Episode 5

Currently on Curtain Call...

A series of notes and reports reveal that Viola took her leave of absence because she was pregnant. During this period, Viola was hiding out in Hector's country house in New Canaan. She also kept her pregnancy a secret from Olga and George, which is why they hired a private investigator to see where she disappeared to on weekends. Ultimately, the private eye failed to discover that she was visiting her newborn child in New Canaan on these occasions.

Ira refrained from admitting the truth to Evelyn, "E", in the months leading up to the murder, as shown in the message on Hector's note.

Prior to breaking off her engagement, Viola had her jewelry collection appraised and found out she was sitting atop a small fortune. Viola ordered the lockbox to safely store her jewels, and she hid that lockbox somewhere in the Cadence.

Ruth divorced George, alleging prior infidelities. The contents of a hidden compartment in a drawer in George's desk revealed that George harbored an obsession with Viola.

After the murder, Ira and Evelyn leveraged George's debts against him to buy the Cadence and everything inside.

Did George and Olga ever learn the true reason for Viola's disappearance? And what became of Viola Vane's child?

Hints

Divorce Papers

  • This document featured Ruth and George's divorce proceedings. Notice the details about the Eriksons' child and George's infidelity.

Doctor's Report

  • This report summarizes two of Viola's doctor appointments. They are for her initial pregnancy check-up and the birth of her child.

Hector Note

  • This is a variation of a cipher Hector has previously used.
  • This is another book cipher, this time made up of numbers in sets of three. The first number refers to the line, the second to the word in that line, and the third to the letter of that word. Match each set of numbers up with the line, word, and letter in the body text in the Hector note to reveal the secret message.

Hotel Records

  • These are the notes from the concierge at the Excelsior Hotel on the night of Viola's murder. Pay attention to the names and notes on this document.
  • The guest listed at the bottom of the first page, A.R. Lairde, was on the phone with the hotel from 4:54 PM to 6:15 PM and ordered a very specific cocktail.

Jewelry Appraisal

  • This is a new variation of a code used in previous episodes. Use the key phrase "scrambled up inside" as a clue to this variation. Use the handwriting to determine the note's author.
  • This code is another variation of the Atbash cipher. Decipher the letters in code and unscramble them to read the message.

Notebook Pages

  • This is a variation of a cipher used in a previous episode. Consider what this reveals about the writer. Pay attention the phrases "world turned upside down" and "foundation... now over my head" in the beginning of this document. This is a clue for how to vary the method of deciphering.
  • In the previous iteration of this cipher, the bottom number indicated which letters to shift, and the top number indicated how many places to shift them. Now these instructions are reversed, so if the time signature reads ½, you should shift every second letter by one.

PI Report

  • This report is a summary of a private investigator's surveillance of Viola. Use a document from an earlier episode to determine who hired this PI.

Theater Sale Contract

  • This contract details the terms of the agreement between George and the Adlers regarding the sale of the Cadence Theatre.

Reveals

Hector Note

  • The secret message reads: "Dr. called. Baby born. Do you want to visit? Have you told E?"

Hotel Records

  • A.R. Lairde is an anagram of Ira Adler. The cocktail recipe is for one of the Cadence Theatre's signature cocktails: the Crescendo. This proves that Ira was on the phone with the hotel from 4:54 PM until 6:15 PM, during the time of the murder.

Jewelry Appraisal

  • The deciphered message reads: "I asked Mr. Germond about discreet, temporary storage. He recommended a Paladin brand lockbox."

Notebook Pages

  • This is George's note, as evidenced by his handwriting and the repeated use of his cipher.

  • The deciphered sections read, in order:

    • the Betucias
    • Chicago overcoats
    • sold the theater
    • my wife
    • Betucias
    • Cadence

PI Report

  • This document can be used in conjunction with the ledger in Episode 2. The "Sir and Madam" referred to in this report are George and Olga, which we know because of the note in the margin of the ledger that reads "PI fees - $4.15/hour - Cover for Olga?"

Solution

  • Despite having a strong motive as her former romantic partner, Ira Adler could not have killed Viola Vane. He can, therefore, be eliminated as a suspect.
  • In Episode 2's police report, Ira claims that he could not have killed Viola because he had been occupied in George's office, on a phone call with the Excelsior Hotel, from around 5 PM to 6:15 PM. If this is true, Ira could not have committed the murder at 5:57 PM. So, how can Ira's alibi be corroborated?
  • The hotel records from the concierge of the Excelsior Hotel do not indicate Ira's presence on the night of the murder. However, they do mention a guest named A.R. Lairde calling from approximately 5 PM to 6:15 PM - the exact time slot Ira claims to have been on the phone with the hotel. Upon further scrutiny, we can see that this guest's name is an anagram for "Ira Adler". Furthermore, this guest orders a specific cocktail, recognizable from the cocktail recipes on the virtual desktop as Ira's signature drink. It can be concluded from these two facts that this guest was, in fact, Ira Adler.
  • Ira used a fake name to keep romantic plans with Evelyn a secret, from both the people in his life and the press.
  • Because Ira was on the phone during the time of the murder, he could not have killed Viola Vane.

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