This case opens with a mysterious glimpse of a “repair” that, at first glance, doesn’t seem particularly sinister. A man works at an InstaHeat gas water heater box. He flips the rubber diaphragm disk inside a gas pressure regulator valve and then screws the top back on.
The scene switches to the briefing room of the Wilshire Police Station. A disgraced Cole Phelps has been reassigned (i.e., demoted) to the Arson desk in the Wilshire Division until his case comes up before the review board. Captain Lachlan McKelty makes the announcement and then pairs Phelps with a new partner, the veteran Herschel Biggs. Their first assignment: two house fires, possibly suspicious.
Objectives
- Investigate Steffens Fire & Interview Don Steffens.
- Investigate Gulliver’s Travel Agency & Interview John Cunningham.
- Investigate Suburban Redevelopment.
- Investigate Sawyer Fire.
- Complete Lynch’s Gas Puzzle at Fire Station No. 32.
- Interview Ivan Rasic at InstaHeat.
- Inspect InstaHeat Lockers.
- Go to Clemens Worksite & Interview Clemens.
- Go to Ryan Worksite & Apprehend Ryan.
- Go to Varley Worksite & Apprehend Varley.
- Interview Varley & Ryan at Wilshire Police Station.
- Charge Suspect.
Case Report
Total Number of Key Clues 16
Total Number of Interview Questions 16
Fail Conditions
- Phelps dies.
- Chapman, Ryan, or Varley escape.
- Injure Varley.
- Fail to charge suspect in final interrogations.
Location: Steffens House Fire
Go to the Steffens fire.
Travel from the Wilshire Police Station 
to the Steffens house fire 
. Nothing is left but smoldering ruins, and Biggs points out the “real pain” in the reactions of the Steffens couple, which suggests the fire wasn’t an insurance scam. In fact, the officer on the scene reports that the Steffens have no insurance; the fire occurred the previous night while the family was on Catalina Island, enjoying a vacation they’d won.
Interview Mr. Steffens.
Approach the man in the green shirt standing next to the woman grieving near the ruins. He introduces himself as Don Steffens and gives Phelps the Competition Ticket for the prize trip he won. They were issued from Gulliver’s Travel Agency, a new place to investigate. Then the interview sequence begins.
Interview: Don Steffens
Topic: Travel competition
Steffens says the prize was a weekend on Catalina Island. The flyer for the competition came from a group called the Suburban RedevelopmentFund. This adds another topic to your Questions list.
Correct Assessment: Good Cop
Steffens says his wife simply filled out the flyer and sent it in. That was the extent of the “competition”: a woman later called to tell them they had won.
Topic: Suburban Redevelopment
Steffens says the redevelopment group is buying out homes in the neighborhood. Most neighbors just took the cash and moved; Steffens says he never bargained with the buyers. But he folds his arms and sucks in his lower lip, looking a bit uncomfortable. Perhaps there’s more to the story.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
When Phelps points out that Steffens is the lone holdout in the neighborhood, the homeowner admits he was waiting for a better price because his house is the center lot. Now he has no choice but to take the price offered.
Key Clue Checklist: Don Steffens Interview
- Competition ticket
- Suburban Redevelopment Fund
Search the site.
Go around to the opposite side of the house and find the InstaHeat water heater unit on the ground. Inspect it to open the case and see the service log. The heater was recently serviced by Matthew Ryan; this adds Heater Serviced by Ryan to your Clue list and adds Matthew Ryan to your P.O.I. list.
Use a gamewell.
Before you leave, jog up the street to the gamewell on the corner (next to the big “Building a Better California” sign) and call in for information and an address for the Suburban Redevelopment Fund. You learn that it’s a fund with both private investors and a government endowment, designed to speed up the building of homes for G.I.s. The address is at the corner of Beverly and Mariposa.
Key Clue Checklist: Steffens House Fire
- Heater serviced by Ryan
Location: Gulliver’s Travel Agency
Interview John Cunningham.
