Mysterious Package Company

The Ghost in the Machine is a choose your own adventure style narrative game.

Once you have read the instruction sheet and checked off all the assets in the game against your checklist, we recommend beginning your investigation by reading the introduction in Book One: Daylight.

Having read the introduction, you will have a better idea of what the case is about and can begin formulating a plan for your investigation.  

Once you have read the introduction you will have various names and places that you are able to "visit" and investigate. You can use the Directory to lookup both names and places throughout the experience.

Once you get back to your office, Gamp encourages you to go and investigate the Death of Truman Walker and his cousin, Reginald.

You leave the office to make a call at The Walrus Hotel. As with all other businesses during your investigation, you can find this as a listing in the Directory.

Following this thread will eventually lead you to the crime scene and some old colleagues.

You leave the office and make a call at the Walrus Hotel. Once you have followed a numbers of leads to the Walker's residence, you visit the gates of the Olbright Mill.

After a couple of near misses, you get inside the mill and come face to face with your old colleague, and nemisis, Fischer.

After the usual back and forth with Fischer, you decide to continue your investigation elsewhere, but not before swiping a set of police documents sit ing on the edge of a table.

Open Evidence A.

When you open Evidence A, the Police Reports, you are faced with a number of leads to explore. Have you followed up on all of those yet?

Reginal Gamp's Police Report is of particular interest here. I'm sure they log specific information under the case numbers.

Following the case number lead from Reginal Gamp's Police Report, you are taken to his Mother's House.

You walk out the back and ask his Mother a series of questions. She doesn't know much, but she does give you the location of his workstation at the Mill, Lead 718.

When you get to 718, you don't find much. While snooping around the area you come across Walker's office. The main door to his office is locked, but in the receptionist's area you find a Map on the wall.

Open Evidence F. 

Have you investigated all the leads on the Police reports and the inside of the mill on the map yet?

Probably as good a place to start as any...

You are asked to visit all the locations on the map within the Mill. In doing so you get directed to Ruth, Walker's old receptionist.

She mentions a partial name of the Walker's Accountant. Likewise, having investigated all the leads across the Police reports, you get the other half from McCormac's employer.

Piecing the accountant's name together and searching for them in the Directory might reveal some details about the Mill and the Walkers.

Once you visit Ruth Dunn and Cole, Kohl & Co. you get the Accountant's name: Oscar Jackson.

Looking up Mr Jackson and his accountancy Firm in the Directory you are taken to his offices.

Mr Jackson leads you to the Walker's residence where you talk with Florence about the sale of the Mill.

On your way out, you decide to poke around a little bit and end up finding something in a jacket pocket.

Open Evidence B.

Once you get the matchbox from the jacket at the Walker's residence you follow that lead. If you are having any issues, perhaps the matchbox itself can guide you...

You have escaped from the 'pit' just in the nick of time. Gamp mentions you should meet him across the road, the Map could probably help with that.

You finish you pint out the front of the Queen's hand and go to tip your hat to Gamp, "Not another lost hat!".

You remember visiting Florence Walker earlier in the day and taking your hat off to enter her home, perhaps it would be worth heading back there now to follow up...  

You are at the door of Walker's office and Kit has just given up on you. You need to find someone else to help you.

Checking the inside Map of the Mill might help again...

But remember, it Takes a ghost, to catch a ghost. 

Once you get the matchbox from the jacket at the Walker's residence, you follow that lead to 854, a florist's storefront. Initially stumped, you roll the matchbox around in your hand for a minute before it hits you. It isn't the code but rather the box itself!

Heading over to the Queen's Hand Public House, you get into the bowels of the joint by rattling off the odds of "Lunch if You Lose" aloud: 3-1... or 321.

Once down in the basement, chaos ensues, and you barely escape with your life. Gamp helps out, and his final words to you before a miraculous escape are "meet you across the road". By looking at the map, you ascertain that 809 is the location across the road from the Queen's Hand.

After a pint with Gamp, you go to tip your hat to him, but oh no, "Not another lost hat!"

You remember visiting Florence Walker earlier in the day and taking your hat off to enter her home. You revisit her and are guided to another interaction with her.

You visit Rampart's office, and Blackburn prompts you to check out Walker's office again. You know you'll need a key, so you look for a locksmith, but no go.

After following leads through the article about Blackburn, a visit to Helen, Eugene, Helen again, and ultimately the bakery, you find Birdy again.

Birdy helps you acquire a lockpicking expert to help you with Walker's office. After an unsuccessful attempt at the door, Kit disappears, leaving you to find help elsewhere.

