It smells of John. It fills you with a brief, blissful moment of calm, as if you actually had John beside you.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy = -1>>-1 John-Related Melancholy\n\n<<if $body eq "no">>[[Examine the body|body]]<<endif>>\n<<if $clothes eq "no">>[[Examine the body's clothes|clothes]]<<endif>>\n<<if $Efreezer eq "no">>[[Examine the freezer|Efreezer]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here. Time to move on.|Fdone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|shooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|breathe]]<<endif>>
"Oh, I don't know, maybe I can stop you doing something that the Yard will end up getting sued for," she snaps back. "Or I suppose I could just stand around telling you how brilliant you are, like John does."\n\nThere's something completely repulsive about the idea of Sally trying to stand in for John. The thought of his praise on her lips makes you feel physically ill. Something of your feelings must show on your face, because her eyes soften.\n\n"Shit, sorry," she says, then sighs. "You're just bloody infuriating to be around, do you know that?"\n\n"Yes, actually. John tells me that sometimes as well."\n\nIt sounds so much better from him, though. God, you miss him.\n\n"Let's go," you snap.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy+1>>+1 John-Related Melancholy\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
The scarf tightens around your neck in a way that would cut off your breathing if you did such a thing. Between that and the mysterious chemicals flooding into your veins, it's probably a good thing you're already dead.\n\nThe polar explorer pulls you up by the neck and marches you into the next room, which contains a large freezer.\n\n"This time, it'll work," he hisses as he pushes you inside and slams the door shut behind you.\n\n"No, it won't!" you call back, but you suspect he's not listening. \n\nYou kick the door without any effect and then pull out your phone and find, with little surprise, that there's no signal. There's enough room to sit down so you do, sinking your face into John's scarf.\n\nIt's cold in the freezer, but that has little effect on you. You add 'freezing to death' to 'strangulation' and 'poisoning' as ways you should have died today. As time continues to pass, you add 'boredom' which, despite what John might say, is definitely something you can die from.\n\nIt's nearly three mind-numbingly dull hours before Sally wrenches the door open, having tracked you down by process of elimination.\n\n"Jesus!" she says when she sees you, covered in a light coating of frost.\n\nYou stand up. "I'm fine," you say, and stride out. "Did you arrest Henry?"\n\n"Yeah," she says, still staring. "Jesus, are you sure you're all right?"\n\n"Perfectly fine," you say. "John's scarf kept me warm."\n\nShe doesn't look as if she's buying that, but you're not interested. Now the case is solved, there's no reason for you not to go home and lie down on the sofa to run back over it, imagining what it would have been like if John was with you. He'd probably have managed to wrestle the explorer to the ground. You do so enjoy watching him take down men who are a great deal larger than him.\n\nThe End
<<set $wife = "yes">>The wife is beside herself with tears. You find it unspeakably irritating and wish John was there to do his usual excellent job at soothing a disgruntled witness.\n\nSally is not nearly as proficient, although she does a better job than you would if you were alone.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy +1>>John-Related Melancholy +1\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n[[Have you seen anyone suspicious around the shop in the last few days?|wifesuspicious]]\n[[Did your husband inject himself with illicit substances on a regular basis?|wifedrugs]]\n[[Was there a reason you were staying at your sister's rather than at home?|wifesister]]<<endif>>\n
<<set $photo = "yes">>The photos have been taken from strange angles and with odd focuses. You pull out your magnifying glass to try and gain more information, but it's no use. You can't see anything other than the failed artistic dreams of the photographer. You throw them to one side with a scowl. Why is it so hard to find people who can observe properly?\n\nJohn could observe properly. He's one of the very few people you've ever met who can, even if he's not generally any good at working out the significance of what he's observed.\n\nYou miss having him by your side.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy = +1>>+1 John-Related Melancholy\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>><<endif>>
