Guilty Bastards
Kent Tessman
built-in hints graphics Hugo source available Xyzzy Awards 1998
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Morning sunlight filters through the gauzy drapes. Old wooden night table, fan overhead, the usual trappings. The door leads out into the hallway. The neatly made bed looks exactly the same as it did when you saw it this morning--from where you woke up slumped in the chair in the corner.
The desk clerk must've slipped an envelope under the door sometime early this morning.
You take the envelope
You scoop the envelope up off the floor.
About yourself
Looking good.
You check your inventory
You are carrying an envelope.
You examine the envelope
It's addressed to you in handwriting. Plain white envelope, no return address, no postmark.
You open it
(Assuming you mean the envelope.)
Opened.

Inside the envelope are a small note and a studio pass.
You read the note
Handwritten, again, but this time on Rocket Pictures stationery.

"8:30 at the studio.

--MW"

(which of course stands for Milt Walker)

(Footnote 1)
Footnote
What?

Try "footnote (number)".
Footnote 1
Milt Walker, the head of Rocket Pictures, is one of those people you've met in passing (since you don't exactly run in the same social circles) and under somewhat shady circumstances. It was a couple years ago and involved Milt's son and a boatload of South American marijuana. Grass, he kept calling it. You remember finding it vaguely funny sitting across a table from this austere-looking studio head in a seedy Los Angeles bar while he speculated in a low voice about how he was going to "get rid of that much grass." How he did get his son out of that jam and what part you played in the whole imbroglio you swore never to reveal, not even here.

(Footnote 2)
Footnote 2
Yes, it's true: the author heisted the idea for these footnotes from the Infocom game "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". But they are a pretty nifty idea.
You examine the pass
It's a drive-on parking pass for the Rocket Pictures Studios lot dated today.
You take the envelope
You scoop the envelope up off the floor.
Footnote 1
Milt Walker, the head of Rocket Pictures, is one of those people
you've met in passing (since you don't exactly run in the same social circles) and under somewhat shady circumstances. It was a couple
years ago and involved Milt's son and a boatload of South American marijuana. Grass, he kept calling it. You remember finding it
vaguely funny sitting across a table from this austere-looking studio head in a seedy Los Angeles bar while he speculated in a low voice about how he was going to "get rid of that much grass." How he did
get his son out of that jam and what part you played in the whole imbroglio you swore never to reveal, not even here.

(Footnote 2)
Footnote 2
Yes, it's true: the author heisted the idea for these footnotes from the Infocom game "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". But they are a pretty nifty idea.
You go outside
You open the door and leave, closing the door behind you, then head down the stairs and outside to the street.

The exterior of the Pelican has been painted so many times that its peeling shell is probably suitable protection against radioactive fallout. Warm Los Angeles sunlight glows through the hazy blue-gray
of the summer sky. The rather quiet street outside the hotel runs south toward Sunset Blvd.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.
You examine table
The night table is off to the left of the door, set along the wall. Sitting on the night table are your cousin's car keys.
You take the keys
You grab the keys off the night table.
You examine the bed
There's nothing too remarkable about the bed. It's comfortable
enough, from what you remember.
You get in Volvo
You climb into the Volvo.
You drive to the studio
You drive midtown to the main gate of Rocket Pictures Studios and park in Visitor Parking.

Studio gate, in your cousin's Volvo
Welcome to Rocket Pictures Studios. It's everything a Hollywood
studio should be: it has a bold, impressive gate; the grounds of the lot extending to the north are lined with rows of pale hangar-like soundstage buildings and ceramic-roofed bungalows; there's a
staggering abundance of motorhomes; it has its own watertower; and
it's not actually in Hollywood at all.
(This last is demonstrated by the fact that there are one- and two-story shopping plazas and office buildings stretching as far as
the eye can see instead of souvenir shops and T-shirt stands.)

(Footnote 8)
Footnote 8
Let's face it: Maybe Hollywood never was what it used to be.
You get out
You get out of the Volvo.
Look around
Welcome to Rocket Pictures Studios. It's everything a Hollywood
studio should be: it has a bold, impressive gate; the grounds of the lot extending to the north are lined with rows of pale hangar-like soundstage buildings and ceramic-roofed bungalows; there's a
staggering abundance of motorhomes; it has its own watertower; and
it's not actually in Hollywood at all.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.
You go to the north
It wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to get lost back here among the soundstages, each of them nearly identical to the next
except for the identifying number stenciled on it in faded white
paint. If you keep going straight to the north, eventually you'll get to the main building. Or you could turn around and head back to the parking lot. More buildings of an administrative flavor are over to the west.
Go north
You're just in front of the main administrative building. Somewhere behind these walls are the executive offices of Rocket Pictures: a motley assemblage of manic creative near-genius, mediocre posturing, epidemic insecurity, monumental bravado, white-knuckle risk-taking, milquetoast acquiescence, stark paranoia, and great leather furniture. Milt Walker is here, standing outside the building.

