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| Clue / Event | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Nolan + Davenport | Old prison friends; Davenport stays with Nolan before the robbery. | Creates a link between the two suspects. |
| Davenport disappears | He vanishes just after the jewellery robbery. | Makes the police suspect a planned hiding of the loot. |
| Nolan’s will | Leaves everything to Davenport. | Brings the missing suspect back into the case. |
| Calendar sheet | Nom · Utes · Sweden · Hurts | Suggests the strange words may relate to days. |
| Remove D-A-Y | Monday→Nom; Tuesday→Utes; Wednesday→Sweden; Thursday→Hurts | Reveals the code rule. |
| Fifth word | Friday→Fir | Names the physical object to search. |
| Young fir tree | Exists on south side of Nolan’s house. | Gives exact hiding place. |
| Jewellery | Found inside the twenty-gallon jug of earth from which the young fir tree grows. | Confirms Leroy’s deduction. |
Encyclopedia Brown
Exam-ready sketch: Leroy is knowledgeable, observant, logical and modest. His real strength is not simply knowing facts; it is knowing which fact matters in a particular context.
Mrs Brown
Exam-ready sketch: Mrs Brown is intelligent and curious. Although her first interpretation is not the solution, her questions help expose what the four words cannot mean and keep attention on the clue.
A clue’s physical setting—the calendar sheet—is as important as the words written on it.
Leroy tests a repeatable rule and then predicts a specific fifth word.
Leroy’s intelligence is powerful because he uses it quietly rather than to show off.
Anagrams, shortened words and double meanings turn ordinary English into a detective clue.
