Body on the Boardwalk

Hints

Boardwalk Map

  • You can use the walking distance guide on this map to help estimate how long it would take suspects to get from one part of the boardwalk to another.
  • This document should help you decipher one set of the coded messages that appear on the note paper.

Engagement Photo

  • Look carefully at the background of this photo.

Fortune Slip

  • This document may be useful in deciphering the coded message on the receipt.

Ledger Page

  • There may be hidden information you have not discovered yet that will help you determine who was making the payments listed on this document.

Locked Tin

  • The combination to the locked tin can be found using the receipt and the fortune slip.

Napkin

  • Unscrambling the order of the letters in each word will help you decipher the coded message in this document.

Newspaper Article

  • This document provides a hint about deciphering a coded message that appears in one of the other documents in this box.

Note

  • The newspaper article provides a hint about how to decipher the code on this document.

Note Paper

  • Other documents in this box should help you decipher the coded messages here. You may want to check the boardwalk map first.
  • There may be hidden information you have not discovered yet that will help you decode one of the ciphers on this document.

Peg Game

  • The letters on the peg game should help you decipher one set of the coded messages on the note paper.
  • If you're having trouble deciphering the code on the note paper, try rotating the peg game so that it's oriented in the same direction as the symbols on the note paper.

Receipt

  • The fortune slip should help you decipher the coded message on this document.

Rental Log

  • The rental log will help you determine who was making the payments listed on the ledger page.

Reveals

Engagement Photo

  • Bethany is visible in the background of this photo, wearing a Scream-a-Rama hoodie, as she is described in the witness statements.

Fortune Slip

  • The lucky numbers on the fortune slip can be used in conjunction with the note on the receipt to find the combination to the locked tin.

Locked Tin

  • The combination to the locked tin can be found using the fortune slip and the receipt.
  • The combination to the locked tin is 478.

Napkin

  • The message on the napkin is encoded by arranging the letters in each word in alphabetical order. For example, the word "test" would be written as "estt". This code can be deciphered by unscrambling the letters.
  • When decoded, this message reads: "VINCE KNOWS WHAT YOU DID. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND COME WITH ME TO FORTY-SEVEN."
  • The significance of "forty-seven" can be determined using the rental log.

Newspaper Article

  • The hint about the Ciazarn cant used by carnival workers relates to the note found inside the locked tin.

Note

  • The hint about the Ciazarn cant in the newspaper article provides a clue about how to solve the coded message in this document.
  • Ciazarn inserts the nonsense syllable "iaz" into words. For example, the word "test" would be written as "tiazest". Removing "iaz" from the coded passage will reveal its true meaning.
  • When decoded, the portion of this message in Ciazarn reads: "How many chances does he get? I'd teach the kid a lesson if I were you."

Note Paper

  • Katie's notes can be deciphered using the boardwalk map and the peg game.
  • Notations like "Wave 18" refer to locations listed on the boardwalk map. "Wave", "Trident", and "Shell" refer to the symbols that mark the "Rides & Attractions", "Fun & Games", and "Quick Bites" sections of the boardwalk map, respectively. The numbers refer to the corresponding numbers on the map. So, for example, "Anchor 1" would refer to the first location listed under the "Essentials" section (which is marked with an anchor symbol), the Beach Rentals.
  • Wave 18 = Pirate's Plunder
  • Wave 26 = Tilted Vortex
  • Wave 24 = The Hydra
  • Wave 20 = Snake That!
  • Trident 3 = Brittany Taffy
  • Shell 6 = Mr. Neon's Glowcade
  • Trident 10 = Funnel of Love
  • Trident 13 = Rainbow Whirls
  • Trident 6 = Cool 'Nanas
  • The triangle symbols correspond to the peg game.

Peg Game

  • The peg game can be used to decipher the triangle symbol code on the note paper.
  • The orientation of the triangle symbols on the note paper indicates how to orient the peg game. The thick line at the bottom of each symbol corresponds to the thick line at the bottom of the peg game, providing guidance about how to turn the peg game. If the thick line on the symbol is horizontal, the peg game should be oriented with its line on the bottom.
  • The position of the dot on the triangle symbol indicates which grouping of letters to refer to on the peg game. For instance, if the dot is in the lower left-hand corner of the triangle, this means you should be looking at the grouping of letters written around the peg hole in the lower left-hand corner of the peg game.
  • The relevant letter will appear upright when the peg game is properly oriented. For instance, if the thick line on the triangle symbol is horizontal, and the dot is in the lower left-hand corner, this indicates that the relevant letter is either D, G, Y, or O. When the peg game is positioned accordingly, with the thick line at the bottom, the letter D is the only letter that is upright and legible.

