CTI: Crime Team Investigation

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

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JackPutter

The chief calls everyone together for a big catch-up meeting. "First things first, here's what the IT department as transcribed from the audio message:

QuoteLet'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, are you sad?
You sneaky clever little pigs,
Won't catch me as I zag and zig.
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 centre of my world,
Soon my finale will be unfurled.

"This could very well have a location hidden in it, so let's not lose sight of the fat that this criminal is probably still out there kidnapping people and setting up traps. Here's the map again for reference.

Spoiler
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"Next up, Sergeant Pangborn has sent over Alex Pelton's full statement:"

"It was a few months ago, the drama teacher at school said that a casting agency had been in touch to see if they had any promising young actors in the area, and she threw my name in the hat. I was told to go to the community centre in Charlesburg on a certain day. When I went there was a casting agent and someone from the movie studio... I think it was "Endeavour" or "Intrepid" studios or something like that. My parents did most of the talking with the studio guy while the casting person asked me questions. We read out the scene, with the casting agent playing some kind of priest character which seemed like one of the lead roles. I guess I was just being looked at for a small part, they probably cast most of the big parts from Hollywood. Anyway, we did the scene a couple of times, it was some kind of argument. Then they thanked me and we went home. Actually I think I might have passed that girl whose picture you showed me on my way out, she looked like she was going in. A couple of weeks ago my parents got a phone call to say I had been cast and that they'd send over a script closer to the shooting dates. That's about all I can remember, I'm sorry if it's not helpful. I don't think they even told me what the name of the film was, but the studio guy kept excitedly saying it was a 'brand new' story so it probably wasn't a remake. I was glad because I HATE remakes."

"We got back in touch with the Hawthornes, turns out Deborah had been contacted about working in the makeup department for a feature film and she was very excited to work on her first movie. I'm guessing the studio gets some kind of tax break or bursary for using local workers. Like with Alex though, the studio was tight-lipped about the details, so all she knew was that production was planned to start in August. I'd bet my left kidney that Garret was never a target and that it was Deborah who was the intended victim.

"I tried getting in touch with Rachel's agent, but it seems he's been out at some function and I keep getting his secretary. I've asked her to contact him and tell him this is urgent police business, but she's not confident that she'll get through as he often turns his phone off so he can focus on networking. I guess what they say is right, agents always survive shipwrecks because sharks don't eat their own kind.

"We contacted Rachel Edison's parents. Once we explained that we already knew she had the job and we just required more details, possibly to save lives, they were quite understanding. Rachel apparently was very upset though... Poor girl thought that this role might have been her ticket out of this town, and breaking the NDA would spoil it all. It's tough to crush a girl's dreams but lives are at stake. Her parents sent over a scan of the agreement they have with the studio. Unfortunately the film is just listed as 'Untitled Stephen King Adaptation' on the contract at the moment, either for secrecy or for creative reasons. The bulk of the contract is just legalese describing Rachel's rights as a cast member and pay scale etc. etc. The only thing of particular note is a section that looks like a waiver her parents had to sign, stating that they consent to their child being in a film with violent and sexual content, reserving their right to refusal once they see the script."

The chief glugs down his glass of whiskey and pours himself another. "This is good work folks, I believe you are putting the pieces together and you've established some good connections between these victims. Let's do our best to make sure there aren't any more."

Laura Hunt

#362
"In the middle of this all" could refer to the literal center of the map, i.e., Kerry.

It also seems that if we join Weepy Grove, Ender's Copse, Sarsdale, Armstrong/Aldrin Walk and back to Weepy Grove, Kerry also falls kind of in the middle of the resulting shape?

Might be worth a try, but I'm scared of calling it a potential solution. Anybody else think we should send someone to Kerry? (We've checked it before and there was nothing then, but maybe there is now.)


Edit: is there some way we could look into who else in town might have been contacted by this studio / casting agent? If more people auditioned for the movie, those are probably the other potential victims.

Edit 2: the "middle of this all" could maybe also be Cunningham Centre? And when he says "will you rise to the challenge or will you fall" -> Sallynoggin Heights? Too many possibilities make sense!

heltenjon

Quote from: Laura Hunt on Wed 08/07/2020 09:54:32
"In the middle of this all" could refer to the literal center of the map, i.e., Kerry.

It also seems that if we join Weepy Grove, Ender's Copse, Sarsdale, Armstrong/Aldrin Walk and back to Weepy Grove, Kerry also falls kind of in the middle of the resulting shape?

