppose this could just be a case of a student getting bored of college and starting to enjoy her young adulthood, though given what we've found out about Gavin so far, I'm inclined to believe he had a hand in her losing interest in her studies.

You said she... faded? What do you think happened to her?
I don't know. I wish I did. At the time, I figured it was the typical story. Young, sheltered girl comes to the city and gets overwhelmed with the freedom of it all. Most adjust fine. Some... well, don't. I could tell she was troubled, but I learned long ago that it isn't my place to reach out.



Yes, well. We all change.

She really does remember Rosa well!

What was wrong with her clothes?
I'm no prude, but what she was wearing should stay in Munray's where it belongs.
Munray's?
It's a nightclub. A popular hangout for the students here.
And Jamie went there?
She wore their t-shirts, so I'd assume yes. Although it was more like a half a shirt.

Munray's, hey? If she hung out there often, perhaps someone there might know what happened to her.

How did Jamie die?
I'm not sure. No foul play, if that's what you're asking. It was a clot in the brain, or something like that.
Really.
That's what the police said, anyway.

A clot in the brain? Jesus Christ. That's not a coincidence. Gavin is apparently really good at causing people to have brain complications.

If it were me, I'd shoot straight back to Lisa and tell her what we've heard, but Rosa and Joey want to investigate more thoroughly. I guess we should try to figure out if Jamie's ghost is hovering around somewhere. After all, Tiffany only stuck around because she was so infatuated with Ken. It's possible that Jamie moved on normally.



Rosa asks an insightful question.

I wondered the same thing myself. The detective, a man named Durkin I believe, wasn't very forthcoming.

Durkin, again? Perhaps we should give him another call some time and ask what he knows. Rosa can ask Elaine about some of the other clues we have in our smartphone, though it's mostly just flavour.

Do you ever go up to the High Line?
It's gorgeous, isn't it? My husband and I went for a walk there last summer.
But you haven't been back there since?
No we haven't. Why?
Oh, no reason. So what is Munray's like?
I wouldn't know. My clubbing days are long gone. I'd just embarrass myself.

Time to keep on moving.

I should get going.
Are you still in the city? We should have coffee sometime.
Oh. Um, sure. I'm a bit wrapped up in this story but maybe after...?
Sure sure. You take care.

Elaine picks up on the subtle hint and lets it go. She was pretty helpful, overall.



Rosa fills Joey in on her conversation with Elaine.

She might have.
Then I don't know what you're waiting for. We need to follow any lead we've got.

Rosa isn't exactly keen to head to a nightclub though.

Munray's isn't really my kind of place.
Well, maybe it's time to broaden your horizons. If Jamie was a regular at Munray's, then that's where we need to be.
As long as I can bring earplugs.



Yet another Oogle search, and we find the location of Munray's. Another Tomo reference? Jesus. And "Time In Magazine" is probably the worst fake name we've seen yet, hahaha.

In case you're wondering, Munray's is a made-up nightclub as far as I can tell. I guess Gilbert's knowledge of Manhattan locations only stretches to parks and dorms!





Tomorrow we'll head off to Munray's and see if we can stir up some more information about Jamie. Will she become ghost number 11?