CTI: Crime Team Investigation

[Laura Hunt]

OMG that is so awesome! (But a certain Jack Putter might have gotten him on a watchlist. That's dedication!)

lmao our IPs are SO getting flagged

I really didn't expect this to venture into ARG territory. Impressive, very impressive!

[Laura Hunt]

Ugh, sorry. My last post went to a new page. Copying this here again for ease of reference and sorry for the spam:

[Female synthesized voice]

Let's count the ways, one, two, three
I'm smarter than the NYPD
You've saved some lives, which is not bad
But I've put two of yours in hospital (sic)
Are you sad? You sneaky clever little pigs.
(you) won't catch me as I (incomprehensible?)
Will I start a fire next?
Or wrap a noose around someone's neck?
In the middle of this all
Will you rise to the challenge, or will you fall?
The Master's work must not be spoiled
I'm stopping those who would have it soiled.
He is the center of my world
Soon my finale will be unfurled.

Can I have the IT goblins try to decipher the bit I didn't get? Maybe they can clean up that part of the audio somehow.

[Mandle]

There are fourteen lines in the poem.

If we are going back to the map, I could only find two locations that have fourteen letters so far:

Rumsfield Acres
Barrymore Place

The first letters of each line seem to be: L I Y B A W W O I W T I H S

[Laura Hunt]

There are fourteen lines in the poem.

If we are going back to the map, I could only find two locations that have fourteen letters so far:

Rumsfield Acres
Barrymore Place

Drew Barrymore starred in Firestarter...

Will I start a fire next?

We should definitely send someone to Barrymore Place, but what if there are two victims once more? What Stephen King movie/book does the noose refer to?

[Mandle]

What Stephen King movie/book does the noose refer to?

AMAZING! Gotta be Barrymore Place! (I think we might have found a loop-hole way around figuring out the code on that one. We'll probably arrive there to find a Firestarter themed scene.)

As for the noose... I can't think of a Stephen King book where a noose or hanging is a key point. There was a hanged man in The Talisman, but it was hardly a central point to the story.

I can't find any "Rumsfield" connection to Stephen King so I suspect there's only one location this time.

[Mandle]

Chief, please send units out to Barrymore Place. Reason: The link between "Start a fire" and the actress' name from the movie "Firestarter"

[heltenjon]

The hanging I remember from SK's books must be from 'Salem's Lot, where

Spoiler

the house the vampire lives in is haunted because the previous owner hanged himself.

[close]

Great work, team! But there has to be something on tumblr, too...

[heltenjon]

IRL a Firestarter remake is in the works. I don't know if that's real in this continuity, but can we check out if it is? And maybe that agent is trying to land good parts for Rachel and the others? Chief, is that possible?

A remake could be something that upsets this fan. What else could it be? Someone's criticisim of SK's writing?

[Mandle]

The hanging I remember from SK's books must be from 'Salem's Lot, where

Spoiler

the house the vampire lives in is haunted because the previous owner hanged himself.

[close]

True, but again, not really a central point of the story.

Spoiler

The housekeeper lady in Pet Sematary also hanged herself to avoid a slow death from cancer. The "Birdman" of Shawshank Prison also hanged himself after he got paroled. And there must be several others, but no story I know of revolves around such a hanging.

[close]

[mkennedy]

If you send somebody to Barrymore Place you may want to send two pairs of officers in case the suspect is planning to burn down the building with the officers inside. With two pairs while one pair is in building the other can keep watch on the outside, preferably hidden so the suspect doesn't know they are watching him. You may be able to get away with only 3 officers if the third stays hidden, but that would be rather risky.

The perp refers to the victims as birdies. Is that of any significance?

[Mandle]

The perp refers to the victims as birdies. Is that of any significance?

"Dirty birdies" was a term that Annie Wilkes often used in Misery I believe.

[Laura Hunt]

Great work, team! But there has to be something on tumblr, too...

There was nothing else on tumblr, just the same audio message.

Funnily enough, there's a https://www.facebook.com/reyals.gnik on Facebook, but nothing to do with our suspect.

[heltenjon]

Great work, team! But there has to be something on tumblr, too...

There was nothing else on tumblr, just the same audio message.

Oh, i didn't realize you had found something there as well. I guess that part of the mystery is solved, then. 

Funnily enough, there's a https://www.facebook.com/reyals.gnik on Facebook, but nothing to do with our suspect.

[JackPutter]

Collins slowly raised his arm and rolled his shoulder. He had decided to come to work today without his sling, and he was finding that, if he gritted his teeth, he could maneuver his arm in pretty much all the ways he used to be able to. "I'll talk to the Sarge when they come back," he thought to himself, "Maybe I can get out from behind this goddamn desk tomorrow." He finished the last drops of coffee from his styrofoam cup and tossed it towards the garbage can on the other side of the room. It bounced off the rim and landed in the bottom of the can. He'd gotten pretty good with his left hand over the past few days.

