|
Is Edgar Joslin, the jewellery shop proprietor, in the directory?
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2020 23:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 04:48 |
|
|
Directory (Joslin) Jordan, Kent .........................................40 EC Joslin, Edgar .......................................79 WC Joyce, Dick .............................................. 76 E As well, the category listing for Jewellers: A. Marx & Co .......................................36 SE Carrington & Co .............................33 WC De Vries Diamonds .........................34 SW Gross & Hankey’s ............................90 NW J.W. Benson Ltd ................................17 NW Lambert’s ............................................88 SW Ortner & Houle ...............................75 WC R.S. Garrard & Co .............................44 EC Rowlands & Frazier ........................40 NW I half-wonder if the jewel thefts are maybe related to another criminal that escaped on Sunday, or if they are looking for a particular item.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2020 00:20
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 47 EC Lloyd Perkins 10:30 a.m. *time-controlled* (10 a.m. - 12 noon) This is the first clue we've had that occurs at a particular time. Arriving at a different time might give us a different clue, as suggested in the content of the clue itself. “Ah, Wiggins, good to see you again. You got my note?” "Yes." “Good! I can’t talk to you now. I have an appointment that I must prepare for. Could you come back later to-day or first thing in the morning before I go to the bank?” “I'll try.” “Good! I think you and Holmes will find what I have to tell you very interesting.” (10 Minutes) Current Time: 10:40 I'm fairly sure we are not expected to know this person, it just suggests that he and Wiggins have a history for some reason. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Current Votes 5 Mycroft Holmes 2 Henry Cole's house
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2020 18:00
|
|
|
I should have put it in the Day 2 morning briefing, but the directory listings for Vincent Derrick and Lloyd Perkins do not give any additional names. Lloyd Perkins is 47 EC (just visited), and Derrick is 90 EC, as on the return address. Also noticed for the first time that the 221 uses capital I instead of lower-case l. Revising my vote to Vincent Derrick Mycroft Holmes (Diogenes Club) Henry Cole Worthingdon Bank Lloyd Perkins (if after 1 p.m.) The description regarding Mycroft is that he spends the entire day in Whitehall but is also somehow at the Diogenes Club whenever we need him, so time shouldn't be an issue. I think visiting Porky Johnson, the underworld contact, could prove helpful in digging up dirt on what these breweries are up to. The jewel shop might be worth visiting eventually as well. Kangra fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Nov 4, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2020 18:03
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 90 EC Vincent Derrick | Arnold Shank 10:55 a.m. “I am sorry, Mr. Derrick no longer lives here. He’s dead you know.” “Did you know him?” “No. We bought this house from his widow." “Do you know where she now lives?” “Yes. If you’ll wait a moment I will get her address.” Mrs. Rindgold is gone for only a moment. “Here they are. Mrs. Derrick now lives at fifty Ossulton-street. Her daughter, Miss Rose Derrick, lives at sixty Sloane-street. They were both living here at the time of Mr. Derrick’s death.” “Thank you.” (10 Minutes) Current Time: 11:05 Is there something to the fact that Arnold Shank lives in the same location? Hard to know at this point. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Current Votes 4 Mycroft Holmes (Diogenes Club) 3 Henry Cole 2 Worthingdon Bank 1 Lloyd Perkins (if after 1 p.m.) It's not too late to vote now for up to five choices.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2020 21:35
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 8 SW Diogenes Club 11:35 a.m. “Mr. Holmes is at the Parliament all day to-day. I do not expect him until this evening.” (5 Minutes) Current Time: 11:40 This is not time-controlled, so it really just means we're getting no help from Mycroft on this one. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Current Votes 3 Henry Cole 2 Worthingdon Bank 1 Lloyd Perkins (if after 1 p.m.) Make a choice for up to five clue locations to visit now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 20:24
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 77 EC Henry Cole 11:55 a.m. Thomas Cole receives us in the drawing room of his father’s home. His eyes are red and his sorrow is easily read on his face. “I have been up all night trying to understand what happened and I can’t make any sense out of it. know father and Ormond did not like each other, but murder? I can’t believe it.” “Your father and Ormond were working together as I understand it.” “Yes, they were both on the Royal Commission studying the brewing industry. Their report was to go to Parliament next month when the debate starts on the Brewery Bill.” “Do you have any idea why Ormond would want to murder your father?” “No, not at all. Like I said, they didn’t like each other, but they have worked together in the past. They were grown men, not children.” “Do you know why they did not get along?” “Many reasons. Politics mainly. They were both members of Parliament in the sixties and my father was instrumental in keeping him out of the Cabinet. I don’t know the details.” “Who else was on the commission?” “Sir Wystan Darte, Arnold Shank, and Glenn Judson.” (30 Minutes) Current Time: 11:40 I was hoping for more on the murder, but we got some names. Arnold Shank shows up again as well. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Current Votes 2 Worthingdon Bank 1 Lloyd Perkins (if after 1 p.m.) Votes can be placed for where to visit next, although the next clue will be decided on Monday, not tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 17:33
|
|
|
I admit to flailing a bit here. We have lots of leads on brewery shenanigans but nothing on our actual case, the missing journalist. I suppose we should add all the committee members to our list of people to visit. And the jeweller.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 17:47
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 56 SW Wystan Darte 12:40 p.m. “Terrible affair! Terrible affair!” Sir Wystan Darte is in his late forties; five-feet, ten-inches in height; and weighs two hundred and eighty pounds. His ruddy complexion seems to be turning redder the more he recounts his experiences with Cole and Ormond. “The Parliamentary Commission was established to come up with recommendations for a new Beer Law. From the start, what was thought to be a very simple process turned into a pitched battle. Most unpleasant affair all around.” “Can you tell us about it?” “You say you work for Holmes? Everything I tell you will be kept confidential?” “Yes, we can guarantee that.” “Good. I don’t want to be responsible for more gossip. Have you read Pike’s column? What trash! From the very beginning there was dissension on the committee and it did revolve around Cole and Ormond. Their views were in opposition to each other, but remember, what our commission came up with were merely recommendations to Parliament, not the Law itself, and we all knew that. Ormond wanted the complete prohibition of alcohol. Cole wanted tighter controls and higher taxes. Both Cole and Ormond are M.P.’s and are used to debating different points of view on issues. There were other positions as well. Arnold Shank, the brewer, wanted fewer controls and lower taxes. Glenn Judson of Theakston’s was concerned with competition from abroad and wanted import taxes raised. I have no strong views on the issue, but I want to see a good, well-balanced law that will benefit the public as a whole. This is a very complex issue.” “So you don’t see the murder as being related to their work on the committee?" “No. There may have been personal antagonism between them that I was unaware of. I was not close to them personally. The big conflict on the committee was between Shank and Ormond. Obviously a brewer and a prohibitionist don’t have many things in common when it comes to how society should approach the regulation of alcohol.” “When was the last time you saw Cole and Ormond?” “I saw Reggie Wednesday. We, the commission that is, had planned to meet for lunch at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. But Henry never showed. The rest of us were there, and the meeting was much the same as usual. It ended with Reggie and Shank just short of blows.” “Thank you, Sir Wystan. You can rely on our discretion.” (30 Minutes) Current Time: 1:10 p.m. Well that was more useful, at least somewhat. Directory Look-up Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese...............34 EC Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Current Votes 4 Arnold Shank (90 EC) 3 Glenn Judson (80 WC) 2 Edgar Joslin (79 WC) 2 Worthingdon Bank 1 Lloyd Perkins (if after 1 p.m.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2020 19:25
