Episode 6

Previously on Royal Street...

While investigating the Three Kings Ball, which occurred a few weeks before Celestine's death, you uncover the winner of the violet absinthe: local businessman Eddie Serritella. However, Eddie insists that the absinthe was stolen from his table shortly after his big win, and he has the police report to prove it.

Tracing the suspects' movements on the night of the ball, you discover that Cyril was escorted out of the event before the absinthe was taken. Since the killer had the bottle with them at the crime scene, you rule him innocent of Celestine's murder. With Ines, Nonah, and Dillon as the remaining suspects, Sylvia resolves to break into the krewe dens herself to find more evidence.

Hints

Barksalot

  • Janelle has made her code a bit more complicated this time...
  • Try following the dance steps!
  • What does the NOACWS suggest Nonah use as her password?
  • Did you decode any information that might help you crack the password?
  • Make sure you check the Case History!

Killer

  • Do any of your suspects have alibis?
  • Have you found a link to the violet absinthe?

Logging On

  • Check Sylvia's letter for the specific task she assigns you: identify the killer. Navigate in your web browser to royalstreetcase.com and log in to Michelle Gray's website with the password LAVEAU.

MKML

  • The cipher on the costume sketches has a twist to it, but instructions on how to crack this version are already on the document.
  • What does Ines say happens at Carnival?
  • Once you've decoded Ines's message, you'll have to discover when the MKML ball was. Is there an item in the box that could help you figure that out?
  • Is there a Good Fences post that mentions a particular landmark near the MKML den?

Pirate Brothers

  • Have you heard this twin language before?
  • What happened to Dillon on the night of the Chubs bar crawl?
  • Check Good Fences! Is there an event Dillon might have been involved with?
  • Is there someone else present in the photo of Dillon?

Violet Absinthe

  • Have you emailed GoodFindzGuy59?
  • Could Guy's information on codes be helpful here?
  • Remember, not every pawn shop uses the words Mary Louise to encode their numbers! However, each code word or phrase will need to have 10 letters with no repeats.
  • Remember, not every pawn shop uses the words Mary Louise to encode their numbers! However, each code word or phrase will need to have 10 letters with no repeats.
  • If you're unsure of which word goes first in a phrase, try testing your phrase by using the math on the ledger.
  • Try calling the decoded number. Who picks up? Where have you heard that name before?
  • The name appears once in this episode and once in Episode 5.

Reveals

Barksalot

  • The code on the dog choreography notes shifts based on the instructions next to the letters.
  • R stands for right and L stands for left. Move each letter the number of places indicated in the same row.
  • NOACWS recommends applicants use their favorite pet's nickname as a password.

  • Janelle tells Earl that "sweetboy is in the pound". In the dog photos from Episode 4, Nonah refers to her favorite dog, Trésor, as Sweetboy. Sweetboy is Nonah's password.

  • The Case History button on the animal shelter website reveals Nonah's hoarding problem and how she attempted to get Trésor back from NOACWS. When it was discovered that she was his original owner, her application was denied, and she became violent.

Killer

  • Ines's alibi can be found using the "RadEats" post from Episode 3 Good Fences, the ball invitation, and the decoded costume sketches.
  • Ines was holding a poorly attended meeting to replace Celestine as krewe captain during the murder. When no one showed up, she and her friend Ashley Platt berated their RadEats driver.
  • Dillon's alibi can be found using the "Enzo" posts from Good Fences, the social media screenshots from Episode 3, and the photo of Dillon.
  • Dillon was kidnapping Enzo to be his new "krewe mascot" during the murder. He received a wound on his hand during the process.
  • Nonah has no alibi. She was last seen at Rampart and Canal on the night of the murder, but there is no more specific information. We can safely assume she had opportunity, given that she was near the cemetery.
  • Nonah had the absinthe on her the night of the murder (means), her last known location was close to the cemetery (opportunity), and she blamed the loss of her dogs and her subsequent breakdown on Celestine (motive). Nonah is the killer. Open the Contact shortcut on the desktop and send Sylvia an email with the phrase "Nonah Turner" in the body of the message to complete this episode.

MKML

  • Instructions on how to crack the cipher on the costume sketches are unencoded on that same document.

  • Ines's assertion that everything is "upside down" is a clue to rotate the medallion on the MKML beads. Once you've flipped it, the code should work as in Episode 4.

  • When decoded, the encoded text reads: "Emergency vote to replace Cel - at the den. Ball minus twenty-four."
  • The ball invitation reveals the time of the ball. By subtracting 24, you'll discover the time Ines had her meeting to overthrow Celestine.
  • A post in Good Fences talks about a driver delivering food on the night of the murder to difficult customers near the Rusty Rainbow Bridge. This was Ines and her friend Ashley, another member of the krewe.

Pirate Brothers

  • The Mason and Dillon recording 2 features the same language from Episode 4, where the syllables are switched.

  • The encoded words are:

    • party
    • BootyFest
    • exaggeration
    • snitches
    • stitches
    • invincible
    • knuckles
    • scabby
    • mascot
  • Dillon hurt his hand the night of the Chubs bar crawl, which was the night Celestine died.
  • Dillon says he only "wanted a new mascot" to replace Chubs. The night of the murder, he was dog-napping Enzo, as revealed in Good Fences.