<<set $Efreezer = "yes">>The freezer door has a handle on the inside to prevent accidental lock-ins, but the door had been wedged shut from the outside with an ice-pick. The inside of the door reveals a few scattered marks, as if it had been kicked or hit, presumably by the dead man.\n\nYou look through the shelves of ice cream and find a small, frozen puddle of vomit on the one closest to the door. Interesting. Hypothermia doesn't result in vomiting. There is more to this than there seems, and certainly more than the police are aware of.\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>Investigating +1\n\n<<if $body eq "no">>[[Examine the body|body]]<<endif>>\n<<if $clothes eq "no">>[[Examine the body's clothes|clothes]]<<endif>>\n<<if $Efreezer eq "no">>[[Examine the freezer|Efreezer]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here. Time to move on.|Fdone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|shooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|breathe]]<<endif>>
"Yeah, perhaps," she says. "You realise I've been doing this job for over a decade now, right?"\n\n"And yet you still seem to know nothing," you respond.\n\nShe glares at you with daggers in her eyes.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
The ice cream shop is swarming with police, none of them doing anything remotely intelligent. \n\nYou stride through them to the scene of the crime. Lestrade is standing in the doorway of the walk-in freezer, staring at the frozen corpse. He glances up at you and looks briefly surprised. His eyes slide past you to Sally's and he raises an impressed eyebrow at her. You don't need to look around to see her smug expression. You find the whole interchange indescribably irritating.\n\n[[1. “As you're all clearly completely incapable of solving a case without me, would you get out of the way so I can have a look?”|SceneIrritation1]]\n\n[[2. “Lestrade, I apologise, I didn't realise you'd been struck by sudden blindness. That can be the only explanation for your outfit, not to mention your inability to solve a simple case like this one.”|SceneIrritation2]]\n\n[[3. “You must be desperate indeed if you're resorting to sending your minions to get me. Let me guess, the killer failed to leave a signed confession for you.”|SceneIrritation1]]\n\n[[4. “Please tell me this is going to be worth my while. I do have more to do than doing your job for you, you know.”|SceneSad]]\n\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[5. You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and take a deep, calming breath, pushing the irritation back down. John wouldn't want you to start snapping at people.|SceneScarf]]<<endif>>
<<silently>>\n<<set $investigate = 0>>\n<<set $melancholy = 0>>\n<<set $irritation = 0>>\n<<set $gun = "no">>\n<<set $grave = "no">>\n<<set $scarf = "no">>\n<<set $body = "no">>\n<<set $clothes = "no">>\n<<set $Efreezer = "no">>\n<<set $photo = "no">>\n<<set $autopsy = "no">>\n<<set $forensics = "no">>\n<<set $witness = "no">>\n<<set $roommate = "no">>\n<<set $colleague = "no">>\n<<set $flat = "no">>\n<<set $wife = "no">>\n<<set $RMirritation = 0>>\n<<endsilently>>“I reckon you owe me so much that you're going to spend years paying it back. And I reckon you're going to start by getting up off that bloody sofa, having a shower because you clearly haven't for days, getting dressed and coming down to Greenwich to look at a frozen corpse with me.”\n\nYou are unwilling to bother with solving a case when so much of your mental capacity is taken up with the misery of missing John, but you do owe Sally now. You reluctantly stand up and follow her instructions.\n\n(In order to complete the investigation, you will need to gather enough Investigation Points to have an epiphany. However, if you piss the police off too much along the way they'll throw you off the case. If you spend too much time thinking about John, you may become too melancholy to continue.)\n\nOnce you have showered and dressed, you stand in the centre of your bedroom, wondering what you should take with you in lieu of your blogger. There seem to be three options.\n\n[[1. The gun that Sally has just handed back to you.|gun]]\n[[2. One of the wall hangings from Molly's Halloween party, displaying a graveyard that reminds you of your childhood.|grave]]\n[[3. John's scarf. It still smells like him. Perhaps it will make it easier to cope with his absence on this case.|scarf]]
<<set $forensics = "yes">>The forensics report claims that there was no evidence that anyone other than the victim and the other employees had been in the freezer, but you're not sure you trust it. It has clearly been written by Anderson in a rush, presumably because he spent the time he should have been writing it doing something else. You strongly suspect that something else had to do with the new receptionist you've seen him chatting up.\n\nSally comes into the room with a cup of coffee for you and you inform her of that, in no uncertain terms. For some reason, this earns you a glower and your coffee is thrown away. No matter, you weren't intending to drink it anyway.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>><<endif>>
The case has stumped you. Has losing John also made you lose your genius? The thought is horrifying. You sidle off home and crawl onto the sofa, where you stay for five days without moving.\n\nThe End
The smell of the scarf reminds you of the tiny sigh John would give every time you were rude to the police. You plaster on a smile that no doubt looks as fake as it feels. “Show me the body, then,” you say. Lestrade steps aside and gestures into the freezer.\n\n<<display 'freezer'>>
