CTI: Crime Team Investigation

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

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Laura Hunt

Quote from: Ian Aloser on Thu 02/07/2020 15:18:48
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.

It's not hard to get a parent to comply with anything if you point a gun at their child. I'm pretty sure we're dealing with just one guy here.

JackPutter

The K-9 officer spends some time looking around the woods of Weepy Grove and around the shores of Shudder Lake. While it's obvious that these areas are popular spots for camping, the officer finds only long-extinguished campfires and the occasional scattered litter. Unfortunately the German Shepherd isn't a tracking dog, he's only trained to detect gelignite, nitroglycerin, gunpowder, and other bomb-making materials. The search returns nothing of any relevance.

Just as the K-9 officer returns to the station, a bomb threat is reported in a high school deep in the heart of New York City. All the bomb squad officers, K-9 included, leap into action and hit the road. Sergeant Pangbon's unit are once again the only cops in town.

PHONE TRANSCRIPT FOR REFERENCE
Spoiler
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.
[close]

MAP FOR REFERENCE
Spoiler
[close]

Laura Hunt

I have absolutely nothing. He said to listen very carefully to the riddle, which makes me think the solution could have something to do with the cadence, or the sounds of the words themselves, but nothing clicks so far...

Ian Aloser

Same with me. I am currently reflecting on ( Alfred :-)))Einstein‘s and
Isaac Newton‘s theories. Einstein appeared in KS‘ first note and there
is a place named Newton Haven, where Haven could mean Heaven
in KS‘ eyes. I admit that this a very, very , very vague theory....
Also , formula in the poem brought me to this thought ....

Laura Hunt

#264
Quote from: Ian Aloser on Thu 02/07/2020 17:45:22
Same with me. I am currently reflecting on ( Alfred :-)))Einstein‘s and
Isaac Newton‘s theories. Einstein appeared in KS‘ first note and there
is a place named Newton Haven, where Haven could mean Heaven
in KS‘ eyes. I admit that this a very, very , very vague theory....
Also , formula in the poem brought me to this thought ....

It could make sense, the chief did tell us to think outside of the box. Maybe the "box" we're trapped in is the poem and the answer to it is somewhere else, like the first message. Hm...

He says he's smarter than Einstein, and the poem says that we "accept any lower versions of masters", like Einstein and Newton I guess? He's smarter than them all but we don't have the "potential to accept [his] magnificence"?


Ian Aloser

POTENTIAL SOLUTION:
I know it sounds crazy, but we have to grab every straw to save the lives of
the mother and her son. While nothing else comes up, I'd suggest we send
Officers White and Collins to look around in Newton Haven, but please be VERY careful

heltenjon

The perp says "So you viewers". A movie? Tv series?

Chief, I'd like to check out if this area or some of the locations have been sites for movie or tv productions. I'd also like to know more about the Hawthornes, if there is anything. Perhaps the crime novel the husband wrote has rubbed the perp the wrong way somehow? Can we find out what kind of novel it was?

JackPutter

With Officer Collins still too injured to go back on patrol, Sergeant Pangborn hops in the cruiser next to Officer White, and they head out to Newton Haven. While they find a lot of helpful locals who do their best to assist in the search for the missing woman and child, unfortunately nothing of any note is found.

Once the Sergeant returns to the station, the chief calls him up to ask if the town has ever been the shooting location for a film or TV show. Pangborn replies that no, despite the local beauty spots as far as he's aware no Hollywood production has set up shop there yet.

Upon further research, it seems that Garret Hawthorne's book, "The Killers Manual," is something of a favourite among the NYPD top brass. It turns out that Hawthorne did a lot of research with police officers, and wrote one of the most accurate depictions of a murder investigation that's ever been published. It's still highly regarded by critics and police departments today. Hawthorne wrote another two books in a similar style, unfortunately the general public seemed to grow weary of the endless details Hawthorne insisted on including and the methodical plodding storylines, and he never had a bestseller again. Luckily for him, "The Killer's Manual" was enough of a hit that he's still receiving royalties to this day.

