The cases for 2026-07-02

The eclipse bought a few minutes of perfect dark, and someone spent them well. The map case hangs open and the ridge is thick with alibis. Walk the domes and name the thief. Statements were taken from all 4 astronomers; Wendell Frost's is the first page.

1. 1. Mira Castellan and the one using the spectroscope are the same person.
2. 2. Wendell Frost was in the dome right before the one tracking the star cluster.
3. 3. Nadia Ellison was right next to the one tracking the star cluster.
4. 4. The one tracking the star cluster was somewhere before the one tracking the meteor shower in the line.
5. 5. The one using the spectroscope and the one tracking the meteor shower are the same person.
6. 6. The one using the pendulum clock was in the dome right before the one tracking the nebula.
7. 7. Wendell Frost was in the dome right before the one using the pendulum clock.
8. 8. The one using the pendulum clock was somewhere before the one using the spectroscope in the line.
9. 9. The one using the reflector scope was right next to the one tracking the star cluster.
10. 10. The one using the reflector scope and the one tracking the comet are the same person.
11. 11. Wendell Frost and the one using the reflector scope are the same person.
12. 12. The one using the pendulum clock was right next to the one tracking the nebula.
13. 13. The one using the photometer was right next to the one tracking the meteor shower.

The night train pulled in one passenger short. The remaining travelers each rode in a different compartment, numbered from the engine back. Reconstruct the carriage. 5 passengers, 5 compartments, and no two accounts that quite agree — start with Jonah Webb.

1. 1. Quinn Sutherland was somewhere before the one headed to Marrow Bay in the line.
2. 2. Leo Fontaine was in the compartment right before the one headed to Eastgate.
3. 3. The passenger with the birdcage was somewhere before the one headed to Harborview in the line.
4. 4. Leo Fontaine was somewhere before Jonah Webb in the line.
5. 5. Pavel Novak was in the compartment right before the passenger with the hat box.
6. 6. The passenger with the birdcage and the one headed to Marrow Bay are the same person.
7. 7. Pavel Novak was right next to the one headed to Marrow Bay.
8. 8. The passenger with the leather satchel was in the compartment right before the one headed to Marrow Bay.
9. 9. The passenger with the steamer trunk was right next to the one headed to Harborview.
10. 10. The passenger with the birdcage was somewhere before the passenger with the hat box in the line.
11. 11. The passenger with the hat box was in the compartment right before the one headed to Larkspur.
12. 12. Jonah Webb was in the compartment right before the passenger with the portmanteau.

The Verlaine does not lose — so when the books came up light, the house locked the doors. A row of private rooms, a floor of practiced faces, one forged chip. Unmask the forger, room by room. The file names 5 players; Lev Ostrovsky's statement sits on top of the pile.

1. 1. Whoever stacked the onyx chips and the one drinking the dry martini are the same person.
2. 2. The one drinking the absinthe was somewhere before the one drinking the champagne in the line.
3. 3. Ingrid Halvorsen was right next to the roulette player.
4. 4. The twenty-one player was in the room right before the high-stakes baccarat player.
5. 5. Dashiell Crane was somewhere before Ingrid Halvorsen in the line.
6. 6. Lev Ostrovsky and the one drinking the gin rickey are the same person.
7. 7. Lev Ostrovsky was in the room right before whoever stacked the crimson chips.
8. 8. Dashiell Crane was right next to the one drinking the brandy sour.
9. 9. Lev Ostrovsky was in the room right before Anselm Berger.
10. 10. The high-stakes baccarat player was somewhere before the one drinking the gin rickey in the line.
11. 11. The poker player was in the room right before whoever stacked the crimson chips.
12. 12. Cordelia Frost was somewhere before the poker player in the line.
13. 13. Cordelia Frost and the high-stakes baccarat player are the same person.
14. 14. Ingrid Halvorsen was in the room right before whoever stacked the silver chips.
15. 15. The roulette player was in the room right before the twenty-one player.
16. 16. The poker player and whoever stacked the violet chips are the same person.