Travel to Gulliver’s Travel Agency 
. Phelps and Biggs enter and meet a sales rep named John Cunningham, who finds the Steffens entry in a ledger and shows it to the detectives. In the close-up of the ledger, examine the first page and tap on the entries for both the Steffens and the Sawyer families. When you exit the ledger screen, the interview sequence begins.
Interview: John Cunningham
Topic: Suburban Redevelopment
Cunningham says the Suburban Redevelopment group runs the travel promotion and his list covers half of Los Angeles.
Correct Assessment: Good Cop
Cunningham chuckles when Phelps asks if the fund is a government agency. The sales rep says the government doesn’t get involved with promotional activity like this.
Topic: Promotional travel contest
When Phelps asks about the prizes, Cunningham gets a little nervous. He suggests that the lucky winners get their names “pulled out of a hat”. But he doesn’t look very convincing.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
Phelps brings up the “unlucky” Steffens family and presses for information on who awards the prizes. Cunningham admits that he simply gets a call every few weeks from the Suburban Redevelopment Fund that tells him exactly who has won.
Afterward, watch as Cunningham expresses sympathy for the Steffens family and Detective Biggs quickly accepts his generous offer of help.
Location: Suburban Redevelopment (Elysian Fields Site)
Visit the site.
Travel to the Suburban Redevelopment address 
to discover that it’s actually the site of an Elysian Fields housing development. Your arrival triggers a short exchange with the site foreman. You can go inside the Elysian Fields subdivision office and find a memo on a desk from someone named Leland Monroe. Phelps notes that “Elysian Fields builds the houses and Suburban Redevelopment foots the bills”.
Location: Sawyer House Fire
Meet Albert Lynch.
Travel to the site of the Sawyer house fire 
. The coroner’s wagon is there—not a good sign. Your arrival triggers a cut-scene: Phelps and Biggs talk with Albert Lynch, chief investigator for the Los Angeles Fire Department, who welcomes Phelps to “the netherworld of arson”. He reports a family of four found dead in their beds after a water heater explosion—another InstaHeat Model 70, like the one at the Steffens house.
Talk to the coroner.
Enter the yard to trigger a cut-scene: Coroner Mal Carruthers examines the bodies. He reports that the family died in bed around midnight from the carbon monoxide poisoning unleashed by the fire. They discuss the water heater problem and Phelps alludes to “another angle” that he can’t elucidate yet.
Find the regulator valve.
Turn and walk toward the fire truck to trigger a cut-scene and find the InstaHeat Regulator Valve (circled in our screenshot) on the ground amongst the debris.
Finding the valve triggers a sequence of events: First, Lynch praises the find as significant. Then a patrol officer brings up a neighbor, Joanna Alford, with information. She tells Phelps that the family was supposed to be gone after winning a trip to Catalina Island from Gulliver’s Travel Agency. But the young son got sick, so they stayed home instead. This adds Joanna Alford as a P.O.I.
Apprehend the firebug.
After the conversation with the neighbor, chief investigator Lynch spots a known firebug across the street. Phelps takes off running after the suspect, who sprints up an alley and yanks open a red door to escape through a diner. Follow him through the diner and out into the street beyond. You should be able to catch the firebug after he hops the fence across the street. Press the Tackle button to bring him down. If you can’t manage to tackle the firebug, he eventually hides behind a wall and clotheslines Phelps if you run past. Then you’ll have to K.O. him in a fistfight.
Phelps and Lynch automatically bring him back to the Sawyer lot for questioning. His name is Herbert Chapman and he admits he likes fires. This adds Herbert Chapman as a P.O.I. Phelps turns out Chapman’s pockets and produces a matchbook enclosed over a cigarette; as Lynch explains, it’s a favorite arsonist’s device for time-delay fire ignition. “If you want more time, you use a mosquito coil”, adds Lynch.
Lynch tells Phelps to stop by later at Fire Station No. 32 because he has a theory about the Sawyer fire. Then Phelps and Biggs debate the scope of the investigation as they prepare to move on.
Key Clue Checklist: Sawyer House Fire
- Regulator valve
Location: Fire Station No. 32
Meet Lynch at the fire station.
