The cases for 2026-07-09

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. 4 players, 4 rooms, and no two accounts that quite agree — start with Dashiell Crane.

1. 1. Romy Castellan was right next to the sic bo player.
2. 2. Dashiell Crane was right next to whoever stacked the pearl chips.
3. 3. The craps player and whoever stacked the rose-gold chips are the same person.
4. 4. Vivienne Laroche and whoever stacked the ivory chips were exactly 3 rooms apart.
5. 5. Bianca Reymond was somewhere before the sic bo player in the line.
6. 6. Romy Castellan was in the room right before whoever stacked the violet chips.
7. 7. Dashiell Crane was in the room right before Romy Castellan.
8. 8. Whoever stacked the pearl chips was in the room right before whoever stacked the violet chips.
9. 9. Dashiell Crane and the craps player are the same person.
10. 10. The mini baccarat player was somewhere before whoever stacked the pearl chips in the line.
11. 11. Dashiell Crane was right next to the keno player.

Backstage at the Lyceum, the corridor of dressing rooms holds the whole company — and one very good liar. The hair-clip vanished before the final blackout. Assign every performer to a room before the reviews land. Statements were taken from all 5 company members; Cordelia Strauss's is the first page.

1. 1. The one holding the lute was in the dressing room right before the one holding the tin crown.
2. 2. The performer in the gold breastplate was somewhere after the performer in the peasant smock but before the performer in the feathered mask.
3. 3. Augustin Reyes was in the dressing room right before Serafina Locke.
4. 4. The performer in the crimson gown and the one holding the lute are the same person.
5. 5. Serafina Locke was somewhere after Augustin Reyes but before Thaddeus Crowe.
6. 6. The performer in the feathered mask was somewhere before the performer in the powdered wig in the line.
7. 7. Augustin Reyes was right next to the one holding the glass vial.
8. 8. Thaddeus Crowe was somewhere after Serafina Locke but before Cordelia Strauss.
9. 9. Augustin Reyes and the one holding the lute are the same person.
10. 10. The performer in the crimson gown and the one holding the letter scroll were exactly 2 dressing rooms apart.

A priceless star map disappeared the night of the eclipse. Each astronomer worked through the dark in a different dome along the ridge. Walk the domes, one by one, and name the thief. The file names 5 astronomers; Mira Castellan's statement sits on top of the pile.

1. 1. Mira Castellan was in the dome right before the one using the orrery.
2. 2. The one tracking the lunar crater was right next to whoever was drinking the warm milk.
3. 3. Cyrus Penn and whoever was drinking the black coffee were exactly 2 domes apart.
4. 4. The one using the pendulum clock was somewhere before the one tracking the double star in the line.
5. 5. The one using the star catalogue was right next to the one tracking the ringed planet.
6. 6. The one tracking the morning star and whoever was drinking the ginger tea are the same person.
7. 7. Pieter Aldous and the one using the star catalogue are the same person.
8. 8. The one tracking the lunar crater was somewhere before whoever was drinking the ginger tea in the line.
9. 9. The one using the pendulum clock was in the dome right before the one tracking the eclipse.
10. 10. Mira Castellan was right next to whoever was drinking the warm milk.
11. 11. Soren Vaughn was somewhere before the one using the azimuth dial in the line.
12. 12. The one using the orrery was right next to whoever was drinking the strong tea.
13. 13. Soren Vaughn was in the dome right before Lena Ostrov.
14. 14. The one using the pendulum clock and whoever was drinking the ginger tea were exactly 4 domes apart.
15. 15. The one using the azimuth dial and whoever was drinking the black coffee are the same person.
16. 16. The one using the azimuth dial was right next to whoever was drinking the ginger tea.
17. 17. The one tracking the eclipse was in the dome right before whoever was drinking the lemon water.