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>>1556857
Your phone rings.

You pick it up, finding the sound of the Police Captain’s voice in your ear. That fat slug can’t even be bothered to walk down the hall.

“I got a case,” he says, “Think ya might be interested.”

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>>1556861
You ask, “What is it?”

“Homicide in downtown, or maybe it’s suicide. Officers can’t say, so I’ll leave it up to you.”

“I’ll need the details—“

“On the way, Detective...”

>Your name?

>>1556863
Gumshoe

>>1556863
Bernitz

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>>1556896
>>1556914
“...Gumshoe Bernitz, don’t let me down.”

“On it. Sounds like a piece of cake already, Captain, I’ll talk to you later.”

Just as you hang up, the door opens.

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>>1556932
“Hiyo, Gumshoe, got the files from the Cap’. You ready to go?”

Scarved and only a few years younger than you, the detective at the door has a folder pinned beneath an arm.

“Excellent!” you say, “I’m always ready...”

“...Again?”

“No, no. I couldn’t possibly forget your name...”

>Her name?

>>1556940
Olesya

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“Olesya! How could I ever forget?”

“You’re lying,” she says, “I can tell.”

“Oh, really?—”

“Of course. I can read your mind, after all.” She turns around and leaves.

“If I didn’t know you any better, I would think you were serious.”

...

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>>1557015
You say, “Is this the place?”

“555 Meshidun Ave, Apartment 5E,” says Olesya, “Seems about right.

“A homicide here? Where was the world gone to?”

“I know,” she replies, “Speaking of people dying, I thought you said you were going to quit smoking.”

“I said I was going to quit, but I didn’t say when.”

“I don’t want my partner dying of cancer. A bullet seems more fitting.”

>?

>>1557019
>"If I die to cancer, then bullets weren't going to get me anyways."

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>>1557060
"If I die to cancer, then bullets weren't going to get me anyways."

“You don’t know that—“

“It’s simply the new scare. There’s nothing to worry about.”

"Surely you know better.”

"Maybe I do."

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>>1557111
“The case,” Olesya says, “The victim is a 24-year old woman who lives in an apartment with her fiancé. Officers say she died of strangulation, but after meeting the fiancé, they weren’t so sure.”

“How many hours ago?”

“Just now, actually. Officers arrived about 15 minutes ago, and the emergency call was made 30 minutes ago,” she replies, “The victim’s name is...”

Your mind trails off. Oh, who cares about this sort of thing? Relations are important. Names? You don’t have enough space in your brain for silly things like that.

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>>1557121
A police officer is at the door.

You say, “I’m Detective Bernitz, this is Detective Olesya. What’s the situation?”

“Think it’s better for you to see for yourself, detective. The fiance’s kind of a mess, careful around him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you nod as you pass by him.

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>>1557140
The living room.

An officer is here, along with the Coroner and who you presume to be to be the fiancé of the victim.

Oh, and also the body.

>Talk?
>Examine/Interact?

>>1557143
>Talk?
Get a proper sitrep from the coroner. Also begin taking notes of the crime scene.

>>1557143
>Talk?

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>>1557151
>>1557159
https://track5.mixtape.moe/kbkqff.mp3

“Doc, what do we have here?”

“A body.”

“Thanks, I didn’t realize.”

He flashes you a smile. “Victim died of asphyxiation. Look at her lips, you can see cyanosis.”

“Fancy way of saying their blue.”

“She died about... I’d say two hours ago,” the coroner says, “Look at her body. Notice anything?”

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>>1557229
“Bruising, on her neck. One of them matches the noose, but there’s larger, lighter ones that cover the rest of her neck.”

“The size of someone’s hands?” Olesya offers.

“Two hands, maybe. There’s also bruising on her wrists. Matches that of the rope she used to hang herself... presumably,” you finish. “Was it the rope or something else?”

The coroner answers, “That’s for you to find out, Gumshoe.”

Olesya asks, “Open and shut case?”

“Too soon to say.”

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>>1557236
You look around the living room.

There’s a large couch that the fiancé is leaning on, and there’s a sitting chair alongside a coffee table. A rug is beneath the table and body. A noose hangs from a ceiling fan.

A trash can is beside the man. Something is on the floor beside him.

“I’m surprised it held her weight,” you note.

