Alibi in Ashes Walkthrough

Town Hall
See the display on the right of the last piece of the iron nugget used to create River Heights' first anvil. Enter the storage room. Hear a click and the door behind you slams shut. Turn around to check that the door is locked. Look at the Emergency procedure route to the right of the door. Turn around and check the thermostat on the wall. See an ice cube in the shape of a snowflake on top of the thermostat. The wiring explodes and fire starts. Turn around and go to the door. Pile the boxes, pails, and crates from the floor in front of the door so that you can reach the window above. Right click to turn the items. When all are piled high, click on the window to be on the other side of the door. Follow the route of the emergency plan poster seen earlier: Go forward until the end of the hallway. Turn right and go forward to the end of the hallway. Turn right and go forward to the middle of the hallway. Turn right, then turn left and go forward to exit through the double doors. See Alexei Markovic, Deirdre Shannon, and Toni Scallari watching the fire. Brenda Carlton interviews Nancy and accuses her of setting the fire. A policeman yells to halt the interview. Chief McGinnis interrogates Nancy. Tell him that you were locked in the room and following a lead for the Clues Challenge. The fire started really quickly. The smoke is black. There was a snowflake ice cube on the thermostat. Deirdre, Alexei, Toni, and Brenda were there before the emergency crews arrived. Nancy believes that the fire was intentional but she doesn't know who did it. Brenda continues with the broadcast of Nancy as the arsonist. Nancy is soon arrested by Chief McGinnis at her home.

Police Station
At the jail cell, the chief says that Nancy can call out. Go to the phone, pick up the receiver, and dial or click on Dad's number. Nancy leaves a message. Call George. They will use the wiki (journal) on the cell phone to stay in contact. George is staying at Nancy's house and George's mom is taking care of Togo.
All of the group will know what the other friend finds out. Some of the main characters can interview other suspects better than others. Inventories are not transferable between characters. To change character, call Nancy and give the case to her. Then she calls another team member to take over the case.
Transfer to George. As George, leave Nancy's house to see the map. The map can be pulled down to see more of the city. Move the cursor over the buildings and see the name of some of the businesses. Click on the town hall building that is located at the bottom of the map above the Riverfront Park. Pick up the piece of paper on the parking lot to get a charred note. Drive to the brown roofed police station located at the left of the map close to the zoo. Open the package drop to the right of the station door and place the charred note inside. Call Nancy to transfer the case to her. As Nancy, the Chief tells her that she can continue her investigation as long as he doesn't catch her. There is a board where she can compile evidence and he will look at it when Nancy has enough compelling evidence. Exit the cell and look around. See a box of goodies on the table at the left. Hannah left power snacks to energize Nancy. Check the desk on the left and see the fingerprint scanner to the left of the monitor. Check to see that the computer needs a password. Read the "Investigating Arson" book to the right of the computer. Check the desk of DK Daughters and see a media player with no card. Check the evidence locker to the right of the large seal on the wall. Locker 205 needs a key. Check the Suspect Profiles board. The charred note is automatically added on Nancy's board. Check the Forensic lab. It has a gas chromatograph machine. Go near the Chief's office door and eavesdrop on the call. Go back to the jail cell and use the phone. Call Ned to ask help finding the key. Transfer the case. As Ned, exit the antique shop area and be at the map. Go to the places Detective Ryan visited. Pancake City is below the Riverfront Park at the bottom of the map. Mabel Rose's is close to the top left of the map. The Antiques Shop is at the middle of the map above the river. At the antique shop, read the August 18 newspaper on the stand in front of the antique store. Learn that the Time Capsule talk was rescheduled because of an electrical problem. Enter the shop.

