Episode 5

Previously on Royal Street...

With Jay's help, Sylvia obtains information about the remaining suspects by raiding their respective krewe "dens", warehouses where parade floats are stored. Using this evidence, you decode a recording of Maosn and Dillon's twin language to discover that Mason was being arrested for public drunkenness during the murder.

With Mason ruled out, Sylvia realizes that one thing links all the remaining suspects to the crime: a legendary New Orleans brew called violet absinthe. Celestine died with this substance in her mouth, and each of the suspects planned to bid on the sole remaining bottle at the Three Kings Ball.

Hints

Cleared Suspect

  • Opening Ines's locked video will help!
  • Try revising the schedule seen on the Three Kings Ball website and the Three Kings Ball program to match Elijah's notes. As Elijah says, "Time for some MATH!"
  • Have you added the times on the photo booth photos to the revised schedule?
  • Have you added information learned from the cocktail napkin to the revised schedule?
  • Have you added information learned from the locked video to the revised schedule?

Locked Video

  • You've seen Ines's password before.
  • Think back to Episode 4 and a code you solved.

Logging On

  • Check Sylvia's letter for the specific task she assigns you: find the buyer of the violet absinthe. Navigate in your web browser to royalstreetcase.com and log in to Michelle Gray's website with the password SAZERAC.

Winning Bidder

  • Have you searched for the number of the winning bidder on the bidders list?
  • Once you locate the winner, think back to previous episodes. Have you seen that name before?
  • Check your documents from Episode 1!
  • Did the person who won the absinthe donate anything to the auction? Check the auction catalog to find out!
  • Have you seen the object they donated anywhere else?
  • Check the comic book! This object is someone's most prized possession.

Reveals

Cleared Suspect

  • The password is part of Ines's encoded phrase on the float plans from Episode 4.

  • The events of the Three Kings Ball occurred like this, according to Elijah:

    • 6:45 PM: Doors open as planned
    • 7:10 PM: Auction starts 10 minutes late with remarks from Jeremy Bacon
    • 7:13 PM: Jeremy's remarks end and bidding begins in earnest
    • 10:00 PM: Dinner service begins
    • 10:33 PM: Bidding ends (20 minutes were added to the bidding, plus 3 minutes for Jeremy's speech)
    • 10:45 PM: Bayou Balladiers start their set 45 minutes late but play for the full hour
    • 10:45 PM: Elijah leaves for ice just as the band starts playing
    • 11:05 PM: Elijah returns after 20 minutes away
    • 11:13 PM: Violet absinthe stolen from Eddie's table (40 minutes after bidding ends)
    • 11:45 PM: Petit Mort Sextet starts playing
    • 12:15 AM: Pirate Brothers flip over table, Ines complains
    • 12:28 AM (approx).: Take-home blueberry cobbler passed out
    • 12:30 AM: Last call announced and go-cups passed out, Petit Mort ends set
    • 12:40 AM: Guests ushered out

  • If we add the time stamps on the photo booth photos to the timeline, it looks like this:

    • 6:45 PM: Doors open as planned
    • 7:10 PM: Auction starts 10 minutes late with remarks from Jeremy Bacon
    • 7:13 PM: Jeremy's remarks end and bidding begins in earnest
    • 10:00 PM: Dinner service begins
    • 10:04 PM: NONAH AND CRAW DADDY POSE FOR PHOTOS
    • 10:13 PM: CYRIL AND BREEZY POSE FOR PHOTOS
    • 10:33 PM: Bidding ends (20 minutes were added to the bidding, plus 3 minutes for Jeremy's speech)
    • 10:36 PM: ELIJAH, SYLVIA, INES, AND CELESTINE POSE FOR PHOTOS
    • 10:45 PM: Bayou Balladiers start their set 45 minutes late but play for the full hour
    • 10:45 PM: Elijah leaves for ice just as the band starts playing
    • 11:05 PM: Elijah returns after 20 minutes away
    • 11:13 PM: Violet absinthe stolen from Eddie's table (40 minutes after bidding ends)
    • 11:45 PM: Petit Mort Sextet starts playing
    • 12:15 AM: Pirate Brothers flip over table, Ines complains
    • 12:28 AM (approx).: Take-home blueberry cobbler passed out
    • 12:30 AM: Last call announced and go-cups passed out, Petit Mort ends set
    • 12:40 AM: Guests ushered out

  • Nonah was taken out immediately after the blueberry cobbler was passed out. If you add this event to the timeline, it looks like this:

