Who Killed the Case Officer?

## THE SECRET

Case Officer Norbert Hammerstroem thought a member of Working Group RAIN WHISPER was compromised, and had him killed. The rest of the group fragged him in response, framing a cult called the Brothers of Sleep for the murder.

## THE BRIEFING

Local police made a welfare check on Case Officer Norbert Hammerstroem this morning after he failed to answer several calls on his DG phone. They found him ritualistically murdered in his home. You’re on point to investigate.

## THE CRIME SCENE

Norbert was killed in his home office. His body is laid out like a five pointed star. His chest cavity is peeled open with five incisions in a star pattern. Painted on the walls: FOR THE LORD OF SLEEP FOR THE LORD OF SLEEP FOR THE LORD OF SLEEP, repeating.

Norbert had been drinking enough to impair him.

Cause of death was strangulation by a cable or rope applied from behind, crushing the airway and breaking the hyoid bone.

Time of death was probably 11:00 PM

The mutilation was postmortem. The cuts were made by someone who knew how to dissect a corpse.

The paint is coal tar epoxy, the kind a mariner would use.

The sim card and hard drive are missing from his DG smartphone. These can’t be traced remotely.

His gun - a beautiful Rock Island M15 - is missing.

There are no fingerprints, the assailant wore gloves.

The lock on the kitchen door was forced in a manner that wouldn’t have made any noise.

The venitian blinds on the office window are broken, like someone yanked on them.

Outside the window, the bushes have broken branches, like someone was rummaging through them.

(ROBERTA made noise in the bushes to lure him to the window, RICARDO snuck up behind and strangled him)

A thorough search of Hammerstroem’s office finds a phone number hidden in the spine of one of his books. (This number is how he contacted JONAGOLD)

## NORBERT HAMMERSTROEM

Colonel Hammerstroem was a real hardass - active duty AFSOC before DG moved him to a desk job at the DIA. He had no family outside a sister, who’s in Berlin and won’t arrive to identify the body for at least a day.

Agents can learn the following from his notes:

Norbert’s main working group was RAIN WHISPER - comprised of agents RENE, RICARDO and ROBERTA.

Norbert took an ultraconservative approach to casework. Wiping out anyone who knew even a single spell, ordering just-in-case killings of witnesses, turning agents over to the Security Director or Research wing if they behaved strangely or cracked under pressure.

(Reading between the lines, this was all motivated by genuine fear. Something terrible happened to him once. A seemingly innocuous incident with horrifying results)

Norbert recently got an anonymous tip that a missing persons case several months ago was actualy a ritual murder - the Brothers of Sleep were implicated, a local cult led by sailor Mike Pelerin. He was looking for a third agent to reinforce RAIN WHISPER before ordering them to investigate.

(Very thorough investigation of the tip comes back to a homeless man, who a very nice nurse in the ER (Agent ROBERTA) paid a thousand dollars to make a phone call)

## WORKING GROUP RAIN WHISPER

Working Group RAIN WHISPER is inactive, pending the addition of a new agent to replace RENE. RICARDO and ROBERTA can be contacted using information in Norbert’s files.

(They killed the Case Officer. He killed RENE, and they know he wasn’t the first agent to meet a suspicious accident. They tried to frame the Brothers of Sleep for the killing. They didn’t expect Delta Green to investigate thoroughly before going in guns blazing, because their case officer taught them to shoot first.

They don’t want to fight the Agents. They’d rather convince them Hammerstroem needed to die. They have the sim card from Norbert’s DG phone. It has evidence that he obtained the ok from Security to kill RENE, and record of the call he made to JONAGOLD to arrange the hit. They offer this as proof that it was self defense. It was only a matter of time before he decided they needed to go too)

## RICARDO

Deputy Lon Fujimoto is a US Marshal. His Delta Green adventures have left him obsessed with cleanliness, making him fastidious about crime scene cleanup but slowing him down at critical moments.

He strangled Norbert while ROBERTA distracted him, then painted the words on the walls. He took Norbert’s gun to plant on the cult.

If investigated, RICARDO is guarded. He respected Norbert for understanding that war is messy and not every kill is clean, and for giving his people the tools to do their job. But the guy didn’t know when to quit. He’d start fights and poke things until they blew up in his face. That’s probably what happened to him.

His alibi for the night is he was at a baseball game. The stadium confirms the ticket was used, but thorough investigation finds it was a friend of his who showed up with it.

## ROBERTA

Elaine Eck is a nurse practitioner. Thanks to Delta Green adventures her thoughts are consumed with self defense. She’s currently suspended with pay after striking a violent patient in the throat to protect one of her ER staff.

She distracted Norbert so RICARDO could sneak up on him, then mutilated the body.

If investigated, ROBERTA is eager to help. She’ll find the “evidence” pointing to the Brothers of Sleep if the Agents haven’t already. If they’re credulous, she warns them that she’s seen this before - they can’t let any of the Brothers speak when they liquidate them.

ROBERTA’s alibi is she was at home painting a model the night of the murder. The Egyptian SU-100 has a nice shiny basecoat, freshly applied last night. An expert knows she could have altered the room temperature to change the rate it dried, making it look like it was applied the night of the murder.

## RENE

Lieutenant Tam “Grit” Robinson, MARSOC is dead. Heroin overdose. In reality he was too curious for Norbert’s liking. When he learned that Tam was studying the copy of “Illuminating Wisdom of the Other Worlds” that RAIN WHISPER picked up on their last operation, Norbert panicked and had JONAGOLD assassinate him to contain the “tome rot”, making it look like an accident. The surviving RAIN WHISPER agents weren’t fooled.

