The Offices of Thalia Trimble, Private Eye - vol 1

Eddie pops the tape into the VCR and hits play. While you watch the tape, he scribbles away on a notebook trying to figure out exactly how much money he thinks he can get out of you.

The tape is about 40 minutes long and has very low video and sound quality. This is to be expected considering it is recovered from erased video. Some clips are film shots for the monster movie Reuben was working on. Others contain behind the scenes footage, discussion on the film and how to shoot it, and a bunch of test footage of different props and effects. The timestamps on the footage span about a month of total time, but all of it was shot prior to the murder taking place.

The first scene in which the sticky gripper prototype appears is Reuben filming his friends' reaction to the device. They ohh and aww at how good it looks and recoil at the gross slimy texture when one of them reaches out to touch it.

There are several scenes of them trying to use the device. Sometimes it simply falls off the user mid-scene or they can’t get it to grip anything at all. There is a scene of the aftermath of the gripper being used on one of the actors. You pause it to get a good luck at the markings.

There is a series of red circular markings where the gripper was applied around the kid’s leg as the monster character tried to drag him across the ground. The markings are lighter in color and you don't see any of the bruising you noticed in the crime scene photos since the actors only wanted the gripper to latch on and not actually squeeze the life out of the kid.

They try for more takes but the gripper starts losing its ability to grip. One or two sectors will grip and the rest will sag or completely detach. Everyone becomes increasingly frustrated as the attempts rise into double digits and the next several minutes of film has them moving on to a series of different scenes that don’t involve the sticky gripper.

The gripper fails to stick for any length of time when it is tried again a few days later. This leads to a big fight between everyone. The last shots are as Eddie described.

Reuben films his friends making blood from corn syrup and food coloring which they inject into the sticky gripper. The last shot has one of the kids throwing the sticky gripper into the blades of a lawn mower and everyone erupting into cheers as it explodes into millions of pieces and fake blood rains down all over the place.

Eddie silently slides a sheet of paper with an amount on it. When he sees your reaction he sheepishly smiles, grabs the sheet of papers and erases the last 2 zeros. It is still a higher than expected amount, but at least it is in the ballpark. "Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying."

Aug 20, 2020 12:37 am

"Nope, and you can't blame a girl for balking," Thalia says, smirking. "I'll write you a check for that, but it's going to include you making those copies of this tape and delivering them, as well as the continued surveillance on Reuben. Stop whining; I don't think this is going to last very long. A few more days at most, I expect."

She writes the check for the amount without the extra two zeroes, then writes down the names and addresses of Dylan's and Emilia's offices, as well as her new pager number. "Two of those four copies of this tape go to these lawyers. Send them by courier, not by mail. Hang on to the one that's for my files, unless you've got the ability to make it while I wait, in which case I'll take it with me. The fourth one, I need you to put it somewhere safe, where no one can get to it but you.

"And this is the number for my new pager. Don't call my office or home phone until further notice. In fact, while I'm here..."

She picks up the receiver of his phone and holds her pager up to it, pressing the bug detection button. There is no tone. She hangs it up again. "I assume you sweep for bugs periodically. I suggest you increase the frequency of those sweeps until further notice. Just a precaution." She slides the check and the paper on which she's written everything toward him, putting a hand on his as he reaches for them. "And Eddie - this is serious stuff. Don't take it lightly just because this kid's clean. The fact that someone erased this tape is proof that he's been on the bad guys' radar. I just want him to stay off it from now on."

Leaving the arcade, Thalia walks the opposite direction from where she'd parked the car to get a sense of whether a tail had tracked her down. She doesn't see any signs of surveillance, so she ducks into an alley and doubles back to her car. She drives out of the neighborhood, still taking random, unexpected turns, verifying that no one's following the car. Eventually, she pulls off to access another payphone. After checking that it's clean of bugs, she calls her home number.

"Hey, Cyn! Turns out I missed lunch, so instead of bringing pizza home, let's take the kids out for it. Meet me at Giovanni's in twenty minutes. So much better than the Flying Pie. Okay? Oh, and tell them to bring all the pictures they drew today."

