City Of Mists Story Idea: Drowned Past

City Of Mists: Introduction
City Of Mists: The Law
City Of Mists: The Departments
City Of Mists: The Infrastructure
City Of Mists: Characters And Campaigns
City Of Mists: Black Market Deals

Some strange events taking place on the island end investigated by the law enforcement or private investigators... This is one of them:

Drowned Past
Characters: Investigators of any sort are the best for this story, be they public law enforcement officers, private detectives, or corporate troubleshooters.
Moving The Story Elsewhere: Other Caribbean islands could work, as could Florida or a city on the Atlantic shores of Central or South America. The access to reliable criminal investigation lab, and especially the division of tasks between investigators and criminal investigation technicians can change certain aspects of the story significantly, though.

The protagonist are sent by their superiors to investigate a suspicious death. A man was found in his hotel apartment dead. He was a well-off american citizen living on the island named Rick Devon.

The deceased is a well build male in shorts and lose T-shirt revealing a golden coin worn on a strap as a necklace. The first examination suggest that he died of drowning—there is fine white froth at his mouth and nose. While he lays in the middle of the spacious room with no splashes of water around, there are big fish tanks adorning the walls. Was he drowned and pulled out? Was it long enough that the warm air dried the splashed of water?

There is a laptop on a desk that can be accessed easily by anyone with decent computer skills—there is a password but the system itself is a home version and can be bypassed in a few ways. The background image shows a underwater picture of sunk ship. The browser favorites lead to a number of sea maps of the region, historical articles concerning various sunken ships, lost Spanish galleons, forums dedicated to undersea salvage and diving... And the deceased own webpage dedicated to sea cruises and treasure hunting. Apparently he was (or at least claimed to be) a seasoned treasure hunter, though he also organized diving trips for tourist wishing to see sunken ships.

Further search reveals a number of photos of sunken ships, diving tourists, boats, yachts, colorful places all around the world, and various maps showing previous treasure hunts. The files make multiple reference (and bills) to a marina (yacht harbor) called The Yellow Sands, owned by Antonio Piatti. Apparently it was a sort of base of operation for Rick's sea trips. There is also a cleared space among them, as if someone grabbed a bunch of files... Was that the motive? Further search might reveal a small stash of gold coins hidden in the bathroom, probably some sort of emergency reserve.

Checking the e-mails and the phone shows that Mr. Devon recently communicated with someone named Richard Greenwood, Jr. The e-mails show very little actual content, as if they discussed things at length via phone, and only use e-mail for organizing an actual meeting—with Mr. Greenwood staying in different hotel.

The hotel staff asked recalls visit from Mr. Greenwood and his two rather unpleasant associates—big, threateningly-looking tattooed men who were rather rude toward staff members of Latino and African descent. Someone can even recall seeing tattoo motives reminiscent of white supremacist. They left in the afternoon. There was also a visit from a local call girl, working under the alias of Midnight Angel. When did she left? Hard to say, the receptionists who had the evening shift is not here, and does not respond to phone calls...

Who will the investigators seek first? Mr. Greenwood and his cronies? Midnight Angel? The missing receptionist? Go check what the owner of The Yellow Sands can say about Rick and his work? What will they do when the autopsy confirms that Rick drowned? Not in the fresh water of his fish tanks but salt water, though. And yet, there were no signs of violence, except for strange barely visible marks on his lips, nose, and cheeks...

Checking on Mr. Greenwood shows he is a minor but rising politician from United States, politically close to certain fringe white supremacist groups. Much better behaved than his followers, much better looking, with a certain degree of boyish charm, and a sense of style that can lead to successful career despite the unsavory message of his backers. What could summon him to a Caribbean island to seek a treasure seeker?

Had the missing receptionist seen someone she shouldn't see? Had Midnight Angel seen the same person and is in danger too? How was Rick Devon drowned without leaving physical traces?