Free mini mystery

The Room Key

A short split-evidence case for two. Each player sees a different part of the answer.

How to play: Choose Player A and Player B. Read only your own card, then compare notes. Do not open the solution until you have named the person and hiding place.

Player A

What you know

At the Marlowe cinema, a brass projection-booth key vanishes before a private screening. Leah, Omar, and Priya were nearby.

Leah was taping the program to the wall; her fingertips are sticky with clear tape residue.
Omar says he was refilling the water jug. The jug is full, but his shoes are wet.
Priya says she never left the ticket desk. She has a fresh ticket-desk ink stamp on her thumb.

The keyring normally sits on a red velvet cushion beside the ticket desk.

Player B

What you know

The projection-booth door is open, but the key is not in the lock. Behind the ticket desk, a damp umbrella drips onto the floor.

Inside the umbrella’s folded strap is a small red velvet fiber.
Leah’s tote has clear tape and a printed program.
Omar carries no umbrella. Priya’s umbrella is beside the ticket desk and its handle is damp.

The manager says the only reason to remove the key was to open the booth before the screening.

Make your accusation

Who took the key, and where is it now? Tell each other what your clue changes before you reveal the answer.

Reveal the solution

Priya took the key and hid it in her umbrella’s folded strap after opening the booth. Player B has the velvet fiber and umbrella evidence. Player A has the ticket-desk stamp, which supports Priya’s claim that she was there but does not prove she never stepped away. Omar’s wet shoes come from the water spill; Leah’s tape residue fits her task.

This draft mini mystery is separate from The Last Reservation and does not reveal material from the flagship case.

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