## THE BROTHERS OF SLEEP

Two years ago, sailor Mike Pelerin found a creature in a fishing net. A basket star the size of a basketball. Now he keeps it in a fishtank in his basement, which is full of couches, mattresses and futons. Once a week, the Brothers of Sleep sleep in this room and it sends them dreams. Sometimes the dreams are terrifying, sometimes they’re peaceful. Sometimes it asks them to do something, and rewards them with a wonderful fantasy next time they commune with it.

There are eight Brothers (and Sisters). They’re good friends, like members of an obscure hobby or subculture. None have any covert skills. Only one goes armed in his daily life.

The Brothers killed a man for the starfish, several months ago. It sent them dreams on how to get away with it. Six hope they never have to kill again. One enjoyed the experience. One joined afterward and has yet to hear of it. The cult didn’t kill Norbert and don’t know who he is.

One of the Brothers is secretly flipped by RAIN WHISPER. They picked up Wilson Chu, dragged the cult’s secrets out of him, then turned him loose with instructions to keep his mouth shut. If accosted by the Agents, he assumes they’re with RAIN WHISPER and insists he hasn’t told anyone anything.

If Agents visit his home within twelve hours of Norbert’s death, Mike is at sea and hasn’t heard the news. The fishtank is still in the basement. When he gets home he panics, loads the fishtank in his truck and hits the road, terrified of retribution for a crime he didn’t commit. He isn’t good at tradecraft and is easy to track.

RAIN WHISPER hid the Case Officer’s gun in Mike’s basement after killing him. He wasn’t home to stop them.

## AGENT JONAGOLD

Cpl Brent Vargas, Army Rangers retired, is a veteran of the militia movement, responsible for bombing MAJESTIC facilities in the 1990s. Left in the cold after the handover, Norbert offered him amnesty in exchange for occasional under-the-table jobs. JONAGOLD doesn’t ask if they’re Nazis or Commies or One Worlders or Lizards, he just learns their routines and makes it look like an accident. He doesn’t know some of his targets were Delta Green agents. One was RENE.

RAIN WHISPER left JONAGOLD alone. Without Norbert giving him jobs he’s harmless, content to hunt and fish the backcountry. If Agents approach him as fellow DG agents, he’ll cooperate. But if they surveil and harass him, he thinks MAJESTIC is back and goes full unabomber.

## NPCS

### RICARDO - Deputy Marshal Lon Fujimoto

**STR** 13, **CON** 13, **DEX** 12, **INT** 11, **POW** 11, **CHA** 8

**HP** 13, **WP** 11, **SAN** 41, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Adapted to Violence

**SKILLS**: Alertness 50%, Athletics 40%, Bureaucracy 40%, Criminology 50%, Dodge 40%, Drive 50%, Firearms 50%, Forensics 30%, Heavy Weapons 50%, HUMINT 60%, Law 30%, Occult 50%, Persuade 50%, Search 50%, Stealth 60%, Unarmed Combat 60%, Unnatural 5%

**ARMOR**: 3 points of soft Kevlar, or 6 points of plate carrier and helmet

**ATTACKS**: Glock 9mm (50%, D10)

Unarmed (60%, D4-1 or pin/disarm)

M1A (50%, D12+2, 5 AP)

**SPECIAL TRAINING**: Lockpick (DEX)

### ROBERTA - Elaine Eck, Nurse Practitioner

**STR** 11, **CON** 10, **DEX** 13, **INT** 13, **POW** 13, **CHA** 12

**HP** 11, **WP** 13, **SAN** 51, PTSD

**SKILLS**: Alertness 40%, Bureaucracy 40%, First Aid 60%, Firearms 40%, Forensics 40%, HUMINT 40%, Medicine 40%, Melee Weapons 50%, Military Science (Land 20%), Persuade 40%, Pharmacy 40%, Occult 20%, Psychotherapy 50%, Science (Biology) 40%, Unarmed Combat 50%, Unnatural 2%

**ATTACKS**: Smith Wesson M&P (40%, D10)

Unarmed (60%, D4-1 or pin/disarm)

Syringe (50%, 10% lethality poison w/ D6 minutes onset)

### JONAGOLD - Cpl Brent Vargas, Army Rangers Retired

**STR** 11, **CON** 13, **DEX** 11, **INT** 12, **POW** 12, **CHA** 7

**HP** 12, **WP** 12, **SAN** 39, Conversion Disorder (Loses Hearing in Stressful Situations), Adapted to Violence

**SKILLS**: Alertness 50%, Athletics 50%, Bureaucracy 30%, Craft (Mechanics) 40%, Demolitions 60%, Drive 40%, Firearms 40%, First Aid 40%, Heavy Machinery 50%, Occult 30%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 40%, Persuade 30%, Unarmed Combat 50%, Unnatural 3%

**ATTACKS**: M9 (40%, D10)

Hunting Knife (50%, D6, 3 AP)

Unarmed (50%, D4-1 or pin/disarm)

SKS (40%, D12, 3 AP)

IED (15% lethality or higher)

### BROTHER OF SLEEP - Insignificant Cultists

**STR** 10, **CON** 10, **DEX** 10, **INT** 10, **POW** 10, **CHA** 10

**HP** 10, **WP** 10, **SAN** 40, Obsession (Starfish Dreams)

**SKILLS**: Alertness 20%, Athletics 30%, HUMINT 20%, Melee Weapons 30%, Persuade 30%, Unarmed Combat 40%

**ATTACKS**: Knives (30%, D6, 3 AP)

Unarmed (40%, D4-1, or pin/disarm)

Pepper Spray (50%, inflicts skill penalty)

One .38 revolver (40%, D8)

## Credits

Who Killed the Case Officer? was written by mellonbread for the 2019  shotgun scenario contest.

Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are © mellonbread, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Who Killed the Case Officer? is not available here under CC-BY-SA.