The Cadence Room

File #NV-2020-1109 · Nashville, Tennessee

A legendary producer dead at his own mixing desk. The vintage amp that killed him had been rewired that morning.

Difficulty: EASY · Play time: 20–30 MIN · 1–2 players, in the browser.

The suspects

• June Calloway, 38 — Recording Artist. Motive: Novak refused to release her finished master tapes
• Ray Dutton, 51 — Co-founder & Engineer. Motive: Novak was selling the studio's tape archive to a streaming group
• Petra Vance, 29 — Archivist (suspended). Motive: Accused of leaking sessions — firing and lawsuit threatened

The evidence

• EXHIBIT A: Rewired Tube Amp — Chassis wired live to mains. Solder joints hours old.
• EXHIBIT B: Nitrile Gloves — Studio trash. Solder micro-spatter inside fingertips.
• EXHIBIT C: Badge Log 7:40 AM — Ray Dutton badged in Sunday morning. 'Maintenance.'
• LAB: Flux Residue Match — Solder flux matches lot on Dutton's workbench.
• EXHIBIT D: Friday Voicemail — 'You sell those reels, you sell my life. Don't.' — R. Dutton.
• EXHIBIT E: Power Meter Spike — Studio B draw spike 7:52 AM Sunday — a bench test.
• EXHIBIT F: Unsent Announcement — Novak's draft: archive sale to StreamCo — 'effective Monday.'
• EXHIBIT G: Leak Investigation — Novak's notes name Petra — 'session files, three leaks.'

A career built on trusting your ears is a bad habit around a piece of gear someone else had thirty unsupervised minutes with. The Cadence Room is a fast, mechanically-minded case — less about who hated the producer and more about who had a badge, a solder iron, and a reason to be in the studio before anyone else was awake.

One of you reads the crime scene. The other reads the people. Play The Cadence Room free — or browse all cases.