Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill Walkthrough
A Walkthrough by Michael Gray
AKA The Lost Gamer (ilovecartoonssomuch@yahoo.com)
Videogame humor: http://www.gamecola.net/
Copyright 2008
Table of Contents:
001. General information
002. Walkthrough
003. Credits
001-General Information
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This is a walkthrough for the PC game called Nancy Drew:
Secrets Can Kill. It's the first game in the Nancy Drew
series, in which you play as Nancy Drew and go around
and solve mysteries.
If you want to contact me, e-mail
ilovecartoonssomuch@yahoo.com, but make the subject blank
if you do. If you want to reproduce this guide in some
fashion, you should contact me before doing so.
In this game, you can choose one of three levels, junior
detective, senior detective, and master detective. The
difference between the three is negligible.
"Dear Dad,
Who would have guessed that taking a semester off to
visit Aunt Eloise in Florida would result in another
case? It seems a student was murdered at the high school
last night, and Daryl Gray, the Student Council
President, found the body.
When Aunt Eloise heard, she rushed me right over and
introduced me to the principal. He asked if I would try
to find out who did it and why.
So it's undercover I go! My only contact is Daryl. So I'm
off to solve a murder! I'm calling this case 'Secrets Can
Kill'.
Love,
Nancy"
The game starts out in Aunt Eloise's apartment. There are
several things you can do here, but most of it (such as
looking at all the paintings on the walls) is optional.
Right in front of you is a desk-table. On top of it is a
message from Aunt Eloise. She's left the key to the
library in the safe, and the combination is hidden in the
house. The safe is behind the tapestry in that little
niche in the corner.
You can open the drawer on the desk, and inside is a
phone card. Pick it up if you feel like calling someone
in this game.
In the little side-room, you can look around. The coffee
table has a jewelry box you can open and look at. You can
look at some pictures of Aunt Eloise by the lamp, and you
can look at the book of flowers on a side-table (the book
has the word MITCH on it, written in green).
Aunt Eloise has a TV, with bookshelves on either side.
You can look at a map of Florida on the left bookshelf,
which has the message "Blade up on glass / gets you in
class" in Morse Code written on the border). You can open
a book on the right bookshelf to find the key to the
chest in the corner. Inside this chest, you can pick up a
quarter. You don't have to do this to beat the game.
What you HAVE to do is open the drawer on a side desk. In
here, you must take the TV remote and read Aunt Eloise's
letter from sigma phi kappa delta.
Sigma phi kappa delta is the combination to the safe, so
press those four letters in that order (which Aunt Eloise
helpfully wrote down at the top of her paper for all
those people who don't read Greek) onto the safe.
Once the safe is open, take the spare key to the library.
Click on the little box with a picture of flowers on it.
It's a slider puzzle. On junior mode, it's a 3 by 3
puzzle. The way to beat it is by getting the top row into
place. Now without moving the top row, get the two left-
hand pieces into place. From there, rotate the remaining
three pieces, and you're done.
On senior/master mode, it's a four-by-four puzzle, which
requires more strategy. Here's my four-by-four slider
puzzle strategy.
12XX
34XX
XXXX
XXXX
The key to every sliding puzzle is the order you put the
pieces in. When the puzzle is solved, the missing piece
goes in the upper/right corner. For some reason, this
means you have to solve the lower/right corner first.
Using my fancy diagram up there, do the following:
Put piece 1 into place. Never move this piece again.
Put piece 2 into place. Never move this piece again.
Put piece 3 into place. Never move this piece again.
Put piece 4 into place. Never move this piece again.
Hmmm, was it really necessary for me to list out each
piece separately? Maybe not. Oh well, now you've got the
lower/left quadrant done. You don't need to touch any of
those pieces again.
ooXX
ooXX
2XXX
13XX
Find piece #2. Put it in spot #1.
Find piece #1. Put it in spot #3.
Now, you can move the empty square to spot #2, and from
there, slide pieces 1 and 2 into their correct spot. You
don't need to touch either of those pieces again.
We repeat the process.
ooXX
ooXX
o2XX
o13X
Find piece #2. Put it in spot #1.
Find piece #1. Put it in spot #3.
Now, you can move the empty square to spot #2, and from
there, slide pieces 1 and 2 into their correct spot. You
don't need to touch either of those pieces again. Now the
entire left-hand side is done!
Oo12
ooX3
ooXX
ooXX
Find piece #1. Put it in spot #2.
Find piece #2. Put it in spot #3.
Now, you can move the empty square to spot #1, and from
there, slide pieces 1 and 2 into their correct spot. You
don't need to touch either of those pieces again. As you
might have guessed, you repeat the process.
oooo
oo12
ooX3
ooXX
Find piece #1. Put it in spot #2.
Find piece #2. Put it in spot #3.
Now, you can move the empty square to spot #1, and from
there, slide pieces 1 and 2 into their correct spot. Now
just mix around the final three pieces until they're in
place.
