Crowd Detective

The case

Every autumn, the hill town of Pellora holds its Soup Fair. Cooks walk up from all the valleys with big pots and bags of herbs. The winner of the fair keeps the Golden Ladle for one year. It is old and heavy, and it shines like a small sun. For the rest of the year it rests in a glass case in the Town Hall.

This morning, a baker's helper named Nina Brask came to the Hall very early to bring warm bread for the judges. She looked at the glass case and stopped. The case was closed, and the glass was whole. But the Golden Ladle was gone.

Nina ran to the square and rang the small town bell. Soon many people stood in front of the Hall. Then someone saw a paper pinned to the front door. It said: "The fair is moved to next month. The Hall is closed for repairs." Nobody knew who had written it. Many cooks had already arrived with their pots, and they were tired and worried.

Here is what everybody agrees on. The ladle was polished the evening before. The Hall was locked at six o'clock. At eight o'clock, the baker's boy looked through the window and saw the ladle shining in its case. After that, nobody saw it again. The night was quiet, and no one heard any noise.

Four people had a reason to be near the Hall that evening. Each of them has a story to tell, and each of them could have wanted the ladle to disappear.

The stakes are simple. Without the ladle, the fair cannot begin. At noon the cooks must start their walk home, because the mountain road closes for the afternoon. The ladle is not hurt or broken, we hope. It is only hidden. You have until noon to find out who took it, and why.

The suspects

Mira Tolland

Mira won the fair last year and leads the fair committee. She has a key to the Hall. She says she wants to win again, so some people think she might not want to give the ladle to someone else.

Oskar Venn

Oskar is the metalworker who polishes the ladle every year. The town has not paid him for two years of work. He was in the Hall the evening before, and he is angry about the money.

Lida Fenn

Lida is a new cook in Pellora. The committee refused her soup because she asked to join the fair too late. She brought vegetables to the Hall kitchen yesterday evening.

Pavel Dusk

Pavel is the caretaker of the Town Hall and has keys to every door. He says the fair brings mud, noise and too many feet every year. He often looks tired and says he would like a quiet autumn.

Places to investigate

The Empty Glass Case

The ladle's home is closed, clean and empty.

The Back Kitchen

Lida left vegetables here yesterday evening.

Oskar's Workshop

Pink polish, tools and an angry letter.

The Front Door Notice

A strange note says the fair is moved.

Mira's Soup Stall

Mira's stall is ready, with her notes beside it.

The Attic Stairs

A narrow staircase leads above the main hall.

The solution was sealed before the first clue: the code below is a fingerprint of its exact words, and on Sunday the words themselves appear so anyone can check them.