Samuel Marconi, P.I.

Private Investigator For Hire

[marconisamuel-blog]

D7M53K18

I don't have a lot of time to write this out, but I feel like I ought to update you.

For the first case: from the scene of the crime I picked up a hollow metal children's sports bat, the end of which  had been flattened to make it more effective at breaking things; I got a pretty clear shoeprint that I sketched down the  fine details of; and I asked around the suspects' neighborhoods and neither group has a solid alibi for that night. I'll be doing a more thorough investigation tonight.

Wish me luck.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D5M53k18

I'm going to warn you in advance; this is going to be a bit of a long one. There's a lot to cover since last I posted here.

Let's start with the ‘showing’ I did with Suzette.

I needed a place to stage a stakeout. Luckily Suzette is friends with just about everyone in the neighborhood, so I ended up in the second floor apartment that's used as storage space for the laundromat across the way from Suzette's apartment building. I set up shop there at about 0800 sunday morning, before the papers went out at ten. I was there all the way through to monday, keeping watch. Nothing of note happened most of the time I was there, but that's how stakeouts generally go. They're considerably less interesting than the crime novels make them out to be. About 0200 Monday morning, I was sitting out on the fire escape indulging in a nicotine stick while I watched for any suspicious activity. I heard the sound of breaking glass from across the street, and immediately went to go investigate. I could see they'd broken in the window by the fire escape to get in, and I knew the front door was locked, so I headed in after them in hopes of cornering them. All I managed to do was get a glimpse of them before they saw me and took out one of the front windows as they ran off. There were two of them, pretty average all around in size, dressed all in black, with their faces covered. That eliminates our first suspect for sure, unless he's hiring someone, but I don't think he makes enough money to do something like that. I grabbed what evidence I could find from the scene of the crime, and I'll see where that leads me with our remaining two groups of suspects, but that's a story for another blog entry.

Also, I’ve been getting a lot of emails about this “Lady Luck Killer.” I assure you I’ve already begun my own investigation into this. I don’t have a lot of leads just yet, but I’ll definitely be keeping you all up to date on any info I have. I’m not going to sit idly by while someone brutalizes people in the city I call home. If any of you have info that you feel would be useful, please share it with me.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D2M53K18

Now, those details I've been meaning to give you. First of all, I want to give you a better idea of the people we're working with here. I can't provide photographs and I'm certainly not an artist, so i'm going to try an paint you a picture with words as best I can.

My client, Suzette Conley, is a middle-aged lady who stands at 5'3" tall and is thin enough that you'd think a gentle breeze would snap her in half. She's a really nice lady, but don't let her appearance fool you: she's got a lot of attitude and doesn't put up with anyone's bullshit. She's pretty pale, with brown eyes and black hair that hangs down clear to the middle of her back, usually pulled up in a bun for convenience.

The first suspect, Ward Carver, is an older-looking guy who stands about 6'1" and seems like he's nearly as wide as he is tall, but that shouldn't fool you into thinking he's out of shape. He may look a little rotund but he's actually a really strong guy; you have to be strong if you work in the mines. He's got medium brown skin and black hair and sports a pretty scruffy-looking beard. As I mentioned in my first post, he's got a bad temper on him and a sense of entitlement to rival that of the entire Espinoza family line.

Next is Max and Jodie Britt. Max Britt looks a lot older than he really is, probably from a combination of drug abuse and the general state of living in West District. He's about my height, 5'7"-ish, blonde, and looks like he could use a few good meals. I can't really tell the natural color of his skin because he's got this weird, pallid, ashy tone to him from using for so long, but I think he's white? I'm really not sure. Word on the street is that he's actually a pretty nice guy so long as he's riding a high, but he gets really grouchy and lashes out at people when he's not getting his fix. Jodie's a wee little thing, only 5'1" or so, with that same pallid skin as her husband, but she's got almond-shaped eyes that i believe to be brown. I couldn't get a consistent review of her personality from anyone, so I don't know what to tell you; seems she has pretty intense mood swings.