Inside the slider puzzle box is Aunt Eloise's computer
logon.
Name: Eloise Drew.
Password: O Wise Elder.
Aunt Eloise's computer logon is really all you need to
get from her apartment. Now you can leave.
Head to Maxine's. There you can talk with Daryl Gray,
your contact. If you got a quarter at Aunt Eloise's, you
can use it on the jukebox player and the pinball machine.
There are several hidden messages here at Maxine's. The
menu behind Daryl is a simple message--read the red
letters to spell out "soup ladle bolt cutter". Do the
same sort of thing with a menu on a table--the red
letters spell "danger," while the purple letters spell
"sabotage".
Head to the kitchen area behind Daryl. Under a "safety
first" sign is a black container with the soup ladle
inside. Under the "danger flammable materials" is a bolt
cutter. This is what the sign behind Daryl was referring
to. Take the bolt cutter and replace it with the soup
ladle.
If you don't put the soup ladle in place, the diner
explodes due to a gas leak. Personally, I think it's
really stupid for the diner to use soup ladles and bolt
cutters to prevent gas leaks, but whatever.
The only other thing to do at Maxine's (besides see the
list of chores that the employees must do) is check the
work calendar. See the numbers at the bottom? That's a
simple alphanumeric code. 1=a, 2=b, 3=c, etc.
The code spells out "Jake's fate happened deliberately /
gravity was not his worst enemy". Um...yeah, all the
clues in this game are poems.
This same code is used on one of the napkin dispensers at
Maxine's, but all it spells is "JAKE", which isn't much
help at all.
Once you have the bolt cutter, head to Paseo Del Mar High
School. You have to switch CDs to do this.
The high school is FILLED with hidden messages, most on
bulletin boards. The one on the board near Jake's locker
is a simple code--rearrange the spaces to spell out this
message.
Find the morning edition
And discover another crime
The answer is in black and white
To who will do the time.
The bulletin board in the gym has three messages. One is
upside down:
He did what it took
To make the grade
Even if it meant cheating
To keep up his charade
One is flipped vertically and horizontally:
Nowhere to turn to,
Nowhere to hide,
Let the books in the library
Be your answer guide.
And the third one is written from right to left, and
bottom to top:
A symbol of Kanji
Worn with great pride
Reflects a big secret
That someone must hide
The eye chart in the gym needs to be read backwards:
If you can read this,
Then make no mistake
A genuine first class
Detective you'll make.
The bulletin board in crossroads that leads to the gym
and the library is an upside-down note:
In the face of danger
Against a killer if you dare
A very unlikely couple
Could be a helpful pair
The bulletin board in front of the library is an upside-
down note:
When things go astray
Tonight at Vandelay
It will not help to run
So you must grab the gun
The other bulletin board by the library spells out a clue
if you rearrange the spaces:
There's more than one way
To remove a chain so thick
Aside from the combination
Mel's bolt cutter can do the trick.
The bulletin board in study hall has a message written
from right to left:
Jake's locker combo
Was a part of his fame
Just find a phone
To decode his name
The bulletin board in the phone area has a flyer with a
checkered border. There are letters in the border which
spell out SIDE OF SCHOOL over and over again.
The bulletin board outside of the phone area has
underlined letters:
SEARCH BELOW DANGER SIGN IN KITCHEN
The SAT Prep Sheet on the librarian's desk in the library
has several words that are bolded and in italics:
Sabotage should cause concern
But with the gloves you will not burn
The book on dream symbols in the library has a message
spelled out in purple:
Don't run, Nancy.
The paper in the lowest map drawer in the library has
blue and green letters. Read the blue letters, then the
green letters:
The bolt cutter you must take
Or you could be the next Jake
The sign language book in the library highlights the
letters J A K E and the numbers 5 2 3.
The letters of the Principal's name on the dedication
plaque in the library can be rearranged to spell "Boiler
Room Door".
The note on the notepad upstairs in the library has a
backwards alphabet code (Z=A, Y=B, X=C, etc.):
The one with the temper
And the iron fist
Is more than a suspect
On Jake's blackmail list
The list of teacher's names in the teacher's lounge
spells out something with the first letter of each
teacher's name:
Tanaka cheats
The "while you were out" pad in the teacher's lounge has
a message where you read out numbers and letters:
Before you see the enemy,
Examine the elevator
The alphanumeric code is repeated for the message at the
bottom of the security report you can print in the
teacher's lounge:
Braille keypad
There are highlighted letters on the periodic table of
the elements in the teacher's lounge:
Search behind boiler
The map in the teacher's lounge has writing on the top
and bottom:
A trophy was not the only prize
But also money of a great size
The sign language note inside a book in the teacher's
lounge is a color-coded anagram:
O was innocent = Connie Watson
Yep, there's a lot of hidden messages. Good thing I wrote
them all out for you, so you don't have to waste time
decoding them.
You can talk with Hulk Sanchez at the gym. Hulk is the
star football player for four years in a row. He doesn't
like Jake.