This isn't a prearranged code, but Thalia is hoping that Cynthia will think about the fact that Giovanni's is at least a forty minute drive from Thalia's apartment, while the Flying Pie is just a ten-minute walk.

Also, the Flying Pie makes way better pizza.

Last edited August 20, 2020 1:26 am

Aug 20, 2020 11:19 pm

OOC:

Apologies in advance for how absurdly long this post is. I'm glad I wrote down the college students findings in advance last weekend or this would have taken all night, lol. I put their findings under spoiler tabs to hopefully make the information easier to read by virtue of not having all 1,500 words to scroll through at once. I hope I wasn't too off base in the coded instructions given to Cynthia.

Eddie mockingly rolls his eyes as you detail what you need him to do. "You want me to get your dry cleaning while I’m at it?" It will take some time for him to get everything done, so you’ll have to get your copy at a later date.

Cynthia and ‘the kids’ have already gotten a table by the time you walk through the front doors of the Flying Pie. The college students are very animatedly arguing with one another while Cynthia rubs her temples. She spots you and jumps up from her seat to rush over and greet you.

"You. Owe. Me. Please tell me we weren’t this annoying when we were in college." The student workers are being a little loud, but luckily the place is deserted this early before a proper dinner time. The owner seems to be the only one working and he’s busy in the back tossing dough into the air.

You take a seat at the table and the student workers eagerly start to divulge what they found. Now that you’re at the table they take things a bit more seriously and talk in hushed voices like they are playing at being spies. They give you their detailed notes indicating where the information can be found in the source documents in case you want to check things out for yourself when you get back to the office.

[ +- ] Linear timeline of the evolution of the mucus, how it related to the three working prototypes. Document all changes that were made to it from first prototype to date of the murder.

[ +- ] How each prototype was designed to work, comparing it to your knowledge of how an actual octopus tentacle works, and to see if those marks on the victims match up to how the various prototype tentacles were designed to work.

[ +- ] Analyze these crime scene reports, photographs, and selections of the trial transcripts with these questions in mind. Look for anything the cops took for granted or seemed to handwave instead of asking the obvious or logical questions. Look for leads that were left unfollowed. Make me a list of everything that even seems to smell slightly funny.

The final student finds it baffling that the police did not look further into the mother’s method of death. The fact that the suction cups wounds on her were so much fainter along with bruising consistent with strangulation by hand, make it clear to the student that the tentacle was only used after the mother was already dead or close to it.

When the students compared notes, they saw everything matched up with this theory. The tentacle was not working correctly on the father and probably wasn’t working at all by the time they got to the mother. They must have killed her by hand and then got the tentacle working again, and used it on her corpse to make it look like the device was used to kill her.

They are disappointed with Emilia Howard for not presenting Andrew’s journals as evidence to support his claim. The man obsessively documented everything he did. His notes of the night of the murder are beyond detailed. They are consistent with testing he did on other nights, indicating that the numbers were not fabricated as an alibi. All signs point toward Andrew being at home the night of the murder working in his lab.

His journals also made almost no mention of the murdered family. They were practically strangers. Until he was arrested, it didn’t seem like Andrew even knew their names. The only entry that even stood out was an ‘incident’ where the father scolded Andrew for walking around outside with the gripper attached. The father complained the sight could give kids nightmares. Andrew only looked at the device as a tool and the thought never occurred to him. He notes that he will make sure to stay inside when wearing it in the future. That’s it. The last mention of his neighbors. And it was made 8 months prior to the murders.

They question why Lloyd Laboratories was allowed to take the prototypes into their custody when there was already a connection in the case to the company because of Kate working there. It isn’t abnormal for Lloyd Laboratories to store dangerous items, as few companies have the resources to do so; but with the defendant being related to the head of R&D this seemed like a huge conflict of interest. The fact that the Task Force was originally supposed to take custody makes it even more suspicious to the student workers.

They dug into this a little more. The reasoning was given in the receipt of transfer. Apparently the request was made by Andrew Lawson himself. He felt he could only trust his sister to look after his invention. Kate Lawson personally signed for the transfer. Not an underling or associate.