  • When deciphered, the portions of the note paper encoded using the triangle symbols read:

    • "Teo pickup, amount fine"
    • "T collected, payment OK"
    • "D not T??"
    • "T, normal"
    • "Dwayne, amount OK"
    • "Correct"
    • "D not T again."
    • "D"
    • "payment wasn't short"
    • "D again, ledger is wrong"
    • "Need to tell Teo."

Receipt

  • The symbols written on the receipt correspond to the lucky numbers on the fortune slip.
  • The number following each symbol indicates which of the lucky numbers should be selected for the combination of the locked tin.
  • [heart symbol] 3 corresponds to the third number in the Love lucky numbers. [dollar sign symbol] 4 corresponds to the fourth number in the Money lucky numbers. [horseshoe symbol] 1 corresponds to the first number in the Lotto lucky numbers.
  • The combination to the locked tin is 478.

Rental Log

  • The lot numbers listed on the rental log correspond to those on the ledger. Determining who owns an attraction with a given lot number will tell you who is making the corresponding payment listed on the ledger.

Transcripts

Arcade Flyer

  • He's mine and you know it. Meet me at the Wheel in 2 hours.

Fortune Slip

  • K, Looks like she was right. [heart symbol] -T

Napkin

  • CEINV KNOSW AHTW OUY DDI. EEKP ORUY HMOTU HSTU ADN CEMO
    HITW EM OT FORTY-EENSV.

Note

Vince -

Rocco was going over the accounts for the past few months and he noticed a problem. I told him I'd take a look at the books and get to the bottom of it. See what you think. Not trying to tell you how to run your business, but hiazow miazaniazy chiazanciazes diazoes hiaze giazet? Iazid tiazeach thiaze kiazid iaza liazessiazon iazif iazi wiazere yiazou.

 

-D.J.

Note Paper

  • Confirm amounts
  • Verify pickups
  • Wave 18 - [coded passage]
  • Wave 26 - [coded passage]
  • Wave 24 - [coded message] Robert said he's sure
  • Wave 20 - [coded passage]
  • Trident 3 - [coded passage]
  • Shell 6 - [coded passage]
  • Trident 10 - [coded passage] This can't be right
  • Trident 13 - Isabella says definitely [coded passage], but swears her [coded passage]
  • Trident 6 - [coded passage]
  • This isn't just a mistake. [coded passage]

Peg Game

PI Note

Hello, Investigator.

Congrats on putting Dwayne Daleigh behind bars. It's the least he deserves for murdering an innocent girl to cover up his crimes.

It can't be easy for Teo, knowing Katie died trying to help him. But he's free now, because of you. Maria sends her thanks. She says Teo's planning a mural to keep Katie's memory alive at Stella Park. Now he can finally get started.

Great work!

