The Driver's Seat

The Driver's Seat is a Traffic case in L.A. Noire. This is the first case Cole Phelps takes on as a detective in the Traffic Desk, after being promoted from the Patrol Desk.

Description[]

Cole Phelps and his new partner, Stefan Bekowsky, are called up to investigate an abandoned car, which looks as if a murder was committed inside of it, at the P.E. Freight Depot in the Warehouse District. During the investigation, Phelps finds out that the car is registered to 32 year old Adrian Black, who was reported missing the previous evening. Phelps also finds a receipt for a live pig in the trunk of the car, bought by Frank Morgan.

Persons of Interest[]

Nate Wilkey - Reporting witness at crime scene.
Adrian Black - Missing owner of abandoned Lincoln.
Margaret Black - Wife of the missing person, Adrian Black.
Frank Morgan - Friend and coworker of the missing person, Adrian Black.

Objectives[]

Investigate P.E. Freight Depot
Interview Nate Wilkey
Interview Mrs. Black
Investigate Black Residence
Trace Address of Cavanagh's Bar
Investigate Cavanagh's Bar
Interview Frank Morgan
Charge Frank Morgan or let him go
Investigate Morgan's Apartment
Apprehend Adrian Black

Detailed Walkthrough[]

P.E. Freight Depot[]

Once you arrive at the crime scene, talk to the coroner and then find the following evidence:

Stencil	Details
	Inside a light blue Lincoln Continental Coupe.
	Description	Large splashes of blood, found inside abandoned vehicle.
	Clues	Blood splashes
	In the trunk of the abandoned vehicle.
	Description	Live hog purchase receipt with the name Mr. F. Morgan, found in abandoned vehicle.
	Clues	Receipt for live hog
	P.O.I.'s	F. Morgan
	In front of the vehicle, at the evidence B marker (A marker on remastered version).
	Description	Wallet belonging to Adrian Black, found near abandoned vehicle.
	Clues	Wallet
	P.O.I.'s	Mrs. Black
	Objectives	Interview Mrs. Black
	In front of the vehicle, at the evidence B marker (A marker on remastered version).
	Description	Stenzel eyeglasses, broken and taped, found near abandoned vehicle.
	Clues	Glasses
	To the left of the vehicle between the forked train tracks, at the evidence A marker (B marker on remastered version).
	Description	Length of steel pipe, InstaHeat brand, stained with blood.
	Clues	Bloody pipe

Interview Nate Wilkey[]

Question	Response	Response (Remaster)
Purpose at scene	Truth	Good Cop
Knowledge of Adrian Black	Truth	Good Cop
Contents of wallet	Doubt	Bad Cop
Bloodstained pipe found	Truth	Good Cop

Black Residence[]

Stencil	Details
	On the dresser in Adrian Black's bedroom.
	Description	Photograph of Adrian, message on reverse reads 'Hurry back, my darling, Nicole.'
	Clues	Concealed message
	On the dresser in Adrian Black's bedroom.
	Description	Stenzel glasses case, found empty.
	Clues	Glasses case
	In the wardrobe in Adrian Black's bedroom.
	Description	Train ticket with receipt, Los Angeles to Seattle.
	Clues	Train ticket
	On the table in the dining room, on the kitchen table next to the stove, and on the nightstand in Adrian Black's bedroom.
	Description	Matchbook marked Cavanagh's Bar.
	Clues	Cavanagh's matchbook
	Objectives	Trace Address of Cavanagh's
	On the kitchen table.
	Description	InstaHeat water heater installation receipt, dated recently.
	Clues	InstaHeat receipt
	On the kitchen table.
	Description	InstaHeat water heater promotional pamphlet, with assembly diagram.
	Clues	InstaHeat flyer

Inspect both photos of Mr. and Mrs. Black in their separate rooms, which suggests marriage problems.
In the dining room, there is a newspaper on the table.

Now, go outside and inspect the new water heater. You will find that you have to arrange the pipes, and once you do, you will find that the pipe that is missing is the same one found at the scene, covered in blood.

Interview Margaret Black[]

Question	Response	Response (Remaster)	Evidence	Clue/Location/P.O.I/Lead/Objective
Slaughterhouse receipt	Truth	Good Cop		Frank Morgan (Updated)
Photograph signed 'Nicole'	Lie	Accuse	Concealed message
Location of Adrian Black	Truth	Good Cop
Stenzel glasses case	Truth	Good Cop
Cavanagh's Bar matchbook	Truth	Good Cop
Alibi for Mrs. Black	Truth	Good Cop

Pay attention to the order of these questions, it depends on the order in which you gathered the evidence.