The doors of the station opened, and Officers White and Leland walked through. Collins stood up to welcome them. "You're back! And in one piece! How did it go?"

"We found nothing," said White, at the same time that Leland piped up, "We found something." Collins cocked his head to the side like a confused spaniel. "Seems like what we have here is a failure to communicate. Did you find something or didn't you?" White and Leland looked at each other for a moment, each clearly expecting the other one to speak. Eventually White rolled her eyes and headed to her desk. "YOU tell him," she called to Leland as she sat down.

Leland looked a bit more sheepish now. "Well, we were looking around Barrymore Place for anything suspicious. We hadn't found anything all day, until I spotted something in the clearing at the end of a cul-de-sac. We approached and saw that it was an old barbecue right in the centre of this open ground. Sarge ordered myself and White to keep an eye on the perimeter while he went to check it out. You know, in case it was a bomb or spring-loaded with knives or something. He cracked it open, then looked through the crack with his flashlight. I thought something was wrong with how quick he opened it after that. Well, turns out there was no bomb, no booby trap. All he found was... this."

Leland pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a poster-size picture.

Spoiler

[close]

Collins had to stifle a chuckle. "It's not funny, it's really not, but it's better than a damn bomb. Trust me, I know." He said with a sly grin. "So that was the only thing you got out of the whole tirip?

"Not the only thing," came a voice from the door. Collins and Leland looked over to see Sergeant Pangborn standing at the threshold, his hand on Alex Pelton's shoulder. "I just caught this young man loitereing outside the station. Turns out he just snuck away from his parents because he wants to share some information with us. I think we should hear him out."[/i]

The chief bellows across the room to get everyone's attention. "HEY EVERYONE. Barrymore Place was a no-go. At least this maniac is content with just humiliating us now, instead of trying to murder us all. However, thanks to a stroke of luck and a brave teen, there's been a bit of a break in the case.

"Some of you have suspected something like this for a while, but according to Alex Pelton there's a movie shoot coming to town later in the summer. The kid apparently landed a role in it, but this production is trying to keep a lid on the details. They want to keep surprises for the audience. So they said they wouldn't hire him unless he signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement. His lawyer parents didn't want him to lose the job, so they forced him to abide by the NDA's terms. He couldn't even tell his girlfriend. He finally broke and came to us because he figured that if this job is the reason he was kidnapped, tied up, and locked in a car that was about to be crushed... well screw THAT job.

"Unfortunately for us, Alex's parents handled all the paperwork, so he doesn't have access to his contract or any of the other material sent by the movie studio. He hasn't even got a script for it yet All he has to go on is his memories of the audition, which took place months ago. He doesn't think he was ever even told the name of the film. All he can remember for sure is that it was a horror movie, and that his audition scene involved his character and a priest who he thought maybe was one of the lead roles."

The chief scratches his chin. "It's not exactly detailed stuff, but it's the first real break we've had handed to us. Gotta give the kid credit for coming forward with what he knows.

"I don't think it's the Firestarter remake that's going to be filming in this area, from what I can tell they've announced two different directors in the past 12 months and the project isn't anywhere close to going into production. There's no way they'd be ready to shoot in a month or two."

[heltenjon]

Didn't Alex remember anything more about his audition scene?

The most prominent priest in SK's works has got to be Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot and The Dark Tower Series. But there are priests in most small town setups.

Can we connect the other victims to this production in any way?

[Mandle]

The most prominent priest in SK's works has got to be Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot and The Dark Tower Series.

There's also the priest from Silver Bullet.

[Ian Aloser]

Would it be helpful to know WHERE the audition took place ?
EDIT: And who the auditors were ?

[heltenjon]

While we wait for the tech guys to clear up the audio in the broadcast message, so that we may decipher the last lines, all while consuming all the donuts I just bought them, we have to work more on the victimology. It would seem that the upcoming remake is a likely target for our villain. We need to connect all the previous victims to this production. Perhaps Garret Hawthorne has been approached about writing a script? Or maybe Deborah Hawthorne has an opening for doing make up at the set? It is likely that Rachel has also been at an audition. We need to ask them more about the production and make them realize how important it is that they tell us what they know. They're helping noone by keeping quiet. Chief, may we approach the families again? And can you please ask the IT squad to hurry up...I have to ask for an advance soon just to pay for all the donuts.

[Cassiebsg]

Can it be that our perp is the one "making" the film?

[Mandle]

Can it be that our perp is the one "making" the film?

OMG I'll bet that's exactly it!