Receipt

  • [heart symbol] 3
  • [dollar sign symbol] 4
  • [horseshoe symbol] 1

Witness Statement Postcards

  • The Sloan Twins, local kids who charge tourists to take photos with their boa constrictors, Blue Lizzy and Big Wanda. $10 a pop for the "college fund". (Yeah right!) Both saw Katie leaving Scream-a-Rama around 2:00. She and Teo were arguing. Thought they heard her say the words "figure it out" before she stormed off.
  • Young Ned, old-timer who fishes off the pier almost every day and wears a raincoat no matter the weather. If anyone asks why, he says: "Always be prepared!" Told me he saw a girl who might've been Katie hanging around where Darlene's used to be, right around closing time. Doesn't ring any bells for me.
  • Todd Ferguson, a former hedge fund guy who's been playing Triton's Quest, the test-your-strength game, twice a day for the past eleven and a half years. Says it's how he copes with his inner demons, but I don't think it's working. Told me that on the day of the murder he hit the bell for the 5,000th time. That's all he remembers. "Aren't you going to say congratulations?" he asked. Typical.
  • Jimmy Gaines, owner of Cool 'Nanas and the snappiest dresser on the boardwalk. Said Katie stopped by to chat and get a snack on the day of the murder. Before she left, she wrote something down on a piece of paper.
  • Addison Vega and Trina Walker, Bethan'y's best frenemies. Bethany had a drink with them the night of the murder. She showed up to the beach a few minutes before 5:00, wearing Teo's old Scream-a-Rama hoodie. Kept talking trash about Katie - accusing her of stealing Teo and saying she deserved "what was coming to her". After about 40 minutes, Bethany left, looking like she was "ready to cut someone". Nobody asked where she was going. Nice girls, right?
  • Morkey Murse and Olarf, two low-rent performers. (I'm no expert, but I don't think the standard costume for a certain mouse includes flip-flops.) Morkey told me he saw someone about Teo's height stagger into the parking lot around 6:20 looking pretty roughed up. "But this time," Olarf assured me, "we weren't responsible."
  • Ruby Diamond, a retired burlesque dancer who performs her "special number" every Saturday outside Sunshine Parlor. She saw Vince by the info booth sometime right before park closing. He was pacing around the area and carrying a pair of scissors.
  • Marge Nussman, runs the ticket booth. Said Katie stopped by a little after 2:00, seeming anxious. Marge let her into the back office. Katie stayed maybe 20 minutes or so, came out holding some papers and looking even more upset.
  • Rolanda Walker, works at Snake That! Told me Katie dropped by sometime around 3:30, asking questions about the insurance payments Peter made to Vince. All she could tell Katie was that they'd been normal, monthly pickups just like usual. Later, as Rolanda was walking down the boardwalk after work, she saw someone who wasn't Ray leaving Funnel of Love.
  • JC Vickers, runs Pandemonium. Said she heard someone screaming while she was cleaning up for the night, but figured it was just someone on another ride. Ever since she found out what happened to Katie, she's been wondering if maybe she was wrong about that.
  • Andy Thermon, the vendor at Poppa Joe's Popcorn. He didn't know Katie too well, but said she nearly knocked everything out of her hands when they ran into each other that day. She seemed worried and distant. Andy felt bad for her and gave her an empty popcorn bag to carry everything and a child-size lemonade to "fix her up".
  • Erica Singh, a local photographer who often works on the boardwalk. She was hired to take engagement photos at the Wheel of Wonder that Saturday afternoon. She went on an on about how it was the worst gig ever. The couple arrived late, people kept walking into the shots, and someone tried to swipe Erica's gear. After all that, they finally got some semi-usable photos right as the shoot ended shortly after 6:00.
  • Ray Landry, owner of Funnel of Love and all-around stand-up guy. Said Katie came by right before he left for the meeting, asking about his payments to Vince. Later that night, someone broke into the shop and cut open every single bag of flour. What a mess! As Ray was cleaning up the next morning, he found a pair of scissors stuck in the powdered sugar. Someone really had it in for him. He gave me the security alert he got that night - just in case I heard anything while I was asking around.
  • Stanley Huang, the angriest man to ever sell a corndog. Remembered a blonde girl loitering on the boardwalk just before closing time that Saturday. Said the only reason it stuck with him was because she kept looking over toward his side of the boardwalk "like she had a problem" with him. Thought she was holding some kind of box or tin.

Solution

Bethany Ramirez

Means

  • There is no evidence concretely connecting Bethany to the scene of the crime.

 

Motive

  • Bethany did have a motive for killing Katie. According to the suspect profiles, Bethany was jealous of Katie's relationship with Teo, and the witness statements reveal she was heard threatening Katie on the day of the murder. Her note on the back of the arcade flyer indicates that Bethany intended to confront Katie on the night of the murder.

 

Opportunity

  • Bethany did not have the opportunity to kill Katie. Bethany is pictured in the background of the engagement photo. From Erica's comments in the witness statements and Bethany's note on the back of the arcade flyer, it can be inferred that this photo was taken at 6 PM, while Bethany was waiting for Katie to show up at the Wheel of Wonder. The walking time estimator on the boardwalk map suggests that Bethany could not have made it from the Wheel of Wonder to Scream-a-Rama in time to kill Katie at 6 PM.

Dwayne Daleigh

Means

  • Dwayne can be connected to the scene of the crime. The keychain discovered by Teo belongs to an old concession stand called Darlene's. The rental log shows that Dwayne is now the owner of the shop that used to be Darlene's, making him the only suspect who would be likely to own a keychain with that shop's name on it.

