The cases for 2026-07-27

Between the toast and the closing bell, someone traded a canvas for a forgery worth nothing but trouble. The guests drifted, but each ended the night at one spot on the gallery wall. Fix every patron to their spot. 4 patrons, 4 spots, and no two accounts that quite agree — start with Greta Lindqvist.

1. 1. Greta Lindqvist was right next to the one holding the kir royale.
2. 2. The one looking at the triptych was right next to the one holding the vermouth.
3. 3. Cyrus Vane was in the spot right before Greta Lindqvist.
4. 4. Greta Lindqvist was right next to the one looking at the triptych.
5. 5. Beatrix Hale was in the spot right before the one looking at the triptych.
6. 6. Anton Wolfe and the one holding the red wine were exactly 2 spots apart.
7. 7. The one looking at the glass sculpture was somewhere before the one holding the kir royale in the line.
8. 8. The one holding the red wine was somewhere after the one holding the white wine but before the one holding the vermouth.
9. 9. Beatrix Hale was somewhere before the one holding the kir royale in the line.
10. 10. The one looking at the glass sculpture was right next to the one holding the red wine.
11. 11. Greta Lindqvist was somewhere after Cyrus Vane but before Anton Wolfe.
12. 12. Cyrus Vane and the one looking at the triptych are the same person.
13. 13. The one holding the white wine was in the spot right before the one holding the red wine.
14. 14. Beatrix Hale and the one looking at the seascape are the same person.

On Stage Nine they shot the ending twice: once on film, once for real. The reel is gone and the crew is scattered down the backlot row, each with a stage and a story. Match them up. 5 crew members, 5 soundstages, and no two accounts that quite agree — start with Faye Okonkwo.

1. 1. The script girl and the one holding the clapperboard were exactly 3 soundstages apart.
2. 2. The camera operator was somewhere before the clapper loader in the line.
3. 3. Faye Okonkwo and the one holding the feather boa were exactly 2 soundstages apart.
4. 4. Cyril Dunne was in the soundstage right before the one holding the clapperboard.
5. 5. Faye Okonkwo was right next to the one holding the glass goblet.
6. 6. Lars Aberg and the clapper loader are the same person.
7. 7. Cyril Dunne and the one holding the glass goblet are the same person.
8. 8. Faye Okonkwo was right next to the camera operator.
9. 9. Ruby Marsh was somewhere before the sound mixer in the line.
10. 10. The one holding the megaphone was in the soundstage right before the one holding the feather boa.
11. 11. The camera operator was somewhere after the script girl but before the best boy.

Days from the nearest port, the Aurelia is a locked room with an ocean for a moat. The brooch left its cabin; its owner did not. Chart the promenade deck, front to back. Statements were taken from all 5 passengers; Rafael Mendoza's is the first page.

1. 1. Cordelia Ashe was right next to whoever spent the evening at the wireless office.
2. 2. The passenger in the emerald sash was right next to the one getting off at Lisbon.
3. 3. The passenger in the pinstripe waistcoat was somewhere before the passenger in the fur stole in the line.
4. 4. The one getting off at Genoa was in the cabin right before the one getting off at Trieste.
5. 5. Vivienne Aubert and the one getting off at Valletta are the same person.
6. 6. Vivienne Aubert was right next to the passenger in the naval greatcoat.
7. 7. Ingrid Solberg was in the cabin right before whoever spent the evening at the grand staircase.
8. 8. The passenger in the naval greatcoat was right next to the one getting off at Valletta.
9. 9. Vivienne Aubert was in the cabin right before the one getting off at Genoa.
10. 10. The passenger in the fur stole was right next to the one getting off at Naples.
11. 11. The passenger in the emerald sash was right next to whoever spent the evening at the smoking room.
12. 12. The passenger in the tweed suit and the one getting off at Lisbon were exactly 2 cabins apart.
13. 13. Marguerite Bell and whoever spent the evening at the wireless office are the same person.
14. 14. Whoever spent the evening at the smoking room was somewhere after whoever spent the evening at the purser's desk but before whoever spent the evening at the grand staircase.
15. 15. Ingrid Solberg was in the cabin right before the one getting off at Naples.
16. 16. The one getting off at Trieste was somewhere after the one getting off at Genoa but before the one getting off at Lisbon.
17. 17. Rafael Mendoza and whoever spent the evening at the cocktail bar are the same person.