Might be worth a try, but I'm scared of calling it a potential solution. Anybody else think we should send someone to Kerry? (We've checked it before and there was nothing then, but maybe there is now.)


Edit: is there some way we could look into who else in town might have been contacted by this studio / casting agent? If more people auditioned for the movie, those are probably the other potential victims.

Edit 2: the "middle of this all" could maybe also be Cunningham Centre? And when he says "will you rise to the challenge or will you fall" -> Sallynoggin Heights? Too many possibilities make sense!
All your suggestions make sense to me. And here are some more:

I don't think there are any more kidnappings, at least. We would have been told from the suspect. But we don't really know which locations we should count, if we are looking for a shape/pattern. If we only take the three spots where we have found victims into account, "the middle" of that triangle (the Aldrin/Armstrong Walks - Ender's Copse - Weepy Grove) would be somewhere north of Torrent's Crescent. I don't know if "rising" or "falling" can be used about torrents or the moon - I'll leave that to the squad members with English as first language. But a crescendo is clearly "rising".

Then again, the "zig and zag" may point at something else than the central point.

Laura Hunt

Quote from: heltenjon on Wed 08/07/2020 12:58:05
I don't think there are any more kidnappings, at least. We would have been told from the suspect. But we don't really know which locations we should count, if we are looking for a shape/pattern. If we only take the three spots where we have found victims into account, "the middle" of that triangle (the Aldrin/Armstrong Walks - Ender's Copse - Weepy Grove) would be somewhere north of Torrent's Crescent. I don't know if "rising" or "falling" can be used about torrents or the moon - I'll leave that to the squad members with English as first language. But a crescendo is clearly "rising".

"Crescendo/crescent" (and "croissant"!) come from "grow", not "rise". But maybe our suspect does not care about such linguistic nitpickings :-D In any case yeah, the moon definitely rises and torrents fall, so maybe Torrent's Crescent is our place!

Quote
Then again, the "zig and zag" may point at something else than the central point.

Yeah, it's just too eye-catching. On the other hand, maybe they just chose the words for their rhyme? I feel like we have too many possible avenues of investigation here...


JackPutter

The officer on duty at the front desk goes into the chief's office, carrying a parcel. Muffled shouting is heard, and moments later the officer leaves, looking a bit sickly. The chief throws the parcel out onto the floor, spilling the contents.

A scrap of torn shirt material, with the word "PIGS" scrawled on it in what appears to be blood. The chief comes out from his office, head in his hands. "I don't think we can rule out there being another kidnap victim. Get this down to forensics IMMEDIATELY for testing."

Ian Aloser

I bet it turns out to be pig blood.
That would lead to Carrie/Kerry

Mandle

Chief, is it possible to get an updated map of the area with the EXACT sites of the crime scenes to date marked on it?

Ian Aloser

#368
Very good Mandle, i was just drawing lines from one crime scene to the other.
Guess you did it, too and encountered the same problem :-))
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Here the locations and victims in chronological order for clarity:

Where ?                                        Who/What ?
Armstrong/Aldrin Walk                   Rachel Edison
Sarsdale                                       Garret Hawthorne     
Ender's Copse                               Deborah & Tommy Hawthorne
Weepy Grove                                Alex Pelton
Barrymore Place                            Poster found (Try again)

heltenjon

If the perp wants to harm the production, likely targets could be the star(s), the producer, the director or the writer. And we don't know any of them...

mkennedy

#370
Ask the legal experts about enforcing NDAs during a criminal investigation. But if we ask the boy's parents to hand over all material relating to the film he might get in trouble. Plus they would likely challenge it considering they are lawyers.

Mandle

Quote from: Ian Aloser on Wed 08/07/2020 15:05:56
Very good Mandle, i was just drawing lines from one crime scene to the other.
Guess you did it, too and encountered the same problem :-))
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[close]

That map looks conclusive enough to me! I'd say Kerry (especially with the connection to "Carrie" and the bloody fabric) is certainly the next location!

heltenjon

Very well, we might check out Kerry.

Chief, do you have that contract? I guess we can find out from that whether the studio is called "Intrepid" or "Endeavour" or whatever and possibly the producer of the movie? We should approach them about the case and warn any prominent people from the production who may be in the area. We would very much like to know what they are making that could provoke our nut so much. Are they planning to make a pornographic adaptation or what?

JackPutter

Nervous about what they might encounter, Sergeant Pangborn and Officer Leland head out to Kerry to see if anything unusual has appeared since the last time the area was searched. They find nothing, giving them mixed feelings, since they are disappointed they couldn't rescue any victims but are relieved that there were no life-threatening traps.

