CTI: Crime Team Investigation

Started by Mandle, Tue 16/06/2020 16:50:02

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heltenjon

Are you sure you won't search for DONT  GO TO ?  8-0

Okay, we have to try. Potential solution Chief, may we search the area between Armstrong Walk and Aldrin Walk?

Ian Aloser

#241
I see no other place in the array
EDIT: The bomb went off south of Armstrong's Walk
Armstrong's Walk also contains NORT with a letter H in the line above.
But I think this is not it.
The fact that the previous clue was obtained by going backwards makes
me believe that KS is focused on setting up his riddles this way

JackPutter

#242
THE KS CASE

CHAPTER THREE

Craig Leland approached the strange cross slowly, keeping his eyes and ears open. "This looks just like the cross Gillian described," said his partner, Troy Ullman. Leland nodded. "This one has extra though, there's a bunch of flowers propped up against the base of the cross... and is that something scrawled across the 'For Sale' letters?"

The two men stepped closer, being extremely cautious not to disturb the earth. There was a message scribbled across the face of the sign in black marker. "CARRIE WHITE BURNS IN HELL." Ullman shook his head.

"I don't hear anything... is this a decoy?" suggested Leland. Ullman shrugged. "Beats me, but I sure as hell ain't going to be the one to find out." Ullman turned and started making his way back to the patrol car. Leland lingered for a moment. Something told him that this was different, this wasn't the same as the place where Collins had nearly had his arm blown off. Eventually he sighed, and figured Ullman was right. Even if this was a little different, it wasn't worth having his body blown to pieces finding out.

Leland turned to leave and... what was that? He snapped his head back towards the cross and the disturbed earth. Movement... the bouquet of flowers had fallen over. The wind? No, the air was still. He took another cautious step towards the cross. Something had knocked over those flowers, he was sure of it. He pulled out his flashlight and pointed it at the base of the cross, right where the flowers had been. There was a tiny speck of something pale...

Taking extreme care not to make any sudden moves, Leland got down on one knee and, keeping the flashlight trained on the ground, began to brush away the topmost layer of soil with his fingers.

The blast of a car's horn cut through the night. Leland looked back over his shoulder to see Ullman standing at the open door of their patrol car. "Come on, Craig! Let's call it in and get out of here!" Leland gritted his teeth. "Just a second!" he responded.

He looked back at the patch of earth he had just cleared. The pale patch was a little longer now, about the length of a finger... Good God, it WAS a finger! "TROY! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Leland yelled as he dropped his flashlight and began to toss handfuls of dirt aside. He uncovered more fingers, a thumb, a whole hand. He started to feel queasy as he noticed that the person's skin was covered in blood. Ullman joined him, and together they started to dig like crazy.

Working along the arm, they got as far as the head and began to reveal the face of a teenage girl. They uncovered her eye, Leland's heart sank when he saw it was closed... However only a moment passed before the eye shot open! They had arrived in time!


The chief calls an all-hands meeting, and stands at the top of the room with a smile on his face. "Well folks, it wasn't without difficulties, but we managed to save the victim before she died of suffocation. The pathway between Armstrong Walk and Aldrin Walk was the correct spot. I also hear that Officer Collins will make a full recovery, but he's consigned to desk duty for the next couple of days. Hats off to you all!"

"We've managed to identify the victim, her name is Rachel Edison. 16 years old, her father is a mechanic and her mother is a chartered accountant. Goes to the local High School. Nothing unusual in her background, apart from the fact she starred in a series of toy advertisements when she was a young kid. She went missing about a week ago when she was out shopping for a prom dress. It seems our would-be killer snatched her out of the changing room and slipped her out the back door. She doesn't remember much after being knocked out in the store, that's not great for our investigation but probably for the best in terms of her mental health."

"Curiously enough, even though we found her covered in blood, there wasn't a scratch on her body. She hadn't been harmed in any way, aside from being buried alive. I talked to the folks in forensics again. The blood on that piece of prom dress we were sent didn't turn up any DNA results because it wasn't even human blood. I thought it was fishy that we didn't get any results from that test. Our criminal must have covered the poor girl in some kind of animal blood before burying her."

"Sergeant Pangborn also went to Aldrin Walk and found another decoy cross. He's cordoned off the area and the bomb squad is en-route as we speak."

