Armchair PuzzlesCalm, large-print word searches
The Perfume Counter
The Perfume Counter

The Standing Order

Print

Chapter 6 of 10

Artie runs the analysis, grumbling that detectives should not be near ledgers: every perfume counter transaction, sorted by recurrence. Ordinary sales scatter like weather. One purchase repeats every Thursday, identical: the Elks Lodge auxiliary's standing order, rung at the sale price, collected by Mrs. Bloom coming from the bank. The standing order is as old as the lodge's charity drive and as respectable as a hymn. That, Frank says, is what makes it the only suspect left: the shortage keeps Thursday hours because the order does. Whatever is wrong lives inside that transaction, repeated thirteen times, hiding behind its good name. Artie protests: the order rings correctly, Peggy rings it right, the register accepts the figure without complaint. Exactly, says Frank, with his first real smile. The register accepts the figure. Who told it what figure to accept?

R
A
S
R
S
H
E
W
P
H
O
E
U
T
N
E
Y
N
A
A
D
B
C
X
A
T
T
M
E
M
E
Y
S
U
I
N
B
T
N
T
I
H
C
R
R
L
D
R
S
K
L
T
A
L
H
R
I
I
N
T
A
H
T
H
R
T
E
A
N
E
C
U
T
O
F
T
B
N
R
G
T
C
E
P
S
U
S
E
C
Y
S
M
R
G
F
I
G
U
R
E

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.

armchairpuzzles.com · free large-print word searches

About this case

A chapter of The Perfume Counter, a mystery told in word searches. Each chapter leaves you one clue; the finale needs them all.

How a mystery chapter works

  1. 1
    Read the scene first.Every chapter opens with a scene from the case. The word list is drawn from it, and so is the clue.
  2. 2
    Find 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.
  3. 3
    One 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.
  4. 4
    The 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 Perfume Counter as one large-print booklet: every chapter and its puzzle, a clue ledger, and the ending sealed on the last page.

Print the case bookletPrinting tips →

All chapters of The Perfume Counter

More to explore:All Mystery Cases word searchesPrintable Mystery Cases word searches

↑ Back to the puzzle