Also if Victor ordered the Pufferfish Nigiri every time he went to Chez Lama, does that mean he actually to some extent took a gamble with his life every time he ate there? I assume Lilliana would be rather offended by my questioning her culinary skills, but sims are known to get a confidence boost from eating (surviving) this particular dish.
So question for Lily and possible the Goths as well: Was Victor an overly confident man? Did he like to gamble?
And another question not related to this, but simply because I forgot to ask before. Can we show the photo to Lily and ask her if she knows who the woman is?
@bluedanube
It is safe to assume that the Pufferfish Nigiri found in the bin was the excellent quality one that Lilliana made, although it would now be spoiled.
The answers to your questions are below. I love how thoroughly you like to look into everyone's relationships and backgrounds!
Mortimer:
1. Describe his current relationship with Bella.
-Mortimer claims their relationship is good, he is very in love with his wife, however admits that he doesn't spend enough time with her due to his writing.
2. What triggered his interest in writing (he wasn't known to have the writing skill in the earlier games).
- He states that he always enjoyed the idea of writing, now that his children are older he decided to take it up full time.
3. Does he believe the rumor that Bella was abducted by aliens, if not, what is his theory for her disappearance?
- He states he does not believe that rumour. He then becomes defensive and states that her disappearance is irrelevant to the case and all that matters is that she is back home now.
4. How many bestsellers have he written?
- 3
5. What's the plot for his latest written work?
- His latest book is about a terrifying monster that lives under children's beds.
Bella:
1. Describe her current relationship with Mortimer.
- She describes her relationship as fine, although wishes her husband had more time for her.
2. Describe her current relationship with Lily Feng.
- Bella states that although Lily is always civil to her, it's clear that she disapproves of her. Apart from small talk during get togethers, they rarely speak.
3. Was she an avid reader?
- She reads a little, she likes romance novels, and of course her husband's books.
4. What is Lily Feng's job?
- Bella believes Lily to be a CEO at Dewey, Cheatem & Howe Incorporated. This is confirmed by investigators.
5. What is Nancy Landgraab's job?
- Bella is unsure if Nancy's job. Investigators find out she is currently unemployed.
One question for Salim:
How many of his written works have been published?
- Salim states he is yet to publish a book, but has published a few short stories in magazines.
@Greyling
Very good observations! Do bear in mind that everyone was asked to leave Chez Llama when the police came, so it would have been quite easy for anyone to have descreatly disposed of the excellent Pufferfish Nigiri.
On @bluedanube's and @Greyling's request the Goths and Lily Feng have their apartments searched, conveniently the live next door to eachother.
Nothing suspicious is found in either apartment, however, the Feng's apartment does look a lot like the one in the photo of Victor and the mystery woman.
The apartments are clean but upon searching their shared trash chute you discover a recipe for Pufferfish Nigiri and a white shirt with a red lipstick stain on it.
The Goths claim to not recognise either item. Lily claims to not recognise the receipe, however, she does recognise the shirt as being one of Victor's, but states that the lipstick on it is not hers!
@Greyling The answers to your questions are below.
Speaking to the vendors is a very clever idea, however it doesn't help your investigation. They serve so many sims each day that it would be impossible for them to recognise who they sold what to and when.
Lily and the Goths state that Victor was a confident man. He also liked to show off his wealth and Pufferfish Nigiri happens to be the most expensive dish at the restaurant, so they've always assumed this is why he ordered it.
You show Lily the photo. She confirms that it is their apartment but that she is not the woman in the photo...and she can prove it. Lily reveals that she has a tattoo on her back. Although the photo is grainy, the woman in it is wearing a backless dress and clearly has no tattoo.
I think I explained before, but I'm just putting the answers in spoilers to keep everything a bit more tidy. You can (and should) of course read everyone's questions and answers.
> @Greyling Do bear in mind that everyone was asked to leave Chez Llama when the police came, so it would have been quite easy for anyone to have descreatly disposed of the excellent Pufferfish Nigiri.
Yes, I am beginning to wonder if I’m just letting the red dress distract me and whether it’s just a red herring instead ;)
From the information acquired by the other sleuths it also seems somewhat unlikely that Bella and Lily would be in cahoots seeing as the Goths seem to perceive of Lily as being rather reserved. However, as none of the men at their table got up while waiting for their dinner to arrive, I do believe it is still a matter of cherchez la femme. At the moment Lily does seem to be the one with the strongest motive if Victor was indeed having an affair. Even if the Goths say their marriage seemed more driven by ambition than love, it doesn’t mean that Lily would accept any kind of infidelity.
