Black Dahlia

CD #6

You arrive in L.A. on January 10, 1947. Note this date. Look over your hotel room and then call the police. Click on Jim instead of entering a name to see an Easter egg. After your conversation with Detective Maxwell at Gabe’s Diner, the World Map will offer you the choices: Boarding House, Train Station Shipping Office, and Sunset Arms (your hotel). If the cockroach on the World Map is any evidence, your situation has gone downhill since Cleveland.

Make sure you right click to access the World Map here; don’t use the travel cursor (arrow) to leave locations.

Visit the Train Station Shipping Office and speak with the Incoming Parcels Clerk and the Outgoing Parcels Clerk. And you thought the IRS was a problem. Check the wastebasket near the outgoing parcels desk. Confuse the clerk by sending the box to yourself. Be sure to select express delivery. Standard delivery may never reach you. Make sure you have a receipt.

Next, try to find Elizabeth Short at the Boarding House. Mrs. Underhill doesn’t know where Elizabeth is but tells you about the Black Dahlia. A search of the room reveals a note and a cocktail napkin from the Biltmore Hotel.

At the Biltmore Hotel, show the bartender Elizabeth’s picture. He knows her and expects her in later in the day.

Take another stab at the clerk at the Shipping Office. Your package should have arrived. If you ask the clerk directly, Jim will automatically give him the required receipt. The shipping manifest shows that the ABC Moving Company signed for Winslow/Collins’ trunk.

At the Sunset Arms Hotel, use the telephone to call the ABC Moving Company. The woman is not helpful. Time for Jim to use some of his acquired skills. Note that it’s Friday.

After Jim breaks into the ABC Moving Company, search the office thoroughly. The letter on the bulletin board explains the intricate ID system. The desk drawer has a list of drivers and trucks. Identify the driver who picked up and delivered the crate from Union Station (use the date). See *ABC Moving Company for hints and @ABC Moving Company for the solution.

Find the relevant file in the filing cabinet. Try not finding the file too quickly, because Jim has an amusing comment about amateurs (namely, us) here. The file will reveal that the crate was taken to King Productions at RKO Studios. However, you can’t enter the Movie Studio without a pass.

You haven’t found Elizabeth Short yet; drop by the Biltmore Hotel again. Elizabeth is there. Between drinking and talking, she tells you that the Black Dahlia is someplace safe. Unfortunately, Winslow is also there in the background and gets Jim out of the way very easily.

CD #8

January 15, 1947.

A few days have passed and Jim is worried about Elizabeth. She didn’t show up for their meeting. Ike, the bartender at the Biltmore Hotel, has information and a constantly outstretched hand. It is important to find out that Elizabeth has a room at the Biltmore and the number of the room. Forget about the key. Go toward the window, to the left, and then proceed up the stairs on your right. Elizabeth’s door is locked but it’s the room next to the fire escape. On the fire escape, open the window (move top down, click on board, and move bottom up). The purpose of searching Elizabeth’s room is to find the key to the locker at the train station. The key is not easy to find. See *Elizabeth’s Key for a hint.

Return to the Sunset Arms. Detective Maxwell is waiting for you. Elizabeth’s body has been found. Jim receives help from a new friend. Alice has also started working at the RKO Studios and can obtain a pass.

At the Train Station, you have the option of trying the key in every locker or trying to determine Elizabeth’s “surefire way.” It can’t be that difficult. Note that you can look at the telephone here. See *Locker for a hint and @Locker for the solution.

Opening Elizabeth’s locker, you discover that she has sold the Black Dahlia to Willington’s Antiques.

The man at Willington’s Antiques is helpful. However, once again Winslow was there before you but he left something behind. Buy the cane and solve the Cane Puzzle (and you thought you were done with the runes). See *Cane for hints and @Cane for the solution. Look at the Treasure Map in the Inventory.

Back at the Sunset Arms, check your pillow. Alice has come through with the pass.

At the Movie Studio, things are not going well. After the crew is dismissed, take a look around. There’s Winslow’s trunk. He must have been quite surprised when he opened the crate: jack-in-the-boxes instead of champagne. The receipt was signed by Al King. Talk to Alice. She’s going over to King’s house this afternoon and invites Jim to come over.

