xyzzysqrl

Nightmare of last night: Somehow got a cursed book that ended up killing half the people I knew, although "people I knew" were kind of obvious stand-ins. Like, the BF was played by some guy with the wrong hair color wearing a wig, who apparently had been in a couple community plays and was REALLY hamming it up which made the death scenes really hard to take seriously. (Sorry woof. Your understudy is terrible, man.)

Eventually I weighed the pros and cons and donated the killer cursed book to a public library in another state on the grounds that while it would still be killing people, it probably wouldn't kill anyone else I actually knew or cared about. And then I went back to my actual in-dream job and the rest of the dream was about writing a webcomic.

...You know what? I would be the worst horror movie protagonist SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL, DREAM ME?

Let's break away from that and get back to NANCY DREW TIME. Last time on Secret of Scarlet O'Hara, a whole BUNCH of stuff happened and the actual mystery appeared and it was great and also kind of sad but ALSO GREAT. Now we have a bunch of stuff to do and people to telephone. Let's get down to business.

First off, as mentioned, we've got people to call. Let's head back to Nancy's hotel room and do the personal calls first. First call goes to Bess and George, and while there is a minor scuffle as George attempts to peek at Bess's cards, we hash out the suspect list.

JOANNA: Suspect A according to George and Bess. She would do ANYthing to keep her job. She loves the museum! But does "anything" include pawning the jade carving off on the black market and collecting the insurance money for it to keep the museum open? I feel this might be a touch too obvious. My money's kinda riding on...
ALEJANDRO: Who has come off, in every conversation with him, as one step shy of saddling up Toronado and strapping on a Zorro mask, going out all vigilante to return the treasures of Mexico to their homeland. On the other hand, is that too sympathetic a character for a Nancy Drew mystery? Perhaps the real suspect here is...
SINCLAIR: ...Who really is a VERY sketchy person, and kind of slimy, but I legit can't think of much reason to suspect him right now. All of his flow has been TOWARD the museum, and while he may have engaged in crappy tactics to get artifacts flowing in, why would he screw that up by stealing stuff NOW, particularly with the monolith about to rake in cash? And finally, at the bottom of the suspect barrel:
HENRIK: Who... might've flung himself down the stairs and given himself memory loss as a cover for the theft. Which he committed because the only language he really loves is the LANGUAGE OF CRIME??? I dunno I can't really shore this one up with any logical progression of events. Which makes it perfect for a STUNNING TWIST.

Hm. Anyway. Next on the phone list is Frank Rose. Nancy starts to go over evidence and suspects at him, but he's just happy she's taking care of it and really doesn't want a detailed update. So okay then.

Finally, the hospital. Henrik is suffering from post-traumatic retrograde amnesia and needs to undergo a "reality orientation" therapy, which the doctor hopes Nancy, as a somewhat familiar person, could assist with. Henrik's having serious problems: Basic biographical information like his own name or address is lost to him as a result of the head trauma, and his brain needs time and therapy to reconnect those areas.

The therapy will involve repetative memory exercises as well as attempts to stimulate his sensory memories to retrigger his cognitive memories. As a co-worker, Nancy can't exactly help Henrik remember his childhood... but she can talk about work and bring in images and little materials from the museum to help him focus, and who knows? That might just trigger something. She should remember: Don't get him TOO overstimulated. We don't want a breakdown.

...I think this is the most detailed "OH NO X HAS AMNESIA!" plotline I've seen outside soap operas, guys. That's pretty impressive for a teenage-focused mystery click-em-up.

Visiting hours are between 10 AM and 4 PM and the current in-game time is 1 PM, so Nancy drops everything and heads out to see Henrik.

That's hard to look at, even in a video game. After some chat with Henrik, where he establishes he doesn't remember Nancy, himself, or his job, we're offered the chance to show him something. I naturally pick the scarlet crime scene note, and Nancy pins it to the Reality Board.

Nancy: "Now, don't feel bad if you don't remember these gylphs. I can tell you what they mean."
Henrik: "Of course I know what they mean, I WROTE them."
Nancy: "The Magician suffers yellow death. Now, what do you suppose that means?"
Henrik: "It means your translator is abysmal. As the author of the original work, I protest."
Nancy: "...you don't agree with the translation?"

....well, so that's Henrik SCHOOLING US on Mayan glyphs there. "The Fool suffers oozing hives." EW.