The chief takes a breath, but before he can continue further the phone in the corner rings. "What the... That's a brand new phone line, no-one could possibly have that number... Unless it's someone calling back a number that called them, and no prizes for guessing who's the only person that phone has ever called! Everyone, get to your phones!"

There's a scramble in the office as everyone grabs their receivers. The chief picks up the phone. There's no voice on the end. "Hello...?" tries the chief.

QuoteHello, chief. Congratulations, you located the first dirty birdie. I seem to have underestimated you. Well, not entirely. How is your injured officer? I was hoping to have done more damage than a busted shoulder, but I'm happy with how it worked out in the *achoo* end.

No elementary school word searches for you this time. If you want to figure out who's next on my list, you'll need to listen VERY carefully to my riddle.

So you viewers
With such easy criteria
Accepting any lower
Version of masters
You may have enjoyed
The standard formula
You don't have the potential
To accept magnificence

That's my riddle. Don't think you've bested me because you saved one girl. I will have the last laugh.

With that the phone line goes dead. The chief hangs up, "That wasn't a recording. They weren't prepared to be found out so quickly." He points at you all, no need to say what he wants you to do, and goes back into his office.

Including the map for reference:
Spoiler
[close]

Mandle

I suspect from the clumsy cadence of the poem that it was constructed to hide a necessary combination of letters within in somewhere that needed to be at particular positions.

Ian Aloser

#244
I had the same idea.
Maybe one letter per line.
That would make 8 letters.
SARSDALE from top to bottom is one of the candidates....
Though it would make it an elementary school word search,
but maybe KS wants to distract us....
EDIT: All letters from SARSDALE are found at the end each line,
but it could also be PINEWOOD (one letter per line)
Other eligible 8 letter places are:
WESTMORE
JOE'S HILL
YORK'S WAY (No "K" IN THE POEM)
EDIT:
Let's not search Sarsdale yet, i think it is TOO obvious
I believe that only one letter per line is allowed....
I believe it's PINEWOOD, I checked it and it meets all criteria
Didn't check the others, though.
Edit: Stop , hold it , i will look for a pattern
that looks like a cross !
Edit:Could not  find a pattern
POTENTIAL SOLUTION:
Could we search PINEWOOD ?


CaptainD

I found Sarsdale too but felt there must be more to it - I'm wondering if the 28 words in the poem relate to the house number in Sarsdale being 28 (but obviously I have no way of knowing if there even is a 28 Sarsdale!).
 

heltenjon

Chief, I was wondering if any of the officers up north have some special skills we should know of. If we're going to send them into boobytrapped locations, it would be nice to know if someone was good at spotting such dangers. Have the sargeant mentioned anything to you?

Squad, I guess this goes without saying, but the last assault mimicked the plot from Stephen King's Carrie. I fear this is our perp's signature mark. If I'm right, he'll try to kill people in similar ways as in the novels. Or movies. I don't know which of those rivers sails his boat. We may find people injected with rabies or drained of blood...this is horrible!

I have no clue regarding the code, me too believing Sarsdale looks too convenient. If we end up sending someone there, we ought to know which officer has the best skill set for the situation.

I'd like to know what toys Rachel Edison was doing commercials for. Perhaps this was how she drew the attention of our perp? Can someone check out if there's more to that story?

Ian Aloser

#247
Heltenjon,
this is a good idea to find out about possible special skills of the staff.
After the first near deadly attempt we need to be even more careful.
Meanwhile, i doubt that my theory with PINEWOOD is correct, could as well
be Joe's Hill and Westmore, assuming that only one letter per line of the "poem" is allowed.
I made this picture below, and it shows that all three 8 letter locations meet the assumed criteria.
PINEWOOD, JOE'S HILL and WESTMORE
Maybe it is helpful in another way. Apart from that I am totally clueless..
EDIT: York's Way also contains 8 letters, the "K" is not found in the "poem", but it contains a "K" followed by an "S"
Spoiler


[close]


JackPutter

Filled with confidence after successfully rescuing the buried girl, Officer Leland and Officer Ullman spend hours carefully searching the Pinewood area for anything suspicious. Eventually they return to the station, their hopes dashed, and report that they couldn't find signs of anything untoward.