Version 180 being completely missing is also highly troubling. The student feels the lack of any mention of its whereabouts is 100% on purpose because the cops had no idea where it was. They feel that any information about it was probably redacted when they could not find the prototype for fear of arousing further questions about the rushed investigation. Now that you know version 180 was destroyed, months prior to the murders, by Reuben and his friends, it does not come as a huge surprise that the cops were unable to find it.

The student workers wish that the cops had pictures of the other prototypes. Only photos of 216 were available and these were limited both in quantity and scope. They feel that the cops should have carefully inspected each prototype for signs of damage. The mother apparently had bits of one of these prototypes under her fingernails. If scratch marks were found on any of the prototypes, that would give you a good idea of which one was used in the murders.

Lastly they give a rather sensational theory about the father being the murderer that frankly makes no sense and feels like it could be a bad plot for a TV movie. But they are very excited about it.

Aug 21, 2020 4:28 am

OOC:

Wow, that post was incredibly detailed. Thanks for putting in so much effort, Griff. And for using the spoiler tags, which helped organize the information beautifully. And yes, you interpreted the code for which restaurant to go to perfectly.

Oh, and something I thought I should ask about: I'm assuming that Thalia didn't recognize any of the kids in Reuben's video? For instance, if one of them had been the daughter of the murdered family, she would have recognized her, right?

griffrpg says:

"You. Owe. Me. Please tell me we weren’t this annoying when we were in college."

Thalia smirks. "Well... I wasn't."

Once the kids settle down into reporting mode, Thalia is impressed with the quality of their analysis. They clearly have taken the assignment seriously, following her instructions on what she was looking for with diligence and intelligence. She asks some clarifying and follow-up questions, mostly to test their command of the material, and she isn't disappointed. She accepts their notes gratefully, and she gives each of them fifty dollars on top of what they'd been promised. She also gives each of them one of her business cards, with her office phone crossed out and the new pager number written below it. "In case you think of anything else you want to tell me, or if anything comes up that has you worried. And Danielle," she tells the criminology major, "I may have more work for you down the road. You showed a great aptitude for sniffing out a story that makes no sense."

Throughout the meal and conversation, Thalia keeps an eye out for anyone who seems to be paying too much - or too little - attention to the group, but she doesn't catch sight of anyone.

The students take their leave and Thalia catches Cyn up on the latest developments, which are considerable. The only thing she leaves out is the fact that she asked Kate Lawson to provide protection for Cyn and the others. "Keep in mind that my phones are tapped, so if you call me on them or leave any messages, you have to be circumspect. Also, I should probably pay you a visit at your place sometime to check out your line, but then maybe my showing up there now would just make it more likely they'd tap yours if they already haven't. Tell you what - anything you can't put into code, call my pager from a payphone. Pain in the butt, I know, but it's the safest thing, for the time being."

She settles the bill and gives Cyn a hug before her friend returns to Thalia's building to pick up her own car and drive home. It's about three o'clock in the afternoon, Thalia's workday is still going strong. Finding a safe payphone nearby, Thalia makes a few calls. The first is to the San Espero Penitentiary. She has to hang up and wait for twenty-three minutes for the call back, but Andrew Lawson sounds hopeful when he comes on the line.

"When I didn't hear back from you, I was afraid maybe you weren't finding anything," he confesses.

"Honestly, it's been going well. Just really busy. I've just run into a couple of things that I needed to ask you about before I proceed. The first thing is, what was the chain of events that led to you requesting that the police turn over your Sticky Gripper prototypes to Lloyd Laboratories? And the second question is, what can you tell me about Carson Chang?"

The second phone call is to Dylan Saunders. "I find myself with a preponderance of new information and no one to tell it to. Can I buy you a beer this evening? Or maybe a glass of wine? I know you have a taste for that."

Finally, Thalia calls Kate's private number with the additional 4494 suffix and tells the goon... the man who answers, "Tell your boss that I need to see the Sticky Grippers she's got stashed at Lloyd Labs. Sooner would be better."

