Puzzlemasters - DCI Hugh Dunnit's Whodunnit

Good day, Detectives. DCI Hugh Dunnit here.

I've been summoned to Keyhole Manor by the rather animated Lady Latchita Locket, who’s in quite the flap.

It seems her prized possession - The Master Key - has vanished. Not just any key, mind you. This one supposedly opens every lock in the manor. And possibly one on the moon.

According to Lady Locket, the key was safely locked away in her private study before bed. But by morning… gone. No signs of forced entry. No smashed cases. Not even a footprint in the custard tart she left on the windowsill. She's convinced however that one of her four guests staying at the manor has nabbed her precious key.

The only “witness”?
A feathered loudmouth by the name of Major Squawksmire - Lady Locket’s beloved parrot, and (she insists) an “exceptional judge of character”. He squawked all night, apparently, and claims to have seen all four guests sneaking into the study during the small hours… each one in disguise.

So - four guests, one missing key, and a parrot’s testimony.

It’s your job to unravel the clues and figure out which poorly disguised mystery-lover pinched the Master Key.

I’ve got my suspicions - but I’ll keep those under my trilby for now.

Over to you, Investigator. Let’s crack this case wide open.

Happy hunting!
DCI Hugh Dunnit
Investigator Extraordinaire
“Crime won't crack itself...”

The Master Key is missing.

Major Squawksmire saw all four guests wandering the hallway near Lady Locket’s study at various times, one hour apart, between 2.30am and 5.30am throughout the night, all wearing different coloured wigs.

According to the night security guard who conducted hourly checks, the key went missing sometime between 3am and 5am.

Two strands of hair were found in the drawer where the key was kept: a strand of pink hair, and a strand of blue hair.

Unravel Major Squawkmire's clues below to work out which suspect was spotted near Lady Locket's study at which time, and what colour wig they were wearing. Once you've worked all that out, combine your findings with the information above to work out who took the key.

This flamboyant conjurer holds all the cards but is always vanishing at the wrong moment.

This connoisseur of antique mechanisms is oddly fascinated by the security system.

This popular amateur investigater seeks out drama and often poses more questions than he answers.

This hermit-like crime writer is possibly keeping records of this whole thing for her next book.

• The gadget expert was seen wandering the halls at 5.30am, but not in a pink wig.

• Margot was out of her room first, with a head of blue hair.

• The person sneaking around at 3.30am was wearing a bright red wig.

• The podcaster was seen an hour after the magician.

If you’re a visual puzzle solver, you might find drawing out a little grid like this one useful...

Submit your answer to find out if you were right. Once you've submitted an answer to all three puzzles, we'll ask you to vote for your favourite!