Milt speaks in a fairly low voice, straight and to the point, looking around, careful not to be overheard. "Maybe you already guessed this, but I asked you here to talk about Cindy Painter's death. I don't
know if there's anything that you can find out that the cops haven't
or won't, but I'm willing to give you twelve hours to see what you can do."
You ask Milt about Cindy
"It's such a goddamned tragedy," Milt says, pulling his glasses down and rubbing his eyes. "I've known her for years, since long before
she came here, tried to break in. Knew her father, her parents are in Detroit. She was just on the verge; she was making a picture for us--Stuart Fina was the executive on it." He points over toward the side building.

"Here," Milt says. He hands you a report marked "LAPD Homicide Report". "A contact of mine at the Police Department managed to procure this. I don't know if it will be of any help."
You read REPORT
The report is titled "LAPD HOMICIDE REPORT". It describes how on May 23, Cindy Painter, a twenty-four year-old actress, was found strangled in her apartment on National Boulevard. Forensics suggest that she opened the door to have the intruder burst in on her. The body was found in the bedroom; there were no signs of assault other than strangulation.
You ask Milt about Fina
"He's a pretty sharp kid," he says. "Been with us about a year,
worked on a couple of medium-sized pictures. This picture Cindy was doing--Hugs and Kisses--was his first as Executive in Charge
of Production. Sounds like he's done a good job on it."

"You might want to go to her apartment--I don't know if the police are still there or not. Maybe you can find something they're missing."
He hands you a single apartment key.
You ask him about Police
(Assuming you mean Milt.)
Milt doesn't seem to know anything about the police.

"I'm going to be in and out today--I've still got a damned studio to run, even with all this mess going on. I'll try to keep checking back out here for you after an hour or so."
You look around
It wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to get lost back here among the soundstages, each of them nearly identical to the next
except for the identifying number stenciled on it in faded white
paint. If you keep going straight to the north, eventually you'll get to the main building. Or you could turn around and head back to the parking lot. More buildings of an administrative flavor are over to the west.
You go west
that one day they'll end up working in the other building. Not that this building is bad--not that it's a fire hazard or anything like that--although the budget allocated for repairs to the roof probably went into new oak paneling inside the main building. And maybe this place someone like you could at least get into. Probably just by leaving the shade of this tree and climbing up the set of three stairs that leads to the door.
Go up
You could plunk yourself down in one of the two comfy-looking high-backed chairs while waiting for someone. The minty-blue hospital tint to the walls could take some getting used to, though. A hallway of office doors extends to the west, or you can go back outside to the south.
The building's receptionist is sitting at her desk. Her nameplate
says her name is Anne.

The phone rings. Anne answers it and takes down a message.
You ask Anne about Fina
"Who shall I say is here?" Anne asks, looking you up and down. "Um...forget it. I'll just buzz him." She punches a couple of
buttons on her phone and speaks very briefly into it before hanging
up.
Go west
Now, seeing as you don't know your way around here, the best you can hope for is to wind up wandering the halls and maybe getting security called on you. Better to wait here if there's someone you need to
see.
You ask Anne about Cindy
"I think it's horrible what happened to her! I was so upset when I heard--I didn't know her, though." Anne looks at you. "What do you have to do with it? Is that why you're here?"
Yes
That was a rhetorical question. (Although you sound rather positive.)
You ask Anne about Fina
"I just called him for you." She seems a little annoyed with your impatience. "You're welcome to have a seat."
You ask Anne about Anne
Anne looks at you in a way that says, hey, I'm just the receptionist--I'm not bothering you, am I?

Stuart Fina appears from somewhere down the hallway. He obviously doesn't recognize you, but he manages to greet you with one of those practised smiles that suggests you're the best thing that's happened
to him all day. "Hi there. Stuart Fina."
You ask Fina about Cindy
"Yeah, well, geez..." Stuart trails off, shaking his head. "God, I really don't know what to say...I mean it's terrible, absolutely terrible. She had such a bright future. She was going to be a huge star. Her picture, the one she was doing with us--it's going to be a hit. A huge hit. When people see it they're going to think
about James Dean and Marilyn Monroe and all wonder 'What if...?'"
You ask Fina about the movie
"Oh, it's going to be a big, big hit. It's testing through the roof--test audiences are just loving it. Cindy's perfect in it: this sweet, adorable girl plotting all these terrible ways to kill her cheating lover." Stuart sighs heavily. "It just makes what happens
to Cindy that much sadder...that much more of a tragedy."
You ask Fina about Milt
"Milt? I idolize Milt," Stuart says. "You know what he is in this business? The godfather. The king. Milt talks and people don't even question it. If there's one guy you don't want to look like an idiot in front of it's Milt Walker."
You drive to the apartment
You drive south to National Blvd. and pull over to the curb next to Cindy Painter's apartment building.