“Really?” Oleysa says.

“No. Not at all.”

The hallway goes to the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom.

>What/who do you investigate/talk to?

>>1557269
>What/who do you investigate/talk to?
Low-key interrogate the fiancé. Make it seem like we're just asking normal questions. Have our partner look around for other clues.

>>1557269
>Investigate that thing on the floor next to the man
>Talk to the man

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Let me provide the rest of the rooms. You can examine anything that's there or think it's there.

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>>1557315

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>>1557320

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>>1557308
>>1557309
“Olesya, see if you can find anything else,” you say, “I’ll talk with the man.”

“You? Hm...”

As she goes off, you walk to the fiancé. How do you... talk to people again?

“Good day, I’m Detective Gumshoe Bernitz—“

“Sorry? Good day?”

“Pardon, I misspoke,” you say, “How are you faring?”

You smell... liquor off of him.

“What the fuck do you think?” he says, “I can’t believe this.”

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>>1557366
He continues, “We were... were just going to get married too, next month. Why would she do this?”

“I’m sure this must be very shocking to you,” you say. He only shakes his head. You continue, “If you don’t mind, I want to ask some questions about the victim.”

“The victim? Her fucking name is Marcille,” He grumbles, fumbling with his ring. “...Go ahead. Your questions.”

>Your whereabouts?
>Her motives?
>Alcohol?

>Evidence...
_>Bruising?

>Write-in.

>>1557424
>Her motives?
>Bruising?

>>1557424
>Your whereabouts?
>Alcohol?
>Bruising?

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Meanwhile—

Olesya crouches down at the body.

Clothes are hideous, but...?

She touches Marcille’s face, rubbing it, and then she lifts her hand back.

Foundation. Bright red lipstick on her face. Eyeshadow. All this work.

She doesn’t have a job. Was she expecting someone? Dressing up for something?

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>>1557428
Her Motives

“Shot in the dark, but,” you say. How do you word this correctly, such that he won’t be compelled to deliver a solid blow to your face? “For what reason would your fiancée... commit suicide over?’

“I don’t know. I... I should know right? I’ve been living with her all this time, but I don’t know. I just don’t fucking know!” He covers his face with his hands and rubs his eyes.

“Ahem,” you clear your throat and shift your body, “Has... she been acting strange lately?”

“...A bit more secretive, but I didn’t think nothing of it.”

>Believe
>Coerce
>Lie
_>Evidence?
>Come back later

>>1557509
>Come back later

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>>1557428
>>1557434
Bruising

You say, “I saw... bruising, on her neck and her wrists.” He bites his lip. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see them.”

“They’re... um...” his face reddens a little, even though his expression doesn’t change. “We like to spice up our... private lives, okay?”

You blink. “I see. Were the markings there before today, or are any new?”

“Not... not that I can see.”

>Believe
>Coerce
>Contradiction
_>Evidence?
>Come back later

>>1557549
>Come back later
At the moment we have no evidence that what he's saying isn't true. Time to do some sleuthing!

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>>1557434
Alcohol

You ask, “Have you been drinking?”

“Me? Uh, no.”

“Can’t you smell yourself?”

“Huh?” he sniffs his own shirt, “Oh, fuck. Yeah, some asshole spilled their beer on me while I was coming back.”

“I see...”

>Believe
>Coerce
>Contradiction
_>Evidence?
>Come back later

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>>1557542
>>1557569
Doesn't look like you can get much out of him.

Time to look for clues.

>Kitchen
>Bathroom
>Bedroom

>>1557599
>Kitchen
Welp, time to get to work.

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>>1557623
Olesya comes over, bringing something to your vision. “Look, pieces of ceramic.”

“Circumstantial?” you say.

“They were around the garbage can. You’d think a housewife with nothing better to do would clean it up.”

“Hmm,” you say, “Let’s keep in mind of it for now.”

“Okay.”

>>1557599
Maybe we can check the medicine cabinet and see if either of them was being medicated for anything. It definitely seems like she was strangled to death after being tied up. I suppose one could check under her fingernails for blood, which could maybe suggest a struggle. As for motive for the murder, her attire would suggest maybe he found out she was cheating on him or something like that.

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>>1557658
You head over to the kitchen.

