Solve it: Death of a CEO

## System requirements

Requires iOS 9.0 or later

This is your first night as an assistant for a famous private investigator T.S.Logan, everything seems to be normal until the famous Matthew Park was found murdered and it's up to you to solve it.

Solve It was released in June 2019 as an experimental game. As a visual novel game, its art style and game mechanics are radically different from previous Haiku games. Instead of inventory items and puzzles, the game focuses on dialogue in order to find clues and solve the murder mystery.

## Synopsis

Matthew Park was fabulously wealthy, had a beautiful wife, and was renowned for his genius. In short, he had it all - that is, until he was murdered. There’s no shortage of suspects you must investigate to find the killer. Was it his son who he constantly yelled at, his wife who would inherit everything, or his investor who was disappointed in his performance?

## Characters

* T. S. Logan
* You
* Matthew Park
* Detective Will Ashford
* Cindy Park
* Herschel Park
* Penelope
* Lavinia Valeska
* Jennifer Kobara
* Nico

## Plot

*The Park Corporation Tower is a hundred stories tall. Cafes and shops anchor the ground floor. Offices and apartments stack above. A swimming pool spans the top. In the shadow of the tower is the home and office of the great detective, T. S. Logan. This is your first day as Detective Logan's assistant.*

You, the main character of the story, are the new assistant of famous private detective T. S. Logan. To prove yourself to him, you agreed to work your first case for free.

It's your first day at Logan's office. You answer a video call for Logan. It's famous CEO Matthew Park. He urges Logan to meet him at the pool at Park Corporation Tower and claims that he has important information that he can't discuss over the phone. However, by the time you get there, Park is being pulled out of the pool - dead. You meet Police Detective Will Ashford who reveals that Park called him there as well. He asks you and Logan to come to his office and make a statement. He thinks Park's death wasn't an accident.

You and Logan meet up with Ashford in his makeshift office on the 100th floor. There you find out your first clue: The police are testing Matthew's water bottle.

Later, you check in with Ashford again for the results on the water bottle. He tells you that Park died from a coronary and that he had been using a new smart drug called shim for months. As a result his internal organs were in a catastrophic condition. However, Police also discovered that Park's water bottle was spiked with pure shim, meaning that Park was in fact poisoned. Before you leave, Ashford asks Logan to talk to Park's widow, Cindy.

In the family suite, you and Logan pay a visit to Cindy to express your condolences. She seems distracted and fragile. Logan instructs you to handle her delicately. You also meet Park's son, Herschel. He appears quiet and exhausted and quickly retreats to his apartment. You ask Cindy about her whereabouts and get your next clue: Cindy recalls that she was at the pool, but left before the drinks arrived. However, Cindy can't be convinced to hire you, so you call the victims's son Herschel.

Herschel's apartment is on the 98th floor. He is playing a shooter game, but quits the game as you enter the room. Though he seems unstable and dismisses you at first, you eventually manage to convince him and he agrees to hire you and Logan. You ask Herschel for his alibi. He claims to have been with his girlfriend, but refuses to tell you more about her. While you talk, Herschel gets a video call from Penelope. According to Herschel, Penelope handles PR at Park Corp. and spent a lot of time with Matthew before he died.

You visit Penelope in her office. Penelope seems cooperative and has an alibi: At the time of the murder, she was live on the air. She reveals that there have been conflicts in the Park family: Herschel has had a fight with his father the night before, and Matthew and Cindy were having a trial separation. A divorce would have left Cindy with nothing. For information about the state of the business, however, she tells you to ask Lavinia, the majority shareholder who owns the lounge on the ground floor.

You find Lavinia in her lounge. There seems to be a mutual attraction between you. You ask her about Matthew and she tells you that she is not only the major shareholder but was also the first one to invest in his business when noone else believed in him. Lavinia also knows about Herschel's girlfriend. She won't tell you her name, but she states that Herschel never leaves the building, so his girlfriend must also live there. She remarks that Matthew was frequently sneaking out with Penelope and went on business trips with her, which distracted him from his work. You ask Lavinia for her alibi and she claims that she was showering after yoga class. She reveals that Matthew's work performance had been slacking lately and brings up the possibility that his death might have been a suicide.

Back at Penelope's office, you find her in the middle of an interview. The interviewer asks you several question about the case and you also find a new clue: Matthew's first wife died under mysterious circumstances. You confront Penelope about the affair and she hands you a key to a motel room.