From the inside of the Mill Map, you remember "Getz" mentioning that it takes a ghost, to catch a ghost, so you return to him by adding up the letters of his name.

Open Evidence E.

Once you received the key from Getz, it is your job to investigate that lead.

The key from Getz gives you the number of the door to Walker's office. You follow that and reach the end of Book One: Daylight.

You begin Book Two: Darkness. Once you finish the introduction, you...

Open Evidence C.

The Ledger provides you with a new cache of leads to investigate. As an experienced Detective, you are encouraged to investiagte everything and anything.  

When you interviewed Regina Kelsey at the Mill she mentioned she might be able to help you find the Ghost. But first you will need to to have three ex-employees divulge the location of their ghost sighting. Once you have that information you can subtract the lower lead numbers form the higher one for those rooms.

Remember, current employees don't count...

You've hit the point in your investigation where it is perhaps all getting a little bit above your paygrade.

You decide it's time to find someone with spiritualist expertise, so you search the Directory in hopes of someone who fits the bill.  

It looks like the "Ghosts" left you a clue. Upon investigation, it seems as though they had been moving the plancette around in the hopes of leaving you a message.

Gamp is a man of passion with a strong accent. There usually is very little you can understand once he gets going.

You've been trying to pick up Cockney for years, but some words still escape you. A trip to the "library" often helps.

On your pervious visit to Ms Dunn's residence, she introduced you to one of her friends. Perhaps a snoop through the Directory or the Map will help she sme light.

Ms Dunn produces a love letter that matches that of the torn note found in Walker's hand when he died.

Examine the letter carefully and follow the evidence.

You first visited her during the day. You have a hunch she might be across the road in the her gardens.

As hinted earlier on inside the Matchbox, you have stumbled across a secret code that the four friends have used since they grew up together.

You check your pockets for the photo you took from Eugene's murder wall, and begin to use that with the note Elizabeth just gave you.

Once you have found the ledger you get to work chasing up the leads it presents.

One of the main take aways from the ledger was the final two location of the ghost sightings from ex-employees: Ronald Rust in the Warehouse (162) and Lucy Vaughan in the Ring Room (170). having already collected the first location from Kit in Book one, in the Dust House (576), you are able to visit Regina again.

576-170-162 = 244.

From there a series of discoveries push you out of your comfort-zone, so you sort the experience of Madam Preternatural (761).

After collecting one of the ghost's possesions from Getz, you chase the ghosts, before they leave you a message on a Ouija board. Investigating it carefully you realsise they want you to visit "Gamp". You head back to the office (018).

You find Gamp busy painting his cousin's portrait, the two of you decide to jump in a Andy McNabb (cab) and head over to his Aunt's house for the wake.

While at the Wake you run into Pastor Bernand and Ruth Dunn. The Pastor disappears before you have time to follow him, while Ruth leaves you a clue.

Using the Map and the Directory you find "Kingfisher Farms", following that lead takes you to Ruth;s house where she presents you with a discovery.

Piecing the two portions of the note together, you realise this is motive for the murders. You head to the London Fencing Club to follow up on it.

Florence has no time for you and, apart from having no idea what the note is, is sick of your presence today. You decide to followup with the only other lead you can think of...

You go to the gardens across the road from Elizabeth Rampart's home in the Book One. You visit the Gardens (419). Here Elizabeth spills about her Grayson and her husband's relationship. She gives you a clue to find out more about them all.

On the photo on Eugene wall we see the images of three people with one ripped off, under them is written:

Walk the Floor

Walk it True

Part the Sea

Burn the Sun

The note Elizabeth gives you breaks the code for this silly little code system of theirs. The codes rhyme with the names of each of the characters. Using Florence as an example:

- First number is the number of letters in the first name: Florence 8

- The second is the number of letters in the final word: Floor 5

- The third number is their order in their group photo: 4

So the numbers are:

Florence: 854 Walk the Floor

Truman: 642 Walk it True

Casey: 533 Part the Sea

Grayson: 731 Burn the Sun (He is ripped out of the photo)

Following up those leads reveals a pile of notes in Walker's Office. One of which suggests that Grayson was stalking Pastor Bernard every evening at 1.30am. Following Lead 130 takes you to the graveyard and Pastor Bernard.

You will be prompted to solve the case at the conclusion of the narrative. You will see the Prompt:

Perhaps, Detective, it's time you solved the case...

At that point, the encourage you to fill out the investigation questions before opening the solution story.

You race after a figure entering the factory in hopes of catching the door before it closes. Unfortunately the only thing it catches, are you fingers.

Perhaps, while you are nursing a sore hand, you could head back through your contacts in the front of your notepad?