The first of the last group of suspects is Bertha Bailey. She's a dark-skinned girl who stands at about 5'6", with long, black hair and dark eyes. She waitresses at Murry's, and I stopped in there while I was shadowing her to see if I could learn anything about her. She seems like a pretty genuinely friendly person, though I heard her give the cook a real venomous earful while I was there, so I don't know for certain if that's an act of not. Chet Hickman is Bertha's boyfriend. He's about 6'1" tall, buzzed hair, built pretty well, white but tanned. He bartends at Bar None with his buddy Marty, and they both seemed pretty jovial, but they also work for tips, so who knows. People around town seem to think the whole lot of them are pretty cool people, when they aren't fighting with each other and getting the cops called over to their place. Marty Bo Lancaster is the polar opposite to his friend Chet. He's only about 5'8", skinny as a rail, longsish, shaggy brown hair, glasses, caramel skin. The girls at the bar were all but falling at his feet, he's that kind of handsome. His girlfriend is Tami Orr, a light-skinned girl, stands about 5'5", brown hair, blue eyes, pretty unremarkable in appearance but was really friendly and engaging when I went into Mullins' and she was my waitress.

Suzette's got the apartment all scheduled to be listed in the classifieds tomorrow morning, so I'm going to be staking the place out all night and into Monday morning, when she'll be taking me for a "showing." I'll let you know what happens when I get home, hopefully Monday afternoon.

Wish me luck.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[debra-lancaster-me]

My assigment for Public Works

Public Works Staff:  “We are planning several new greenspaces in the South District, and would like to hear your ideas on locations and features. You may reply to this thread to pitch your ideas.”

My answer: It needs to be social space, or spaces, where people meet together and chat and go on walks, that kind of social contact and interaction builds social networks. That’s probably where the real impact is coming from that gives people a sense of wellbeing. Parks without those features do the opposite. If a green space is difficult to get to, has poor lighting or is not clean, it may be seen as unsafe or inaccessible and probably wouldn’t boost peoples mood. Therefore it needs to be build in the West District. People there need more green spaces and opportunities to interact with each other, gaining back a kind of hope and spirit to rebuild, together.

So, Im saying West district instead of South. We need to prioritize our means, and the West needs us! Badly. Like, reply or reblog if you agree with me!

[marconisamuel-blog]

D1M53K18

I just got a copy of the newspaper, and in the obituaries it lists a couple of young kids who died in West District. I asked around to get the scoop on what happened, and I can't believe what people told me, even though I should expect it by now. It's a perfect example of the class separation that goes on in this city.

The two kids were a couple, but the girl, Hannah, was from a poor family in W.D. and the boy, Levi, was from a rich E.D. family. The boy's family was trying so hard to keep them apart that they tried to force him into marrying off to another rich family's daughter against his will. Rather than face a future where he was married to a woman he didn't want and she was forced to live with no hope of ever being with the man she loved, they committed suicide together in a tragic reenactment of the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet.

It just disgusts me that something like this had to happen.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D28M43K18

So, I see I've gained some followers on here, so I guess there are some people reading this thing after all. I'd like to begin by humbly thanking you for your interest. Secondly, I had initially planned on updating the information I have on my suspects and other parties related to the case, but then it occurred to me that I haven't even properly introduced myself and I think I had ought to get that out of the way before I go any further with this. So, here is all you need to know about one Samuel Lawrence Marconi.

My parents both grew up in North District, in the miners' housing, since all my grandparents were in the industry. They grew up poor and weren't much better off as adults; my father's father died in a mining accident when he was a boy, so he didn't want to follow in those footsteps. When they got together and started looking for a place of their own they had to leave North District, since neither of them were miners. They wound up having to swing a place in West District, which is the armpit of the city. It was, of course, better than nothing, but they really wished they could have done better. My mother held a steady job as a waitress at one of the nicer places in the district her whole life, and my father hopped around playing handyman for several businesses  around town. Even still, they wound up stuck in W.D. for their whole lives, since their landlord would raise the rent every time he caught wind that they were saving up to move out to another place. So, that's where I grew up.

Seeing the way the city kept my parents down gave me a hunger to see justice done, and that's why I decided to go into the private eye business. It's not for the money; I only charge for my services because a man's got to make a living. I just want to help people. I hate watching people be taken advantage of, especially when they're barely scraping by as it is. That's why I do what I do; I want to see the people responsible for the state this city's in brought to justice, and that isn't going to happen when the person most guilty is the one with the entirety of the city in his pocket. When people can't trust the corrupt cops to take care of things, that's when they come to me, and I do whatever I can to put things to rights.

