There are 36 clues found in this chapter. They can be divided into four categories: people present, nouns, verbs, and locations. The clues are:
Alistair Battley David Gorran Herst James Keene Koch Lazarus Maker Mary Nicolas Peter Turner Walter (people) body dead golden ideal idol lost wife years (nouns) Cabin Camp Castle Crossroads Inn Islet Manor (locations) blackmail fight find have kidnap kill (verbs)
First things first, figure out who is missing. The Thinking page reveals that three crimes were committed in this chapter, so the three people whose names appear in the clues but are not physically present at the scene must be the three dead bodies.
Nicolas Maker is still at the Order Party camp. Alistair Koch is at the crossroads. Mary Battley and Peter Battley are sitting on Lovers’ Isle. Thus, these people are alive and accounted for. There is one more living person, the man hiding in wait at the cabin. At first, he may be difficult to recognize because he has aged significantly. However, he is wearing the tattoo of the Darkhand Steward on his back, which means he must be Walter Keene, who held that rank in the organization.
Thus, the three missing – and presumed dead – people are Lazarus Herst, David Gorran, and James Turner. There are three dead bodies – one at the Crossroads, one at the Cabin, and one at the Manor. But who is who, and who killed each one?
The woman near the camp says that a man in a carriage, a man on a bicycle, and two men on horses left the camp. The carriage is at the Manor, the bicycle at the Cabin, and one horse is at the Crossroads with Koch while the other is running free. Koch is also in possession of the idol.
Presumably, the two men who left on horses were Koch and Turner, who are always seen together. A note in the runaway horse’s saddlebags indicates that they were searching for Herst, who claimed he had business “at the property of late Brother Sebastian,” which is of course Sebastian Cloudsley’s old Manor.
Thus, the second crime of the day can be deduced:
“Before noon, Alistair Koch and James Turner went out to try and find Lazarus Herst. Instead, they found the golden idol at the manor. On the way back, they started to fight over it. Before noon, Alistair Koch killed James Turner at the Crossroads.”
This leaves two bodies and two missing men – Herst and Gorran. Herst was at the Manor, so he must be the man who took the carriage and the identity of the burned corpse at the Manor, killed by the large cannon present there. But why did Herst go to the manor? The answer can be found in Mary Battley’s possession – a note from Edmund Cloudsley, dated years after his supposed death, insisting that he will find Mary and make her his “ideal wife.”
Now comes probably the largest leap of logic in the game, but it has been hinted throughout the story: Edmund Cloudsley and Lazarus Herst are one and the same. “Herst” is Cloudsley after having been made young again by the idol. It has been shown that the idol can age people, so it makes sense that it can also reverse ageing. And Herst appeared suddenly after Cloudsley’s “death,” in the company of his accomplices Gorran and Keene, so it must be him.
But who killed Herst/Cloudsley using the cannon? Peter Battley, Mary’s husband, who is currently bragging to his wife that he will “defeat all their enemies” – a brag he would not likely make unless he had just killed an enemy of theirs. Plus, Battley and Mary are feasting on rich food and wine, which could only have come from the Manor of the wealthy Sebastian.
Thus, the day’s first crime is:
“Early in the morning, Lazarus Herst went to the Manor to kidnap Mary Battley because Lazarus Herst wanted to have the ideal wife. Early in the morning, Peter Battley killed Lazarus Herst at the Manor.”
This means that the dead body at the Cabin must be Gorran. A note in Herst’s belongings revealed that Keene had asked for a meeting at the Little Mermaid Inn. A further note, found on Gorran’s corpse, instructs the person reading it to leave the Inn and go to the Cabin, the place where Herst and Keene (and Gorran) first met. This reveals the deception – Herst was suspicious of Keene, so he sent Gorran in his place. Gorran’s body is wearing a helmet, so Keene did not know it wasn’t Herst and shot Gorran. He must have figured out the deception at the very end, as he is seen shouting “I know that voice!”
This allows you to fill in the details of the third crime and complete the chapter:
“In the afternoon, David Gorran went to the Cabin to kill Walter Keene because Walter Keene had tried to blackmail Lazarus Herst to get back his lost years. In the afternoon, Walter Keene killed David Gorran at the Cabin.”
This concludes Case 11 of The Case of the Golden Idol. It also ends the journey of the titular idol, which was broken when Battley fired a cannon at Herst and is now completely useless. However, there is one more chapter – an epilogue which reveals the full story behind the game and unravels every mystery. Make sure to check out the epilogue as well as GameLuster’s other guides for each chapter of The Case of the Golden Idol!