|
|
|
My own thoughts at this point: Darte was probably the best source to go to from those commission members. It seems very likely that Ormond has nothing to do with this, and Shank is responsible for the murder. We've already spoken with Glenn Judson (at the brewery), and you almost never get anything useful by talking to the criminal themselves. At this point we want to get more detail on the underworld connections, so I'm in favor of Porky Johnson's pub to see who we might want to go to. I also think Edgar Joslin is a good choice, to see if the jewel thefts are a pattern. Then, I think Worthingdon Bank to see what they say about Perkins, assuming that's the bank he's talking about. I wonder if Balfour had spoken with him on the phone, or someone else. e: Just realized that 'Pike's column' is meaning Langdale Pike, our contact. Replacing my vote here with Langdale Pike since he may have more background on Shank. I'll push back the time to re-visit Perkins to 2 p.m. just in case there's a two-hour window for his meeting. Finally, the insurance on the Balfour jewels might also be a lead, so I'll toss a vote to Pearl Insurance. I'm a bit stumped on Kearney as well, but we are expected to solve some of these connected cases to crack the whole thing, so I don't see it as a major problem yet. Kangra fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Nov 9, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2020 21:27
|
|
|
The above choices sound reasonable, so seconded.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2020 06:56
|
|
|
Kangra posted:I'm a bit stumped on Kearney as well, but we are expected to solve some of these connected cases to crack the whole thing, so I don't see it as a major problem yet. This is where I am stuck. I'm not quite sure what our case IS and therefore where we should focus our efforts. I'll third your pick and see what new information comes up, I'm just not sure what our objective is beyond "locate Kearney, preferably safe and sound". How will the game "score" ? Is there a set of questions at the end similar to the smaller cases?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2020 11:53
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 52 EC Raven & Rat Inn 1:25 p.m. “Give us a round, Porky,” says Wiggins as we all take a place at the bar “Any news?” “Nothing on Kearney,” replies Porky as he places drinks in front of us. “But I'll keep asking around.” “Thanks. Have you heard anything about the Balfour jewels?” “That’s the main topic of discussion around here. Everyone is trying to figure out who could have pulled it off. No one has an answer that I've heard. Have you heard of Lenny Woods?”’ “Is he the one who pulled the Fanshaw heist?” “Yes. I think he’s still in Millbank, but rumour has it that he’s one of the few men who would have the skill for this job.” “But, if he is in prison—" “He could still have planned it, Wiggins. I'm just telling you what I have heard.” “Oh, I appreciate it, Porky, believe me, I appreciate it,” assures Wiggins. “Have you heard any rumours concerning the Cole murder?” “Not a word.” “What about Peter Northrup? Any word on him?” “A few things. He was seen in Southwark Monday. He wasn’t alone.” “Who was he with?” “Don’t know. Hear he was in Southwark to see his wife.” “I would think that the police would have her under surveillance?” “It’s not too hard to shake them. You know that.” “Where was he seen?” “Having tea at the Bridge House Hotel. Pretty brassy, what?” “Yes, but a hotel is a good meeting spot. Most people are strangers to each other and they don’t pry. Anything else?” “No.” “Give us another round then, Porky, before we hit the dusty streets again,” says Wiggins as he lays two bob on the counter. (30 Minutes) Current Time: 1:55 p.m. Curiously, nothing on the Ormond case or dealing with the breweries. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Current Votes 12 Edgar Joselin 9 Langdale Pike 6 Lloyd Perkins (after 2 p.m.) 3 Pearl Assurance (86 EC)
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2020 19:00
|
|
|
Loxbourne posted:This is where I am stuck. I'm not quite sure what our case IS and therefore where we should focus our efforts. I'll third your pick and see what new information comes up, I'm just not sure what our objective is beyond "locate Kearney, preferably safe and sound". There is a set of questions, though I don't think they are weighted the way other cases were. I'm not sure of all of them, and I know that the questions themselves have spoilers for a few more events that are going to happen. I'm pretty sure that by the start of Day 4 I can review them and should be able to post which cases to focus on. (I think the game gives us hints in various forms but it's kind of hard to know, which is one of the flaws of a big case set like this. It seems to be why Gumshoe was a flop; it went on for more days and didn't explain which of the many cases needed to be solved or when.) e: In fact, our conversation with Porky is kind of one of those hints, if I'm not mistaken. Doesn't mean that those are the only cases to focus on, though. Kangra fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Nov 10, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2020 19:05
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 79 WC Edgar Joselin 2:10 p.m. “Mr. Joslin would be at Lambert’s, his jewelry shop.” (5 minutes) Current Time: 2:15 p.m. Eh, there was good reason to believe he might have stayed home today. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC) Current Votes 9 Langdale Pike 6 Lloyd Perkins (after 2 p.m.) 3 Pearl Assurance (86 EC) I think it's time to do another clue review, consider our objectives, and maybe what retractions we might want. Voting is still open for any locations to visit now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2020 19:02
|
|
|
Apologies for the lack of an update today. I've been a bit behind in work after last week's election, and then a plumbing emergency over the weekend set things back a bit more, and it's catching up to me now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2020 00:16
|
|
|
Day 1 Clues Wormwood Cricket Ground (72 QP) 0915, 15' Liberator Building Society (11 QP) 0945, 30' Aberdeen Shipping Company (26 EC) 1105, 5' Pall Mall Gazette (90 SW) 1135, 25' Pinkerton's (24 NW) 1155, 45' Queen's Park Temperance Society (37 QP) 1240, 20' Alice Gardner (3 NW) 1315, 30' Daniel Oliver (85 EC) 1400, 45' Office of Records/Land Records (14 WC) 1500, 45' Wormwood Prison/Warden (71 QP) 1600, 45' House & Land Investment (56 QP) 1700, 20' Lord Goodwin (73 NW) 1740, 5' Franklin Kearney (83 WC) 1755, 30' Marylebone Cricket Club (48 NW) 1840, 90' Parson & Sons Toy Shoppe (18 NW) 2025, 15' Clive Dornin (34 NW) 2055, 15' Balfour Mansion (50 SW) 2125, 60' Day 2 Clues Theakston's Brewery (95 QP) 0915, 30' Glenn Judson, the owner, says he's not especially affected by Balfour's decision to keep pubs out of his developments. He points a finger at the Shank brothers (also brewery owners) and says he suspects them of foul play when dealing with competition. He says he doesn't have any idea of what the brewery commission will say, and his politics are more about keeping out government interference than the moral issues. Lloyd Perkins (47 EC) 1030*, 10' Perkins says he has to prepare for an 'appointment' and that we should come back late or first thing in the morning, before he 'goes to the bank'. Vincent Derrick (90 EC) 1055, 10' The landlady informs us that the occupants (Derrick's family) have moved; Mrs. Derrick to 50 Ossulton-St and Miss Rose to 60 Sloane-St. Mycroft Holmes (8 SW) 1135, 5' Mycroft is busy and unavailable. Henry Cole (77 EC) 1155, 30' Thomas Cole, Sir Henry's son, cannot believe that Ormond would have gone so far as to murder his father, despite the fact that the two disliked each other. Both were on the brewery commission with Wystan Darte, Glenn Judson, and Arnold Shank. Wystan Darte (56 SW) 1240, 30' He gives his opinion on where the commission members stood: Ormond in favor of prohibition, Cole favored taxes & controls, Shank opposed taxes & controls, Judson was concerned about foreign competition, and Darte himself wanted a balanced law that would benefit the public. He felt the key conflict was between Shank and Ormond, not Cole and Ormond. He last saw Ormond on Wednesday, when all of the commission members met for lunch (Henry failed to show), and the meeting ended with Ormond and Shank nearly coming to blows. Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC) 1325, 30' Porky gives us the rundown on some of our cases: Kearney - heard nothing Balfour Jewels - possibly planned by Lenny Woods, currently in Millbank Henry Cole - heard nothing Peter Northrup - was seen in Southwark at Bridge House Hotel having tea on Monday Edgar Joselin (79 WC) We are informed that Joselin is at the jewelry shop. It's currently around 2:15 p.m. on Day 2 (Thursday). Given this clue set, are there any clues that we should retract to give us another place to visit, either on Day 1 or Day 2?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2020 08:24
