The Lance Brekke Blues

The Lance Brekke Blues is an episode of Joshua Mendoza - Occult Investigator. It was played from the 7th of July 2013 to the 31st of July 2013.

## Summary

Joshua investigates the disappearance of a local musician.

## Time Period

Sunday the 21st of October 2012 to Tuesday the 23rd of October 2012.

## Characters

### NPC Characters

* Seeker1984
* Serena Sproul
* Tom Radlett
* Jamie Charboneau
* Shingleton Emergency Line Woman
* Lance Brekke

* Mary Grace Mendoza
* Joel Mendoza
* Kyle Mendoza
* Angelica Mendoza

## Plot

Date: Sunday the 21st of October 2012
Time: 9:00am

Place: A living room in a small house somewhere in the town of Shingleton, Washington.

Joshua Mendoza is sat at his computer, when he recieves an IM from his friend in the police force...

On the screen the message reads:

Seeker1984: Hi.

Alpha2000: Hi

Seeker1984: Have you read the papers recently?

Alpha2000: No

Seeker1984: There's an interesting article about the disappearance of a kid from your school - Lance Brekke. It all seems pretty much by the by, until you read the bit about how he'd recently started talking about how he'd met a strange figure at a crossroads who'd given him increased musical ability. It might just be some kid on drugs talking crap and then getting himself into trouble...but in this town. Who knows? Interested?

Alpha2000: Sounds like it could be worth investigating.

Seeker1984: Exactly, and worse case scenario it could turn out to just be a drugs thing and you could find the poor guy and be a hero. As ever, we at the Shingleton police department are being kept on a tight leash and they won't let us look for him for another 24 hours. Got any ideas on how to proceed? I'll do what I can to help, but just remember I cannot be found to be helping civilians, my career would be ruined.

Alpha2000: I could speak to some of his classmates see i can find out more about this strange figure and get more information about this sudden increased of music ability, find out if he was known to take drugs.

Seeker1984: You could try seeing whether you could more information on him from the school records. Either by hacking into the school website from home or by breaking into the school. Obviously I would never suggest you do either ;)

Alpha2000: I will try hacking into the school website from home, if that doesn't work then I may have to break into the school.

Seeker1984: Good luck!

Joshua logs out of the conversation.

Joshua tries to hack into the Shingleton High records.

Joshua successfully manages to hack into the system.

Name: Lance William Brekke
Birth Date: 12/03/1995
Address: 28 Allington Road, Shingleton
Telephone Number: 555-4719

Joshua switches off his computer and goes to pack a ruck sack with a torch and a short crowbar. He pretends he's gone to sleep, he tries to sneak out at midnight when everyone is in bed.

Lance's house is only a couple of blocks down the road so he walk, he arrives at Lance's house.

The lights are all out.

He stealthily creeps around the perimeter of the house trying to find a way in, looks for open windows, and tries to see if any door may have been left unlocked. Joshua finds that all the doors and windows and locked shut, so he forces open the downstairs toilet window with his crow bar and climbs down into darkness.

He gets his torch out of his bag and turns it on. Having a quick look around he sees a toilet, a sink (above which sits a cabinet), and a door. Joshua carefully opens the door so it is ajar, he listens out for danger. He hears nothing and so he opens the door fully and enters the adjacent room.

He finds himself in a living room. Shining his torch around he sees a sofa, chair, tv, book shelves and DVD shelves. He sees some stairs, a door which must lead to the garage, a door which must lead to the kitchen and front and back doors.

Joshua has a look at books and DVDs on the shelves to see if they could provide him with any clues that may help his investigation. Examining the books reveals a selection of classic novels such as Oliver Twist, and Dracula mixed in with Mills & Boone romance novels. The DVDs are a mix of comedy films like the Scary Movie series, films by Scorceze and Chick Flicks and romance movies. He stealthily heads upstairs to look for Lance's room hoping there will be something inside that may help with his investigation. He heads to the first door on the left.