The chief slaps a sheet of paper onto the corner desk of the bullpen. "Rachel's parents just sent us a scanned version of her contract. I don't know how much helpful information is included, but every little helps. Her NDA appears to be a different document."

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"Our lawyers say that if we go to court, the NDAs aren't binding, and we'd be able to subpoena the information without any trouble. Even Alex's parents would concede to that. Trouble is, we can't wait for this to go through the court system. We need to get as much info as we can NOW, and I feel we'd be chasing our tails trying to squeeze these details from them. We've got a goddamn maniac to apprehend! They've kidnapped and tortured innocent people, tried to kill our officers, they called us pigs for Christ's sake! This asshole needs to be behind bars!

"I have the IT folks working on a map with the GPS coordinates of each crime. In the meantime, keep looking at that note for hidden locations!"


Mandle

QuoteLet'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, are you sad?
You sneaky clever little pigs,
Won't catch me as I zag and zig.
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 centre of my world,
Soon my finale will be unfurled.

"This could very well have a location hidden in it, so let's not lose sight of the fat that this criminal is probably still out there kidnapping people and setting up traps. Here's the map again for reference.

Spoiler
[close]

I think we are way off course and that the clue must be somewhere contained within these two references.

Ian Aloser's map looked sure to be the solution but it was not.

We need to throw away our various theories and reexamine the source.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Ian Aloser

#376
Dammit....
Officer Laura's suggestion "Torrent's Crescent" makes a lot of sense, too.
Just a thought : Could the TBD in the production's locations of the contract
have a second meaning? I looked it up but couldn't find anything except "Torpedo boat destroyer" or
a British railway station :-))
And let us not forget the game rules about bringing the target to safety and catching the criminal.

And : Did the lab's results of the blood on the cloth reveal anything ?
EDIT: Wouldn‘t it make sense to find out who‘s behind the company
„INTREPID PICTURES“ ?
EDIT: Still wondering about the zig zag , so i made a typical zigzag pattern of the known locations,
which would lead us to Cunningham Centre (In the middle of it all )
However, Torrent's Crescents might apply as well, Rise or Fall could be related to the waning and waxing moon,
visible to us as a crescent. and it could also be the center of the rectangle as seen in the second picture

I believe it's one of the two, got no better idea ....
Spoiler



[close]
Oops, posted while there was an update, so Torrent's Crescent is obsolete....


JackPutter

Officers White and Collins, happy to be back on patrol together, do a thorough search of Torrent's Crescent, but unfortunately find nothing of note.

The IT department use GPS coordinates recorded by the officers at each of the crime scenes, and put together this map of the exact crime scenes:

Spoiler
[close]

The forensics report on the "PIGS" scrap of torn material reveals that the DNA recovered from the blood matches a man called Daniel Wiseman. He has a record for soliciting a prostitute in the San Fernando Valley out in California. Phone calls have been made to his listed address, but have received no answer.

Laura Hunt

Quote from: JackPutter on Thu 09/07/2020 16:55:50
Officers White and Collins, happy to be back on patrol together, do a thorough search of Torrent's Crescent, but unfortunately find nothing of note.

ffs XD

Quote from: JackPutter on Thu 09/07/2020 16:55:50The forensics report on the "PIGS" scrap of torn material reveals that the DNA recovered from the blood matches a man called Daniel Wiseman. He has a record for soliciting a prostitute in the San Fernando Valley out in California. Phone calls have been made to his listed address, but have received no answer.

Hey, what about the blood that the first victim, the one who was buried alive, was covered in? We never got the results of the analysis for that, so I guess it wasn't relevant?

Ian Aloser

#379
Ok, you might think I'm crazy, but here's what I did (see picture)
I created a line (1)  from Ender's Copse to Sarsdale, then a line (2) from Sarsdale to Weepy Grove.
Based upon the ZigZag-idea, I then created a line from Sarsdale to Armstrong/Aldrin Walk (4)
Next I created a line (M,) from Weepy Grove to the exact center of line 4 (In the middle of this all).
Next I mirrored lines 1 and 2 about line M and landed in Sheldonville.
The lines in yellow are a bit hard to see, there is no way to modify the color.
It may be wrong, but I still believe that the line Let's count the ways one two three has a deeper meaning.
Spoiler


[close]
Just a suggestion after having failed so miserably in Torrent's Crescent ....
EDIT: The only alternative according to the Zig Zag theory would be Sallynoggin Heights
This is NOT a potential solution yet !!

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