|
|
|
Here's my thoughts on the current 'cases' we are presented with: Franklin Kearney If he's been killed and someone was searching his room, then it seems like someone was trying to silence him and wanted to make sure he didn't have anything incriminating. All signs point to Balfour in this instance. However, it seems a bit more likely that he hasn't died, and was the one who broke into his own rooms. That means either he is fearing for his life for some reason, or he's trying to make a getaway. I suppose the question in the first case is why he got suddenly spooked now. He told his fiancee he was planning something; maybe he needed to be in disguise but again, why disappear in such a fashion? If he had to break into his own house, that suggests whatever he's doing is taking longer than expected. That possibly is related to the jewel theft and the break-ins. I also wonder if maybe he was the person meeting with Northrup on Monday, but that's kind of a random guess really. We still don't know anything about the green 'betting slips', or when/why he got involved in looking into Balfour. Best leads: Stock Market, Bridge House Hotel?, Bon Marché? Balfour Jewels One possibility is that the jewels were not the main target; in fact they were after the business documents that Balfour 'removed' to his office. Or this is insurance fraud, but we don't know much either way. Best leads: Pearl Assurance, Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods Lambert's Jewellery Shop It's not clear if this is relevant to the Balfour Jewels, or just a random robbery. Best leads: Lambert's Henry Cole There's a strong suggestion, if Judson and Darte can be trusted, that Shank is setting up Ormond to ensure that he's off the commission. Murder seems extreme, though, so there may be some particular reason Cole was targeted instead of Ormond himself. Best leads: L. Pike, Ormond?, Shank? Peter Northrup We have a fair idea that he was sprung as part of Moriarty's plan. We don't know to what end, however. There's also something going on with the cricket club itself, as relating to Balfour. It seems there's an underground war going on with Moriarty on one side and Balfour on the other, maybe. Best leads: Bridge House Hotel, Wormwood Prison? Vincent Derrick As said, I don't want to say too much, although I am actually seeing some possible additional details now that I'm looking at it again. But we haven't really made much headway here. Best leads: Mrs. Derrick (widow), Rose Derrick (daughter) edited to add Derrick Kangra fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Nov 13, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2020 08:42
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 2 SW Langdale Pike 2:30 p.m. *(after 12 noon) We find Langdale Pike seated in an overstuffed chair with an unusually large audience. Langdale notices us as we work our way towards him. “Ah, Wiggins. Your presence must mean that Holmes is again in need of my help. Here, sit down next to me." Langdale removes his feet from the hassock and beckons Wiggins to sit. “I look upon it as my civic duty to help Holmes when he needs it. I assume you are here for information on the murder of Sir Henry Cole. Of course you are.” "Well..." “Well, I am most certainly the one to fill you in on Cole and Ormond. When I was a young man and was just starting my career as a reporter, one of the first stories I covered was the Ormond Scandal, as we in the press called it. This would have been in sixty-seven, Wiggins, a little before your time. “Ormond was the darling of the Conservatives, Disraeli’s right-hand man. Cole was a member of the Liberal Party. Both were M.P.s from London and on the opposite side of every issue. There was little doubt that Disraeli was going to be the next P.M. and that his choice for Home Secretary was Ormond. Cole could not accept this and set out to destroy Ormond. He couldn’t do it politically, so he attacked Ormond on a personal level. He had more than enough ammunition at hand. Ormond was a wealthy young man who loved women. He had married Agnes Duff, who, ironically, was a cousin of Henry Cole. Even after his marriage he continued to lead a wild life. His escapades kept the press in stories, most of them harmless enough, all but one. “Ormond apparently fell in love with Lady Bradford, passionately in love. Indeed, there was even talk of divorce and elopement. But such steps, which would have placed the lovers beyond the pale of society, were fortunately never taken. For Ormond discovered that Lady Bradford was not content with his attentions alone, while Lady Bradford found out that Agnes Ormond was pregnant, and as Agnes’ morals were beyond reproach, there could be little doubt that Ormond was the father. “Enraged by the evidence that her lover had not abandoned his wife’s bed, Lady Bradford wrote him a letter of furious reproach which arrived at Ormond’s house while he was out of London. His wife, who said that she had been asked to open all his correspondence during his absence, read it with horror. In the letter, Lady Bradford stated that he must leave home immediately and join her, that one of her children was his, that he had no right to beget a child by his wife, and more to that effect. To make a long story Short..." “That’s a new twist,” mumbles Wiggins. “Sorry, Wiggins?” “I said there seem to be a lot of twists to this story.” “You haven’t heard the half of them.” “I'm sure. Please continue.” “Needless to say, the letter got into the hands of Henry Cole, and he made use of it right away. He sent a copy to Disraeli and achieved his desired effect. Ormond was excluded from the party’s inner circle. Cole leaked the story to the press — I know because I got it from him personally. I am surprised that Ormond didn’t kill Cole then.” “What was the outcome of the scandal?”’ “Ormond retained his seat in Parliament, but he changed his lifestyle, went back to his wife and son and appeared to the outside world a dutiful husband. He never again aspired to high public office but became a hard-working and powerful party member, although his power was out of view of the public as a whole.” “Why would Ormond kill Cole now, after all these years?”’ “Who can tell, Wiggins. Maybe you and Holmes can find out and tell me. You will tell me, won’t you?” “If I find out anything that I can tell you, I will. What became of Lady Bradford?” “After Lord Bradford died in eighty-one, she married Jabez Balfour, a man who could handle both her and her wealth.” “The head of the Temperance Society?” “Yes, Jabez is a big advocate of temperance for others. Marion Jabez Balfour is one of London’s largest land developers. He has made himself a fortune, while paying the workingmen eight per cent on the money they have invested in his building society. A powerful man, a Member of Parliament and founder of the Band of Hope Temperance Society.” “Thank you for the information, Pike. We have to leave, but I do have one more question.” “Of course, my boy, what is it?”’ “Have you heard of Franklin Kearney, the sports reporter?” “Sports! No, Wiggins, I know nothing about outdoor sports, or sports writers.” “Thanks again.” “Must you leave, Wiggins? I have a great story about Lord Marcus Carleton.” “Some other time.” “I am sure the others would like to hear it. It seems that Lord Carleton was staying at the P. of W.’s estate and seems to have tip-toed into a dark room and to have leapt joyfully into what he believed to be some obliging lady’s bed, only to find himself in the protesting arms of the Bishop of Chester. When the P. of W. heard...” (1 Hour) Current Time: 3:30 p.m. Quite the story. The connection to Balfour is especially intriguing in light of the jewellery theft. There is potentially the question of whether Balfour acknowledged the child, but that could also just be gossip. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), 1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC), 1325, 30' Edgar Joselin (79 WC), 2:10, 5' Current Votes 6 Lloyd Perkins (after 2 p.m.) 3 Pearl Assurance (86 EC) Voting is still open for clue locations, and also for retractions if we want to revise earlier visit.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2020 17:54
