Deadline FAQ

FAQ TITLE:

The Optimized Straightforward Walkthru for Deadline

COPYRIGHT INFO:

This FAQ is copyright 2009 by Stanley E. Dunigan (dunigase@wmconnect.com).

This FAQ may be posted and used anywhere by anyone as long as it's unaltered,
but always check one of the official websites listed below for the latest
version.

GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com)
SuperCheats (www.supercheats.com)
Neoseeker (www.neoseeker.com)

FAQ DESCRIPTION:

Like all of my optimized straightforward walkthrus, this FAQ is a complete
walkthru for the game that has been optimized and organized to make it as fast
and easy as possible to complete the game. I don't give any reference-style
information, like a list of all clues, or encourage you to do unnecessary
things. In true walkthru fashion, I usually just tell you the answers without
explaining or rationalizing them (though I do offer some explanations in this
walkthru to help you understand what's happening). If you want non-spoiler-ish
hints, see the Deadline hint file on the Universal Hint System (UHS) website at:
www.uhs-hints.com.

VERSION 1.0 (4/12/2009) NOTES AND CREDITS:

This is the original release of this FAQ, so I have no special notes or credits
to report yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


NOTE: This FAQ was written while playing the Deadline version that came with the
Lost Treasures of Infocom package that was released in 1991 by Activision. As
far as I know, everything will be the same for other game versions.


*** STEP 1: Investigate the crime scene. ***

Go north and knock on the house's front door. After Mrs. Robner lets you in, go
north and east to reach the stairs. Go up twice to climb to the second floor,
then go west until you reach the end of the hallway. Go north to enter the
library where Mr. Robner was murdered.

There's a lot of stuff in there, just to make things confusing. The only items
you need are the pad of white note paper and the desk calendar, so take them.
Carefully examine the pad (CAREFULLY EXAMINE PAD), then hold it up to the light
(HOLD PAD UP TO LIGHT) to reveal a partial message that Mr. Robner wrote to Mr.
Baxter.

Next, turn the calender to July 8 (TURN CALENDAR) to find a note that Mr. Robner
wrote to himself to call Coates about a completed will. Apparently, this is a
new will, since Mr. Robner wasn't even going to tell Coates it was done until
the next day.


*** STEP 2: Wait around for the will reading. ***

Go back downstairs and out the front door to return to the Front Path area. Try
to wait there until 10 am (WAIT UNTIL 10:00). Your waiting may be interrupted by
the sound of a phone ringing inside the house. If so, choose to keep on waiting.
When it's interrupted by a mailman handing you an envelope, stop waiting and
open the envelope. Read the letter that's inside it to learn about two possible
motives people might have had for killing Mr. Robner.

Next, wait for Mr. Baxter (WAIT FOR BAXTER). Keep waiting past any interruptions
until Mr. Baxter arrives in your area. Show him the pad to see what he makes of
the partial message you discovered on it. After he denies ever getting the
message, wait until 11 am, ignoring all distractions.

After that, use the plain WAIT command until a paperboy throws a newspaper next
to the front door. Get the newspaper and read it, then read its second section
(READ NEWSPAPER. READ SECOND SECTION) to learn about the Omnidyne merger.

Go north, north, and west to enter the living room, then wait for George to show
up (WAIT FOR GEORGE). Show him the calendar (SHOW CALENDAR TO GEORGE) so he'll
know that a new will was completed, then sit down on the sofa (SIT). Wait until
Mr. Coates shows up, then wait some more until he reads the current will.


*** STEP 3: Find the new will and the murder motive. ***

Right after the will is read, stop waiting and get off of the sofa (GET UP). Go
east twice and then up twice to follow George up the stairs. Go west down the
hallway until George ducks into his bedroom. Keep going west until you reach the
end of the hallway, then go north to the library. Open its balcony door, then go
north again to enter the balcony.

Wait until George enters the library and goes into a secret room, then stop
waiting and go south. Carefully examine the bookshelves to find a small black
button. Wait twice, then press the button to catch George in the act of taking
the new will from the secret safe. Get the new will from him, then examine the
safe.