National Boulevard, in your cousin's Volvo
The sidewalk leads south from the street to Cindy Painter's
building, which is a three-story apartment complex. Maybe it's not Beverly Hills, but you know, it's not bad. National extends to the east, and also to the west before curving away to the north.
You go to the south
The sidewalk leads south from the street and under the thick
greenery hanging lazily from a concrete overhang to the base of the stairs leading up.
Go upwards
apartment. At least you assume it's hers on account of all the yellow "POLICE LINE--DO NOT CROSS" tape crisscrossing the door, which is closed. The doors to the other apartments are closed, too. You can
go back down to the ground from here.
You enter the apartment
You unlock the door and go in, ducking under the tape and closing the door quietly behind you.

(Now keep in mind that this is a crime scene, and you may want to be fairly judicious about what you disturb--or at least leave disturbed.)

Rather sparsely decorated: a fairly new sofa sitting in the middle
of the hardwood floor commands your attention. There's a television
in the corner. The sole bedroom is to the north. East takes you into the kitchen, or you can go back out into the stairwell.
You examine the sofa
The sofa is cloth-covered, off-white, relatively new, low almost to
the floor, and not the cheapest you could possibly find.
You look under the sofa
A cassette tape is half-sticking out from under the sofa, probably overlooked by the police.
You get the tape
Taken.
You examine tape
Handwritten on the cassette label is "New Songs - May 15". If the the tape player in the Volvo worked, you'd even be able to give it a listen. The contact address on the tape is in Santa Monica.
You examine the television
The fairly expensive television is sitting on the floor in the way in of a fairly expensive television just purchased by someone who has yet to buy a nice wall-unit for it. The TV is turned off.
You go north
Not a good idea: everything in the bedroom has been covered with plastic--presumably to protect the crime scene from contamination--so you'd be best not to go tromping around all over it.
Go east
Refrigerator, stove, sink, kitchen window. An empty carton of grapefruit juice sitting on the counter. The living room is back out to the west.
You examine the fridge
Done in the same style and color as the stove: part of a matching
set. The fridge is closed.
You open the fridge
Opened.
You look in the fridge
The refrigerator is curiously empty of anything edible.
You close the fridge
Closed.
You look through the window
Through the window you can see behind the building, where a narrow alley plays host to a garbage dumpster.
You examine the sink
It's pretty much your average stainless-steel kitchen sink and faucet combo. Entirely appropriate for washing dishes or rinsing vegetables or anything like that. The boring tangle of plumbing is likely concealed in the cupboard beneath the sink.
You search the cupboard
The cupboard is closed.
You open the cupboard
Opened.

You can see the kitchen sink's plumbing in the cupboard.
Various cleaning supplies--rags, cleansers, disinfectants, etc.--are tucked away in the cupboard in the space around and behind the plumbing.
You search the cupboard
You can see the kitchen sink's plumbing in the cupboard.
Various cleaning supplies--rags, cleansers, disinfectants, etc.--are tucked away in the cupboard in the space around and behind the plumbing.
Search rags
You find a box of garbage bags tucked away behind the pipes.
Inventory
You are carrying an envelope, your cousin's car keys, a police report, Cindy Painter's apartment key, and a cassette tape. Inside the envelope are a small note and a studio pass.
You take the bags
Taken.
You open the stove
You're either hungry or you've suddenly been struck by the urge to cook. Neither is really what you should be thinking about right now.
You close the cupboard
Closed.
Go west
Rather sparsely decorated: a fairly new sofa sitting in the middle
of the hardwood floor commands your attention. There's a television
in the corner. The sole bedroom is to the north. East takes you into the kitchen, or you can go back out into the stairwell.
You go outside
You go out, ducking under the police tape before closing and locking the door behind you again.

apartment. At least you assume it's hers on account of all the yellow "POLICE LINE--DO NOT CROSS" tape crisscrossing the door, which is closed. The doors to the other apartments are closed, too. You can
go back down to the ground from here.
Go north
building, which is a three-story apartment complex. Maybe it's not Beverly Hills, but you know, it's not bad. National extends to the east, and also to the west before curving away to the north.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.
Lock apartment
It's already locked.
You go north
You unlock the door and go in, ducking under the tape and closing the door quietly behind you.

