Door in the Dark (Inactive)

Game Master Anon A Mouse

Rani passed her hand out, eager to try out her location spell. It probably wouldn't give anything but a vague direction from here, but it might give them an idea if she was in the father's home.

Ahmad looked at the note and furrowed his brown, eventually deciding to keep. “’Look for meaning in numbers,’” he remembered one of this week’s horoscopes. That one wasn’t very reliable, but perhaps this time it would come true?

Before Rani got too far with her impromptu ritual, Ahmad opened the doors at the back of his van. “Just in case anyone gets curious…or something goes wrong.”

Rani smiled winsomely. "Chat can possible go wrong? There's no feral kittens here to attack en masses." Still, she hoped into the back of the van and kicked her sandals off before she sat, cross legged, and focused on the ancient tome. "ابحث عن الشخص الذي تسربت روحه إلى هذا القماش وأرني الطريق إليها," she said. It wasn't Ancient Egyptian. It was a variant on Egyptian Arabic, from what Rani could tell. The words flowed from her as she cast, the meaning lost on her.

But it worked. Mostly. Some of the time. Usually.

Use Magic: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2) + 2 = 5

It almost worked. Maybe. Rani could swear she felt the magic starting to take hold, trying to zoom in on Alice. The wham! It was like slamming into a wall. It didn't hurt but it certainly made her jump. After several moments of prodding, it became clear there was something blocking her magic from reaching Alice.

Mark XP Rani

Out will be harder. Just have to be quiet while I'm in there.

Gingerly Taryn slid herself farther down, limbs pressed against the walls of the vents to give her all the purchase she needs.

Rani sighed and called back, "Something's not working. Something's blocking me. Maybe when we're closer I'll be able to break through?" It wasn't going to work here, at least. Rani grabbed her shoes and popped the blanket away before climbing into the front of the van in a fashion a young woman in a sundress probably shouldn't.

"I'll close the vent, since you were supposed to be in the bathroom," Alfie says to Oscar. If no objections are raised, Alfie begins to screw the cover back onto the vent.

"If she comes out through the door, it shouldn't be a problem.

"What now? Is there anything else you can do?"

I'm guessing Rani and Ahmad are heading to Bryce's since the tracking spell didn't work.
The drive across town to the address Sarah gave them was uneventful. Suburban houses gave way to the few shops and restaurants that made up what passed as the "downtown" area of Sioux Falls. That too fell away to tightly packed apartment buildings. Ahmad's GPS had him turning down a side street and heading to one of the more cramped outcroppings of building. Side alleyways sported signs of half-washed away graffiti as building managers tried to cover signs of age with too cheerful paint. While certainly no where near as bad as the slums in cities, it was clear this was a less affluent part of the town. The apartment building Bryce now called home blended in with the rest. It was about 5 stories tall, the apartment number suggesting he lived somewhere on the 3rd floor.

What do you two want to do?

*****

Sheriff Department Vents
After bracing herself against opposite sides of the vertical vent enough to slow her descent to not be hurt, Taryn continued her crawl through the dark vents following the scent of chemicals. After a few more minutes, she came to another grate opening. The room on the other side was dark and quiet. A quick test-push yielded resistance; most likely this grate, like the one on the floor above, was secured via screws on the other side.

Any chance there will be ancillary effects of Unholy Strength here?

Pausing to listen, Taryn could vaguely hear the clickity-clack of someone typing on a keyboard. While there was no one in this room, there was someone in an adjacent area who might hear the rending of metal if she wasn't careful about her application of strength.

Rani shrugged simply. "We should probably just go and knock on the door, right? Or ring the bell or whatever."

“Sure. Let’s try this,” Ahmad said and tried pressing the buzzer. Once. He waited a few seconds, looked at his shoes, looked around himself and pressed it again.

If no one replies.

“Meh, no reply, as expected, I guess. Shall we try a neighbour on the same floor? Might be good to start thinking about alternatives…if only we could, like, take a quick look inside? Just to be sure there isn’t anything clearly wrong? Astrology doesn’t really let you peek inside people’s houses.” He spoke as he pressed the next door neighbour’s bell.

"To be honest, I don't really know where Taryn is off to. Perhaps we should keep our ears open over here for a few minutes?"

Oscar nods.