Take the stack of papers from the safe, then read through them (READ PAPERS) to
learn that they're proof of Mr. Baxter's wrongdoings in a certain Focus scandal.
This plus what you learned from the intercepted letter and the newspaper's
second section shows that Baxter had plenty of motive to murder Mr. Robner. (As
for George, he just didn't want to lose out on his inheritance.)


*** STEP 4: Discover the method of the murder. ***

Go west to return to the library, then go all the way back downstairs and
outside to the Front Path area. Go east and northeast to reach the east side of
the house, then go east and northwest. If Mr. McNabb isn't nearby, explore
around until you find him. (You may also find a wooden ladder lying around. If
so, go ahead and pick it up.)

McNabb will be all worked up about something, so listen to what he's saying
(LISTEN TO MCNABB). He's mad about some holes in his rose garden, so ask him to
show them to you (MCNABB, SHOW ME HOLES). Follow him as he leads you to the
Among the Roses area, where the holes are.

Search the ground around the holes (SEARCH GROUND) to discover a sharp little
piece of porcelain. Clean it up a bit (CLEAN PORCELAIN), then get Sergeant Duffy
to have it analyzed (ANALYZE PORCELAIN). If you haven't found the wooden ladder
yet, or if McNabb has taken it from you, go find it and take it. Examine it to
see that it has dried mud on it.

Return to the Among the Roses area if you left it, then put the ladder in the
holes to see that it fits them perfectly. Climb the ladder to find yourself back
on the library's balcony. Carefully examine the balcony railing to see that
there's a small area where paint has been scraped off the outside edge. And yes,
the scrape was there before you used the ladder yourself. Clearly, someone else
used it to visit the murder scene earlier, either to commit the murder or make
off with vital evidence after the fact.

Wait for Duffy to get back with the porcelain fragment analysis (WAIT FOR
DUFFY). It will indicate that the fragment is from a teacup, and that an unknown
medication was used in the tea. Go south twice to reach the upstairs hallway,
then go east to the top of the stairs. Go south twice to enter Ms. Dunbar's
bathroom.

Open the medicine cabinet and examine the bottle of LoBlo. You'll learn that it
can be dangerous in combination with other medications, so it may be the unknown
drug on the porcelain fragment. Have Duffy analyze the porcelain fragment for
LoBlo (ANALYZE PORCELAIN FOR LOBLO), then wait for him to return with a lab
report. It will confirm that LoBlo was used, so that's probably what killed Mr.
Robner -- LoBlo in his tea combined with the Ebullion he took for depression.


*** STEP 5: Eliminate alibis and make arrests. ***

Since Ms. Dunbar's police interview (given in the game's documentation) mentions
her giving Mr. Robner tea late at night, and since LoBlo is her medication, it
might be productive to confront her with your findings. She should be about
ready to lie down for a bit by now, so go north twice, west, and then south to
reach her bedroom.

If she's not there, wait until she is (WAIT FOR DUNBAR), then show her the lab
report (SHOW LAB REPORT TO DUNBAR). Wait until she leaves the room, then follow
her along. She'll go to the living room to talk to Baxter. There's no way you
can eavesdrop on their conversation, so stop in the North of Foyer area and wait
for her to walk by you and go south.

Follow her out to the Front Path area, then pick up the ticket stub that she
drops. (If you drop it due to inventory problems, keep trying to pick it up
until you get it.) Show the stub to Dunbar to get her to confess that Baxter
took her to a concert and then brought her back here. That directly contradicts
what Baxter said about the concert in his police interview, so he's the one to
confront next.

Return to the living room and show the ticket stub to Baxter. (If he's not there
anymore, search around until you catch up to him.) After he feeds you his lies,
you can arrest both him and Ms. Dunbar (ARREST BAXTER AND DUNBAR) to solve the
case and win the game with the best possible ending. Be sure to read the
author's summary to see how all the pieces of the mystery fit together.