|
|
|
After consideration of the facts, I'll change my votes to: Bridge House Hotel on the off chance that Kearney met with Northrup. I'm starting to think that Kearney's initial disappearance on Monday was partly precipitated by what happened at the cricket match. But he didn't go dark right away, and even was writing the article on it. So it might well have been what the Marylebone club did afterward, especially the two who left the meeting. Perkins may be able to illuminate this matter as well. Lloyd Perkins - should be free now Lambert's Jewellery - might be worth clearing this one way or another Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods - I think more promising than the insurance company right now. Hopefully we can get something from someone else. Tempted to add the other Shank brother to the list on the off chance he's more willing to talk, and maybe it'd be worth it to see if they state something more clearly incriminating. Next clue point will be posted ~ 18 hours.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2020 02:09
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 47 EC Lloyd Perkins / Sporting Times (Forgot to mention it before but these two share an address) 4:00 p.m. *(after 12 noon) Wiggins’ knock brings no response but its force causes the door to swing slowly open. “Mr. Perkins!” calls Wiggins. No answer. The house is deathly still. We move down the hall until we come to a door on the left which is open. We look in and see a body slumped over the desk. “It’s Perkins. He has a bullet hole in his head. Looks pretty dead.” Perkins’ body is slumped over his desk. His head is resting on his left arm; his right hangs straight down at his side and his fingers are only inches from the floor. On the floor directly beneath his fingers lies a gun. Wiggins gets down on his knees and sniffs the barrel of the gun. “It’s been fired recently,” he says as he rises from the floor “No suicide note that I can see. There is a piece of paper in his left hand, but it looks like it’s covered with numbers. Lestrade will kill me, but let’s take a look at it.” Wiggins removes the paper from the dead man’s fingers and spreads it out on the desk.  Wiggins takes out his notebook and makes a copy of the numbers on the paper. The desk appears to have been swept clean. On the floor to the right of the desk is an ink well that has been spilled. Ink is soaking into the rug and covers a London Times that lies nearby. A desk calendar lies alongside. Wiggins picks it up and looks it over. “This is strange, today’s date is missing. The fifth and the seventh are here but not the sixth. Let’s take a look.” Wiggins picks up the calendar and places it on the desk. He looks over the pencils and pens that have also been swept onto the floor and picks one of them up and lightly rubs the lead over the page for September seventh. The light impression shown below appears.  The only other items on the floor are a silver letter opener and a photograph of a young woman in a silver frame. The photo is inscribed with ‘Love, Louella.’ A search of the desk drawers reveals nothing out of the ordinary with the exception of the top left-hand drawer which contains absolutely nothing, not even dust. “We had better get the police,” states Wiggins. Bill goes out to the street to find one. ( 1 Hour 45 Minutes ) Current Time: 5:45 p.m. Okay, welcome to the big clue for today. I knew this was coming at some point, though I wasn't sure if it was actually at Perkins' place or elsewhere. I will say I have a potential solution to the code, but I have a very strong suspicion, especially due to the nature of the code, that there is another message hidden there. That's a bit metagamey, since it's partly based on the earlier cases (Cryptic Corpse) and partly on the idea that this case is presented as a contest. I will post a transcript of the numbers shortly. Aside from the code, we have a few other things of note: The notepad suggests a meeting at 11, consistent with what we saw. This is possibly the person who killed him (Brandy). The empty drawer suggests theft (of documents, probably). Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC), 1325, 30' Edgar Joselin (79 WC), 1410, 5' Langdale Pike (2 SW), *1430, 60' Current Votes 5 Bridge House Hotel 3 Lambert's Jewellery Shop 2 Pearl Assurance (86 EC) 2 Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods Voting is still open for clue locations since the other investigations are ongoing. Kangra fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Nov 17, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2020 20:55
|
|
|
Here's a numerical transcript of the code. I don't 100% guarantee it to be accurate, but I'm pretty sure it is. I've preserved line breaks but I'll note that in my solution, they aren't important. Edit: This was not correct, in fact, but is now fixed. 141291826972 2526152112698-141213222-791262515228-26922- 2522241214181320-1412922-1192288181320 * 1462419- 1221-71922-2592242292-87122416-11692419268228- 1221-152687-141213719-26922-13124-23622-267- 15222687-EJJJJ-1112613238-252-132237-4222216 * 1821-2126-8221515-8121422-1221-21269-19121523 1813208-71968-16222211181320-71922-1426916227- 232211922882223 * 719188-8191261523-24266822- 191814-2252213-20922267229-11912251522148 * 1726 1418812138-2697182415228-26922-872697181320- 712-1926522-71922189-232281892223-22212122 247 * 18-8191261523-2522-262515 Kangra fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Nov 27, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2020 21:38
|
|
|
Aha, the plot thickens. Still somewhat lost as what this has to do with Kearny but we have a trail to follow. Brandy is another strong hint towards the breweries (distilleries?). I can't read the message at the bottom ("Reports" something?), but "Johnny wants £50?" seems fairly straightforward. The cipher is beyond me - any thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2020 12:59
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 3 SE Bridge House Hotel 6:00 p.m. We are all seated around a table in the dining room of arather shabby and decaying Bridge House Hotel. Wiggins has been chatting with the young woman who has been waiting on us since our arrival. She is pretty and vibrant, a lovely counterpoint to the dingy surroundings. Wiggins informs her of such. “Mr. Wiggins, you probably say that to all the girls.” She makes no effort to control her giggles. “You wrong me, Alice. You are the only bright spot in this dismal place, and I insist that you call me Harry.” Wiggins smiles at her pleased reaction. “If I had known you were here, I certainly would not have missed my appointment here on Monday. Were you working Monday?” “Yes. I work every day except Tuesday. I have a great deal of free time on Tuesday.” “We’ll have to do something about that,” says Wiggins while putting on his most endearing smile. “Oh, you're such a cad, Mr. Wig— I mean Harry.” She returns his smile. “Maybe you waited on my friends when they were here?” “If they were here, then I served them. I'm the only waitress.” “There were three of them.”” Wiggins describes Mrs. Northrup and Peter Northrup as best he can. Do you remember them?”’ “Do I ever! Nasty little man. Not the one you described, but the one with him. You could tell that the couple you described were in love and wanted to be alone. In fact, I even heard them say so, but the nasty little man said no, he was going everywhere they went. Don’t know why your friend put up with it, like he was a prisoner or something.” “Did you happen to hear what they were talking about?” “Harry! I don’t make it a habit to listen to other people’s conversations. What type of girl do you think I am?” “I know that,”” says Wiggins as if it were a self-evident truth. “I just thought it might have been slow and you just couldn’t have helped hearing something.” “Well, it was slow.” “You see, my friend, Peter, may be in trouble. He is such a nice man, as is his wife, that I want to try to help them. You understand.” “Of course I do.” Alice glances around the almost empty room before bending close to Wiggins’ ear and continuing her story in a low voice. “That’s what I thought. I said to myself, these people are in trouble, and that nasty little man is the cause of it. I heard the woman say that she had missed him so much and she wanted to see him alone. Then the little man said, ‘You're not spending any time alone until you tell me what you know.' Well, the other man, your friend, gets really mad and says ‘I’'m not going to tell you a thing until you meet my demands.' The little man says, ‘You're in no position to make demands.’ Your friend says, ‘I want to talk to the professor.' That’s all I heard.” “Why? Did they leave?” “No, the little man accused me of listening to their conversation and told me to move away or he would beat in my face. Nasty little man. They stayed another hour or so arguing the whole time. Then the two men left together, leaving the woman alone and in tears. I did hear your friend tell her not to worry, but she didn’t seem reassured. I asked her if there was anything I could do, but she just ignored me.” “Did you happen to hear where they were going?” “No.” Wiggins spends another ten minutes talking to the young woman and makes a date to see her Tuesday. He leads us out of the shabby hotel and into the street, and we cannot help but notice the jaunty bounce in his walk. (1 Hour) Current Time: 7 p.m. I guess that was a bit of information, but this case still seems out of our purview. I was hoping it might somehow have related to Kearney. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC), 1325, 30' Edgar Joselin (79 WC), 1410, 5' Langdale Pike (2 SW), *1430, 60' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1600, 105' Current Votes 3 Lambert's Jewellery Shop 2 Pearl Assurance (86 EC) 2 Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods We're getting close to the end of the day. I'll point out that due to the structure of the game, it's going to be tomorrow when we are more likely to follow up on the Perkins case, so our other few clues should probably be looking at other leads, even if we crack the cipher. So vote for up to five locations/people to visit.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2020 21:05
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 88 SW Lambert's Jewellery Shop 7:15 p.m. “What are you doing here, Wiggins?” The question comes from Inspector Lestrade. He is standing by a broken display case, his ever-present note-book in his hand. “Hello, Inspector. Do you mind if we look around?” “Yes, but I'll save you the trouble of bringing up all the times Holmes has helped me and just let you in. I have so many cases now, I can use all of the help I can get.” “Thank you, Inspector. What are the details?”’ “Listen closely, because I am only going through them once. The two employees, Eric Idler and Leland Johnson, arrived at the shop at eight o’clock, as they do every morning, to set up the shop. At a quarter before nine Mr. Joslin arrived. He had a nine o’clock appointment with a Mr. Jones. At nine o’clock Mr. Jones, carrying a black bag like a doctor’s bag, showed up for his appointment. He and Mr. Joslin went into Joslin’s office, there, in the back. “A few minutes later there was a knock at the front door — the store doesn’t open until half past nine. When Mr. Idler opened the door, two men, armed with pistols, pushed their way in. One of the two men stood by the door, holding his gun on Johnson and Idler. The other gunman made his way to Joslin’s office. He kicked open the door and charged in. Shouts were heard; then a single shot. A moment later, the gunman ran out of the office carrying Jones’ black bag. The other gunman moved over to the glass case and smashed it with his gun. He then grabbed a handful of watches, and stuffed them into his pockets. They then left the store. “Before Johnson and Idler could do anything, Jones, his head bloodied, came running out of the office. He looked around the shop, and then ran out. Johnson, at this point, went into his boss’s office and found him dead, shot once through the heart. Idler ran into the street and called the police. By that time both the robbers and Jones were gone. “Is that a correct summation of the events?” Lestrade asks Johnson and Idler, who have been listening to his retelling. “Yes, Inspector,” they answer in unison. “Any questions, Wiggins?” “Do you have descriptions of the robbers and Jones?” “Give him your descriptions,” Lestrade says to the two clerks. “Go ahead, Eric,” offers Johnson. “Both the robbers were small, I would say five-foot-three, five-five at the most. They both had light brown hair and long sideburns. You know, they looked alike, almost like brothers. Both were dressed in cheap black suits. The one who stayed by the door, his right hand, the one that held the gun, it was covered with scars. It was almost black. Like it had been badly burned at some time.” “Anything else?" asks Lestrade. “No. My eyes stayed on that gun pointed at me. He just kept it pointed at my heart. The gun looked like a cannon.” “Leland?” “I think the gun looked so big to Eric that everything else shrank in comparison. I was standing near my desk, the one by Joslin’s office door. The one who entered Joslin’s office was tall, almost six feet. He did have brown hair. The one standing by the door was small, but he was an Indian with dark skin and black hair. Dark skin, that’s what Eric saw when he stared at the hand holding the gun, not burn scars.” “I'm just not sure,”’ sighs Eric. ““It all happened so fast.” “What were their voices like?” “They didn’t say a word.” They both agree on that. “What about the man who called himself Jones?” “He was big!” states Idler with Johnson nodding agreement. “Tall, over six feet. Light reddish hair. He was built like an athlete, like a boxer. Must have weighed two hundred pounds. And he had an accent, like an Irish brogue.” “I would agree with that,” states Leland. “He had a bad gash on his head when he ran out of here.” “Had you ever seen him before?” “No. He called and wanted an appointment with Joslin. I gave him one. Mr. Joslin mentioned to me that he did not know who Jones was.” “Could we see the office?” asks Wiggins. “Go ahead.” The office is small and contains only a large safe, a desk and three chairs. Wiggins makes a sketch of the layout.  “Anything else, Wiggins?” asks Lestrade. “Not that I can think of.” “Good. Let’s lock the place up.” Both Lestrade and Wiggins put away their note-books and we leave the shop. (1 Hour 30 Minutes) Current Time: 8:45 p.m. These clues seem to be taking a lot of time. Wiggins is really slow at writing and sketching, it seems. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC), 1325, 30' Edgar Joselin (79 WC), 1410, 5' Langdale Pike (2 SW), *1430, 60' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1600, 105' Bridge House Hotel (3 SE), 1800, 60' Current Votes 2 Pearl Assurance (86 EC) 2 Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods Vote for up to five locations, although we probably only visit one or two more today.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2020 21:27
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 86 EC Pearl Assurance 9:00 p.m. “Yes, we carry the insurance on the Balfour jewels.” “How much are they insured for?” “Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.” “How long has the policy been in force?” “For six years, ever since the Balfours have been married.” “Have you paid the insurance?” “No, not yet. We have our investigation underway now. This is normal when sums of this size are involved. Mr. Balfour has requested that we handle it as fast as we can. He seems anxious to get the claim settled.” “Who's handling your investigation?” “Francis Baird.” “Has anyone approached you with an offer to sell the jewels back?” “No.” (30 Minutes) Current Time: 9:30 p.m. Directory Look-up (Baird) Baines, William ....................................64 SE Baird, Jane ............................................83 EC Bake, Floyd ...............................................26 S Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC), 1325, 30' Edgar Joselin (79 WC), 1410, 5' Langdale Pike (2 SW), *1430, 60' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1600, 105' Bridge House Hotel (3 SE), 1800, 60' Lambert's Jewellery Shop (86 EC), 1915, 90' Current Votes 2 Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods Vote for any location if desired (though not in Queens Park, since we can't get there in time), it will be the last one for Day 2.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2020 20:57
|
|
|
Bingo, Balfour needs money as suspected. Obvious inference is that Balfour contacted professional thieves who were already working the area. I'm good with Millbank being our last stop. We can take stock at the end of the day, although it has been a bit frustrating as we got pulled from pillar to post.