Travel to Fire Station No. 32 
and approach Lynch to trigger a cut-scene: Lynch suggests you take a look at the InstaHeat Model 70 water heater housing from the Sawyer fire. Open it to see that a repairman named Reginald Varley serviced it recently. This adds Varley to your P.O.I. list and adds Heater Serviced by Varley to your Clue list.
Now listen while Lynch presents the components of his theory. He shows you a gas supply on one end (with a red lever) and a lighted mosquito coil on the other. In between, you must arrange three items: a pilot light (represented as a Bunsen burner), a regulator valve with a blue dial, and a balloon (representing the gas expanding in the room). The gas must make contact with the coil to form an explosion. He invites Phelps to work out the chain of events with the devices arrayed before him.
Align the devices to create an explosion.
From left to right, place the devices in the following order (and use our screenshot for visual reference): Bunsen burner, regulator valve, balloon.
When you create the correct chain of events, pull the red lever to turn on the gas. Lynch lights the Bunsen burner. Then watch as the balloon expands large enough to touch the mosquito coil and explode.
When the experiment is finished, Lynch hands Phelps the regulator valve found at the Sawyer site. The chief fire investigator says the L.A.P.D. detectives should take the valve to the InstaHeat factory to get an opinion. He gives you the address and you’re on your way.
Key Clue Checklist: Fire Station No. 32
- InstaHeat Model 70
- Heater serviced by Varley
Location: InstaHeat Factory
Talk to the receptionist.
Travel to the InstaHeat factory 
and enter the reception area, the first door on the right just inside the main entrance. You can inspect the InstaHeat poster along the left wall to see the new model. Approach the receptionist to trigger a cut-scene: She directs the detectives to the duty manager for the day, Ivan Rasic.
Interview Ivan Rasic.
Exit the reception area, go straight across the hall, and follow the arrow on the “Manager” sign through the door on the left. This triggers a cut-scene: Phelps hands Rasic the InstaHeat pressure regulator valve and the manager points out a serious tampering problem—the rubber diaphragm inside has been reversed, which would cause gas leakage because the gas never closes off properly. Now the interview session begins.
Interview: Ivan Rasic
Topic: InstaHeat Model 70
Phelps wants Rasic to verify that the reversed valve is not a manufacturing flaw or a service repair. Rasic glances away twice as he says there’s nothing inherently wrong with the design, but hedges in his wording by starting with “I don’t think…”.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
Phelps pushes Rasic to admit that InstaHeat has changed the design. But the company is still installing the old Model 70 units because of the L.A. construction boom and the intense demand for water heaters.
Topic: Heater service history
Rasic also admits that the rubber diaphragms go bad after a while and need to be replaced. Phelps asks about the qualifications of the company’s repairmen—the names he’s been seeing on the service logs inside the heaters. Rasic assures him they’re all licensed, but he looks uneasy.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Heater serviced by Ryan/varley
If you choose “Heater serviced by Ryan” from your Evidence list, Phelps asks about Matthew Ryan, the name on the Steffens’ heater service log, and Rasic admits that the repairman has been in trouble in the past. If you choose “Heater serviced by Varley” from your Evidence list, Phelps asks about Reginald Varley, the name on the Sawyers’ heater service log; Rasic will describe Varley as having a troubled history, as well. In either case, Rasic’s response adds Ivan Rasic’s Statement to your Clue list. Phelps asks for a List of Gas Fitters doing the InstaHeat installations, and Rasic hands it right over.
Key Clue Checklist: Ivan Rasic Interview
- Ivan Rasic’s statement
- List of gas fitters
Call in the gas fitter list to R&I.
Phelps decides to check on the repairman list for arsonists or others with an arrest record. Use Rasic’s phone over by the doorway to call in the list. You get a quick response: Walter Clemens is an arsonist; Matthew Ryan served time on assault charges; and Reginald Varley is wanted for murder in Detroit. Clemens is added to the other two repairmen on your P.O.I. list, and their criminal records become new clues.
Talk to Rasic again.
Approach Rasic and press the Talk button to trigger another brief conversation. Phelps gets current worksite locations for all three suspects, then asks to see their lockers. Rasic reluctantly agrees to show you.
Inspect the suspects’ lockers.
