Murdok case library
The First Files
Ten investigations to learn the city: stations, tea rooms and a hotel guest nobody remembers. Read witnesses, rebuild the scene, then compare your conclusion.
CASE 004Stillsea Tea Rooms
The Last Cup
A tea merchant was killed before a stock review. Two cups remained on the table: one used, one untouched. Who had been invited to settle the account?
CASE 005Low Tide Inn
The Absent Guest
A hotel manager was killed while checking long-stay bills. One guest had a paid entry in the register, but no witness or used room could place that guest in the hotel.
CASE 000Stillsea Central Station
Twelve Minutes Dark
An auditor demanded the station's repair records. After a twelve-minute blackout she was dead, the records were missing, and the last train had not moved.
CASE 001Municipal Glasshouse
The Glasshouse Alarm
An auditor came to inspect the glasshouse's new vents. The alarm opened all but one. Before anyone could explain the fault, the auditor was found dead.
CASE 003Stillsea Civic Archive
The Atlas After Rain
An auditor checking a clearance zone was killed in the archive. Her map was soaked while nearby papers stayed dry. An inhabited street was missing beneath the wet ink.
CASE 006North Window Studio
Snow in the Darkroom
A photographer checking a disputed inheritance was killed. A portrait claimed to date from summer showed snow on its negative. One of those dates had to be wrong.
CASE 007Velvet Lane Theatre
The Empty Violin Case
After the concert, an encore sounded backstage. The attendant found the performer dead beside an empty violin case. What had been playing the music?
CASE 008East Lock House
The Bell Below Water
A cargo inspector was killed at the dock. An alarm had drawn witnesses away, although its usual pull rope lay untouched in the water. Someone had rung it another way.
CASE 002Harbour Signal House
Signal Nine
A photographer checking last night's arrivals was killed on the breakwater. The log listed no ship, but the radio repeated exactly the same weather bulletin three times.
CASE 009Harbor Telegraph Office
The Unsent Telegram
A telegraph clerk was killed over a cancelled shipment. Its cancellation arrived at five, but the dispatch book said six. That hour determined who owed the loss.