@Alfie and Oscar: If you want to wait and see if you hear anything, you're welcome to. But so you're aware/in case you haven't been reading her spoilers, Taryn's on a different floor from you in a slightly different part of the building. If you can hear her, she's probably yelling into the vent or doing something equally loud.

*****

Bryce's Apartment
Much as Ahmad had expected, there was no answer when he rang Bryce's doorbell nor any indications of movement from inside. When he pressed on the neighbor's doorbell there was the sound of some muffled grumbling. After several moments, the door opened a crack, the chain still on. On the other side a brown haired man who looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days peered out. "Yeah? Whatddya want?"

Ahmad put on his earnest, most worried smile. “Oh, hi! Sorry to bother you, but we’re trying to get a hold of Bryce, your neighbour next door…something happened to his daughter but he hasn’t been returning our calls, doesn’t answer the bell, all that. We’re getting really worried. We were thinking perhaps you had a spare key, being his next door neighbour and all?”

manipulate someone: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 3) + 2 = 11 Ahmad’s been rolling pretty well so far…

@Alfie and Oscar: If you want to wait and see if you hear anything, you're welcome to. But so you're aware/in case you haven't been reading her spoilers, Taryn's on a different floor from you in a slightly different part of the building. If you can hear her, she's probably yelling into the vent or doing something equally loud.

Yes, I've been following along. But I don't see that she's been yelling or making a loud noise. Quite the opposite. And to emphasize Alfie's last statement, she didn't tell us where she was ultimately headed or why. She didn't seem to care about the morgue in particular, so I don't know if Oscar would make that connection. He did see that she had something in mind, and he was ramping up to provide a distraction, but it ultimately proved unnecessary. I'm trying to avoid metagaming, but if you want to provide something that might indicate to Oscar and Alfie where she's headed, that's cool, but I'm also fine if this leads to a bit of inactivity for Oscar. Sometimes that happens in games like this.

I guess there's one inference Oscar can make...

Oscar watches Alfie putting the screws back into the vent.

"Wouldn't... wouldn't the vent at the other end also be screwed in?"

The man sneered, "What do I look like, his mother? Didn't even know he had a brat. Sure as hell don't have a key. And before ya ask, I'll tell ya what I told those coppers: no idea when he was here last. We keep to ourselves 'round here. Don't go sticking our noses where they don't belong."

If you would like to use the roll to ask for something else of the neighbor or to use it elsewhere in pursuits of getting a key, you can, but Bryce isn't the sort of person who would have given a key to his neighbors.

"Thank you for that," Rani said politely. Strange, angry men were not new to her. "I don't suppose there was anything you couldn't but notice? Odd noises, perhaps? Coming and going at weird hours?" Snarls like an angry wolf was next door and you'd likely ticked him off by being an ass today? Rani was tempted to ask but knew any kind of blame on this guy would see him slamming the door.

I assume we can’t see inside the guy’s house?

‘Is he a scorpio…? They’re always so aggressive.’ Ahmad waited in silence for the reply to Rani’s question whilst trying to read the man a bit better. Did it look like he was hiding something beneath that hostility?

Trying to use the empath move here. Seems like this is a different roll?

Empath: 2d6 + 0 ⇒ (6, 6) + 0 = 12

Alfie thinks for a moment. "So she may need our help to open it, I suppose. We don't know where she went, but if we're doing unauthorized roaming around the police department anyway, we may as well try to get near the morgue, where we wanted to be in the first place. We can listen along the walls on the way there to check if Taryn is there."

Hopefully plausible enough to solve the metagaming problem.

Oscar looks around warily and then nods.

"Have you been there before?"

The man rolled his eyes. "Weren't you listening, woman? I don't go sticking my nose in others' business. Why the f%$+ would I be monitoring when someone else comes and goes? There's been nothin' weird. Go bother the manager with your dumb questions."

*****

The sound of Taryn crawling led Oscar and Alfie straight to the door to the bullpen. Before they could follow it through though, Deputy Thompson stepped forward to block their path. "Woah, slow down there fellas. I'm afraid I can't go letting you in there. That's for oh-ficial police business only. Now, if there's anything else you fellas need, just let me know, and I can get the requisite paperwork for you."

I wanted to unblock character motivation for doing something. That doesn't mean I'm going to remove already established obstacles for you. If you could simply walk from the lobby to the morgue without dealing with Deputy Thompson, I wouldn't have told Taryn the vents were her best way in.

