The Pinnacle Array

File #NM-2023-1216 · Sagebrush Mesa, New Mexico

An observatory director dead at the base of the catwalk. The ice said accident. Her thermos said otherwise.

Difficulty: HARD · Play time: 40–50 MIN · 1–2 players, in the browser.

The suspects

• Dr. Aaron Voss, 45 — Deputy Director. Motive: Passed over for directorship; telescope-time audit closing in
• Lena Márquez, 33 — Postdoctoral Fellow. Motive: Solheim drafting retraction naming her for data fabrication
• Gus Ferrell, 57 — Site Engineer. Motive: Automation review signed by Solheim ends his position in March

The evidence

• EXHIBIT A: Cocoa Thermos — Victim's thermos: 8% methanol in cocoa. Refilled ~21:40.
• LAB: Methanol Stock Short — HPLC-grade methanol 400ml short. Log entry initials forged.
• EXHIBIT B: Chem Store Access — Márquez card at chemical store 20:55 — no experiment scheduled.
• EXHIBIT C: Kitchen Door Sensor — Kitchen entry 21:41 — during her claimed dome session.
• EXHIBIT D: Draft Retraction — Solheim naming Márquez: 'fabricated calibration frames.'
• EXHIBIT E: Scripted Queue — Her 'live' observing was a pre-written script — no input 21:10–23:00.
• EXHIBIT F: Catwalk Ice — Railing intact, no struggle. Fall consistent with impairment.
• EXHIBIT G: Snowplow GPS — Ferrell's plow on the access road 21:00–23:30 continuous.

Observatories run on solitude and precision, which makes them a bad place to die by accident and a good place to nearly get away with murder — until someone checks the thermos against the methanol log. The Pinnacle Array is one of our longest, most technical cases, built for a pair who like their evidence exact and their suspects ambitious.

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