Hal Tanaka, the exchange student, is studying in the
study hall. He tells you that Daryl's family recently
lost a lot of money.
You can talk to Connie Watson in the phone room. She
doesn't like Jake Rogers, and she has a thing for Daryl
Gray.
Talking to the characters lets you talk to them about
each other. Hulk and Connie think Hal studies too much.
Hal tells you that Hulk was recently injured, and that
Connie was dating Jake.
The library has a lot of books that you can look at. Most
contain completely unnecessary information.
You can check the card catalog to note that the book Jake
checked out from the library is, um, from the library.
Helpful, I guess.
The only thing you HAVE to do is check out the area on
the side, which has tiny bookshelves that hold
encyclopedia sets. The upper/left encyclopedia set lets
you look at K for Kanji. Nancy notes that the Kanji
symbol Connie is wearing stands for Crane.
The lower/middle encyclopedia set lets you read B for
Braille. That comes in handy later on.
You can use the phone card from the drawer in Aunt
Eloise's room to use a phone in the phone room. Using the
phone, you can call Nancy's friends for hints.
One of the hidden messages said to check a phone for
Jake's name or something like that. What it means is that
you can look at a phone, such as the one in the phone
room. J A K E on a phone layout it 5 2 5 3. That's the
combination to Jake's locker. The book in the library on
sign language also hinted at this.
Open Jake's locker. Inside is a VHS tape box, a library
book and a judo magazine. Look at all of them.
Apparently, a mystery competitor won the male judo
competition.
Look at the bottom of Jake's locker. There's a newspaper
about somebody stealing steroids from the Vandelay
Pharmaceutical building. There's also a video camera and
a glass cutter. Pick up the glass cutter!
You can use the glass cutter to break into the teacher's
lounge. Leave the school, then go back to it, so you're
at the place where you see the outside of the school.
Look for a place on the right hand side of the screen.
Yes, you can go on the side of the school, as one of the
hidden messages said. You can follow another secret
message by using Jake's paper cutter to cut a hole in the
third window from the left.
Using the hole, open the window to get in the teacher's
lounge. You can log onto the computer in the lounge with
Aunt Eloise's log-on. Look at the key on the computer to
learn that the code for the boiler/maintenance room is
NOTE.
You can print out a security report if you want, which
tells you some unneeded plot information that nobody
mentions in the game.
Open the drawer of senior final papers to read Hal's
essay. It's the same as the one in the book in Jake's
locker! Hal is a cheater!
You can now enter the boiler room, now that you know the
password. It's in Braille, and you can use the book in
the library to decode it. NOTE in Braille looks like
this:
.. . .
. . .. .
. . . .
You have to switch CDs to go inside, which is a hassle.
Go in, and ride the elevator down. Check out the boiler
and all the stuff in this area. Open the toolbox for
gloves. That is all you're supposed to do at this point
in time.
Leave the school to talk to Daryl. Talk to him about
whatever you want, but do not ask "Pressure the
suspects?" or your game will mess up and not move on to
the next part of the plot, which is...
Daryl has a note for you if you've been in the boiler
room. The note says to go BACK to the boiler room.
Phooey.
Go back to the boiler room. Oh no! The boiler is about to
explode! You can rip off the chain with the bolt cutters,
or use the combination on the wall (1967) to open the
lock (you have to use the gloves to do so, though).
You need to set the boiler levers to the position labeled
on the wall. Pull the left lever twice, the right lever
twice, and the left lever a third time.
That solves the puzzle. You can't leave via the elevator,
so leave through the grate behind the boiler. Crawl
through it, and Nancy finds a VHS tape.
Go back to Aunt Eloise's. Turn on the TV with the remote
and stick in the tape.
OH MY!!!
Jake's tape has footage of Hulk stealing drugs! Hal
cheating on his senior essay! Connie entering the judo
competition by cross-dressing! And Daryl was...SELLING
THINGS TO A MYSTERIOUS SMOKER? Oh, no, say it isn't so!
Talk to Hal, Connie and Hulk about being blackmailed.
Talk to them about everything.
Then go to Maxine's and talk to Daryl. He's not there if
you haven't talk to everyone else. Daryl says he's a drug
runner for a scumbag named Mitch.
Mitch killed Jake.
Daryl says he'll confront Mitch tonight, and recruits
Nancy as backup. Go to the school and talk to everyone
about everything. No one agrees to help with Mitch.
Leave school and the game skips to later that night. Go
to Vandelay. Daryl gets in a fight with Mitch.
Mitch pulls out a gun, but Connie comes to save the day.
Yay! The gun is knocked aside and automatically lands in
Nancy's inventory. Immediately use the gun on Mitch to
make him surrender, or else he kills you.
Once Mitch sees you have a gun, he puts his hands up. The
game the ends, and it's a happy ending for everyone! Yay!
I suppose a happy ending was needed after all that heavy
plot about murder, drugs and blackmail.