Rather sparsely decorated: a fairly new sofa sitting in the middle
of the hardwood floor commands your attention. There's a television
in the corner. The sole bedroom is to the north. East takes you into the kitchen, or you can go back out into the stairwell.
You go east
Going east will just get you further away from your car and where you want to be.
You go west
Going west will just take you past the back of the building to the south, away from your car and where you want to be.
You examine the bags
The garbage bags are stretchy plastic and dull orange in color.
You drive to the santa monica
You drive to Santa Monica and park along Ocean Avenue.

Santa Monica, in your cousin's Volvo
This is about as far west as you can get on the mainland United
States and not be driving on the sand. Ocean Avenue extends north and south, lined with palm trees and brightly colored, Santa Monica-ish buildings. You can get a better view of the beach to the west.
You read the cassette
Handwritten on the cassette label is "New Songs - May 15". If the the tape player in the Volvo worked, you'd even be able to give it a listen. The contact address on the tape is in Santa Monica.
You go west
To get anywhere by driving, try something along the lines of "drive to my hotel". (Or, if you plan to walk, you'll have to get out of the car.)
You go west
and the long curve of the coastline north past Malibu. A cement stairway descends to the beach from here, or you can go back east to where the Volvo is parked.
Go downwards
You climb down the cement steps to the sandy beach below.

You're facing south on a walking/running/rollerblading/whatever path that parallels the beach north-south along the ocean. Quite a few people are involved in beach-ish activities. You could follow the coastline further to the south, or go back up to the higher ground overlooking the beach.
Go south
The house is archetypically tall and thin--the norm for houses along this row on the Santa Monica beach. A balcony looks out from the second story--you can hear music from above. There's a doorbell here at path level.
You ring bell
You push the doorbell and hear a muffled ring indoors.
You wait
Time passes...

After a minute or so, Billy Van Earl comes ambling down from somewhere upstairs. "Hey," he says, squinting. He obviously doesn't know you.

Do you want to keep waiting (YES or NO)?
You talk to Billy
Billy is listening.
You ask Billy about Cindy
Billy raises his eyebrows. "Geez...I never heard of her, you know? Wish I could help you out."
You ask Billy about the cassette
Billy shrugs. "It's just a tape of some of our songs. We make, like, dozens of 'em, give 'em out all over the place. Who knows where that one came from?"
You ask Billy about Fina
"Never heard of the guy."
You ask Billy about the movie
"I've never heard of that."
You ask Billy about Milt
"Should I know who that is?" Billy asks.
You ask Billy about the music
"That's my band, Funkzilla. It's our new CD."
You ask Billy about the funkzilla
"Funkzilla's my band. We just put out a new CD: El Thump."
Go north
You're facing south on a walking/running/rollerblading/whatever path that parallels the beach north-south along the ocean. Quite a few people are involved in beach-ish activities. You could follow the coastline further to the south, or go back up to the higher ground overlooking the beach.
Go up
and the long curve of the coastline north past Malibu. A cement stairway descends to the beach from here, or you can go back east to where the Volvo is parked.
You go east
States and not be driving on the sand. Ocean Avenue extends north and south, lined with palm trees and brightly colored, Santa Monica-ish buildings. You can get a better view of the beach to the west.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.
You get in the car
You climb into the Volvo.
You drive to the studio
You drive midtown to the main gate of Rocket Pictures Studios and park in Visitor Parking.

Studio gate, in your cousin's Volvo
Welcome to Rocket Pictures Studios. It's everything a Hollywood
studio should be: it has a bold, impressive gate; the grounds of the lot extending to the north are lined with rows of pale hangar-like soundstage buildings and ceramic-roofed bungalows; there's a
staggering abundance of motorhomes; it has its own watertower; and
it's not actually in Hollywood at all.
You go north
It wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to get lost back here among the soundstages, each of them nearly identical to the next
except for the identifying number stenciled on it in faded white
paint. If you keep going straight to the north, eventually you'll get to the main building. Or you could turn around and head back to the parking lot. More buildings of an administrative flavor are over to the west.
Johnny LaFleure, French-Canadian movie star, is outside one of the soundstages having a smoke.
You examine LaFleure
Johnny LaFleure, French-Canadian movie star, looks at you over the top of his sunglasses and a fresh Players Light. His demeanor both puts you at ease and creeps you out: it seems to say both "Hey, how you doing?" and "Hey, got any younger sisters?" at the same time in that smooth Quebecoise accent.
You ask LaFleure about Cindy
"It is sad what happened to her," Johnny said. "I would be very upset if that happened to me."
You ask LaFleure about Milt
"I like Milt Walker," Johnny tells you, nodding. "When I was down a little, when my movies weren't doing so good, Milt he didn't give up
on me. And now look at me I'm a star again! You believe me, it's
good to be me."
You ask LaFleure about the funkzilla
Johnny LaFleure doesn't seem to know anything about Funkzilla.