You very much enjoy letting off some steam with the help of John's fire arm. The police are less pleased.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 10>>+10 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<if $body eq "no">>[[Examine the body|body]]<<endif>>\n<<if $clothes eq "no">>[[Examine the body's clothes|clothes]]<<endif>>\n<<if $Efreezer eq "no">>[[Examine the freezer|Efreezer]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here. Time to move on.|Fdone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|shooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|breathe]]<<endif>><<endif>>
The smell of the scarf reminds you why you're enduring this. Sally helped John out by bringing you his gun. John would expect you to keep your lip buttoned on the worst of your insults as a thank you.\n\n"Fine," you snap. "Let's go."\n\n<<display 'Qwitness'>>
The polar explorer pulls you up and marches you into the next room, which contains a large freezer.\n\n"This time, it'll work," he hisses as he pushes you inside and slams the door shut behind you.\n\n"No, it won't!" you call back, but you suspect he's not listening.\n\nYou kick the door a few times and then check your phone, which is showing no signal. It's a good thing you thought ahead. You pull out the graveyard wall hanging and attach it to the inside of the door, then step through it to Halloween, and then back through a mausoleum to the picture hanging in the sitting room at 221B.\n\nYou sink onto the sofa with a sigh, hoping you don't ever have to move again. You start to run back over the case, imagining what it would have been like if John had been with you. He'd probably have managed to wrestle the explorer to the ground. You do so enjoy watching him take down men who are a great deal larger than him.\n\nAfter about half an hour, you remember to text Sally and let her know who the murderer is.\n\nThe End
<<set $witness = "yes">>The police had gathered witness statements from an uneccesarily high number of people, most of whom are completely irrelevent. You skim through them, noting that the victim's room-mate had thought nothing of him not coming home because he often stayed over at his girlfriend's, his colleagues often left him to lock up alone because he lived the closest. The man who lived in the flat above the restaurant said he hadn't hear anything strange on the night in question, but he had seen a man in a long, black coat hanging around the back entrance a few days before. Interesting.\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>Investigating +1\n\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>>
"Yeah, we always got on," says the supervisor. "Never had any problems with him."\n\n"The last time I remember him getting in a row with someone was over a year ago," adds another employee. "And that was with an utter arsehole, I'd have got in a row with him."\n\n"You get in a row with everyone," says the supervisor with a sigh.\n\n"What a coincidence," says Sally. "So does Sherlock."\n\n"Only with idiots," you reply. "It's not my fault that the vast majority of the human race are idiots."\n\nThe employee nods. "I hear you," she agrees. "All utter imbeciles."\n\n"Imbeciles you need to get back to," says the supervisor. "Table Four needs their drinks."\n\n<<display 'Qwitness'>>
You very much enjoy letting off some steam with the help of John's fire arm. The police are less pleased.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 10>>+10 Police Irritation\n\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>><<endif>>
You've taken in the key elements of the Yard's pathetic attempts at investigation in less than an hour. All that remains now is to question the witnesses. The police have, as usual, entirely failed to get any useful information from them.\n\nFor some reason, Sally insists on going with you.\n\n[["What possible use do you think you're going to be to me?|Use]]\n[["You can only come if you stay well back and keep your mouth shut."|mouth]]\n[["If this is an attempt to make sure I don't disappear off home and give up on this dull case, then don't worry. I intend to get to the mind-numbing end of the thing, if only so I can point out to you just how simple it was, and how easy you'd have found it if you'd just bothered using your brains."|disappear]]\n[["Oh, fine, if you insist. Perhaps you'll actually learn something about the investigative sciences."|insist]]\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[5. You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and take a deep, calming breath, pushing the irritation back down. John wouldn't want you to start snapping at people.|Witnessscarf]]<<endif>>\n
"I have to go," you tell Sally, and leave while she's still protesting. You can barely find the energy to get back to 221B and once there, you just sink onto the sofa and shut your eyes, try to contain the misery surging within.\n\nYou don't move for 72 hours.\n\nThe End.