Once you are done, use the telephone in Black's home to find the location of Cavanagh's Bar, if you haven't already.

Cavanagh's Bar[]

Once you arrive at the bar, talk to the bartender.

Interview Frank Morgan[]

Question	Response	Response (Remaster)	Evidence	Clue/Location/P.O.I/Lead/Objective
Link to Abandoned Vehicle	Lie	Accuse	Receipt for live hog	Adrian Black Whereabouts (?)
Location of Adrian Black	Doubt	Bad Cop		Morgan's Apartment (Updated) Investigate Morgan's Apartment

You will have the choice to arrest or leave Frank Morgan.

NOTE: If you fail the questioning, you will have to tail Morgan home to discover Adrian.
If you answer the questions correctly, arresting or leaving Morgan alone will not affect your case rating, and he will still appear in a Homicide street crime later.

Morgan's Apartment[]

During the drive to Morgan's Apartment, you will get another clue via the police radio letting you know that the blood in the car was not human but in fact swine blood (most likely from the hog Frank ordered). If you have your partner drive and skip the scene, you may or may not miss the clue. If you don't get the clue on the way, commandeer a police vehicle, and you should get it.

If you correctly answered Frank's questions, just find his apartment number, 2, and walk up to the door. Adrian will answer the door, where he will tell you that he needed to leave L.A. for a while. He then tells you that he needs to pack his stuff. However, he slams the door in your face, prompting you to kick it down and go after him. Alternatively, If you didn't answer his questions correctly, Frank Morgan will answer the door after reassuring Black that they were "in the clear." He opens the door to find the detectives standing there. Cole will ask Adrian to come with him Downtown. Adrian flees out the window and tries to escape, while Frank Morgan gives himself up.

Apprehend Adrian Black[]

Climb out the window and chase Adrian up the fire escape, across the rooftops, and down the pipe and he will get cut off by Bekowsky.

Case Briefing[]

"Newly assigned to the Traffic Squad, Central Division. After a year in uniform, the Detective Bureau was starting to sound like the promised land. First case is an abandoned vehicle, recovered at the Pacific Electric Freight Depot. According to the reporting patrolman and witnesses on site there are signs of foul play. We need to track down the owner, see if anything untoward happened to him."

Case Notes[]

"Adrian Black can look forward to his day in court, and a beating from the LA press."
"Frank Morgan would have rolled over on Adrian Black with some tougher questioning."
"Mrs Black is no doormat - the right evidence and she would have spilled the beans on her husband."

Trivia[]

This case is loosely based on the real-life 1947 disappearance of Eugene White. For information about the real case, see the 1947 project time travel blog
At the Black Residence, there is a receipt for the installation of an InstaHeat water heater with the name "M.Ryan," who appears in the later Arson case "The Gas Man."
Geiger’s Rare Books

The store to the right of Frank Morgan's apartment building is one "Geiger's Rare Books," referencing Raymond Chandler's famous hardboiled detective novel The Big Sleep.
This case and "A Different Kind of War" are the only two cases where all Cole's detective partners are seen. Herschel Biggs, Roy Earle and Stefan Bekowsky are introduced by Mel Fleischer, and Rusty Galloway can be seen sitting in the far side of the briefing room while Gordon Leary welcomes Phelps.
In a later case, Cole and Stefan discuss a follow up to this case, Stefan admitting hearing that Adrian Black went to Seattle but his mistress kicked him out, Adrian returned to L.A. and Margaret took him back.
Alonzo Mendez, the person of interest in the Homicide case "The Red Lipstick Murder", may be a regular to Cavanagh's Bar, because there are 2 Cavanagh's matchbook located in Alonzo Mendez's Apartment, one matchbook found on the table next to the phone near the bedroom, the matchbook is also found on the table near the kitchen.

Gallery[]

Video Walkthroughs[]

LA Noire - Walkthrough - Mission 5 - The Driver's Seat (5 Star)

LA Noire Remaster - Case 5 - The Driver's Seat (5 Stars)

L.A. Noire Part 2 The Case of the Driver's Seat - L.A. Noire Lore

Notes[]

Beginning with this mission, calls for assistance regarding various street crimes will begin to be heard periodically. The player has the option of ignoring these calls (to investigate them later while in free roam) or taking on these mini-cases, even in the midst of investigating the main assigned case. If the player chooses the "partner drives" option to get from place to place, these calls will not be heard.
Also beginning with this case, amongst all others, the player does not need to immediately head to the scene of the crime or investigation destinations and may, effectively, free roam the city, finding landmarks, unlocking vehicles and searching for film reels.

	Spoiler Warning
	Plot details follow, read at your own risk.

	Notice
	Evidence markers aren't always consistent.