The Night Desk · Season 1 · Case 11 · Timeline ·
The Night Tram
The last car up Gull Hill, four stops in the rain, and a fare bag that never reached the top.
The case file
Thursday night. The last tram up Gull Hill leaves the harbor at ten and calls at four stops: Quay Street at 10:05, Market Cross at 10:12, St. Brannoc's at 10:20 and Hilltop at 10:31. The conductor hung his fare bag, $95 in fares, on its hook on the rear platform and went forward to help the driver with a stuck brake.
The bag was still on its hook as the car pulled away from Market Cross; the conductor saw it through the glass. At Hilltop it was gone. Four riders got off, each at a different stop, each carrying one thing: a music case, a brown paper parcel, a laundry basket or a carpet bag. Whoever took the bag carried it off inside theirs.
Who was there
- Miss Lavender Boyce, piano teacher. Gloves, a veil and a voice that keeps perfect time.
- Arthur Penwill, grocer's delivery boy. Fourteen, freckled, all elbows, and frightened of his employer.
- Mrs. Ruth Kemble, laundress. Red forearms, starch in her apron, and an opinion on everyone's linen.
- Dr. Edmund Orme, physician on Gull Hill. Tired eyes, a good coat, and the calm of a man woken at all hours.
In order: Quay Street (10:05), Market Cross (10:12), St. Brannoc's (10:20) and Hilltop (10:31).
The means: a music case, a brown paper parcel, a laundry basket and a carpet bag.
Case 11 · Thursday, November 5
The questioning room
This case's night is Thursday, November 5, from midnight your time. The questioning room plays here with JavaScript on; the case file above reads without it.
The inspector's note: A hinge clue joins two rows
Clues like "right after" or "the stop before" do not place anyone alone. They tie two things together, so the moment one side is fixed, the other is too. Keep a hinge clue in view as you pin the ends. When one of its sides lands, swing the other into place at once, and cross out everything else in that column.
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 Friday, November 6, the night after it opens.