21 October 2026
Wednesday. I am informed that my casebook may now be read by anybody in the world. I have checked my buttons twice.
To whoever is reading: I am Inspector Anselme Brochard of the gendarmerie, the officer the hotel telephones every time a guest is found dead in the penthouse suite, which is every hour. I write down who stepped out of the lift, what they asked me and whether the stairs were busy. I do not write down anything else.
In particular I do not write down who did it. Not once, not in invisible ink, not in a code. A casebook that gave away the answer would be a very short book and a very poor evening for everybody. I would rather resign. I would rather take the lift.
If you would like to be framed yourself, the hotel is at the bottom of the stairs under Hay Street Mall, and there is a booking page for the purpose. Croissant asks me to add that he accepts pastries as bribes. He does not. He accepts them as pastries.
— Insp. A. Brochard, Gendarmerie