The chief spends a long time in his office making various phone calls. After hanging up on his last call, he composes himself for a moment, before heading out to speak to you all.

"You asked for it, so here it is - a breakdown of what Pangborn thinks of his officers. Officer White is the only woman on the force and she definitely keeps it on the straight-and-narrow, she's never had any complaints or stepped out of line further than forgetting to refill the coffee pot once. Officer Collins, currently injured, is known as the joker of the group, but his sense of humour has understandably dried up recently and he's a bit skittish about heading back out on the streets. Can't say I blame him. Officer Leland graduated top of his class in the police academy last year, he's sharp but lacks some real-world knowledge that only time can teach him. That's why he's partnered with Officer Ullman. Ullman's been on the force damn near as long as I have, and he's lived in that town his whole life. If he ever needed to find another job, I bet he'd be the fastest damn taxi driver you could ask for. All of the officers have attended the same courses in crime scene examination and weapons discipline. I'd personally trust them all to conduct themselves equally well on the job.

"Officers White and Collins usually work as a team, ditto officers Leland and Ullman. This isn't by coincidence, so I'd recommend not splitting up those teams if you can, as you'll get the best results by keeping them together. Sending a lone officer into a dangerous situation isn't advisable, but if you're just canvassing an area for information you might get away with sending one, though you'd better stress the importance of calling for backup if anything suspicious arises.

"As for Pangborn himself... Well I've known him personally for years, and you won't find a finer example of an officer. In fact he's actually turned down promotions to other departments more than once, I even offered him a spot on this task force. He's got young kids though, and isn't willing to uproot them just for a job. If you send him into any situation, you can bet he'll be the smartest guy in the room, and having him there will definitely bolster the other officers' chances of success. Of course, the opposite is also true... God forbid anything happens to him, but if he were to be taken out of action... that would be a huge hit to the morale of the unit.

"Heltenjon, I got in touch with the agent who represented Rachel Edison back when she was acting in commercials. Looks like she featured in advertisements for two lines of toys. One was a knock-off My Little Pony pink unicorns thing, and the other was the Tamagotchi revival that happened a decade or so ago. Seems simple, but you wouldn't BELIEVE how hard I had to work to understand that much. Guy mumbled like crazy. When I asked him was Rachel Edison one of his clients, it sounded like he said, 'Raquel Eddysoon, yesh she wis one of mine favouricks.' Goddamn drunk."

Laura Hunt

<fourth wall break> JackPutter, I have to say you're going above and beyond the call of duty here. Love all these little details, atmosphere and flavour that you're throwing in :) </fwb>

So, guys, shall we try Sarsdale? It's the only solid clue we have right now, so I guess we'll have to do something with it...


Ian Aloser

Yes Laura, Sarsdale is the only clue we have, but I am afraid that it's a trap.
So we would have to think about who will be sent to that location.
The poem makes absolutely no sense to me, I tried to find a pattern of letters ,
but to no avail.
Looks like my 8 letter theory doesn't yield any progress, York's Way may be a clue
due to "K" and "S" and because the "K" is not found in the poem, but this is pure guesswork.
Let us choose a team to search SARSDALE then, I see no alternative....

Laura Hunt

Can we get bomb sniffing dogs or a bomb squad or something? We have no guarantee that if it's a trap it'll be a bomb again, but we would be foolish not to be prepared for that at least.

JackPutter

The chief's ears perk up at Detective Hunt's suggestion. "There's no bomb detection dogs regularly stationed in the area, but the bomb squad has only just set off after defusing the decoy cross bomb in Aldrin Walk. I know for a fact that they have a K-9 officer as part of the team. I can get that truck turned around if you're sure you're going to look at Sarsdale."

Laura Hunt

Quote from: JackPutter on Thu 02/07/2020 10:16:18
The chief's ears perk up at Detective Hunt's suggestion. "There's no bomb detection dogs regularly stationed in the area, but the bomb squad has only just set off after defusing the decoy cross bomb in Aldrin Walk. I know for a fact that they have a K-9 officer as part of the team. I can get that truck turned around if you're sure you're going to look at Sarsdale."

I'm not going to make that call on my own, but I vote yes. What say you, guys?

