13

Coalridge, the manor’s caretaker, strode through the corridors. Professor Pawnsworth, a thin figure in an ancient tweed coat, muttered about “modern contraptions” and the decline of proper candles.

Kasparsnow summoned you, Wesley, and Snowell into a small withdrawing-room and shut the door behind him.

“We must consider everyone,” he said. “No one left the house last night. The thief is still here.”

Snowell spread a sheet on the table. “Coalridge had access to every lock. Pawnsworth opposes anything electrical. Emily Brent walks at odd hours. Sir Basil travels with enough wire to power half the valley. And Magnus plays chess.

“And one of them,” Wesley added quietly, “has handled a card that wasn’t his.”

You looked toward the window. Snow lay smooth across the grounds. No footprints. No tracks. Whoever had taken the Star had worked entirely within the walls of Snowfall Manor.

Kasparsnow nodded once. “We will find it by nightfall.”

When you returned to the hall, a new chessboard had appeared on the side table.

This is a serieshelpmate. Black plays 20 consecutive moves, without reply from White, after which White mates in one. Both players cooperate.

No intermediate checks are allowed, meaning that Black can only check on the 20th move.