Antique Shop
Talk to Alexei, who is cleaning a telescope. After talking to him completely, turn around and go forward to the shelving to the right of the desk. Look close at the item with black and white striped leaves. There's a key under there. The aim of the puzzle is to retract all the bars at the center to access the key underneath. Press the buttons to see which bars retract. Pulling back resets the puzzle. Take the evidence locker 205 key. Drive to the police station and drop the evidence locker key in the package drop. Call Nancy and transfer the case. As Nancy, go to the hallway left of the chief's office to be at the front desk. Do NOT exit the building. Open the Items Received compartment on the wall. Take the evidence locker 205 key that was dropped off. Go to the evidence locker and use the key on locker 205. Open the top drawer and read the computer password paper. Take the suspects interrogation disk. Study the Krolmeister locking system manual. Open the bottom drawer and take Nancy's cell phone, house keys, and the lock pick kit. Click on the middle drawer and see that it's locked. The aim of the puzzle is to light up the colored status bars at the bottom and have the connection indicator lines on top to be all green. Click on the tabs outside the triangles to see which tab makes active green connections. Once the drawer is opened, read Nancy's booking report. Use the cell phone and call Carson Drew. Talk to him about everything. Go to the computer to the left of the microwave and Hannah's goodies. Click on the monitor and it asks for a password. The paper seen on the top drawer of locker 205 states that each row and column must have one number and only one selected, and you can't use same number twice. Select one number that is not repeated in other rows or columns. Pulling back resets the puzzle. Once the computer is unlocked, it will be available for future use. Go to the desk of DK Daughter across from the computer. Use the suspect interviews disk on the MP3 player. Click to select and then listen to all interviews. Press the play single arrow to start. Ask George to get a sample as close to the point of origin from the town hall fire. It should be collected in a glass sample container. Nancy also wants a check on the town hall alarm. Transfer case to George. As George, go to the antique shop. Check the display on the table across from the New Arrivals shelf. Take the free glass vial. Look close at the wooden puzzle box. This is a random puzzle. The aim of the puzzle is to press numbers 1 to 41 as fast as you can and beating the best time. The best time is 1:52 for junior and 1:26 or senior game play. Press the start button to open the puzzle and the timer starts. Pull back to reset the puzzle. Concentrate on the numbers that are still golden in color. After 3 completed failed tries, the puzzle timer stops one minute before the best time and allows the gamer to win the game. Take the trunk key from the secret compartment. Check the trunk at the corner to the left of the counter at the back of the room. Alexei is here so you can't work on the trunk. Look close at the trunk and pick up the alarm keys on the floor to the right of the trunk. Exit the shop. Drive to the town hall.

Town Hall
Go to the side of the building. Do not enter through the taped area or you will be caught by the police. Face the burned window. Take the shutter at the right and automatically prop it on the window. Climb into the building. Go forward and then right to the storage room. At the entrance, check the fire alarm left of the entrance. See that the alarm has been turned off. Go to the thermostat at the far wall. The point of origin must be found and stated by the character. Use the glass vial-sample container taken from the antique store on thermostat to get the town hall sample. Exit the room, go left, and out through the window. Go to the police station and leave the alarm key and sample at the package drop. Call Nancy and tell her about the alarm. Transfer the case. As Nancy, to to the Items Received cabinet at the front door. Take the town hall sample and the alarm keys. Go to the Forensic Lab. Look close at the Gas chromatograph machine. Insert the town hall sample in the slot on the top of the machine. Press the Analyze button. Take the printout and see that the graph pattern 45 spiked to 100%. Nancy wants to know which accelerant matches this figure. Call Dad. Ask about interpreting the gas chromatograph. It will be delivered to the house and placed by the fireplace. Ask about the alarm system being shut down and any other possible dialog. Call Bess and transfer the case to her. Bess is at the Scoop Ice Cream Parlor.

Scoop
Enter the ice cream shop and talk to Toni behind the counter completely. Talk to Deirdre outside about everything. That talk is not productive. Go back inside Scoop. Call Nancy to get Ned to talk to Deirdre. Transfer the case. As Nancy, call Ned. As Ned, talk to Deirdre at Scoop. Learn that Alexei was accused of a crime and that Deirdre was following Nancy. She intercepted a note for Nancy. She gives you a note that she intercepted for Nancy. Drive to the antique shop. See a van parked outside the antique shop. Knock on the van door. Talk to Brenda Carlson entirely. Talk to Alexei at the antique shop about everything except the alarm key (do so at the end of the dialogue). Once you ask about the alarm key, you will be thrown out. Call Nancy about Deirdre's note. She will leave her house key at the drop box so you can get a fingerprint dusting kit. Transfer to Nancy. Place the house key in the drop box. Call Dad. Learn about Alexei, the Magnificent Markovic. Learn about the alarm system being disabled on site at 2:17 PM. Call Ned and ask about checking the suspects' alibis. Change to Ned. As Ned, drive to the police station and take the house keys from the drop box. Go to Nancy’s house.