(We have a dog! Yay! *looks for snacks in her drawer*)

Ian Aloser

#254
Let's do it !
We have to make progress somehow.
EDIT: POTENTIAL SOLUTION:
Could we send officers Leland and Ullman, along with the K-9
out to SARSDALE ? Tell them to do their search VERY carefully.
There may not be a threat in the shape of explosives, but knowing
that KS is eager to harm us, they should be aware of possible other dangers,e.g.
like poison.

heltenjon

Agreed. Let's search Sarsdale carefully.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering. Rachel seems to have advertised for derivative products, and I think the poem points in that direction, too. Possible point for victimology could be that the perp is targeting people he connects with something he feels is not "the real deal". Unfortunately, this could mean everything from someone selling Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola to directors of sequel movies. It's not helpful at this point.

Ian Aloser

#256
Very good, Officer Helten Jon. While our unit is on its way, it is a good idea to
spend some thoughts on the personality of the perp.
I remember THIS from his/her phonecall :
Quote
Hello, chief. Congratulations, you located the first dirty birdie. I seem to have underestimated you. Well, not entirely. How is your injured officer? I was hoping to have done more damage than a busted shoulder, but I'm happy with how it worked out in the *achoo* end
The perp might suffer fom ACHOO-Syndrome (Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outbursts of Sneezing), caused by sudden exposure to extreme brightness, e.g. sunlight or looking into a torch.
We should consider consulting doctor's offices and/or relevant companies, who might have rejected job candidates
suffering from this syndrome. These could be airline companies (Achoo is very dangerous for pilots) or other safety relevant  branches.
Chief, would this be possible ?
EDIT: What I also noticed: The first letter was packed with typos ( I loved the Alfred Einstein :-) ), while the second one didn't contain a single one. Could two presons be involved?

JackPutter

Leland turned the corner, pulling the patrol car onto yet another unremarkable residential street. Ullman was next to him, turned around in the passenger seat, addressing the K-9 officer who was sitting in the rear of the car with a panting German Shepherd beside him. "Hey, there's something I've always wanted to ask you K-9 guys," said Ullman. "If you and the dog are investigating a crime scene and the dog needs to... you know... relieve himself... do you have to leave to prevent the, um, 'leavings' from contaminating the scene?"

The K-9 officer raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short when Leland nudged Ullman, saying, "Hey Troy, look over on the left." Leland had spotted one of the two-story detached houses which appeared to be exactly like the ones which surrounded it, only it looked like the front door of this one was ajar. Ullman considered it. "Probably nothing," he grunted, "But let's check it out."

Leland stopped the patrol car at the end of the house's driveway and stepped out. Now that they were closer to the door, they could see that the door frame had scratches and marks all around where the lock connected. Leland heard Ullman grab his radio. "Sarge, we've got a possible B and E here. 237 East Sarsdale." Leland dropped a hand to his side and unclasped the clip on his holster. "Roger that, Ullman. Proceed with extreme caution," came the response from their radios.

Ullman stepped forward, carefully pushing the door open with one hand and keeping his other on the pistol grip of his revolver. "Hello...? Police officers, is anybody here?"

Silence was the only answer.

Leland let the K-9 officer and the dog go through next. He wanted to make sure someone was watching their backs. Stepping through the threshold himself, he didn't see anything amiss in the hallway. There were pictures lining the walls. A happy couple on their wedding day. Baby pictures of an infant in a blue onesie. A young boy wearing a backpack much too big for him, smiling and holding someone's hand.

Entering each room slowly, the three men followed the same routine. Ullman opened the door and called out to identify themselves. Next, the K-9 officer and the dog entered, the dog sniffling and snuffling his way through the room. Lastly Leland, keeping one eye on the room that they were just leaving. For a half-hour they kept up this strange kind of dance until every room downstairs had been thoroughly examined. "The only way is up..." murmured Ullman as he re-entered the hall and looked up the stairs.

The three men started up the staircase, which had a 90 degree turn halfway up. Ullman rounded the corner and froze. Leland couldn't see what had spooked him, but he knew Ullman didn't scare easily. Leland watched as Ullman pulled his revolver out of his holster and steadied it in front of himself. As Leland retrieved his own weapon, Ullman climbed the last of the stairs, moving more quickly now. Leland gulped as he followed his partner up the stairs. He'd never had to fire his weapon on duty before, and he hoped to God he didn't have to use it now.