A sink, a trail of stains on the floor, stovetop, drawers, everything.

An officer is there. He says to you, “Detective, I made sure no one tampered with anything.”

“It appears to be a normal kitchen.”

“Hey, you never know.”

>?

I suppose we should search through the trash, and maybe see if anything interesting was put down the garbage disposal today.

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>>1557671
Olesya splits off to the bathroom. She glances around.

Overflowing trash can, medicine cabinet, a mirror.

>>1557708
Let's check the trash can and the medicine cabinet

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>>1557708
>>1557671
>>1557713

She checks inside the medicine cabinet.

Homeopathic medicine... for nausea, headaches, and fatigue?

Curious.

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>>1557740
>>1557713
>>1557685
The trashcan.

Gross.

Olesya pulls out a pair of gloves and starts sifting.

There’s a pregnancy test in here.

It reads positive.

>?

>>1557740
Hmm. I might be way off, but those seem like potential symptoms of pregnancy to me. Maybe we can have the coroner look into whether or not she was expecting.

Oh yay, I called it. Well, if she took the time to get medication for the symptoms, I suppose that suggests she was planning on keeping the baby. Which seems like it would lend even more evidence to the argument that she wasn't planning to kill herself.

>>1557761
This seems like pretty good evidence to confront the husband with, but I think it's best to get all the pieces together before talking to him.
>See if anything turns up in the kitchen. Look into the stains, the trash, and anything put down the drain.

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>>1557763
Olesya goes back to the living room.

“Doctor Rue,” she says, “Was she expecting a baby? Marcille, that is.”

“...I wouldn’t know until I do an autopsy.”

“Oh,” she says, about to walk away.

“Before you go, a neighbor is here. He’s at the door, in case you have any questions.”

“Hmm...”

>?

>>1557811
Let's ask the neighbor if there was ever any problem with noise from this couple, maybe they had a history of arguing. Also, if he knows anything about the comings and goings of people today, or the couple's schedule in general, that'd be helpful.

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>>1557794
Meanwhile—

You pull out your quizzing glass and crouch down, staring at the stains.

...

Size 10 shoes, pattern looks like it belongs to a pair of sneakers.

You glance up.

What was the fiancé wearing again? They certainly don’t belong to the victim.

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>>1557832
You check the trashcan, only to find scraps of food.

Nothing to note.

You check the sink.

It’s been clogged. Well, not clogged. A cup of perfect size has fallen and blocked out the drain.

The dishes were left here to be soaked, how sloppy.

You notice two plates and two glasses to drink from.

>?

>>1557860
Ah, I suppose the victim probably had a lovely dinner with Mr. Size 10 then, and somehow the fiancée got wise to it. I imagine it might be possible to prove after the autopsy that the unborn child maybe did not belong to the fiancée, but I suppose such techniques aren't in the noire tradition. If the neighbor tells us another man was in the house earlier, that would tie things together neatly.

For the sake of being thorough, I suppose we should ask him for his shoe size. Save that for after we ask him whether he has any knowledge of the movements of the people in the neighboring apartment today. Also, better ask him if the woman ever had company over while the husband was away.

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>>1557830
Olesya meets the neighbor outside, who was waiting patiently.

“Hi, I’m Detective Olesya, and you...”

“Oh, you can call me James,” the old man replies, “Is it true, did poor ol’ Marcille die in there?”

“Ah,” Olesya pauses, “Yes. If you have some time, I have a couple of questions.”

“Oh, please! Ask away.”

“Have you ever heard of anything suspicious? Any problem with noise?”

“Ohoho,” James laughs, “Only at night, if you get what I mean. But no, they were a lovely couple. Never made much of a fuss, until today, that is.”

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>>1557960
>>1557919
“What happened?”

“Well, I caught them having an argument. Didn’t catch any of it, though, only muffled voices really. And plus, I was inside doing laundry.”

“Did you see who was going in and out? Company”

“I can’t say, but I can say I heard someone break something! Heard some more shouting, and then the door being slammed,” he says, “But get this—not even a minute later he comes back and loudly knocks on the door!”

“He?”

“Oh, Marcille would never have that sort of temper. Anyways, that was it. Didn’t much hear much from them after that.”

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>>1557972
She asks, “How long ago was this?”

“A few hours ago?”

