Episode 1

Currently on Curtain Call...

By the year 1934, dazzling young actress Viola Vane had won the hearts of New York City's theater-going public as the star of George Erikson and Ira Adler's hit production, "The Strange Duo". However, Vane took a months-long absence toward the end of "The Strange Duo", during which time she was replaced by her understudy, Evelyn Kittridge. In a rehearsal for her next starring role in "You Can Leave It Right Here", Viola was attacked by her mother, Olga, and disappeared that same night, never to be seen again. At least, not until Jula Adler discovered her mummified corpse in the Cadence Theatre's attic decades later.

As Julia, current owner of the Cadence and granddaughter of Ira, digs through the Cadence's murky past, it becomes clear that not all was well in the time leading up to the murder. Viola broke off her engagement to co-star Hector Roland. George's wife, Ruth, made it clear to the director, Ira, that she held Viola in extremely low regard. George himself seemed to have been in financial trouble, because he sold the theater shortly after Viola's murder. Furthermore, George was not the only suspect with debts to pay - soon after the murder, Hector made an undisclosed payment to Ira. But what was the money for?

Hints

Attic Inventory

  • Carefully cross-reference the items found in the attic with any items mentioned in the forensic report.

Forensic Report

  • Pay close attention to the perimortem injuries Viola sustained. Check the attic inventory for any items that could have made these injuries and left evidence behind.

Hector Letter

  • The numbers handwritten at the bottom of the letter are written in sets of two. Each set references something specific in the body of the letter itself. The cipher guide on the virtual desktop may help you decipher this message.
  • This letter utilizes a book cipher. In this book cipher, each paired set of numbers refers to a line in the text and a word in that line. For example, "½" would refer to the first line of the letter's body text and its second word ("are"). Finding all of the words in this way will reveal a secret message from Hector to Ira.

Rehearsal Notes

  • This cipher is based on the theatrical abbreviations for stage directions. Consulting the Cadence Theatre notebook may help explain the method for this cipher.
  • Stage directions divide the stage into nine sections. The top row of the grid is upstage, the middle is center stage, and the bottom is downstage. The left-hand side of the grid (to the viewer) is stage right, and the right-hand side is stage left. The center column is center stage. The alphabet can be mapped onto this grid, with three letters in each section of the grid (the last section of the grid will only have two letters, Y and Z). The numbers next to the abbreviated stage directions should indicate which letter in the grid is being used in the cipher. For example, UR1 would refer to the first letter in the upstage right square. This would be the first letter in the upper-left of the grid.

Reveals

Attic Inventory

  • The forensic report references a cabochon-cut ruby lodged in Viola's head wound. The attic inventory describes many items that are missing gems. One item listed, a cane, is encrusted with cabochon-cut rubies, but it is missing one gem. This missing gem matches the exact dimensions of the ruby found in Viola's wound. This item must have been the murder weapon.

Forensic Report

  • The forensic report references a cabochon-cut ruby lodged in Viola's head wound. The attic inventory mentions a cane with a missing ruby of the same cut and size.

Hector Letter

  • The book cipher reads: "Sending you the money enough to cover your responsibilities".

Rehearsal Notes

  • The coded sections read: "George too hands on intense in the way" and "Talk to Hector".

Solution

  • Viola Vane was murdered by a jeweled cane that belonged to her mother, Olga Gaina, at 5:57 PM on November 6, 1934. However, just because the murder weapon belonged to Olga, it does not necessarily mean that Olga was the murderer.
  • The forensic report contains several key facts. First, Viola Vane died of blunt force trauma to the skull and also sustained defensive wounds to one wrist at the time of death. The report mentions a broken watch on her injured wrist with its hands stopped at 5:57. A newspaper in the trunk with her corpse is dated November 4, 1934. Finally, and most tellingly, a single cabochon-cut ruby was found lodged into the fatal wound in Viola's skull.
  • The newspaper article notes that Viola Vane was last seen at a rehearsal on November 6, 1934. This, cross-referenced with the newspaper in the trunk and the watch mentioned in the forensic report, determines that Viola died immediately after 5:57 PM on November 6, 1934.
  • The attic inventory lists a number of potential weapons that were stored in the Cadence Theatre in the 1930s. Only one items described in this document features cabochon-cut rubies of the correct size and shape. This item is also missing one of its rubies. This item is the cane. Therefore, the cane must be the murder weapon.
  • The newspaper article also mentions that Viola's mother, Olga, owned that cane. However, the rehearsal notes from November 6 - the last rehearsal Viola attended before her disappearance - describes Joe taking the cane from Olga during her violent outburst.

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