Plot: Cold Cases

Summary When the frozen body of a wealthy industrialist is found next to the charred corpse of a local prostitute a few months ago, no one knew where to look for a lead or a motive. The beds weren’t damaged by frost or fire so the case was tossed into the big room of unsolved cases because no one wanted to try and solve what had happened.. The whole thing was forgotten until another frozen body was found a few days ago in a sleazy motel downtown. Another wealthy business guy, frozen, but next to him was the charred outline of someone else. No additional body was found. Updates To protect the identity of the characters involved in the plot, their names are being replaced with characters from Clue. March 6 Criminal Concerns: Colonel Mustard begins his investigation into what might have been stolen from the organized crime family at the same time as Mr. Everson was killed at the Mercer Hotel -and- who would have the power to fire all of the staff from the night in question. Outlining the Problem: Mr. Everson's frozen body was discovered with the outline of someone else's body next to his. For a man of such wealth to be out with someone else, on Valentine's Day evening - it's a good possibility that whoever he was with might have been a professional. Plot Points Miss Eva's Girls? : It's no secret that Miss Eva's girls are generally of a higher quality. She runs them downtown so at least based on proximity she might know something. Fagan's Boys? : Not discounting any possibility, the guy that no one can think of his name - or really any other descriptor - runs some boys out of the Harbor district. Not saying that Mr. Everson swung one way or the other but rumors at the hotel suggest that he had not one guest that night but two. Maybe they know something. March 5 Library Shuffle: Ms. Scarlet, holding several clues in her hands, runs back to her own impressive library to find some answers to the burning questions of this case - her answers create even more questions. February 28 Dorm Problems: Ms. White headed to campus to investigate where the thief made his connection to the Hotel security computer. With a quick disguise to blend in as one of the admin on campus, Ms. White gained access to the dorm's registry and server to find out where the computer connection had originated. Truth is Stranger than...: When Ms. White looked up where the connection came from the identity of the resident was a bit...misleading. Either it's one hell of a coincidence or someone's playing a seriously weird joke. Either way, Ms. White decided not to push her luck by just walking up to the room - not without doing some proper recon first. Weird Connections: Mr. Green discovered that the original case, the discovery of the man being frozen and found next to the burned corpse of a known prostitute at a local motel, was not just a few months ago, but -specifically- three full moons ago. Bitchcraft: After investigating the original case through unconventional means, Mr. Green found out that there was only one real suspect in the case. Unfortunately the detective couldn't make any charges stick to them; a madame who ran a small group of girls downtown. The madame was identified as the boss of the prostitute that was found burned to death next to the frozen man. She was rumored to be into candles and cats and all of the Occult things and would threaten her girls that if they tried to leave her she'd curse them. Plot Points Lunar Connections? : What's the relevance to the phase of the moon with the two cases? Street Witch? : Where has the madame gone? Is she still running girls? her territory was somewhere on the north end of town between G and E and Third and Ash. Elemental Associations : Who were the original people killed in this same manner? February 27 Rabbit Hole: The remote removal of the security footage at the Mercer has gained the attention of Ms. White. She investigated the remote hack and discovered something interesting of the identity of the thief. Breadcrumbs: The thief, for whatever reason, left pieces of a puzzle at the jump points in their trail. Roasters, and a dorm on UC:P's campus were the only two recovered. Plot Points Another New Player:Seems like the thief has a history of tapping on the web to startle the spiders but for what purpose? February 26 Dead Bodies: When Ms Scarlet goes to the Medical Examiner's office to inspect the frozen remains of Mr. Everson, she finds something unexpected - a dead body. Well, maybe not -that- unexpected, it is a Medical Examiner's office, where -else- would you expect to find a dead body? But the one she finds is of Henry, the night watchman. His neck was snapped and he was positioned to appear to be sleeping at his desk. Tangled Mess: Ignoring the who's and the wheres of Henry, Ms. Scarlet heads down to the examination rooms to look for the frozen body - and she finds one. Well, she finds several, all piled up in a knot and left on a table. Three bodies were thrown together on top of a table and frozen in place under three to four inches of blue-white, almost glacier ice. One of these Things: Two of the frozen bodies were in scrubs and looked to be members of the medical staff. A third, however, was dressed conservatively in black and wore an interestingly unique ring. Thankfully most of the finger that held it was out of the ice so Ms. Scarlet could take it for further examination. Plot Points Another Player: Ms. Scarlet isn't the only person investigating these matters. Glacial Ice: Whoever killed the men in the medical examiner's office possessed at least some control over elemental magic and presumably held considerable strength. Disturbances: She searched for any remains of Mr. Everson but before she could find any there were sounds of movement coming from the lobby and her preternatural danger sense kicked in warning her of impending trouble. She had to find the footage from the office's internal surveillance system and made her way to the security office. Follow Up Security Office: Can Ms. Scarlet make her way through the Medical Examiners, to the security office, find and retrieve the footage that might explain what had happened to the frozen men -without- being discovered by the disturbance in the lobby? February 