Olesya says, “James, I’m just curious, what shoe size do you have?”

“Oh, a 12. Why do you ask?

She looks down to see flip flops. “Can’t be too safe.”

>?

>>1558009
Hmm. It wouldn't make much sense for the fiancée to knock on the door to his own apartment, since he'd have a key. The only person who might make sense as far as knocking on the door would be the theoretical size 10 third party. Maybe she told size 10 that she was pregnant and they argued about what to do next. If they argued that much, I suppose size 10 could be the actual killer. It really depends on when exactly the fiancée got home and when that argument was.

P.S. Don't think I didn't notice Susan

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>>1558038
>susan
oops

>>1558061
I suppose our next moves should be:
>share information between Gumshoe and Olesya
>check fiancée shoe size
>ask fiancée if anything seems out of the ordinary about the house. If he says nothing, point out that something ceramic was broken.

I assume that the pieces of ceramic are the remains of what was broken during the argument. If he denies it was broken today, he's almost certainly lying. Then maybe we can start grilling him about the pregnancy evidence and the evidence of someone else having come to the house. If he ate dinner somewhere else, we can point out the dishes that were clearly for two. Then:
>genuflect

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>>1558038
>>1558082
You and Olesya meet up again.

“Hey, Oli... Olesya.”

“It hasn’t even been a day.”

“Apologies,” you say, “What came up?”

You two quickly exchange information.

You say, “It’s clear then.”

“Yes, the truth lies in Laios.”

“...Who?”

“The fiancé.”

“Right. Right.”

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>>1558094
You walk up the fiancé. You kneel in front of him—and fix your shoe while innocuously eyeing his.

Size 10. He’s not even wearing sneakers, good lord, he has loafers on.

“Hi... Laios,” you say, briefly exchanging glances with Olesya.

She says, “I’m Detective Olesya. I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves.”

The man says, “Laios, but I guess you already know that. So, what is it?”

You say, “Have you... noticed anything strange about the house today?” Before he can reply, you fix your question, “Not including the elephant in the room. Not that your fiancée is an elephant, I didn’t mean that. Figure of speech, yes.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he says, “And no, I didn’t fucking nothing anything.”

“Are you sure?” Olesya says, looking at the shards of ceramic by her feet.

He looks down, “Oh, oh! The vase. Yeah. What about it?”

You say, “You had an argument, I presume.”

“What’s it to you?”

>?

>>1558128
>Well, what was the nature of your argument? Had there been any recent or significant developments in your relationship with the deceased?

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>>1558136
You say, “Forgive me for asking, but what was the nature of your argument? Had there been any recent or significant developments in your relationship?”

He takes a deep sigh. “She got pregnant. And she didn’t tell me.”

Olesya says, “So you broke the vase?”

“I had a long fucking day, alright? I got fired in the morning, and I wasn’t... I wasn’t thinking straight.”

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>>1558170
You shake your head, “I’ll be blunt, Mr. Lasagna.”

“It’s Laios—“

“Surely you knew someone was in here, perhaps someone with a size 10 pair of sneakers?”

“You mean, me? I own a pair of sneakers,” he says.

“Are were you careless enough to leave footprints on your own house? Or were you too drunk to?”

“I was not drinking,” he says, “What is your problem—“

Olesya comes back after briefly disappearing. “His prints don’t match.”

“Then your wife dressed up so she could have a nice plate of lasagna with you?”

Laios says, “What are you talking about?”

Olesya turns to you, “So the case...”

>?

>>1558170
>Describe your whereabouts throughout the day, as well as the timing of your entering and exiting the apartment.
>Why were you fired?
>Where did you eat dinner today?
>Why do you suppose that your fiancee was dressed up so nicely today in particular?
>If you were the one that broke the vase and stormed out of the apartment, why did you pound on the door to your own home? Couldn't you simply let yourself in? Or does that mean she was trying to keep you out?

>>1558182
If he doesn't own sneakers which match the prints, then:
>The wife seems to have had someone else over the house
>If she never had a chance to change back into regular clothes or clean things up, that would suggest the fiancee got home before she had a chance to conceal all the evidence of the company she had over
>If the other man had killed the woman, Laios would've pointed out that someone else had been in the house, but he didn't, because he is aiming to conceal the severity of his fight with his fiancee, because he in fact did discover what she had been doing, and that was his motive for killing her

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>>1558199
“Describe your whereabouts throughout the day, as well as the timing of your entering and exiting the apartment.”