Shining the torch around the room, it's a mess. The bed sheets are just thrown on, the cupboard's contents spill onto the floor, the computer's desk drawers are all on the floor. Also he can see a guitar and amp. There is also a window. Joshua closes the door of the room.  He sits at the computer desk and turns on the computer, it soon shows the desktop screen. He looks through Lance's e-mails. After a few e-mails asking where he is and if he is okay, there is an e-mail from a Serena Sproul.

It is dated the 12th of October and reads:

"Hi Lance,
Pretty excited about the battle. It should be great. I have a really good feeling about it. Hope you aren't still ill and we will pick you up tomorrow at 6pm so we can get to Rockzilla in plenty of time.

Serena"

He saves a copy of the email to his USB Stick (which he carries on his keyring) for future reference.  He makes a quick examination of the cupboard and drawer contents that are on the floor to see if I can find any clues that may help his investigation. He finds nothing of interest. Just magazines, school work, etc. Joshua leaves the room and goes downstairs.
He checks the front door to see if he can open it from the inside without a key. It has a latch lock and opens without one.
He leaves closing the door behind him and makes his way home.

Date: Monday the 22nd of October 2012
Time: 12:45am
Place: The Mendoza Household, Living Room

Joshua goes on his computer and hacks into the school records to see if I can find out some more information on Serena Sproul.

It displays:

"Name: Serena Elizabeth Sproul
Birth Date: 14/06/1995
Address: 22 Summer Road, Shingleton
Telephone Number: 555-7934"

He decides to do a Google search for Rockzilla, see if I can find out some information about it.

He finds a website: www.rockzilla.com

"Rockzilla is Washington's exciting new chain of bars dedicated to hard rawk."
Later, after much hyperbole, it mentions Shingleton.
"THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS had it's grand finale on the 13th of October at ROCKZILLA. Winners "Patient Zero" took away $500 dollars.
Props to all the other bands who entered including The Dennis, Spongebob Armageddon, Justice For Krypton, Delinquent Mass, A Different Breed, Tracy Tracy, What Have I Done?! and Scruncy."
It also gives the Shingleton Rockzilla address.
"12 Main Street, Shingleton"

It's getting late so he decides to go to bed.

Date: Monday the 22nd of October 2012
Time: 7:30am
Place: The Mendoza Household.

Joshua wakes up, gets dressed, comes downstairs and logs in to Skype. Immediately Seeker1984 messages him.

Seeker1984: Hi Alpha. Did you have any luck yesterday?

Alpha2000: I managed to find Lances address and paid a visit to Lances bedroom, things didn't seem quite right, everything seemed out of place, the room was a mess.  The bed sheets were just thrown on, the cupboard's contents were spilled onto the floor, the computer's desk drawers were all on the floor.  Maybe his room's always a mess but It could be that he either left in a hurry or possibly someone else had been there before me possibly looking for something.  There was guitar and amp in his room which suggests he plays guitar.

Alpha2000: I discovered an email on his computer dated the 12th of October from a girl named Serena Sproul, which suggests he has been ill recently, as she asks him if he is still ill.  The email said they would pick him up tomorrow, which would have been 13th October at 6pm, so they could go to the "Rockzilla" for some sort of battle.  From the email she sounded pretty excited about it.  I could send you a copy of the email if you want.

Alpha2000: On further research into "Rockzilla" I discovered it has a website which is www.rockzilla.com.  So It looks like Lance has recently gone to watch or had possibly entered into a competition called "THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS".  The Grand finale was on 13th October at "Rockzilla" which is new chain of rock bars that's recently opened, one of which is in Shingleton at 12 Main Street.  The winner was "Patient Zero" and they received a prize of $500.  Other bands that entered were The Dennis, Spongebob Armageddon, Justice For Krypton, Delinquent Mass, A Different Breed, Tracy Tracy, What Have I Done?! and Scruncy.  I'm not sure yet whether Lance and maybe Serena are members of "Patient Zero" or maybe one of the other bands or they may have just gone to watch the competition.  I managed to find an address and phone number for Serena.

Alpha2000: I hope this will help you with your investigation.

Seeker1984: Well it's your investigation really. Just give me a moment...I'll be right back.

Five minutes later...