Nancy's House
Go to the living room on the left. Read the newspaper. Learn about all the road construction being done in town. Also read the article that Scoop was closed yesterday for one hour and opened at 2: 45 PM. Climb upstairs. Look at the bookcase on the left and see a picture of Bess and George. Read the newspaper article beside the picture. It states that Nancy exposed the Antiquities Exhibit fraud. Turn around from the bookcases and go forward to the bedroom. Enter Nancy's bedroom and look around. Check the cabinet on the left beside the mirror dresser (one click forward from door) and see Nancy's mementos from her past cases. Go to the desk. Open the top left drawer and read her to do list. Open the bottom drawer and see the lock pick codes. Go to the small cabinet across from the bed. Read the book "On the Case" on top of the cabinet. It lists the possible accelerants. Use Nancy's keys on the corner cabinet. Open the cabinet and help yourself to some Koko Kringle chocolates. Take a fingerprint dusting kit. Go to the desk. Take Deirdre's note from inventory to automatically place it on the desk. Take the brush from the kit and dab it in the powder. Use the brush with powder on the note. Drop the brush back in the case. Take a piece of tape and use it on the heavy print at the bottom right of the note to get a partial fingerprint. Drive to the police station and place the partial fingerprint and Deirdre's note at the drop box. Change to Nancy. As Nancy, take the partial print and Deirdre's note from the drop box. Now that the computer is accessible, go to the corner computer. Insert the partial print on the print scanner to the left of the monitor. Look close at the monitor. Click on the PrintSync icon. Click on Load Sample. Click on Search button. No matches are found. Call Bess and ask her to get fingerprints from the other suspects. Change to Bess. As Bess, drive to Nancy's house and get a fingerprint dusting kit from Nancy's cabinet at the bedroom. Drive to Scoop. Talk to Toni about where she was at 2:17 yesterday and about Nancy and Brenda, and any other dialog. Eventually, the delivery truck arrives and Toni leaves. Turn right, go to the far end of the counter, and go behind the counter. Look down at the floor and take the town hall pictures on the floor under the counter. Open the cabinet and click on the snowflake shaped ice cube trays. Take the closet key on the lower shelf. Exit the shop. Talk to Deirdre about everything. Deirdre gives two friends' phone numbers to verify where she was at 2:17. Ask for them again so Bess will write them down. Go back inside the shop. Call the two numbers given by Deirdre. Talk to Holly and Jessica. Their stories are different. If you haven't finished talking to Toni continue to do so now. If she isn’t at the counter, exit the shop, then click it again on the map. When you've talked to her about everything, order an ice cream. Make a selection from the board. Take the ice cream, automatically eat it, and dust it for Toni's prints. Exit the store and talk to Deirdre again about the novelty shop and her alibi. Deliver the prints and the town hall photos to the police station's drop box. Transfer the case to Nancy. As Nancy, get the items out of the drop box. Transfer the case to George, who has the trunk key. As George, go to Nancy's house and get the last fingerprint dusting kit from the cabinet across from the bed. Go to the antique shop.

Antique Shop
Talk to Alexei about everything except a gift. At the end of dialogue, ask for a gift or another excuse to get him to Alexei to leave the room. When he does, hastily dust the telescope. There are no prints. Dust the metal polish at the back of the table to get Alexei's print. Immediately, go to the trunk at the other corner. Use the key taken from the Number Punch puzzle box on the trunk. Read the newspaper and learn about the accusation by Bennington that Alexei, amateur detective, stole his priceless antique lens. See an ether bottle. Read the diary of past cases solved by Alexei. If you get caught, come back here later for the trunk inspection. Exit the store and then go back in if he hasn't returned from the back. Talk to him about everything except the alarm key and a gift. Ask about the alarm key at the end of the dialogue. Alexei throws you out. Exit the antique store and enter Brenda's van. Talk to Brenda completely. You might have to talk to her more than once. Deliver Alexei's print to the station's drop box. Call Nancy and tell her about Alexei's alibi and the ether. Transfer the case to Nancy. As Nancy, get Alexei’s print out of the drop box. Then, call Ned and ask him for help in distracting Deirdre to get her prints. Change to Ned. As Ned, Drive to Scoop.

