The Night Desk · Season 1 · Case 2 · Locked room ·
The Picture House Reel
A locked projection booth, a fifteen-minute intermission, and the only print in the county gone.
The case file
Tuesday, 9:00 pm. The Paragon Picture House on Tidewater Street was halfway through the Port Merrow premiere of The Gilded Tide when the house lights came up for intermission. Arlo Quint, the projectionist, locked his booth and went down for tea. At 9:15 he unlocked it again, and reel two of the only print in the county was gone.
The booth was locked the whole time, and the only key hangs on Quint's watch chain. There are three other ways in: the vent hatch off the balcony stairs, the fire escape window over the alley, and the film lift that runs up from below. During the intermission four people were in four parts of the building: the lobby, the balcony, the manager's office and the alley. Each could reach the booth by exactly one way. Find out which, and whose way was used.
Who was there
- Arlo Quint, projectionist. Pale from working in the dark, speaks to the floor, knows every frame by heart.
- Vera Lisle, usherette. Flashlight on her belt, a smile she switches on and off like one.
- Bertram Oakes, manager of the Paragon. Sweats when the house is full and sweats more when it isn't.
- Nell Ashby, pianist for the shorts. Long fingers drumming on everything, hums the score under her breath.
The places: the lobby, the balcony, the manager's office and the alley.
The means: Quint's key, the vent hatch, the fire escape window and the film lift.
Case 2 · Tuesday, October 27
The questioning room
This case's night is Tuesday, October 27, from midnight your time. The questioning room plays here with JavaScript on; the case file above reads without it.
The inspector's note: In a locked room, list the doors
The trick of a locked room is that it has more than one door. Write every way in across the top of the board before you think about people, and treat "only one person had the key" as one filled square, not as the answer. Once each way in has an owner, the physical trace, here dust on a can lid, does the accusing for you.
How to solve a Night Desk case, with a worked example.
The solution
The night desk's write-up appears here once you solve the case, or from Wednesday, October 28, the night after it opens.