Rani smiled cheerfully. "Thank you, anyway. Hope your day goes well." She glanced over at the door to the other apartment, now that they knew the guy next door likely wouldn't pay much attention if they were quiet...

I wanted to unblock character motivation for doing something. That doesn't mean I'm going to remove already established obstacles for you. If you could simply walk from the lobby to the morgue without dealing with Deputy Thompson, I wouldn't have told Taryn the vents were her best way in.

I wasn't expecting that there were not any obstacles to us making our way to the morgue. That's the main reason I was trying to create a distraction earlier.

Oscar looks at the door to the bullpen, noticing if there's a keypad, card reader, or other sort of device providing security to it. He glances around the bullpen through the glass to note what other exits there are from that area.

“Yeah, thanks—” the door was already closing. Ahmad shrugged and said, loudly. “Well, might as well leave!”

He took a few steps towards Bryce’s door with Rani and then spoke in a lower tone. “Wonder what he’s doing inside…well, anyway, if everyone around here is like this guy, speaking to the other neighbours is going to be a waste of time. Can you, I don’t know, magic up some keys and abracadabra this door?”

As he spoke, he put his hands on his pockets and felt the crumpled note he had found at the Campbell’s place. He looked around, trying to spot any sort of combination lock.

If that fails, which I'm pretty sure it will, he will also look for the key under a rug, flower pot, loose floorboard, etc.

Rani glanced at the locked door and smiled a little. "I wonder if, perhaps, it was left unlocked?" She muttered, "قفل أقول كلمات افتح يا سمسم," with one hand on the book as she reached out to touch the lock. Magic whispered between the metal, seeking to push just a tiny bit, until it would pop...

Use Magic (Pick Lock): 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 5) + 2 = 10

Hopefully this isn't too much for Use Magic. If it is, ignore this.

Taryn waited.

Her prey wasn't going anywhere, and the one who was close was being helpfully loud. Once they fell silent, once her nose told her she was alone, then she would strike. Hopefully silent, but certainly swift.

"Oops, sorry, wrong way," Alfie mutters and turns around.

When the police officer is sufficiently far away from them, he says quietly to Oscar, "I'm afraid to take another chance getting past there without official approval. Once is suspicious; twice already seems criminal. Deputy Thomson doesn't want to let us in, and our best chance might just be to find Dr. Gates elsewhere, or someone who could let us see him for another reason, unless Taryn shows up again with a better plan."

I wasn't expecting that there were not any obstacles to us making our way to the morgue. That's the main reason I was trying to create a distraction earlier.

Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. :-)

Sheriff's Department Lobby
The door to the bullpen looks fairly simple: there was a keyhole allowing the door to be locked, but that was about it. From what he can see, after entering through the doorway, a short distance ahead was a hallway going off to the right. His gaze moving counter-clockwise, there were a few doors and windows along the back of the bullpen with what appeared to be name plates or labels, but they were too far away to make out what exactly was written on them. All but one of them were currently closed with the blinds drawn. Through the window by the ajar door could be seen an older man with gray hair sitting at a desk. Continuing around, there were another two doors on the left wall as well as another hallway.

*****

Sheriff's Department Vents
5 to 10 minutes passed during which Taryn heard more typing. There was the occasional sound of a chair scraping across the floor, each time causing Tayrn to perk up in case the other person was about to leave. But each time there was another scraping sound followed by more typing. It did not seem like whomever it was planned to leave in the immediate future. Do you want to try something else or continue to wait? If you continue to wait, how long do you want to wait for?

*****

Bryce's Apartment

@Rani: My response to if you can Use Magic to pick a lock is this: Use Magic has a specific list of options to choose from. Can you think of a way to use one of those options to get the effect you want? If not, it's going to be a Big Magic usage, and I can come up with some requirements for you.

Ahmad looked around. This floor was fairly plain. At one end of the hallway he could see the old, almost painfully slow elevator they had used to reach the third floor. After a short landing area in front of that, you reached the hallway he was currently in. On either side of the hallway were labeled doors, behind which were the apartments themselves. The carpet covering the floor was clean but starting to look rather worn with a few miscellaneous stains in different places.

All the doors appeared fairly similar with a buzzer, an eye hole, a doorknob with a keyhole in it, and a second keyhole a little above that, likely for a deadbolt. The only flower pots in the area were by the elevator landing with very obviously fake ferns in them. Only one door had a Welcome mat on top of the carpet floor. It looked very grimy like it had been used to wipe one's feet many times.

