CTI: Crime Team Investigation

[Ian Aloser]

Definitely worth a try !
One could relate the warhammer to the judge‘s gavel,
but this is rather vague....
I must admit that I am totally clueless for now..
I guess we still got a little time to save the person
from getting killed.
I already aimed at Van Cortland in my reply to
the first letter, but to no avail :-)

Let's see what our unit says when it returns from Throggs Neck

[Mandle]

I am 99,99% sure that only places marked on
the map are potential crime sites

Only places that can be seen on the map are potential sites, but they don't necessarily have to be named.

No googling of outside-the-game info about New York City should be required though.

Oh, and nothing was discovered by the unit that went to Throggs Neck.

(OFFICIAL UPDATE)

Also including the map here again for ease of reference:

Spoiler

[close]

[heltenjon]

Okay, Van Cortlandt can be the guv'nor, right? If we draw a line from LaGuardia to Van Cortlandt, we cross over Kingsbridge, which does not seem to be a bridge, but
with poetic licence it's close enough. I have no idea if the rest of the clues match up, though.

It seems wrong that the killer should target an internet troll if he's going after the bad eggs in the judicial system.

Captain, may I please search the Kingsbridge area?

[Cassiebsg]

I don't think he's chasseing the "bad eggs in the judicial system". He's after people that have committed "crimes" and got away with it, mostly because the crime can't be legally proven.

I'm currently out of ideas about theories. 

[Ian Aloser]

I think heltenjon is right!
JackPutter already mentioned the missing "park" behind Van Cortlandt
All conditions met :
Van Cortlandt, who was governor of NY, a guv'nor
Kingsbridge lies on a line betwixt LaGuardia airport and Van Cortlandt,
LaGuardia is the bird's nest ( Great guess, Laura )and the (troll/toll) bridge
is found in the name.
I would not have found out this one in a million years !

@Cassiebsg: I agree with you, the Justice Killer is probably
a disillusioned judge, who has been swinging his gavel in vain
for a long time ....
@heltenjon: Make it a Potential Solution!!!

[Mandle]

Okay, Van Cortlandt can be the guv'nor, right? If we draw a line from LaGuardia to Van Cortlandt, we cross over Kingsbridge, which does not seem to be a bridge, but
with poetic licence it's close enough. I have no idea if the rest of the clues match up, though.

It seems wrong that the killer should target an internet troll if he's going after the bad eggs in the judicial system.

Captain, may I please search the Kingsbridge area?

The police chief also agrees that this is a brilliant and exciting lead!!!
Several squad cars head out to Kingsbridge, lights flashing and sirens wailing!
Everyone is surprised when it turns out to be a dead-end.

(And, yeah, it's best if you put your solution with a bolded "POTENTIAL SOLUTION:" in front. I won't ignore requests for area checks if they don't have it, but I may miss them.)

(OFFICIAL UPDATE)

[Stupot]

Google Sensei tells me that there was no NY governor called Van Cortlandt, but the first lieutenant governor did have that name, and a couple of his ancestors were mayors.

I also wonder if we shouldn’t be focusing so hard on bridges.

(Sorry I typed the above before Mandle’s update but neglected to press send).

[heltenjon]

Back to throwing out thoughts. To bully "those that are buried" may also mean to speak ill of the dead. I don't know if any of the cemeteries in NY is famous enough to qualify in this regard, so the only other options I can think of that are marked on the map, would be Grant's tomb or the 9/11 sites. The last one had a significant death toll, but that may be reading too much into the hints.

Guv'nor may mean any man in a position of power. However, I think the Governor's island is our best bet at the moment. The actual governor of NY doesn't reside in the area marked on the map. It could have been some famous statue of a "guv'nor", but none such is marked on the map.

Officer Stupot points to the word "stay". One stays in hospitals or hotels...any other uses?

Do we have any other potential meanings of "bird's nest" than the Statue of Liberty and the airports? Do any of the sites on the map contain bird names?

I still feel like the troll and toll points to a bridge of some sort, so it feels wrong to suggest a potential solution that doesn't involve it. But based on the above, I'd
like to ask the chief for permission to check out the area of Kings County Medical Center, as it is a place to stay located between JFK airport and Governor's island. (I'll be so admonished for chasing these wild geese.)

Breaking the fourth wall again: Mandle, are all the clues we need in the poem? Do we need to find additional hints in the letter about our attempt to solve the crossword, or may we safely ignore it?

[Mandle]

I still feel like the troll and toll points to a bridge of some sort, so it feels wrong to suggest a potential solution that doesn't involve it. But based on the above, I'd
like to ask the chief for permission to check out the area of Kings County Medical Center, as it is a place to stay located between JFK airport and Governor's island.

