CTI: Crime Team Investigation

[Ian Aloser]

@Mandle:Thank you for this brilliant and challenging plot. You put a lot of effort and passion into it
and you did it in a highly professional manner, it felt like playing a thrilling adventure game!

@ All colleagues: Thank you for participating and for solving this case. It was a great pleasure getting
inspired by the various theories, i had a great time trying to figure out the clues with you !

@ JackPutter: Congrats ! You did a great job with the star constellation and the overlay !

I have an idea for a similar investigation game, and if folks still have an appetite for this kind of thing then I would love to try my hand at running one.)

Yes, please !!!

[Mandle]

Thanks to all for the good words on this game.

It was indeed a project of passion for me during these times of staying mostly at home a lot and I am pleased that everyone had a good time in their own personal situations.

I saw JackPutter's overlay of the Libra constellation onto the New York map just before heading off to bed and I must say, I went to bed with a smile on my face and had an excellent night's sleep without interruption from worrying dreams for the first time in quite a long time.

I can't wait to go up against him in his own game!

[Stupot]

Great work everyone. And Thanks Mandle for this exciting case. Very cool. I said this privately but I reckon it would make a fantastic detective novel, even if some of it is a bit tropey.  People love this kind of stuff because of the tropes.

[JackPutter]

I'm glad you had fun from your side too, Mandle! I think you should be very proud of the web of clues you managed to weave. I'd certainly enjoy reading a detective novel that played out this way, usually detective stories are about one lone detective's quest for the truth, so it was a nice spin to see the case solved by a true team effort.

I agree that this thread was somewhat hijacked in a way and is no longer about the original "Black Stories" game. I'm happy to create a new thread just for my case, or perhaps an admin could create a dedicated crime-stopping puzzle thread like Mandle suggested? I'm cool with either.

[Mandle]

perhaps an admin could create a dedicated crime-stopping puzzle thread like Mandle suggested? I'm cool with either.

I have messaged Snarky to request he splits this case off from the moment it begins into a separate thread. Maybe let's see what happens with that?

[JackPutter]

THE KS CASE

CHAPTER ONE

A small but mysterious package has arrived at NYPD HQ, addressed directly towards the newly-established CTI team in shaky handwriting. The contents of the package are a confusing mix of disturbing items.

• A hand-written note, scrawled on a ripped sheet of notebook paper
• A torn scrap of light taffeta fabric, stained red with what appears to be blood
• A map of a small townland at the very edges of the NYPD's jurisdiction
• Four quarters, taped together

Though the scrawled letters are hard to make out, eventually it's established that the note reads as follows:

HEY NYPD
U THINK U R SO SMART
U COT FLIP FONE HA HA
HE WAS SLOPPY IM NOT SLOPPY
HE WAS NOT A REAL BAD GUY
ON TV THE POLISE ALWAYS WIN BUT
IN REAL LIFE THE BAD GUYS WIN LOOK AT WALL ST
I AM THE REAL DEAL AND I WILL PROVE IT
IM SMARTER THAN ALFRED EINSTEIN AND TOUGHER THAN FORT KNOX AND DWAYNE JOHNSON COMBINED
IVE GOT BIG PLANS FOR A SPECIAL SOMEONE
YOU WILL NEVER FIND OUT WHERE I AM
I DONT RITE SO GOOD BUT I AM SMART
I BET FLIP FONE WROTE NOTES BUT I CAN DO 1 BETTER
IF U WANT 2 KNOW WHOOS BLOOD THAT IS U NEED 2 SOLVE MY CODE
"..." "35 - 11 14 10 18" "1315 - 21 1114 1110 1118" "11131115 - 1211 3114 3110 3118"
WAT DO U SAY? CAN I COUNT ON U?
SIGNED
KS

This is the map contained in the envelope:



The forensics team members immediately take all of the items away for examination, but after performing a thorough investigation no DNA, fingerprints, strands of hair, or any other kind of identifying material is found.

The chief calls a meeting out in the bullpen, patting his brow dry with a handkerchief. "Okay folks, you know the drill. Look for clues anywhere you can, don't just focus on their code-solving bull. They are bound to have slipped up in some other way. I know we've only just finished dealing with our last killer nutcase and everyone is worn out, but suck it up and get to work. We don't know whether this lunatic has killed someone or is holding someone captive, but until we know more we are to assume this person is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Start digging, and let me know when you have any leads."

