A piece of interactive fiction vs. role-playing game, where you get to suggest the next move and influence how the story progresses.
#28. Asking around
Friday, October 21, 2005 You open the folder of bank statements for a closer look. The account is with Fold's Bank and is solely in Lena's name. The most recent statement is from last month. Those two big amounts were both cash withdrawals: $14,159 and $26,535, a week apart. The previous page shows two more, of $8,979 and $32,384, in preceding weeks. There are also several cash deposits, which seem to add up to roughly the same amount, if your mental arithmetic is anything to go by.It looks like Lena had to pay someone a large amount of cash, and someone else was giving her cash to help her do so. Was she being blackmailed?
You start to search through the box for a pen and paper, but you realise you might as well take the two sheets from the bank statement. They've got all the information you need, including what was Lena's home address: 89 Gala Avenue. You fold the sheets into the inside pocket of your jacket.
Taking one last look around the container -- what other secrets might it conceal? -- you close the shutter, stuff the gun into your belt and head back to Katy's car. You take a circuitous route, avoiding the security desk. It might be simpler not to have to explain yourself to Doug.
Sitting in the car, you consider your next move. Where should you go? Who can you trust? You'll hear from Lena's father soon enough, when he calls at midnight. You still have a few hours to decide whether to tell him what you know, so you decide not to contact him yet. You should probably gather some more evidence first.
You think back over everything that's happened since you came to in that alley. Is there a clue you've missed? You remember the woman from the Pink Kitten mentioning "that creep who's been hanging round here". That might have something to do with Lena's cash problems. Perhaps someone there would know more.
On the way to the Pink Kitten, you devise a plan to get a private dance from one of the girls there, whom you can then ask about Lena and "that creep". It might not be the best plan ever, but you're almost beyond caring. If it doesn't work, at least you'll have had a drink and seen a bit of skin.
Having left the gun in the glove compartment, you make your way inside the club, past two hefty bouncers who eye you suspiciously. A scantily-clad young woman escorts you to a table near the bar. "Can I get you a drink, sir?" she asks cheerily.
"Whisky please," you say, and cast your gaze around the room as she glides away. There are about forty small tables like yours, only about a third of which are occupied, with several women moving between them. A blonde is performing a pole dance on a stage on the far side of the room. She's striking a pose that almost brings tears to your eyes.
All of a sudden, you notice that her left hand, with which she's gripping the pole, has only four fingers.
$82,057 sounds like payment for goods rather than a service.
Have a private dance but get ready to run though. Try to avoid being taken to a room that might be bugged or with only one exit, and start asking questions leading up to try to find out who the man is. Missing fingers imply Triads, though it could have been a simple work-place accident for her day job. So get ready to run.
yeah, ask her for a private dance but make sure it's where you're sitting and in sight on the exit. Then you can ask her her name and how she lost her finger. That at least what an average inquisitive customer would do.
If you ask the four fingered girl for 'extras'.. make sure you get 20% off
welp, the sting's unravelling. you've found the hand to your finger, but I wouldn't talk to her. losing a finger isn't something one takes lightly, whether voluntarily [she's in on the extortion] or involuntarily [she's scared shitless] you won't get anything useful from her here without your gun. I'd chum it up with some patrons if you can, the bartender, someone who can clue you into some extra info without subjecting you to unnecessary peril. lap dance last resort.
Mr Pants > it would be too obvious to be her finger. I'm sure you'd have thought earlier about the club if it had been a lady's finger.