24 No Footprints: After scouring through the footage Ms Scarlet discovered that someone else had remotely erased the footage from the hall, lobby and parking lot cameras for the night in question. The digital thief's identity was unknown but his trail was masked and showed up as Roaster's Coffee House, Prospect's Campus and a small cafe in Russia. Unwelcome Guests: While Ms Scarlet was working her way through the motel's security feeds from the night in question, a group of guests arrived unseen in the lobby and took an elevator upstairs. it's not uncommon for guests to come and go so late but who's to say who they were or what they were doing since both she and the night manager were otherwise...occupied. Coveruptus Interruptus: While Robby was having a truly "forgettable" evening with Ms Scarlet, the group returned to the lobby and was already on their way out the doors when she decided to follow. The group numbered six men with an older man and a younger man being escorted by two linebacker-typed guys; obviously some kind of security force. The old man got in one car and the younger in another with their escorts and left in two identical black cars. She followed. Abbey Hill: Thankfully undiscovered as a tail, Ms Scarlet followed the pair of cars through the city and into the residential areas that extended up into the hills. Eventually she saw them turn into a private, gated drive with the plaque "Saint Cuthbert Abbey" on one of the pillars. Plot Points Saint Cuthbert: Some kind of religious order took interest in the death of Mr. Everson? Digital Thief: Whoever erased the footage was most probably an outside contractor but why? Hiding the information from the police (who already had copies) or to stop other interested parties. February 22 Date Night: In an attempt to gain access to the Mercer's security camera footage, Ms Scarlet offered her phone number and then eventually a sure-thing date to the night manager of the motel. Robby, who had just been moved to nights after the entire evening shift had been laid off, couldn't believe his luck. Layoffs: Though not well-publicized, several members of the Hotel staff have recently been encouraged to seek employment elsewhere. No official reasons were offered and some might even have been offered a nice severance package before they were dismissed. All seems pretty normal on the surface - hotels change staff all the time. Manhunt: The rumors that have hit the street concerning the Mob leaning on the gangs for something stolen weren't entirely accurate. The mob didn't think that the gangs tried to steal from them - that would be stupid. They wanted the gangs to be looking for who took whatever it was that was stolen. Currently the bounty on whoever it is is rumored to be a favor and not just any favor but a FAVOR from one of the big shots himself. That could be money, power, territory, who's to say? Plot Points Cover up?: Nothing out of the ordinary about people leaving the hotel, until you hear that all those removed were on duty the night that Mr. Everson was apparently killed and frozen - or frozen and then killed. Frozen in his sleep?: A rumor is starting to circulate concerning the death of Mr. Everson. Originally the thought was that the man was killed (somehow) and then frozen before being positioned back in the hotel bed - possibly to send some kind of message to others. However, additional evidence has come to light that he may not have been dead before he was frozen. And the Rock Cried Out: Gangs are scouring the city for...someone. Problem is - no one seems to know who they should be looking for. One gang is looking for a bald guy with tattoos, the other is trying to find a older guy with a scar covering an eye. It's all up in the air now. February 18 Stealing from the Mob: News on the street is that overnight, multiple gangs have had visits from the highest level of organized crime in the city, The Mob. What are they looking for? Word coming from the visited gangs is that they were searching for something that was taken from them, allegedly, has a great value to them. Whoever is responsible is no doubt going to face a fate worse than death. Plot Points Weird Connection: Just days after the death of a highly-placed business man, the mob starts searching the streets for something that was taken from them. Sealed Investigation: As the deaths start to pile up from the mob's search of the underworld for their missing briefcase, the investigation into the frozen death of Mr. Everson has started to lock up the loose ends. Press aren't being told what's going on and the police department are keeping their leads close to their chest. Pressure from Above & Below: The police department starts to feel the pressure from the city officials that one of their own (Mr. Everson) was killed in such a bizarre fashion and they want the case closed as soon as possible. They also don't want the connection made (or even rumored) that the death of Mr. Everson has anything to do with the crime spree currently affecting the city - but it's hard to miss the possible connection and timing. Did Mr. Everson take something he shouldn't and get...ICED for his betrayal? February 16 Murder at the Mercer: Details are starting to filter out through the news sources that a body was found in one of the suites at the Mercer hotel. The police have reported that the body was one Mr. Jonathan Everson, a highly successful businessman and real estate developer within the downtown area of Prospect. Mr. Everson's body was discovered by cleaning staff of the motel the morning after Valentine's Day. Specific details surrounding the account of his death have been restricted by the police department pending further investigation. Plot Points The Start: This is the official start of the plot. Investigations should be sent to Dawson. The Mercer: A an elite (res 5) motel in the heart of downtown (Broadway and Fourth Ave). 25 floors tall, the Mercer's top five floors are private suites that span multiple rooms. Jonathan Everson: A wealthy (res 5) businessman with connections (city council) and influence (bushiness) throughout the city and the state. Married with two children, Mr. Everson would have achieved his 50th birtday and 25th anniversary this coming year.