I currently live in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment on Spire Street in South District, but it's a whole lot better than nothing. The living room is also my office, so if you're ever in need, feel free to drop by and give me the details of the situation, or you can always send me an email, either way works.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D19M43K18

The third group of suspects was harder to track down information on, and considerably harder to shadow, but I think I found sufficient information on them to continue the investigation. Here's what I've found out:

Name: Bertha Bailey Age: 31 DOB: D20M22K987 Occupation: Waitress at 'Murry's' in Eastside, West District Address: Apt 12, 44 W. Lance Pkwy, Eastside, West District Routine: Wakes up at around 500am but does not leave her house until at least 700am. Activities in that two hours are unknown as she tends to keep her house secluded during the day. Works with a specific intent clearly in mind, doesn't do more than she has to based on observation. Possible attraction to one of the female cooks at the restaurant noted based on observed people of focus. After work she has several activities, however one of focus seems to be a regular procurement of drugs from several dealers. after this she usually returns to her home and partakes in the purchased narcotics. Weekends are spent secluded with only occasional trips to various stores to resupply, and occasional visits to the Tungsten library.

Name: Tami Orr Age: 29 DOB: D6M52K988 Occupation: Secretary at 'Mullins' Insurance' in Northside, West District Routine: Marked for her specific affiliation with The Black Stags, Tami seems to take specific care to avoid being shadowed. She seems to take differing routes every day to work and seems to have erratic and unpredictable weekend activities. Nonetheless, she does have some consistent activities. During work she can be regularly seen going to neighboring coffee shops and office supply stores to resupply, which gives ample time to go do more nefarious activities. Despite this, none have been witnessed so far. She returns home by trolley at around 700pm, usually stopping along the way to pick up some form of food. During the weekends she regularly attends Black Stags meetings, but due to the secretive nature of the group, I have been unable to observe any so far.

Name: Chet Hickman Age: 28 DOB: D13M92K989 Occupation: Bartender at 'Bar None' in Northside, West District Routine: Due to their routine, not much information is available on Chet at the moment. It is known that they work as a bartender most of the time, and that they make regular trips to the farlands, possibly to trade with the ghosts. Other than that, any leads, romantic interests, possible addresses, or seemingly reliable contacts have turned up nothing. The ghosts, being difficult to make contact with, have not been as of this point in the investigation.

Name: Marty Bo Lancaster Age: 31 DOB: D26M102K986 Occupation: Bouncer at 'Bar None' in Northside, West District Routine:  Marty spends most of his time at the door of Bar None in Northside.  The majority of the rest of the time he generally stays in what can only be thought to be some sort of apartment or living space above the back of the bar.  It is clear that some sort of illegal activity is taking place at, or around Bar None;   A note has been made to investigate further as time and funding allows.  Lancaster routinely visits a single residence in 'the guns' at regular intervals to deliver what appears to be groceries and other sundries, and pick up small packages and return with them to the bar.  Though there is no tenant of record at this address (336 Flint St.) it is thought that a parent and/or sibling of Lancaster live there.  An older and middle-aged woman have been seen answering the door.

I feel like a got a good feel for them as a group. I'm going to wait a few days and try to do a followup on all seven suspects. When I have more data I'm going to ask Suzette to list the apartment in the paper and arrange a showing for me, so we can see what happens. I'll update as new information becomes available.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D12M43K18

Case Update:

I’ve managed to track down the second set of suspects. I managed to tail them for a few days before they started taking notice of me. I think I managed to drop them before they got too suspicious, though, so I should be able to pick up the trail again in a while. Here’s what I know so far:

Name: Max Britt Age: 23 DOB: D3M42K994 Occupation: Line cook at Murry’s Diner Address:  Apt 18, 37 W. Hook Rd., Northside, West District

Name: Jodie Britt Age: 24 DOB: D26M12K994 Occupation: Waitress at Murry’s Diner

Routine:  Both Max and Jodie were surveilled at the same time, as they seem to spend almost every moment together.  They both work swing shift at Murry's, always arriving about an hour early to rummage through the back garbage and the lost and found for anything of value.  They both have regular visits from other Northside residents, presumably related to their drug habits.  Intermittent indoor surveillance noted at least one poorly executed 'handoff' and an argument during a break spent outback between Mr. Britt and another male (avg height and build, brn hair, brn eyes, dressed in mining garb) that lasted about 5-7 minutes and ended with Britt attacking the other man, pushing him to the ground and throwing garbage in his general direction.  After work, the two go straight to 'the guns' or disposal/reclamation where they rummage through dumpsters, older buildings, vehicles, and on occasion break into residences in search of valuables and prewar relics which they then take downtown trade for drugs, or money for drugs.  After this process is complete they return home and do not emerge until the next day.  One deviation of note, was a day that only Mr. Britt went to work.  Another waitress at the Murry's was heard saying that Mrs. Britt was "in the lows again" and had called into work.  Max left work early on this night and went straight downtown to procure drugs and then straight home.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D5M43K18

