Conversation · Working Class Corpse

"But you're right, let's not run ahead. For now all we know is that he's an unidentified middle-aged man found dead on the Martinaise boardwalk."

"He looks like me. I could have ended up just like him -- dead on some empty boardwalk with a bottle next to my corpse."

"Well, at least you're not married." The lieutenant points at the ring on the man's left hand, the flesh around it swollen and grey.

Or what if you are...?

Married to your drink, that's for sure.

This is an omen, a sign from above -- don't start drinking again.

[Leave.]

Study the man's clothes.

He's wearing mud-caked boots, beige trousers and an old brown leather jacket with a bright blue lining. There are traces of kebab sauce on his chest.

The leather jacket suits him well. It must be custom-made.

A cool leather jacket with a bolt of blue? Oh no, this sounds terribly familiar...

Search his pockets.

Only some sunflower seeds remain in his soaked pockets. You already took the library card.

"We should take another look at the library card you found on him," the lieutenant says, straightening his back.

"Good, we should take a look at that library card after this is done."

You find some sunflower seeds and a rain-soaked library card, folded into two. His jacket feels sodden and heavy under your hand.

Study the man himself.

The man has fallen through a crack in the boardwalk and hit his head against the metal bench. Coagulated blood covers his black hair. One of his feet is still dangling through the hole.

You have to be quite inebriated to fall that bad. Well over a litre of pure ethanol. Three bottles of wine or one and a half of spirits?

Or maybe it was just dark.

When damp these boards are really slippery, even a sober man could loose their balance here.

Examine his face.

His expression is dull like the sea behind him, drops of water shining on his moustache. His eyes, empty and wide, look frightening in their frozen gaze.

Height: 170-175 cm, curly hair, stout build. Age: approximately 50-60 years.

He was confused when he died. Confused and alone, most likely. Overcome with the awful surprise of it all.

He was just about to head home. The first step back home proved to be his last.

That's what the chewing gum seems to point to as well.

A bad fall. It might have been dark outside? This place is a mine field in the dark.

"What should we do with him?"

"From where I stand I can see two options. We either take the case and follow the leads to identify the body on our own -- or we report back to the station and leave this for our colleagues to handle."

"Let's leave this case for the station, I don't want to spend time on it." (Don't take the case.)

"Alright. The station is going to want details, however. We already examined the library card we found on the body -- good, that should be enough for the first lead."

"The next thing to do is call the station from my Kineema and hand over the case. Then we can return to the murder investigation and be done with it."

"Alright. The station is going to want details, however. Let's examine that library card you found on the man's body, see if it has any clues. Then we can call the station from my Kineema and hand over the case."

"I still need some time to decide how I want to solve this case." (Return to this later.)

"No need to rush."

"Hold on -- what about field autopsy?"

"A field autopsy isn't necessary if the cause of death doesn't appear to be criminal -- and this looks like a simple accident to me."

"I'd say we should just write down 'head trauma' and leave it at that. Let's keep this detour as short as possible -- the sooner we get back to finding Ruby the better."

"You're right, I don't see anything criminal here. Let's leave it at that."

"Good call. The guys at Processing can take care of the rest."

"Yes, but... isn't that kind of sloppy?"

"Maybe, but we don't really have much time or resources to spare. The guys at Processing will take care of the rest."

"I'd say we should just write down 'head trauma' in the autopsy report and leave it at that. It would save us at least two hours of unnecessary work."

"We found him. We should finish this." (Take the case.)

"Alright. We've already examined the library card -- let's call the Jamrock Library from my Kineema, see if we can learn anything about this Billie Méjean."

"And while we're there we should also call the station, let them know that we're taking the case."

"Alright. We should first examine that library card you found. Then we can call the station from my Kineema, let them know we're taking the case."

What should I do with the body?

First you need to talk with the lieutenant, then report back to the station. This is too complicated to handle on your own.

Study the surroundings.

There's some dried blood on the metal bench, right where the corpse's head rests. The floorboards are rotten and slippery wet around the hole. An empty bottle lies nearby. A chewing gum wrapper is clutched in his fist.

Be very, very careful where you step here.

Step back.

The entire boardwalk creaks in the wind as you take a step back.

Step on the floorboards.

They screech under your feet, ominously. It's hard to say whether the dead man's weight was what caused the boardwalk to break... It definitely looks fragile.

You see waves churning below... Something cracks beneath your feet.

He could have easily disappeared into the sea through that hole. And you would have never found him.

Examine the man's head.