Case File: Project Steel Man

Hint #2 & Answers

Stuck on a clue? On this page are the second hints and answers for each clue.

Hint #2

Here are some additional hints to get you on the right path.

Clue 1
  • Look up for a large poem displayed on a tall building as you walk along Howard Street. Deduce the correct two words from the poem using “V3L3W2 V1L4W3”, where V=Verse, L=Line, W=Word. Which weapon marker on page 2 has this shape and colour?

Clue 2
  • 24 cubes protrude from the correct side of the art installation.

Clue 3
  • After solving clue 2, turn 180 degrees and look at the brickwork on the side of 38-40 Howard St (next to a car park). What animals are portrayed here? The suspect in the band named after this committee is innocent. The list of bands is on the flyer in the inventory. Read the suspect descriptions on page 2 to see who is in this band.

Clue 4
  • There are 24 cubes (from clue 2) and nine spheres. 24 + 9 = 33, so the web address to solve this clue is bit.ly/signal33. Who is Target2 (it’s written with 1s and 0s)?

Clue 5

  • The guttering on the Town Hall has the year 1921 inscribed on it. These four numbers then tell you how many clicks to mentally turn each dial on page 5’s synthesiser, e.g. turn the first dial one click, the second dial nine clicks etc., to spell a four-letter weapon.

    A picture of the drain pipe required to solve the clue.

Clue 6
  • This clue is hidden within the double-tile factoid in the bottom-left corner of the page. Read every other line (the words in italics), which says what to look for at the tip of the Town Hall’s arched entrance (near the Legends Walk of Fame stars on the floor).

Clue 7
  • Look at the Yorkshire House building for a small white plaque resembling a street sign. What O’Clock is the time signal at? The suspect in the band which started at this time is innocent. Use the set times on page 5’s flyer, and the suspect descriptions to see who is in this band.

Clue 8

  • For part 1, you are looking for the “Royal Engineers” emblem part of the War Memorial. The answer is “Engineers”.

    For part 2, you must email Eilon at robotixengineers@gmail.com, then look at the tiny T&Cs in his reply for a band name in bold.

    Have you sent Eilon an email but didn’t receive a response? Emails sent from Outlook to Gmail can end up in the spam folder. Try using an email address other than Outlook. In case your email went into Eilon’s spam folder (or vice versa), you can view a copy of his out-of-office autoresponder email at killertrails.co.uk/ooo.

Clue 9
  • The 4th word on the 4th line is “OPENING”. Venom=1, Chowtime=2, Lexis=6.

Clue 10
  • Death Metal logos are tough to read, huh?! The band names on the ticket stubs from left to right are Eternal Throne, Motion Of A Hidden Fire, Vital Breath, While He Weeps, At The Gates Of Death and Sinners. On the left-hand side of Montgomery’s plinth is an inscription containing all these band names except for one! What weapon marker appears on this ticket stub? You can remove this weapon from the case.

Clue 11

  • For part 1, the sixth inscribed word on the scroll is ‘TECUM’. Mentally rotate the first two letters “TE” 180 degrees. What two-digit number does it look like now?

    For part 2, the number to dial for assistance is 0.

    These three digits are the pin to enter bit.ly/user-hare. Then, listen to the audio file you discover. What is the last word that Eilon says?

    Is your trail version no. 1.0.0–1.0.3?

    • You need to locate the two ticket stubs with the correct helplines for part 1 and part 2. Carefully fold the paper to align the QR code halves on the ticket stubs, then scan it. Ticket stubs aren’t just in the inventory! Look across the entire document.

Clue 12
  • Look above the entrance to The Graduate for an ornate sun. In between the sun’s rays are four symbols, which all appear on the synthesiser’s white keys in the inventory. The notes of the synthesiser’s white keys in order are C,D,E,F,G,A,B. This sequence then repeats. Using the notes, what word do these four symbols spell? The suspect in the band which features this word is innocent. Remove them from the case.

Clue 13

  • Read the entire clue back-to-front. The plaque you require is on your right as you enter the Square.

Clue 14

  • To solve this clue, you need image 336.jpg from the server folder in Clue 11.

    And then…

    • On the first floor of the Old Queens Head, spot a small plaque which starts with “No. 336”. Pair the movements on image 336.jpg with the position of letters on the plaque. This will spell a location (starting with the letter ‘H’) somewhere within the document where you’ll find a secret 10-letter word. Add the only 10-letter word you find here to the Double Cross Clue Table. The answer starts with the letter ‘S’.

Clue 15
  • Poison Arrow

Clue 16
  • The Human League

Clue 17
  • Robot

Clue 18
  • For this clue, you need to use the killer’s playlist and the coloured plectrums on page 1 of the trail document. All of the song title names contain a colour. Use the order of song titles to mentally draw between plectrums with the corresponding colours and write a five-letter word. For example, the first letter is ‘S’.

Terminating Grid
  • The Terminating Grid metapuzzle uses letters from the Double Cross Clue Table answers to spell a sentence, revealing the murderer and weapon. C = Clue, L = Letter. So, for example, C1,L1 = the first letter from Clue 1 = E.

Answers

At a dead end? Below are the Double Cross Clue Table answers. Try your best not to use them, though, detective!

Clue 1
  • Energy Sword (white square)

Clue 2
  • 24 cubes (not required for the Double Cross Clue Table)

Clue 3
  • Simon Borg

Clue 4
  • Detective Teal

Clue 5
  • Gong

Clue 6
  • Synthia Machina (from the band Face The Dragon)

Clue 7
  • Alex Burner (performed at 1 O’Clock)

Clue 8
  • Philip Chokey (from The Human League).

Clue 9
  • Molly Yikes (suspect #9)

Clue 10
  • Bass (purple triangle from the “While He Heeps” ticket stub).

Clue 11

  • The numbers you require for part 1 and part 2 are 32 and 0. The password to enter to enter bit.ly/user-hare is 320.

    You can bypass the password-access page by visiting bit.ly/eilons-desktop.

    So the answer is…
    • Synthesiser.

Clue 12
  • Ammo Elliot (keys are D-E-A-D, from the band name Dead Poet).

Clue 13
  • Anne Droid

Clue 14

  • The sequence of movements on image 336.jpg spells “Hint 17” on the pub’s plaque. Go to hint 17 to see the secret 10-letter word.

    So the answer is…
    • Simulation

Clue 15
  • Poison Arrow

Clue 16
  • The Human League

Clue 17
  • Robot

Clue 18
  • Shade

Terminating Grid

  • Are you sure?
    • Branch 336: It was Ted with a red X (i.e. a Raygun). Unplug Teal. Induction over.