Part 80: Blackwell Epiphany - Update 10 (Part 2)

Before we have any time to contemplate any of these questions, however, we move immediately on to the next scene. After a slight lull for a while there, Epiphany is moving at breakneck speed at the moment.

Police Station



Detective Sam Durkin also present.

Back in the present day (or in fact, present night), Rosa is in an interrogation room. I guess this Cory Palmer must be the "Cory" that Lia referred to earlier. It's not clear yet whether Durkin being here is a good thing or not for us.

So. Miss Blackwell. Tell us again why you were in that house?
Say nothing. Tell them nothing. Keep your teeth together. We'll get out of this.

This scene has a lot of multiple dialogue options, though they all lead to the same places. There's a fair bit of exposition in this scene, so I'll go over all possible options. Here, Rosa can say she was looking for Lia:

I was looking for Lia.
And you just happened to stumble over her rapidly cooling body?
I didn't stumble over anything. It just... happened.
This type of thing doesn't just "happen."

She can say she was looking into the death of George Ostin:

I was looking into George Ostin's death.
And how the hell did you know about that?
I'm the one who reported his murder.
You're the tipster? Why didn't you give your name?
I did.
Let the record show that the interviewee just glared at Detective Durkin.
Can you leave me out of this, Palmer?
Sam, we'll talk about this later.

Hahaha, nice. Rosa can claim she was searching for Kendra:

I was looking for Kendra.
Looking for Kendra. In her house. When she's been reported missing for a week.
Yes.
And how did you know she was there? Just a guess?
No. That was just... coincidence.
Coincidence.

Or, finally, she can take Joey's advance and keep her teeth together:

Answer the question, Blackwell.
*sigh*
Let the record show that the interviewee has chosen to remain silent.
That's your right. But your silence can and WILL be used againt you. Remember that.

Durkin was right - the cops do get touchy when it's one of their own This doesn't look so good.



Multiple choices again. Rosa can just tell the truth:

She shot herself.
That's a lie.
Why would she kill herself? She just wouldn't.

She can try to lie:

I don't know. She was dead when I got there.
I know you're lying.
I heard the shot from right outside. I ran directly down there. You were staring right at her.
What did you do?

She can claim Lia was insane:

She was acting irrational. I can't say for sure WHAT she was doing.
Stop lying! Everything you're telling me goes against EVERYTHING I know about Lia Pierro. You're going to tell me the truth if we have to stay here all night!

Or, once again, she can remain silent:

Miss Blackwell. I won't ask again. What happened to Detective Pierro?

Whichever way we go, it's Durkin who steps in to the rescue.

Enough, Palmer. You saw the paraffin test. Lia fired that weapon.
I refuse to believe that, Sam.
Believe what you want. Those are the facts.

It's only very early, but I really like the interplay between Cory and Durkin. Both are very matter-of-fact, but Cory is a more emotional while Durkin is the opposite. It's a very nice dichotomy.

Well, here's some facts for you. This lady was chatting with Emil Haskins earlier this evening.



Uh, oh. I guess Jordan ratted us out.

How do you respond to that?

Rosa can say she had the code:

I wasn't sneaking! I had the keycode.
Uh huh. And how did you come by this keycode?
...
Thought so.

She can claim to have been given permission:

I had permission to go in.
No. You didn't.

She can simply say it's too complicated to explain:

It's... complicated.
No. It's... really not.

Or, once again, she can remain silent. Yes, we can get through this entire interview by constantly remaining silent - I think there's even an achievement for doing so.

No answer, huh? Well, let me lay it out for you.

Whichever way we choose, Cory continues.

We spoke to the clerk on duty. We spoke to Emil Haskins - a man who is now a widower, I might add.
Nobody gave you permission.



Cory then follows it up with another difficult issue for Rosa.

I've pulled your file. Do you even know how many restraining orders you have against you?

Rosa can try to downplay it:

Um. Five? Maybe six?
If only.

Hilariously, she can say that she's lost count:

I've, um, lost count.
Somehow I'm not surprised.

She can throw some attitude at Cory:

You've read my file. You tell me.

Or, much to Cory's frustration, she can stay silent again:

Let the record show that the interviewee has chosen to remain silent.
Again.

He then fills us in.

If getting banned from the campuses of NYU and Columbia weren't bad enough, we've got a dozen complints registered against you from businesses and families. I'd call Bellevue to have you taken away, but you're banned from there too!

