Nancy Drew - The Final Scene

                  Walkthrough by Tally Ho

Day One

Holy Smokes! Maya has been kidnapped, the kidnapper threatened us,
the theater's caretaker wants to help, and told us about a secret
passsageway. Then we met Brady Armstrong. In the first
conversation with Brady, avoid mentioning searching until you have
no choice left. That way, you get the most out of that
conversation. Time to search the room. There is not a lot to look
at here. Look at the clothes rack and push aside the clothing.
There is a door, but it doesn't work. Open the Wardrobe and take
the magic wand from the top shelf. Look at the makeup-table, see
the locked drawer, then inspect the portrait over the sink. By the
looks of the money falling out of this guy's pockets, I'd say
times were good, at least for a while.  Check behind the picture
and pull the handle. You hear something unlock. Check behind the
clothes again, and the secret passageway is open. Go through. It
seems to pass around the backstage area, to the other side. If you
looked around the backstage already, you found the Women's
dressing room, but it was locked. Now you enter that room through
the wardrobe. Meet Simone. She's cranky because we interrupted her
business on the phone, and tells us to scram.

There's not much to do in her room, especially with her sitting
right there. You can exit via the normal door now, and it will
remain unlocked. There will be no further need to go through the
secret passage. Exit and turn right. Go through that door, and
take an immediate left into that double door. Step in, look down,
and pick up the coin. Proceed further down the hall, working your
way to the front of the theater. As you go, examine the photos and
posters lining the walls. Some of the magicians referred to are
made-up, but Harry Houdini was absolutely real.  Read about his
performance with the cages, his renown for the "Watery Grave"
illusion, and the fact that J.J. Thompson wagered $50,000 that
Houdini would fail in his attempt. Keep going until you get to the
theater lobby. From the central point in the lobby, you can look
all around. You see left and right sweeping staircases, an
out-of-order key machine, a game of some sort, the door to the
ticket booth, and a dude in camouflage named Nicholas Falcone.

This game is only semi-linear, and it is carefully designed so
that you will not get trapped in a "dead end" by doing things out
of sequence. High praise to the developers for getting that right!
It is not necessary to follow these instructions to the letter,
and whenever you feel like exploring, or fiddling with games,
puzzles or machines that I haven't gotten to yet, by all means
feel free.  You ARE a detective, after all, and the point of
playing Nancy Drew in the first place is to discover things on
your own.

Talk to Nicholas. He represents "Had It", which stands for Humans
Against the Destruction of Illustrious Theaters. He doesn't seem
to take Maya's disappearance very seriously; and tells us where a
working phone is.

It's time we got some professional help. Go into the ticket booth,
learn the number for the Police Department, and call them. You
have a conversation with the police sergeant, who won't
investigate unless Maya is still missing after 24 hours. That's
not much help. Let's go see what's upstairs. At the top of the
stairs, there is a choice to go into the balcony straight ahead,
or into the projection booth by going across the center. Do that,
and talk with the caretaker, Joseph. He offers to help, and
informs you that the doors have been locked, so there is a limit
to the suspects. Save asking about himself until last. Go back
downstairs and talk again with Nicholas. You learn what Had It is
all about, and that the future plans for the site are secret.
Let's go see if Simone Mueller will talk now. Off to the Women's
dressing room. Simone seems to be more interested in building her
career, even at Maya's expense. (She couldn't have done it.  How
do you kidnap someone when you are always on the phone?)

Exit her room and take two steps forward, into the backstage area,
toward that large crate. Look straight down, and see that there is
a trap door, but the crate is blocking it. Hmmm. It's too heavy to
budge. Maybe there is some way to move it. Head over to the ropes
that control the hanging sets. Untie the rope, and lower it all
the way down. Something clunks. Return to the crate, and you can
attach the sling to the overhead cable. Then back at the rope
controls, you can use the rope to raise the crate.  Trouble
finding the trap door? Walk toward Simone's room until the floor
creaks. Turn around and look down. Now you can enter the basement.
Go down, and to the right, right some more, until you come to a
panel on the wall. Oh, goody! Finally a puzzle!

What is the object of the puzzle? - The object of the puzzle is to
turn the blocks until they all show the same image

What method should I use to figure it out? - Turn the blocks until
you discover which is the only image that appears on each block.
Turn the blocks to learn which blocks are also turned.  Choose the
one that affects the most blocks first. Choose the block that does
not affect any others last.

What is the solution? - You want all the blocks to become spades.
Start with the fourth block (the club) and turn it until it shows
the spade. Next turn the first block until it is a spade.  Then do
the same with the second and third blocks. Finish by turning the
fifth (right-hand) block. You hear something unlock.

The door unlocks, to reveal another puzzle. This is not a slider,
it is harder. You must decide which piece goes where, and swap
them and rotate them until they form a picture.