Case Update:

I've been doing some research on the first suspect. By research, I mean That I've asked around town about him and I shadowed him for a few days to see what he does with his time. Here's all the information I have on him:

Name: Ward Carver Age: 48 DOB: D12M82K969 Occupation: Shift supervisor at the North District tungsten mines Address: 36 Coal Rd., Westside, North District Routine: Works mondays through fridays in the mines. Weekdays he gets up at 330am, one hour before the mines open for the day, and gets a cup of coffee at one of the two all-day restaurants in North District. He then catches the trolley to the mines and works a twelve-hour shift with one lunch break in the middle, during which he goes back to whichever restaurant the patronized that morning and has a sandwich. He goes back to the mines after his half hour break. When he leaves the mines, he takes the trolley back into town, stops at one of North District's three bars for a drink and a meal, then goes home. On weekends he spends most of his day in the bars, but he makes a stop to pick up the sunday edition of the newspaper. I didn't see any especially suspicious activity but, then again, the apartment isn't currently listed in the classified ads, so he would have no reason to be targeting it.

Further updates to come.

-Sam Marconi, PI

[marconisamuel-blog]

D31M33K18

Since the server is back up, I've decided that it would be beneficial to me to create a blog to track my various cases in real-time, and in a way that I can express my varied personal takes on matters and my theories and speculations, as I can't really do that in an official casefile. I expect it will take on the feel of a personal journal, though that isn't really my primary goal. Nevertheless, it'll be helpful to be able to put my thoughts somewhere, and for all I know someone might read this and have their own insight to add. Unfortunately, my case inbox is looking quite... sparse at the moment. I don't have much to write about, let alone anything that is at all interesting. The only current case that I have is a serial vandalism of a rental apartment owned by a very nice woman by the name of Suzette Conley, whom I used to rent from, myself. It seems that every time she attempts to show this particular apartment it turns out to be ransacked just before the showing. Windows broken out, door off the hinges, graffiti spray-painted everywhere, furniture broken all to hell. You get the idea. Clearly someone wants to keep her from renting this apartment, and she's getting pretty tired of constantly throwing money into this place to clean it up when she knows it's not going to come to anything. The only suspects are all past renters of that apartment who were evicted for being delinquent on their rent and utilities. The apartment itself is in the Northside neighborhood of the West District. It's a one bedroom, one bath apartment with a fairly spacious living and dining area. All-in-all a very good place to live, especially considering the quality of other apartments in the area. I won't sugar-coat the situation. West District is not a place you live in because you want to; you live there when you can't afford anything else. While there are some incredibly good people in bad situations who live there, the majority of West District's population is of the unsavory type. Our first suspect in the matter is a middle-aged man with a bad temper who decided that he was going to stop paying Ms. Conley the rent that he owed. When she evicted him, it took the city police to get him out of the apartment. He vowed revenge, but she hasn't seen him since. He lived in the apartment for six months, only three of which were paid for. That was three years ago. The second suspect is a young couple with a history of drug abuse. They stopped paying their rent after two months because they were spending all of their money on their drug habit. Suzette evicted them after two months of delinquency. They were belligerent when she delivered the eviction notice and she had to file an assault charge against the husband. They lived there shortly after the first suspect was evicted. The final suspect is a group of young adults, the most recent tenants of the apartment. They were evicted after only one month of delinquency on their rent, but they were also the cause of frequent police visits for disturbing the peace, as they would throw loud parties and often get into loud, violent fights with one another. In the West District, even honest people want to avoid police attention, so these frequent visits from Tungsten PD were the tipping point for Suzette's decision to evict them. They went more quietly than the first two suspects, but with their running streak of violence that on its own is suspect. I'll post updates on the case as they come.

-Sam Marconi, PI