    • 6:45 PM: Doors open as planned
    • 7:10 PM: Auction starts 10 minutes late with remarks from Jeremy Bacon
    • 7:13 PM: Jeremy's remarks end and bidding begins in earnest
    • 10:00 PM: Dinner service begins
    • 10:04 PM: Nonah and Craw Daddy post of photos
    • 10:13 PM: Cyril and Breezy pose for photos
    • 10:33 PM: Bidding ends (20 minutes were added to the bidding, plus 3 minutes for Jeremy's speech)
    • 10:36 PM: Elijah and Sylvia post for photos, then Celestine and Ines jump in
    • 10:45 PM: Bayou Balladiers start their set 45 minutes late but play for the full hour
    • 10:45 PM: Elijah leaves for ice just as the band starts playing
    • 11:05 PM: Elijah returns after 20 minutes away
    • 11:13 PM: Violet absinthe stolen from Eddie's table (40 minutes after bidding ends)
    • 11:45 PM: Petit Mort Sextet starts playing
    • 12:15 AM: Pirate Brothers flip over table, Ines complains
    • 12:28 AM (approx).: Take-home blueberry cobbler passed out, NONAH ESCORTED OUT BY POLICE
    • 12:30 AM: Last call announced and go-cups passed out, Petit Mort ends set
    • 12:40 AM: Guests ushered out

  • Cyril is removed from the event for trespassing around the time Elijah returns with ice. If you add this event to the timeline, it looks like this:

    • 6:45 PM: Doors open as planned
    • 7:10 PM: Auction starts 10 minutes late with remarks from Jeremy Bacon
    • 7:13 PM: Jeremy's remarks end and bidding begins in earnest
    • 10:00 PM: Dinner service begins
    • 10:04 PM: Nonah and Craw Daddy post of photos
    • 10:13 PM: Cyril and Breezy pose for photos
    • 10:33 PM: Bidding ends (20 minutes were added to the bidding, plus 3 minutes for Jeremy's speech)
    • 10:36 PM: Elijah, Sylvia, Celestine, and Ines pose for photos
    • 10:45 PM: Bayou Balladiers start their set 45 minutes late but play for the full hour
    • 10:45 PM: Elijah leaves for ice just as the band starts playing
    • 11:05 PM: Elijah returns after 20 minutes away, CYRIL ESCORTED OUT BY POLICE
    • 11:13 PM: Violet absinthe stolen from Eddie's table (40 minutes after bidding ends)
    • 11:45 PM: Petit Mort Sextet starts playing
    • 12:15 AM: Pirate Brothers flip over table, Ines complains
    • 12:28 AM (approx).: Take-home blueberry cobbler passed out, Nonah escorted out by police
    • 12:30 AM: Last call announced and go-cups passed out, Petit Mort ends set
    • 12:40 AM: Guests ushered out

  • Cyril is escorted out before the absinthe is stolen. Therefore, Cyril is the cleared suspect. Open the Contact shortcut on the desktop and send Sylvia an email with the phrase "Cyril Fortier" in the body of the message to complete this episode.

Locked Video

  • Ines's password comes from a phrase in the Episode 4 float plans cipher.
  • If you didn't solve the cipher in Episode 4, place the medallion from the Mystic Krewe of Marie Laveau beads in the center of the circle seen on the float plans in Episode 4, then take the phrase you find and apply it to the password hint.
  • The password is ageofeye.

Winning Bidder

  • The winning bidder of the absinthe (16A09) is bidder #2843. On the bidders list, this person is listed as Monsieur Zeppo La-La-La.
  • Monsieur Zeppo La-La-La is the head of the clown krewe Tous les Bouffons. The Three Kings Ball program from Episode 1 mentions that Monsieur Zeppo is a kind of alter ego... and no one really knows his true identity!
  • Monsieur Zeppo also donated an antique accordion given to him by the King of Clowns, a mythical performer from the 1930s.
  • The accordion appears in the comic book about the Craw Daddy.
  • The accordion belongs to Eddie Serritella, owner of Who Dat Crispy Bird, who is the real-life identity of Monsieur Zeppo. Open the Contact shortcut on the desktop and send Sylvia an email with the phrase "Eddie Serritella" in the body of the message to complete the first objective and advance the story.