"Are you serious?" asks the supervisor. "You think we'd have kept him on if we thought he was using?"\n\n"He was way too goody-two-shoes for drugs," adds another staff member. "He barely even drank."\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate +1>>+ 1 Investigation\n\n<<display 'Qwitness'>>
<<set $colleague = "yes">>\n\nThere are three members of staff at the restaurant where the first victim worked and died, which is not enough given the number of customers filling the place up.\n\n"We've got time for one question," says the supervisor. "Any more than that and it will have to wait until later."\n\n[[How did you get on with the victim? Did the customers like him?|colleaguesliked]]\n[[Did you see anyone suspicious hanging around in the days before the murder?|colleaguessuspicious]]\n[[Do you know if the victim was a user of illicit substances at all?|colleaguesdrugs]]
"No, no one," says the supervisor. "Mind you, I don't always have a lot of time for people watching. It gets busy in here."\n\n"No men in long black coats?" you ask.\n\nShe shakes her head. "Nothing. Well, I mean, there are plenty of men around in black coats at the moment, just none that stand out as suspicious. I'm not even sure what that would look like."\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate +1>>+1 Investigation\n\n<<display 'Qwitness'>>
The freezer is lined with shelves that are stacked with a cartoons of ice cream. The body is huddled at the back, dressed in a dark green apron with the name of the shop on it, a beige jumper and a pair of black trousers.\n\n<<if $body eq "no">>[[Examine the body|body]]<<endif>>\n<<if $clothes eq "no">>[[Examine the body's clothes|clothes]]<<endif>>\n<<if $Efreezer eq "no">>[[Examine the freezer|Efreezer]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here. Time to move on.|Fdone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|shooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|breathe]]<<endif>>
"You're not really doing a very good job of paying me back, you know," says Sally. "You want to hold off the insults or I might think again about helping you."\n\n"Too late," you snap back. "I have the gun now."\n\nYou can think of at least three ways for her to get the gun back into police custody without getting into any trouble though, so you bite your tongue on the next three insults that occur to you.\n\n"Let's go."\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
<<set $RMirritation = $RMirritation +1>>He shrugs. "Dunno. Don't think so."\n\n<<if $RMirritation is 3>>You lose your temper. "Is there some sort of problem with your brain? Do you really pay so little attention to the world around you? How can you-"\n\n"Okay!" interrupts Sally. "That's enough for now, I think. Come on, Sherlock."\n\nShe grabs your elbow and forcibly pulls you out of the flat, glaring the whole time. You ignore her. If someone is going to be that utterly useless, you can't be held responsible for your actions.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>\n<<else>>[[Did James have any enemies?|roommateenemies]]\n[[Have you seen anyone suspicious around the flat lately?|roommatesuspicious]]\n[[Did James take any illegal substances?|roommatedrugs]]<<endif>>
The Body In The Freezer
Who do you want to question?\n\n<<if $roommate eq "no">>[[Question the first victim's room-mate|1room-mate]]<<endif>>\n<<if $colleague eq "no">>[[Question the first victim's colleagues|1colleague]]<<endif>>\n<<if $flat eq "no">>[[Question the resident of the flat above the first crime scene|1flat]]<<endif>>\n<<if $wife eq "no">>[[Question the second victim's wife|2wife]]<<endif>>\n<<if $investigate gte 8>>[[You have enough investigation points to confront the murderer|confront]]<<endif>>\n<<if $roommate eq "yes">><<if $colleague eq "yes">><<if $flat eq "yes">><<if $wife eq "yes">><<if $investigate lt 8>>[[You have exhausted all lines of enquiry and yet not solved the case|fail]]<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>
"Oh, I don't know. I just remember seeing him hanging about, staring at the place. The first time I didn't think anything of it, but the second and third time it just seemed odd, you know? He was just suspicious."\n\n"Of course," you say. You give Sally the meaningful look you'd have given John if he were here, but she just gives you a strange frown. You sigh. Solving crime just isn't as much fun without John.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy + 1>>+ 1 John-Related Melancholy\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>+1 Investigation\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