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2020 01:18
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 2 23 SW Millbank Prison 9:45 p.m. Warden Devine has called Leonard Woods into his office. Woods is a small man in his late forties. He has thinning grey hair that matches the colour of his skin. “These people are here to ask you a few questions, Woods.” Devine addresses Woods as he stands before us, cap in hand and eyes fixed on the floor. “They work with Mr. Sherlock Holmes and are interested in gaining some information on jewel thieves.” “I’ve been locked up here for the last two years. What could I know?” “Come now, Woods. Things have not changed that much on the outside. I'm sure you can give these people some help if you want to.” “Why would I want to?” “You should be getting out of here in a few months unless you break some rules that might add some more time onto your sentence. It's happened to you before.” “You can’t... What do you want to know?” “There was a two hundred thousand pound jewel theft from the Balfour Mansion Tuesday night,” answers Wiggins. “The Warwick Jewels!” Woods’ eyes leave the floor for the first time to look at us directly. His eyes are steel grey and shine with intelligence. “Many a night I dreamed of those beauties. Any idea who pulled the job?” “No, we were hoping you could help us.” “I have no idea who could have pulled this off. It was a cracker-box job, right?” “Cracker-box?” “A safe.” “Ah, yes. Yes, it was.” “Do you know what kind?” “Yes, I do.” Wiggins takes out his notebook and looks for the page he wants. “Here it is. A Leath & Ross, model Anchor Reliance.” “That’s the best you can buy. How they get into it?” “Looks like they used explosives.” “No. You would blow the bloody mansion down before you could blow that door off. No. You would have to torch it or pick it.” “Meaning?” “A welding torch. You would cut out the tumbler, put in a small amount of nitroglycerin to blow out the lock bar and presto, it pops open. It would take about two hours and a lot of equipment.” “And to pick it?” “That would take longer, three hours at least, but the only equipment needed would be a good ear, great fingers and a lot of knowledge.” “Who could do it?” “I'm no squealer.” “What you tell us won’t leave this room.” “Remember, Woods, if you help us, I'll help you,” says Warden Devine. “This is for Holmes, right, and not for the police?” “Yes, for Holmes,” answers Wiggins. “Well, the only one who could pick it would be me and maybe the Dutchman, Van Dutcher. I don’t know about the Dutchman, but I have an air-tight alibi, don’t I, Warden?”’ “That you do, Woods.” “There are only two torchmen I would use, Willard Jaffe and John Kellogg. But when you’re dealing with jewels you need someone to dispose of them — that’s the hard part.” “Who could do that?” “Little out of my line. Tommy O’Neill would know. You could ask around the White Eagle, if you dare. That’s the social club for most of the crackmen and other riffraff in greater London.” “Anything else you can tell us?” “Only that this is a big job and going to cause a lot of heat. Whoever has those jewels is only going to get a fraction of their value. If I had pulled a job I would try to sell them back to the insurer.” “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it,” says Wiggins. “Just keep where you got it to yourself. Tell Holmes I may call on him for help someday.” “I am sure that he would like to meet you.” The warden calls for a guard who leads Woods away.” “Did you see the gleam in his eyes when you mentioned the Warwick jewels? I have a feeling that Woods won’t be taking the straight and narrow path of a law-abiding citizen when he leaves here. Well, I hope he was able to help you.” “I am sure that he was. Thank you for your help, Warden.” (1 Hour) Current Time: END OF DAY Note the assumption we've been to the Balfour mansion already to see the safe. That'll happen a few times since it's hard to otherwise progress the cases. Anyway, a lot of possibilities here. Directory Look-up White Eagle Pub...............50 SE (Van Dutcher) Van Cleef, Dick ...................................... 21 E Van Etten, Theo .................................26 SW (Willard Jaffe) Jaeger, Adolph ......................................46 SE Jaffe, Willard .........................................26 SE Jagis, Inez ................................................. 75 E (John Kellogg) Kelley, Marion ..................................91 NW Kellogg, Cynthia ................................29 EC Kellogg, John .......................................29 EC Kelly, John ............................................... 60 E Note that "Tommy O'Neill" refers to the thieving O'Neill brothers that have popped up in other cases before. As in those cases, Tommy usually isn't locatable directly and the listings are only for his other family members. Visited Today: Theakston's Brewery (95 QP), 0915, 30' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1030, 10' Vincent Derrick (90 EC), 1055, 10' Mycroft Holmes (8 SW), 1135, 5' Henry Cole (77 EC), 1155, 30' Wystan Darte (56 SW), 1240, 30' Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC), 1325, 30' Edgar Joselin (79 WC), 1410, 5' Langdale Pike (2 SW), *1430, 60' Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1600, 105' Bridge House Hotel (3 SE), 1800, 60' Lambert's Jewellery Shop (86 EC), 1915, 90' Pearl Assurance (86 EC), 2100, 30' Current Votes That's Day 2 completed. There'll probably be a longer break before we start Day 3, to allow for discussion on the current cases and the cipher.