But wait. He wrote this originally? Nancy latches on to that and presses him a bit: Was he at the crime scene? Don't remember. Did he steal the jade? Don't remember. Does the name "King Pacal" mean anything to him? ...maybe, but... it's blurry... and hurts to think about. Around that point, his head starts aching terribly, and the nurse peeks in to let us know it's time to leave. Come back tomorrow, Nancy!

...uh wait a second

Holy shit, Nancy did you just leave - A: Crime-scene evidence and B: A painting made with mercury sulfate - with a recovering brain injury patient?! ...ffff let's just hope he doesn't touch it. Ever.

Speaking of which, we present our findings to Joanna and she muses. Cinnabar! Mayans used that to add definition to their linework. The museum's been out of stock of that for a while. She suggests calling the distributor. She also listens while Nancy explains the situation with Henrik, and suggests asking Sinclair for a photo of the Pacal jade carving. Maybe it'll ring some bells for Henrik?

Both excellent ideas. Sure enough, "Keep It Real Restoration" sells alcohol, swabs, mercuric sulfide, and various other materials.

Nancy dials them up and has a highly interesting conversation. Yes, one "J.R." put in an order for cinnabar. Yes, that order went out. Yes, last week. ... Wait, no, it didn't ACTUALLY SHIP. Someone came to the warehouse in person and picked it up. Nope, no physical description. Said they worked for the museum. Hey, you know that stuff is super toxic, right? Causes psychosis and hallucinations? Welp, bye! Call back in six months, when you run out of that cinnabar!

I would chew them out for letting a random person walk off with a crate of heavily toxic materials, except we left some in a hospital room. Glass houses and stones.

There's also a business card for the Chaco Canyon Cultural Center on Henrik's desk, but it just rings out when I try calling it. So it's off to Sinclair's office, where he's flipping out. It's just like what happened to Prudence! What happened at the Chaco Canyon Cultural Center! Another break-in! While he was in the museum, no less!

...wait, what? Interesting coincidence, that.

As it turns out, he doesn't know Pru -personally-, but he's talked to her at "events".
*tap fingers*

More and more it's seeming like I should get in contact with her, but I'm not sure WHY yet.

Anyway, Sinclair passes over the photo, and to kill some time I decide to stop in on Alejandro as well. As it turns out, he was ALSO in the museum when the alarms went off. He had no idea what was going on until Henrik told him.

So... let's see. Henrik at some point leaves Nancy a note telling her to test the Temple Games (we have to get to that), the alarm went off and he talked to Sinclair, then at some point he went up into the Mayan temple and for -reasons- fell down the stairs.

Ugh, this just isn't coming together yet. Meanwhile, Alejandro was hanging out with Joanna, since he was returning those signed forms. Handy alibi. Anyway, he doesn't care about the theft, since in his mind the jade was ALREADY stolen the moment it left Mexico. It could be in Washington, Amsterdam, or Hawaii. As long as it isn't on Mexican soil, it is lost to him already.

"You're awfully unforgiving, you know. Joanna is very upset." Nancy chides.
"If her dog died, I would feel sorry for her." Alejandro shrugs. "But not over this."

When Nancy mentions Henrik, however, THAT Alejandro gets upset about, and makes a note to himself to phone the hospital later and see if he can visit. ...it's good to know the man's human. He has friends.

He also mentions he can't read glyphs. Many languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Nahuatl, and Quiche (which is a real language, to my surprise!). Not glyphs, not yet.

Back to the hotel, set alarm for visiting hours. Then it's off to the hospital.

Henrik declares that the King's face is "as familiar as my own feet!" and of COURSE he remembers when he last saw it! Certainly, it was when he was... stealing the carving. ...Oh, Pacal! WHY? Why did he DO that?! Henrik can't remember why he would've stolen anything, let alone something he loves from somewhere he loves!

Oh, this isn't looking good. Nancy carefully coaxes him through a few more memory exercises and it comes out: He was trying to... save Pacal. Protect him from an insideous plot... some horrible scheme he'd uncovered. Which he's drawing a blank on now.

Henrik waits for a moment to make sure no nurses will appear, then slips Nancy a key that was found in his pocket. Whatever it opens must hold some clue.

"Go Nancy. Find why I did such a thing. Please, though... tell no one. I must have had reasons I can't explain now."

Well now, this plot got thick fast, didn't it?

...also we can't take the hand picture off the board. Sorry for the toxins, Henrik.

Next time: We look for locks!