C-COTP02 (Dec 22, 1995)
Puzzle
“Mr. White’s folly.”
See: COTP01 | Research | 2 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Which book is Mr. White from? Remove the 's.
Clue 2: COTP01's description of Mr. White's life - coupled with his codename - should give you enough information to google it.
Clue 3: It was written by W.W. Jacobs.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Monkey's Paw
Explanation: Mr. White is a reference to Herbert White in The Monkey’s Paw, about a family - the Whites - who wish upon the Monkey’s Paw, bringing horrible consequences on them. Thus, you could say that using the Monkey’s Paw was their folly.
Summary of Receipt
17 meets up with Mr. White, who seems to actually be trying to sever his contract with Satan. However, to do so, he must either collect or destroy all of his magical items he's distributed over the years. Interestingly enough, one of those was an Augur Stone he sold to Mr. Clemens - who later hid it in 35's subconscious, before it was stolen by Umbra. It had the power to 'split' one's subconscious and impart them onto others. White and 17 make a deal - he'll help the CaD retrieve the Stone if they help him obtain an object given to a cult in Santa Clarita.
Transcript
RECEIPT #002
FILED UNDER: CAFE-COTP
DATE: 12/22/95
EMPLOYEE #17
Another face and name has joined my ever-growing collection; it was a pleasure to make the revived witch, Herbert White’s acquaintance. I will say the accident has left him quite disfigured, though I doubt any glamor can undo the dark and twisted magic of a monkey’s paw. In any case, Mr. White is more than amicable and is actually in the process of fleeing from the grasp of Satan. I suppose whatever contract he signed with that brummagem betrayer has lost its appeal. Now I don’t know the actual specifics, but I can only assume that it was not the paw that brought Herbert back to life but Satan’s own magic. I imagine he has a contract, not unlike Tom Walker’s, where Herbert must amass a certain number of magical objects every year to appease his dark lord.
Well, it seems Mr. White is no longer satisfied with that arrangement or whatever arrangement they might have. He arrived in Long Beach in an attempt to formally sever his contract, which he was successfully able to do—at a cost. From Mr. White’s own account, Satan cannot take back the life already bestowed upon him, though Mr. White’s life should now continue on a normal human timeline. Should is the key word. It seems Satan had a sort of monkey paw clause of his own, and now poor Herbert is in an agonizing state between life and death until he can retrieve or destroy every magical object he ever sold.
I would imagine that is no small task. According to Mr. White’s ledger, he has another 147 items left to find. Now, here is the interesting part, where the connections reveal themselves. Mr. White sold a rather extraordinary Augur Stone to Mr. Clemens. The very same Augur Stone, which was hidden in #35’s subconscious and later pilfered by Mrs. Umbra. Apparently, this Augur Stone is able to split pieces of one’s own subconscious and impart them to others. Sounding familiar? So, it would seem our goals are aligned with Mr. White, and he has promised to help us retrieve the rare Augur Stone from Umbra if we help him retrieve a different magical object sold to a local cult in Santa Clarita.