So looking at the timeline Lily was the first to leave the table - 3 minutes prior to Cassandra. And she returned 3 minutes after Cassandra left the table. Though briefly, the two were in the restrooms at the same time. Would that have been time enough for Lily to have been able to make the switch on her way back to the table? Furthermore she was back at the table 1 minute before Lilliana’s first call for service so was the Pufferfish Nigiri even ready while she was away from the table? Anyone have any thoughts on this? :)
Well, just to be thorough let’s show the photos to Bella and Mortimer and ask if any of them recognize the woman. And let’s ask Cassandra as well just for good measure.
"What course of action would you take if your mother disappears from your life again?"
- She states that she does not know. But that she would probably do her best to look after her Father as he would be devastated.
"How likely is it to happen?"
- She tells investigators that she wouldn't be surprised at all if it happened again, just disappointed.
Well, just to be thorough let’s show the photos to Bella and Mortimer and ask if any of them recognize the woman. And let’s ask Cassandra as well just for good measure.
The Goths claim to not recognise the woman in the photo either.
Update
There is a disturbance at the Goth/Feng residence and you've been called to investigate. When you arrive, Lily is arguing with Bella; she has accused her of having an affair with Victor.
I believe you all have enough clues to solve the murder.
I'll be posting the big reveal in a couple of hours, so you still have a little while to get your guesses in!
I suppose you're all wondering why I gathered you here today?
Well, after all your hard work it's finally time for the big reveal!
I've put the reveal in a spoiler so that those who have not been able to participate can still read through the clues and have a go at solving it themselves. I also ask that you put any replies/discussion about the reveal in a spoiler too. Thank you!
The Big Reveal (Whodunnit!)
The Re-enactment:
Armed with the rough timeline of the night of the murder, you decide to take the Goths and Lily back to Chez Llama to re-enact their movements that night.
They all take the same places they were in before, and move around as they claimed to that night as you time them.
Everyone's movements line up with the time line perfectly...apart from one person.
During the re-enactment Cassandra Goth returns to the table six minutes after she left. Yet, according to the original time line, she returned to the table after eight minutes.
What was she doing during those two unaccounted for minutes?
Mystery Solved:
Who: Cassandra Goth has confessed to the premeditated murder of Victor Goth.
Why: Cassandra states that she became aware of her Mother's affair with Victor Goth a while ago when she came home early from school one day and spied on them. She was not surprised by her Mother's behaviour, as she had been known to flirt.
Cassandra also suggests that her Mother's disappearance involved her running away with another man.
She did not care what her Mother got up to, but found it deeply unfair to her Father. She thought that by removing Victor from her Mother's life, her parents could be closer.
How: Cassandra had found a recipe for Pufferfish Nigiri and had been holding onto it until just the right moment. When she found out they would be going to dinner with the Fengs she quickly made a (poor) Pufferfish Nigiri and hid it in her bag.
At Chez Llama Victor ordered the Pufferfish Nigiri as she thought he would, and she waited patiently for the perfect opportunity.
When she came back from the restroom she saw that Salim was distracted by Bella. She knew that the Pufferfish Nigiri should be prepared by now and she snuck into the kitchen and switched the dishes. Lilliana was very busy and did not notice her.
When Bella ran out of the restaurant after Victor's death, Cassandra followed her and this is when she disposed of the excellent Pufferfish Nigiri.
Epilogue - Six Months Later
Cassandra Goth
Currently carrying out a prison sentence for the murder of Victor Feng. She and her Father write to eachother regularly, he has forgiven her.
Bella Goth
Disappeared again. Rumour has it that she is living with another man in Sulani.
Mortimer Goth
Has sold his family's San Myshuno home and now dedicates all of his time to search for Bella.
Alexander Goth
Now attends a boarding school where he is part of an excellent music program, he is doing very well and hopes to become a famous pianist.
Geoffrey and Nancy Landgraab
Nothing much has changed for the Landgraabs. Geoffrey is still currently running San Myshuno with Nancy by his side.
Lily Feng
Despite their marital problems, she realised that Victor's political career and causes could have greatly benefited San Myshuno. She quit her job as a CEO and has decided to run against Geoffrey Landgraab. She plans to reinstate the Simoleons for Everyone cause.
Lilliana Kealoha
Quit her job at Chez Llama and opened her own restaurant in Newcrest. Pufferfish Nigiri is not on the menu.
Salim Benali
Wrote a best selling mystery novel inspired by the murder which earned him enough money to quit his waiter job.
When he is not writing he assists Lily with her political campaign and teaches a Creative Writing course at Britechester.