Ian Aloser

#268
Ok, seems like we made little progress so far. It may be a good idea to read through the
"Killer's Manual und maybe through Garret Hawthorne's two other books while we don't know
if the "poem" contains another clue apart from SARSDALE, which was too obvious. I wonder
why the prep didn't kill both mother and child as well as Garret Hawthorne himself, although
it could easily have been done. Looks like he/she likes to set up the crimes in a special manner,
like he/she did with the child we found. Maybe reading through the books leads to a clue.
Concerning the "poem" : I simply cannot find any other hint there, neither in the semantics nor
in any pattern from the letters.

heltenjon

I noticed that the villain answered "Hello, Chief". I don't think the chief spoke in the first conversation (with the pre-recorded message). Is the chief a public figure, or did the perp recognize his voice from somewhere? In this investigation, the only oneof notice  the chief has spoken to is Rachel's agent. However, this may only be a figure of speech, or perhaps it would be something one could learn from reading the Killers Manual. What do you think?

I'm also wondering about the sneeze. Could be that the perp (what is the correct term? Unsub? Suspect?) is allergic to something.

As for the setup of mother and child - if he uses Stephen King plots, this could be the plot from Cujo or The Shining and probably more where mother and child are in peril.

Ian Aloser

I am absolutely clueless for the moment. Your observation with "Hello Chief" sounds
interesting, so does the theory with the allergy. I looked at the places on the map to
find a clue about possible plants that cause allergies, but to no avail.
Let us wait until we get information concerning the contents of the book(s).
Maybe SARSDALE was the only hint in the poem. I don't expect much from Garret Hawthorne,
looks like he might not have seen much before he was hit on his head.....

JackPutter

"The Killer's Manual" is about a wealthy investment banker who dies in an apparent suicide, but his children are convinced that there is foul play involved. A team of detectives look into the death, and discover that the suicide was staged by the man's business partners to prevent him from exposing their fraudulent methods. Nothing that happens in the plot of the book seems in any way related to the crimes currently taking place, though the accuracy of the detectives' methods could have been valuable information for the criminal. Hawthorne's other two books seem similarly unrelated to the events happening upstate.

As head of the NYPD, the chief has given many press conferences in his time, so his appearance and voice aren't a secret. He did answer the phone before the criminal last spoke, so it's likely that the suspect simply recognised his voice. After all, this criminal has been sending messages directly to the task force - it would make sense that they had researched who was in charge of the operation.

Ian Aloser

#272
Quote from: JackPutter
After all, this criminal has been sending messages directly to the task force - it would make sense that they had researched who was in charge of the operation.
I wonder how KS got the information about Collins' shoulder injury. You normally wouldn't give that detailed information to the press, would you? Maybe KS has access to our radio traffic or someone from our own personnel gave out information.
Quote
How is your injured officer? I was hoping to have done more damage than a busted shoulder

JackPutter

The chief strides out into the bullpen. "It's been 24 hours since we found Garret Hawthorne, and we're still no closer to tracking down his wife and kid. Come ON, people! Innocent lives are on the line. We know that this criminal wanted to send us to Sarsdale, was there anything in particular about where you found that clue in the poem? Did this maniac make any other nods, nudges, or winks outside of the poem? Garret Hawthorne is going to regain consciousness any time now, and I want to be able to tell him that his family is safe."

heltenjon

I was about to leave this for detective Mandle and the others on the night shift, but what did you say, Chief? Where we found the code in the letter...at the endings...could it be a clue leading us to Ender's Copse? Or is that another false lead, leading to a cop's end? *shudder*

Ian Aloser

#275
Never been so clueless..
First birdie, so there must be a second birdie
*ACHOO* ? Cannot find a thing, neither in the "poem" nor outside of it....
I'm afraid that Garret Hawthorne will be a widower soon ...
POTENTIAL SOLUTION:
Following heltenjon's guess i'd suggest we send Officers Leland and Ullman
to ENDER'S COPSE
EDIT:
There may be a lot of traps over there, it's a copse, so be extremely careful !
Thanks Officer Mkennedy

mkennedy

Quote from: Ian Aloser on Fri 03/07/2020 15:54:06
Never been so clueless..
First birdie, so there must be a second birdie
*ACHOO* ? Cannot find a thing, neither in the "poem" nor outside of it....
I'm afraid that Garret Hawthorne will be a widower soon ...
POTENTIAL SOLUTION:
Following heltenjon's guess i'd suggest we send Officers Leland and Ullman
to ENDER'S COPSE

You should probably make sure they are extra cautious though, just in case it's a trap.
See if the first kidnap victim has anything in common with the family of the second kidnapping.

