The Vanishing Violin

I know who did it
CASE NO. 21 · LEVEL 2 · THEFT

THE VANISHING
VIOLIN

CLUE
1
OF 6
SCAN TO ANSWER
During a gala concert, soloist Elena Petrova's 300-year-old violin vanished from her dressing room. Everyone says they were on stage – or were they? Find all 6 clues, compare the statements and the evidence, and work out who did it.
Elena Petrova
Soloist and owner
”I locked my violin in my dressing room at twenty-five past eight and went to warm up in rehearsal room 2. At five to nine it was gone. Someone used the spare key.”
WITNESS STATEMENT · ELENA PETROVA
EVIDENCE #1 · SCENE REPORT
Scene report – dressing room 1
Locked
20:25 by Elena
Discovered
20:55 – empty case
Door
Opened with the spare key from the backstage key board
Key board
Spare key back on its hook by 21:00
On the floor
A few grains of amber cello rosin
Violinists use dark rosin. Amber is for cellos.
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2
3
4
5
6
Find all 6 clues, then scan the code to name the culprit.
NEXT CLUE IS HIDDEN …
Read the clues as plain text
Clue 1 of 6

Elena Petrova Soloist and owner

”I locked my violin in my dressing room at twenty-five past eight and went to warm up in rehearsal room 2. At five to nine it was gone. Someone used the spare key.”

Evidence #1 · SCENE REPORT

Scene report – dressing room 1
Locked
20:25 by Elena
Discovered
20:55 – empty case
Door
Opened with the spare key from the backstage key board
Key board
Spare key back on its hook by 21:00
On the floor
A few grains of amber cello rosin
Violinists use dark rosin. Amber is for cellos.
Clue 2 of 6

Sophie Klein Stage manager

”Tonight did not go to plan. A string snapped, so I moved the interval forward and pushed the quartet back. I spent the whole interval helping Nadia re-string.”

Evidence #2 · RUNNING LOG

Stage manager's running log – what actually happened
TimeOn stage
20:00Beethoven – orchestra
20:28Nadia's E string snaps
20:30 – 20:50INTERVAL (moved forward)
20:50Mozart quartet – Marco, Nadia, Ivo, Kaja
21:20Elena Petrova – solo
Clue 3 of 6

Nadia Reyes Second violinist

”My E string snapped at twenty-eight minutes past. Sophie and I were in the instrument room for the whole interval putting a new one on.”

Evidence #3 · PRINTED PROGRAMME

Gala Concert
PRINTED PROGRAMME
20:00
Beethoven – orchestra
20:30
Mozart quartet
21:00
Interval
21:20
Elena Petrova – solo
22:00
Reception
Printed last week. Programme subject to change!
– Front of house
Clue 4 of 6

Arthur Hale Sponsor

”I spent the interval at the bar with the mayor and the press photographer. Lovely evening – until this.”

Evidence #4 · PRESS PHOTOS

Press photographer – interval
DSC_101
20:35
Arthur Hale and the mayor at the bar.
DSC_104
20:40
Oskar tuning the piano alone on the empty stage.
DSC_108
20:44
Backstage corridor: someone carrying a cello case towards the dressing rooms.
Clue 5 of 6

Oskar Lind Piano tuner

”During the interval I re-tuned the piano on stage – there are photos. After the concert the security guard didn't even open some cases. The artists just walked out.”

Evidence #5 · STAGE DOOR LOG

Stage door security · leaving after the concert
TimePersonBags
22:05O. LindToolbox – checked
22:10M. BianchiCello case – heavy, not opened (artist)
22:12N. ReyesViolin case – checked
Clue 6 of 6

Marco Bianchi Cellist

”At half past eight I was on stage playing the Mozart quartet – it's right there in the programme. I never went near her dressing room.”

Evidence #6 · MARCO'S EMAIL

Marco's inbox
Email found open on his phone in the green room.
To: from: a.collector · Thu 18:20
Still interested in the Petrova violin. Cash, no questions asked. You know where to find me after Saturday.