THE GHOST OF GUILT
OCT 31, 1999Hello again, fellow sleuthers![1] Today I have a bit of a spooky mystery for you, I know, I know.
A mystery on a site dedicated to those who solve them, how ironic. But, since it’s Halloween, I’d figure it would be fitting.Our subject sleuth is a bit of a local legend. An upstart gumshoe, shot down long before his time, and a... vengeful ghost?[2]Please enjoy the tale of Rordan Tracey aka “Rory the Fairy.”Rory was a notorious private eye of the late 1910s and early 1920s. Often referred to by his nickname “Rory the Fairy” because well- Look, I’m not one to judge.[3]While his professional career was short, he became quite well known in high-society circles.[4] If you were a well-to-do social butterfly[5] and needed to find something or someone, and didn’t want the press within a mile of it, you went to Rory.His closest friend was a police investigator by the name of Garret Michaels.[6] They often worked on cases together, obviously off the books for the officer and without Rory’s client’s knowledge. Garret was there on the last night anyone saw Rory alive. A party[7], large and gaudy with enough flair to make Gatsby blush, the staple of the era. Many of the city’s elite were there, drinking and dining. Big names. But Rory wasn’t there to mingle, he was on a case.As the story goes, Rory was getting close. Close to something big. Too big, but damn did he not figure that out till far too late. On the night of Christmas Eve, 1923. Rory’s Rickenbacker sedan was crashed on the bridge by an unknown assailant vehicle. His car riddled with bullets in the ensuing gunfight. The last trace of Rory was the trail of blood leading the railing of the bridge. A body was never found[8], presumably, in desperation, Rory jumped to his death or the hit-squad dumped his body over the rail, just to be sure.“The End” right? No, I wouldn’t do that to you, fellow sleuthers!FIVE YEARS LATER in 1928.Three city officials and two owners of large enterprises die within the same month. Each of them were former members of our late Rory’s “elite social circle.” Each died after weeks worth of bad luck, entire fortunes lost, scandals brought to bear, and each reportedly died “of terror in their sleep.”[9]The last and most notable victim was the Police Commissioner, Garret Michaels, who conveniently received his appointment to the position shortly after Rory’s death. Micheals’s body was found by his daughter, who awoke to the crack of a gunshot in the night. His death was determined to be a suicide, although his daughter claimed her father had a late-night visitor, a man fitting Rory’s appearance, the inclusion of a suicide note, and no evidence of a visitor sealed the case.[10]Rumour has it, the suicide note mentioned a visit from a ghost and was addressed to.
“My dearest Rory.”[11]Now that’s THE END.My source for this is a discontinued local pulp-horror magazine[12] from the 70s, so I can’t speak to the story’s authenticity. I looked into it some on my own but didn’t have any luck besides confirming that Garret Morrison was indeed a police chief around that time and did actually off himself. So who knows! It was a fun read regardless, so I figured I’d pass it on.~TheMetaSleuth

Edited NOV 13, 1999A fellow sleuther[13] has sent in a grand find! The following excerpt is from a paper I’m sure all of you know fondly, The Enquirer.[14] The December 31st, 1923 issue to be exact!Side note: According to this, Rory would have been killed on the night of December 25th, not Christmas Eve, as stated in the horror magazine.

There may yet be some truth[15] to this tale. How exciting!

//INVESTIGATOR
NOTES

[1]
[REDACTED PERSON]'s term for his readers.

[2]
Unlikely.

[3]
Rordan Tracey was a known homosexual. Must investigate further.

[4]
A commonplace for Type Alpha Blankbodies to seek out their victims.

[5]
Likewise, but for Type Beta Blankbodies.

[6]
Confirmed the death of Garret Micheals via exhumation.

[7]
This would be Mayor Peirce Jordan's Christmas Party. Pushed back a day due to an incoming blizzard.
Peirce Jordan was confirmed dead via exhumation.

[8]
Confirmed from the police report.

[9]
Again, confirmed via the police reports.
Peirce Jordan was amongst the dead numbered here.
This police report was what the keyword parser caught, and our initial evidence of the investigation.

[10]
Also confirmed with the police report.

[11]
Inaccurate. See below..

[12]
"Full Dark" Issue #27 dated June 1973.
Recovered from the residence of [REDACTED PERSON]. Please see attached.

[13]
Unknown individual. We would need to broaden the investigation further to identify them. I feel that it is unnecessary in our current state.

[14]
"The Enquirer" was a local paper very popular amongst the criminals and investigators of the 1920s and 1930s.
Considered a "rag," The paper's primary use was covert communication. Often messages were hidden for intended parties in purchased articles or adverts.

[15]
The first letter of each sentence spells, GARRET. A pattern so infantile that it was most certainly meant to be found and taken as a threat.