Professor Layton and the Shining Stone
Disclaimer: The Prof and his many friends aren't my property. BTW, good luck with that cool looking crossover, Team Layton…
Rating: PG…dunno, see how the later chapters go…
Summary: The rarest treasure in America, known as the Shining Stone, has been stolen from the house of one of the Professor's colleagues. Together with his self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke, and his unofficial adopted daughter, Flora, Layton has been asked to unravel the mystery…
I feel so foolish. The puzzle code I set up had some spelling mistakes, as one reviewer pointed out. Thanks, I've fixed it now. But, spelling issues aside, here's the next chapter, and the solution to the last puzzle!
"Fellow Crime Hosts, The key opens the site office to the B.E.D.M. What you need is in there. SNATCH."
"I would wager B.E.D.M stands for Black Eagle Diamond Mine," the Professor said, not taking his eye off the woman.
They had reached the hotel room where she was apparently staying, and she had locked herself in. The Professor pressed his ear against the keyhole, trying to listen in. He heard a few faint voices for several minutes, before he heard the sound of a window being shattered. Startled, Layton paused, before knocking on the door.
"Hello? Are you alright?" There was no reply. Layton knocked again, but the result was the same. Finally, he began inspecting the door from top to bottom.
"Doesn't look very strong. A bit of excessive force should open it. I'm going in!"
Layton gave the door a hard kick before Luke or Flora could protest, and they burst into the room. The window to the fire escape was open and the room was totally deserted. The table in the middle of the room had some red and yellow poker chips and some playing cards, bearing a black back, on the table. The rest were scattered on the floor, along with most of the cards. Lying on the edge was a crushed red tin can. Layton spotted the can, and frowned.
"I think that this woman is quite strongly tied to our little friends, SNATCH, after all."
Luke couldn't see what Layton was talking about, until he saw that the Professor was watching the tin scrap. "Wait, I've seen that somewhere before…"
"You have," agreed Layton. "Remember when the Inspector showed that photo of the break-in to us? He described how they always use red tin cans like this to smuggle stolen jewels."
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Flora said quietly.
"I do too, my dear. I think we should head back to our hotel room, and think about we've seen." They nodded, and they left the room, quickly. They immediately headed back to their old room, and Layton opened the door. What they were greeted by was a terrible shock.
The room looked like it had been totally ransacked. Evidently, someone came in here searching for something from top to bottom. Everything in the room that could be moved somewhere else was lying in a heap all over the floor. Even the tubes of toothpaste were emptied out. On the pillow of Layton's bed was a far from friendly message.
U were givun the map and messug by mistayk. Go home and furget abowt the Shyning Ston or else. Take my advise. You hav been warmed.
"This is terrible, Professor!" Luke gasped in shock.
Layton had a grim look on his face. He began searching amongst the clutter, until he pulled out an unfamiliar object - a shiny sapphire ring.
"Luke, Flora. Look at this."
Luke and Flora looked at the ring Layton was holding, carefully.
"I don't think it belongs to any of us…" Flora said slowly.
"Do you remember? That woman on the train? She was wearing a ring just like this one."
Luke gasped. "So, the woman who was following us and the one who gave us the package…"
"…Are one and the same person!" Flora finished.
"Jane Homes, well known in SNATCH for being quite illiterate, as you can tell by the note," Layton concluded. "You've read about her in Mrs Williams's office."
"W-what now?" Luke asked, eyes open with fear. "We should get out of here!"
"Of course, right after we've reported the burglary to the authorities."
"But, we'll be asked all sorts of questions, like what the break-in has to do with us!"
"These rooms are house kept by staff regularly," Layton explained. "If we don't tell anyone about this, they'll discover it for themselves. So we might as well."
Layton picked up the note from the pillow and stuffed it into his pocket. He didn't want to answer any awkward questions and blow their cover, should the police catch up to them.
"I'm going to the help desk. Luke, Flora, wait for me outside. I'd like to leave quickly, if I may."
Layton and the others were soon back on the train, heading towards the airport. The Professor was glad to leave the whole mess behind and continue their investigation.
"I still feel bad," Luke sighed, as the scenery rolled by. "Leaving all those confused people behind."
"I do too, my boy," said Layton fretfully. "But that would have meant we would have stayed in Germany for a lot longer, and we would have lost our only lead."
"So, you said that we were going to the Black Eagle Diamond Mine, Professor?" Flora asked, hoping to liven up the mood a little.
"Well, that's where the Shining Stone originally came from, so I'm hoping this will provide us with a new lead, if nothing else."
The two of them spent the rest of the journey in silence, with the events of the day still swimming in their minds.
Layton, Luke and Flora were soon at the local airport, waiting for a flight to Angola. Luke flopped on the seats, a dull expression on his face. "I don't like planes very much. It takes so long to wait for them."
"Well, I know a few good puzzles that should while away our two hour wait. Do you want to hear some?"
"Ah, yes!" Flora said eagerly. "I haven't been told any by you for a while, Professor!"
"Alright. Here's yours, Flora.
"An entertainer has a troupe of performers, with performances in Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles. They are to split into three teams, with each one performing in one city each. To avoid his acts going stale, he doesn't ever let them know which team they will be working with, and decides them using the following method: they are to turn up independently, at the airport, at any random time during departure day, and then take the first flight to any of the three destinations. Since the number of flights to each city are equal, the entertainer expects an even split. However, as he observes the situation from his Hollywood home, he discovers that twenty-five of the performers arrived in Vegas, while only two arrived in San Diego and three ended up in LA. None of the staff disobeyed instructions, and there were indeed an equal number of flights, so what went wrong?"
Post note: Well, how does Flora get the answer? This puzzle is worth 40 Picarats, I would think. Here's the key facts:
Three destinations.
Equal number of daily flights to each destination.
Staff arrive at random times throughout the day.
Staff catch the first flight to any of the three destinations.
Staff follow instructions properly.
The result is not a 10:10:10 split but a 25:2:3 split.
TASK: Figure out what went horribly wrong.
Back to logic puzzles again, since codes are the only visual puzzles I can do, and I think they're getting old.
Next chapter takes place all the way in Africaaaaa!