Seeker1984: Okay I found a soundcloud page for "Patient Zero". Band members are: Tom Radlett, Suki Taylor, Jim Colgan. So no Lance Brekke there. However I managed to find out that both Lance Brekke and Serena Sproul are in a band called Delinquent Mass with one other member, Jamie Charboneau. Maybe you should get in contact with Serena Sproul and find out what she knows. Tell her you are with the school paper or something.

Seeker1984: Oh yeah and don't forget, Shingleton PD should be investigating from today onwards, so be careful to try and avoid them. Shouldn't be too difficult, they are mostly pretty useless.

Alpha2000: Okay, I will get in contact with Serena and either by email, phone, I could possibly arrange to meet her, find out what she knows.  Maybe she will be able to put me in touch with Jamie Charboneau as well.  I will probably say I am with the school newspaper as you suggested.  I will try my best to stay away from the Shingleton PD and not draw attention to myself.

Time: 8:00am

Joshua dials Serena's number.

Serena: Hello

Joshua: Hello could I speak to Serena please?

Serena: Speaking.

Joshua: I am a reporter for the school newspaper and I am doing an article on the Rockzilla, "Battle of the Bands" Competition and I would I like to talk to you as your Band "Delinquent Mass" was one of the bands in the competition.

Serena: Oh um, okay. What did you want to know? I mean, it wasn't exactly our finest hour.

Joshua: Could you tell me a bit about what the competition involves?

Serena: Well just the usual, it's Battle Of The Bands. Each band gets a fifteen minute slot and then the judges (local celebrities) choose a favourite band.

Joshua: I am sorry to hear that one of your fellow band members "Lance Brekke" has gone missing and I would like to include a piece in the article about his disappearance and hopefully it may help in the search for him.

Serena: That would be great thanks. I'm really worried about him. He was miserable when we picked him up for the battle, and looked pretty shaken up. Then, of course, he was really bad all through the set and so we're worried that he's angry with himself for screwing up the gig. He got sooo drunk afterwards and tried to pick a fight with our friend Tom. Jealousy we think. Tom was playing in the winning band. Can you put a message in saying that we're all really concerned about him and just want to know that he's okay?

Joshua: Yes, I will that.  Do you have any idea why he may have disappeared or where he may have gone?

Serena: Not really. I keep trying to think over everything that happened but I just don't know. I mean, I know he got very angry with Tom and was accusing him of stealing but he's had silly arguments with Tom before so I don't think that's it...but then...I don't know.

Joshua: Do you know how I can get in touch with Tom? I would like to get his side of the story.

Serena: Sure I have his number...hang on a second.
Serena: Okay his mobile number is 05927937045.

Joshua: Thank you.  I read in the newspaper that before he disappeared he talked about strange figure he meet at a crossroads who was supposed to have given him increased musical ability?  Do you know anything about this?  Is there any truth in this?

Joshua writes the number down to use later.

Serena: I doubt it, I think he was just trying to go for something mythic to put into the songs. He definitely improved A LOT all of a sudden, but I guess he just had a good teacher or something. He did ramble drunkening about it to me and Tom after a gig a while back. I don't remember much of it. He said something about how he was walking home after a night out and met this hooded guy who gave him some kind of stone and that it magically made him a better musician. But y'know, alcohol. Anyway, I really should go now, got to get to school.

Joshua: I've got to go now as well. Thank you, you've been a great help. I know it must be hard for you to talk about this, with your friend being missing.  I will do what I can to help find him.  Can I contact you again if I think of any other questions you may be able to help me with?

Serena: of course. Bye.

Joshua: Thank's. Bye.

Date: Monday the 22nd of October 2012
Time: 6pm
Place: The Mendoza Household, Living Room

The school day goes by surprisingly fast and Joshua is back in his living room just after finishing his tea. His brother and sister are sat with his parents watching TV.

Joshua goes and sits at his computer desk. He turns on his computer and decides to do some research into magical stones that could increase a persons musical ability.

Joshua's research suggests that it could be the "Talento Di Pietra". It's briefly mentioned on a few sites as an ancient stone first seen in Italy. Origins unknown. Touching the green glowing rock gives the user a temporary state of increased creativity for about an hour but can be harmful if continuously used without time to recover.

Joshua goes upstairs to his room where he dials Tom Radlett's number on his cell.