Johnny drops the butt of his cigarette onto the ground and flattens it under his toe. "Back to work," he says, and disappears back into the soundstage.
You ask Johnny about Johnny
Johnny LaFleure would probably rather not talk about himself.

Johnny drops the butt of his cigarette onto the ground and flattens it under his toe. "Back to work," he says, and disappears back into the soundstage.
Go north
You're just in front of the main administrative building. Somewhere behind these walls are the executive offices of Rocket Pictures: a motley assemblage of manic creative near-genius, mediocre posturing, epidemic insecurity, monumental bravado, white-knuckle risk-taking, milquetoast acquiescence, stark paranoia, and great leather furniture. Milt Walker is here, standing outside the building.
You ask Johnny about the movie
"Well, I've heard good things and I've heard bad things. There's no sure things, you know?"

Johnny drops the butt of his cigarette onto the ground and flattens it under his toe. "Back to work," he says, and disappears back into the soundstage.
You ask Milt about Billy
Milt shakes his head, frowning slightly. "I may have heard of him--he's, what, in some kind of band? I don't see what that has to
do with Cindy's death."
You ask Milt about Johnny
"That's a tough one," Milt says. "I mean, I like Johnny--he's a star and I think despite making some terribly shitty movies he's a good actor--but he can be tough to handle, to say the least. Especially where other people's wives are involved and such."
You ask Milt about Anne
"That girl who works over in the other building? She's the niece of one of our shareholders."
Go north
Sure, you could go for a stroll now, but what would that
accomplish?
You enter
Be a little more specific about what you'd like to enter.
You enter the apartment
You unlock the door and go in, ducking under the tape and closing the door quietly behind you.

Rather sparsely decorated: a fairly new sofa sitting in the middle
of the hardwood floor commands your attention. There's a television
in the corner. The sole bedroom is to the north. East takes you into the kitchen, or you can go back out into the stairwell.
You turn on the tv
You turn the television on. The local L.A. news is on the current channel. There's a brief mention of Cindy Painter's death, with no details other than that police are investigating.
Wait
Time passes...
You turn off the tv
Switched off.
You go outside
You go out, ducking under the police tape before closing and locking the door behind you again.

apartment. At least you assume it's hers on account of all the yellow "POLICE LINE--DO NOT CROSS" tape crisscrossing the door, which is closed. The doors to the other apartments are closed, too. You can
go back down to the ground from here.
You get in
Be a little more specific about where you'd like you to get.
You go behind the building
A narrow sliver of pavement between two buildings, one of them being Cindy Painter's. The kind of narrow sliver that would be hell trying to maneuver through for parking, not to mention the miracle that the guys driving the garbage truck to get that dumpster must have to perform.
Examine dumpster
Dented and beaten-up and closed at the moment. Scattered on the
ground around the dumpster are sundry bits and traces of garbage.
You search dumpster
The dumpster is closed.
You open the dumpster
With a bit of effort you manage to force the lid of the dumpster open.
You search the dumpster
The dumpster contains, well, a lot of garbage, including an ordinary green garbage bag, a bright green garbage bag, a bright red garbage bag, a black garbage bag, a dark gray garbage bag, a bright yellow garbage bag, a reddish brown garbage bag, a white garbage bag, a light gray garbage bag, a bright orange garbage bag, a olive garbage bag, a dull orange garbage bag, a dark brown garbage bag, a light brown garbage bag, a bluish-green garbage bag, a yellowy brown garbage bag,
a charcoal-colored garbage bag, a maroon garbage bag, a dark blue garbage bag, and an ordinary red garbage bag.
You search dull orange garbage bag
The dull orange garbage bag is closed.
You open the dull orange garbage bag
Opened.

Inside the dull orange garbage bag are a birthday card and a torn business card.
You read the card
More like the tattered corner of what used to be a business card. The only word you can really make out is "...Bixby".
You read birthday card
A birthday card with bright cartoon balloons drawn all over the front. Inside:

"Cindy Baby,

Happy birthday, baby! You're a real inspiration for me and my
music and the whole band. Me and Funkzilla wouldn't be the same without you.

Billy xoxo"
You drive to the studio
You drive midtown to the main gate of Rocket Pictures Studios and park in Visitor Parking.