Aug 21, 2020 10:27 pm

Andrew seems a little taken back with each question. It is as if he cannot understand why either one could possibly be relevant to the investigation. "Ms. Trimble, I trust my sister more than anyone else on this planet. Despite what anyone else may say, I still believe in the practical functionality of my invention. I didn’t want it being put away in some storage locker or sold in a police auction. I knew Kate would take care of it until I could get out of this place."

After seeming a little annoyed that you would even question the trust he has in Kate, Andrew sounds quite joyful when talking about Carson Chang. "Did you talk to him? How’s he doing? I really miss spending time with that old man. He’s a retired scientist that I met a few years back. We’d frequently get together in the park to play chess and talk about what projects we were working on. I hope he’s doing well. I haven’t heard from him since... all of this trouble. If you talk to him again please let him know that he is on my allowed visitors list and I’d love to see him."

You can practically hear Dylan blush when you bring up the wine. "Sure thing, Thalia. I’m probably going to be stuck in the office until about six. Do you know Nathan's on Pueblo Street? Meet you there around seven?"

When you call Kate’s relay number the phone is answered on the third ring. "I’ll pass the message along. Stand by for a response." Not more than five minutes later the phone rings. "Parking garage one block south of Lloyd Laboratories HQ. Park on the third floor and someone will meet you at the elevator." He hangs up without waiting for a reply.

EDIT:

OOC:

Whoops. Forgot about the question from OOC. No one in Reuben's video looked familiar to you. You would be able to recognize the daughter, but she did not appear in the video.

Aug 22, 2020 2:09 am

Thalia patiently puts up with Andrew's utter misconstruction of her reason for asking about placing his prototypes with Lloyd Labs. She hadn't actually been implying what he thought, but it's interesting that he'd read that into it and become so upset about it. She mutters an apology just to get him to move on.

When he waxes affectionate on the topic of Chang, she tells him, "I'll be sure to let him know he's welcome. He probably just thought you'd be embarrassed for him to visit you. Listen, you say you each talked about your projects. What sort of things was Carson working on? And where and when did the two of you usually play chess?"

"Yeah, I've been to Nathan's once or twice. See you at seven. If anything comes up, here's my new pager number." She reads it to him. "Don't call my office or home phones. They're both busted. Craziest thing."

Thalia finds herself still holding the receiver to her ear a few seconds after the goon - yes, goon, because the way he handled that phone call was just rude - hangs up. "You could've at least given me an expected arrival time," she grouses, putting the receiver back on the hook.

She thinks about her next move on the drive to the parking garage, deciding that she wants to check things out before complying with the instructions. She finds a parking place on the street near the garage, then pulls on a lightweight jacket from her bag - zipping it all the way up to hide her t-shirt - as well as a ball cap. She tucks her hair into the cap and puts on her disguise specs, choosing to give her dark eyes an epicanthic fold. A glance in the rearview mirror confirms that she looks like a young Asian woman with little concern for her appearance.

Walking into the garage on the first floor, she gets into the elevator and rides it to the third floor. When the doors open, she gets off the elevator and starts walking as though looking for her car. If she doesn't run into trouble, or see something that stinks of "trap!", she'll happily go back down, take off her get-up, and drive her car up to the third floor of this garage.

Aug 23, 2020 1:30 am

"Going out for a walk in the park, you know the one two blocks from my house, used to be a favorite activity of mine when I was in a brainstorming mood. Nothing like sunshine and fresh air to get those synapses firing. They have a couple of chess tables set up there for players to bring their own pieces and play on. Whenever I strolled through and Carson was there, we’d play for hours.

"Carson was mostly interested in what I was working on, to be honest. He was officially retired, but a scientist never stops thinking about their craft and he was a very gifted chemist. Come to think about it, I can’t recall him discussing any of his work in great detail. He was usually kind of vague... I think he mostly worked in pharmaceutical development? His knowledge went far beyond simple brain chemistry though. He always had tips and advice for the mucus compounds I was working on."

