[Vote] The One Who Lingered - Detective Game

💡 Get off work late, everyone left, then this happened... 💡

📕Story Background

The body of Mr. Collins, the night security supervisor at the city museum, was discovered in the staff lounge just after 9:35 p.m. He had been killed by a single, precise blow to the back of the head. There were no signs of a struggle, no weapon at the scene, and no forced entry.

Security footage showed that only three people entered the lounge between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m.

Earlier that evening, Liam, a junior guard, stopped by at 9:02 to submit his shift report. He stated that Collins was seated at the table, drinking coffee and scrolling on his phone. Liam left in a hurry, saying he needed to catch the 9:10 bus, which transit logs later confirmed he boarded.

At 9:14, Maya, a museum guide, entered the lounge briefly to retrieve her umbrella. She said Collins was on a call, raised a finger to signal “wait,” and she left without speaking further. The front desk recorded her exit at 9:18.

At 9:22, Noah, the maintenance technician, arrived to repair a flickering ceiling light. He claimed he immediately found Collins lying motionless behind the table. Panicked, Noah said he ran to the security office to call for help and did not touch anything.

The medical examiner estimated time of death as between 9:20 and 9:30.

At the scene, detectives noticed three small details:

• Collins’ coffee cup was still warm
• The light above the table was still flickering, unrepaired
• A small puddle of rainwater lay beneath a chair near the table, not near the doorway

It was raining heavily outside all evening.

After reviewing the scene again, the lead detective said:

“Two of them sound believable. Only one of them could be telling the truth.”

Do you know who is most likely the real culprit? Why is that?

(This story is absolutely fictional. Any inconsistencies with common sense work for the plot)

🔍Known Clues

1. Attention to details, constructing a flow.
2. Motive does matter a lot, while sometimes sequence also matters.

🕵️‍Questions and Discussions for YOU

1. WHO is most likely the real culprit? WHY is that?
2. When do you usually get off work? Does your job often require overtime? Share your experience with us. (Open-ended)

🎉Participation Rewards

The FIRST user to successfully deduce the identity of the "culprit" and their motive in the comment, will receive a reward of 2,000 GT points! Other participants will earn 200-500 GT points based on the completeness of their submissions. 💰

📅Submission Deadline

December 26, 2025

Reminder: This is the submission deadline if you want to claim the reward with your vote, but after this date the vote will still remain open for a period of time, so please feel free to participate at any time if you want to test your skills, detectives!

----- Previous answer (The Impossible Espresso) -------

Correct Answer: Finn

Rowan connects the clues:

• Elias hated espresso → he would NEVER voluntarily drink it.
• Espresso machine is warm but grinder is spotless → no espresso was brewed.
• The drink was extremely concentrated → suggests cold-brew concentrate, not brewed espresso.
• Only the intern opened the storage cabinet containing the dangerous concentrate.
• Manager saw him carrying multiple items → likely the concentrate jar.

Therefore: The espresso was faked to look like a normal drink, but was actually a lethal dose of concentrate. Based purely on physical evidence: Only one person had physical access to the concentrate → Finn.

Link to the post: https://forum.gtarcade.com/topic/251193

We will be rewarding 200 GT points to all players who voted correctly, and additional points to some outstanding responses.

Congratulations and enjoy your juicy GT points reward!!!