The chief heads back into his office, but turns around at the last second to address you all once more. "Oh, one other thing..." he adds, stuffing his hankie into his breast pocket. "The area on the map... It's in our jurisdiction but it's not exactly downtown NYC. It's usually a pretty crime-free area, with just a couple of police units covering the whole townland. I've met them all, I even visited the station last fall. They're good cops, every one of them, but they're still only a handful of guys. If they're about to be hit by a crime spree... Lord knows how those cops can handle it. So for their sake, make goddamn sure you're working on more than a hunch when I pick up the phone to Sergeant Pangborn and tell him to send out the troops."

With that, the chief retires to his office, leaving the rest up to you.

GAME RULES AND SETUP

Spoiler

The general setup of the game is much the same as the Justice Killer case, as Mandle did a great job coming up with a fair system for everyone. The criminal will send messages, and within those messages will be clues about their crimes. It is up to you to put the pieces together, and request the chief to take action. There is a quasi-real-time clock in action, so if it takes too long to solve a clue then the case will develop differently than if you figure things out straight away. If you get the chief to make the right moves in time, you might be able to save some lives. When you think you have solved a clue, please put "POTENTIAL SOLUTION" in bold before your post so I don't miss it.

There are a couple of important details that are specific to this case, which I will go through now.

Firstly, this criminal has many crimes lined up, but a big finale planned. To stop the finale, you need to do one of two things. You either need to figure out who the final target is and get them into protective custody, or you can track the criminal to their home town and arrest them. However, if you arrest the criminal without identifying who the final target is, the criminal may have had time to put their final plan in motion and you won't be able to save the target. On the other hand, if you manage to get the target to safety without identifying where the criminal is, then they might be able to escape.

Secondly, no use of Google or any knowledge of the outside world will be required of you to solve the criminal's riddles. Everything you need to solve each individual crime will be contained in the messages sent to the police department. However, to get to the bottom of the overarching mystery, there is a very small amount of outside knowledge necessary. I promise that it is all extremely easy to find by using even vague Google searches, and there will be enough clues placed throughout the adventure for you to work out what to search, if you happen to not have the knowledge already. In short, if you just want to solve puzzles without any research, then you will be able to have a crack at the crime riddles. If you are interested in a little bit of extra research, then maybe the big-picture mystery is for you!

Thirdly, not every message from the criminal will point directly to a place on the map. For example, solving the code in the first message doesn't correspond with any location, but it WILL directly tell you what your next move should be.

Fourthly, to add an extra element of tension, the little town that the crimes are about to take place in has a very small staff of local officers. There are FIVE and ONLY FIVE members of the town's force.

• Sergeant Pangborn
• Officer White
• Officer Collins
• Officer Leland
• Officer Ullman

Be very careful that you don't go after any obvious red herrings, as they might be traps laid by the maniac... Needless to say, if you fall for too many traps, there will be no police left, and the criminal will have free rein until new officers can be put in place. If you want, you can request a specific officer to search an area, or request a specific number of officers, and this may have an effect on the outcome. (This is just an optional extra aspect people can take part in if they like. If you don't specify an amount of officers or a particular officer to send then I'll choose something I think is appropriate.)

If you have any questions about the game's rules or setup, feel free to ask them and I will answer in a spoiler section like this. Happy hunting!

[close]

[Laura Hunt]

Anything special about the quarters? Any marks, inscriptions, etc? Are they taped together in a line, or one on top of the other?

[JackPutter]

The quarters appear to be run-of-the-mill coins, they don't seem to have been tampered with and they are not misprints of any kind. They are taped one on top of the other, and it's very easy to separate them. The only slightly curious detail about them is that they all seem to have been minted in 1947, but other than that they are perfectly ordinary.

[Laura Hunt]

So this is what I have for now:

"..." "35 - 11 14 10 18" "1315 - 21 1114 1110 1118" "11131115 - 1211 3114 3110 3118"

Vertically:

... (missing first step)
35 - 11 14 10 18
1315 - 21 1114 1110 1118
11131115 - 1211 3114 3110 3118

The right side of these "equations" or whatever they are all have patterns:

11 / 21 / 1211 - each one adds to 2 - 3 - 4, so the missing first number in the sequence would be 1.
14 / 1114 / 3114  - they add up to 5 - 7 - 9, so the first number would be 3.
10 / 1110 / 3110 - add up to 1 - 3 - 5, so the first missing number would be... 0? Can this thing have negative numbers?
18 / 1118 / 3118 - add up to 9 - 11 - 13, so the first number is 7.

So the right side of the first missing step in the sequence is 1 3 0 7?

As to the left side...

35 / 1315 / 11131115 - add up to 8 - 10 - 16, so is the first number 5? Would that make 5 - 1307? Does that even give us anything to work with?

No idea what to do about the left side tbh. That's all I've got for now.