Follow Rasic to the locker room. Walter Clemens’ locker is the third from the far left. Open it to find Clemens’ Anarchist Pamphlet.
Walk down a few more lockers to find Matthew Ryan’s locker. Open it to find Ryan’s Anarchist Pamphlets—boxes of them! Looks like he’s the distributor.
Finally, find Reginald Varley’s locker and open it to discover a box with Mosquito Coils inside. Examine the box further to remove a coil; this adds the clue to your Clue list. Biggs informs Rasic that mosquito coils are a favorite choice of ignition by arsonists.
Key Clue Checklist: InstaHeat Factory
- Clemens’ criminal record
- Ryan’s criminal record
- Varley’s criminal record
- Clemens’ anarchist pamphlet
- Ryan’s anarchist pamphlets
- Mosquito coils
Watch the suspicious person.
Exiting the InstaHeat factory triggers a short, ominous cut-scene. Watch from behind as a man leans into a Chevrolet van and appears to tamper with a familiar looking pressure valve. Then the man gathers up tools in a toolbox and approaches a residential home.
Location: Clemens’ Worksite
Interview Walter Clemens.
Travel to Clemens’ worksite first 
. Your arrival triggers a cut-scene: Phelps and Biggs get a little rough with Clemens and demand answers.
Interview: Walter Clemens
Topic: Knowledge of Varley
Phelps asks if Clemens knows Reginald Varley and, amazingly, he says no. This seems quite doubtful since their InstaHeat lockers are just a few feet away from each other. He also gives you a classic smirk.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
A little heat from Phelps prompts Clemens to admit what he knows about Varley, who gets kickbacks from some developer to do their repair and installation work first. This bit of information is added to your Clue list as Walter Clemens’ Statement.
Topic: Knowledge of Ryan
Asked if he knows Matthew Ryan, Clemens again claims no knowledge of the name despite the obvious proximity in the InstaHeat locker room. This time you have proof he’s lying.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Clemens’ anarchist pamphlet
Confronted with the pamphlet, Clemens immediately turns on Ryan, saying he’s the one pushing pamphlets on everybody. Clemens adds, “He’s got it in for the company”.
Topic: Employment with InstaHeat
When Phelps asks if the repairman is licensed and works for InstaHeat, Clemens looks nervous and says, “I contract for them. So what?” The way he screws up his face suggests extreme discomfort with the line of questioning.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
Clemens admits that he burned down his own house. When he explains the reason he committed the arson, Biggs is sympathetic and apologizes for “the roust”.
Key Clue Checklist: Walter Clemens Interview
- Walter Clemens’ statement
Location: Ryan’s Worksite
Apprehend Matthew Ryan.
Travel to Ryan’s worksite 
in the Elysian Fields housing development. Your arrival triggers a cut-scene: as Phelps and Biggs approach Ryan, he suddenly hops into his work van and tries to escape, leading you directly through the housing sites. Careful! Construction workers scurry back and forth in your path. You might want to focus on getting through the construction without running down pedestrians, and wait to catch up with Ryan until he gets out on the streets.
Eventually, Ryan steers his van out onto Beverly Boulevard. You should be proficient at car chases by now. As always, try to pull up on the left side of Ryan’s van so Biggs can shoot out its tires. Ram it when you can, as well. After finally disabling Ryan’s van, hop out and approach the vehicle to arrest him. The paddy wagon hauls Ryan back to Wilshire Police Station for questioning.
Location: Varley’s Worksite
Apprehend Reginald Varley.
Travel to Varley’s worksite 
on Mariposa. Your arrival triggers a scene similar to the last location: Phelps and Biggs approach, and Varley takes off. This time the suspect flees on foot. Like Ryan, he tries to escape by cutting through the housing development, running through half-built houses and empty lots. At one point, a bulldozer rolling a pipe section cuts off your view of Varley. When you get a clear shot, train your weapon on him long enough to fill in the gauge and squeeze off a warning shot. Note that if you shoot Varley, you fail the case.
That halts him and Varley comes peacefully. He seems incredulous at the charge of arson Phelps levels at him. A uniformed officer hauls Varley back to Wilshire Police Station. It’s time to question your suspects.
