The Price of Pedigree
The death of Sir Alistair Finch in his private study compels an investigation into his household. Each resident, from the matriarch to the staff, maintains a carefully constructed public identity. The physical evidence within the estate presents a complex tapestry of personal histories, financial arrangements, and social pressures that must be meticulously examined to understand the circumstances.
Initial Crime Scene
The threshold yields to the scent of hurriedly extinguished matches and cold pipe tobacco. A low, persistent tick emanates from a mantel clock. Your eyes adjust to the gas lamp's golden glow, first catching the deep, permanent indentation in the Persian rug's pile near the window, then the faint, smeared tile marks by the potted fern in the conservatory, and finally the severe, dark wood paneling that lines the study walls.
Crime Scene Environment
Lighting is a steady, golden glow from gas lamps and candles, casting long, soft shadows. The air is cool and still, carrying a consistent dampness from the garden and a pervasive acoustic density of creaking floorboards and distant, muffled household sounds. Every surface reflects a tonal vocabulary of Respectable, Tainted, and Forced decorum.
Investigation Constraints
Gas lamps, candlelight, iron locks and skeleton keys, handwritten ledgers and personal diaries, manual telephone switchboards (limited), wax-sealed envelopes, horse-drawn carriages, clockwork mechanisms, basic photographic plates. Communication is by letter or telegram; forensic analysis is observational and chemical (e.g., reagents for blood, ink analysis).
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