Thank you so much for playing everyone. It was a lot of fun and I really hope you enjoyed it!
You all asked some really great questions and dug deeply into each suspect. You are all excellent Sim Sleuths.
I know that it's been solved but I've been going over the clues with my best friend and I'm going to post what we thought and we'll check afterwards.
From the beginning we were thinking Bella and Cassandra had something to do with it. Bella distracts the waiter and the bartender while Cassandra (who took forever to get back from the bathroom) switched the pufferfish. But with the information that Bella wasn't getting the attention from her husband and that the Feng's marriage was a convenience thing (or so they said), maybe Bella and Victor were having an affair and she was the one in the picture. We then thought that she might be being blackmailed by Geoffrey but thought it would be too obvious.
It wasn't until we read the question that @bluedanube asked that we changed it to just Cassandra. Cassandra saw something and the "course of action" she took was murder your honor.
So, we accuse Cassandra Goth, in the kitchen, with the poor quality pufferfish nigiri.
Wow, we just finished reading it. I don't know how to add spoilers so I won't give any out. This was really good. We really enjoyed trying to figure it all out. It was very detailed and really painted a picture. Thank you for continuing the murder mystery.
Wow, we just finished reading it. I don't know how to add spoilers so I won't give any out. This was really good. We really enjoyed trying to figure it all out. It was very detailed and really painted a picture. Thank you for continuing the murder mystery.
Thank you, and I'm so happy you and your friend enjoyed it!
To use spoilers simple put [Xspoiler] and [/Xspoiler] either side of the text you want to hide (without the X). E.g. [Xspoiler]Hidden text[/Xspoiler].
You can also highlight the text you want to hide and then click the drop down at the top of the text box next to the italics symbol and choose spoiler.
@bluedanube You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it!
If anyone is interested I'd love to keep Sim Sleuths going as a regular thing. I have a couple ideas for new mysteries that I'd like to post at some point but if someone else would like a turn at hosting one, please do!
Thank you! I'm aware of these devices but didn't feel this story needed them. Maybe in the next one!
Being my first mystery post here I wanted to keep it simple (for myself, and everyone else).
You guys have inspired me and my best friend to try our luck with a murder mystery. We've been on the phone all day working it out and trying to come up with something good. I'm hoping it works out and we can add it here but who knows! Thanks again!
That went fast suddenly :) Must admit I wasn’t quite there yet and still had a few questions. I think my little grey cells are a bit rusty - haha :D
Applause at @bluedanube and @Pixilated - great job solving the case :)
And excellent job hosting the murder mystery @GirlFromIpanema - I thought it was most enjoyable and loved that you had so thorough and well-thought-out answers to all our many questions :)
Hello Sim Sleuths!
Thank you again, so much, for taking part in my mystery!
I posted a game pack idea revolving around mysteries and sleuthing and thought you may be interested.
Comments
So question for Lily and possible the Goths as well: Was Victor an overly confident man? Did he like to gamble?
And another question not related to this, but simply because I forgot to ask before. Can we show the photo to Lily and ask her if she knows who the woman is?
It is safe to assume that the Pufferfish Nigiri found in the bin was the excellent quality one that Lilliana made, although it would now be spoiled.
The answers to your questions are below. I love how thoroughly you like to look into everyone's relationships and backgrounds!
1. Describe his current relationship with Bella.
-Mortimer claims their relationship is good, he is very in love with his wife, however admits that he doesn't spend enough time with her due to his writing.
2. What triggered his interest in writing (he wasn't known to have the writing skill in the earlier games).
- He states that he always enjoyed the idea of writing, now that his children are older he decided to take it up full time.
3. Does he believe the rumor that Bella was abducted by aliens, if not, what is his theory for her disappearance?
- He states he does not believe that rumour. He then becomes defensive and states that her disappearance is irrelevant to the case and all that matters is that she is back home now.
4. How many bestsellers have he written?
- 3
5. What's the plot for his latest written work?
- His latest book is about a terrifying monster that lives under children's beds.
Bella:
1. Describe her current relationship with Mortimer.
- She describes her relationship as fine, although wishes her husband had more time for her.
2. Describe her current relationship with Lily Feng.
- Bella states that although Lily is always civil to her, it's clear that she disapproves of her. Apart from small talk during get togethers, they rarely speak.
3. Was she an avid reader?
- She reads a little, she likes romance novels, and of course her husband's books.
4. What is Lily Feng's job?
- Bella believes Lily to be a CEO at Dewey, Cheatem & Howe Incorporated. This is confirmed by investigators.