Studio gate, in your cousin's Volvo
Welcome to Rocket Pictures Studios. It's everything a Hollywood
studio should be: it has a bold, impressive gate; the grounds of the lot extending to the north are lined with rows of pale hangar-like soundstage buildings and ceramic-roofed bungalows; there's a
staggering abundance of motorhomes; it has its own watertower; and
it's not actually in Hollywood at all.
Go north
It wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to get lost back here among the soundstages, each of them nearly identical to the next
except for the identifying number stenciled on it in faded white
paint. If you keep going straight to the north, eventually you'll get to the main building. Or you could turn around and head back to the parking lot. More buildings of an administrative flavor are over to the west.
Johnny LaFleure, French-Canadian movie star, is outside one of the soundstages having a smoke.

Johnny drops the butt of his cigarette onto the ground and flattens it under his toe. "Back to work," he says, and disappears back into the soundstage.
Go north
You're just in front of the main administrative building. Somewhere behind these walls are the executive offices of Rocket Pictures: a motley assemblage of manic creative near-genius, mediocre posturing, epidemic insecurity, monumental bravado, white-knuckle risk-taking, milquetoast acquiescence, stark paranoia, and great leather furniture.
Wait
Time passes...
Go north
It's by trying to get into the main building that you learn--if you didn't know already--that trying to get into an office on a studio lot is like a maximum security jailbreak in reverse. The Pentagon would
be easier to get into. Especially looking like a potential wannabe filmmaker, starved of sleep and cash the way you are. Milt Walker's assistant has never heard of you, and the friendly yet stern gentleman behind the security desk suggests you get yourself on an appointment list.
Go south
It wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to get lost back here among the soundstages, each of them nearly identical to the next
except for the identifying number stenciled on it in faded white
paint. If you keep going straight to the north, eventually you'll get to the main building. Or you could turn around and head back to the parking lot. More buildings of an administrative flavor are over to the west.
You go south
Welcome to Rocket Pictures Studios. It's everything a Hollywood
studio should be: it has a bold, impressive gate; the grounds of the lot extending to the north are lined with rows of pale hangar-like soundstage buildings and ceramic-roofed bungalows; there's a
staggering abundance of motorhomes; it has its own watertower; and
it's not actually in Hollywood at all.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.
You wait awhile
Time passes...

After a minute or so, Billy Van Earl comes ambling down from somewhere upstairs. "Hey," he says, squinting.

Do you want to keep waiting (YES or NO)?
You ask him about the birthday card
(Assuming you mean Johnny LaFleure.)
Johnny LaFleure isn't here.
You show the card to Billy
Which card do you mean, the birthday card or the torn business card?
You show the birthday card to Billy
Billy looks at the card, surprised. Then not-so-surprised. Then he swallows. "Well, that could be any Billy, right?" He reconsiders. Deep breath. "Well...okay, so I did know her. Look, can you blame
me? For lying, I mean? I'm pretty freaked out here."
You ask him about Cindy
(Assuming you mean Billy.)
"Look, man," Billy says, "You don't think I'm broken up over what happened? Maybe I even, like, loved her, you know? You think I don't miss Holly? Well I do."
You ask him about Holly
(Assuming you mean Billy.)
Billy's eyes widen. "What? Holly--? Did I say Holly? You mean...well, um. God...damn..." He blows his breath out. You caught him.

"Aw, geez, man..." Billy begins. "Yeah, right--it sounds
great to have all these chicks, right? But it's a nightmare, you
know? I'm lying to Cindy, I'm making up excuses for where I've been, where I'm going, I'm sitting there in Malibu listening to Holly bitch and whine--and God, she can bitch and whine--all the time thinking 'Cindy's gonna kill me...Cindy's gonna kill me...'" Really trying his best to get your sympathy. "But what was I supposed to do? Dump Holly? She's Holly Golden, man."
You ask him about Johnny
(Assuming you mean Billy.)
Billy doesn't seem to know anything about Johnny LaFleure.
You ask him about Milt
(Assuming you mean Billy.)
"Exactly! Milt Walker, man!" Billy says excitedly. "If you want to find out what happened to Cindy, that's one dude you should talk to--Milt Walker's one of those guys who knows everything and everybody."
You ask him about the murder
(Assuming you mean Billy.)
Billy looks perplexed. "Well, I don't know who killed her.
I didn't have anything to do with it." Then he suddenly clues in that maybe that's not the first thing on anyone's mind. "You know, not
that anybody'd even think I did, right?"
You ask Billy about the bixby
"Oh, I know who you're talking about," Billy says, "but I don't know much about him. Other than he was Cindy's agent and she talked about him once in a while. I think he may've liked her, too. In a way that's more than just her agent, you know? Like, she said something once about how he said something that made her uncomfortable. I don't really remember, though..."
Go north
You're facing south on a walking/running/rollerblading/whatever path that parallels the beach north-south along the ocean. Quite a few people are involved in beach-ish activities. You could follow the coastline further to the south, or go back up to the higher ground overlooking the beach.
Go up
and the long curve of the coastline north past Malibu. A cement stairway descends to the beach from here, or you can go back east to where the Volvo is parked.
You go east
States and not be driving on the sand. Ocean Avenue extends north and south, lined with palm trees and brightly colored, Santa Monica-ish buildings. You can get a better view of the beach to the west.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.
Go upwards
You could plunk yourself down in one of the two comfy-looking high-backed chairs while waiting for someone. The minty-blue hospital tint to the walls could take some getting used to, though. A hallway of office doors extends to the west, or you can go back outside to the south.
Anne, the building's receptionist, is sitting at her desk.
You ask Anne about Fina
"Again? Okay," she says, and calls Stuart Fina in his office.
You wait
Time passes...