"I'm afraid to take another chance getting past there without official approval. Once is suspicious; twice already seems criminal. Deputy Thomson doesn't want to let us in, and our best chance might just be to find Dr. Gates elsewhere, or someone who could let us see him for another reason, unless Taryn shows up again with a better plan."

"Fine, but Taryn won't be able to tell us a new plan if she is stuck in the air vents. Go back and take the screws out of that vent grill and see if you can set it so that it just rests over the opening."

Oscar waits at the end of the desk next to the hallway as if he's waiting for Alfie to finish up in the bathroom. He'll have to think of something if Deputy Thompson starts taking an interest in Alfie's whereabouts.

Do One Thing Beyond Human Limitations might apply, as picking a lock without a pick wouldn't be impossible but would be difficult. Otherwise, inflict 1 damage might apply, damaging the internal mechanism so the door opens. If neither of those works for you then we'll go with it didn't work.

Alfie nods and goes to do as Oscar suggests, loosening the screws enough for Taryn to open the vent from the inside if necessary. Then he hurries back to Oscar.

Sheriff's Department Lobby
As Alfie and Oscar step away from the door to the bullpen, Deputy Thompson returned to his desk. For now he seemed content to stay there rather than investigate the group's apparently sensitive insides. As Oscar stood watch, Alfie once again removed the screws, leaving the grating covering the vent. It seems stable enough for now.

*****

Bryce's Apartment
With a few arcane gestures and words, Rani sent first one then another bolt of energy at the two locks, melting them. It would be pretty obvious to the next person using the door that someone had broken in, but for now the two were left undisturbed.

The interior of the apartment was dark. A few rays of sunlight poked in around the heavy, drawn curtains. In the light that spilled in from the hallway, Rani and Ahmad were able to make out that the door opened into a living-room type area. They could see a beat up old couch and an armchair that looked like it was threatening to fall apart. Both were positioned to point to what looked like a reasonable enough television set, though it seemed to lack any kind of stand or table and instead sat directly on the plain carpet covering most of the area. There were a few fold-up tables with the odd child's toy laying on them.

There appeared to be more open space to the right and a dark hallway to the left.

When Alfie rejoins Oscar, the tall man stands up straighter as if he's finally done waiting.

"Any thoughts where we could find this Dr. Gates?"

Ahmad frowned looking at the lock after Rani was done with it. “Well, they’ll certainly know someone’s been here. Let’s try not to touch things with our bare hands,” he said, taking a pack of paper tissues from a pocket and opening the door.

Once inside, he whispered. “Is it just me or there’s something creepy about this place? Do you think he could be here?” He walked slowly and silently towards the dark hallway, trying to see where it would lead.

Rani wiped down the handle to be safe, and followed inside, flicking a lightswitch if she could find one. "I don't know, it just seems...empty." She wasn't over concerned if anyone found the lock broken. She'd only meant to melt the internals, but such was life. Proving she'd been there and proving she'd melted a lock with no tools were very different things. "Like it's just a place to keep his stuff."

Sheriff's Department Lobby
As Oscar and Alfie were deciding what their next move should be, the familiar figure of Fatima Elmohtar came barging into the lobby with an anxious-looking blonde woman in tow. "Ahh, Andy. How did I know it would be you manning the fort, eh? Here, I brought you some harissa to keep your energy up. I see Vince is at his desk as usual. Don't worry, I can see myself in."

Clearly surprised, Deputy Thompson almost tripped over himself as he intercepted Fatima's path. "Ahh, I'm sorry Mrs. Elmohtar, but you can't go in there without an appointment."

"Bah, appointment. Do you know who this is?" She pointed at the woman next to her.

"Yes that's-"

"This is Sarah Campbell. Maiden name Davis. You know, Vince's daughter? His own flesh and blood?"

"Yes, I know but-"

"But? But? Are you saying you would deny this poor woman access to her father in this her time of need?"

"Well no, but-"

"She has not see her little طفل in days and is going out of her mind with worry. Aren't you my dear?"

At Fatima's expectant look, Sarah hesitantly spoke up, "Well, I mean, I just thought...if he's not too busy..."

"Pah! Too busy? What parent is too busy to see their only child? There, it is settled, we will go see him."