5. What is Nancy Landgraab's job?
- Bella is unsure if Nancy's job. Investigators find out she is currently unemployed.
One question for Salim:
How many of his written works have been published?
- Salim states he is yet to publish a book, but has published a few short stories in magazines.
@Greyling
Very good observations! Do bear in mind that everyone was asked to leave Chez Llama when the police came, so it would have been quite easy for anyone to have descreatly disposed of the excellent Pufferfish Nigiri.
On @bluedanube's and @Greyling's request the Goths and Lily Feng have their apartments searched, conveniently the live next door to eachother.
Nothing suspicious is found in either apartment, however, the Feng's apartment does look a lot like the one in the photo of Victor and the mystery woman.
The apartments are clean but upon searching their shared trash chute you discover a recipe for Pufferfish Nigiri and a white shirt with a red lipstick stain on it.
The Goths claim to not recognise either item. Lily claims to not recognise the receipe, however, she does recognise the shirt as being one of Victor's, but states that the lipstick on it is not hers!
@Greyling The answers to your questions are below.
Lily and the Goths state that Victor was a confident man. He also liked to show off his wealth and Pufferfish Nigiri happens to be the most expensive dish at the restaurant, so they've always assumed this is why he ordered it.
You show Lily the photo. She confirms that it is their apartment but that she is not the woman in the photo...and she can prove it. Lily reveals that she has a tattoo on her back. Although the photo is grainy, the woman in it is wearing a backless dress and clearly has no tattoo.
I think I explained before, but I'm just putting the answers in spoilers to keep everything a bit more tidy. You can (and should) of course read everyone's questions and answers.
> @Greyling
Do bear in mind that everyone was asked to leave Chez Llama when the police came, so it would have been quite easy for anyone to have descreatly disposed of the excellent Pufferfish Nigiri.
Yes, I am beginning to wonder if I’m just letting the red dress distract me and whether it’s just a red herring instead ;)
From the information acquired by the other sleuths it also seems somewhat unlikely that Bella and Lily would be in cahoots seeing as the Goths seem to perceive of Lily as being rather reserved.
However, as none of the men at their table got up while waiting for their dinner to arrive, I do believe it is still a matter of cherchez la femme. At the moment Lily does seem to be the one with the strongest motive if Victor was indeed having an affair. Even if the Goths say their marriage seemed more driven by ambition than love, it doesn’t mean that Lily would accept any kind of infidelity.
So looking at the timeline Lily was the first to leave the table - 3 minutes prior to Cassandra. And she returned 3 minutes after Cassandra left the table. Though briefly, the two were in the restrooms at the same time. Would that have been time enough for Lily to have been able to make the switch on her way back to the table? Furthermore she was back at the table 1 minute before Lilliana’s first call for service so was the Pufferfish Nigiri even ready while she was away from the table?
Anyone have any thoughts on this? :)
Well, just to be thorough let’s show the photos to Bella and Mortimer and ask if any of them recognize the woman. And let’s ask Cassandra as well just for good measure.
To Cassandra Goth.
"What course of action would you take if your mother disappears from your life again?"
- She states that she does not know. But that she would probably do her best to look after her Father as he would be devastated.
"How likely is it to happen?"
- She tells investigators that she wouldn't be surprised at all if it happened again, just disappointed.
Ohh, I love that! That sounds like something straight from a Poirot!
The Goths claim to not recognise the woman in the photo either.
Update
There is a disturbance at the Goth/Feng residence and you've been called to investigate. When you arrive, Lily is arguing with Bella; she has accused her of having an affair with Victor.
I'll be posting the big reveal in a couple of hours, so you still have a little while to get your guesses in!
Well, after all your hard work it's finally time for the big reveal!
I've put the reveal in a spoiler so that those who have not been able to participate can still read through the clues and have a go at solving it themselves. I also ask that you put any replies/discussion about the reveal in a spoiler too. Thank you!
The Big Reveal (Whodunnit!)
Armed with the rough timeline of the night of the murder, you decide to take the Goths and Lily back to Chez Llama to re-enact their movements that night.
They all take the same places they were in before, and move around as they claimed to that night as you time them.
Everyone's movements line up with the time line perfectly...apart from one person.
During the re-enactment Cassandra Goth returns to the table six minutes after she left. Yet, according to the original time line, she returned to the table after eight minutes.
What was she doing during those two unaccounted for minutes?
Mystery Solved:
Who: Cassandra Goth has confessed to the premeditated murder of Victor Goth.
