It wasn't a surprise for Vontell to find the police station in complete disorder. Phones rang constantly as police officers seemed to be swamped with work and reports of mischief spread across the city. Searching for somebody to talk to, Vontell bumped into Officer Judah Copper, known to most as "JC". Tapping the large man on the shoulder caught his attention, cocking an eyebrow as he glanced back at the curious author, "Yeah?"
"Excuse me sir, I was hoping to have a moment of your time. You see, I was hoping to question you on-"
"Listen buddy," Officer JC sighed, tapping his pen against a clipboard in his hands, "We're up to our necks in reports as it is, and I'd love nothing more to help you out. But while Trick and Treat are having their tantrum and the citizens of this city are taking it as an excuse to get up to no good, I really don't have a moment to give you. None of us do, so if you'll excuse me-"
As JC turned to leave, Vontell piped up once more, "Perhaps I can assist you! Is there a report I could go over for you?"
"No," Officer JC responded bluntly, "I'm not about to let a civilian start poking around with th-"
A loud, sudden crash interrupted their conversation, causing Vontell to jump and snap his attention to the source. Officer Garry laid sprawled on the floor, coffee spilled around him as he gave a thumbs up and grin, "Hey sorry 'bout that! I'm okay!"
Rubbing the bridge of his nose in defeat, JC pointed his thumb back at the redheaded man, "You wanna help? Give Garry a hand and maybe he can help you out in return, huh?"
Summary
Vontell visits the Voltra Police Department, hoping to get some help.
Unfortunately, it looks like everyone else in Voltra is looking for help too!
Maybe if he can help out Officer Garry, they'll have a moment to spare.
Mechanics
Complete the equation by figuring out the value of each coffee treat.
This is a group activity. Working together will help make it easier to find all the answers.
But feel free to work alone as well!
Make sure to put your answers under a spoiler to give others a chance to play.
Prize
Once all the correct answers have been found, and at least 12 people have attempted to answer,
the EI Donut will be added to Joyful Jamboree.
All participants in this thread will be granted a free Donut tomorrow at noon. (Note: Participation includes any form of posting in this thread. Even if you don’t want to join in the game, show your support!)
"Hey thanks man, you're a lifesaver," Garry beamed to Vontell as he set down the last cup, "I owe ya one! How can I help you?"
Vontell smiled, "The pleasure was mine. But I was hoping to ask you about the day of the exchange... I've been informed that your department was volunteering as security, is that correct?"
"Oh yeah! The mayor asked me, Milly, and JC to keep an eye on things. I guess after the last two years he was hoping for a stress free Reaping Ritual..." Garry rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, "Better luck next year right? But man it's weird... I was keeping a close watch and I can guarantee you nobody made it backstage after we escorted everyone out. JC was outside the front entrance, Milly was outside the back entrance, and I was inside and made sure to stay near the gifts. Nobody would have been able to get under my nose... So my theory is the statue just kinda like that you know?"
Vontell frowned deeply, "No, I can assure you it was perfectly fine before arrival... Are you sure nothing strange happened?"
"Hmm... Nothing out of the ordinary, sorry man!" Garry shrugged.
About to cut his losses, Vontell glanced down, before his eyes widened, "Are you alright?" There was a large tear on the knee of Officer Garry's pants. It must have been a harder fall than he thought, seeing as blood was soaked into the fabric. Garry looked confused before he glanced down, blinking and laughing sheepishly.
"Oops! Missed one I guess..." Brushes his fingers over his knee, he shook his head, "This must have happened earlier, the blood's dry and I fell on my back when I was carrying the coffee. Ah well, it happens!" He scratched his cheek, grinning, "You might have noticed but I'm a bit of a klutz... It's gotten to the point that I don't even really register how many times a day I trip!"
"But doesn't it hurt?" Vontell asked, incredulous at his carefree demeanor.
"Huh? Oh..." Garry seemed to shrug, pulling out his tin of bandages, "Not really. I actually have this disorder, it makes it so I don't feel any pain at all. I get hurt all the time and I don't even register it! I guess it kinda works in my favour sometimes," He laughed, clearly staying positive about it.
"Ah... I apologize, I had no idea..." Vontell frowned, but made sure to take note of this information, "And you really have no memory of falling?"
"No worries. And yeah sorry, I tripped maybe five times since I got to the station alone, it's hard keeping a tab on that..." Garry rubbed his chin, shrugging, "I'm sure it was nothing!"
"Of course," Vontell smiled, closing his notebook, "Thank you for your time, Officer Garry."
"Any time!" Garry saluted with a wink, before moving to run off, "I better get back to work before JC blows a gasket though. Later!"
• Found at the scene: Paint Supplies, a Bucket with a Bandage, and a Hairdryer with a Tangled Chord
• The letters "V F" were carved into the base of the statue
• Vanora was backstage (two witnesses confirm)
• Vivienne was backstage, and was with Treat
• Volkan was never out of anyone's sight
• The hairdryer belonged to Vivienne, and was not working correctly. Its chord was not tangled when she left it
• Vyctor delivered the statue and was backstage alone
• Virgil was the artist that created the statue
• Virgil claims the statue was a lifelike replica of Treat when he created it, he doesn't know what happened
• Virgil specifically told Vyctor not to remove the sheet, so Vyctor never saw it. Virgil claims this was to keep it protected.
