Art of Murder: The Secret Files Walkthrough

Welcome to the Art of Murder: The Secret Files Walkthrough! Crack another case with Nicole Bonnet and help the DEA bring down an evil Mexican drug cartel in Art of Murder: The Secret Files! Whether you use this document as a reference when things get difficult or as a road map to get you from beginning to end, we’re pretty sure you’ll find what you’re looking for here. This document contains a complete Art of Murder: The Secret Files game walkthrough featuring annotated screenshots from actual gameplay! We hope you find this information useful as youhe la play your way through the game. Use the walkthrough menu below to quickly jump to whatever stage of the game you need help with. Remember to visit the Big Fish Games Forums if you find you need more help. Have fun! This walkthrough was created by City Interactive S.A., and is protected under US Copyright laws. Any unauthorized use, including re-publication in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.

Chapter 1: Gas Station

Go to the gas station and talk with Sergeant Ramirez about Professor Brenner’s kidnapping and the murder of the professor’s assistant.
After hearing what the sergeant has to say, interrogate the witness, who is a gas station employee.
After your conversation with the witness, create an initial composite sketch of the kidnapper.

After you’ve completed the sketch, talk with the gas station employee once more. He will tell you where he disposed of the garbage.
Go to the junk pile behind the building. Solve a hidden object puzzle (HO for short) – you will have to find all the objects shown on the bottom of the screen and a bullet shell from the gun fired by the kidnappers.
You can also search the area around the fuel distributor, the grounds to the right of the police officer and inside the office.
Find the knife near the fuel distributor. Dust it with fingerprint powder and use the fingerprint brush to remove access powder. Use the fingerprint lifting tape to secure the print. Take the knife: it will be a useful piece of evidence.
Investigate the grounds to the right of the police officer. You will find a shoeprint.
Enter the building. Search the office (HO puzzle), and – as a bonus – find the cigarette butt left behind by the perpetrator.
After you’ve completed the investigation, talk with the police officer once more. Give him the evidence you’ve collected. You will find out that the body of Professor Brenner’s assistant has been taken to the Forensics Lab in Mexico City.

Chapter 2: Morgue

Talk with Doctor Salazar, who conducted the murdered woman’s autopsy. The pathologist is very busy, and – unfortunately – has to leave. Before leaving he will tell you where to find autopsy documents and DNA samples from the crime scene. You can now start working on either task.
On the tabletop you will find 20 DNA samples (HO puzzle). Next, solve another puzzle by matching DNA samples with the same label. The aim of the puzzle is to find a sample that does not have a matching pair – it contains the kidnapper’s DNA.
Search the drawer (HO puzzle) and find the tool that serves as a key to the document cabinet. Use it to open the cabinet.

Match the evidence collected at the crime scene with the injuries the victim sustained. It will allow you to get in-depth knowledge of how the crime took place.
Talk with Sergeant Ramirez, who just came into the lab. You will find out that there isn’t enough evidence to pinpoint the perpetrators. You decide to visit the professor’s apartment, hoping to get additional clues.

Chapter 3: Mexico City

Go to the store and talk with the owner. Next, head to the professor’s apartment. Use your key to open the door and go inside.
Secure the shoeprints on the floor. Search the bathroom (HO puzzle).
Go back to the living room and investigate the painting to your right. Return to the room and investigate the area near the desk.
Search the desk (HO puzzle) and collect all the coins. Go back to the painting and place the coins in the recesses. Move the painting to reveal the safe behind it.
To find the combination to the safe, return to the living room. You will see two new areas that can be investigated. Take the pieces of paper out of the paper shredder and go to the desk.
After an HO puzzle, a drawer will open and you will find a stencil that will come in handy to read the correct combination.
Put the shredded pieces of paper in their correct order and use the stencil to read the combination to the safe.

Enter the combination to the safe. Inside you will find a map. Match fragments of paper with the cities on the map. See the red line that leads to a town called Nexapo. You decide to drive to the town and investigate.

The safe also contains a block with the letter “A” on it, wrapped in a piece of paper with a cocktail recipe. There is nothing more for you to do in the apartment, leave through the opened window.
After an HO puzzle, secure the piece of fabric left behind by the burglar. Under the scaffolding (HO puzzle) you will find a screwdriver and a pair of gloves.
Initiate another conversation with the shopkeeper. Check out the electricity supply box. Try opening it – you will discover that it’s locked. Tell the shopkeeper that you’ll fix his neon if he gives you the key to the box.
Open the box and take the cables. You will have to connect the cables in their proper order to get the neon to work. Use the screwdriver. Click on the bottom and top row to connect a cable.
You can disconnect a cable by clicking once more on the place where it’s been screwed in. If the cables are connected in the proper order the LED lights on the left will light up in order from one to eight.

After connecting the cables click on the red switch on the right. You’ve fixed the neon.
Talk with the shopkeeper once more: he will now give you a description of the suspect and you can add more details to your composite sketch.

Chapter 4: The Town

Go to the bar and talk with the bartender. Help him find all the green bottles (HO).
You will find a word puzzle on the counter. Add the “A” block from the professor’s safe and arrange the letters to form the name of a cocktail (MEXICANA).

Initiate another conversation with the bartender. He’ll now treat you like a friend and will help you with the composite sketch.
After completing the composite sketch, the bartender will provide some additional information concerning the suspect.

He will also give you a receipt that the man signed and will tell you that he spent the night in a nearby hotel. Leave the bar and go to the hotel.
When you enter the hotel, the reception will be empty. After solving an HO puzzle, discretely search through the guest book. You will have to solve another puzzle – match the signed receipt with the same signature in the guest book (Alvarez).

You can turn the pages in the guest book. The signature you are looking for is two pages back from starting position. It’s located on the right, second position from the bottom.
The hotel owner will now appear. Talk with him. Show him your composite sketch and the signature in the guest room. He will give you the key to room number 6. Use it to open the door to the hotel room.
Look around the room (HO).
After the puzzle, two places to investigate will appear. Search the bathroom (one more HO puzzle) and grab the pencil and garden shears.
Take the cigarette butt left behind by the kidnapper from the window sill. Exit the bathroom and check out the small notebook on the table.
Use your pencil to find out what was written on the top sheet. You will be able to read the name of the hacienda where the professor has been taken. Go back to the hotel owner and talk with him once more.

Chapter 5: Hacienda

Listen to the guard’s conversation by the gate and walk up to the hole in the brick wall. Cut out the branches with your garden shears and go inside. You will find yourself in the courtyard.
Go to the room on the first floor of the building. Walk up to the desk and see what’s on it (HO puzzle). Find the house plans. You will see that you can enter the basement through the well.
Go back to the courtyard and investigate the well’s mechanism. You will now be able to investigate three new areas.
Investigate each area to collect gears (HO puzzles) that you will have to use to activate the well’s mechanism. Go back to the well.
Fit the gears onto the mechanism so that the movement of the gear on the bottom gets the gears on the top to shift. Mount the crank onto the bottom gear. Turn the crank, and the bucket will drop to the bottom of the well.

Click on the rope to climb down the well.
You will find yourself in the basement. Search the basement (HO puzzle) and enter the room on your left. The professor will be inside! Talk with him and search the room (one more HO puzzle). Find a broken bottle – it will come in handy in a minute. Walk up to the professor to untie his hands.
Use the bottle to cut the tape. Click on the top layer of tape to cut it. Repeat until the professor’s hands are free. If you make a mistake, you will have to start over.
After untying the professor, exchange a few words with him and run! Mission accomplished!
Congratulations! You’ve completed the game!

Created at: 2011-04-13