Information Plot: Cold Cases Risk: Level 2 Storyteller: Dawson Spheres: Open Enrollment (Pref. given to Mortal/Mortal+) Timeframe: Initial Status: Active (Contained PRP) RP Hooks Location Streetwise: This is mostly an issue people would know about through their connections to the street. Downtown: Most of the reported cases have all happened downtown. Hooks Investigation: Are you the type that likes to follow clues, uncover evidence and piece together motives from seemingly unrelated cases? Do-Gooder: People are getting killed and not in a conventional way. They have families and you know people are worried about them. Crime: Cop? Criminal? Stuff is going on in your city and may have further-reaching effects than just a few random faces in the rain. Business: Both of the men who were killed were into BIG (resources 5) business. Maybe you knew them, had dealings with them or were competing against them. Someone's either done you a favor or ruined your next big deal. Society: The loss of these pillars of the financial community is going to be far reaching. Didn't you know the business guy? Did your family know his family? Not only the difficulty of having to deal with the loss of someone but now the scandal of where he was found and -who- he was found with. News For OOC Information Updates about the plot Feb 27 Still Openings: Wanting to get involved in the plot but not sure how since it's already started? @mail Dawson. Wanted: Investigators: The family of Mr. Everson and the owners of the Mercer Hotel want information on what happened. The police, though under serious pressure from the higher-ups to put a lid on the case and wrap it up fast, have yet to produce any suspects. Computer Security Folks: A posting concerning a job hits the boards you watch: someone's wanting some financial data on the late Mr. Everson. They want to track his money before and now after his untimely death. There was something hinky going on with how he was running his business. No names are given for the client - just a contact email and number and the promise of payment once you start producing information. Street-Level folks: Organized crime isn't something that people often want to tangle with. The very night Everson became a human Popsicle, they lost a substantial chunk of money and are on the hunt for it. Who's to say if the two things are related but some serious favors, not to mention some nice cash, are being offered for answers and, more specifically, information leading to the return of their stolen money. Feb 13 Call for Witnesses: For those who would not want to be directly involved in the plot but who will have seen some element of the story unfold and can spread the news more organically. This could be mostly anyone but I'd like to try and keep this to the mortal / mortal + types if possible. Call for the Curious: Are you the type that hears of some weird news story but can't just let it alone? Do you have to take the next step and try and see if you can figure out "who done it" before the cops? Are you a mortal/mortal+ or those who can pass fairly easily within mortal society (low rage, high humanity) who would be curious as to who the people involved are or what might be happening in YOUR city? Application Interested parties should @mail Dawson with the following information: Interest: Why are you jumping into this plot? What's your motive. Boredom doesn't count. Why -this- plot? Sphere: I will keep this confidential but I need to know what potential powers you're pulling into this plot so that I can make changes accordingly. It's no fun if I'm running a mortal-based plot and you're a Arete 5 mage that could solve this over coffee. Contacts/Allies: As you investigate the plot I'll need to know what resources you can pull in to help you. If you don't have either of these that's fine, but I want to be prepared for when you whip out the city council that's you have drinks with every Tuesday. Influence: Do you have some kind of influence that would get you access to information / assets that will shape this plot? I need to know in advance. Logs