The disappearance
At 8:00 p.m., a charity auction's handwritten reserve-price card was inside a locked display case. At 8:12, the card was gone. The emergency key cabinet had been opened, and the display had been unlocked with its spare key.
Your job: identify who used the spare key and which clue disproves their alibi.
Rules of this case
Exactly one of the three suspects took the card. Nobody helped them. They acted in person. The evidence below is complete and accurate; statements by suspects may be false. All clocks agree. No disguises, remote devices, copied keys or hidden passages are involved.
SUSPECT AMara / curator
“I was in the glass office from 8:02 until 8:11. I never left.”
SUSPECT BLeon / photographer
“I was in the print room from 8:03 until 8:10. At 8:06 I pressed Print on the wall printer. That proves I was there.”
SUSPECT CIris / caterer
“I was at the loading dock from 8:04 until 8:09, signing for a delivery.”
Evidence file
01 / ACCESS LOGThe emergency key cabinet opened once, at 8:05. The spare key was removed and returned at 8:08. All three suspects knew its code. The display-case sensor recorded an opening at 8:07 and a closing at 8:08.
02 / OFFICE VIDEOContinuous video shows Mara alone in the glass office from 8:02 to 8:11. Its only door is visible. She never leaves.
03 / DELIVERY VIDEOContinuous loading-dock video shows Iris beside the driver from 8:04 to 8:09. She never leaves the frame. The key cabinet and display are indoors, out of her reach.
04 / PRINTER SERVICE REPORTThe wall printer's power cable was unplugged for servicing from 8:00 to 8:15. It has no battery. The technician remained beside it throughout. No page was printed and no control was pressed during that interval.
05 / FLOOR PLANThe print room has an unmonitored side door. From there, the key cabinet is a 20-second walk and the display another 20 seconds away. Leon could leave and return during his claimed stay.
Need a small hint?
Separate a suspect's statement from independent evidence. Which alibis cover the entire key-removal window?
Need a stronger hint?
Two people are continuously visible elsewhere from 8:05 to 8:08. The third person's claimed proof conflicts with a service record.
The missing minute
Leon took the card. Mara and Iris were continuously observed elsewhere throughout the 8:05–8:08 key-removal window. Under the stated no-accomplice rule, neither could have used it.
Leon's claim that he pressed Print at 8:06 is contradicted by the technician's continuous observation, and the printer could not operate. The side door establishes a feasible route; it does not, by itself, prove guilt.
Why this is enough: the uninterrupted alibis exclude Mara and Iris, while the case specifies exactly one culprit among these three. We do not infer a motive or invent evidence about where the card ended up.
Difficulty target: introductory. An easy solution is useful feedback, too.
MORE TO SOLVEThree new cases. USD $3.
Enjoyed this introductory puzzle? Three Small Mysteries includes a crate-tracking case, a one-true-statement case and an envelope-order case. None repeats The Last Label.
8-page PDF + plain text. Separate hints and explained solutions. English, beginner level, for solo play. Read on a device or print. Digital download only.
See the three-case pack on Payhip - USD $3 ↗
Optional purchase on an external store. This free case and its solution remain free. Opening the link does not buy anything.
Was this worth your break?
Choose the reaction closest to yours. This prototype does not send responses anywhere.
Copying does not submit anything. Use the feedback link below to post your report or a short reaction. Do not include private information.
Help shape the next case
Was this too easy, fair, or confusing? Tell us in the playtest thread.
Leave feedback on Reddit ↗
Opens Reddit in a new tab. A Reddit account is needed to comment. Nothing is submitted automatically. Mark solution details as spoilers.