Two hints are provided here, pictures comparing the beginning and
end; and a step-by step solution. If you think you need to refer
to the detailed instructions, instead of solving the puzzle
yourself, SAVE YOUR GAME before you begin moving pieces.  Unlike
the Spade-lock above, the puzzle does not reset to its original
state when you back away.

See the screenshot - solved box.

Here are brute-force instructions.

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20

For a brute-force solution, solve the puzzle in two steps. First
place the tiles in the correct place by clicking on them in this
order:
1, 13, 20, 1
2, 10, 15, 5
7, 14, 11, 4
17, 9, 2
3, 18, 3
8, 19, 8
Then rotate the pieces so they are all right-side up, by clicking
on the upper-left corner of each tile as follows:
1 - 2, 2 - 3, 3 - 0, 4 - 2, 5 - 1
6 - 0, 7 - 2, 8 - 1, 9 - 2, 10 - 2
11 - 2, 12 - 0, 13 - 1, 14 - 1 15 - 0
16 - 3, 17 - 3, 18 - 2, 19 - 1, 20 - 1

Just so you understand, "1 - 2" means rotate tile no. 1, twice.

Warning: This solution only works if you are starting the puzzle
in its original, undisturbed condition.

Okay, now you've opened the box, and discover one more puzzle -
this time two gears are missing. It's time to go exploring. Go up
the stairs, turn into the backstage area and walk up to the fire
extinguisher. Turn right, go through the red curtain, and down the
steps and turn right toward the center.  (The right-cursor is
high-up.) Walk up the center aisle three steps until you see a
piece of bubble-gum stuck to one of the chairs. Yuck! You can't
take it with your fingers, not that you'd want to. Use the magic
wand. Now continue to the back of the theater, and exit into the
lobby. Turn toward the right stairs, and find the Bees-Knees Jazz
Machine. The object here is to guide the musical note from the
upper-left, over to the dancers at the upper-right. The other
notes slide around when you move, and try to block your way. You
have to plan your route so the notes get stuck behind the barriers
and you can get by. This puzzle is something like the one in the
Royal Tower, but much easier.  There are many successful routes.
Here is one solution:

Use the arrows as follows:
R, L, D, R, R, R
D, R, D, D
R, U, R, U, R, U
L, U, R

The dancers get their music, and you get your gear. One gear to
go. Go up to the balcony, enter the left side, and go look at the
railing. See the missing medallion? Where could it be? Try looking
over the edge of the railing. Mind you don't get dizzy.  Can't
quite reach? Do you have something that could extend your reach?
Try the wand with the sticky gum. There's your second gear.

Down in the basement once again, open the box and place the gears
on the spindles. Give the main gear a spin, and what do we have
here? A key (those are always handy) and an agreement, signed by
both J. J. Thompson, and Harry Houdini, giving Houdini
half-ownership of the theater in lieu of his $50,000 reward. Well,
now! If there is a descendant of Houdini kicking around, maybe
he/she could stop or at least postpone the demolition. Before
going upstairs, go to the other end of the basement and play with
the Amazing Monty machine. Is this game randomized? I don't really
know. Sometimes I got lucky on the first try (right-hand card) and
sometimes it took three or more attempts. You will eventually find
the Ace. Your prize is a piece of flash-paper, which might be
useful for startling someone. Don't get confused with the
interface here - the flash- paper goes into your inventory, and
the instructions stay with the machine. Don't worry about the
instructions; to use it, just take it from your inventory and
'use' it on the intended target when the time comes. Let's go talk
to Nicholas. He tells the story of his grandmother, who designed
all the fancy decor, then was never paid. It seems Nick has
something of a motive for saving the theater, beyond Had-It's
connection.

Talk to Joseph. He plans to live with his brother, Jake in
Arizona, and build a theater there. He also tells you about J. J.
and the futile efforts to declare the theater a landmark. Talk to
Brady. Ask him about Simone. Ask him where he was at the time of
the kidnapping. Talk to Simone. Now talk to Nicholas about the
papers you found in the basement. He goes to the van to check his
computer. While he's gone, go forward, and look at the Theater
brochure, where you learn the phone number for the County
Administration. Look at the Had It Brochure to see Nick as founder
and president. When you step back, Joseph calls you on the P.A.
and says to come to the projection room. He has found Maya's press
pass! Rather, Brady found it. Joseph suggests calling the police,
then having a night's rest. Go to the ticket booth, and call the
county administrator's office first, then the police.

The conversations with Madeline at the County office, and with
Sgt. Ramsay are long, automatic sequences, and cannot be repeated.
If you think you might be interrupted by the phone, spouse, kids,
whatever, sve your game before you make the calls. That is the
only way to hear them more than once.