Fatima stared pointedly at Deputy Thompson as the younger man's mouth flapped open and closed as he tried to figure out how to respond.

Up to you two if you want to engage with this or do something else.

*****

Bryce's Apartment
Looking around quickly, Rani flicked the light switch on next to the open doorway where she stood. The living area now illuminated seemed to merely emphasize her point about it seeming empty. The decor was minimal and seemed to consist of a few photos and maybe half a dozen childish drawings taped to the wall. More toys could be seen lying haphazardly around, little hard landmines on otherwise open carpet.

The off-white glow of the overhead light also allowed the duo to see the area further to the right contained a small kitchen with what appeared to be an ajar pantry door. Down the hallway Ahmad had started to creep towards were four doors, two on the left and two on the right. The near left doorway was open slightly, revealing a tiled floor and the edge of a counter beyond. The other three were closed. Still nothing moved in the apartment.

What are y'all doing with the front door? Keeping it open? Closing it? You obviously can't lock it, but it'll still latch and there's one of those door chains you can use to prevent it from being easily opened.

Ahmad was looking into the darkness when Rani turned on the light. “Oh, yeah, that’s better,” he whispered to himself. “Perhaps it’s better if we close the door?”

After he said that, he briefly peeked inside each room, starting from the one that’s already partially open. “Is…is anyone there? Bryce? I’m sorry, the door was open, we were worried something happened.”

Alfie looks at his partner and gauges what he thinks to make of the unexpected visit.

Alfie wouldn't want to barge in after Fatima for an uncertain benefit, unless Oscar goes ahead and follows her.

Rani pushed the door closed, to avoid anyone getting worried if they happened to wander past. "I'm starting to wonder if the thing in the forest might be the father," she mentioned to Ahmad. "Either way, it doesn't look like the girl's here right now, but we'd better check and see if she was."

She moved to the pantry to check in there. If he was a monster then finding something horrible there wouldn't be shocking. Plus kids tended to go for sugar. True, Rani herself ate more or less the same things, but a lot of adults had a special Child Stock. If it was depleted or refreshed might tell them something.

Bryce's Apartment
Starting from the ajar door and moving clockwise.
The first room was a fairly typical bathroom with a toilet, sink, bathtub/shower combination, mirror, and some cabinets. It had about the various hygiene products one might expect, including both an adult toothbrush and what appeared to be a child's My Little Pony toothbrush sticking out of a plastic cup that was serving as a holder.

The second room was closet containing mostly some barebones cleaning supplies along with a few coats hanging up.

The third room what a bit of a chaotic mess but still clearly a bedroom. A few drawers lay half hanging out of the dresser they were part of and the odd article of clothing lay crumped on the ground. On the same side as the door to the hallway was another closet with some clothes hanging in it, several empty hangers, and a few hangers with their clothes in varying states of about to fall off and join their companions on the floor. In a slightly more ordered state were a bookshelf that was more than half empty, a smaller set of drawers, and a pair of cardboard moving boxes that seemed to be serving as impromptu tables.

The fourth room was also a bedroom but clearly meant for a child. An attempt had been made to make it look cheery and homey but the effect was lessened by the lack of actual things in it. There were a few posters from My Little Pony and She-Ra on the walls along with more child's artwork. A child's miniature easel sat with a box of well-used crayons next to a small doll's house. The bed was neatly made with starry sheets and on it sat a relatively new-looking stuffed bunny rabbit.

As Ahmad was poking about the hallway, Rani took a look in the kitchen area. Much like the rest of the apartment, it was rather barebones. A loaf of generic sliced bread lay next to the previously-mentioned landline and answering machine. The sink had a few plates waiting to be washed, and the fridge had a paper calendar taped on it. Next to the fridge was the, to put it generously, half-full pantry. It was mostly various canned goods ranging from vegetables to Chef Boyardee to soups with other miscellaneous things like a half-eaten box of Lucky Charms, a couple of boxes of different pop tarts flavors, and of course, instant ramen. A few things looked like they had been recently purchased but they appeared to be replacing something about to run out.

“Well, neither he nor Alice are here, so at least we know that for sure now. And her room is kind of sweet.” Ahmad crossed his arms for a moment. “I guess what seems weird about this place is that, well, this isn’t the only low-income area in town, you know? Why did Bryce choose the dodgiest one is my question, I guess.”