JackPutter

#277
THE KS CASE

CHAPTER FOUR

The wind shook the trees and cooled the skin on Ullman's face. He and Leland had been out all day, searching the small hamlet of Ender's Grove. They'd been down every street, lane, and alley. They'd knocked on every door. They'd spoken to every passerby and resident. All that, and they had zip to show for it. The only place left to look was the old Lakeview Hotel building, and Ullman certainly wasn't looking forward to going in there.

Lakeview Hotel had been set up in the boom after World War Two. It advertised beautiful views of the area, with the restaurant on the top floor offering a vantage point where visitors could see all the way across Shudder Lake to the mountains beyond. However, the family that owned the hotel weren't cut out for management. After word of the appalling working conditions spread through the area, the owners of Lakeview Hotel found themselves unable to find any staff to work there. Slowly the building fell into disrepair, and the visitors stopped coming. By the sixties, the hotel had shut its doors, and over fifty years later the daunting six-storey building stood empty.

Ullman and Leland stood outside the front door of the hotel. Turning to his partner, Leland was about to ask him something, when suddenly a noise caught both of their attention. They threw their heads upwards and were shocked to see a hand sticking out of one of the sixth floor windows. Ullman thought he heard a woman cry out. "Help! Help, they're coming!"

"Good God..." Ullman exclaimed, before making a dash towards the door. Leland was hot on his heels. Together the two of them kicked in the padlocked double doors and burst into the lobby. Sunlight streamed in through the bay windows, illuminating the thousands of dust particles that hung in the air. The men quickly and carefully made their way towards the reception desk, and checked out a map of the building located behind the spot where once a smiling girl in a uniform may have sat. "Sixth floor... opposite end to the restaurant... Looks like that was near the staff quarters," said Ullman, heading towards the stairs without delay.

The stairs presented all kinds of hazards... Cobwebs so thick you could grab handfuls and toss them aside, so much dust in the air that the light coming through the narrow windows was reduced to mere slits, and stairs so rotten that they would crumble into rubble if a foot so much as brushed past. Still, these men were on a mission, and they made it to the top floor of the building with only a couple of trips and slips.

Entering the sixth floor hallway, Ullman called out, "Police officers! Who's there?!?" Almost immediately a panicked response came echoing down the corridor. "Help us! At the end of the hall! Please, they're going to kill us!" Ullman pulled out his weapon and started to make his way towards the sound. "We're on our way, ma'am! Help is coming!" Ullman looked back over his shoulder and saw Leland not more than a step behind him, Leland's weapon also drawn and his jaw set with determination. Ullman smiled. The kid was coming along just fine.

The officers reached the end of the hall and saw a door to their left adorned with a sign saying, "STAFF QUARTERS." The door was open a crack, so Ullman pushed it with his free hand while keeping his gun raised. Beyond the door was a small living area, with a couch, coffee table, unmade bed, and various other furniture. Stepping into the room, Ullman realised it was laid out in an L-shape, so he rounded the corner slowly.

On the far wall was a door, presumably leading to a bathroom. The door had been covered in some sort of lettering, written in red lipstick or possibly blood. Ullman couldn't tell in this light what had been used to scrawl on the door, and besides, he was more fixated on the long-handled fire-axe that had been embedded deep into the door's panels. There were three or four large gashes in the wood - it looked like whoever had been wielding the axe had taken a few swings at the door before leaving it stuck there.

"We're in the bathroom! Hurry!" Ullman didn't delay, he ran over to the door and grabbed the handle. It wouldn't turn. "Ma'am, my name is Officer Ullman, I need you to unlock the door." He pulled and pushed on the handle but it didn't move. "Are they gone?" came the woman's voice, quieter now, the panic giving way to fear. Ullman adopted what he hoped was a comforting tone. "Yes ma'am, we haven't seen anyone."

There was a moment of silence before a 'click' cleared the air. The handle turned in Ullman's hand, and he pushed through into the bathroom. There he found Deborah and Tommy Hawthorne, both bound and sitting on the tiles of the bathroom floor. While Tommy was gagged, Deborah had managed to work the material out of her mouth, and it hung limply around her neck. Both of them were bruised, pale, and wearing bloodstained clothing.