<<set $RMirritation = $RMirritation +1>>He shrugs. "Dunno. Don't think so."\n\n<<if $RMirritation is 3>>You lose your temper. "Is there some sort of problem with your brain? Do you really pay so little attention to the world around you? How can you-"\n\n"Okay!" interrupts Sally. "That's enough for now, I think. Come on, Sherlock."\n\nShe grabs your elbow and forcibly pulls you out of the flat, glaring the whole time. You ignore her. If someone is going to be that utterly useless, you can't be held responsible for your actions.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>\n<<else>>[[Did James have any enemies?|roommateenemies]]\n[[Have you seen anyone suspicious around the flat lately?|roommatesuspicious]]\n[[Did James take any illegal substances?|roommatedrugs]]<<endif>>
<<set $body = "yes">>The corpse is a middle-aged man who had lived in London for at least twenty-six years, was married, and spent a perplexing amount of time playing golf. He's been dead at least twelve hours and his fingers, nose and ears show distinctive signs of frostbite.\n\n“The wife said she left him to finish locking up last night at around seven o'clock,” says Lestrade. “She spent the night at her sister's, so didn't notice he hadn't come home. She found him this morning at nine when she came in, and called us.”\n\nYou nod. At the most, he would have been inside the freezer for fourteen hours, which meant he'd only survived two hours before dying. Curious, death by hypothermia caused by freezing air should take a great deal longer, unless he had an underlying medical condition. You lean in closer to examine the frostbite on his ears and find a small patch of discoloured skin. Is that an injection site?\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>Investigating +1\n\n<<if $body eq "no">>[[Examine the body|body]]<<endif>>\n<<if $clothes eq "no">>[[Examine the body's clothes|clothes]]<<endif>>\n<<if $Efreezer eq "no">>[[Examine the freezer|Efreezer]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here. Time to move on.|Fdone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|shooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|breathe]]<<endif>>
<<set $RMirritation = $RMirritation +1>>He shrugs. "Dunno. Don't think so."\n\n<<if $RMirritation is 3>>You lose your temper. "Is there some sort of problem with your brain? Do you really pay so little attention to the world around you? How can you-"\n\n"Okay!" interrupts Sally. "That's enough for now, I think. Come on, Sherlock."\n\nShe grabs your elbow and forcibly pulls you out of the flat, glaring the whole time. You ignore her. If someone is going to be that utterly useless, you can't be held responsible for your actions.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>\n<<else>>[[Did James have any enemies?|roommateenemies]]\n[[Have you seen anyone suspicious around the flat lately?|roommatesuspicious]]\n[[Did James take any illegal substances?|roommatedrugs]]<<endif>>
"No, no one," she says. "I mean, we have a few regulars but none of them are what you'd call suspicious. Most of our trade is tourists and passers-by. Our ice cream's famous, you know." She starts to sniffle. "I just don't know how I'll be able to carry on without Harold. That shop was his life."\n\n"What a very small life," you remark, earning yourself a glare from Sally and an indignant huff from the witness, who refuses to answer any more questions. Honestly, new widows are always so sensitive.\n\n"Did you have to?" asks Sally with exasperation as you leave. You just shrug in response.\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police irritation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
The incident room is plastered with photographs of the first murder, most of which are useless. You strongly suspect the photographer is a fan of modern art. The autopsy report is by Molly and, thankfully, far more professional. The forensics have been done by Anderson. It's possible there's no point in even looking at them, other than for the comedy value.\n\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>>\n
It smells of John. It fills you with a brief, blissful moment of calm, as if you actually had John beside you.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy = -1>>-1 John-Related Melancholy\n\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>>