Scoop
Talk to Deirdre and invite her to have a bite to eat. Deirdre leaves to get ready. Dust the cup Deirdre drank from for prints to get Deirdre's print. Deliver Deirdre's print to the station's drop box. Change to Nancy, then to Bess. To get Toni out of the shop, play the Swap A Lot machine at the back wall. The object of the game is to move the letters in one column to form words that make a quote. If the correct word is formed, it cannot be moved anymore and are lighter in color. Do the shorter words first. Eventually, the delivery truck will arrive and Toni will leave. Check the bottom text on the screen to see (and hear) the truck honk the horn.When Toni leaves, go to the door behind the bar. Use the key taken from the bar cabinet on the lock. Enter and look around. Check the toluene bottle and paints on the left shelving. Check the file cabinet at the right. See that it is locked. Exit the room and call Nancy. She will leave her lock pick tool at the drop box. Tell her about the toluene. Pass the case to Nancy. As Nancy, if you haven’t already, pick up the items from the Items Received cabinet. Place the lock pick tool in the drop box. Go to the suspect board and automatically place the new evidence on the board. Change to Bess. Take the lock pick tool at the drop box at the station. Go to Nancy's desk in her bedroom. Open the bottom drawer and review the lock pick codes in the book. Decode the picture label at the bottom left. The asterisks are vowels. It states, File cabinet: Every second one. Note that the code-picture starts with the R(ed) and goes clockwise. Go back to Scoop. Play Swap A Lot until the delivery truck honks and Toni leaves the counter. Use the key on the supply room door. Enter and look close at the file cabinet. Use the lock pick tool on the cabinet to see the case open beside the lock. Place the colored picks in the correct order shown by the lock pick book for file cabinets. The lock pick first inserted is the one at the bottom right, going clockwise. The picture shows yellow at the bottom right, red at the bottom left, blue at the top left, and green at the top right. If a pick needs to be removed, right click it and replace it with the correct one. Then, click each of the picks in the order stated by the "every second one" code in the book. The file cabinet opens. Read the R-17 and Clean up folders. Once you've read everything, exit the storage room. Call Nancy and tell her what was found. Change to Nancy. Call Dad about Toni. Change to George. Go to the antiques store and enter Brenda's van. Talk to Brenda. Ask how you can get in touch with her. She will tell you to pick up one of her cards. Take Brenda's card from the box. Exit the van. Call Brenda. Answer "yes" to the recording for reporting breaking news. Enter the van again and see that Brenda is gone. Look around. Go to the counter below the monitor. Use the fingerprint kit on the Heights 9 microphone on the counter to get Brenda's print. Check the makeup case on the left counter. Open the case and look close to see nail polish remover. Acetone is an accelerant. Deliver Brenda's print to the station's drop box. Change to Nancy.

Police Station
As Nancy, Take the items from the drop box. Scan all 4 suspects' prints on the print scanner. Look close at the monitor. Click on the PrintSync icon. The partial print is already on the left of the screen. Click on the search button. See 4 possible matches come up. Click on the compare button. The partial print is now the cursor. Overlay the partial print onto the 4 prints at the right to find out which one matches. Click after overlaying the lines of the prints to see if it is a match. When a match is found, call Dad. Change to Bess. Talk to Toni at Scoop about the paint and lawsuits. Toni gets angry. Change to Nancy, then ask Ned to distract Deirdre again. Change to Ned. Go to Scoop and ask Deirdre to go out for lunch. Nancy automatically calls Ned. Call Bess to check Deirdre's things. Change to Bess. Check Deirdre's notebook. Turn the page and take the traffic ticket, RH627E401. Deliver the traffic ticket to the station's drop box. Change to Nancy. Take the ticket from the drop box. Go to the computer at the corner. Click on TicketShark icon. Using your own keyboard, type RH627E401 in the citation number frame. Click the "find" button. It shows that Deirdre ran a red light by town hall close to the time the alarm was switched off. Change to Bess. Talk to Deirdre about the ticket. Change to George. Talk to Alexei about any possible dialogue that might have been missed. Go to Nancy's house and go to the living room. Check the shelf to the left of the fireplace. Take the accelerant chromatograph chart. Deliver the chromatograph chart to the station's drop box. Change to Nancy. Pick up the items in the drop box. Nancy takes the chromatograph chart and compares it to the accelerant result. Click on 45 under Isopropyl alcohol. Go to suspect board and place the new evidence taken on their respective suspect's board. These are everything Nancy needs. When you think all evidence is correctly placed, press the intercom button to call Chief McGinnis. If it's done right, Chief McGinnis checks the suspects board and releases Nancy. Leave the police station.