Tom: Hello?

Joshua: Hi, can I speak to Tom please?

Tom: Yes?

Joshua: I am a reporter for the school newspaper and I am doing an article on the Rockzilla, "Battle of the Bands" Competition.  Congratulations to you and your Band "Patient Zero" on winning the competition.

Tom: um... Thanks.

Joshua: Is this the first time your band has entered into a "Battle of the Bands" competition?.

Tom: um yeah...(he sounds somewhat distracted)

Joshua: Why do you think your band preformed so much better than any of the other bands in the competition?.  What have you got that the other bands haven't?

Tom: well we're...just better I guess

Joshua: I am sorry to hear about your friend Lance Brekke from the band Delinquent Mass going missing and I would like to include a piece in the article about his disappearance and hopefully it may help in the search for him.

Tom: uh I have to go now.
(He hangs up)

Joshua goes downstairs to the living room to the computer and hack into the school records again to see if he can find some more information about Tom Radlett.

Name: Tom Algernon Radlett
Birth Date: 20/03/1995
Address: 27 Croft Avenue, Shingleton
Telephone Number: 555-1142

He also looks up the records of other band members of "Delinquent Mass" and "Patient Zero", Jamie Charboneau, Suki Taylor, Jim Colgan, for future use in case he needs to contact any of them as they may have information that may help with his investigation.

Name: Jamie Viper Charboneau
Birth Date: 26/04/1995
Address: 11 Musket Way, Shingleton
Telephone Number: 555-5422

Name: Suki Sarah Taylor
Birth Date: 11/01/1995
Address: 18 Davis Road, Shingleton
Telephone Number: 555-1243

Name: Jim Jonathan Colgan
Birth Date: 07/08/1995
Address: 12 Pine Tree Way, Shingleton
Telephone Number: 555-4102

Joshua goes upstairs to his room and decides to call Jamie Charboneau to see if he knows anything. He dials his number on his cell phone.

Jamie: hello?

Joshua: Hi, is Jamie there?

Jamie: yeah that's me

Joshua: I am a reporter for the school newspaper.  I'm sorry to here about the disappearance of your friend and fellow band member "Lance Brekke".

Jamie: that's okay. What did you want to know?

Joshua: Do you any ideas why he may have disappeared or where he may be?

Jamie: I've thought about this a lot and all I can think is that it has something to do with Tom Radlett. He's the lead singer of Patient Zero. When they started playing, Lance looked even more angry than when we had picked him up. He just glared straight at Tom.

Joshua: I heard he was a quite upset after losing the competition and got pretty drunk and tried to pick a fight with Tom.  I heard he got rather angry with Tom and was accusing him of stealing something from him.  Do you know why they were fighting or what he was he accusing Tom of stealing?

Jamie: well he did say one strange thing during that argument. Something about a stone. I didn't really get that.

Joshua: I was going to ask you about that.  I read in the newspaper that before he disappeared he talked about strange figure he meet at a crossroads who was supposed to have given him some sort of ancient green glowing stone that increased his musical ability.  So did Lance never tell you anything about this strange figure or a magical stone?

Jamie: No. That sounds crazy...not what I'd expect from him. Are you saying he was on drugs?

Joshua: I'm not saying that.  I just want to get as much information as possible to try and help find Lance.  I heard that Lance had been ill recently do you know what was wrong with him?

Jamie: not really. I guess he just had some kind of virus or something.

Joshua: What did you think of Toms performance in "Battle of The Bands".  Do you think his band "Patient Zero" performed unusually well in the competition?

Jamie: um...well yeah they were surprisingly good. Actually whatever you do, don't print that. Say that I thought they were better than ever.

Joshua: How did your band "Delinquent Mass" perform in the Competition?  Did you notice anything unusual about Lances performance?

Jamie: yeah he was playing really bad, singing badly too, just like he used to be. It was weird really because he'd been so good recently and then...well he was shit.

Joshua: You say he used to be bad, why do you think he improved?.  Did he slowly improve over time or do you think he improved unusually fast all of a sudden?

Jamie: it was pretty sudden, I guess he must've got a different music teacher.

