Chapter 4 of 10
Vera Doyle's parlor sits behind a beaded curtain: crystal ball on a fringed shawl, incense in a brass dish, palms read for a nickel. Tourists never ask why her fortune cards sit on an accounts ledger; Vera never explains. She was a bookkeeper before she was a mystic, and once a week Douglas brought her columns of figures and asked her to make them come out kinder. She tells the constable's man the truth on his second visit: there were two ledgers. The bank's showed a pier scraping by; the one under Douglas's coat showed debts, unpaid percentages, loans against next season's take. She told him in July the arithmetic was finished. Douglas smiled his gate smile and said, as always: one more good season. The fortune business, she says, taught her when a man reads his own palm wrong.
Use the arrow keys to move between letters. Press Enter or Space on the first letter of a word, then again on the last letter. Press Escape to cancel.
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About this case
A chapter of The End of the Pier, a mystery told in word searches. Each chapter leaves you one clue; the finale needs them all.
How a mystery chapter works
- 1Read the scene first.Every chapter opens with a scene from the case. The word list is drawn from it, and so is the clue.
- 2Find the words.Tap a word's first letter, then tap along to its last, or press and drag. Found words colour themselves in and cross off the list.
- 3One listed word is not in the grid.Find the other nine and the word left over is the chapter's clue. Note it down, or let the case page keep it for you.
- 4The finale needs every clue.The last puzzle's word list is the clues you collected, and once you find them all, the leftover letters spell out who did it, and why.
Prefer pen and paper?
Print The End of the Pier as one large-print booklet: every chapter and its puzzle, a clue ledger, and the ending sealed on the last page.