Checks & Cats

(There are newspaper clippings in amongst the notes. They're about shows of different styles. Those on the first few pages have turned yellow, which means they must be quite old.)

[Investigation] (Look for mentions of Merieux.)

(Skimming through the early newspaper clippings, none of the headlines mention Director Merieux...)

(In more recent years, there are many reports praising Merieux as a forward-thinking director, one of the greats of his era...)

(Merieux's name does appear in some earlier clippings, but mostly in articles bemoaning "A Series of Lukewarm Receptions for an Experimental Art Form" and "Empty Seats at Avant-Garde Play Despite Critical Acclaim"...)

(In more recent years, there are many reports praising Merieux as a forward-thinking director, one of the greats of his era...)

(The articles are written by a variety of authors from an eclectic range of fields. Corentin and Amaury are the most prolific authors.)

(These scripts seem to be Merieux's older works. Some photographs of the live performances are attached.)

[Investigation] (Skim through...)

(The photos from recent years show fancy venues and polished sets, but the earlier photos show much humbler venues.)

(The cast list shows that in recent years, Merieux has collaborated with many famous celebrities, but their acting chops are disputed... And Maloney is listed as an investor.)

(The photos from recent years show fancy venues and polished sets, but the earlier photos show much humbler venues.)

(I don't see anything else noteworthy.)

(The official script for The Lost Puppet details how the dancing puppet protagonist is rejected by humanity and then begins searching for the meaning of life...)

[Investigation] (Read carefully...)

(After a quick read through the script, I understand the gist of the story.)

(In Act IV, the protagonist loses the ability to dance due to wear-and-tear in her circuitry. There's a note saying: "Some cursory movements to get the point across will suffice. The audience's focus will be on the fancy set and the extras.")

(Let's see what differences there are between the current version of The Lost Puppet and the original script.)

[Investigation] (Read carefully...)

(After a quick read through the script, I understand the gist of the story.)

(Act IV seems to be a solo performance by the protagonist, and the set is just some decrepit ruins. There's a note saying: "This will focus the audience's attention on the solo performer.")

(Merieux's original script is littered with amendments. It's practically illegible.)

[Investigation] (Read carefully...)

(The reason it's so hard to read is that it's been edited with correction fluid multiple times. I'd estimate that each line was rewritten at least three times... Looks like Merieux wasn't happy with his edits.)

(...Nope, I can't read this at all.)

...Do you think this move needs jazzing up a little?

Not jazzing up, per se. I was thinking more, like... break it down, you know?

Ginna? ...You snuck in? When? ...I thought I told you, no visiting me at work...

I'm sorry, Gillian... But I had to come...

I wonder what got into Director Merieux...

Maybe he's been quietly struggling with something...

...That's strange. I could have sworn I heard a voice just now...

(People are excitedly discussing Lynette's debut performance...)

(People are analyzing Merieux's techniques from a classical perspective...)

(Everyone is debating the performance of each actor...)

(These people seem to be discussing the content of tomorrow's newspapers. Best not get too close...)

(There are newspaper clippings in amongst the notes. They're about shows of different styles. Those on the first few pages have turned yellow, which means they must be quite old.)

(These scripts seem to be Merieux's older works. Some photographs of the live performances are attached.)

(The official script for The Lost Puppet details how the dancing puppet protagonist is rejected by humanity and then begins searching for the meaning of life...)

(Let's see what differences there are between the current version of The Lost Puppet and the original script.)

(Merieux's original script is littered with amendments. It's practically illegible.)

...When the Marechaussee Phantom searched Pierre's house, there was no sign of these barrels, right?

He must've moved them. But carrying them all the way out here would attract way too much attention.

You're right. That doesn't seem like his way of doing things... How did he get them here then?

(Examine the barrels...)

(The barrels show signs of water damage. Dried-up water stains can be seen around the circumference of the barrels...)

(There seems to be a pattern to the location of the water stains. For some reason, they appear to be limited to the lower half of the barrels.)

(The lids don't seem very tight, leaving sizeable gaps around the edges. But, there doesn't appear to be any traces of water inside the barrels.)

Only the lower halves of the barrels appear to have been submerged in water...

The material these bags are made of... It's quite rare...

[Knowledge] (Help Lyney assess the material...)

Doesn't it look similar to the material used for your Magic Pockets?

...It's the very same, actually — Romaritime Flower fiber. But, there's something special about the composition of these bags. I took a closer look, and it appears they're not only waterproof but also corrosion and leak-resistant.

Even the strings look specially designed to keep the bags closed nice and tight.

I came across some bags made of the same material just now, but they were much smaller and thinner. From the look of them, they seemed far less durable as well.

So... kind of like one of those small, sealed bags?

...Very similar, actually. Normally, it would be easy for a Guard Poodle to sniff out the Imitation Sinthe, but if it was sealed away in a bag like that, it might be possible to elude detection for some time.

But what could these big bags be for then... If the goal is to keep the Imitation Sinthe hidden and sealed away, these bags seem a bit too conspicuous...

Aha, just as we thought — this is where the Imitation Sinthe was being made...

