CASE FILE · No. 004 · 1891
The Covent Garden Swindle
ROYAL THEATRE, COVENT GARDEN · DIFFICULTY: FELONY
THE BRIEFING
The Royal Theatre's accountant noticed the discrepancy in February: six consecutive productions had turned healthy houses but thin deposits. The box office logs record every ticket sold and the staff member who handled the sale. The bank records show what was actually deposited, and by whom. Somewhere between the till and the safe, money is vanishing. Find the member of staff whose deposits never quite match what their ticket sales should have produced.
CLUES ON THE TABLE
- 01.Each show has a fixed ticket price recorded in the shows table
- 02.ticket_sales records how many tickets each staff member sold per show
- 03.deposits records how much that same staff member deposited for each show
- 04.Compare expected receipts (qty × price) against actual deposits
/ THE EVIDENCE
Database Schema
The tables we have warrants for. Cross-reference them carefully.
- idINT
- titleTEXT
- show_dateDATE
- ticket_priceDECIMAL
- idINT
- nameTEXT
- roleTEXT
- idINT
- show_idINT→ shows.id
- qty_soldINT
- handled_byINT→ staff.id
- idINT
- show_idINT→ shows.id
- amountDECIMAL
- deposited_byINT→ staff.id
- deposited_atTIMESTAMP
/ 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 Limehouse Web →"Three men dead in six weeks. No witnesses. But ships keep records, and records don't forget."