At King’s House, Al King is all-talk. Take him up on his “my-house-is-your-house” offer and ransack the place. There’s a photo of Winslow. But Alice doesn’t know anything about it. King’s notebook on his desk lists information on some “birds” he’s been watching. Make a note of those numbers. The trash can beside the desk has torn telegrams and a newspaper article on the desecration of Ferrin’s Hill Cemetery. Assemble the Telegram Puzzle in your Inventory. See @Telegram for the cheat code. One telegram informs you that Winslow wanted the crate of champagne delivered to the old shooting lodge.

The map on the wall should look familiar. Don’t you have another map? Superimpose the treasure map on the wall map and find the elevation marked by X. Also note the elevation of King’s house.

The table near the telescope has several sheets of paper on it. One is an inclination-declination chart. The chart tells you that angle, distance, and elevation are important. The other sheets are a list of heights, distances, and angles.

Look at the telescope, particularly the box at its side. Using the numbers from King’s notebook, dial up the numbers in the box and then click on the telescope. Use -0.8 and -45, for example. When Jim looks through the telescope, line up the black triangles to see a video. If you need more practice or want to see more “birds,” try the other numbers. You don’t have sufficient information for the telescope yet. The desecration of the cemetery struck a cord.

At Ferrin’s Hill Cemetery, the vandals certainly did a thorough job. Rerouting Winslow’s baggage did not prevent Winslow from finding a replacement slab. Read the various statements on the walls. Write down the math puzzle:

4 hanged men = 6 stars

3 stars = 2 skulls

5 skulls = 2 hanged men + 1 and a half stars + 18 flames

? flames = 3 hanged men.

Solve the math puzzle for the ?. Those of you who hate math, see @Math Riddle for the solution. If you’re interested in seeing how the answer was obtained, see *Math Riddle.

Also find the piece of paper in the urn. Winslow is obviously taunting you. Those numbers definitely mean something.

You may want to save a game here. Back at King’s House, use the numbers from Winslow’s clue to determine the angle. Don’t forget to take the elevation of King’s house into account. Enter the angle on the left side of the box and the number from the math riddle on the right. Look through the telescope, line up the arrows, and see good old Dick. See @Telescope for the solution.

The video sequence automatically takes you to the Hunting Lodge. When the action stops, Jim has fallen into the basement. Save your game here before proceeding. Examine the basement. When you pick up and turn over Alice’s photograph, the lodge begins to burn. This is a timed sequence, act rapidly. There is a key in one of the metal cabinets. Note that during this process, Jim’s hand is branded. If you remember Helen’s Notes, a “witness pure of heart” is to “bear the brand of Hela.”

After escaping from the burning lodge, Jim returns to King’s House. Read the statements on the wall. The projector in the sunken area has a film. Caution: Although the film doesn’t show any actual violence, the suggested violence may be bothersome. All the evidence in the room points to King’s death and Alice’s abduction or death. The film will confirm that Alice is alive. Viewers of the film should note the time on the cuckoo clock: 4:55. The cuckoo clock is allegedly a puzzle, but nothing had to be solved in my game. See @Clock for the solution if you do need to solve it.

There are two basic endings to Black Dahlia. Save a game when you find Alice to play through all of them. Caution: All of the endings are gruesome. The “good ending” is certainly not the greatest for Jim but the world has once again been saved from a madman. There are three ways to see the other ending. See @Endings for the list. If the ending doesn’t quite make sense, reread Santini’s Notes. If I have interpreted these notes correctly, in the bad ending, Winslow is transferred into Jim’s body, and it is really Winslow, not Jim, in the TV news program.

HINTS SECTION

*Bag of Runes: The runes are hidden high in the room.

*Telephone: Finster’s real telephone number is on his stationery: CMR-140. His code from the black list is CLV-21-84-11. Look at Pensky’s scribbling and try to determine how the code converts into the telephone number. Then apply the same procedure to Strauss’ code.

*Shooting: The right path is the most likely. Find an object to use as a distraction. If you take the left path, shoot at the steam pipes. The steam will flush out the gunman.

