8 exhibits · 3 deductions · About 15 minutes Free to play · Hints available
The evidence Open each exhibit to inspect the record Exhibit 01 · Torn register leaf and Room 7 key · Open full photograph Detail · Register and key · Open full photograph Exhibit 01 · Register A missing leaf The leaf for September 14 has been cut along the binding, leaving a 3 mm strip. Oblique light on the September 15 sheet reveals pressure marks: “E. VALE / 7 / 11:52.” The clerk says Room 7 was locked for plumbing repairs, but the maintenance book has no work order before the next afternoon. Exhibit 02 · Key board One brass key The numbered spare still hangs behind the desk. The guest key is in the clerk’s locked cash drawer, inside the stub of a September 15 Louisville ticket. A pencil notation on the envelope says “hold until M.V.”; the clerk says he found the key after checkout. Exhibit 03 · Diner receipt Two coffees The diner duplicate was rung at 5:42 a.m. for two coffees and four sugars. The employee discount box contains the motel clerk’s number, 014, and the waitress remembers handing the cups to him through the side window. He says he did not leave his desk. Exhibit 04 · Suitcase Water on the outside Only the suitcase shell and handle are damp; the lining and folded clothes are dry. A blue enamel flake on the handle matches the newly painted ice-machine housing under a leaking roof. The suitcase sat outside long enough to get wet, but there is no sign it was carried through rain. Exhibit 05 · Bus manifest One seat left empty Evelyn’s seat 12 remains unused on the 6:30 a.m. Louisville bus. The driver sees her at the stop at 6:24, then entering a dark county sedan with a plate ending 22. The vehicle assignment sheet lists Deputy Miriam Vale on sedan 22 for the overnight shift. Exhibit 06 · Phone log A call from Room 7 The exchange bills a 12:17 a.m. call from Room 7 to county dispatch. The dispatch slip says “M. Vale requested—caller will wait at motel.” The clerk says the phone was disconnected, but the disconnection ticket was not opened until 2:40 p.m. on September 15. Exhibit 07 · Maintenance note A replaced latch The handyman was called at 7:05 a.m. to replace the latch. His pencil sketch shows the strike plate bent toward the corridor and two screws still seated on the room side. The damage fits a door pulled hard from within; it is poor evidence of an intruder forcing entry. Exhibit 08 · Second impression A different signature An earlier impression in the same register reads “M. VALE / 7 / HOLD,” written in the clerk’s block letters before Evelyn’s entry. The county overnight roster gives Miriam Vale’s initials as M.V. and lists her as Evelyn’s emergency contact; neither record alone proves the two met.
Reconstructed timeline 11:52 p.m. Evelyn Vale checks into Room 7, according to the register impression. 12:17 a.m. Room 7 calls the sheriff’s office. 2:15 a.m. A neighboring guest hears a door slam, then a car door; no engine starts immediately. 5:42 a.m. The clerk buys two coffees at the diner. 6:10 a.m. He reports an empty, unregistered room. 6:30 a.m. Evelyn misses her bus and leaves the stop in the county car assigned to Miriam.
People in the file Evelyn Vale The missing guest. She bought a bus ticket but left with someone else.
M. Vale A deputy on the overnight roster. Her initials appear on the earlier reservation, and her assigned car is seen at the bus stop.
The clerk Denied a check-in, a working phone, and a diner trip.
The deputy Miriam’s county car is assigned number 22; the bus driver records a plate ending 22.
Close the case Study the exhibits, then make three deductions. Each answer has a clue trail in the file.
01 · Who actually checked into Room 7? Evelyn Vale Miriam Vale Nobody
Show hint 02 · Who helped conceal the stay? The deputy The motel clerk The bus driver
Show hint 03 · Whom was Evelyn meeting? An unknown stranger Her sister, Deputy Miriam Vale The bus driver
Show hint Check deductions Reveal reconstruction (no rank credit) Another file awaits Case 002: The signal before dawn A warning arrives before a bridge collapses. The tape is authentic; the voice may not be.
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