Stuart Fina appears from somewhere down the hallway. He smiles a
"You, again" smile. "Oh, you again," he says.

Do you want to keep waiting (YES or NO)?
You ask Fina about Holly
"Holly Golden was the hot thing for quite a while," Stuart tells you. "But, you know, people always want a new hot thing. She even tried
for the role in Hugs and Kisses, but we went with Cindy
Painter."
You ask Fina about the bixby
"He's Cindy's agent. He was, I mean. I never really had any dealings with him."
Leave
that one day they'll end up working in the other building. Not that this building is bad--not that it's a fire hazard or anything like that--although the budget allocated for repairs to the roof probably went into new oak paneling inside the main building. And maybe this place someone like you could at least get into. Probably just by leaving the shade of this tree and climbing up the set of three stairs that leads to the door.
Go east
It wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to get lost back here among the soundstages, each of them nearly identical to the next
except for the identifying number stenciled on it in faded white
paint. If you keep going straight to the north, eventually you'll get to the main building. Or you could turn around and head back to the parking lot. More buildings of an administrative flavor are over to the west.
Johnny LaFleure, French-Canadian movie star, is outside one of the soundstages having a smoke.
You ask Johnny about Holly
"A sexy peach!" Johnny exclaims. "Yes, I was her man not too long
ago, but, you know, things did not work out. My career got back on track and suddenly there were lots of other girls around and that was
a cause of stress."
You ask Johnny about the bixby
"That guy is a bastard," Johnny says. "He punched me in the eye once. In the eye! And when I was talking to him to be my agent! What do
you think about that, then? I don't want to do business with no character like that."
You ask Milt about the bixby
"He's been Cindy's agent since she came out here," Milt says. "But he's what you'd call small time. Cindy was starting to break out. We talked about if, after her movie opened, she should be thinking about moving up to a bigger agent."
You ask Milt about Holly
"She's a famous actress. She's been in some pictures for us. A bit
of a prima donna, too, for what it's worth. I don't know what else to tell you."
You show the birthday card to Milt
Milt nods. "Van Earl must've given that to her. Good for her for throwing it out."

Milt sighs. "All right. I should have told you--I knew that Cindy
was seeing this...this Billy Van Earl. But he's not capable of
murder. What he is is a goddamned deadbeat, and I just
wanted to...show some respect for Cindy and not have this kind of
thing get out. He's not capable of murder." Milt pauses. "Or do you think he is?"
You show the business card to Milt
Milt looks at the card for a second. "Might be Chuck Bixby. He was Cindy's agent. Got an office out on Wilshire."
You drive to the wilshire
You drive east along Wilshire, away from Beverly Hills and toward downtown. You pull off onto a quiet side street and park.

Just off Wilshire Blvd., in your cousin's Volvo
This quiet, palm-tree-lined street runs south toward Wilshire Blvd.
and the old office building at the corner.
Go south
Wilshire Blvd. building lobby
You're standing right in the entrance to an old sunwashed stone
office building at the corner of Wilshire and, well, somewhere just west of La Brea. The lobby is about what you'd expect to find:
office directory on one wall, small maintenance closet, fire alarm, ventilation grill. Actually, of some interest but little use is the out-of-commission movie theater here on the ground level. Other than that, you can go up and in to the offices.
You read the directory
The directory is made up of those plastic letters stuck in a grooved backing mounted on the wall. It looks like the listings haven't been updated since the mid-1980s or so, and a few of the letters are
missing so the names are a little bastardized:

Dr. Emile Johns n - Br ast Enla gment
Greenhorn & Smi h - I migration Law ers

(and the one you're looking for:)

(Footnote 20)
Footnote 20
If you're thinking, "Golly, that's an odd cross-section," think again. This is Hollywood. Those are probably the top three essential services.
Go up
You climb the stairs until you find the door to "Chuck Bixby - Talent Agent".