*Safe: The number of turns before and between numbers are important. The numbers for the Harvard/Yale game are important. The car license plate also provides a clue. The safe is behind a picture.

*Table: The statement around the center star is also statement 22 in Helen’s Notes.

*Dream Door: The clues from the dream offices are as follows:

The fish are creatures of the moon though she avoids their company.

The crown and the bird sit on his R and L.

Keys are creatures of the sun.

Serpent rises after the sun and sets after the moon.

The serpent will the chase the comet’s tail if chased itself by the star.

The Bird and fish are the base of all.

Star follows the key.

West is right, east is left — you know on which side the sun will rise and on which the moon will set.

A lonely fish loves the crown, though the lonely crown prefers the key.

Comet is seen after the moon has risen.

Key follows the shield when moon is far away.

By day the shield surrounds itself with the sun and key, by night he prefers the moon and fish.

No twin can stand its sibling.

When the bird is away from the sun she’s with the moon.

The sun loves the bird but only when she’s alone.

Hint: “Love” in this context means close to one another. The “he” refers to the gargoyle sitting on top of the door.

Identify the symbols that should be with the sun or moon. Then identify groups that must be together, such as the sun/shield/key group. Try to arrange these groups relative to each other.

*Santini: The poster suggests that light and the shades are important.

*Crystal Spheres: The colors and symbols help in identifying the planets but not in determining the order. The clue for the order is found elsewhere and it is numerical.

*Vault: Align the planets so that the light sides face up. It is easier to align the outer and the third planets first.

*Landulph’s Tomb: It helps to know that R is the rune for travel.

*Tile Puzzle: It is possible to slide one of the small square tiles into the corner space, after moving the corner piece, of course. This will give you an additional space. Thanks to Dena for this discovery.

*ABC Moving Company: Find the date on the form in the desk drawer. Only 1 package was picked up from Union Station on the relevant date. It was billed to AKP. Determine the code for the point of origin from the other package ID numbers. The last two numbers will refer to the week and day of week.

*Elizabeth’s Key: Since doors were such a challenge earlier in the game, why not try another one?

*Locker: How does Elizabeth sign her notes and letters?

*Cane: The rune set from one tomb is important. Another is partially important.

*Math Riddle:

3 stars = 2 skulls. Therefore, 1 star = 2/3 skulls.

4 hanged men = 6 stars (hanged men are referred to as men below).

Replacing the stars with the skulls yields: 4 men = (6 x 2/3) skulls or 4 men = 4 skulls or 1 man = 1 skull.

5 skulls = 2 men + 1.5 stars + 18 flames.

Replacing the men with the equivalent number of skulls gives us:

5 skulls = 2 skulls + 1.5 stars + 18 flames or

3 skulls = 1.5 stars + 18 flames.

We know that 1 star = 2/3 skulls.

Replacing the stars with skulls in the long equation, we obtain:

3 skulls = (3/2 x 2/3) skulls + 18 flames, which reduces to 3 skulls = 1 skull + 18 flames.

2 skulls = 18 flames. 1 skull = 9 flames.

? flames = 3 men = 3 skulls.

Replace skulls by flames.

? flames = (3 x 9) flames.

? is 27.

SOLUTIONS SECTION

Most puzzles in the solutions section will have two parts. The first part will give you instructions for solving the puzzle yourself. The second part is the “cheat code”. A cheat code is a word you type when confronted with a puzzle that will cause the puzzle to solve itself. For example, when looking at the Stained Glass Puzzle, if you type the word “leadhead”, without the quotes, the puzzle is solved. I advise using this method only as a last resort. Not only will it deprive you of the pleasure of finding the solution yourself, but you will also miss seeing the logic behind the way a puzzle is solved, which may be helpful later in the game.

@Bag of Runes: The bag is in the light fixture.

@Telephone: Strauss’ telephone number is CMR-404.

@Stained Glass Window

Cheat code is leadhead.

@Lockbox

For the sake of clarity, the door is on the front of the house. The window is on the side and the “screen” is the movable panel below the window. Left and right refer to your left and right.