[heltenjon]

Ok...bear with me while I not write about the code. This may just be Easter Eggs, because I doubt most people know Stephen King is born in 1947. The killer signs KS - King Stephen? The sargeant of the police force is named Pangborn, just like the police chief in Castle Rock in many stories. Now I don't know if the place names on the map are genuine or made up, but there are plenty of similarities to King's fiction, like Kerry (SK writes about Derry) and tweeners (SK writes about twinners). And Joe's Hill? SK's son is writing under the pen name Joe Hill.

I was going to crack a joke about how sargeant Pangborn had relatives in Castle Rock and would be the man to send to Joe's Hill if we needed to.

I guess these are coincidences or Easter eggs, as it's not the common knowledge Jack Putter talks about in the rules.

[Ian Aloser]

I'm with you, but absolutely clueless for the moment.
EDIT: At first I thought that the number riddle in the letter
was written with Caps Lock on , but then i read that it was handwritten ...
Laura, your idea with the series sounds promising, could the quarters
be coins for a public phone to be used for calling a phone number coming from the riddle ?
Or could the FOUR quarters be a hint to divide the map into four parts
and begin our search at the intersecting point ?
I am still traumatized from the previous case :-))

[Laura Hunt]

I guess these are coincidences or Easter eggs, as it's not the common knowledge Jack Putter talks about in the rules.

And Shudder Lake looks like a place out of sadtopographies

[Ian Aloser]

The 1118 is coloured black
and the rest in blue ......
Strange.....
EDIT: First red herring ?

[heltenjon]

I guess these are coincidences or Easter eggs, as it's not the common knowledge Jack Putter talks about in the rules.

And Shudder Lake looks like a place out of sadtopographies

And Shudder produces Creepshow, which is based on SK's work...

What's the term for an unintentional Easter egg? A Pentecostal egg? 

[Ian Aloser]

And Kerry = Carrie , one on SK's films?
Maybe this maniac is obsessed by Stephen King, so , to make a start,
we should send someone to Kerry to check for anything extraordinary....
I give it a start:
POTENTIAL SOLUTION:
Could you send someone to Kerry ?

[Laura Hunt]

The 1118 is coloured black
and the rest in blue ......
Strange.....

...what? Where?

The idea that the coins might be for a phone call sounds pretty solid! This would mean that the first number should be 3 numbers, though... So we would have something like "xxx - 1307" maybe? We need someone smarter than me to tie all this together, I'm just a Third Class Detective

EDIT: Can I check the phonebook for 555-1307?

[JackPutter]

The chief puts in a call to Sergeant Pangborn and explains the situation. In turn, Pangborn sends out officers White and Collins to check out the neighbourhood of Kerry. They ask the Sergeant what they should be on the lookout for, and Pangborn has to admit that there's not really much information to go on. The two officers take to the streets, keeping their eyes open and searching for anything unusual. Unfortunately they don't spot much that's out of place, and they're forced to call it a night after slowly driving down each street three times with their spotlights scanning the surroundings.

The New York City & State Yellow Pages contains no entry for 555-1307, though 555-1306 is listed as Count von Count's Halloween Costume Emporium. It doesn't seem particularly relevant.

[Ian Aloser]

Sorry, the blue numbers only appear on my smartphone...
Edit:Good job, Officer Laura !! Maybe just wrong area code or pre-dial?
Edit: Looks like this will be another great challenge....
Could we ask Sergeant Pangborn for the pre-dial of this area ?

[JackPutter]

The chief shuts his eyes and squeezes the ridge of his nose. "I'm not going to bother Sergeant Pangborn with trivial questions like that. Besides, I just called him earlier, obviously I needed to put in the pre-dial area code in order to get him on the phone! The area code for upstate New York is 518."

The chief sighs a little and leans on the doorframe of his office. "You might be on to something with this phone number business, but even if you are, there's a good chance this subject is spoofing their number somehow. I'll bet they could pick any phone number they want and route it where they want, so the area code probably doesn't matter."

Straightening his back, the chief barks one last order to the crew. "Get to the bottom of those numbers! I don't care if you have to read them aloud to your dog for it to click, I want to know what those missing figures are!" After a quick turn, the chief is gone, disappeared back into his office.

[heltenjon]

Aha!
"..." "35 - 11 14 10 18" "1315 - 21 1114 1110 1118" "11131115 - 1211 3114 3110 3118"
35 = one 3 one 5, 11=two 1, 14= one 1 one 4, 10= one 1 one 0, 18= one 1 one 8...and so on.

Going backwards, that's three 5 - one 1 one 4 one 0 one 8.

Potential solution
Let's dial 555-1408!

And room 1408 is a Stephen King story, too. Jack's doing it on purpose!