The contents of the box
Picking up where they left off, in the courtroom, the small box that's been retrieved from Windibank's Pawnbrokery has turned out to be a music box. Inspector Gregson objects to the music disc being played, but the prosecutor is unfazed and allows it to happen anyway. But once it finally plays, it's just singular notes! Is there more to this than meets the eye? Ashley Graydon laughs off, believing that he's been vindicated and saying the music box is "broken".
At the prompt, select the second option, "It could be a clue". Then, select the third option, and say it's "Not supposed to be music". Suddenly Mr. Graydon is not amused anymore, but you will still be asked to provide evidence to explain what's going on here. Iris examines the box and reassures you, it's not broken... but for some reason it was specifically made to be only able to play a single note. How curious, right?
When prompted, present Today's Newspaper, BUT make sure you have examined it first. You might have come to this point without doing so, and in this case, examine it, turn it around and check the back where the news are upside down. You will be updated about a leak in secret communications between Great Britain's Ministry of Justice and its allies. The plot thickens... Anyway, once you're done examining this, the evidence will update and NOW you can present it.
In conclusion, the contents of the music box appear to be a message in Morse code. Also, the communications office that deals with such high-level communications is the one that employs Mr. Graydon and Juror 5. Two months ago, a negotiation went underway inside the omnibus for the information conteined in the disk, but said item ended up unclaimed at the pawnbrokery. If anyone found it before it made its way out of the country, the person responsible for creating it in the first place would be in pretty big danger, so the culprit had to recover it at all costs... and everything is pointing to Ashley Graydon as the mole who made this all possible.
Once again, Graydon is asked to testify to counter these accusations, and the Skulkin brothers want to chime in too.
Graydon, Nash and Ringo's Testimony: Graydon's Counter
- Graydon: A mere communications officer couldn't possibly steal confidential government information!
- Graydon: Besides, the sounds produced by that music box aren't even Morse code!
- Graydon: It was some low-class brickmaker negotiating with McGilded anyway, was it not? I've no relation to the man!
- Nash: Look, all we dun is break into the gaff the other night like wot 'e told us to do!
- Ringo: If we'd known there woz dodgy gov'ment secrets involved, we wouldn't 'ave touched it!
Graydon's Counter: Cross Examination
The Skulkin brothers have finally admitting to breaking and entering, unaware of any "conspirations" behind it, and also admit that Mr. Graydon was with them, even though he denies it. The Small Music Box will be added to the Court Record' before the cross examination starts. Immediately examine the underside of the box. Ryunosuke will talk about how pushing the button will open it up. It looks like you can insert a second disk in there and it will play in sync with the one in the top mechanism. Remember that info, you will need it.
Press statement 1 to learn from a very starstruck Juror 5 that Mr. Graydon is actually the leader of a team in charge of setting up and testing every single one of the telegraphs used by the ministry. Not only that, but he works closely with the ministry itself and is one of the best code-crackers she knows. Graydon doesn't seem happy about her giving away this info.
Now, press statement 2. Graydon and the accusation claim that the sounds in he music box disk aren't Morse code because it's impossible to discern between the dots and dashes that form a message in said code. Graydon is happy and laughing again, but not for long.
When prompted, choose option 2, "Give it a try", to try and prove that Morse code can be played with this music box. You will be sent to the examining screen. Check the button on the bottom of the box again and present the other side of the music box. Unfortunately, since we don't have a second music disk at the moment with which we can prove our Morse code theory, the music box will have to be set aside for later.
Let's go back to the cross examination. Press statement 4 and, when prompted, pursue Ringo Skulkin. They will tell you that they have known Graydon from long ago, because he grew up in the same area as them and he used to be poor. However, he was clever from a very young age and would come up with ideas the Skulkin brother could never even imagine themselves. When asked, choose option 1, "Add it to the testimony", and a new statement about what you just heard will be added.
Now press the new statement. When it asks you if you want them to elaborate select option 2, "The business name", if you want to progress the story. You can choose option 1 too, but the only thing you will get from it is some fun backstory.
Once the plot moves on, you will pose an interesting question: if the milk delivery scheme was run bu the Skulkin brothers and Graydon, where did the "Milverton" part of the name come from? You might guess where this is going... Of course, Graydon doesn't accept anything the brothers are saying and doesn't want them to keep talking, but there's nothing he can do. As it turns out, Graydon's family was very poor and his father struggled so much with money that his mother walked out on them. She took the Graydon surname then, but Ashley's real surname is Milverton. He denies it, but Van Zieks points out that he works for the ministry, and as such, his personal details are recorded and can be checked at any moment. Unsurprisingly, the Skulkin brothers are telling the truth. As a side not, for consistency purposes we will still call Graydon by his current surname.
But what does all of this have to do with the current case? Graydon wasn't riding that omnibus two months ago and there's nothing linking him to that case... is it? Wait for a couple statements to roll, and then present the McGilded Case Notes on statement 3. If you've checked out the notes previously, then you might have noticed something that's very convenient for us right now... "Thrice-Fired" Mason's real name was Mason Milverton. The bomb has dropped —the victim from the omnibus case was Mr. Graydon's very own father.
The defence's theory is that Ashley Graydon was stealing confidential information from the ministry, encoding it in music box disks sets of two for safety, and selling it to McGilded through his father Mason to make ends meet. One of their deals went awry, and Mason met his end inside the omnibus. The disk that was present in that crime scene that night was the one that ended up being seized by Inspector Gregson, and is in your Court Record now. You also believe the missing disk was stuck inside the music box, and that it was stolen by Graydon on the night Mr. Windibank was shot.
Of course, Graydon doesn't accept all of this "nonsense", but he has been such a drama queen and has been gesturing so much that now there's blood seeping through the left sleeve of his coat. There's no need to examine him for bullet wounds anymore! Ashley Graydon will finally admit to being at the crime scene that night and sustaining a bullet wound.
The next mystery to unravel is upon us: if Windibank's gunshot hit Graydon, and the brothers's shot hit Sholmes, where's the gun from which the fatal bullet was shot? The only logical conclusion is that the third intruder, Graydon, was also armed, and was the one to shoot at Mr. Windibank. However, said man is not going down without a fight: he will now claim that his presence at the crime scene, to which he has confessed, makes him a key witness, and as such he claims to have witnessed the moment in which Gina shot Mr. Windibank. He states he has "his hands firmly around my client's neck", and he's about to testify about it. This guy gets creepier by the moment...
Graydon's Testimony: The Moment of the Shooting
- While these ruffians were jostling with the broker, I was still near the entrance to the shop.
- When Windibank threw Nash over the counter, I felt a sharp pain in my arm.
- I pursued the man but he shut himself in the storeroom. I could see him through the peephole in the door, though.
- The accused, in a black coat, shot the man in the back as he was trying to flee to safety!
- I saw the blood spatter all over that wretched girl.
- Then she tossed the gun out of the peephole. So I picked it up...and made my escape.
The Moment of the Shooting: Cross Examination
Press everything, but remember to press the 6th statement, pursue Nash when the time comes.
Then the cross examination gets interrupted.