Mel and Ray investigate diligently
Mel finds the cocktail receipt on the floor of the lab, and then checks Paul’s pocket, where she finds the receipt from The Biscuit Palace. She concludes that Paul had bought his own cookies, some of which they then find in his pockets. Ray suggests that they check the bar, and Mel enthusiastically agrees.
In the bar, they find the half-drunk cocktail with the red earring and the napkin with the phone number on it. Ray borrows Paul’s phone and calls the number, while Mel looks in Ray’s locker, where she finds a cookie with a bite taken out of it. Ray denies any knowledge of the cookie and asks whether Paul is trying to frame him. Ray also points out that 'Poisson Rouge' is a red herring reference.
Mel heads to the study by herself and finds a fishbowl, and a piece of paper with the word ‘secrets’ on it (note: in her Twitch stream recap of this episode, she disclosed that she had also found another task brief in the study, which read: “Congratulations Mel! Don’t let Ray read this task. If he does, one hour will be added to your time.”, which explains some of her apparent bossiness towards Ray when he subsequently enters the room, as she tries to prevent him from finding this).
Ray arrives in the study with the note he’d found, written by Dr Geri Hern. Mel sends Ray downstairs while she looks for the book written by Dr Hern, which she finds on the shelf, and opens to find the box with the combination lock inside.
Ray, meanwhile, has called the number on the napkin again, and hears another phone ringing in Karen’s locker. He finds the purse containing the phone, and also the business card for ‘Guilty Man’ at ‘Carmine Audiology’.
Mel spots the ‘red herring’ sign in the fishbowl, and realises what the meaning of the ‘red earring’ was. She shakes the locked box and guesses there is a key inside, while Ray finds the key in the purse.
Mel heads to the kitchen and calls for Ray, while finding a slice of Red Velvet cake and a locked cash box labelled “Property of Paul’s Security Services” in the bread bin. Ray asks Paul if he has the key for the cash box, which Paul says he doesn’t.
Mel then sends Ray to the caravan, which he discovers is the headquarters of Paul’s Security Services. Inside the caravan, he finds the VHS player and TV.
Mel, meanwhile, tries to look in the shed but finds it’s locked. She asks Ray to try his key on it, which works. Inside the shed, they find the red herring fish poster and the note regarding the contents of the bread bin. Mel also finds a UV torch, which she uses to reveal the secret code of ‘0000’ hidden on the ‘Secrets’ paper.
She opens the locked box with the code and finds the key with the red key fob labelled ‘PSS’. She then goes to find Ray, who is wandering around aimlessly outside with the locked cashbox.
Opening the box with the new key, they find the VHS tape labelled “LAB CAM 19/2/23”. They then put the tape in the VHS player in the caravan to watch the footage of the cookie being stolen by the literal red herring, which they subsequently accuse of the crime.
Paul stops the clock, and then Paul and Mel share the cookies (which Ray can’t eat because he is vegan).
The pair of sleuths solve the crime in 17 minutes and 16 seconds, earning 5 points.
(Written by Will G and proofread by Karl Craven)
(Illustrations collected by JoGo and adjusted by David Fuller)