[Medicine] (Help Chevreuse identify the drugs...)

These bottles and jars... They're all Imitation Sinthe?

...Looks like he's got more than just Imitation Sinthe stashed around here... In addition to the raw materials needed to synthesize the substance itself, there's a large quantity of cleaning agents and a few drugs I haven't been able to identify.

These cleaning agents are likely used to dispel traces of the substance... like its smell.

The Special Patrol did some digging into Imitation Sinthe. Our records indicate that it's very difficult for ordinary people to detect traces left behind by this stuff. I'm sure that was the case for Pierre as well.

It must have taken a considerable amount of time and skill to ensure all those traces get washed away.

But what are these other drugs for...

...

Something on your mind still?

Ah, it was that obvious, huh... Well, even though it didn't feel like Bernard was lying, after talking to him, I'm getting an even stronger sense that something's not quite right.

We investigated so quickly that perhaps we've missed a thing or two along the way. Let me activate deduction mode and consider things again from the top to see if we can find anything new.

...Is there still anything unresolved or strange that we should try to consider?

Ah, sorry, but I can't go with you... Surely, you'll be able to handle him, what between Elodie's Gardemek and all three of you?

Perhaps... we are now closing in on the truth.

About what we found in Poisson...

The Marechaussee Phantom found Bonnie and the Lefevere pendant at Pierre's residence. That was the beginning point of our investigation.

Why would he leave such an obvious trail for us to follow when he took so much care to not leave any traces of Imitation Sinthe in his home?

About Bernard's letters...

Bernard claims to have received a letter last night from Pierre. In the letter, Pierre stated that he had gone into hiding. Is there something wrong with the letter...?

If Bonnie had Imitation Sinthe in her body, then she was a liability that had to be recovered at all costs. But if she wasn't carrying anything, then it would have made sense to tell Bernard not to worry.

And thinking about it, Bernard only attracted our attention in the first place because he came to look for Bonnie.

Could it be that the person who wrote the letter also knew nothing about Bonnie's whereabouts... or they had a separate goal entirely?

There's an unexplained part in the operations of this trafficking ring...

Well, we've discovered that Bernard is responsible for the trafficking, while Pierre deals with "supplying the goods." Is there something else in this scheme that we're missing?

Yeah, according to Bernard, Pierre also supplied all of the goods... But if the Marechaussee Phantom's records are correct, Pierre should have lost all access to the materials required to create the Imitation Sinthe, and the Institute has also not reported any theft of their stocks.

The final question is: why did I sense that something wasn't right after hearing Bernard's testimony? Even more so than before...

(No... I don't think that can be used to answer the question at hand.)

Deductive mode deactivated. I think... we may be close to the actual answer.

(No... I don't think that can be used to answer the question at hand.)

There's no need to rush. Let's see if we can find any other suspicious points about this case.

Only the lower halves of the barrels appear to have been submerged in water...

But what are these other drugs for...

But what could these big bags be for then... If the goal is to keep the Imitation Sinthe hidden and sealed away, these bags seem a bit too conspicuous...

I can't believe how much progress we're making with this investigation... Without your help, getting this far would have taken me an awful lot of time and manpower.

It's rare to see Lynette in serious mode... I wonder how long she'll keep it activated for.

You can leave the rest of this to me — the other Gardes will be joining me shortly. Don't worry, they won't have another chance to escape.

There are still a few things I'm curious about...

How did Elodie get her hands on the raw materials?

Hmm... The materials have many other regular uses outside of being used to make Imitation Sinthe, so they're not immediately subject to being confiscated or destroyed.

The harbor would usually just seize them for some time while the customs paperwork is filled out and approved. If approved, they'd be let through, and if not, they'd be returned to sender. Elodie probably used her position to replace a portion of the shipment with something else before sending the whole shipment back to sender.

Given that the foreign merchants who sent in the shipments were probably working with her in the first place, they likely just never reported the difference in what they sent and what they received.

We will, of course, continue to investigate the rest of the details of this case. Now that we've caught Elodie, figuring out the whole scheme should just be a matter of time.

Lynette must have spent a record-breaking amount of time in serious mode today. I can't remember the last time I've seen her like that... Could it be because of a special someone?

There are still a few things I'm curious about...

How did Pierre get recruited into the scheme?

Hmm... Based on information that we found before, Imitation Sinthe was first circulated on a small scale in Fontaine, before becoming a large-scale smuggling scheme.

I'd assume that the first offerings of Imitation Sinthe came from what Pierre made in his early days. But since he was not experienced with running a clandestine operation, he was soon discovered by Garde Elodie.

Elodie saw the opportunity to make a great profit in his work and perhaps even the chance of making a new life for herself, so she decided to cover his tracks...

She started writing to him in Bernard's name, using what evidence she had compiled and the promise of enormous profits to blackmail him into cooperating with her.

Unfortunately for her, she ran into Lynette. Even though my sister doesn't like to focus too much on a regular day, "serious mode" Lynette is one of the most perceptive people I've ever known.

...Still, all of that thinking really saps her energy. I need to go give some statements on her behalf, so I'll leave the recharging to you.