Murdok case library
After the Last Light
Thirty demanding investigations for returning detectives. Recover each person’s position across larger scenes before opening the resolution and its explanation.
CASE 070Feather Court Aviary
The Night Bill
An aviary keeper was killed while checking heating bills. Lamps were charged for all night, but the meter barely moved and one billed room had long been empty.
CASE 071Willow Lending Library
The Duplicate Library Card
A librarian was killed during an overdue-loan review. Two cards shared a number and photograph, but one bore an incomplete stamp. Both had borrowed valuable books.
CASE 072Plaster Lane Studio
The Crack Under the Wallpaper
A building inspector was killed after peeling back new wallpaper. A crack billed as repaired still took a thin card, and the filler tub remained sealed.
CASE 073Blue Clay Pottery
The Mark Beneath the Glaze
A ceramics buyer was killed before accepting an exclusive batch. A lifting handwritten label revealed a factory mark pressed beneath the glaze.
CASE 074Mirror Lane Tailor
The Short Stage Cloth
A theatre tailor was killed while checking a rented curtain. Billed as one whole cloth, it had a new joined edge containing another theatre's woven label.
CASE 075Pearl Arcade Aquarium
The Early Transport Box
An aquarium registrar was killed during a transfer review. A supposedly last-minute borrowed crate carried a destination label printed a week earlier.
CASE 076Pendulum Watch Shop
The Old Warranty Card
A watch appraiser was killed before certification. An old warranty card recorded a replaced case, contradicting the seller's promise that it had never been repaired.
CASE 077Lantern Picture House
The Donation from an Empty Seat
A theatre cashier was killed before reversing duplicate charges. A row of donors shared one mailing address, and nobody had used their reserved seats.
CASE 078Tide Cabinet Shop
The Hidden Price Tag
An antiques examiner was killed before certifying locally salvaged shells. One shell held a distant shop's price tag matching an erased purchase entry.
CASE 079Quill Corner Reading Cafe
The Wet Approval Stamp
A proofreader was killed before the final proof. A rejected paragraph had returned with a fresh approval stamp in a colour the author did not use.
CASE 080Granite Municipal Annex
The Unused Safety Rope
A safety officer was killed while checking roof-work records. The billed ropes remained sealed, while work photographs showed a different model.
CASE 081White Cape Signal Station
The Spare Lighthouse Bulb
A lighthouse inspector was killed during a replacement check. A supposedly empty spare-bulb box still held the new bulb named in the installation report.
CASE 082Winter Window Toy Shop
The Note Beneath the Globe
A gift-shop keeper was killed before returning a stored snow globe. Its base held a debt note with the signature cut away but the amount and date intact.
CASE 083Canal Survey Office
The Painted Boundary Stone
A survey assistant was killed while marking a property edge. A boundary stone had been painted white, but beneath it lay the number on the neighbouring deed.
CASE 084Marionette Hall
The Puppet's New Joint
A puppet restorer was killed while checking a returned antique. Its face matched old photographs, but the joints were new and the outer shell detached as one piece.
CASE 085Orchid Glass Perfumery
The Shared Batch Number
A perfume packer was killed after two differently priced ranges shared a batch number. Their bottles differed, but the filling log listed only one source tank.
CASE 086Elm Street Sorting Office
The Twice-Used Stamp
A stamp custodian was killed while checking an auction envelope. The postmark on its stamp failed to join the mark on the paper, and two glue layers edged the stamp.
CASE 087Echo House Conservatory
The Rental Slip
A violin clerk was killed before returning a concert instrument. Its claimed owner overlooked an active rental slip in the case bearing the instrument's serial number.
CASE 088Paper Harbor Map Archive
The Two Scales
A map editor was killed before printing a bay land-sale chart. One plot looked unusually wide, and the draft showed a seam joining maps drawn at different scales.
CASE 089Crescent Rehearsal House
The Late Audience List
A hall volunteer was killed while checking access-service fees. The claimed guest list named wheelchair users, but the entrance ramp was closed on the event date.
CASE 090Ember Printing Works
The Borrowed Seal
A letter custodian was killed before handing over an authorization. Its seal bore the right crest but lacked the crack acquired by the original seal a month earlier.
CASE 091East Window Film Studio
The Old Hinge
A design assistant was killed while checking a supposedly new set. Paint had changed the door, but an old production number remained beneath its reused hinge.
CASE 092Silver Leaf Restoration House
The Label Behind the Mirror
A glass-shop examiner was killed while checking a bespoke mirror. A half-scraped freight label on its back identified a standard factory size.
CASE 093Hollow Oak Boarding House
The Unsent Visit Letters
A care-home social worker was killed while checking family visits. Files said notices were posted, but postage receipts fell short and stationery remained boxed.
CASE 094Moss Crown Botanical Lab
The Reversed Sample Label
A laboratory worker was killed before sending soil samples. One matching sample number was printed on the back of an older label from a different trial plot.
CASE 095Rail Memory Museum
The Weight in the Wagon
A model appraiser was killed after weighing an old goods train. Sold as solid brass, one wagon leaked lead shot through a hole beside newly replaced screws.
CASE 096Salt Stair Marine Institute
The Early Loss Form
A specimen-store cashier was killed before an insurance submission. The loss list predated the accident and included an item already loaned elsewhere.
CASE 097North Arc Planetarium
The Telescope Cover
An equipment keeper was killed before lending a telescope. Its lens cap was sealed, yet fresh polishing paste marked the cover and the lens number had changed.
CASE 098Iron Sparrow Assay Office
The Safe Loan Form
A silver-store examiner was killed during a loan check. An approved loan form copied a signature from an old note, including the note's printed line beneath it.
CASE 099Horizon Bookbindery
The Different Diary Paper
An estate organizer was killed while checking a diary's gift promise. One inserted page lacked the others' old cut marks and bore a watermark from a later year.