Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Sherldog Holmes and I’m a detective. Well, to be honest, an ex-detective. For years, nothing happened in my town so I decided to retire. But today, out of nowhere, a very precious jewel disappeared from the museum— the Egyptian Diamond—so I have to dust off my old magnifying glass and find it.
Nine dangerous criminals suspected of the heist were photographed just outside the city right after the crime was committed. Here are their photos. Which of them is the guilty party?
Use your magnifying glass to help me find the clue hidden on each page, and together, we can figure out who stole the diamond from the museum.
I’m not as young as I used to be and I’m getting a bit rusty so I really need an assistant! Can you give me a hand?
Focus, observe the scene of the crime carefully, and calmly reflect on the crime. You have to use your logic to solve the mystery!
Get yourself a notebook or a piece of paper to write down all the clues so you don’t lose track of the investigation.
First off, take a good look at the photos and identikits of the nine suspects. Have you done that?
Well then, let’s get started!
MUSEUM
An incorrigible bank robber and a genius with safes.
WHO STOLE THE EGYPTIAN DIAMOND?
A hardened purse-snatcher that every woman must fear.
A quick-tempered burglar specialized in housebreaking.
An expert swindler who adores jewelry and prefers not to dirty his hands.
A patient, meticulous thief who has never met a lock he couldn’t pick.
She may be agile and cunning, but she doesn’t know how to swim.
Since he eats nothing but carrots, he has extraordinary eyesight.
A cruel, unscrupulous thief with one weakness: he loves to eat!
A scrawny but agile criminal specialized in dazzling escapes.
MICK CALAMITY
BUNNY BAD
JIM POCKETPICKER
JOE CATASTROPHE
BOBBY BARBARITY
TOM ROBBERY
CAT WICKED
SAM RANSACK
MUSEUM
There’s the museum where the robbery took place!
There are still some unwitting visitors present, but we can tell by looking at them that they had nothing to do with our mystery.
Let’s make a careful search of all the floors. Maybe the thief left some traces. Do you see any hidden clues or suspicious details? Maybe the thief is still hiding here, or maybe he or she left something personal behind.
Good job! The thief lost a hat at the museum, and if you lose your hat, you can’t be wearing it, right? So we have to eliminate any suspect that was still wearing a hat when the photos were taken. Have you done that? Well then, let’s continue.
Footprints! That rascal overturned a can of paint and ran through it, leaving a trail of footprints behind. If you look closely, you can see that the thief was wearing shoes, so we have to eliminate any suspect that was barefoot, right?
There’s a gym near the work site where people go to work out and keep fit. I’ll bet the thief slipped inside. Let’s follow to see if we can gather any new information, but be careful, don’t let the mirrors confuse you.
Did you see that? The thief is escaping up the yellow staircase in the middle of the gym. You can see his legs. Take a good look and you’ll see that something is missing. Do you know what it is? Exactly—the thief has no tail.
PARK
There’s a lovely park near the gym. Let’s go! If we search carefully, we might find an important new clue. The thief was certainly here so let’s investigate which way he or she went.
RESEARCH CENTER
If we follow the footsteps, we can see that the thief jumped in the pond in the middle of the park and swam across it. That means that he or she isn’t afraid of water. Which animals don’t know how to swim? Cats! So our thief can’t be a cat, right?
The criminal’s footsteps lead to the Research Center, where scientists study the most advanced of technologies. Did the thief go inside? Maybe to steal some scientific secrets? Is he or she hiding among the flasks and microscopes? Or maybe the bumbling thief lost something along the way.
There are many patrons there that are quietly paging through books and magazines. They don’t look like they have anything to do with our mystery, but maybe our thief is pretending to be one of them. Or perhaps he or she left something behind here, too.
MARKET
A mask! The thief left it on the sofa at the library—so absent-minded!
Of course, if the mask is on the sofa, the thief can’t be wearing it. So we have to eliminate anyone with a mask from our list of suspects, right?
Who knows? Do you think that the scoundrel stopped for a snack at the market?
You can find all sorts of food and lovely scented flowers there. Maybe he or she stole a little treat. Take a walk through the market and keep an eye out for clues.
The criminal’s tracks lead to the station. Do you think he or she got away? I hope we’re not too late. Check all the trains and the platforms for one last clue. The guilty party can’t be far from here!
A skull! You can see a skull through the door of the train. How suspicious! Could it be a drawing on the thief’s sweater? Let’s see, the thief . . .
• has no hat, so it can’t be Tom Robbery,
• has shoes, so it can’t be Mick Calamity,
• has no tail, so it can’t be Joe Catastrophe,
• isn’t afraid of water, so it can’t be Cat Wicked,
• is missing a glove, so it can’t be Jim Pocketpicker,
• has no mask, so it can’t be Max Quickfingers (or Tom Robbery or Mick Calamity or Joe Catastrophe for that matter),
• eats meat, so it can’t be Bunny Bad,
• and is wearing a sweater with a skull, so it can’t be Bobby Scowl. It could only be Jim Pickpocket or Bunny Bad but we already eliminated them, didn’t we?
But wait . . . what’s that weird message? Can you read it? Try holding it up to a mirror.