River Heights
Enter the antique shop and talk to Alexei. Discuss everything. Enter the van outside and talk to Brenda about her van. Get Brenda's card. Exit the van. Call Carson and ask about Toni's land deal and Alexei. Go to Scoop and talk to Deirdre. Enter the shop and talk to Toni about the litigation concerning the town hall. Call Brenda. Answer "yes" to the recording for reporting breaking news. Go to the antique shop. Enter the van and see that Brenda is gone. Check the isopropyl alcohol beside the microphone on the counter. Look close at the monitor and play (press green arrow) Bess' interview. See Deirdre in the background talking on her cell phone. See the audio panel to the right of the monitor. There are 5 channels and they are labeled on top for the levels and the bottom is for frequency. Adjust each channel's sound frequency and level so that Deirdre's voice is isolated and the others are removed. Move the buttons on each channel. Listen to find where Deirdre's voice is the loudest and the main sounds (labeled as Me, Bess, etc.) is the least heard. Do one channel at a time to blank out the other sounds. Once the adjustment is correct, the slider arrow cannot be moved anymore and the numbers turn green. When all are adjusted, press the play button. Listen to Deirdre's conversation. Check the clipboard hanging at the top right side beside the monitor. Take the key. Nancy remarks that it doesn't make sense how Brenda can make all those appointments. Turn right and use the taken key on the metal cabinet on the counter on the right. Read the refusal letter from a major broadcasting studio about her coverage of the Antiquities fraud. Talk to Deirdre at Scoop about everything. Talk to Bess at the next table about Brenda and traffic. Ask about ice cream. Talk to Toni and learn about tunnels under the city. Go to Alexei at the antique shop. Talk to him and ask for advice. Learn more about the tunnels. Alexei's clue is a book on the shelf that should be read cover to cover. Turn around from Alexei and go forward to the shelf to the left of the trunk. Take and read the Dust and Dirt book. Turn to the back of the book and examine the two sheets of paper. There's a hidden entrance in front of the antique shop. See a sequence of 6 shapes in 5 frames. The 6th frame is one of the 3 frames below. Choose the correct letter and then follow the rules of the selected letter in the next page to navigate the tunnels. The 6th frame is C (junior), or B (senior). Check the next page and see that Option C (junior) or B (senior) show several criteria. Study or write down the criteria for the tunnel door selection. You will definitely need it later! Exit the shop. Talk to Brenda inside the van. Nancy confronts Brenda. When she turns away, go home to the Drew house. Talk to George in the living room. She needs a battery for something that can stop Brenda's broadcast. Go upstairs to Nancy's bedroom. Take the battery to the left of the false teeth from the top drawer of the desk. Go back down to the living room. A stone is thrown and breaks the window. It has a nasty note about arsonists. The townspeople are beginning to rise against Nancy. Nancy gives the battery to George. George wants Nancy to complete the connections of the jammer. See the battery at the lower left. Connect the lines to light up all the lines. All lines should be connected (no open lines). Turn the lines by clicking on it. Take the completed jammer from the table. Nancy has to attach it to the antenna. Go to the antiques store and enter the van. Go forward once and turn right to see the antenna box on the right wall. Open the antenna box. Place the jammer on the right slot. Connect the wheels of the same color without the wires crossing another wire. Click on a colored wheel. Move the cursor with the lit wire on the path you want the wire to go through. Once the wire reaches the other similarly colored wheel, click the second wheel. When the wires are connected and all lit up; press the activated button at bottom right. The broadcast is jammed.  A key falls out. Take the key that has a label 5C21B. Face the back of the van. See an active spot on the floor. Open the floor tile and see a hatch.  Open the hatch and go down. You'll now be in the tunnels.

Tunnels
Turn around, go forward, and go left. Check each door on the left and see that they are labeled. Go to the end of the tunnel and climb the metal ladder. You will come out to the town hall parking lot. While standing at the edge of the parking lot facing the burned town hall, pan left and see the metal hatch of the tunnel. Go back down. The door marked 5C21B is the third door on the right. It is the middle one of the 5 doors. Use the key from the antenna on the door. Enter and look around. See a box on the left full of isopropyl alcohol, the town hall fire accelerant. Take the screwdriver from top of the far box. Check to take the bag full of evidence on the chair. It has a bottle of alcohol, snowflake ice cube trays, and matchbox. The baddie arrives and throws the jammer on the floor. Nancy is then confronted and locked in. See a target with Nancy's silhouette to the right of the door. The timer starts. You can push the save button throughout the tunnel part of the game and it will stop the timer. Turn around from the door. See a pile of carton boxes to the right of the desk. Move the boxes out of the way to reveal a rusted door. Use the screwdriver taken from the alcohol boxes on the hinges of the rusted door. Exit and see the start of the tunnel maze. Follow Option C clues from the Dust and Dirt book to select which is the correct door to go through next. Remember which door you came out of and then turn right or left to check the icons and number of doors in that room. Then use the rules of option C. Once at the end of the maze, go forward and climb the metal ladder. Go up on another metal ladder to the hatch cover. Take The Clues Challenge medallion hanging from the hatch. Exit and enter the Police Station. Nancy reports to Chief McGinnis. Watch the live broadcast from the burned town hall. Nancy Drew solves a case, clears her name, and wins the Clues Challenge!