The Night Desk · Season 1 · Case 3 · Forged document ·
The Gazette Proofs
A forged letter in tomorrow's proofs, a newsroom full of typewriters, and a private agent who got there first.
The case file
Wednesday, 11:05 pm. Leopold Marsh, night editor of the Merrow Gazette, was reading the last proofs of the morning edition when he found a letter he had never approved, set into the letters column. It accuses the Harbor Master of taking bribes and is signed by Councilwoman Adela Brisk, who swears she never wrote it. Marsh pulled it, and kept the original sheet for you.
Between ten and eleven, four people were in the building, one in each of the newsroom, the composing room, the morgue where the old issues are filed, and the editor's office. Each had one thing in hand: the newsroom Underwood, the editor's Remington portable, a composing stick or the paste pot. One of them was Cass Rendle, a private inquiry agent, who says she was there on another matter. Examine the letter, then find who typed it, on what, and where.
Who was there
- Cass Rendle, private inquiry agent. Gray fedora, sharp pencil, treats every question as a trade.
- Leopold Marsh, night editor. Green eyeshade, red pencil, has not been surprised by anything since 1911.
- Winnie Tull, compositor. Ink to the elbows, reads type upside down and backward faster than you read forward.
- Ferris Gale, copy boy. Seventeen, all elbows, runs everywhere even when nobody is chasing him.
The places: the newsroom, the composing room, the morgue and the editor's office.
The means: the newsroom Underwood, the Remington portable, a composing stick and the paste pot.
Case 3 · Wednesday, October 28
The questioning room
This case's night is Wednesday, October 28, from midnight your time. The questioning room plays here with JavaScript on; the case file above reads without it.
The inspector's note: Let the document testify first
Physical evidence never lies on the night desk, so examine the exhibit before anyone can talk you out of what it says. A typeface, a torn edge or a fold usually rules out a place or fixes the means, which turns four suspects into a two-way question. Then use what people say only to place them. A witness who refuses to give an alibi has not given you a lie, only a gap, and gaps fill by elimination.
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 Thursday, October 29, the night after it opens.