Transcripts

Auction Winners

Product Winning Bid
16A01 $350 0948
16A02 $2,750 8093
16A03 $163 9023
16A04 $1,250 4369
16A05 $1,100 7292
16A06 $6,000 5571
16A07 $785 6402
16A08 $900 1134
16A09 $17,500 2843
16A10 $13,500 2046
16A11 $145 5300
16A12 $287 5300

Cocktail Napkin

  • Officer: NOPD. Please come outside quietly with us Miss Turner
  • Nonah: WHATEVER SHE TOLD YOU SHE'S A LIAR
  • Officer: We'd prefer to do this without making a fuss

Comic Book

  • Ok Sylvia time for some MATH:

    • Ball went over by FORTY minutes
    • TWO folks arrested (I think?)
    • THREE puddles of vomit I personally cleaned up
    • ONE guest who said thank you the whole entire night
    • And ZERO things I wouldn't do for you Miss Syl!

Flyer

  • NOTES...

    • OPEN BAR

      • Bartender ran out of ice. Sent me out to get some moments after the Bayou Balladiers started playing, and I missed 20 minutes of their set. shakes fist
      • Total vomit fest. What do you expect when you have an open bar that runs for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS?
      • Passed out go-cups for last call. Thankfully we were able to shove everyone out the door within the next 10 minutes.

    • LIVE MUSIC

      • Bayou Balladiers started 45 minutes late. Maybe they'd have gotten there faster if they were the Bayou Uptempoers?
      • Played their full set and Petit Mort went on right after. Even so PM's set got cut short by half and they were NOT happy. When they complained, I told them I was just an intern.

    • DINNER

      • Lady complained her etouffee was cold. I told her I was just an intern.
      • I didn't get to try anything but that take-home blueberry cobbler they passed out right before last call. Everyone just ate them at the party anyway.

    • BLIND AUCTION

      • Started 10 minutes late, and then they added another 20 minutes to the bidding. RICH PEOPLE!
      • Jeremy's remarks only added 3 minutes total. That guy is a total pro!
      • Got bored halfway through the night, so I tried to get some intel on the identity of Monsieur Zeppo La-La-La, the "clown in chief" from Tous les Bouffons. Whoever he is, I bet he's some kind of public figure. Maybe a politician?
      • Bidder paid for this absinthe spoon, never picked it up. I guess she was enjoying the party so much she forgot to come back. I might have accidentally marked it as retrieved, and now it's been so long I can't return it. Please don't tell anyone.

    • AND OTHER REVELRY

      • Cops showed up. Probably a three kings first?
      • Ok no make that TWICE!
      • Dining room table flipped over by meathead twin-bros 15 minutes or so before last call. Filmmaker lady complained, but I told her I was only an intern... just like I told EVERYONE ELSE! sigh

Locked Video

Sylvia: - all's I'm saying is I appreciate you leaping into the booth with us.

Ines: He thinks you hung the moon, doesn't he? That's adorable!

Sylvia: Poor thing. We've have several spirited conversations about anime -

Celestine: You pressed his geek buttons!

Sylvia: That has historically been a problem for me.

Ines: Shush shhhhh!! Here he comes -

Elijah: Hey.

Celestine: Where 'yat little cuz?

Celestine (cont'd): Bless! I remember my first crush -

 

[There is the SOUND OF ICE DROPPING TO THE FLOOR.]

 

Sylvia: I think he needs some help.

Cyril: Get your hands off me. By god, I know how to walk. I been comin' to this event since it started.

Officer: Let's go!

Cyril: They're the ones trespassing, not me!

Breezy: Stop! Where are you taking him! Just stop it!

Officer: You wanna join him?

Breezy: Well, no, well... He hasn't put a ring on it! Hold my drink! Don't make me run in six-inch heels. Officer! Dang it!

Sylvia: What was that?

Celestine: Just folks taking out the trash.

Ines: I hope I got a good shot of that. Do you think it's worth trying to get it into he trailer before the ball?

Celestine: I don't know. Hey! What are you doing -

Ines: Celestine Broussard, we are showing the trailer for the Misfits of Mardi Gras before the MKML ball, yes?

Celestine: Look, Eye - the ball itself is its own piece. Every curated component has to reflect off the whole -

Ines: I know. I know. You told me.

Celestine: No. No, I'm not talking about this on camera.