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2020 08:31
|
|
|
Okay, I'm not trying to be coy about the cipher, it's just that even with my own solution, I think there are very possibly multiple ways to solve it, so I didn't want to influence thinking on it. I can say that with what I have, the first line is (probably) the person it's addressed to, and a name we'll recognize. Also, the only breaks that matter are the - and * , meaning line breaks don't appear to be relevant.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2020 23:43
|
|
|
Here's a review of the clues so far: Day 1 Clues Wormwood Cricket Ground (72 QP) 0915, 15' Liberator Building Society (11 QP) 0945, 30' Aberdeen Shipping Company (26 EC) 1105, 5' Pall Mall Gazette (90 SW) 1135, 25' Pinkerton's (24 NW) 1155, 45' Queen's Park Temperance Society (37 QP) 1240, 20' Alice Gardner (3 NW) 1315, 30' Daniel Oliver (85 EC) 1400, 45' Office of Records/Land Records (14 WC) 1500, 45' Wormwood Prison/Warden (71 QP) 1600, 45' House & Land Investment (56 QP) 1700, 20' Lord Goodwin (73 NW) 1740, 5' Franklin Kearney (83 WC) 1755, 30' Marylebone Cricket Club (48 NW) 1840, 90' Parson & Sons Toy Shoppe (18 NW) 2025, 15' Clive Dornin (34 NW) 2055, 15' Balfour Mansion (50 SW) 2125, 60' Day 2 Clues Theakston's Brewery (95 QP) 0915, 30' Glenn Judson, the owner, says he's not especially affected by Balfour's decision to keep pubs out of his developments. He points a finger at the Shank brothers (also brewery owners) and says he suspects them of foul play when dealing with competition. He says he doesn't have any idea of what the brewery commission will say, and his politics are more about keeping out government interference than the moral issues. Lloyd Perkins (47 EC) 1030*, 10' Perkins says he has to prepare for an 'appointment' and that we should come back late or first thing in the morning, before he 'goes to the bank'. Vincent Derrick (90 EC) 1055, 10' The landlady informs us that the occupants (Derrick's family) have moved; Mrs. Derrick to 50 Ossulton-St and Miss Rose to 60 Sloane-St. Mycroft Holmes (8 SW) 1135, 5' Mycroft is busy and unavailable. Henry Cole (77 EC) 1155, 30' Thomas Cole, Sir Henry's son, cannot believe that Ormond would have gone so far as to murder his father, despite the fact that the two disliked each other. Both were on the brewery commission with Wystan Darte, Glenn Judson, and Arnold Shank. Wystan Darte (56 SW) 1240, 30' He gives his opinion on where the commission members stood: Ormond in favor of prohibition, Cole favored taxes & controls, Shank opposed taxes & controls, Judson was concerned about foreign competition, and Darte himself wanted a balanced law that would benefit the public. He felt the key conflict was between Shank and Ormond, not Cole and Ormond. He last saw Ormond on Wednesday, when all of the commission members met for lunch (Henry failed to show), and the meeting ended with Ormond and Shank nearly coming to blows. Raven & Rat/Porky (52 EC) 1325, 30' Porky gives us the rundown on some of our cases: Kearney - heard nothing Balfour Jewels - possibly planned by Lenny Woods, currently in Millbank Henry Cole - heard nothing Peter Northrup - was seen in Southwark at Bridge House Hotel having tea on Monday Edgar Joslin (79 WC) 1410, 5' We are informed that Joslin is at the jewelry shop. Langdale Pike (2 SW), *1430, 60' Pike gives us the background info on the Ormond Scandal, which occurred in 1867. The key details are: * Ormond was a conservative and rumored to be a favorite of Disraeli's. He was married to Agnes Duff, Cole's cousin. * Cole (a Liberal) wanted to ruin Ormond. He made public a letter revealing an affair between Lady Bradford & Ormond. * Ormond had a child by Agnes Duff (which is what upset Lady Bradford). * Lady Bradford claimed one of her children was Ormond's. * Lady Bradford remarried after Lord Bradford died in 1881, to Marion Jabez Balfour. Lloyd Perkins (47 EC), *1600, 105' We discover the body of Lloyd Perkins, shot in the head. The gun is lying near his hand. The desk is cleaned off and one of his desk drawers has been cleared out. We find a coded message on a note in his hand. Checking his calendar pad, we reveal a few messages from the page containing today's date (which was removed): "Brandy at 11", "Report due[?]", and "Johnny wants £50". Bridge House Hotel (3 SE), 1800, 60' Alice, the only waitress at the hotel (who works every day but Tuesday), reports that Peter Northrup and his wife were at the hotel on Monday. There was a third 'nasty little man' with them who made threats to Northrup that he could not spend any time alone until he reveals the information he has. Northrup apparently has 'demands' he wants met and wishes to speak to 'the professor', presumably Moriarty. The two men left together, leaving Mrs. Northrup in tears. Lambert's Jewellery Shop (86 EC), 1915, 90' We obtain the details of the incident from Inspector Lestrade. Eric Idler and Leland Johnson, two employees at the store, were there at 8 a.m. to set up the shop. Joslin arrived at 8:45, for a 9 a.m. appointment with "Mr. Jones", whom Joslin had said he did not know. Jones arrived at 9 carrying a black doctor's bag. Shortly afterward, while the store was not yet open for business, there was a knock at the door and two armed men entered. One of the gunman went to Joslin's office, shots were fired, and the gunman ran out with the bag. The other man smashed one of the jewellery cases and took a few watches. Jones, bleeding from his head, left the shop and disappeared into the street, as did the gunmen. Joslin was shot once in the heart and died immediately. Pearl Assurance (86 EC), 2100, 30' They tell us that they've insured the jewels since the Balfours were married (six years ago), and the jewels were insured for £250,000. Mr. Balfour seems to be in a hurry to get the money. Francis Baird is investigating the case. Nobody has offered to sell the jewels back to them. Millbank Prison/Lenny Woods, 2145, 60' Leonard Woods is a small grey-haried man in his late forties. He has been in prison for the last two years. He tells us that the safe could not have been blown open by explosives. The two methods would have been to use a welding torch and a small amount of nitroglycerin (requiring about 2 hours' time) or to pick it (taking over 3 hours). The only people he thinks could pick it would be himself and 'Van Dutcher'. The two 'torchmen' he would use are Willard Jaffe and John Kellogg. He tells us that fencing the jewels would be the hard part of the task, especially given how famous they are (he knows them as the "Warwick Jewels"). He says that Tommy O'Neill might know how, and we should check at the White Eagle.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2020 21:02
|
|
|
My own thoughts after having gone over these clues. Francis Kearney Still nothing new. It seems there's definitely something he was investigating with respect to Balfour, and maybe the cricket club as well, since the two are closely related. However, looking back through there are also a few leads that were set aside and never followed up on: Matt Moser, the PI who he might have ended up speaking to. Also Quentin Hogg, at the Police Gazette, who recommended us for the case and maybe knew Kearney. There was also the contact at the Stock Market who could elucidate what Kearney was interested in. Lloyd Perkins The key here is the cipher. I have some conclusions based on my solution, but again don't want to bias thoughts. I'll say this with respect to the code, and how my solution works: It's a substitution cipher, but there is no spacing between the numbers. In other words, if it were (A=1, B=2, etc.) then 25211 could be 'BEUA' (2-5-21-1) or 'BEBK' (2-5-2-11) or 'YUA' (25-21-1) and so on. That's why I think there's a chance I'm either wrong or there is an alternate way to decode it. However, I do get a meaningful message with the alphabet reversed Z=1, Y=2, etc.. I also suspect that the 11 a.m. appointment (Brandy) was not the person who killed him. Henry Cole Despite what we learned, I'm still pretty sure this is Shank's doing, probably acting on Moriarty's orders. He just took advantage of the history between these two. No hard evidence here, though. Vincent Derrick We haven't progressed this enough for me to comment on it. Peter Northrup Apparently he knows something that Moriarty wants, and the prison break was a quid pro quo. For some reason, he's not playing along yet. Still no idea how this is connected to anything else. Balfour Jewels/Lambert's Okay, here's my new theory on this: Balfour, needing the insurance money, hires a crew of professional thieves to either actually or fake-actually crack his safe. It appears if it actually happened, it would have to be the torch job. Whoever has them then tries (possibly double-crossing Balfour?) to sell them to Lambert's as Mr. Jones. His compatriots, or maybe some goons of Balfour's, discover this and trail "Jones" to the shop. Joslin's death is a result of them trying to kill Jones, but the two gunmen get away with the jewels anyway, ensuring they won't be recovered until the insurance money is paid. The watch theft indicates these are low-level thugs who just wanted to take something while it was easy pickings. Kangra fucked around with this message at 14:49 on Nov 25, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2020 21:22
|
|
|
Might not have been a double-cross, the payment might well have been "whatever you can fence the jewels for". Joslin might well have recognised the jewels. I am not the person for the cipher and this thread is feeling awfully lonely. Any lurkers want to decode it?
