Warmed up yet?
– Rain
Case #2 - Chapter 2
Cross o’clock?
With your internal compass now orientated correctly, you fold the map and slip it back into the safe confines of your jacket.
Satisfied, you brace yourself before heading back out and onto the streets. The air is nippier, and the lights are so low that distant details are lost to the night.
Your mind wanders back to breakfast.
Munching slowly on buttered toast, you watch the gentle wisp of heat rise from the fresh brew of coffee. You couldn’t quite believe it when Linda, your supervisor, broke the news.
“Mateo was found dead last night.”
Mateo. Your colleague in your new department.
“CCTV’s show nothing.” She carries on. “The surveillance room was a wreck by the time people got to it. But we think we know who did it.”
And so, the search began.
You look up at the clocktower and read the bright face that pierces through the abyss.
It’s twenty-five past midnight.
Goodness, those hands have crossed over 9 times since you first set off.
What was the EARLIEST time you could have set off?
Hints
Highlight the text below to see the hint.
Hint #1 → Go backwards and determine what time the hands cross over on each pass.
Hint #2 → Going backwards, the first time the hands pass will be at midnight, or 00:00am. The next will be at 23:55, 22:50, 21:45 and so on… How many times should you do this?
Hint #3 → If the hands crossed over 9 times from 00:25am, then the first time they pass will be at 00:00, the second at 23:55pm, the third at 22:50pm, until the ninth at 16:20pm. However, this is not the EARLIEST time you could have set off. Counting a further pass would give you the earliest time. The hands did not pass for a 10th time but the 10th time will give you the earliest possible time you could have set off just before the hands crossed over.
Got the answer?
Well done for collecting part of the code.
Head back to base and await further instructions.