 

Motive

  • Dwayne did have a motive to kill Katie. Dwayne's coded message on the note and his handwritten comments on the ledger reveal that Dwayne was looking into who was skimming from Vince's "insurance" payments. However, the note paper reveals that Dwayne was providing false information to Vince about who was stealing. Dwayne claimed that Teo was collecting the payments that were short, when in fact Dwayne himself was collecting those payments. From the note paper, we know that Katie discovered the truth about Dwayne's theft, and Stanley's comments in the witness statements suggest that Katie was planning to confront him. Dwayne killed Katie in order to cover up his theft.

 

Opportunity

  • Dwayne had the opportunity to kill Katie. In the suspect profiles, he claims he was in his shop until 6:30 PM, which cannot be corroborated by any outside evidence. Dwayne is the only suspect whose alibi cannot be confirmed.

Maria Pallis

Means

  • Maria can be connected to the crime scene. Maria owns Scream-a-Rama and held on to the evidence discovered by Teo at the scene of the crime.

 

Motive

  • Maria had no motive to kill Katie. Though she sometimes worried about Teo's relationship with Katie, she would not do something that would hurt her son.

 

Opportunity

  • Maria did not have the opportunity to commit the crime. According to the meeting minutes, Maria was meeting with lawyers about the case against Vince from 5:09 PM to 6:25 PM, and thus could not have returned to Scream-a-Rama in time to commit the crime.

Rocco Pereira

Means

  • Rocco cannot be connected to the crime scene. Though the note on the napkin, taken in context with the negative review, suggests that Rocco was outside Scream-a-Rama on the day of the murder, there is no evidence concretely connecting Rocco to the scene of the crime inside the ride.

 

Motive

  • Rocco did not have a clear motive to kill Katie. Though he was pursuing the theft of Vince's money, Katie's realization about the identity of the thief would have helped Rocco, not hindered him.

 

Opportunity

  • Rocco did not have the opportunity to commit the crime. When taken together, the negative review and the coded note on the napkin reveal that Rocco showed up at Scream-a-Rama fifteen minutes before closing time (5:45 PM) and took Teo to the Lover's Lane ride to interrogate him about the theft of the "insurance" money. One of the witness statements reveals that someone matching Teo's description was seen limping toward the parking lot at 6:20 PM, suggesting that Rocco was busy interrogating Teo from 5:45 PM to 6:20 PM. Since Katie was killed at 6 PM, Rocco could not have killed Katie.

Theodore Pallis

Means

  • Teo can be connected to the crime scene. From the suspect profiles, we know that Teo works at Scream-a-Rama, and the newspaper article establishes that Teo discovered Katie's body, so he was present at the scene of the crime at some point. Maria's letter also acknowledges that Teo removed items from the scene of the crime, so he can be connected to the items found there.

 

Motive

  • Teo did not have a motive to kill Katie. The suspect profiles indicate that Teo could be insecure about his relationship with Katie, and the witness statements show that he was seen arguing with Katie on the day she died. However, the note paper suggests that the subject of this argument was the money Teo was accused of stealing from Vince, which Katie was investigating when she died. Katie was trying to clear his name, which would not have motivated Teo to kill her.

 

Opportunity

  • Teo did not have the opportunity to commit the crime. When taken together, the negative review and the coded note on the napkin reveal that Rocco showed up at Scream-a-Rama fifteen minutes before closing time (5:45 PM) and took Teo to the Lover's Lane ride to interrogate him about the theft of the "insurance" payments. One of the witness statements reveals that Teo was seen limping toward the parking lot at 6:20 PM, suggesting that Teo was being interrogated by Rocco from 5:45 PM to 6:20 PM. Since Katie was killed at 6 PM, Teo could not have killed Katie.

Vincent Stella, Jr.

Means

  • There is no evidence concretely connecting Vince to the scene of the cirme.

 

Motive

  • Vince had no motive for killing Katie. Although Vince demonstrated some negligence in not reporting Katie missing, there is no reason to believe that her discovery of Dwayne's theft would give Vince a reason to kill her. In fact, learning the true identity of the thief would be in Vince's best interest.

 

Opportunity

  • Vince did not have the opportunity to kill Katie. Between Ray's comments in the witness statements and the security alert email, it is evident that someone broke into Funnel of Love at the time of the murder. Ruby's comments in the witness statements, combined with Vince's track record of intimidating boardwalk employees, suggests that this person was Vince. The walking distance estimator on the boardwalk map confirms that Vince could not have gotten from Funnel of Love to Scream-a-Rama in time to kill Katie at 6 PM.

Exclusive Epilogue