<<set $melancholy = $melancholy +1>>Sally snorted. “What, you mean moping around thinking about John? Yeah, that seems really important.”\n\nIt is important. It is vital to every part of you, but there's no way to explain that to her. You miss him even more now that you're at a crime scene without his familiar presence at your side.\n\n+1 John-Related Melancholy\n\n<<display 'freezer'>>
The explorer isn't prepared for the sudden appearance of a fire arm.\n\n"Fucking hell!" he swears as he backs away, raising his hands.\n\n"Stay where you are," you say, pulling out your mobile. You call Sally and let her know that you have her murderer held at bay and that he's confessed. She also swears at you before hanging up.\n\nWhen she arrives and sees the gun, she swears again. "For fuck's sake, Sherlock. I didn't give that back to you so that you could get yourself arrested as well."\n\n"No, you gave it back to me in the cause of justice," you point out, tucking it away now that Sally is here to handcuff the polar explorer. "And look, I've already used it to further that cause."\n\nShe glares at you. "Oh, piss off home before I lose my temper and arrest you as well."\n\nYou are more than happy to do so. There's nothing you want more than to lie down on the sofa and run back over the case, imagining what it would have been like if John was with you. He'd have been the one to pull out the gun, for one thing. You do so enjoy watching him be competent with fire arms.\n\nTHE END
"No, not at all. I barely know anyone around here, I'm afraid. My job means I'm away for long periods of time." He puffs his chest out. "I'm a polar explorer, you know."\n\nYou stare at him with perplexity. "What an entirely pointless job. Surely the whole place has been mapped by satellite now?"\n\nHe gapes at you and rage clouds his face. "How dare you?!" he demands. "My job is vital for both exploration and conservation!"\n\n"Of course it is," interrupts Sally before you can point out the flaws in that claim. "I apologise for our consultant."\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>+1 Investigation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n[[Can you remember any other details about the suspicious man? Like what made him seem suspicious to start with?|flatsuspicious1]]<<endif>>
"Are you suggesting he was on drugs?" asks the wife, with some heat. "Why, I never! As if my Harold would ever stoop to such a thing!"\n\nThe tone of her voice reminds you on John's incredulity at Lestrade's very first drug's bust at 221B, back before he'd known about your past with illegal narcotics. A wave of nostalgia sweeps through you as the wife throws you out of her house.\n\n"That was useful," says Sally, sarcastically. You ignore her.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy + 1>>+1 John-Related Melancholy\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
"Yeah, yeah, I know," says Sally. "The great Sherlock Holmes requires absolute silence to use his massive brain." She snorts as if that's in some way humourous rather than the absolute truth.\n\n<<display 'Qwitness'>>
<<set $roommate = "yes">>"Feel free to ask me anything you want," says the roommate. "Probably won't be able to help you, though. Me and James didn't hang out much."\n\nYou look around their shared sitting room and see all the signs that that's true. There are obvious lines of demarcation between their different areas and very little overlap. You think of the way yours and John's belongings became communal almost immediately. Even the items that John made a fuss about, like his laptop, were basically shared items by the time you'd been living together a month.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy +1>>John-Related Melancholy +1\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n[[Did James have any enemies?|roommateenemies]]\n[[Have you seen anyone suspicious around the flat lately?|roommatesuspicious]]\n[[Did James take any illegal substances?|roommatedrugs]]<<endif>>
<<set $flat = "yes">>The man who lives above the restaurant is called Henry and has a flat decorated with maps of the Arctic regions and photos of icy landscapes. It makes the room feel very cold.\n\n"I'm not sure what help I can give you," he says. "As I told the police before, I didn't hear anything on the night in question. I saw a suspicious man hanging around a few times before that, but I didn't see his face at all. He was wearing a long, black coat."\n\n[[Can you remember any other details about the suspicious man? Like what made him seem suspicious?|flatsuspicious]]\n[[Did you know the victim at all?|flatvictim]]\n\n