• The statue was fragile
• Vanora left a mess backstage with paint, Vyctor cleaned it
• The Voltra Police Department was working security and kicked Vyctor out
• Vanora claims to have been with Velvet, who had an emergency
• Valentina should have been at the event, but was not and has not been answering her phone
• Violet helped Virgil with the statue, and had photographs to prove their innocence
• Violet used magic on the statue to help keep it from breaking
• Vichard went to Joyful Jamboree to buy candy said he had a big plan for it. It was to prank his brother.
• Vregory has a big sweet tooth, and was kept away from the statue while it was in the shop
• Vregory and Vichard were too busy distracting each other to interfere with the statue
• Vichard had no knowledge of the exchange or the statue
• Officer Milly and Officer JC guarded the doors entering the backstage, while Officer Garry was patrolling inside
• Officer Garry says it's impossible that anyone got to it with him around
• Officer Garry had a wound on his knee he has no memory of
• Officer Garry has a disorder that causes him not to feel pain, and is a klutz
In hopes of discovering what caused this tiff between Trick and Treat, I've taken it upon myself to investigate this mystery. I began by searching the backstage, where the statue had been stored prior to the exchange. My search yielded:
- Paint supplies
- A bucket with a bandage
- A hairdryer with a tangled chord
- The letters "V F" carved into the statue's base
Perhaps these are important clues... Or perhaps it is just rubbish left behind. We'll have to search further.
Questioning the mayor, who was closest to the scene, I discovered the following information:
- Mayor Volkan was busy all day and was never alone at any point
- The statue was being watched all the time it was backstage
- Vanora, Vivienne, and security were backstage, at least that Volkan knew of
Perhaps Vanora or Vivienne may be able to shed more light upon this situation...
My poor friend Vivienne appeared to be under a lot of distress when I visited her. It seems she was having some technical difficulties with her equipment. After I calmed her, we discussed her experience backstage:
- Her hairdryer stopped functioning properly when she was styling Treat's hair
- She was with Treat the entire time, the entered and left the backstage together
- She confirmed Vanora was there
- She mentioned that Vyctor was also there, and potentially delivered the statue
Vyctor was an ordeal to speak to, due to the large influx of customers he had been faced with. However, once they had cleared out our conversation yielded a surprising amount of leads and information:
- Virgil was the artist behind the statue, and has asked Vyctor to transport it for him
- Virgil was very clear that Vyctor was not to remove the sheet at any time, so Vyctor never saw it before the reveal on stage
- Vyctor had time alone backstage, as there was nobody around when he delivered the statue
- There was a mess of paint left by an unknown person, which Vyctor took the time to clean up
- Vyctor was eventually escorted out by the Voltra Police Department, who were acting as security for the event
After having to go on a bit of a chase to capture Timberland, I managed to have a little talk with Vanora. She was able to verify some information, as well as offer a few interesting leads:
- She left the mess backstage when she was painting props and displays
- She was called away in the middle of it by Velvet, who claimed to have an emergency
- Claims she never saw Vyctor or the statue, but she did recall passing Vivienne
- Valentina should have been at the event, but Vanora never saw her and cannot contact her
Virgil was in a worse mood than usual when I paid him a visit, seemingly because of the sorry state Joyful Jamboree was in. After helping him clean up, he was open to a conversation:
- He admits to creating the statue, stating that it was a commission from Trick
- He denies tampering with it, even going so far as to state he wishes he did because of the reaction it caused
- Virgil stated that the statue was fragile and needed careful handling
- He state that Violet was with him during the creation, and that she may have useful evidence
To follow up Virgil's claims, I ventured to speak with his sister Violet. Unfortunately when I arrived, she seemed to be tied up with her work. After helping her organize, she revealed to me:
- She did help Vigil craft the statue, and had photo evidence to prove they were innocent
- The statue was made of candy
- She had cast a spell on the statue to strengthen it and keep it from breaking
- Vichard had been to the store, and mentioned having a "big plan" in store. it required a lot of candy
- Vregory was seen as an obstacle, as he can't help himself around candy
Finding Vregory King, greatly upset by the chaos that is currently ruling Voltra, I helped him calm down somewhat, after which he told me:
- He found goodies on the ground and made to collect them
- He didn't go backstage at all
- He arrived to watch the Ritual in the audience and didn't seem to realise that anything was off with the statue
- He thought the statue smells good, which ties into it being made of candy like Violet said
Vichard King seemed to be in a foul mood and not willing to communicate at first. After playing his little game, he spoke to me:
- He bought the candy to lead his brother Vregory into a trap, which failed
- He's been so focused on trying to prank his brother, he missed the entire exchange and had no knowledge of the statue or the fighting
- He suggested we speak to the guardians
The police station was in chaos when I arrived, but after helping Officer Garry deliver coffee I was able to ask him some questions:
- He confirmed that he, Officer JC, and Officer Milly were acting as security at the event
- He claims JC was at the front door, Milly at the back, and he was inside the backstage on patrol
- He claims nobody would have been able to bypass him without notice
- He had a mystery wound on his knee, but he seemed unbothered by it
- He revealed that he falls often and struggles to keep track of them for it
- He also has a disorder that causes him not to feel pain, so he never noticed it
WHO NEXT?
You have unlocked the chance to vote for who Vontell interviews as a potential witness/suspect next!
To vote, simply ping Vontell with: @Vontell: I vote for [NPC name]
The NPC that receives the highest votes will be the thread unlocked tomorrow at 1 pm.
Suggested Witnesses:
Velvet. Reason: She called Vanora away from the scene.
Valentina. Reason: She didn't meet with Vanora after making plans, and is MIA.
Voltra's Guardians. Reason: They may know what happened to the statue.
