Solution
The Strange Tale Of The Drunken Clown
THE EXPLANATION
Daniel Wadsworth, better known as Groggy the Clown had previously worked as a serious actor, staring as King Lear at Bloodborough Theatre.
Since his career had taken a turn for the worse he had turned to the bottle and become massively in debt.
While he was previously working at the theatre Wadsworth had discovered a secret about theatre manager Neil Morris. The secret being that Morris had in the past been convicted of indecent exposure.
Morris had changed his name in an attempt to put his past behind him, but Wadsworth, now down on his luck decided to blackmail Morris in order to try and clear his debt.
Morris paid up for a while, but when he saw drunken Wadsworth staggering home from the pub one night he saw it as an opportunity to try and silence the meddlesome clown.
He dragged him back to the theatre and locked him underneath the stage, throwing him down the newly created trap door.
Morris also attempted to recoup some of his money by selling Wadsworth's autograph on eBay.
Wadsworth had also told another man, Greg Carling, about Morris' dodgy past in an attempt to pay him back in kind for a debt that he owed.
When Carling attempted to extort money from Morris as well, Morris knew that he had to silence him so he went to his place of work at the railway station and stabbed him to death.
Start at the river, the place that Wadsworth was last seen staggering towards.
Examine the picture and zoom in to find Wadsworth's mp3 player.
All the tracks on the mp3 player are by Cliff Richard so Wadsworth is clearly a fan.
Take a look at the hotel website and discover that they had a Cliff Richard tribute act on there on the 26th of September.
You need to find a ticket number to view the pictures of the night.
Go to the taxi rank and take a look at the taxi girl's blog. She says that she had a ticket for the Cliff Richard night but she had to sell it because she couldn't go.
Follow the link to her advert on Gum Tree selling the ticket to find the ticket number, sc65417.
Enter the ticket number on the hotel website.
Note: DW and GC had a scuffle on the night. Who are they?
Ring the hotel receptionist and convince her to show you the hotel records by saying the right things to her.
You see that Danny Wadsworth and Glen Carling were among the people that attended the Cliff Richard night.
Email Glen Carling using the given address and he responds with an email containing his work telephone number.
Go to the telephone box and dial the number.
Inspector Bungler from Bloodborough police answers the phone and tells you that Carling has been murdered at his place of work.
He gives you the access code to enter the crime scene, 68529.
He also tell you that the murderer and the person responsible for Wadsworth’s disappearance are one and the same.
Go to the railway station, Carling's workplace and use the code to access the office.
Examine the letters and note the different types of handwriting.
One letter is from Neil Morris but you can't see the content.
There is a letter which Carling himself was writing, it reads:
"I know your little secret, Danny told me. He owes me money you see, but he paid me in information instead.
So now I want a cut of the hush money you’re giving him.
Did you really think that you could escape your past just by changing your name from Terry Dwight?"
Note that Daniel Wadsworth was blackmailing somebody, but what is their name now?
Go to the circus, Wadsworth’s place of work.
Play the shooting game and score over 20 to get access to the camping site.
Zoom in on the picture of the caravan lounge and find Wadsworth’s bank log in details.
Go to the bank, enter the code and access Wadsworth's bank account.
Note that he was very overdrawn until recently when there have been a number of large payments made by an anonymous source.
Go to the insurance brokers and complete the driving test.
You are told that a cat was seen on a patch of grass near the doctors and to click 10 times to find it.
Click 10 times on the patch of grass.
Find the cat and the web address on its collar.
Type in the web address and find the fortune teller.
Use the ouija board and it spells out "Groggy the clown eBay".
Search for Groggy the Clown on eBay and find an autograph of Groggy the Clown.
Note: The handwriting matches one of the letters on Carling's desk which asks for more time for something.
Enter the serial number on the autograph at the police station.
The police confirm that the autograph has been signed by wadsworth within the last couple of days.
There is another type of handwriting on the envelope and they say that it must belong to the kidnapper.
Note that the handwriting matches the letters at the station from Neil Morris, the theatre manager.
Go to the college website and complete the quiz about the town to get the code to access the court records.
Enter the code and see that See that Terry Dwight was convicted of being a flasher in 1997.
Look at the theatre website and see that they have just had a new trap door fitted on the stage which is not functioning properly.
Also note that they apologize for the strange noises coming from the stage during recent performances.
Culprit: Neil Morris
Motive: Blackmail
Where is Daniel Wadsworth: Under the stage at the theatre
The winner, selected at random from all of the correct entries is:
Camilla Weston, USA.
Well done to all of you who got it right. You can view the league table here.