Your disguised walk through of the parking garage does not reveal any obvious traps. The place is mostly full but there are open spots here and there left by people whose work days must already be finished. Getting out of the elevator on the third floor reveals a woman in her mid thirties dressed in a pencil skirt and white button up top. She leans to the side, occasionally glancing at her watch and giving off the impression of someone who is very annoyed at having to wait around for someone to show up. You have no doubt that you are that someone she is waiting on. When she notices you, the woman gives a very brief fake smile before her scowl returns and she starts rhythmically tapping her fingers against her hip.

When you return without the disguise the woman instantaneously puts on a bright wide smile and rushes forward to shake your hand. There is no indication that she recognizes you as having previously walked through here just a few minutes ago.

"Thalia Trimble, I presume?" She directs you towards the elevator. "My name is Isabel Bell. Yes, yes. I am Bel Bell. I’ve heard it all before; let’s move on. I am Mrs. Lawson’s executive assistant. I’m told you need to see Andrew’s prototypes?"

Once the elevator doors shut, Isabel presses a blank button and a metal panel slides down revealing a second set of buttons and a visual scanner. She presses her ID badge to the scanner and then enters a 12 digit code. The elevator goes down far further then ground level, but the indicator stops updating you at G. You estimate you are at least 30 feet underground when the doors open and Isabel steps out; motioning you to follow into the slightly cold (both in temperature and appearance) white hallway.

Aug 23, 2020 3:33 am

"That's right," Thalia says. "If possible, I'd like to try them out, too. I'm hoping to get a better understanding of how they work - or even, how they don't work."

She follows Bel into the hallway, rubbing her arms a little against the sudden chill. Too bad she can't grab that jacket from her bag and put it on. "So this is a Lloyd Labs storage facility, huh?"

Aug 23, 2020 3:53 pm

Isabel comes to a dead stop and gives you a look as if you just asked her to personally give you a piggyback ride to the moon. "You will absolutely not be ‘trying them out.’ No one is allowed in that room, much less allowed to touch the prototypes. They are secured as evidence in a murder trial, for goodness sake." Your powers pick up a slight variation in her voice which indicates she is not solely reciting company policy. It does not appear that she is lying. The words ring as true, but she might be withholding information about the room or the prototypes.

You continue down the long white hallway, occasionally passing windowless white doors with electronic keypads next to them. Isabel returns to her bubbly professional demeanor like she flipped a switch. "Lloyd Laboratories is a large company with a lot of projects. This is one of many storage facilities. Sometimes we joke that our facilities are connected by a more extensive tunnel system than the one used for the San Espero subway."

She finally stops outside of a door and holds up her badge to the keypad. There is an audible beep and she proceeds to enter in a number sequence with so many digits you lose track of counting them. A panel on the wall opens up to reveal a TV monitor, joystick, and a small keyboard.

The monitor gives you a visual of the room beyond the door. It is about 10’ by 10’ with two pedestals in the center, on which rest glass cases which house two sticky gripper prototypes. Isabel motions you forward to the controls which offer you a variety of cameras to switch between and the joystick to control the cameras. The video quality is high but offers a far from perfect method of inspecting the prototypes.

Dice Pool Limit: 5

OOC:

Please describe how Thalia uses the cameras and specifically what information she is trying to gain. At least 2 successes will be needed to get this information.

Aug 24, 2020 12:07 am

Well, this is disappointing. Thalia had really been counting on a chance to interact with the grippers physically. She wanted to see them operating firsthand to help her make sense of the crime scene data and the findings from her own and the college students' analyses.

"I understand that they were secured as evidence, but the trial is over. Is there some expectation of an appeal or something?"

When she takes over the controls for maneuvering the cameras, she examines each of the prototypes from every possible angle, making sure to get plenty close enough to look for signs of damage from when the mother apparently tried to pry it off her husband. Perhaps there are small scratches, perhaps there are grooves. Thalia expects to find these marks on version 11 rather than on 216, since the analysis of the evidence suggests that the gripper lost effectiveness pretty quickly after the daughter's murder, and 216 has solved that problem.