At the Capri Motel, you find the room and examine the things that were left behind: shim bottles, a laptop on the bed and explicit pictures that confirm the affair. Then, you get a call from the motel clerk. The woman believes you are Penelope and asks you to confirm the credit card info. You learn that Matthew had a secret credit card (optional: Romance Logan for 80 Sleuth Points).

Back in the Park Corp. building, you ask Cindy about Herschel's girlfriend. She confirms Lavinia's suspicion and tells you that Herschel met his girlfriend at yoga class. She recalls that the girl's name is Jennifer.

You find Jennifer in the yoga studio. You remember that you went to university together, but she suddenly dropped out. Jennifer explains that she had to leave school because her visa expired. You question her about Matthew Park and she claims that she never met him. Jennifer confirms being with Herschel at the time of the murder, but she recalls seeing a lady with colorful hair who was moving a bottle by the pool.

You ask Jennifer about the fight between Matthew Park and Herschel. She says that they fought over her because she and Herschel were going to run away together. You notice that she keeps referring to Park by his first name although she claimed that they never met. Finally, she admits that she was working for Park. He was also the one who convinced her to drop out of school and work for him instead. She did all of Matthew's work, but he didn't get her a work visa as he had promised so she was trapped. When she started seeing Herschel, hovewer, she finally found the courage to fight back. She stopped doing code for Park and his work went downhill as a result. That is also why he fought with Herschel, who was going to run away with her.

In the lounge on ground floor, you tell Lavinia what you found out about Jennifer. She already knows that Matthew had help with his code, but wasn't aware that the girl was exploited to do all of Matthew's work. She offers to arrange everything for Jennifer when the time is right. Then she calls in Nico for you to question. He is the pool boy who found the body.

You question Nico. He tells you that he was working behind the pool bar when Matthew came in with Penelope. Nico made them their drinks and put them by the pool. Then Penelope left and Matthew jumped in the pool. Several minutes later, Nico realized that Park wasn't moving and pulled him out of the water. Unfortunately, Park was already dead.

You confront Lavinia about Jennifer's observation regarding the 'colorfully-haired lady', but she denies moving Matthew's water bottle. She says that she was at the pool with Cindy, but claims that she left early because the drinks took too long. She tells you to ask Nico to confirm her alibi.

As expected, Nico confirms Lavinia's alibi. He also reveals that he took Park's phone and offers sell it to you. (optional: Romance Nico for 80 Sleuth Points). Nico also tells you that Matthew's last words were directed at Penelope, but he didn't hear what he said.

Penelope tells your Matthew's last words were 'Blind Capri', though she claims she doesn't understand what that means.

You return to Capri Motel. You discover that Matthew's last words were a clue to unlock the laptop. The laptop contains a video and some encrypted folders. The video was taken by Matthew Park shortly before his death and it is a message for Logan. Park tells Logan to finish the investigation that he started since he knows that he has not much time left. Then the motel clerk calls you. She warns you that a man is running toward your room. Suddenly, a hired muscle with a ski mask bursts through the door. A fight ensues, but you and Logan manage to escape with the laptop.

In Logan's office, you text Jennifer for help with the encrypted folders. She finds you a decryption utility in the dark web. Then she tells you goodbye. She explains that she feels it is best if she returned to her home country, leaving the company and Herschel behind. (optional: Get them back together for 80 Sleuth Points).

You decrypt the folder and find out that Matthew's investigation was focusing on the drug shim. In another video to Logan, Matthew explains that he was addicted to shim. When he found out that Herschel got hooked as well, he started to collect evidence against Lavinia, who is the source of the shim. He reveals that Lavinia is part of the Black Ops family, criminals who use drugs to manipulate and blackmail CEOs and take over their businesses. Park had enough proof to ruin Lavinia, so she killed him. Suddenly, the thug from the motel barges appears and attacks you. However, Logan pulls out a gun and overwhelms the baddie. He admits that he was sent by Lavinia.

You present the evidence to Herschel and ask him how to proceed. He leaves it up to you as long as his family is safe.

In the end, you decide how to confront Lavinia. The case is solved and Logan asks you to keep working for him.

## Trivia

* When you first enter Hershel's room, a scene from Allied Spies can be seen on the TV screen.
* On the main menu, the key chain on Matthew's laptop is the Haiku games' logo.