text: [Themes: Mystery]
  
  > 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.
  
  > ring bell
  You push the doorbell and hear a muffled ring indoors.
  
  > 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)?
  
  > talk to Billy
  Billy is listening.
  
  > ask Billy about Cindy
  Billy raises his eyebrows. "Geez...I never heard of her, you know? Wish I could help you out."
  
  > 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?"
  
  > ask Billy about Fina
  "Never heard of the guy."
  
  > ask Billy about the movie
  "I've never heard of that."
  
  > ask Billy about Milt
  "Should I know who that is?" Billy asks.
  
  > ask Billy about the music
  "That's my band, Funkzilla. It's our new CD."
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > get in the car
  You climb into the Volvo.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > ask LaFleure about Cindy
  "It is sad what happened to her," Johnny said. "I would be very upset if that happened to me."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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?
  
  > enter
  Be a little more specific about what you'd like to enter.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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...
  
  > turn off the tv
  Switched off.
  
  > 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.
  
  > get in
  Be a little more specific about where you'd like you to get.
  
  > 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.
  
  > search dumpster
  The dumpster is closed.
  
  > open the dumpster
  With a bit of effort you manage to force the lid of the dumpster open.
  
  > 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.
  
  > search dull orange garbage bag
  The dull orange garbage bag is closed.
  
  > open the dull orange garbage bag
  Opened.
  
  Inside the dull orange garbage bag are a birthday card and a torn business card.
  
  > 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".
  
  > 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"
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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)?
  
  > ask him about the birthday card
  (Assuming you mean Johnny LaFleure.)
  Johnny LaFleure isn't here.
  
  > show the card to Billy
  Which card do you mean, the birthday card or the torn business card?
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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."
  
  > ask him about Johnny
  (Assuming you mean Billy.)
  Billy doesn't seem to know anything about Johnny LaFleure.
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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?"
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > ask Anne about Fina
  "Again? Okay," she says, and calls Stuart Fina in his office.
  
  > 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)?
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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?"
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > ask Bixby about safe
  "That's a good safe," Chuck tells you. "Paid top dollar for it."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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".
  
  > 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?"
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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.
  
  > 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."
  
  > show the business card to BIXBY
  "Yeah, that's mine."
  
  > 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."
  
  > 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.