<<set $autopsy = "yes">>The autopsy report reveals that the victim die of hypothermia, but that his system was already under strain from an unknown chemical combination. Interesting. \n\nIf John was here, then he might be able to offer you medical insight into the effects of those particular chemicals on the human body. He really is such a useful person.\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>Investigating +1\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy +1>>John-Related Melancholy +1\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n<<if $photo eq "no">>[[Examine Crime Scene Photographs|photo]]<<endif>>\n<<if $autopsy eq "no">>[[Read Autopsy Report|autopsy]]<<endif>>\n<<if $forensics eq "no">>[[Examine Forensics|forensics]]<<endif>>\n<<if $witness eq "no">>[[Read Witness Statements|witness]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here, time to move on.|Idone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|Ishooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|Ibreathe]]<<endif>><<endif>>
<<set $grave = "yes">>The wall covering folds up small enough to be put in your inside coat pocket. Once it's tucked away, you go back out to Sally and find a brief, faked smile for her.\n\n[[“Let's go.”|Scene]]
"I am this close to arresting you," Sally hisses. "Just piss off, would you? And be very sure, if I'm ever in a position to do you a favour again, I will do the precise opposite."\n\nYou go home, not feeling as satisfied as you thought you would to be getting back to the sofa. You have a creeping, uncomfortable feeling that you've done the wrong thing.\n\nThe End
You have almost all the pieces now. There's just the motive left. You shake Sally off before you go to confront the murderer, in his flat above the first crime scene. You find Henry in his kitchen, bent over a chemistry set. At your entrance, he spins around with surprise.\n\n"How did you get in?"\n\n"I think a better question would be why you thought you could get away with murder when your incompetence covers so many areas. Did you really think you could use your own ice pick to hold a freezer door shut and no one would track you down?"\n\nHe goes white. "How did- No! It wasn't murder. It was - they weren't meant to die. It should have worked!"\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "Whatever concoction you've brewed up, and whatever it is you think it should do, it doesn't. You could have told that from the two dead bodies. I don't suppose you bothered getting full, written consent before starting human trials?"\n\nHe turns back to his chemistry set, shaking his head. "No one understands," he mutters. "No one ever understands. This could revolutionise Arctic living. Once it's perfected, it will render the human body perfectly capable of operating in temperatures well below freezing."\n\n"There are two defrosting corpses in the morgue that disagree," you point out. You've got your confession now, and your explanation. There's no need to bother with anything else. You can text Sally the details and finally go home. "If I were you, I'd plead insanity when the police come to get you," you advise. "You're certainly not far off."\n\nYou turn to leave. "No!" he shouts from behind you and leaps at you, knocking you to the ground. A moment later you feel a syringe bite into your neck, no doubt filled with his failed anti-freeze solution. You fight to get free as you feel it seeping into your veins, but he turns out to be stronger than you. Apparently polar exploring really builds up the muscles.\n\n<<if $gun is "yes">>[[You pull out John's gun|confrontgun]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf is "yes">>[[He grabs hold of the ends of John's scarf|confrontscarf]]<<endif>>\n<<if $grave is "yes">>[[He throttles your neck and bangs your head against the ground a few times.|confrontgrave]]<<endif>>
<<set $gun = "yes">>The gun feels solid in your hand, like John used to feel in your arms before he was locked away where you couldn't touch him. You stifle the emotion and tuck it inside your coat, then go back out to Sally and find a brief, faked smile for her.\n\n[[“Let's go.”|Scene]]\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy + 1>>+1 John-Related Melancholy
