Your turn, detective
Case 01 is free to play. Use the same five steps.
THE SOLVED GRID
Word crossed outDiagonal wordLeftover numbered square
1STEP ONE
Find all twelve words
Every word on the list is crossed out. Words run across, down or diagonally, forwards or backwards, and may overlap.
CAKES · TENT · ROSETTE · JUDGES · PRIZE · ENVELOPE · SCONES · ENTRANCE · BUNTING · MARQUEE · BAKING · VILLAGE
2STEP TWO
Read the starting clue
Some numbered squares are left uncrossed (circled in gold). Read them in number order:
J1A4M7L11A13B19E20L26
They spell JAMLABEL: clue A, JAM LABEL. That’s the starting clue.
3STEP THREE
Count the diagonal words
Only words that run diagonally count. Here there are 5, shown in blue on the grid: ROSETTE, JUDGES, PRIZE, SCONES, VILLAGE.
Diagonal word count: 5
4STEP FOUR
Unlock the clue with the chart
Take the column for the starting clue (A) and the row that contains your count (5). Where they meet is the unlocked clue.
| Starting clue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagonal word count | A | B | C | D |
| 0, 4, 8, 12 | A | B | D | C |
| 1, 5, 9 | B | D | C | A |
| 2, 6, 10 | D | C | A | B |
| 3, 7, 11 | C | A | B | D |
Unlocked clue: B. ROPE FIBRE
Self-check: a miscount would give a different letter. Counting 6 instead of 5 would unlock clue D, BLUE BUTTON, which doesn’t hold up: check it against the records and it leads to someone who couldn’t have done it. If your unlocked clue points to nobody, to a cleared suspect, or to more than one person, recount the diagonals.
5STEP FIVE
Name the culprit
Only the unlocked clue was left during the crime. Find it in the checked records (record 4, highlighted below): it points to Gus.
The grid selects the rope fibre as the clue snagged during the theft. Only Gus handles the orange guy ropes, and his gloves carry the same fibre, so the unlocked clue places him at the judges’ table when the rosette was taken.
Hattie’s jam label could have been dropped while she set up at 1:30, and the crumbs link to nobody. Wendell’s button may date from the rehearsal, and he never left the entrance after 2:12.
THE COMPLETED ANSWER
- Unlocked clue
- B. ROPE FIBRE
- Culprit
- Gus
- False claim
- Gus said he didn’t go near the rosette, but the unlocked rope fibre was snagged on the judges’ table during the theft.
- How the clue proves it
- The grid selects the rope fibre as the clue snagged during the theft. Only Gus handles the orange guy ropes, and his gloves carry the same fibre, so the unlocked clue places him at the judges’ table when the rosette was taken.
The case file
Case 00 as it appears in the book
Crime report
At a village show, the first-prize rosette and its £50 prize envelope vanished from the judges’ table in the baking tent. The judges left the tent for lunch at 2:00 and found both items gone when they came back at 2:20. Four clues were found at the judges’ table.
Clues found at the scene
A. JAM LABELB. ROPE FIBRE ✓ unlockedC. CAKE CRUMBSD. BLUE BUTTON
Suspects’ accounts
Jam maker. “I went into the tent at 2:05 to tidy my jam jars on the side table. I never touched the judges’ table.”
CULPRIT · FALSE CLAIM
Tent steward. “I popped in at 2:10 to refill the water jug on the drinks table, then went straight back out to check the guy ropes. I didn’t go near the rosette.”
Tent steward. “I popped in at 2:10 to refill the water jug on the drinks table, then went straight back out to check the guy ropes. I didn’t go near the rosette.”
Show announcer. “I came in at 2:12 to collect the volunteer rota, and I stayed chatting at the entrance until the judges came back.”
Checked records
- 1. The tent has one entrance, and it was empty when the judges left at 2:00. The gate volunteer stayed at the entrance throughout and logged Hattie in at 2:05, Gus at 2:10 and Wendell at 2:12. Nobody else entered before 2:20.
- 2. Display stands hide the side table, the drinks table and the judges’ table from the entrance. The gate volunteer confirms that Wendell stood beside her from 2:12 until the judges returned at 2:20.
- 3. Clue A is a torn jam label under the judges’ table, in Hattie’s handwriting. She carried trays of jars past that table while setting up at 1:30.
- 4. Clue B is a strand of orange guy-rope fibre snagged on the edge of the judges’ table. Only Gus handles the orange ropes, and his work gloves are covered in that fibre. He wore them to straighten the tablecloth at 1:45.
- 5. Clue C is cake crumbs on the tablecloth. Every entry had been cut for tasting, so the crumbs link to nobody.
- 6. Clue D is a blue blazer button under the table. Wendell says it came off at 1:50, when he leant on the table during the announcements rehearsal.