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The Perfume Counter
The Perfume Counter

The Last Season

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Chapter 9 of 10

The retirement is the store's open secret, down to the break room argument over cake versus punch. The case fit like his old overcoat; only now, sheet in hand, does Frank see the fit was tailored. A real mystery, no victim, thirty years of craft demanded: a case to go out proud on. He finds Hartley at his desk at nine sharp and asks the last question: the morning Artie reported the shortage, what time did you find it? Hartley looks at the sheet a long time, then lays down his hand. Twenty past nine. Then, because Hartleys are honest: the best forty-one dollars a week I ever spent, Frank. You were not ready to be done, and I was not ready to watch you be done. Below, the tube system thumps, the store running on arithmetic and kindness.

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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 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.

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All chapters of The Perfume Counter

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