Rolls

Examining the prototypes - (5d6)

(34516) = 19

Aug 24, 2020 10:26 pm

"Mrs. Lawson does not feel that an appeal is in anyone’s best interest at this time. This does not negate the possibility of an appeal being made in the future. That aside, you wouldn’t expect the police to hand over a shotgun that was used in a murder just because the trial was over and you asked nicely; now would you?" Isabel has her hands on her hips and is giving you a rather incredulous look. When you glance her way, she rapidly straightens her posture and shifts back to her professional smile.

Even without getting an up close look at the prototypes, you are able to find what you are looking for using the right combination of camera angles and zooms. Version 216 looks flawless, as expected. Version 11, when inspected closely, reveals scratch marks in multiple locations. All of them are 2-4 lines of a few inches in length, and spaced out roughly finger width apart. You have no doubt in your mind that this is the murder weapon.

"Well... You’ve had quite a good look. What exactly is it that you’re trying to find here, Ms. Trimble?"

Aug 24, 2020 11:08 pm

"Oh, just trying to fill some gaps in the case files. I'm being paid to be thorough in my investigation." Thalia pulls back from the
screen and looks at Isabel with a professional smile of her own. "I assume that a video was recorded by the cameras as I was examining the prototypes. I'd like a copy of it before I leave. For my records."

Last edited August 24, 2020 11:10 pm

Aug 25, 2020 10:13 pm

Isabel tilts her head to the side and scrunches her nose at you. It is the kind of look someone might give to a child or a puppy that does something cute. "Of course everything that happens on Lloyd Laboratories property is recorded. However, as I am sure will come as no surprise to you, we do not make a habit of giving out copies of said recordings to low level contracted help simply because they request it. If you would like, I can have the required paperwork for the request delivered to your office and a representative from our security team should reach out to you within 3-5 weeks of the paperwork being returned." Unfortunately, you do not detect any attempt to lie here. "Is there anything else I can assist you with, Ms. Trimble, or can I show you out?"

Aug 25, 2020 10:45 pm

Thalia counters Isabel's look with one of her own, one that someone might give a grown woman who is treating them with condescension and is going to regret it. "No, actually, you can call Ms. Lawson right now and tell her that I have requested the recording of my session with these prototypes and that I need it before I leave the premises."

She makes a show of pulling out the pager Kate had given her, fiddling with it idly while making sure that Isabel recognizes it as the kind Kate gives to her security team. "Either that, or I can dial her private number and tell her myself. I think it will go better for you if you make the call, though." She gets serious then and adds, in a harder voice, "Or you can just accept that your boss has contracted me for some special work, give me what I'm asking for as part of what she is paying me to do for her, and avoid having a hard conversation with her at all."

Aug 25, 2020 11:11 pm

Isabel hesitates before responding. She taps her right foot upon the ground several times as she mulls over her options. Eventually, her lips curl back into her pleasant fake smile but her eyes continue to show anger. "Ms. Trimble... How long have you known Mrs. Lawson? Two or three days? I have not come into this position because I am an incompetent and scared little girl that will bow the to threats of someone's whose greatest achievement in life is passing what I am sure is a very difficult private investigator licensing exam."

She slowly steps forward. Isabel does not move cautiously out of fear or intimidation. She takes her time strolling right up in front of you so she can look you up and down and get a real good idea of who you are and what you are capable of. "She spoiled you. Do you know how few people get to speak directly to Kate Lawson? Everyone goes through me. Everyone." The smile has completely faded and her voice is filled with anger. "I will decide if this worth her time. What did you discover just now? What did you see that was so important to your investigate? You expect me to believe that merely looking at those prototypes for 10 minutes allowed you to crack this whole case wide open?"

Aug 26, 2020 12:35 am

Thalia stands her ground, hip cocked and posture relaxed. She's faced down this sort of thing before, the attempt to make her feel small, insignificant, and wanting. Granted, it's usually a man, or someone with power and privilege. The fact that it's someone who's sort of on her own level (whether she knows it yet or not) is actually kind of refreshing.

"Look, I get it. You've spent years serving Ms. Lawson, earning her trust, learning her moods, meeting and exceeding her exacting standards. You look at me and you see some unskilled nobody scratching out a living doing low-level investigative hack work who has somehow managed to get your boss to grant an undeserved glimpse at evidence in her brother's unjust murder conviction. And I spend fifteen minutes looking at them and start throwing my weight around, demanding a video, as if I'm Nancy-freakin' Drew, showing up the police and the grownups.