“Timing? I don’t know the fucking timing. I went to work for a bit, got fired, went home, got pissed, left, and walked around and came back to see my god damn fiancée dead. How’s that, huh?”

“Fired?”

“Punched a customer in his face.”

“Then it wouldn’t be surprising if you pounded on your front door then?”

“Why the hell would I do that? I have keys.”

“What if she was keeping you out?”

“What the fuck are you implying?”

>>1558239
>So if you got fired today, I suppose that means you got home a little earlier than she might've expected? It's not outside the realm of possibility that she might've had something she didn't want you to see when you got home,
and that's why she wouldn't let you in, right? Maybe that has something to do with why she was dressed up so fancy just to dine in at the apartment?

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>>1558239 (You)
>>1558226
>>1558248
https://track5.mixtape.moe/pptsxd.mp3

You say, “I highly doubt the veracity of your statements, especially when the clues were so bafflingly clear, a toddler could see it. In fact, it precisely that reason why solution is as such: you, my dear friend, are the one and only killer of Marcille... um.”

Olesya, “Marcille Farin.”

Laios says, “Why would I ever—“

“Yes, thank you. Marcille Farin. If she never had a chance to change back into regular clothes or clean things up, that would suggest the fiancé got home before she had a chance to conceal all the evidence of the company she had over. She wasn’t expecting you to be home so early, after all.“

“Coincidences, these are just coincidences!”

“They are, but do you know what it’s called when you have a whole handful of coincidences, narrowing down all the possibilities?”

Olesya answers, “A deduction.”

“Elementary, my dear Olesya!”

“You know, Sherlock never said that in the books.”

“I wouldn’t know,” you say, “Lancelot, you’ve grown awfully quiet.”

“Shut up... you don’t have proof, Gumshoe. You don’t have a damn thing.”

“I’ve just shown you evidence, and we’ll have even more when we visit the bar you went to. Or perhaps find the elusive homewrecker that has gotten you so worked up,” you say, and then you call, “Oh, officers.

>>1558283
Well that was fun. Very LA Noire. Thanks for running QM. My problem is that I've read so many murder mysteries with absurd and unexpected twists that I was actually very ready to humor the possibility that it was the neighbor or the homewrecker who did it, even though the fiancee was the only suspect with an actual face. Anyhow, it was a good time. Definitely looking forward to PAQ as well.

I'm still pretty sure the murderer was Susan though

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>>1558283
Before Laios can lay a single finger on you, he found himself in cuffs and soon, in a cell.

Olesya says to you, “Guess the officers were right after all, huh?”

“For all the wrong reasons.”

“Does it matter in the end? The criminal was caught.”

“Of course it matters, if not it being the only thing that does matter. To me, if no one else.”

“Can you at least tone down the self-satisfaction at the end?”

“I’ll think afraid not.”

>>1558304
Thanks for playing! ...the only anon here!
Wanted to keep it relatively simple, since I had no idea how this was going to go, but I had fun.
And it turns out LA Noire can't be translated 1:1 to quest format, figures.
I'll probably run one or two more of these loose write-in quests that utterly no one will play before PAQ though.

>>1558316
Thanks for running! I wish I could've participated more (I was the other anon earlier), but our boss doesn't like us messing around on 4chan while we're supposed to be on duty in the guard booth.

>>1558316
I suspect that the modest participation on this one was just due to the timing. There were at least three other anons playing earlier, but I think maybe it just went too late into the night for them. I'm sure whatever you plan on running will be fun, I enjoyed the Oni quest as well as PAQ.

>>1558333
That's fine, I wouldn't want you to get fired, anon.

>>1558340
Oh boy if you like goofy anime shenanigans, the next one should be fun. Unless you recognize something. Then, please don't kill me.

>>1558351
Oh I do. Sounds awesome, I'm excited in advance. I profess to great curiosity as to what I might recognize though. No need to tell me in advance, I'll savor the suspense.

>>1558316
>>1558340
Felt like absolute hell and had to lie down. Sorry.

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>>1558400
Hope you feel better