Oh man, we're banned from Bellevue as well? Cory is far from amused, however. He leaps to his feet and advances menacingly on Rosa.

Who the hell are you, and why haven't you been taken in before now?



Finally, Durkin decides he's seen enough and speaks up.

Sam?
You're tired. Go get a cup of coffee.
I don't need coffee.

He looks at Durkin, then back at Rosa.



I've heard the rumors. That you've got some mysterious informant? Is this her?
Palmer.

Durkin growls "Palmer" out so that it's very obviously a warning.

Fine. I'm going. But we will find out what happened. It's our damn job, after all.

Cory leaves the room, and Durkin walks up to the table.



Rosa can respond in multiple ways again. She can try to remain silent again, but Durkin isn't putting up with that:

... Uh-huh. Look. I'm more patient than Palmer. Legally, we can keep you here for twelve hours. You really want to sit here for that long?

Not really, no. Looks like silence is off the table. Rosa can say that she's not happy:

Of course not. I only wanted to-
What. Help? You think you helped anyone, here?

She can say she did what needed to be done:

I did what I had to do.
You broke the law. Several.
I know.
Was it worth it? Was it worth putting both our asses in the fire?

Or, she can simply ask if she's under arrest:

Am I under arrest?
Maybe. Maybe not. That depends on you. The crap you pulled tonight. Was it worth it?

In the final multiple choice of this sequence, Rosa can say that there's something bigger going on:

There's something much bigger going on.
So you said. But we cops, we like things simple. Not you, though. You make things complicated just by walking into a room.

She can say she didn't do it to affect Durkin:

I didn't do it for your benefit.
You got your reasons. I know that. But me? I got people to answer to. I imagine you do too, though I don't wanna know who they are.

Or, finally, she can say she's not sure whether it was worth it or not:

I don't know. Whatever is going on... it's really bad.
I agree. Yeah, it's bad. And we don't need anyone making it worse.

Rosa's not really sure where Durkin's going here. He doesn't seem angry, but he's obviously not happy.

What are you trying to say?
Officially, we're pursuing every lead.

Durkin turns away for a moment.



Oh geez. Kendra was shot? That's horrible.

With Lia dead, we'll most likely never solve it. The trail is too cold. So. What do you need?
Um. Excuse me?
You wanted in so bad? You're in.

Um. Wow. Okay. I didn't expect that.

You won't be on the books. We can't even pay you. This case is too high-profile.

Durkin then sits down.



Hmm. This is not how I expected things to shake out in the wash.


Tomorrow we'll talk with Durkin about what we need to complete the investigation, and hopefully figure out who shot Kendra, and what happened to George and Lia. And in the mean time, I'm still worried that Lia mentioned there were "others". Could this happen again? See you all here tomorrow!





Let's focus on something very relevant to what we just read today. What happened to Kendra?

Actually, as far as the game is concerned, the mystery is already over - and it won't be revisiting that topic, so I don't consider the following to be a "spoiler". You may have already figured it out yourself, but if you're like me, then you've missed it. In fact, when I first played this scene, I assumed that Lia was so fearful of her life that she had hidden herself and Kendra away, and had shot Kendra herself in an attempt to have her move on before "they" could get to her, which was an absolutely horrible version of events. Fortunately, Gilbert wisened me up to the truth.

Kendra was accidentally shot by the mysterious gunman, who was aiming for Lia

If you've paid attention so far, this explanation makes much more sense. We know that the gunman shot George, and we know the horrible event that followed it. It appears he was attempting to do the same thing to Lia, and most likely targeted her first. Sadly, he missed and hit Kendra instead. Lia immediately snatched up Kendra, got out of there, and fled to hide in her bunker. I guess she was so fearful of her and her daughter's souls that she didn't even try to call the hospital or anything.

That explains why Lia she thought they were "holding her daughter's soul for ransom" - for all she knew, the gunman was deliberately aiming for Kendra. It also explains why there was no trace of the bullet that shot her - it probably occurred out on a street somewhere while Kendra was walking home from school with her mum, but the police don't know that. Finally, it also explains why Kendra was so keen to skip over any conversation about what happened when she came home from school, so it seems the pieces do all fit. Gilbert admits that it was a "bit too subtle" but, looking back at it, I probably should have figured it out. It does make sense.

Unfortunately, it's still absolutely awful That poor girl.