Ullman immediately dropped to his knees and began to untie the material constricting Tommy's mouth. "Hey little guy. Tommy, Right? My name is Officer Ullman, I'm going to help you." He managed to free the child's mouth, and began working on the binds on the kid's hands. "Muh-Mister I'm scared..." cried the boy, tears pouring from his eyes. "It's okay Tommy, you're safe with us now," Ullman said, and did his best to give Tommy a genuine smile.

Ullman could hear Deborah in the corner muttering, "Thank you, thank you." He looked over towards her and saw Leland untying the ropes that bound Deborah's legs together. The rookie had already freed her hands, he was making fast work. Suddenly Ulmman's stomach dropped out. They hadn't had time to do a complete search of the hotel, the kidnapper could still be inside somewhere. This was an awful small room for both of them to be in, and with both of their backs to the door...

Red-hot, burning pain shot through Ullman's left leg, and he screamed. The pain was crippling, and he collapsed to the floor. Three loud explosions rang out - BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! - and the noise left his head spinning. Then Leland was crouching over him, Leland's gun still smoking in his hand. "Oh CHRIST! OH GOD! JESUS!" Leland's eyes were huge, focused on Ullman's leg. Ullman gritted his teeth and turned his shoulders so he could see the part of his body that was in so much excruciating pain.

The long-handled fire-axe was no longer embedded in the door. It hand been sunk deep into the muscle of his calf. Ullman passed out.


The chief storms out of his office and kicks the nearest desk, sending its papers flying to the four winds. "GODDAMN this asshole! Every time we think we have a win, this maniac smacks us right back down!" He glares around the room. "You KNEW you were looking for two missing persons. I can't believe I let you send out only two officers. Now Ullman's in intensive care, he'll be lucky if he ever walks again. Thank GOD Leland was so quick on the draw, otherwise the suspect could have done even more damage. Since Collins still has his arm in a sling, he's stuck driving his desk for another couple of days. Sergeant Pangborn, Officer White, and Officer Leland are the only ones out keeping the streets safe. That's just goddamn PEACHY."

The chief winces a little and rubs his stomach. "This is giving me indigestion... At least there's SOME upside. Deborah and Tommy Hawthorne are shaken and a little beat-up, but otherwise safe. From Deborah's account of things, the lunatic was bashing down the bathroom door right as Leland and Ullman pulled up outside. It seems you figured out the Ender's Grove clue just in time to save their lives.

"Tommy's an average kid, I'm sure in a couple of years and a few therapy sessions he'll be back running around the playground like nothing ever happened. Deborah's looking forward to seeing her husband again, and getting back to work. She's a makeup artist at the local news station, sometimes moonlights at fashion events or photoshoots too. Garret's the one who looks after Tommy mostly, while Deborah is at the TV studio. It doesn't seem like there's any connection at the moment between Rachel Edison and the Hawthorne family, apart from the fact that Rachel previously attended the same elementary school that Tommy is currently enrolled in, but there's only two elementary schools in the district so that's not much of a link.

"We've also got another clue from the criminal. This codex was written in lipstick on the bathroom door of the staff quarters up in Lakeview Hotel, if you can make sense of it then we might be able to work out what our next move should be."



Spoiler
I originally posted a version with some typos, seen here:
[close]

The chief turns back towards his office, only to pull his now-classic 'one more thing' move. "Oh, and I don't know if this is relevant, but I just had the strangest call from Rachel Edison's agent. He wanted to apologise for his conduct on the phone the other day, one of his clients had just won a Spirit Award and they had been celebrating a little too hard. Anyway, he confirmed that he actually said, 'Rachel Edison IS one of my favourites.' Turns out she re-signed with his agency about six months ago.

"Alright, enough jibber-jabber. Get cracking on that codex!"

Ian Aloser

Oh no, it was my fault. I really should have considered sending out more officers.
I hope i will be helpful in deciphering the letter array, how could I not get the clue
with Ender's Copse .......
Heltenjon, you saved their lives !

Laura Hunt

Quote from: Ian Aloser on Sat 04/07/2020 10:30:55
Oh no, it was my fault. I really should have considered sending out more officers.

They were also really careless, though. Not clearing the area and freeing both victims at the same time instead of having one of them do it while the other covered the door... That can't be on us.

The first thing that jumps out at me from the new clue is that there are no "A"s there. But I need to head out to do some real-life errands, so I have nothing else for now. Maybe someone can see what other letters are missing? (from a quick glance, it looks like there's no H or Z either)

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