Joshua: Thank you.  I think that's everything for now.  You've been very helpful.  Before I go is there anything else you can think of that has happened recently involving Lance that may be connected to his disappearance?

Jamie: no...sorry

Joshua:  That's okay.  Just thought I would ask, just in case.  I hope Lance is okay and he turns up soon.  Bye.

Jamie: bye

(He hangs up)

Joshua does his homework. He's getting pretty tired as he was up so late last night visiting Lance's house So he gets ready for bed and reads a book for a while before going to sleep.

Date: Tuesday the 23rd of October 2012
Time: 7:30am
Place: The Mendoza Household, Living Room

Joshua is dressed and sat in front of his PC. Seeker1984 comes online.

Seeker1984: Hi Alpha2000. Any luck so far? The police seem to be drawing a blank - surprise, surprise.

Alpha2000: Hi Seeker1984.  I suspect that maybe this strange hooded figure mentioned in the newspapers supplied Lance with some kind of magic stone.   My research suggest it could a magic  stone known by the name of "Talento Di Pietra".  It's an ancient stone first seen in Italy. Origins unknown.  Touching the green glowing rock gives the user a temporary state of increased creativity for about an hour but can be harmful if continuously used without time to recover.   This would explain his increased his musical ability and the fact that he had been getting ill recently may be due to the fact that he might have been over using it.

Alpha2000: When I Spoke to Serena Sproul she mentioned that after losing the competition Lance was pretty upset and got a very drunk and tried to pick a fight with his friend Tom Radlett of the band "Patent Zero".  Lance got very angry with Tom and was accusing him of stealing something from him?  I think maybe Tom Radlett found out that Lance had the "Talento Di Pietra"and stole it stone for himself, this would explain Lances room being in such a mess, Tom probably made the mess when looking for the stone.  When I phoned Tom he sounded Highly Suspicious and as soon as I mentioned Lance he said he had to go and hung up on me.  If Tom has or had the Stone, this is probably why Tom's band won the "Battle of The Bands" competition and Lance's did so badly.

Alpha2000: I also spoke to Jamie Charboneau and he said he thinks that Tom may have something to do with Lances disappearance, he also said that when Lance and Tom were arguing he heard them mention something about a stone.  He said that Toms performance in the battle was surprisingly good and Lance performed terribly like he used to be, even through he has been performing really good lately. He said that when he improved it happened very suddenly.  This also suggests that Lance had this magical stone and Tom stole it from him.  I'm not sure if Tom still has the stone or if he has anything to do with Lances disappearance. I still have no idea of the identity of this strange figure Lance met at the crossroads or whether he was using Lance, maybe he wanted to use Lance to win competitions and then take the prise money for himself, but Tom stole the stone so the strange figure could have got angry with Lance.  He may have just sold the stone to Lance, but I would imagine it would be quite expensive, where would Lance get that kind of money from, maybe Lance agreed to pay him out of the prize money when he had won some competitions, but Tom stole it so he couldn't pay.  Maybe Lance has run away from this strange figure or maybe he has been taken by him.  I'm not sure if he played a part in Lances disappearance or not.  Maybe I should do some research into suppliers of magical artefacts in Shingleton.  Do you have any suggestions where I should go from here?.

Seeker1984: Hmmm...well it sounds an interesting case. My hunch would be that your most common assumption is the right one....

Seeker1984: Lance obtains the stone. (Whether or not he really got it from a "hooded stranger" or stole it...who knows) Somehow Tom finds out about the stone. Tom steals the stone. Lance realises it's gone but does the Battle Of The Bands anyway. He notices that that Tom is playing better than usual and assumes that he has taken the stone. He picks a fight with Tom. Then he vanishes.

Seeker1984: I think the simplest answer would be that after arguing with Tom, he eventually decided to try and steal the stone back. Have you tried going to Tom's place?

Alpha2000: No I haven't yet, but I have managed to find out his address.  Have you got any suggestions on how I would go about it visiting his place?.  I can't just turn up on his doorstep and ask to come in.  Not sure if saying I am from the school newspaper would work again as he already hung up on me on the phone so would probably just make up some excuse not to speak to me and slam the door in my face.