"Oh, I don't know. I just remember seeing him hanging about, staring at the place. The first time I didn't think anything of it, but the second and third time it just seemed odd, you know? He was just suspicious."\n\n"Of course," you say. You give Sally the meaningful look you'd have given John if he were here, but she just gives you a strange frown. You sigh. Solving crime just isn't as much fun without John.\n\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy + 1>>+ 1 John-Related Melancholy\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>+1 Investigation\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n[[Did you know the victim at all?|flatvictim1]]<<endif>>
"She's been ill," says the wife. "And her children, well, they should be old enough to look after themselves but she's rather spoilt them."\n\n"I see," you say. "No strife at home, then?"\n\nShe gapes at you. "How can you suggest such a thing?" To your great distress, she bursts into tears. "Harold was a lovely man. He loved me so much. And now he's gone."\n\nShe continues to blubber and you can get nothing further out of her.\n\n<<display 'Qwitness'>>
"No, not at all. I barely know anyone around here, I'm afraid. My job means I'm away for long periods of time." He puffs his chest out. "I'm a polar explorer, you know."\n\nYou stare at him with perplexity. "What an entirely pointless job. Surely the whole place has been mapped by satellite now?"\n\nHe gapes at you and rage clouds his face. "How dare you?!" he demands. "My job is vital for both exploration and conservation!"\n\n"Of course it is," interrupts Sally before you can point out the flaws in that claim. "I apologise for our consultant."\n\n<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>+1 Police Irritation\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>+1 Investigation\n<<if $irritation gte 5>>[[You have irritated the police more than they're willing to tolerate|PolIrr10]]<<else>>\n<<display 'Qwitness'>><<endif>>
<<set $scarf = "yes">>Sally gives you a knowing look when you come out with John's scarf wrapped around your neck, but you ignore it. You may not be able to take John with you, but at least you can carry the shadow of him.\n\n[[“Let's go.”|Scene]]
Amy
“Enough,” you say, stepping away from the freezer. "Take me to the incident room for the first murder."\n\n“You got anything yet?” asked Lestrade.\n\n“Nothing your feeble mind would find interesting.”\n\nSally makes a face, but tips her head towards her car. [[“Come on, then.”|Room]]
<<set $irritation = $irritation + 2>>There are glowers from the police around you and a long-suffering sigh from Lestrade.\n\n“There's no need to be a dick all the time, you know.”\n\nHe's wrong, but you don't bother arguing in favour of pushing past him to look at the body. The sooner you can get this crime solved, the sooner you can go home.\n\n+2 Police Irritation\n\n<<display 'freezer'>>
<<set $irritation = $irritation + 1>>There are glowers from the police around you and a long-suffering sigh from Lestrade.\n\n“There's no need to be a dick all the time, you know.”\n\nHe's wrong, but you don't bother arguing in favour of pushing past him to look at the body. The sooner you can get this crime solved, the sooner you can go home.\n\n+1 Police Irritation\n\n<<display 'freezer'>>
<<set $clothes = "yes">>You examine the clothes with your magnifying glass and find nothing of much interest, other than that the ice cream stain on the apron shows that the milk fat content isn't quite what's advertised on the sign outside.\n\nThere's a scuff on the knee of the trousers as if the man had fallen down at some point or been dragged a short distance. The pockets reveal nothing more interesting than a couple of old receipts and a broken pen.\n\nThe jumper captivates you as soon as you look at it properly. It is almost identical to the one John was wearing when you first viewed 221B with him. You can remember every detail of that day still as if it had been engraved on the walls of your Mind Palace. You pause over the corpse and try to contain the wave of emotion that passes through you.\n\n<<set $investigate = $investigate + 1>>Investigating +1\n<<set $melancholy = $melancholy +1>>John-Related Melancholy +1\n<<if $melancholy gte 8>>[[You can't take it any longer. You miss John too much.|JRMelancholy10]]<<else>>\n<<if $body eq "no">>[[Examine the body|body]]<<endif>>\n<<if $clothes eq "no">>[[Examine the body's clothes|clothes]]<<endif>>\n<<if $Efreezer eq "no">>[[Examine the freezer|Efreezer]]<<endif>>\n[[You're done here. Time to move on.|Fdone]]\n<<if $gun eq "yes">>[[Lose your temper, pull out the gun and start shooting.|shooting]]<<endif>>\n<<if $scarf eq "yes">>[[You press your face into the wool of John's scarf and breath in the smell.|breathe]]<<endif>><<endif>>