Sylvia's Video Update

Sylvia: Hi, again. First off, I'm doing much better than I was in my last video. I had a few... really bad nights before I came out on the other side. Plus, these videos are an outlet for me so I can finally get out of my own head for once and that makes me feel... good, connecting with both you and myself. So I've been talking to Jay more. And it's been good having somebody friendly who's still, like, tapped into all this. We do talk about Celestine a lot, which is kind of healing. We got to see different parts of her life, so we're both learning about her as we swap our favorite stories. Actually, yesterday, he told me a great one, about how they dissected frogs in sixth grade. So Cel asked the teacher where all the dead frogs went. Of course, the teacher in Beau Marais would say "Heaven" but Cel, she actually meant the little cut-up bodies, the bones. And the teacher said "oh we toss them" and Celestine was not having them just getting chucked into the dumpster, in the garbage. So Cel and Jay, they hatched a plan to make off with all the trash bags full of the little frog bodies after school. And, so, they followed the janitors around to see which dumpsters they ended up in. And Jay said that the heist was a success, but Cel, she didn't really have a plan for what to do after. So the bag stank like hell so she couldn't take it home, but she had to do something so she built a little frog graveyard, a little frog catacomb in a hollowed-out tree. And I said that definitely sounded like her... She always, always cared when no one else did. That's all I have for now. I know we're both still "in it" but it's not so dark right now. Thanks for listening. I'll send you more info soon.

Solution

  • Sylvia is certain that tracing the violet absinthe will lead to the killer. She sends you everything she can get her hands on from the Three Kings Ball, where the absinthe was auctioned off to an undisclosed winner. Celestine's cousin, Elijah, who worked the ball and has a teenage crush on Sylvia, is all too happy to help.
  • When you cross-reference the auction catalog, the auction winners list, and the bidders list, you find that the absinthe was won by... Monsieur Zeppo La-La-La? Looking back at the Three Kings Ball program from Episode 1, you'll discover that Monsieur Zeppo isn't a real person. Rather, he's the clown alter ego of the current leader of the krewe Tous les Bouffons, and his identity is a strongly held secret. It seems that, in addition to winning the absinthe, Zeppo has also donated a rare and valuable item to the auction: an antique accordion that allegedly belonged to the King of Clowns, a mythical figure from the Great Depression.
  • The comic book provides a link between the accordion and Zeppo's true identity. In the book, commissioned by local restaurant Who Dat Crispy Bird, the Craw Daddy comes to the aid of beleaguered owner Eddie Serritella. Using Eddie's prized accordion, given to him by the King of Clowns, the Craw Daddy soothes the drunken tourists outside Who Dat Crispy Bird's door. Since Eddie is the (now-former) owner of the accordion, we know he is the real-life person behind Monsieur Zeppo La-La-La, and the winner of the violet absinthe.
  • Open the Contact shortcut and send Sylvia an email with the phrase "Eddie Serritella" in the body of the message. Wait for her response to continue.
  • Sylvia is shocked to hear that the winner is Eddie, who would have been parading with Tous les Bouffons during the murder. When she contacts Eddie, he explains that the absinthe was stolen from his table that night about 40 minutes after the bidding ended. He even shows her the police report.
  • Sylvia asks you if any of our suspects might have left the event before the absinthe was stolen... whenever that was. If so, the link between them and the crime scene is broken, and they can be cleared. Sylvia sends a link to some raw footage from Ines's documentary trailer to help with your timeline. However, the video is locked. The password hint, "the ___ is night", harkens back to Ines's coded communication from the float plans in Episode 4. The password is "ageofeye".
  • Once you've opened the locked video, you'll be able to start constructing a timeline. The first step is to compare the flyer with Elijah's notes to the official schedule on the Three Kings Ball website. After shifting around some times, you'll discover that the bidding ended around 10:33 PM, which means the absinthe was stolen around 11:13 PM. From there, you can compare the information on your new timeline with the video and other evidence. The blueberry stain on the cocktail napkin tells you that Nonah was taken out by police shortly before 12:30, making her a possible thief. And according to the flyer, Ines complained to Elijah around 12:15 about the Pirate Brothers' antics, which means that both she or Dillon could also have stolen the bottle. In the locked video, however, Cyril is seen being escorted out for trespassing as Elijah brings back ice around 11:05 PM. This timing makes it impossible for Cyril to have stolen the absinthe, making him the cleared suspect.
  • To complete the episode, open the Contact shortcut and send Sylvia an email with the phrase "Cyril Fortier" in the body of the message. Her response will give you details for the next episode.
  • Sylvia is grateful to rule out another suspect, and she feels that you're so close to cracking the case - if only you just had more evidence. Impatient and ready to find justice, she skips the middle-man this time and sends you a photo from outside the Pirate Brothers' den. There's only one thing left to do: break into each krewe's space herself and send you more evidence. Until then, Detective!

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