CASE FILE · No. 002 · 1892
The Black Ribbon Séance
BLOOMSBURY, LONDON · DIFFICULTY: MISDEMEANOR
THE BRIEFING
A private séance was held at Briar House, a quiet townhouse in Bloomsbury, on the evening of October 9th. The host, Lady Miriam Ashcombe, had invited a small circle of guests after receiving a series of anonymous letters tied with black ribbon. Each letter claimed to know the truth about a scandal buried years earlier. At 10:15 PM, the lamps were lowered, the doors were shut, and the guests joined hands around the table. Minutes later, a sealed message appeared beneath the medium's slate — naming one guest as the author of the anonymous letters. By morning, that guest had vanished from London. But Scotland Yard has a question: does the handwriting on the accusation match the handwriting on the letters? Compare the records. The answer is already in the ink.
CLUES ON THE TABLE
- 01.The séance began at 10:15 PM on 9th October 1892.
- 02.A sealed message appeared during the séance, naming one guest as the blackmailer.
- 03.The accused guest — a journalist — disappeared the next morning.
- 04.All anonymous letters tied with black ribbon share the same handwriting style.
- 05.The message that appeared at the séance does not share that style.
/ THE EVIDENCE
Database Schema
The tables we have warrants for. Cross-reference them carefully.
- suspect_idINT
- nameVARCHAR(100)
- occupationVARCHAR(100)
- relationship_to_hostVARCHAR(200)
- seat_idINT
- suspect_idINT→ suspects.suspect_id
- seat_positionVARCHAR(50)
- left_hand_neighborINTsuspect_id or NULL
- right_hand_neighborINTsuspect_id or NULL
- movement_idINT
- suspect_idINT→ suspects.suspect_id
- movement_timeTIMESTAMP
- movement_reasonVARCHAR(200)
- observed_byVARCHAR(100)
- letter_idINT
- received_dateDATE
- letter_textVARCHAR(600)
- accused_personVARCHAR(100)NULL unless letter names someone
- handwriting_noteVARCHAR(300)
- ribbon_colorVARCHAR(50)
/ THE QUERY TERMINAL
Interrogate the records
This is your magnifying glass. Run queries to explore the tables and chase down clues — the terminal won't solve the case for you, but it will surface the evidence you need.
/ THE NOTEPAD
Your field notes
Jot down leads, suspicious names, patterns you've spotted. The page is yours.
/ THE ACCUSATION
Name your suspect
One name. No second guesses. The constable is at the door.
NEXT IN THE PILE
The Rhyme at Alderwick Hall →"Sir Rowan collapsed in his locked study. No one admitted entering. The only witness was a poem."