The counsellor returned to the rooms and began to search the bedroom more attentively: the bookcase, its books, boxes, clothes and drawers, trying to touch things as little as possible and always with a tissue. He kept his eyes open for anything that could indicate information about Bryce’s whereabouts or his recent business: notes, opened letters, hopefully a computer with a “12345678” password.

“Hey, Rani, do you think that tracking trick can work on Bryce? There’s plenty of used stuff here if you want to try.”

"It should, yeah." Rani took the item and looked it over. "If it has a personal connection I think I can get it work."

@Ahmad: Roll Investigate a Mystery for searching through Bryce's messy/chaotic room.

Investigate a mystery: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 2) + 1 = 9

Sorry, somehow missed the fact there was an appropriate movefor this.

Move question: what was Bryce going to do?

Alfie looks at his partner and gauges what he thinks to make of the unexpected visit.

Alfie wouldn't want to barge in after Fatima for an uncertain benefit, unless Oscar goes ahead and follows her.

Oscar agrees. The risk is too high for the reward. However...

Oscar is curious if the deputy will let the women in. Maybe he and Alfie could learn something. He keeps still at the end of the desk, trying to remain unobtrusive so that he won't affect the ongoing conversation.

Bryce's Apartment
It was initially hard to tell in the chaos of the room, but Ahmad eventually started to notice that there was more room for clothes than were scattered about the area. He checked the hamper in the closet and confirmed they weren't simply waiting to be washed. Between the number of items missing and the beat up, old, wheeled suitcase sitting unused, it looked like the man had grabbed enough clothing to last between several days to a bit more than a week, depending on how adverse he was to wearing the same things over and over again. Most likely he wasn't planning on returning here for a while. The fact that he hadn't taken his suitcase further suggested two things. First, that wherever he had left for was probably not one of the business trips Sarah had mentioned. The second was that he likely wanted to more mobility than a suitcase would allow.

In the trash, he found some old confirmation printouts for bus tickets with parts cut out, presumably where the actual ticket he had needed had been. The most recent of which was a bus that had arrived in Sioux Falls this past Thursday, or two days ago, in the early afternoon. It didn't look like he had booked another bus out of town, so wherever he was headed or whatever he was doing, it seemed likely he planned to remain in this general area. Though it seemed a bit odd that he'd pack clothing while planning on remaining local instead of simply coming back to his apartment to change clothes.

*****

Sheriff's Department Lobby
Under Fatima's confident, unflinching stare, Deputy Thompson finally wilted. "Let me call in to clear it with him." He moved back to his desk and picked up his phone, dialing a few numbers to connect with another internal line. After a moment, the person on the other end seemed to pick up.

"Yes, Sheriff?"
"Yes, I know you said not to disturb you, but I have Mrs. Elmohtar and your daughter here to see you."
"I...hold on let me check." He placed a hand over the receiver as he spoke to Fatima. "He wants to know what you're here about."

Before Fatima could go on a tirade about the importance of family and how it shouldn't matter, Sarah quickly spoke up. "Let him know it's about Alice and maybe getting together a search party."

Deputy Thompson repeated the information and then winced slightly. "I'm afraid they're quite insistent, sir."
"Very well, I'll let them know." He turned once more to the duo. "He says you can go on in."

Fatima threw up her hands in mild exasperation. "Aiyiyi, you'd think we weren't talking about the safety of his only granddaughter." Sarah merely opened the door to the bullpen and headed inside. After a moment more of tsking, Fatima followed behind.

Towards the back of the bullpen, the older man behind the desk could be seen getting up and moving towards the door to the open area, gaze focused on where the two women were entering, clearly planning on meeting them part way.

Are Oscar and Alfie still planning on trying to find a way to the morgue? Asking because I believe Taryn is planning to wait out the other person in the nearby room, and if you're still trying to get there, most likely the resolution to that would happen before the other person takes a break. If you've changed your mind and want to do something else, then I may as well fast forward Taryn's timeline to when the break occurs.

Alfie jumps on the opportunity. Turning back to Deputy Thompson, he strokes his beard as an attempted display of nonchalance. "Excuse me officer," he interrupts, "but I couldn't help but hear that the possibility of a search party is being considered. You know how eager we are to help. If a search party is formed, please get in touch with us so that we can be of service too."

Alfie is no longer trying to get into the morgue, since there seems to be no legitimate way in. Fast-forwarding after this scene is fine with me.

Same with me.