id: blue-lantern engine: story category: murder-mystery title: The Last Set at the Blue Lantern tagline: Cape Town, 1958. The band played on. The boss didn't. estimatedMinutes: 10 difficulty: 1 players: { min: 2, max: 2 } theme: { primary: "#1f3a68", accent: "#e8b04a", background: "#0b0f1c", headingFont: "Playfair Display" } roles: A: name: The Detective blurb: You have the band's paperwork, the police search log, and the stage manager's notes. B: name: The Regular blurb: You've drunk here every Friday for ten years. You know the staff, the bar, and the gossip. intro: | Friday night at **the Blue Lantern**, the hottest jazz club on Harbour Street. The last set kicks off at 23:00. Smoke, brass, a full house. When the band takes its bow at 23:25, club owner **Vincent Cole** is found in his office behind the stage. One bullet. Nobody heard a thing. One of you is the detective who caught the case. The other is the regular who knows everybody's business. **Put your heads together.** suspects: - id: ruby name: Ruby Day role: Singer description: The voice of the Blue Lantern. Fought with Vincent about her pay last week. - id: sammy name: Sammy Keys role: Pianist description: Quiet genius. Writes most of the club's songs. Never talks about money. - id: frankie name: Frankie Moretti role: Moneylender description: Vincent owed him. A lot. Sat at the bar all night watching the door. - id: lou name: Lou Banner role: Bartender description: Sees everything, says nothing. Vincent's oldest employee. - id: grace name: Grace Cole role: Vincent's wife description: Hates jazz. Came tonight anyway. Nobody knows why. chapters: - id: ch1 title: Under the Drums narrative: | The office is right behind the stage. A gunshot in there should have stopped the room cold. Unless something louder was playing at the time. clues: A: - id: a1-setlist title: Last set, taped to the piano type: document body: | **THE LAST SET** (no breaks, straight through) 1. Night Train · 4 min 2. Blue Moon · 6 min 3. Take Five · 5 min 4. Caravan · 7 min 5. Goodnight Sweetheart · 3 min B: - id: b1-lou title: What Lou the bartender told you type: note body: | "Band kicked off the last set at eleven on the dot. Max always closes **Caravan** with a drum solo, the **last two minutes** of the tune. Loud enough to rattle the glasses. If there was a shot, it was under that solo. Nothing else is that loud in here." lock: id: lock-solo prompt: At what time did the drum solo start? inputType: code format: "HH:MM" answers: ["2320", "1120", "1120PM"] hints: - Add up the songs before Caravan, then work out when Caravan ended. - Caravan runs 23:15 to 23:22. - The solo is the last two minutes of Caravan, so it starts at 23:20. successText: | **23:20.** For two minutes, the whole room was drowned in drums. That's when Vincent died. keyName: Drumstick Key - id: ch2 title: Who Left the Stage? narrative: | Everyone has an alibi. But an alibi for "the evening" isn't an alibi for 23:20 to 23:22. clues: A: - id: a2-stagemanager title: Stage manager's notes type: report body: | - Ruby only sings on vocal numbers. **Caravan is instrumental**, so she's off stage for it. - **During Max's drum solo, the rest of the band walks off** and comes back for the final bar. House tradition. - The stage-left door leads straight to the office corridor. Ten steps. B: - id: b2-gossip title: Who you saw, and who saw who type: note body: | - **Frankie** was at the bar the whole set. Lou poured him a whiskey right as the drums kicked in. - **Lou** never left the bar. You were sitting right in front of him. - **Grace** was in the coat-check queue from about 23:15 to 23:25, complaining to Dolly the coat girl. - **Ruby** came to the coat-check at 23:21 to borrow Dolly's lighter. Dolly lit it for her. lock: id: lock-alibi prompt: Who had NO alibi during the drum solo? inputType: choice options: - { id: ruby, label: Ruby Day } - { id: sammy, label: Sammy Keys } - { id: frankie, label: Frankie Moretti } - { id: lou, label: Lou Banner } - { id: grace, label: Grace Cole } answers: ["sammy"] hints: - The stage manager says something surprising about who's on stage during a drum solo. - Everyone in the band except Max leaves during the solo. Which of them has a witness? - Ruby was at the coat-check. Sammy was off stage, alone, ten steps from the office. successText: | **Sammy Keys.