  • In the photo of Dillon, you can see Enzo's shadow, further implicating Dillon in this crime.

Violet Absinthe

  • Clicking on the hyperlink in Good Fences will allow you to send an email to GoodFindzGuy59. When you do, he'll have something important to share.
  • The pawn shop where the absinthe was sold uses a version of the Mary Louise code.
  • The clue to the code word is somewhere on the ledger, which is visible on the counter in the pawn shop photo.
  • The sketch on the ledger depicts a phrase of 10 letters, with no repeated letters.
  • The code phrase is Devil Gator. D = 1, E = 2, V = 3, I = 4, L = 5, G = 6, A = 7, T = 8, O = 9, R = 0
  • The encoded phone number, LRI-VED-VTAL, is 504-321-3875. Try calling it.
  • The name Blanche Curtis appears in the auction catalog.
  • Blanche is Nonah's mother. In the social media screenshots from Episode 3, Nonah, who has moved in with Blanche after losing everything, complains about her mom taking a valuable item while she slept. That item was the bottle of violet absinthe, which Blanche then pawned.

Transcripts

Costume Sketches

Page 1 → Celestine's Handwriting

  • Celestine
  • C. Broussard
  • Sylvia
  • C. Broussard
  • Ines
  • C. Broussard

 

Page 2 → Front → Ines's Handwriting

  • I. Couvillion

 

Page 2 → Back → Ines's Handwriting

  • During Carnival, everything is upside down.
  • Fsfcefiqg dkof ok cfuyxqf Qfy - xo otf jfi. Rxyy sainb ozfiog-mknc.

  • ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Dog Choreography Notes

Hey E,

I hate to cross Nonah, but I just found this out... Poor thing, I've got a nice family from Covington I'm going to refer! I'm going to check on the others as well. We'll make it right!

 

J

Envelope

  • Janelle - Can you please pass this one along to Nonah? She's living with her mom now, right? Maybe you could drop it off? - Earl

Finale Video

Sylvia: Hey - I just got here. This is... crazy.

Officer: Ms. Turner! Nobody needs to get hurt! Let us know you're unarmed and open the door. Now slowly exit the house and put your hands above your head!

Sylvia: We got her... Oh my god. I ... I can't believe it. It's over. We did it.

Letter from Sylvia

  • P.S. You might want to hide this letter after you read it, just so there's no trace of me breaking and entering... (And stealing mail, which is apparently a federal crime.) Plausible deniability or something like that, right?

Mason and Dillon Recording 2

[SOUND: Loud music, screaming in the distance.]

 

Dillon: What's wrong?

Mason: What do you think?

Dillon: Come tee-par loser, it's fest-ee-boot four.

Mason: No.

Dillon: Come on, come on.

Mason: No, I'm done with - last night, you -

Dillon: Cool story, bro.

Mason: You left me to die!

Dillon: Shun-ray-jur-za-egg!

Mason: You put me in the ter-wa just like nor-kah-oh!

Dillon: Ches-snih get ches-stih, my dude. Did you think I would really hurt you? I just wanted to teach you a little lesson. Besides, we can't die we're bull-si-vin-in.

Mason: You're so full of it look at your kulz-nuck, they're still bee-scab from the night of the Chubs bar crawl, and that was months ago -

Dillon: Dude, I'm bored. Shut up. I just wanted a new cot-mass -

Mason: I'm not doing this anymore. Any of it.

Dillon: What are you - Hey - You can't -

 

[SOUND: Mason storms off.]

 

Dillon: You know what, Mom was right. You are the dumb one.

Pawn Shop Photo

Raw Documentary Footage

Ines: Wow. That's... intense.

Celestine: The world is intense, Eye.

Ines: What's it supposed to be? Who's it for?

Celestine: Nobody. This one's for me, okay. I don't want to talk about it.

Ines: You never want to talk about it.

Celestine: Do you have to record every single thing, Eye? Get that thing outta my face.

Ines: Sorry! Sorry. Better?

Celestine: Yeah.

Ines: Hey. Are you okay?

Celestine: Yeah.

Ines: Your work has been on fire these days.

Celestine: That's what they say.

Ines: The krewe, KidsArt, the commissions. Bobby even told me you're a shoo-in for the Toussaint this year! Or is that what's wrong? They say success is even more stressful than failure. Not that I'd know.

Celestine: It's not all that you think it is. And even if it was, it's almost over. So...

Ines: I don't understand.

Celestine: I don't need people's approval. I just need time. Another day. Another week. I'm just not ready to let go yet. I just keep feeling like -

Ines: Let go? What are you -

Celestine: No. Just forget it.

Ines: You can tell me anything, you know that, right? Hey, come here. Come here. Relax. It's okay. I'm here.

Celestine: Were you seriously still recording this whole time?!? What's wrong with you -

Sylvia's Video Update

Sylvia: - just in case something happens to me, I'm at the Pirate Brothers den - That sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous. But these rowdy dudebros were here before, hollering and drinking and breaking bottles...

