The Old Man

Without making it obvious you were doing it, you let Mickey lead you to the 'Old Man,' who from the sounds of it was some kind of boss of yours. The two of you entered a larger office, paneled in dark wood halfway up the wall. A few pictures were hung but the room was generally free of any kind of personal touch.

The man behind the desk was old, with a lean vulture look to him. He greets you with courtesy and gestures you to a seat, inquiring solicitously after your health.

"I confess that I didn't expect to see you for a few more days. That was a nasty blow you took. Are you sure you're ready to work?"

Not sure how to answer the question, you simply nod and find your hands fishing in your pockets for cigarettes. You light a Fatima and drop the match in the ashtray the old man pushes towards you. You're surprised by your action of lighting a cigarette, since you don't smoke, and by the old man's easy acceptance of you smoking in his office. Not at all like the world you come from you think for a minute, before coming back to the old man's words.

"Excellent work on the Gantvoort case. Truly excellent, even though you were blessed by good fortune. We've had an initial statement from Miss Dexter, as have the police, but I'd like you to interview her again to see if there are any loose ends. Here's the file. I know you're familiar with the case, but review it before you see her, just in case." He hands you a thick file and smiles with no more emotion than an ice cube. Recognizing dismissal when you see it, you take the file and go back to your office to look it over. Most of the file consisted of reports signed with your name.

The Gantvoort case involved the **** of a wealthy elderly man. He was found in a stolen car in Golden Gate park with his head bashed in with a typewriter and a host of clues scattered about. The man was a widower with one son, and a romantic relationship with a much younger woman, Creda Dexter. Gantvoort's son and Dexter's brother were both opposed to the marriage and the two had planned to be married secretly and catch a boat to the Orient for a lengthy honeymoon. The agency had sent you to see Gantvoort the night he was murdered, in response to a call apparently from him, saying that he was being threatened by an old business rival. You waited at his house but he never arrived. A call came from the police telling Gantvoort's son that his father had been murdered. The two of you went to the police, and from there you worked closely with Detective Sergeant O'Gar, trying to solve the case.

You didn't make much progress. The leads from the numerous clues didn't pan out or led to dead ends, and the people that were involved either had solid alibis or no apparent motive for the ****. Dexter's brother Madden was in New York acting on Gantvoort's behalf on a business matter and couldn't possibly have returned from there to kill him. He was due back in San Francisco about a week after the ****, and running out of leads you had met his train in Sacramento and interviewed him while you traveled on to Oakland. You learned nothing, but stayed with him when we boarded the Oakland ferry. On board you were met by another man who greeted Madden, and then **** you onto the deck at gunpoint, hit you over the head and threw you in the bay.

After nearly being swept out to sea you were rescued by the Sausalito ferry. Despite being soaking wet and with a throbbing head, you rounded up O'Gar and Gantvoort's son and had the son arrange to meet Madden at Creda Dexter's apartment. When you arrived there had been no sign of the man you knew as Madden, but the man who had tried to **** you was there. You had immediately attacked him, knocked him ****, and he turned out to be Madden Dexter, who had been in the city all along. The man you had met on the train was an accomplice of his who had pretended to be him in New York to provide an alibi.

Creda Dexter, shocked to find that Madden had not been in New York and was the probable murderer of her fiance, told you that Madden wasn't her brother but a conman called Ives who she had been partnered with for a few years. They had planned to swindle Gantvoort, but the older man fell in love with her and proposed marriage. Seeing a greater financial opportunity, she called the swindle off, promising Ives a cut of the fortune after she was married to Gantvoort. The two had words and she had decided to marry secretly and get Ives out of her life. He, realizing that she was cutting him out, had murdered the older man, leaving the false clues behind in an attempt to distract attention.

She had provided one statement, but it was clear she would have more information that could help convict Ives. There was a picture of her in the file. A very pretty, almost feline looking young woman. You look up her address and grab your hat, leaving the office. You're still confused about what the hell is going on and how you came to be who and where you are, but you see no alternative than to continue.