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2020 12:16
|
|
|
I'll be posting my solution later today, so we can discuss and then get started on Day 3. I'd still love to see people work on this or add thoughts in any way. Sadly I did find that there is an error in the transcription I posted earlier. One number was missing in the first line of the body; apologies to anyone who was trying to solve it based on that. Here's a corrected version: 141291826972 2526152112698-141213222-791262515228-26922- 2522241214181320-1412922-1192288181320 * 1462419- 1221-71922-2592242292-87122416-11692419268228- 1221-152687-141213719-26922-13124-23622-267- 15222687-EJJJJ-1112613238-252-132237-4222216 * 1821-2126-8221515-8121422-1221-21269-19121523 1813208-71968-16222211181320-71922-1426916227- 232211922882223 * 719188-8191261523-24266822- 191814-2252213-20922267229-11912251522148 * 1726 1418812138-2697182415228-26922-872697181320- 712-1926522-71922189-232281892223-22212122 247 * 18-8191261523-2522-262515 And the original, for reference
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2020 14:07
|
|
|
I looked at it when it was first posted but can't make anything out of it. There's some obvious pattern to it ("1221" repeats several times, for instance), but I don't have any real guess as to how it's constructed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2020 17:12
|
|
|
So here's the decoded solution I found, using Z=1, Y=2, X=3, etc. As I've said, I'm still uncertain about whether this is the right way to do it, but for now, it is all plausible. The thing that throws me is how to parse the second phrase (broken up by the *, which isn't quite a sentence break since the third and fourth phrase fit together.quote:
e: To be clear, the message seems to cut off there. It's why I suspect that he was shot while writing, but also wonder if it might be decoded in some other fashion. Kangra fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Nov 30, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2020 21:51
|
|
|
THE QUEEN’S PARK AFFAIR DAY THREE Friday, 7 September 1888 Upon our arrival at Baker-street we find Dr. Watson seated at the table with his used breakfast dishes still in front of him. He looks up from the newspaper he is reading as we enter. “Good morning. Come in and help yourselves to some coffee. The papers are certainly full of gruesome murders. It appears that our friend Doctor Meeks has been kept quite busy. “Holmes asked me to show you this letter which arrived by the morning post. He also wanted me to remind you that the Central News Agency is often a useful source of information.” “But isn’t that an obituary service?” “Yes, it is. To that end, their files are quite comprehensive — with regards to a certain class, that is.”  Newspaper Day 3 (Police Gazette) NSFW warning if you are a Victorian (page 3 girls on page 2). Seems Quentin knows what sells.    Current Time: 9:00 a.m. Day 3 Clue List AREA QP: 11, 17, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42, 48, 50, 55, 56, 58, 69, 71, 72, 81, 85, 90, 95, 96, 98 AREA SE: 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 21, 26, 27, 29, 33, 35, 36, 38, 47, 48, 50, 55, 61, 71, 76, 85, 86 AREA SW: 2, 5, 8, 13, 16, 22, 23, 34, 37, 50, 56, 60, 68, 78, 86, 88, 90, 100 AREA NW: 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 24, 27, 34, 36, 44, 48, 51, 56, 67, 73, 76, 79, 81, 84, 89, 92, 96, 99 AREA EC: 4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 38, 42, 47, 49, 51, 52, 56, 63, 66, 72, 77, 85, 86, 87, 90, 95, 96 AREA WC: 4, 5, 10, 11, 14, 19, 27, 30, 34, 40, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 68, 70, 73, 75, 79, 83, 85, 93
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2020 22:38
|
|
|
If we're being briefed by Watson, this implies Sherlock is out and about somewhere and may be disguised as one or more figures. Well. We now have a possible explanation for Kearney's behaviour - if he is on Moriarty's payroll (or was pointed in Balfour's direction by someone on the payroll), he may well be lying low waiting for Balfour's fall. Bit caddish of him not to warn his fiancee, and of course we already have one incident involving a letter from an apparently dead man. We also have confirmation that Balfour needed to raise money quickly. We should start by checking out Shank. Then Mrs Derrick and Miss Rose. Then Bridge House Hotel and Millbank Prison We should check in with Sir Jasper Meeks later, too. All these bodies turning up.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2020 13:03
|
|
|
Queens Park Affair Day 3 71 SE Martin Shank 9:30 a.m. “Mr. Shank is not in. He can usually be found at his brewery. If he’s not there they can probably tell you where he is." “Where is the brewery?” “Four, Rivington-street.” “Thank you.” (5 Minutes) Current Time: 9:35 a.m. There are two Shank brothers, so I went with Martin just to get his insight. We can also see Andrew if that's preferred. Visited Today: Current Votes 5 Shank 4 Mrs Derrick 3 Miss Rose Derrick 2 Bridge House Hotel 1 Millbank Prison Vote for up to five places to visit today.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2020 18:49
|
|
|
I'm good with visiting Mrs Derrick and Rose Derrick. I'm also worried, though, about Eric Idler, since Leland Johnson had an 'accidental' death. Hopefully Michael Palinr is okay. John Cleeser and Terry Gillamr too I guess, I mean I don't wish death on them. Jasper Meeks is another good visit. I was waiting for more bodies so we can be efficient with the visit. Loxbourne posted:Well. We now have a possible explanation for Kearney's behaviour - if he is on Moriarty's payroll (or was pointed in Balfour's direction by someone on the payroll), he may well be lying low waiting for Balfour's fall. Bit caddish of him not to warn his fiancee, and of course we already have one incident involving a letter from an apparently dead man. My money's on the latter, there. I think he would have done more to warn Alice if he was really working for Moriarty. I have a hunch that maybe the remarks on the newspaper clippings are scribbled notes to himself? So Jamison ( a stooge of Moriarty, but also a semi-legitimate reporter) writes the article in July, and Kearney, who knows Balfour personally, maybe sees if he can verify it. Perhaps he does, but then sees Balfour publicly denying it. That would make him suspicious of Balfour. Then Kearney's reporter instincts cause him to start digging deeper. He would have then uncovered the very curious 'brewery stock purchase'. It's still not clear why he would go into hiding, since other than Derrick, we haven't seen people being murdered yet. There is also a chance that Kearney did send the letter, but is also the body recently pulled from the canal. Probably Meeks will be able to clear that up.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2020 19:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 04:48 |
|
|
If that is his body (and I have a nasty feeling it will be, just knowing the tempo of whodunnits) then our prime suspect will be Jamison. It is entirely possible that Kearney's investigations revealed he was being pushed. If that does happen we will want to check back with Pinkertons, but for now let's go down our list and then check in with Meeks.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2020 19:45
|
|