Finished listening?

Yes! Can you believe it?!

Ells said “We won’t be able to open the door in the tunnel right now because you are not Fern!”

Not-Fern looked back and forth between Ells and Ernie, waiting for a punchline, but the investigators didn’t seem ready for a laugh. Instead, Ells cleared her throat and started what you’ve been waiting for the whole time: a blow-by-blow reveal of everything they had deduced.

First, Ells told Not-Fern that the detectives hadn’t been at Cozy Slopes long before getting the feeling that things were just a little off. Many things about the B&B, including the name Cozy Slopes Inn suggested that this was actually a winter resort, and would possibly be closed down during the summer. Ells pointed out that when she stepped into the pool, she could tell that the heater was on, even though it was the middle of summer. It didn’t seem like anything nefarious, but based on later events Ells guessed that someone unfamiliar with the system had just turned on the master power switch, and not known they needed to adjust the temperature. A pool temperature that would’ve been perfect in the winter would’ve felt perfectly gross in the middle of summer.

Ernie continued the reveal by explaining that all of the people at Cozy Slopes were clearly pretending to be something that they were not. The two investigators already got a confession from the gardener, but other people also had their own idiosyncrasies. Both the bellhop and Not-Fern had trouble opening doors, likely because neither of them had the master key. The man calling himself Archibald Brown said he was staying above the kitchen, but the inn doesn’t even have a guest room above the kitchen. Archibald also seemed to take sitting in an armchair with a crossword puzzle very seriously, almost like it was his job. The bellhop also appeared to have a curious job as they seemed to be delivering the same set of luggage to different places around the inn all day. Any of these discrepancies might be reasonable by themselves, but all together they’re more than slightly suspicious.

Ells picked up the narrative and explained that the couch in the library was covered in plastic because there weren’t supposed to be any guests currently. When the inn closed down at the end of winter, the staff would’ve draped it in plastic to keep the dust away during the off-season.

Ernie took that opportunity to point out his favorite clue. Not-Fern had red sauce on her shirt that she claimed was from eating the chef-created pasta dish for lunch. However, Ernie pointed out that vodka sauce was orange not red, though the sauce would have been red at one point, until whoever was cooking it added the cream to it. Since Not-Fern’s stain was red, she very probably had been the one doing the cooking, even though she claimed there was a chef who was doing the cooking. Ernie had been in the kitchen many times that day and had never spotted the aforementioned chef once. He did know of a chef who was connected to this inn though, Fern’s previous business partner, Cora!


Ells high-fived Ernie and delivered the final reveal: based on all the evidence, Ells and Ernie were never actually hired by Fern. From the moment they got the first call from Cozy Slopes Inn, it was always Cora in disguise.

Gasp!

Before Ells and Ernie could get too excited, Cora started laughing and gave the detectives a slow clap. In case you’re not familiar with the slow clap, it’s never good when a villain does it, though it works great as a sarcastic device.

In this case Ells and Ernie were perfectly justified in the clearly audible “gulp” sound that they made. During her clapping, Cora allowed the detectives to glimpse a scary-looking holster that had been hidden under her jacket. It didn’t take a detective to deduce that there was probably an equally scary looking gun in that holster, but both Ells and Ernie arrived at that conclusion admirably.

Cora told the detectives that she was actually glad that they knew what was going on, so she could stop pretending to be running the stupid inn.

She said she was also glad for another thing: Ells and Ernie were going to open the door in the passage for her. With some vaguely threatening nods and showing of the gun, Cora prompted Ells and Ernie to lead the three of them to the library.

As Cora herded them towards the passage, she told them how she’d been looking to get revenge on Fern for years. When Fern and the real staff closed Cozy Slopes down for the summer, Cora took her opportunity. She decided that she would break into the inn equipped with the tools she would need to create the secret passage herself. She would then use the passage to enter and exit the inn when guests were there, planning to create mishaps to scare the guests away.

Cora knew the manor backed up to a mountain and from seeing the blueprints she knew if she tunneled a passage through the library wall that there was an area with caves she would be able to utilize to enter and exit through. When Cora started to carve out the passage, she found something she did not expect. A door! Someone, maybe somebody’s great-great grandparents, had already started making this secret passage, but had started from the cave side and stopped before connecting it all the way to the library.

Cora knew she had to get through that door! She’d be able to use this passage for her intended purpose and there might just be a bonus of some buried treasure or a pricey family heirloom beyond that door. There was just one problem. She couldn’t figure out the combination to open the door. After attempting to solve the puzzle for weeks, she decided that she would hire some investigators to figure it out for her, and find some actors to fill out the inn so it wouldn’t seem like anything was amiss. Her eyes were more than slightly crazed as she told Ells and Ernie that she would go to any length to get through that door. Ells and Ernie exchanged concerned glances; it seemed obvious that Cora had gone off the rails.

You’re probably thinking that all hope was lost. I know I was thinking that. How were Ells and Ernie going to make it out of this mess?

Ells gave Ernie a wink and Ernie gave Ells a subtle nod in return and began distracting Cora by telling her that they already knew that it was Cora who had made that section of the passage. They had noticed the portable light that had been affixed to the metal door in the passageway, most likely with some extremely sticky glue, and since it was currently lit, that meant that someone had been in there recently. They had guessed that it was Cora since she had known that the passage was cramped even though she said she had never gone into it.

While Cora was distracted with staring daggers at Ernie, Ells was busy popping out the batteries from the small flashlight and putting them into her official Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic strobe light, which she kept hidden from Cora’s view.

In the middle of Ernie’s monologue to Cora, Ells spun around and activated the strobe light right in front of Cora. Cora screamed in surprise and the entire tunnel started flashing in a blinding light.

Ernie launched into a spinning, high-kicking dance move in an attempt to disarm Cora. It was well-intentioned, if only slightly over-enthusiastic, but it completely missed Cora’s outstretched gun hand. However, Ernie misjudged his landing and fell against Cora, who was knocked back a few feet onto the ground and her weapon skittered away from her and out of her reach.

Ernie transitioned flawlessly into his best celebratory dance and Ells killed the strobe light saying to no one in particular “Let’s see your phone flashlight do that!” Ernie raised his hand for a victory high five, and Ells was quick to oblige as the two basked in the feeling of a mystery solved.

They made their way out of the passage and tied up Cora with Ernie’s extra long shoelaces while they waited for the police to arrive, and since they had some time to spare, they started another round of Barrels and Flags.

While they were playing, Ells was just about to start her turn when her eyes lit up again. Now that they had walked all around Cozy Slopes, the text on the passage door made perfect sense. She knew exactly what they needed to do and ran for the elevator. After a journey that I’ll describe more in the reference materials, they deduced the combination to the lock on the door. They spun the 3-letter combination lock so that it read-

I can’t wait for you to figure this one out. I mean, obviously I figured it out, but I don’t want to tell you what the code was, just for your own sense of accomplishment. Definitely that. Not because I didn’t figure it out on my own and I want to see if you do. So just go ahead and tell me what the code was and then I’ll know that you could clearly imagine yourself standing next to Ells and Ernie in their moment of triumph.