The White Wash

The White Wash is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Synopsis
A few people stationed at Camp McCarran have gone missing, particularly a Corporal White.

Walkthrough

 * 1) Talk to Lieutenant Carrie Boyd about missing people.
 * 2) Collect Corporal White's journal from his locker in the McCarran concourse.
 * 3) Talk to Dazzle in the Gomorrah courtyard about the missing Corporal White.
 * 4) Talk to Trent Bascom and Lieutenant Romanowski at the NCR sharecropper farms about White's disappearance. Alternatively, pickpocket the reprimand recommendation from Romanowski to learn where White went.
 * 5) Talk to Tom Anderson in the Casa Madrid Apartments in Westside.
 * 6) With a good reputation with the Followers of the Apocalypse or an Intelligence of 6, Anderson will tell the Courier the truth.
 * 7) Failing the conditions above, talk to Hector, a boy working on the Westside farms. With a Speech of 80, he will say that Anderson confronted White and something bad may have happened. If the Speech check is not met, follow Hector during the day to discover that he is stealing water from the NCR at the north cistern.
 * 8) Strike a deal with Anderson concerning the NCR's water.
 * 9) Keep Westside's water theft a secret by extorting the co-op for 10% of its profits (20% with a Barter of 50). Payments can be collected from Clayton Ettienne.
 * 10) Keep Anderson's secret by telling the NCR that White was killed by the Scorpions gang. This increase one's reputation with the Followers of the Apocalypse.
 * 11) Turn Anderson in for White's murder. He will become hostile, so he must be killed, and then his confession must be taken from his body.
 * 12) Convince Anderson to turn himself in by lying to Boyd about a falling out with White over Dazzle.
 * 13) Tell Lieutenant Boyd what happened to Corporal White.

Behind the scenes

 * This quest contains a few references from the 1974 film Chinatown. Like the movie, the mystery involves water, which is also referenced in the quest's title. A character present in the quest named Romanowski is a portmanteau of the name Roman Polanski, the director of Chinatown.
 * The quest itself was designed by Josh Sawyer and Jeff Husges.

Bugs

 * Boyd won't let you talk about the missing people if you complete the unmarked quest Silus Treatment. It may still be possible to receive and complete this quest after completing Silus Treatment if you have not also completed I Put a Spell on You as speaking with Boyd about this quest will open up multiple dialogue options with her in spite of the initial, "Haven't you done enough," greeting. The exact point of I Put a Spell on You that open's up Boyd's missing people dialog is when Curtis tells you to ask about suspicious activity.
 * Tom Anderson can disappear into the wall though he still shows up on your radar. Without talking to him, you cannot complete the quest. This may however be resolved by normal reloading procedures or even exiting and re-entering the building.
 * Upon triggering a hostile conversation option, such as telling him you'll not keep Westside's secret, or by telling him you'll "take him out", Anderson will say you've "left him not choice", and will turn him hostile, however if he is seated during this encounter, he will simply stand up, turn hostile, and then sit back down before turning non-hostile again. You'll still be able to talk to him as though he were a normal non-player character, and he will not attack the player.
 * Sometimes Boyd won't let you talk about the missing people, even if you've never interacted with her before. The above fix concerning Curtis in I Put a Spell on You will fix this bug.
 * For some reason, if you choose to turn Anderson in (or let him turn himself in) he can be seen walking around Camp McCarran some days later, and can be talked to, but is also found in the cells relentlessly pacing.
 * If you acquire Corporal White's journal entry before speaking to Boyd, the optional task "search Corporal White's personal locker" cannot be completed. This might lead to a savegame issue where the loading screen dialog tells you that the memory device is no longer present due to inaccessible DLC objects. The game will then restart upon loading dialog confirmation. This repeats with the next loading attempt, rendering the savegame useless.
 * If you helped the Followers of the Apocalypse you can tell it to Anderson, instead passing the Intelligence check, and you'll discover the truth behind White's disappearance. However, if you chose to do so instead following Hector and tell Anderson what you found about him, you will not be able to finish the quest because Boyd wont react anymore.