Why: Cassandra states that she became aware of her Mother's affair with Victor Goth a while ago when she came home early from school one day and spied on them. She was not surprised by her Mother's behaviour, as she had been known to flirt.
Cassandra also suggests that her Mother's disappearance involved her running away with another man.
She did not care what her Mother got up to, but found it deeply unfair to her Father. She thought that by removing Victor from her Mother's life, her parents could be closer.
How: Cassandra had found a recipe for Pufferfish Nigiri and had been holding onto it until just the right moment. When she found out they would be going to dinner with the Fengs she quickly made a (poor) Pufferfish Nigiri and hid it in her bag.
At Chez Llama Victor ordered the Pufferfish Nigiri as she thought he would, and she waited patiently for the perfect opportunity.
When she came back from the restroom she saw that Salim was distracted by Bella. She knew that the Pufferfish Nigiri should be prepared by now and she snuck into the kitchen and switched the dishes. Lilliana was very busy and did not notice her.
When Bella ran out of the restaurant after Victor's death, Cassandra followed her and this is when she disposed of the excellent Pufferfish Nigiri.
Epilogue - Six Months Later
Currently carrying out a prison sentence for the murder of Victor Feng. She and her Father write to eachother regularly, he has forgiven her.
Bella Goth
Disappeared again. Rumour has it that she is living with another man in Sulani.
Mortimer Goth
Has sold his family's San Myshuno home and now dedicates all of his time to search for Bella.
Alexander Goth
Now attends a boarding school where he is part of an excellent music program, he is doing very well and hopes to become a famous pianist.
Geoffrey and Nancy Landgraab
Nothing much has changed for the Landgraabs. Geoffrey is still currently running San Myshuno with Nancy by his side.
Lily Feng
Despite their marital problems, she realised that Victor's political career and causes could have greatly benefited San Myshuno. She quit her job as a CEO and has decided to run against Geoffrey Landgraab. She plans to reinstate the Simoleons for Everyone cause.
Lilliana Kealoha
Quit her job at Chez Llama and opened her own restaurant in Newcrest. Pufferfish Nigiri is not on the menu.
Salim Benali
Wrote a best selling mystery novel inspired by the murder which earned him enough money to quit his waiter job.
When he is not writing he assists Lily with her political campaign and teaches a Creative Writing course at Britechester.
Thank you so much for playing everyone. It was a lot of fun and I really hope you enjoyed it!
You all asked some really great questions and dug deeply into each suspect. You are all excellent Sim Sleuths.
From the beginning we were thinking Bella and Cassandra had something to do with it. Bella distracts the waiter and the bartender while Cassandra (who took forever to get back from the bathroom) switched the pufferfish. But with the information that Bella wasn't getting the attention from her husband and that the Feng's marriage was a convenience thing (or so they said), maybe Bella and Victor were having an affair and she was the one in the picture. We then thought that she might be being blackmailed by Geoffrey but thought it would be too obvious.
It wasn't until we read the question that @bluedanube asked that we changed it to just Cassandra. Cassandra saw something and the "course of action" she took was murder your honor.
So, we accuse Cassandra Goth, in the kitchen, with the poor quality pufferfish nigiri.
Would you mind please putting your comments about "the big reveal" in a spoiler please? Just so that anyone who still wants to try and solve it can.
Thank you, and I'm so happy you and your friend enjoyed it!
To use spoilers simple put [Xspoiler] and [/Xspoiler] either side of the text you want to hide (without the X). E.g. [Xspoiler]Hidden text[/Xspoiler].
You can also highlight the text you want to hide and then click the drop down at the top of the text box next to the italics symbol and choose spoiler.
If anyone is interested I'd love to keep Sim Sleuths going as a regular thing. I have a couple ideas for new mysteries that I'd like to post at some point but if someone else would like a turn at hosting one, please do!
Being my first mystery post here I wanted to keep it simple (for myself, and everyone else).
@bluedanube
You guys have inspired me and my best friend to try our luck with a murder mystery. We've been on the phone all day working it out and trying to come up with something good. I'm hoping it works out and we can add it here but who knows! Thanks again!
When you post it (and no rush, of course) please link it here so everyone can find it!
Applause at @bluedanube and @Pixilated - great job solving the case :)
And excellent job hosting the murder mystery @GirlFromIpanema - I thought it was most enjoyable and loved that you had so thorough and well-thought-out answers to all our many questions :)
Looking forward to the next one :)
Thank you again, so much, for taking part in my mystery!
I posted a game pack idea revolving around mysteries and sleuthing and thought you may be interested.
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/992614/mysteries-game-pack-idea-detailed