Turn the left light clockwise. Push in the window on the side. Push the chimney down. Slide the screen on the side over the window. Turn the wheel on the right until bottom logs below the window retract. Move the log at the bottom left front corner of the house back. Move the left front bottom log to the left. Slide the screen down. Raise the chimney. Turn the wheel until the window pops back. Turn the left lamp counterclockwise. Flip the door over and slide it to the left. Slide the small square block in front up.

Cheat code is loghouse

@Dresser

Insert the key and push it in; turn it L, pull it out, turn it R, turn it R again, push it in, turn it L, and pull it out.

Cheat code is turnkey

@Safe

The clue from the license plate (5432RL) suggests 3 R and 2 L. The combination is the score from the Harvard/Yale game.

Turn right (clockwise) twice and stop on 19 the third time; turn left once passing 6 and stop on it the second time; turn right to 33. Click on the safe handle to open the safe.

Cheat code is masterlock.

@Seal

Remove the cover and label the rings 1 to 5 with 1 being closest to you.

Turn ring 2 to the R; turn ring 5 to R.

Turn ring 1 to the R; turn ring 5 to the R.

Turn ring 4 to R; turn ring 5 to the R.

Turn ring 3 to the R.

Turn ring 1 to the L.

Turn ring 5 to the L three times.

Turn ring 4 to the L.

Turn ring 3 to the L; turn ring 5 to the L; turn ring 2 to the L.

Cheat code is ringding

@Table

Find the runic equivalent to statement 22 (each gift to him is now devoted) on the parchment sheets. Starting from the left, find the first two runes in the sentence on a panel. Both runes will be on the same panel. Open the panel. Then find the next two runes and continue until the last panel opens on its own.

If you cannot follow the above, try the following. I describe the various crests/shields as follows, clockwise from the black eagle: sword, cross, red dragon, duck, flames on left, green dragon, snake, moon, cup, diamond, flames on bottom.

Open the panels in the following sequence: snake, flames on left, cross, sword, duck, cup, moon, green dragon, flames on bottom, diamond, red dragon.

Cheat code is arthur.

@Dream Door

Crown Bird

Key Moon

Serpent Shield

Star Fish

Key Serpent

Shield Comet

Sun Crown

Bird Fish

Cheat code is cancan

@Invitation

If you want to fold the invitation, try the following: (Note: Turn over does not mean flip over; the top should remain the top.)

Start with the white side up; Thule awakens should be readable. Fold the left column over (there are 4 columns). Now turn it over (top staying the top) to the black side. Fold the bottom row up. You now have a 3 x 3 square. Still on the same side, fold the bottom right corner over, so that the 2 outlined shapes (trapezoids) fold over. Fold the left corner up along a diagonal running from the left down to the bottom right, so that the outlined triangles and trapezoids are in the L and R quarters, respectively. Turn to the other side. Fold the top left corner along a diagonal running from the lower left to the top right, so that the diamond is approximately in the center. Turn over. Fold the left column so that the outlined wedge/triangle fold over. Turn over. Fold over the top left triangle with the wedge. Turn over. Fold to form a square. The diamond should be in the top left quadrant.

Instead of folding the invitation, just push the following panels on the Raven Room door:

(diamond, central wedge, L triangle, R trapezoid, L trapezoid, R triangle, L triangle, R triangle)

Cheat code is triangle.

@Crystal Spheres

Click on the planets in the following order:

Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Earth; then click on the silver sphere.

There is no cheat code.

@Pressure Gauge Puzzle

Label the gauges A to D from left to right; skip the gauge that doesn’t move. Label the wheels (valves) 1 to 4 from left to right.

Turn wheel 3 clockwise to set gauge B to 30. Turn wheel 2 clockwise to set A to 40. Turn wheel 2 counterclockwise carefully and slowly so that A and D are close to 30. This part of the solution is mouse sensitive. Try it a few times, if it doesn’t work at first. Use wheel 4 to finely adjust A and D to 30. Use wheel 1 to set C to 30. This solution worked for me most of the time.

Cheat code is pressure.

@Sewer

Label the levers 1 to 8 clockwise starting at top left. Move levers 1, 7, 5, and 2 in that order.