"Here's the thing, Isabel. You know how stingey Ms. Lawson is with her trust. You know because you've paid your dues, come up that ladder rung by rung. I respect that, and I respect that you are doing your job, protecting your boss' interests. And it probably stings that I've somehow made it to the top of that ladder without climbing it. Without breaking confidentiality, all I can say to explain is that I was basically shot out of a cannon and landed there." She points to some of the cuts and bruises she sustained during her fight with the goons and her up-close-and-personal with the plate glass window. "Literally."

She raises her hands, palms turned upward. "I can't tell you what I saw during that examination of the prototypes because my investigation is confidential. But I can tell you that after a thorough analysis of the case files, I only needed those fifteen minutes because I knew exactly what I was looking for. Now I need photographic evidence of it so that I can help build a case that your boss can use to get her brother exonnerated. There are people who are paying a lot of money to prevent that. I can't wait three weeks for a copy of that video because, frankly, I might not still be alive in three weeks if these people have their way. I need that evidence now. So whatever you need to do to make that happen... please. I'm asking you to do it."

Aug 26, 2020 11:30 pm

Isabel listens to your words carefully, though her expression remains stoic. When you wrap up she raises her hands and slowly gives you a condescending golf clap. "Very moving speech. Practicing in front of the mirror has really paid off for you. Little word of advice though: if you’re going to do the good cop/bad cop thing, it helps to have two separate people delivering each angle.

"Let me make this perfectly clear, Ms. Trimble. You have no power here. None whatsoever. You may think I am someone that can be pushed around but you would be wrong. You may think I’m being unnecessarily harsh in my treatment toward you. Again, you would be wrong. Believe it or not, I am trying to help you." You get a mixed reading from this. A partial truth that is muddied with a partial lie.

"Don’t ask about getting a recording again. It isn’t going to happen. No one at Lloyd Laboratories wants Andrew Lawson set free and that includes Kate Lawson. Does she want to find out who framed him? Of course. But you're kidding yourself if you think she's going go through the trouble of having him exonerated. All she wants from you is justification to take out her enemies.

"You are in over your head, Ms. Trimble. You have made a lot of enemies inside this company and now find yourself inside the lion den. Don’t you think it’d be best to get out before you wake the lions? This is the last time I will make this offer. Turn around and get back on the elevator."

Aug 27, 2020 12:41 am

Holding up her hands, Thalia says, "Okay, okay, I got it. Can't blame me for trying, right? It's just in my nature. If you say there's not way I'm getting a recording, I'll just have to take you at your word. One thing I don't understand, though. Why wouldn't Kate want Andrew exonerated? I would have thought having her brother proven to not be a convicted mass murderer would be a good thing for her."

Aug 27, 2020 10:59 pm

Isabel visibly relaxes when you drop the pursuit of the recording. She beckons you forward and the two of you approach the elevator. "The damage has already been done to Kate Lawson’s reputation. Clearing Andrew’s name only brings old dirt to the forefront. It makes her look weak. Shows that she was bested by one of her rivals. It also makes dealing with said rival more difficult because there would be increased attention on them. She intends to kill everyone involved in framing Andrew."

She stops to press the button for the elevator, but her eyes are on you. She wants to soak in your reaction before continuing. You do not get any indicate that Isabel is lying. However, this may be her personal belief about what Kate will do, rather than direct words from Kate herself. "So what is Thalia Trimble’s best possible outcome in all of this? Complacent in the murder of Kate’s rivals, evidence that would exonerate Andrew gets buried by Kate, and you have to live the rest of your days looking over your shoulder hoping that Kate doesn’t decide to tie up lose ends."

The elevator doors open, but Isabel puts a hand across the entryway, blocking your path. "Are you ok with that? Or would you like to entertain other options?" You can see beads of sweat starting to streak down her forehead betraying her confident demeanor. She looks desperate.

Aug 27, 2020 11:03 pm