CORRECT ANSWER!!!
Suspect #4

Cole's Verdict: You cracked it.

​

Principal Arthur Davies. That's our guy, and you figured it out.

Here's how Cole put it together that Thursday morning, twenty minutes before first bell.

​

It started with Clue 2, the crumpled proof sheet in the recycling bin. The engraving mockup had a typo baked right into it: Cedar Fals High School. One missing letter. Davies had approved the proof and paid the deposit before he caught the error. When he called the engraving company, they told him a correction would cost extra and push the timeline two days, which meant the trophy would be mounted at Friday's assembly with a misspelled name in front of every student, parent, and teacher in Cedar Falls.

​

Davies panicked.

​

He called in sick Wednesday afternoon, went home just long enough to make it look convincing, then drove back to the school at 7:02 p.m. and let himself in through the rear entrance using the administrative master code, the same code that only one person in that building has. He unlocked the trophy case with his key, removed the trophy, and wiped down the inside of the glass so no one would see the oval impression left in the dust. He figured he'd have it quietly corrected and back in the case before anyone noticed.

He hadn't counted on Cole Mitchell.

​

Cole spotted the dust pattern on the shelf. The wiped inside panel. The un-wiped outside. Whoever cleaned up that case had been standing inside the school with time to be careful. That wasn't a thief in a hurry. That was someone covering up an embarrassment.

​

The trophy was recovered from the trunk of Davies car Thursday afternoon. The engraving company corrected the plate at no charge after the story got out. The trophy was mounted in the hallway by Friday, one day late, and spelled correctly.

Davies kept his job. He bought the athletic department new warm-up jerseys as a goodwill gesture. And Harold Denny, passed over for that promotion one too many times, got his supervisor title two weeks later.

Case closed.

​

You solved it, detective!

​

Cole's impressed, and that doesn't happen often.

Cedar Falls needs sharp minds like yours on the case every month. If you want first access to Case CC-002, Cole's case notes delivered straight to your inbox, and your name on the Cedar Falls Detective Club leaderboard, this is where you sign up.