Cheat code is barbell.

@Candlestick

Find all 5 moving parts on the candlestick. Label them 1 to 5 from the top of the candlestick to the bottom. Rotate #5 twice clockwise (down arrow). Rotate #3 twice counterclockwise (right arrow).

Cheat code is nimble.

@Vault

Cheat code is sunspot.

@Half-a-gear Puzzle

Label the handles 1 to 7 from left to right.

Pull down handles 1, 4, 6, and 7. Push the red button until the door opens.

Cheat code is gearoil.

@Key

Label the keys 1 to 8 from left to right.

Insert the keys as follows and turn them:

4 8 1

3 6 2

7 5

Cheat code is keypunch.

@Gear Shift

The knob in the center can move around the four distinct squares. Label these squares 1 to 4 clockwise starting with the top right. Movements start at the center and return to center. This puzzle most likely can be solved in fewer movements, but this works.

Go counterclockwise around 2 (move down, right, up, and left).

Go counterclockwise around 3 (left, down, right, up).

Go counterclockwise around 1 and 4 (right, up, all the way over to the left, down, right).

Go clockwise around 4 (left, up, right, down)

Go counterclockwise around 1 and 4 again (right, up, all the way over to the left, down, right).

Go counterclockwise around 1 (right, up, left, down.

Cheat code is ladybug.

@Winch

Push the left lever down and the right lever up. After the rope is released, lower the right lever. Both levers should be in the down position.

@Stone Pieces: The tiles are assembled to form the following runes:

Cheat code is rock33.

@Tile Puzzle: There is no simple way to solve this puzzle. Use the cheat: blockhead.

@Landulph’s Tomb: Select the following steps: L, R, L, Middle, R, L R. When descending: L, R, L, Middle, R, L, R.

@Column Puzzle

Enter the codes as follows in the columns with the left rune entered at the top:

Left back: Scribe Right back: Landulph

Left front: Herald (start with R) Right front: Sergeant at Arms (start with O)

The runes are as follows:

Scribe Landulph

Herald Sergeant at Arms

Cheat code is temple.

@Runes Puzzle

EMBED PBrush

Cheat is gemstone

@Mirrors: Turn all the tiles so that the mirror (brown) sides are facing outward. Then turn each tile once. Look into the binoculars. Click on the oval mirror on the side. Turn around to find the red tip of the dagger.

There is no cheat code.

@Train

Winslow/Collins is in room 7 in the third car from the baggage car.

@Crate

Remove the top pin and place it in the hole to the left of the bottom hasp. Remove the bottom pin and place in the right hole. Flip the top hasp down. Open the top lid by clicking on the left handle. Close the lid. Flip up both hasps. Remove the handle in the side and insert it in the two holes on the left and right of the hasps on the trunk top. Remove the large pin and insert it in the hole at the top above the front hoop. Slide the hoop up. Remove the small pin and place it in the uncovered hole. Remove the plate on the side and place it on the front over the hoop. Remove the handle from the top and place it in the holes in the plate. The panel slides up.

Cheat code is boxtop.

@ABC: The ID number is SOIAKP52.

@Locker: The locker number is 37.

@Cane:

Dial Landulph’s set of runes from the Column Puzzle Solution above into the right column. The Scribe’s first three runes should be in the central column with the arrow rune at the bottom.

Cheat code is candycane.

@Telegram:

Cheat code is teleport.

@Math Riddle: The solution is 27.

@Telescope

The left number is +0.5 and the right number 27. The angle +0.5 was found as follows: Multiply 165 x 100, in Winslow’s clue, to obtain the distance 165,000. The height (elevation) of King’s house is 100. Subtracting 100 from the 250 for the lodge (X on the map) gives you 150. Find the height 150 and distance of 165,000 on the sheets. Angle is +0.5.

Cheat code is peeper

@Clock

If the clock is a puzzle in your game, set it to 4:55. Then move the large hand clockwise past 12 to 1 o’clock and then back to 11 o’clock.

Cheat code is bongo.

@Endings: In addition to shooting the Black Dahlia, you can do nothing or shoot or miss Winslow.

THE END