Case No. 31
CAFE & DINER TESTAMENT · LAS VEGAS, NV · ALL DEBTS COME DUE
BARISTA: DOVER D. DEMON
CAFE: TESTAMENT
DATE: LATE FEBRUARY
RECEIPT ID: TSL-04
Hey superstars! So—uhm—yikes, Secret is pissed and getting closer and closer to the Cafe. I know, I know, we gotta do the thing with the old lady again, which, I don't even, like, get, y'know? I was there the last two times Doris O'Neal showed up and stuff, and I still don't even get what she… does? Or is? Or… I dunno. Also, we're only on Case No. 31 by my count. That's super early for Doris O'Neal to be showing up, right? Cuz like, the first time she showed up briefly at the verrrrry end of Folie and I didn't really get what her deal was, and then she showed up in the Nova stuff around Case No… uh… like 503? 504? Not 31! Jeez. Guess we're jumping the shark already…
Sorry.
Inside baseball, I guess. You know, I might be the only person who actually keeps up with the archives on the website besides the Auditor and CaDence haha. Anyyyyyy—way, Secret's back and, like I said earlier, he's pissed off at Alex (understandably so). I've been doing what I can to give him a bit of a run-around, but my powers can only do so much before I start accidentally crossing wires that shouldn't be crossed (remember Devil Will Drag Us Under?!) So… yeah, we'll need an actual plan here for Secret, and I doubt we can just kill him again.
Alex has got to be cooking something up. He's always cooking something up. I guess… no. No, no, no, no. No way that would work, right? We can somehow lure Secret's Eidolon back to the Teal Room and somehow get him to go in and shut the door again, right? He's totally mindless beyond wanting to kill Alex, but even he'd have to know not to fall for that again. Plus having him chase us all the way to Requiem seems like a lotta work and they've got their own Eidolon issue to deal with.
Caffeinated Report: C-TSL-05
"By broadcast signal: It's 10 P.M. — Do you mind where your children are? Alternatively, an absolute woe to Waller's plans."
Comic Book Trivia | 2 Words
Caffeinated Report: C-TSL-06
"On the subject of Alex's password—what a twist! Though, monkey see, monkey do, I guess."
Spoiler Trivia | 2 Words
Caffeinated Report: C-TSL-07
"It's hot to eat out?!"
Internet Trivia | 5 Words
BARISTA: AUDITOR
CAFE: ALL
DATE: EARLY MARCH
RECEIPT ID: TSL-08
If this is to be a space that I cannot go to, I should be the one to choose it, yes? I do agree with Melody's base assumption of building the restriction from my blood, which, consequently, would be my father's blood as well. That would be the easiest "filter" we can find. Pour-overs are easy enough to make, assuming the filter fits and does a good job keeping the grains out while still getting a decent extraction. I've done the research, both geographically and for any conflicts within the coffee trade, and I've found the perfect place to bring my father for his pour-over.
Fernley, Nevada.
It's a six-and-a-half-hour drive, which would be a ~60% chance of success, by Amber's guesstimating, and ~80% with Mam's help. It is… empty. Furthermore, it is desolate. There is nothing there worth anything to me or likely anyone else for that matter. And I suspect the locals will be unaffected by any swirling secrets in the air. There is no known connection to the coffee trade, either. In fact, it is in something of a "coffee desert," which, yes, it is also a regular desert as well. Pyramid Lake holds some value in the trade, but it should be far enough away to not be a big issue, and moreover, we tend to have little business with Mrs. Pitt anyway.
It's perfect. It's far enough from Vegas that I wouldn't worry about Alex's safety, and should Melody's pour-over spill or her filter fall in the grounds, we'd have enough time between there and here to pivot. So, all that is left is a simple game of Spy vs. Spy. We need to lure Secret to Fernley without overtly arousing his suspicion that we are trying to entrap him. The good news is this plan has been laid out in the diner, meaning he has no way of knowing it in advance, seeing as it is certainly not a secret.
Caffeinated Report: CD-TSL-09
"From the Meadows to England, across to Japan then to France, later on to China—man! Man, what a ride!"
Research | 2 Words
Caffeinated Report: C-TSL-10
"Highest Green, From Zero LP, 1st to 15…"
Board Game Trivia | 2 Words
BARISTA: AUDITOR
CAFE: ALL
DATE: LATE MARCH
RECEIPT ID: TEST-02
Ms. Wilkes' tab has thankfully been paid, and she has decided to go patronize Cafes up north for the time being. Now, it is true there is not a solid method of paying her tab in full, but a partial payment is good enough for me. Good riddance, I say. The world is far, far better off without her looming about, spreading her awful secrets. Perhaps in the far off future we can devise a more permanent way to pay her tab, but for now I am happy with where she has ended up. Don't dare to think it will hold her forever—nothing can, almost nothing, maybe nothing; expect nothing to be able to hold her—for what it's worth. Death certainly didn't.
Though, moving on from her and all that she has wrought and back to our more pressing octogenarian: Doris O'Neal. Dover has laid a trap for her here in Vegas, specifically centered on the Luxor. She should be drawn to a specific slot machine where Alex and Amber can do whatever it is they intend to do to draw her into the cause of the Cafe and Diner. I doubt whatever they are planning to do will work, but I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised all the same.
Doris O'Neal is what I would consider an omen. She is a harbinger of things to come. Horrible things. Destructive things. Behram's specialty. Though I have yet to personally observe a direct confrontation with the youngest of the Princes, I know to fear what he brings. To fear what he did and can do again. Though before we can truly tackle Behram, we'll need to gain a full mastery over the Pieces of Fate, which, by my auditing thus far… Well, it leaves much to be desired on all fronts.