Zola | Murder Mystery in Box HQ

MADAME ZOLA

Case Closed: The Murder in the Onyx Room

The velvet curtains of the Onyx Room have been pulled back at last. Crescent Harbor’s most famous psychic, Madame Zola — Eliza Marenko to those who knew her best — was strangled with her own Moonlit Grey silk scarf on the night of September 5th. Four suspects hovered in the candlelit air of suspicion. Each had reason to fear her. Each looked guilty. But only one could be the killer.

The trail to the truth was hidden in plain sight, scattered through testimony, trace evidence, and one very important book: Zola’s ciphered journal.

Decoding the Journal

The journal looked like gibberish at first glance — blocky strings of nonsense letters that seemed unconnected. But Zola left behind the key, tucked into a tarot bookmark. The ornate little bookmark whispered its clue:

“The Fool begins at zero, but the truth lies six steps behind.”

This was no mysticism. It was a Caesar shift cipher: to decode the journal, every letter must be shifted six places backward in the alphabet.

Cipher example: FRZSSL
Shift six steps back → SETTLE

With the bookmark’s guidance, players could unlock Zola’s last entries. And those entries explained why every suspect was worth investigating.

The Suspects

Dr. Hugo Thorne – The Doctor Who Couldn’t Leave the Stage

Decoded entry: “H. short again — 11:00 fix.”

Zola was squeezing Thorne for money. His reputation made him vulnerable. Motive? Certainly.

But the autopsy pegged the time of death between 10:20–10:30 p.m. And at that exact moment, Thorne was giving a keynote at the Medical Guild Dinner. The program listed him as the speaker, and a donor’s note on her program proved he was mid-speech at 10:28 p.m. Motive or not, he couldn’t slip away. The doctor was out.

Lina Kovács – The Illusionist in the Spotlight

Decoded entry: no ciphered note, but her resentment was well known.

The scarf inventory, however, tells the tale: the Moonlit Grey was on its rack at 8:40 p.m. and missing by 9:10 p.m. Whoever killed Zola stole it then. And Lina? She was trapped on the Orpheum stage, confirmed by both a call sheet and a lighting cue adjustment logged at 8:58 p.m. Her anger was real, but her opportunity was not. Lina was out.

Councilwoman Priya Narang – A Settled Score

Decoded entry: “P. settled — no more lever.”
Priya had once been under Zola’s thumb, but that night the journal itself confirmed their business was finished.

And Zola’s 9:58 voicemail to Priya — warm, supportive, even friendly — sealed the deal. Their relationship had shifted from blackmail to partnership. The councilwoman had no reason to kill her oracle. Priya was out.

Carmen Vale – The Gallerist Caught in the Glitter

Decoded entry: “C. owes me provenance or I open the vault.”

Carmen’s glittering gallery career depended on forged provenance. Exposure meant ruin.

Carmen Vale was the only suspect who had the means, motive and opportunity to commit the murder of Madame Zola.

The Final Reading

The ciphered journal gave you the motives. The scarf log and the autopsy gave you the times. The trace evidence gave you the killer’s calling card. Piece by piece, the suspects fell away until only one remained.

The doctor was on stage.
The illusionist was in rehearsal.
The politician was free of leverage.
Only the gallerist glittered with guilt.

And so the deck is complete: Carmen Vale strangled Madame Zola in the Onyx Room between 10:20 and 10:30 p.m. with the Moonlit Grey silk scarf.

The Fool may begin at zero, but as the bookmark warned, the truth was always six steps behind.

CONGRATULATIONS, DETECTIVE!

Thank you for joining us in this investigation! We hope you enjoyed unraveling the clues, testing your deductive skills, and uncovering the truth behind this case. We craft each mystery to challenge your instincts and immerse you in a world of intrigue—and we’re so glad you were part of it.

Keep your magnifying glass close and your wits sharp, because another mystery is just around the corner. Until next time, happy sleuthing!