Breaking the fourth wall again: Mandle, are all the clues we need in the poem? Do we need to find additional hints in the letter about our attempt to solve the crossword, or may we safely ignore it?

Nothing shows up at Kings County Medical Center after the search by officers.

(I will break the fourth wall to clarify game rules, but not to offer hints. I feel that would detract too much from the feeling of satisfaction when a clue is solved.)

[Ian Aloser]

Oooooffff......
I have to digest this first, i would have
placed any bet on heltenjon's guess.

[Stupot]

Potential solutionOfficers, ‘toll’ refers to a church or cathedral? The only such place visible on the map is The Church Cathedral of saint John the Divine. The “nest” could be the bell tower. Plus some people might be buried there. I doubt it has much of a graveyard but sometimes these religious buildings usually have a crypt, if not some dead saints under the flagstones.

Also, who is “The Guv’ner” but the big man upstairs. Birds could refer to angels, who fly up to the big house in the sky.

[Mandle]

The police chief says "Well, it's as good a bet as any at this point." and units head out to the church. They report back empty-handed.

The police chief orders everyone into his office.

You all expect his usual fire-and-brimstone tirade, but are shocked to see him slumped behind his desk looking older and more defeated than you have ever seen him.

He says, in a tired tone, "We're getting nowhere. Pour back over all the thoughts you've had on this one so far, right back from the moment we got the last letter from this piece of shit. You are all the best minds we have on this but even you might have missed something."

The compliment scares you.

As you leave, you look back over your shoulder and see the chief with two fingers on his wrist, taking his own pulse with a creased brow, and that scares you even worse.

[heltenjon]

The only lead I can see that we haven't tried out, is officer Laura Hunt's thoughts about the Statue of Liberty. Potential solution again, then. Let's check out the waters between Governor's Island and The Statue of Liberty.

[Ian Aloser]

I got an idea as well, but i am well aware that i'm walking on thin ice with this one:
Potential solution:
Could troll be related to the troll queen?
Queens wear crowns and if you look on the map, you will find Crown Heights
on the way between JFK airport and Governors Island.
Birds/Planes fly in heights.....
So captain, instead of sitting in the office, could we send out a unit to Crown Heights ?
@heltenjon: I don't understand the link to the Statue of Liberty ....

[heltenjon]

I am a loser - The link to the statue is that it may be the bird's nest. (A theory from Laura Hunt early on.) The troll link is weak - perhaps a troll net in the sea?

I'm aware that I cannot propose any new solutions right now, but I wonder...do we have an IT-departement or a cyber unit of some kind? Another way of investigating this in the real world would be to try to find internet trolls who match the description within the area and cross-reference with missing persons. I don't know if this would
be doable in our timeframe, though. Garcia on Criminal Minds does it in five minutes, but I suspect she's one of a kind.

I also read the words from the police chief as an in-game suggestion to concentrate on the latest letter and not go back to the one we got when we had some errors in the
crossword solution. Just as well - this is difficult enough as it is.

[Ian Aloser]

I am totally clueless
I agree with you that we should refer
to the last letter, not the one before
Maybe the clue is not hidden in the poem
but in the text above it, maybe even in BINGO
in capital letters .....
Questions over questions, problem is that
we‘re running out of time and of fuel for our cars :-))

[Stupot]

Just bring the letter and map to the current page.

Hello,

BINGO!!!

I have seen my crossword puzzle solved in the newspaper, and we came to understand a lot more about each other as well, I'm sure, during the process.

My next victim is not dead yet, but will be soon.

Here is your next hint in the form of a poem:

"Online, she bullied,
Those that are buried.
She was a troll,
Which is why her toll,
Will be paid,
Beneath where she stayed,
Where the birds fly over,
Betwixt their nest and the guv'nor."

Yours Sincerely,
Justice Killer.

Here is the map of New York City the police received in the first letter for ease of reference:

Spoiler

[close]

[Mandle]

Nothing turned up in Crown Heights or in the waters between Governors Island and the Statue Of Liberty.

(All other departments, such as cyber-crime etc. are working on the case as well but no information so far that is usable.)

(OFFICIAL UPDATE)

Also including the map here again for ease of reference:

Spoiler

[close]

(Cheers to Stupot for including the map again just before I did)

[Ian Aloser]

Just another thought :
Could it be that the map has changed in some way ?
Maybe a new location on it ?

[Mandle]

Just another thought :
Could it be that the map has changed in some way ?
Maybe a new location on it ?

The map you are seeing is the original one the police received from Justice Killer in the first-ever letter. It has not changed.