Seeker1984: hmmm, well I guess you need to get in without him noticing. If you find any evidence of foul play then you can always call the cops from a pay phone and leave an anonymous tip. You'd need to be pretty precise about what you've found or they will be bound to miss it.

Alpha2000: Do you have any suggestions on to get in without him noticing?.  Do you think I would be better to try and sneak in the day time when everyone is out at work and school, the problem with this is I risk getting seen by a neighbour.  I could sneak in at night when everyone is asleep but there might be some evidence in his room and if I looked in there I would probably end up waking him up.

Seeker1984: Daytime is a good idea, but like you said, it's risky. Evening sounds best but yeah he'll probably be asleep so there will be one room you can only enter as a last resort. Let me know how you get on.

Alpha2000: I think I will try going in the daytime but will have to be cautious.  If for some reason it feels to risky I may have to come back in the evening.  Yes, I will let you know my how it goes.

Seeker1984: Okay, bye.

Alpha2000: Bye.

Seeker1984 logs off.

Joshua takes his school bag, and puts in: his school books, lunch, a short crowbar("Jimmy"), a paper clip,  and his mobile phone. He packs a note pad and pen in case he needs to make a note of anything.

He goes into the kitchen to have breakfast with his family, before saying goodbye and pretending to go to school.

He drives to Tom's house. Once there he goes round to the back of the house and uses the paperclip to unlock the back door and get in.

First he has a look around the living room to see if he can see anything out of the ordinary. Looking around, he finds a TV with a DVD player and shelves of DVDs, and a sofa. There are several doors around the room, a set of stairs and a trap door.
He tries to open the trap door.

The trap door creeeeeeks open. He can see some steps...but beyond that...? Darkness. He realises he has forgotten his torch but luckily he remembers he has his mobile phone which has a torch app on it, so he uses this to light the way as he walks down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs a really really awful smell hits him. He covers his nose with one hand to try and block the smell and continue his way down the stairs to try and find out where the smell is coming from. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he sees where the smell is coming from. A body lays in the middle of the basement, surrounded by a pool of blood.

He takes a closer look at the body. It's a boy, he's about the same age as Joshua, he is wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. However the most noticeable thing about him is the way his skull has clearly been bashed in. Joshua suspects it may be Lance.  He goes back upstairs, closes the trap door and leaves the way he came in, closing the door behind me. He decides it's best to report this to the police as soon as possible. He goes to the nearest public payphone and calls 911 and asks for the police...

A young woman answers.

Woman: Hello, you are through to the Shingleton Emergency Line, what is your emergency?

Joshua: I would like to report a suspected murder at 27 Croft Avenue, Shingleton.

Woman: Thank you, sir. Could you tell me everything you know about the situation?

Joshua: In the middle of the living room floor there is a trap door, underneath the are some stairs leading to a basement.  It smells awful down there.  There is a body laying in the middle of the basement floor, surrounded by a pool of blood.  It's looks like a boy of about 17 years, he is wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. His skull looks like it's been bashed in pretty bad, poor guy.  I suspect he could be the boy Lance Brekke who has recently gone missing.

Woman: Thank you. Could you please tell me how you came to find the body?

Joshua: I was visiting the house.  I noticed the trap door and was curious to see what was hidden bellow it.  I opened it to find out, that was when I noticed this terrible smell coming from the basement.  I went down to see what it was and there it was in the middle of the floor, a body.

Woman: let me just take your name and we will send an officer right over.

Joshua: I want to remain anonymous.

Woman: I understand that sir, however a name would be really useful for us to follow up the investigation.

Joshua: Sorry I can't give you my name.

Woman: ...okay, thank you for your time, an officer should be with you in the next 10 minutes or so.

Joshua: I won't be there when the officer arrives.  I don't believe there is anyone at the house right now accept the body.

Woman: (she sounds confused) um...okay...bye then.

Joshua hangs up the phone and go to school.

The rest of his school day goes pretty much the way he'd expect. He gets in trouble for turning up to school late but other than that it's business as usual.

That evening Joshua watches the news with a certain amount of satisfaction as Tom Radlett is suspected of the murder of Lance Brekke after an anonymous tip-off.

THE END.