The office is fairly bright--lots of windows. The most notable
thing in it is a big wooden desk on which, along with a bunch of other stuff, sits a computer. The other most notable thing is a small, solid-looking safe visible under one side of the desk--notable in that "Hey, there's a safe here" sort of way.
Chuck Bixby is sitting at his desk.
You examine bixby
Chuck is in his late thirties, graying hair clipped short, hanging
onto cool for as long as he can. He regards you for the most part
with a bemused raised eyebrow--but then you get the impression he regards pretty much everyone this way.
You examine safe
It's a solid-looking gray safe sitting on the floor by Chuck's desk. The safe is closed and has a dial to open the combination lock on the front.
You ask Bixby about safe
"That's a good safe," Chuck tells you. "Paid top dollar for it."
You ask Bixby about Cindy
"Cindy? I thought the world of her," Chuck says. "I still do. I was as proud of her as of anybody I've ever represented. She was going to go far--and she was such a good person, too."
You ask BIXBY about having the the hots for Cindy and how she was going to fire his ass
ASK BIXBY ABOUT HAVING THE HOTS FOR CINDY AND HOW SHE WAS GOING TO FIRE HIS ASS

You can't use the word "having".
You ask BIXBY about the movie
"Well, I've never seen it--not even a test screening," Chuck says.
"The studio's really, really close-lipped about it. What, do I think she would've moved on, got a new agent? Maybe." Chuck shrugs.
"These things happen. You lose clients, you get new clients. You can't let it really affect you one way or the other." A beat. "Waitasec--you weren't really asking about me, were you?"
You ask BIXBY about Holly
Chuck shrugs. "She's a movie star. I don't know her. I probably don't know much more than you."
You ask BIXBY about Fina
"He was the studio guy in charge of Cindy's movie, but I've really
only talked to him a couple of times," Chuck tells you.
You ask BIXBY about Milt
"Milt Walker is a tough guy, a good guy, an honest guy, a bastard of a tough negotiator," Chuck tells you. "You ask around this town, you'll get all sorts of opinions on what people think of Milt Walker."
You show the business card to BIXBY
"Yeah, that's mine."
You ask BIXBY about Johnny
"I was almost his agent once," Chuck tells you. "A few years ago,
he'd done about nine lousy movies in a row and no one in town would even talk to him. So we went out to dinner and he tried to sleep with my wife and I ended up punching him in the eye and, hey, today I'm not his agent."
You examine computer
The computer is turned on and currently running some sort of Windows scheduler program showing Bixby's appointments--you don't recognize
any of the names.
You go down
Wilshire Blvd. building lobby
You're standing right in the entrance to an old sunwashed stone
office building at the corner of Wilshire and, well, somewhere just west of La Brea. The lobby is about what you'd expect to find:
office directory on one wall, small maintenance closet, fire alarm, ventilation grill. Actually, of some interest but little use is the out-of-commission movie theater here on the ground level. Other than that, you can go up and in to the offices.
You examine the alarm
A little red fire alarm mounted on the wall, with a handle to pull in case of fire.

(Footnote 19)
Alarm
SAVESaved.
Footnote 18
Jake Duffy is the younger brother of Sergeant Duffy, who ably assisted the player in Infocom's mystery games Deadline and The Witness, and
was quick to slap the cuffs on him or her in Suspect. (In other
words, this is another case where the author has borrowed cheerfully from an interactive-fiction classic.)  Sergeant Duffy's key trait was his ability to appear instantly whenever needed, never overstaying his welcome, and subsequently disappearing just as instantly without a trace. Now, Jake Duffy may not exactly be a cop like his big brother, but in a rare gesture of generosity toward the player's plight, at least that curious ability has here been made hereditary.
Footnote 19
It is, of course, an offense to pull a fire alarm if there's no fire. Just in case you were thinking of doing anything of the sort.
You pull the alarm
You reach up, give the fire alarm a tug, and it starts ringing. Building security (actually just one old guy in a shabby navy blazer) arrives shortly and--after giving you a suspicious once-over--escorts you and everyone else across the street.

Just off Wilshire Blvd.
This quiet, palm-tree-lined street runs south toward Wilshire Blvd.
and the old office building at the corner.
Your cousin's Volvo is parked here.

The building empties out as the fire department arrives, sirens wailing, lights flashing.
Go south
The fire department is making everyone stay across the street from the building while the alarm is going off.