The cases for 2026-08-22

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 4 players; Bianca Reymond's statement sits on top of the pile.

1. 1. The high-card player was in a lower-numbered room than whoever stacked the scarlet chips.
2. 2. Cordelia Frost was in the room right before whoever stacked the scarlet chips.
3. 3. Bianca Reymond was in a lower-numbered room than Countess Mira Dolin.
4. 4. The high-card player and whoever stacked the amber chips are the same person.
5. 5. Countess Mira Dolin was right next to the keno player.
6. 6. Salvatore Greco was in a lower-numbered room than Countess Mira Dolin.
7. 7. The roulette player was in the room right before whoever stacked the amber chips.
8. 8. Bianca Reymond and whoever stacked the bronze chips are the same person.
9. 9. The roulette player was in a lower-numbered room than whoever stacked the scarlet chips.
10. 10. Salvatore Greco was right next to the high-card player.
11. 11. Cordelia Frost was in a lower-numbered room than whoever stacked the rose-gold chips.
12. 12. Whoever stacked the scarlet chips was somewhere after whoever stacked the bronze chips but before whoever stacked the rose-gold chips.
13. 13. Cordelia Frost and the high-card player are the same person.
14. 14. Cordelia Frost was right next to the roulette player.
15. 15. The solitaire player and whoever stacked the rose-gold chips are the same person.

The house lights came up on an empty jewel case and a company of performers who can all cry on cue. Each waited out the search in a separate dressing room. Walk the corridor and place them, door by door. Statements were taken from all 5 performers; Nadia Volkova's is the first page.

1. 1. Petra Halvorsen was in the dressing room right before Reinhold Faust.
2. 2. The performer in the peasant smock and the performer holding the wooden dagger had exactly 1 dressing room between them.
3. 3. Nadia Volkova was in a lower-numbered dressing room than Petra Halvorsen.
4. 4. The performer holding the shepherd's crook was in a lower-numbered dressing room than the performer holding the tin crown.
5. 5. Petra Halvorsen was in the dressing room right before the performer holding the tin crown.
6. 6. The performer holding the folding fan was in the dressing room right before the performer holding the shepherd's crook.
7. 7. Nadia Volkova was in the dressing room right before the performer holding the folding fan.
8. 8. Della Fontaine was right next to the performer holding the tin crown.
9. 9. Della Fontaine and the performer in the mourning veil had exactly 2 dressing rooms between them.
10. 10. Reinhold Faust was right next to the performer holding the wooden dagger.
11. 11. The performer in the peasant smock was in the dressing room right before the performer in the velvet cloak.
12. 12. The performer in the plumed helmet and the performer holding the wooden dagger are the same person.

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; Lena Ostrov's statement sits on top of the pile.

1. 1. The astronomer using the prism box was in the dome right before whoever was drinking the barley water.
2. 2. Cyrus Penn was right next to the astronomer using the celestial globe.
3. 3. The astronomer using the hourglass was right next to whoever was drinking the peppermint tea.
4. 4. The astronomer tracking the meteor shower was right next to whoever was drinking the barley water.
5. 5. The astronomer tracking the red planet and whoever was drinking the barley water are the same person.
6. 6. The astronomer using the prism box was right next to whoever was drinking the barley water.
7. 7. The astronomer using the celestial globe was somewhere after the astronomer using the prism box but before the astronomer using the spectroscope.
8. 8. The astronomer tracking the new star was in a lower-numbered dome than the astronomer tracking the ringed planet.
9. 9. Lena Ostrov and the astronomer using the spectroscope had exactly 3 domes between them.
10. 10. Ottoline Grey was in the dome right before the astronomer tracking the meteor shower.
11. 11. The astronomer using the star catalogue was in the dome right before the astronomer tracking the new star.
12. 12. Lena Ostrov was in the dome right before the astronomer tracking the red planet.
13. 13. The astronomer using the hourglass and whoever was drinking the black coffee had exactly 1 dome between them.
14. 14. The astronomer using the star catalogue was in the dome right before whoever was drinking the black coffee.
15. 15. Idris Hawke was in the dome right before the astronomer using the spectroscope.
16. 16. Cyrus Penn and whoever was drinking the strong tea are not the same person.
17. 17. The astronomer using the prism box and whoever was drinking the ginger tea had exactly 1 dome between them.