** Everyone assumed the pianist was at his piano. But during the solo, the piano bench sat empty. keyName: Stage Door Key - id: ch3 title: Vincent's Safe narrative: | Vincent's office safe is still locked. Four-digit dial. Lou says Vincent "kept the combination in his head and his heart." clues: A: - id: a3-sheet title: Sheet music on Vincent's desk type: document body: | *"Lantern Waltz", Vincent's favourite tune.* The first four notes are circled in red ink: ## C · A · F · E Scribbled underneath: *"The safe plays my song."* B: - id: b3-piano title: Sticker strip on the rehearsal piano type: diagram body: | Sammy numbered the white keys for the beginners' class: ``` | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ``` lock: id: lock-safe prompt: Enter the safe combination. inputType: code format: 4 digits answers: ["1643"] hints: - One of you has the notes. The other has the numbers for the notes. - Use the beginner sticker numbers, not the alphabet. - C=1, A=6, F=4, E=3. successText: | The safe swings open. Inside: a record contract from Galaxy Records. **Twelve songs, all written by Sammy Keys. All registered under Vincent Cole's name.** Signing date: Monday. Advance: more than Sammy would earn in twenty years. keyName: Safe Key - id: ch4 title: The Missing Gun narrative: | Vincent was shot with his own .38 from his desk drawer. The police have torn the club apart. No gun. clues: A: - id: a4-search title: Police search log type: log body: | | Area | Searched | Result | |------------------|----------|--------| | Office | Yes | Empty drawer | | Dressing rooms | Yes | Nothing | | Bar + storeroom | Yes | Nothing | | Coat-check | Yes | Nothing | | Drum kit, bass case | Yes | Nothing | | Alley bins | Yes | Nothing | | Grand piano | **No** | Lid locked, owner's prized Steinway | B: - id: b4-max title: Overheard from Max the drummer type: transcript body: | "When we came back for the last chorus, Sammy's first chord sounded *wrong*. Dead. A thunk, like something heavy was lying on the strings. He played the rest of the night up on the high keys only. Never seen him do that." lock: id: lock-gun prompt: Where is the gun hidden? inputType: text format: One or two words answers: ["PIANO", "THEPIANO", "GRANDPIANO", "STEINWAY", "INSIDETHEPIANO", "INPIANO"] hints: - Something was sitting on some strings. - Which part of the club did the police not search? - The grand piano. successText: | The police force the lid. Lying across the low strings of the Steinway: **Vincent's .38**, one round fired. keyName: Piano Key finale: type: accusation prompt: Four keys. One killer. Make the call together. maxAttempts: 2 questions: - id: who label: Who killed Vincent Cole? options: - { id: ruby, label: Ruby Day } - { id: sammy, label: Sammy Keys } - { id: frankie, label: Frankie Moretti } - { id: lou, label: Lou Banner } - { id: grace, label: Grace Cole } answer: sammy - id: how label: How? options: - { id: gunsolo, label: "Shot with Vincent's .38 under the drum solo, gun hidden in the piano" } - { id: alley, label: Shot from the alley through the office window } - { id: poison, label: "Poison in his whiskey, gunshot staged later" } answer: gunsolo - id: why label: Why? options: - { id: debt, label: An unpaid gambling debt } - { id: songs, label: Vincent stole his songs and was about to sell them } - { id: pay, label: A fight over wages } - { id: love, label: A love triangle with Grace } answer: songs successEnding: | Sammy sits at the piano one last time and plays four notes. C, A, F, E. "I wrote that one too," he says. "Every song he called his. I found the contract Tuesday." He slipped off stage when the band cleared for Max's solo, took Vincent's gun from the drawer, and was back for the final bar before anyone looked up. **Case closed.** The band plays on. 🎷🔑 failEnding: | The wrong person goes away. Sammy keeps playing, a little sadder every year. reveal: | **Sammy Keys** shot Vincent with his own **.38** during the **drum solo** and hid the gun **inside the piano**, because Vincent had **stolen his songs** and was about to sell them.