Leland arrived on the landing and saw what had made Ullman so twitchy. There was a trail of blood streaking the off-white carpet. It looked to Leland like someone had been dragged from one of the bedrooms into the bathroom. Ullman took up a position next to the bathroom door, his back to the wall. He gestured with his head for Leland to join him. Leaving the K-9 officer and the dog at the top of the staircase, Leland strode over to Ullman's side and tried to steady the hand holding his gun. "Three... Two... One..." whispered Ullman.

The two men rounded the corner, guns at the ready. Initially the bathroom appeared empty, there was no-one standing there. Leland's eyes followed the blood trail across the tiled floor, and saw streaks of crimson leading up the side of the bath. He took a deep breath and stepped across the room, frightened but determined.

A naked man, bound and gagged. Holy hell, and he was alive! Leland's eyes were fixed on the man's panicked face, as the man desperately struggled against his restraints. The bottom of the tub was covered in an inch of blood, seemingly from a nasty wound on the man's head. "Christ alive!" exclaimed Leland, holstering his gun and waving Ullman over. Ullman immediately started working on untying the ropes restraining the man's arms and legs. Leland reached down and yanked the gag out of the man's mouth.

"MY WIFE! MY SON! THEY TOOK MY FAMILY!"


The chief scratches his head. "I'm going to be grey all over by the time this is through." He straightens his back and uses his business voice. "Okay everyone. Here's the scoop, the man found in Sarsdale is Garret Hawthorne. He lives there with his wife Deborah and son Tommy. He's a quiet man, keeps to himself. Seems he's the stay-at-home parent, he made a lot of money from a popular crime novel he wrote about 15 years ago and he's been living off the returns ever since. Seems like he was out for a late-night walk last night and came home to find his door forced open and his wife and kid missing. Before he could call the cops, he was struck on the head. Soon after he was found, the poor guy passed out from blood loss or concussion or something and he's recovering in the hospital now. Sergeant Pangborn doesn't want to question him until he's back to his senses, and I respect the Sergeant's wishes.

"Well we're damn sure that Sarsdale had something to do with the crime, and at least now we know WHO we're looking for. Pangborn's team have been given descriptions of Deborah and Tommy and will be on the lookout for them. We haven't heard from this KS person, so I'm going to assume that this was part of their plan and that we'll find out the location of the woman and child based on the criminal's last message. Keep poring over it, I'm sure we're missing something. Think outside the box, people!

"Oh, and about the ACHOO-syndrome suggestion... I called the hospital administrator in the district. They have no records of anyone in the indicated area who suffers from that affliction, so I guess that angle goes nowhere. Great job picking up on the sneeze though! You never know, those details might be close to the answer we're looking for."

Laura Hunt

Quote from: Ian Aloser on Thu 02/07/2020 12:34:31
The perp might suffer fom ACHOO-Syndrome (Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outbursts of Sneezing), caused by sudden exposure to extreme brightness, e.g. sunlight or looking into a torch.

I thought you were joking, but this is actually a thing! The more you know!

I assumed that the sneeze was due to the suspect having caught a cold from spending too much time outside setting up booby traps and stalking our agents (Agent White heard a noise in the trees that could have been "a person or an animal" right before the explosive device went off). Maybe he's not from around here so he's camping out in the woods while he carries out his crimes?

This is not directly related to the last puzzle, but I would like to send somebody to check out the area of Shudder Lake / Weepy Grove with our new K-9 buddy (we still have her, right? Right?). Don't get into trouble, just look out for signs of anybody camping or staying there, a tent, a fire, anything like that.


Quote from: Ian Aloser on Thu 02/07/2020 12:34:31EDIT: What I also noticed: The first letter was packed with typos ( I loved the Alfred Einstein :-) ), while the second one didn't contain a single one. Could two presons be involved?

The second one isn't an actual letter, it's a transcription of a phone conversation ;)

Ian Aloser

Thanks and sorry, my mistake.
Good idea Laura with the search in these areas ! I wonder how the perp could kidnap two persons,
maybe he/she/they drugged them while Garret Hawthorne was taking a walk, it must have happened
in a relatively small time frame. This makes me believe that there might be more than one person involved.
Still have no idea what hint the poem contains ....

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