Location: Wilshire police Station
Interview Reginald Varley.
Return to Wilshire Police Station 
. The watch commander, Hopkins, isn’t particularly polite to Phelps, but Biggs
sticks up for his new partner. Reginald Varley is in Interview Room 2, and Matthew Ryan is in Interview Room 1. Let’s start with Varley in Room 2, who speaks with disdain about Ryan, “that pinko bastard”.
Interview: Reginald Varley
Topic: Work at Sawyer residence
Phelps asks about the repairs on the Sawyer heater, and Varley replies he works at a lot of places and claims no memory of it. He adds that he doesn’t do repairs, instead focusing on new installations. He fidgets a bit, but more importantly, you have the Sawyer service log.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Heater serviced by Varley
Varley has to admit that he worked at the Sawyer home, and reveals that Suburban Redevelopment wanted the Sawyers out. But he claims the service was free work offered by Suburban to entice the Sawyers to leave.
Topic: Suburban Redevelopment
When Phelps accuses Varley of being in the pocket of the property developer, the suspect grins and denies it, saying, “Never. I’ve got principles”. Even Phelps finds this lie amusing.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Walter Clemens statement
Confronted with the evidence, Varley admits taking money to give Suburban Redevelopment jobs priority status. But he claims it’s no big conspiracy—plenty of other construction workers were taking the money, too.
Topic: InstaHeat Model 70
Varley knows what happens if you reverse the regulator valve on an InstaHeat Model 70: “A big bang when you turn the pilot back on”. But he vigorously denies purposely sabotaging the valve at the Sawyer’s house.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Mosquito coils
When Phelps brings up the mosquito coils found in his locker, Varley claims they belong to Ryan, who told him he thought they were used for camping.
Now you can select either Charge Suspect or Leave Interrogation. You should talk to Ryan first, so leave for now.
Interview Matthew Ryan.
Head for Interview Room 1 to face Matthew Ryan, who scoffs at Phelps’ opening gambit.
Interview: Matthew Ryan
Topic: Anarchist literature
Ryan admits that he wants to change the world. But when Phelps suggests he might be trying to sabotage water heaters to destroy the company, Ryan denies it.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Ryan’s anarchist pamphlets
Ryan does admit, however, that he passes out his pamphlets and has disgust for InstaHeat for cranking out poorly designed heaters.
Topic: InstaHeat Model 70
Ryan denies knowing how to reverse the diaphragm in the regulator valve of a Model 70 heater. Doesn’t seem too plausible for a repairman, and you have the boss’s statement about how easy it is to tamper with the pressure regulator.
Correct Assessment: Accuse
Evidence: Ivan Rasic’s statement
Phelps uses cool logic to make Ryan’s lie obvious. When Phelps asks about the cause of the fire in Ryan’s own home, the repairman refuses to say.
Topic: Suburban Redevelopment
Phelps asks what Ryan can tell him about the Suburban Redevelopment fund. Ryan’s one-word answer: “Nothing”. But his lips purse and he looks nervous.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
When Phelps suggests that Suburban Redevelopment might be behind Ryan’s arson activities, Ryan responds plaintively that he has nothing to do with Suburban. He points the finger at Varley for his “cozy agreement with those fascists”. This adds Matthew Ryan’s Statement to your Clue list.
Topic: Attempted murder charge
Phelps suggests that Ryan has a history of violence, which the suspect strongly denies. But his folded arms and furrowed brow suggest some feelings of guilt.
Correct Assessment: Bad Cop
Phelps brings up Ryan’s attempted murder charge. Ryan points out that the court ruled no criminal liability. But he lost his family in the water heater explosion, and he blames the company that made the faulty heater—a company now wholly owned by InstaHeat.
Key Clue Checklist: Matthew Ryan Interview
- Matthew Ryan’s statement
Charge either Ryan or Varley with arson and murder.
Take your pick. Either choice completes the case successfully, although Captain McKelty is more pleased with the results if you accuse the avowed anarchist, Ryan, and this is the only choice that earns you a five-star rating.