Day Two

Step forward and look at the card on the funeral wreath.  Someone
sure has a gruesome sense of humor. Go talk with Joseph. On the
way in, look at the 'missing' poster on his door.  Go talk with
Nick about the theater. Go talk with Simone about the posters,
Brady, and the wreath. Go to Brady's room and examine the
self-improvement book he has been reading. Leave his room, and
come back in. He's back, and talks about his being managed by
Simone. Maybe he should study that book a little more. Go out
front and see Nicholas. He has the number for Houdini's cousin.
When you finish with Nick, you can hear the press conference in
progress. This might be a good time to check out Simone's room
more thoroughly, and Brady's too. In Simones room, look in the
drawer. There is an insignificant object to take: a bobby pin.
Doesn't seem like much, but I've seen McGyver pick locks with
those things. Her purse yields some interesting items. Her PDA
(personal digital assistant) is not hard to get into - click on
the center (5) and then the four corners. Her calendar doesn't
look like a lot of tragedies are occurring. The e-mail suggests
that she knew of Maya, and probably answered the mail in Maya's
name. The business cards are what you'd expect, but look at that
item on the right - a receipt for a funeral wreath! Well, Nancy -
you wanted evidence.  Have a look at the camera. Push the red
button to turn it on, and the + key to cycle through the pictures.
Hey! There's Maya's pass on the floor in the basement. Now there's
Brady, finding it.  What? There's Brady in the balcony. No wonder
he fumbled the answer when we asked him where he found it. I don't
think he found it by himself, I think somebody staged the whole
thing.  Hmmmm.

Let's check Brady's room again. Look at the locked drawer in the
makeup table. Pick the lock with the bobby pin, and read the book
describing Houdini's cage trick. It seems we have the secret to
one of Houdini's famous illusions. It is possible to go below the
stage, into a secret room, and also up into a trick chair in the
audience. Clever. Could this be a place to hide someone against
their will?

Better call Houdini's cousin and see what we can do. When you go
toward the lobby, you hear another threat over the p.a.  system.
The voice sounds sort of familiar, but it is disguised. Go to the
ticket booth and call Eustacia. She's a piece of work! She gives
you a hard time, but she also gives you Sherman Trout's phone
number at the Library of Congress. Call Mr. Trout, and he promises
to send a slide of the evidence that Houdini might have been
part-owner. Go upstairs to talk to Joseph, but he is not there.
Look at his area. There is a telegram informing him that his
brother in Arizona died some time ago. Joseph seems to be hiding
that fact.

Let's see what we have so far. Joseph is suspect because he has a
motive to protect the theater, and because he lied about his
brother. Nicholas is suspect because he has a personal connection
to the theater, and he has pulled off a phony kidnapping in the
past. Brady and Simone are suspect because they could use a boost
to their publicity; Simone appears to have sent that ghastly
wreath, and Brady took part in staging a story about the press
pass. Some of the clues tend to point to Joseph: He knows his way
around the secret passages, and could have taken Maya through
there. Whoever was at the county and hid the blueprints was a man;
no further description.  The voice making the threatening calls
sounded like a man, but the voice was disguised; could be anyone -
but the Southern accent showed through. (As in "Don't let the
turkeys get you daown.")

Go to the control panel. Remember the instruction book, that
emphasized the settings must be made in the proper order?  Here's
the sequence:

Turn on the main power.
Enter the code 121192 in the keypad.
Press the left and right fader power buttons.
Pull both faders to the bottom. This brings the cages down to
stage level.
Activate the magnets.
Raise the faders one click.
Open the trap doors
Press the lock (the toggle switch on the right.)

At any time during the process you can look up and see the
progress of the cages through the window. If you do something out
of sequence, the process won't work correctly. Back away, and
begin again at step 3. Now go onstage, and examine the cages. You
can look down and see how the mirrors prevent the audience from
detecting the trap doors. Enter one of the cages and look down to
see the ladder descending to the basement.  Go down, and find a
peep-hole in the wall. You discover Maya, locked in the Magician's
chamber. Suddenly, someone closes the trap doors and you are
imprisoned. Find the trap door in the floor and go down the
stairs. To the left is a slider puzzle-lock on the entrance to the
magician's room. Try the pieces, and they are stuck. Go the other
way, and press the button that lowers the lift to the trick chair.
Go up, and find that Joseph is greasing the wheels. Talk to him,
and he gives you some lubricant. Back to the slider. The object is
to move the pieces in order to clear the way for the rabbit to go
all the way from right to left. It's not particularly hard, just
fussy. Go in and discover that Maya was indeed here. You wanted
evidence? There's her shoe, and some fairly fresh Mama Mia's
pizza. Open the chest and take the rubber gloves. Look at the
bookcase and read about flash paper again, along with some card
tricks, and a way to reveal a hidden image using a pencil.