You investigate the ink box and note and eventually find yourself scoping the ink factory. You race after a figure entering the factory in hopes of catching the door before it closes. Unfortunately the only thing it catches, are you fingers.

You are go back through your contacts and find Paddy's Mother's birth date, which allows you to open the door and head to 715.

After dealing with the "Mother" and Josephine coming in to save the day, you make your way to the Mill, before ultimately ending up before the Red Lord.  

Lead 738 prompts you to solve the case, as that lead represents the conclusion of the narrative. You will see the Prompt:

Perhaps, Detective, it's time you solved the case...

At that point, the encourage you to fill out the investigation questions before opening the solution story.

Truman Walker is listed as Edmond Walker. His name should be Truman Walker on the Police Report.

Blackburn, G is located in the incorrect area of the Directory. This should be in "B" not "T".

We have found an issue in this lead where some of the copy has been lost between the pages. Please find the correct copy below:

You approach the figure through the cemetery fog. As she comes into focus, you realise who it is.

“Josephine?” you say softly.

She spins swiftly, a hand inside her pocket. On her face is a look of fear, then slow surprise.

“Detective? What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry to have caused you alarm. I was visiting Pastor Bernard.”

You look down at the headstone before her. The engraving reads:

Andrew Eli O'Malley

1866 — 29 July 1895

Your courage and love

transcend all space and time. 

“Would you prefer I leave?” you ask.

“No,” she says. “Please stay.” There is silence for a moment. “Is the Pastor alright?”

You reach as if to take off your hat, but of course it isn’t there. You look at the sky. Same result. “Actually, no. I don’t believe he is,” you say. “I just informed him that his missing boy is, in fact, deceased. I cannot imagine.” The breath from Josephine is sharp. You turn to her.

“Oh gods,” she chokes, and looks at you. “But I can.” Then tears begin to stream. And though you reach out, it is as if the fog stops your hand.

“I can stand it no longer,” she sobs. “The darkness

of unknowing — only imagining.”

“I don’t understand-”

“My girls!” she cries. “My beautiful, wondrous girls! I am so scared, Detective!” You wait, and watch her – a vicious battle raging bethind her eyes. She catches her breath and holds it. “You must understand, what is at stake. All this time, I’ve feared I would condemn them — that I would be their killer, simpy for seeking help. But now I must!” She grabs ahold of your arm. It is like a warm bite upon your heart. You steady yourself.

“I can help you, Josephine. But you have to tell me…”

“Blackburn!” she says. “Grayson Blackburn! I believe he has taken my girls!”

For a moment, all goes quiet. And then, like a flood, it pours from her: How first he came to her husband — this man he’d known back in Birmingham, had in fact financed the first stages of designing the Red Lord. But that was long ago – so many dealings, since. And as far as her Andrew knew, such things had long been settled. The man, though, would not let it go. And the more he threatened, the more Andrew understood: he could never let him have it. It was all he could do as it was — to try and keep what he’d created from causing further harm. But Blackburn would not let it go – had a goon on the inside, too. And then came the explosion.

“You think it was Blackburn that caused it?”

“It’s hard to say. What would he have got by killing Andy? But then he took the girls!” She gasps. “I still cannot believe it. This waking nightmare!”

“You’re sure it was him?”

Josephine nods. “Saw him in the paper. Was my Ma he talked to first. He came to our door, like you did, but struck her dumb. Can you imagine, quieting me Ma? Said ‘I got your little fairy girls, an’ I can turn ‘em into ghosts. ‘Cept if’n I get the designs to my big Red Lord’. Least that’s how Ma said he told it. And that he’d straightaway kill ‘em if we ever went to the cops. Then one time this man came to Vivi’. When he was leaving, I said “Do come again!” and he stops; walks straight over, moustache twitching on his grin, and says: ‘I surely will. Not for that trollop, but you can leave with her what’s mine.’ Then he just left. And that girl he’d paid for, said he never even touched her. But even if I wanted, Detective, I can’t just give him what he wants! No blueprints, plans or whatever he thinks. It was all just inside Andy’s head! And yet still that monster has our girls!”

You take a breath, unsure of how this news will land: “Ms. Josephine,” you say. “Grayson Blackburn was killed today. I saw him go myself.” And then you wait.

Whatever is happening deep below, her face reveals only confusion. She pulls something from her pocket, her hand shaking as she holds it out:

“But then who, Detective, left this on their father’s grave?”

Open Evidence D

Fox's is listed as lead 249 in the Directory, but 269 on map. Please use the Directory lead, 249.

The bottom of the first page of Lead 65 is missing a line: "much like the Olbright Mill. And with half the work-"