 

[SOUND: The music stops and several doors close as Sylvia waits in silence.]

 

Sylvia: I think - I think maybe I can go now -

 

[SOUND: A door SLAMS nearby. A moment of silence follows.]

 

Sylvia: Okay. Mmmmmaybe now?

 

[SOUND: A slow creak.]

 

Sylvia: Okay! I'm gonna go for it!

Voicemail Audio Recording

Blanche: You've reached Blanche Curtis. I'm either not home or not in the mood. Say what you need to. Maybe I'll call back.

 

[SOUND: Blanche fumbles with the receiver. A few seconds of dead air, followed by the rustling of the phone being hung up.]

Solution

  • With only three suspects remaining, Sylvia uncovers evidence from the remaining krewe dens: Marie Laveau, Barksalot, and the Pirate Brothers. The MKML costume sketches have the same code as the float plans from Episode 4, but with a variation; the medallion on the beads needs to be turned upside-down. When placed in the correct position, the code reads: "Emergency vote to replace Cel - at the den. Ball minus twenty-four." The ball invitation reveals that the ball was February 17 at 11:59 PM, so 24 hours before would have been February 16, the night of the murder, at 11:59 PM. Given that the den is by the Rusty Rainbow Bridge and the parade traffic was extremely heavy, it would have been extremely difficult for Ines to get to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and murder Celestine within the window of 11:25 - 12:10. In addition, a post on Good Fences from Episode 3 describes an encounter a RadEats driver had with a couple of difficult customers who refused to pay for a large order and complained about "nobody coming to their party or whatever". The customers are Ines and her krewe mate Ashley Platt, who were the only ones to attend Ines's meeting to replace Cel.
  • In the Mason and Dillon recording 2, Sylvia captures the Morales brothers speaking in their twin language, which further reveals the dynamic between the twins, as well as information from the night of the murder. Dillon has recently attempted to make Mason repeat O'Connor's fatal challenge because "snitches get stitches", and Mason has had enough. He remarks that Dillon's hand is still wounded from the night of the Chubs bar crawl, the same night as the murder. A post in Good Fences describes a figure with a hoodie picking up a stray dog named Enzo and being bitten on the hand in the process. In a corner of the photo of Dillon, you can see a shadow of Enzo, a three-legged papillon, while Dillon displays his injured hand. It seems unlikely he could have committed a killing while carrying a small, feisty dog, so he is unlikely to be the killer.
  • Adjusting the letters in the dog choreography notes acrostic using Janelle's instructions (L2, R1, etc.) reveals a secret message: "Sweetboy is in the pound". Sweetboy is the nickname Nonah used for her favorite dog, Trésor, and she uses this nickname as her password for her NOACWS account, as recommended by the organization in the letter to Nonah. Logging in to Nonah's account reveals her attempts to re-adopt Trésor after he was removed by the authorities along with the other dogs she had been hoarding. When her application was denied, she grew violent, and the police were notified.
  • Only one mystery remains: the infamous violet absinthe. In the GoodFindzGuy59 email, Guy claims he has gotten his lucky break and attaches the pawn shop photo. In this photo, which shows Guy with the absinthe, a ledger is displayed with all of its numbers written in a variation of the Mary Louise code. A sketch at the bottom of the ledger gives a clue as to its code word: Devil Gator. When the numbers are decoded, a phone number for the seller of the absinthe is revealed: 504-321-3875. Calling the phone number gives you access to the voicemail of Blanche Curtis. Going back to the auction catalog from Episode 5, you'll see that Blanche Curtis was the former Queen of the Krewe of Phthonus in Houma, Louisiana... and Nonah's mother.
  • Nonah had complained about her mother stealing an item from her in the social media screenshots in Episode 3; this item was the violet absinthe. On the night of the murder, Nonah organized a search for Enzo at Rampart and Canal, knowing that Celestine would be close by and that she could easily sneak away. There, she met Celestine and offered her a sip of the violet absinthe to distract her, then shot her. She dragged Celestine's body and shoved it in a loosely covered tomb, then quickly fled the scene. She was later seen wandering the French Quarter, delirious from the absinthe's effects, by both the Craw Daddy (who called her an "old friend from Terrebonne Parish") and Good Fences poster Harold Martine. While she was able to stash the gun, the absinthe was too valuable to part with, so she kept the bottle - until Mama Blanche pawned it away. Nonah is the killer.
  • To complete the episode, open the Contact shortcut and send Sylvia an email with the phrase "Nonah Turner" in the body of the message. Her response will give you the season ending.
  • Sylvia calls the police and is able to watch them take Nonah away for questioning. She thanks you not only for solving the case but also for standing by her in one of the darkest periods of her life. To her, you'll always be in her krewe. As one last parting gift, Sylvia sends you a photo of Celestine that Cel used as the basis of her Self-Portrait as Baron Samedi in the auction catalog from Episode 5. In the photo, Celestine stares at the viewer with strength and purpose: young, determined, and full of life, as those around her will always remember her.

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