Exit the room through the casket-shaped doorway, and you are in
the normal basement, no longer trapped. Well, not exactly.  The
gate to the stairs is locked, and not only that, it's electrified!
Use the rubber gloves so you can safely touch it. The keypad has a
code that you will have to discover on your own. Here's what to
do: Press buttons until one silently stays down. That's the first
number of the nine-digit code. Starting with that number, press
buttons until you learn the second number. Continue searching,
always repeating the sequence until you know all nine numbers.
When you do, the gate opens and you can go up.

When you get to the backstage area, you run into Brady, who's
acting a bit twitchy as usual. You tell him you need to call the
police, which you should proceed to do. Now they are interested
enough to come and investigate. Go talk with Joseph. Again he
suggests you get some rest. When you exit the room, Day Two draws
to a close.

Day Three

You begin in the ticket booth, reading today's paper. Near the
phone is a note from Joseph, saying to meet him right away.

Go see him and talk about everything, including accusing him.  He
also says something about repairing the key machine.

Go see Simone and talk about Brady.

Go see Brady and talk about Nick.

Go see Nick and talk about Eustacia and Mr. Trout.  Go to Brady's
room and take a pencil out of his briefcase.  Go to the projection
room. Joseph is gone. Look at the table on the right. Pick up the
slide, and read the instruction book for the projector. On the
last page, find the impression left by the key, and darken it with
the pencil so you can see how it was made.

You will need to duplicate this key by using the key machine in
the lobby. Save your game before you put a quarter in the slot.
Choose the correct sequence of letters in order to reproduce the
pattern seen here. The answer is S, I, V, O.

Go back to the projection room. Okay, fasten your seatbelts.
Things are going to heat up. To the right, is a cabinet. Open it
and take the projector bulb. Go to the projector and turn it on,
watching the bulb blow out. Open the projector and replace the
bulb with the good one. When you pick up the slide, a timed
sequence starts, and it is Very Short, as you will find out. If
you try to put the slide in the projector, you get nabbed.

Pick up the slide, and click on it immediately to put it into
inventory.
Close the projector
Step back twice, turn right toward the cabinet
Step forward twice to hide in the cabinet, being careful not to
click on the Acme box.
After they inspect the 'empty' room, it's safe to come out. Go to
the projector and put the slide in the front compartment. Then
turn on the light, and focus. Ooops! The focus knob fell off and
rolled under the table. Go under the table and find the tape
recorder. Pull it out, and press play to discover how someone
could appear to be in the projection booth, while they were
actually somewhere else. Push the tape recorder back, and retrieve
the focus knob. Examine the other box under the table, to realize
how someone could disguise their voice. To exit this scene, look
for an up arrow at the top of the screen. Go up twice, put the
focus knob on the projector, and sharpen the picture. Then look at
the image closely through the window, to learn where the secret
switch is to open another passageway.

When you back up, Joseph appears in the doorway. He's really lost
his grip on reality this time. Just talk to him until he goes
away. See the duplex outlet (that's fancy talk for 'electric
plug') to the right of the door? Click on it to open it, and flick
the switch to gain access to the secret passage. Close the
switch-box.  Turn right and go up the ladder. At the top, you find
a locked door. You don't really have the key somewhere in your bag
of tricks; you need to find it. Turn around and find the lock-box
on the far left wall. Your little key that came from the
puzzle-box will open this lock. Two important pieces of evidence
are there, showing that Houdini gave up his title to the theater,
and Louisa Falcone had ownership. That means Nicholas is part
owner! If we don't stop that wrecking ball pretty soon, it won't
matter who owns it. The correct key changes randomly, so take them
all. Go back to the locked door and try the keys until you get in.

There is plenty of time, provided you know what to do next. If you
take too long, first there is a three-minute warning, then a
ten-second countdown to the wrecking ball. If you are still in the
locked area, you hear the ball strike the building; but if you are
in the next room, you actually see it hit. Pow!

Step in, and see Maya locked up. Don't let that music make you
nervous. Go to the other side of the room, and see the Marquee
through the window. If we could turn it on somehow, the wrecking
crew would realize there is still someone inside, and stop the
demolition. On the way across the room, you can see a hacksaw, and
you can pick it up. Don't bother, you won't be using it. From the
window, go ahead and to the left, looking for the switch to the
Marquee. As you find it, Joseph turns up again, and blocks the
way. Talk to him until he says he never meant it to turn out this
way. Still have that flash-paper? Now is the time to surprise
Joseph with it. He steps back, and you can reach the switch. Turn
on the power to the Marquee, and all's well that ends well.
Congratulations, Detective Drew; another fine solution to a tough
case. See you in the next one.












                              - o -