Mini Mystery: Mini Mystery
A weary detective receives a cryptic origami clue, following a trail of evidence through the city's underbelly, navigating a red herring, and ultimately unmasking a surprising culprit close to home.
Characters
Detective Miles Corbin
supporting
Detective Miles Corbin is a middle-aged Caucasian man with a perpetually weary expression, reflecting years of late nights and tough cases. He has short, dark, slightly disheveled hair that often falls across his forehead, and tired, deep-set blue eyes with faint bags underneath. His skin is pale, and he often sports a slight stubble. He is typically dressed in a classic noir detective's attire: a rumpled, dark grey trench coat, a fedora pulled low over his eyes, a loosened dark tie, and a white shirt. His hands are often gloved, and he frequently holds a distinctive cigarette holder, a plume of smoke curling around him. He carries a worn leather briefcase.
Bartender
supporting
The Bartender is a burly, intimidating Caucasian man in his adult years, with a thick, muscular build that fills out his uniform. He has short, dark, slicked-back hair and cold, grey eyes that miss nothing. A prominent, jagged scar runs horizontally across his left eyebrow, adding to his gruff appearance. He wears a crisp white shirt with sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms, a dark vest, and a stained apron tied around his waist, typical of a busy barman. He is often seen polishing glasses or wiping down the counter with a stained rag.
Page 1
Panel 1: Detective Miles Corbin, a weary man in a rumpled suit, sits at his cluttered desk as a delivery boy hands him a small package.
“For Corbin, sir.”
Panel 2: Close-up on a small, intricately folded origami crane, made from cheap, rough paper, lying on the desk.
Panel 3: Corbin's gloved hand carefully unfolds the crane, revealing a single, typewritten word: 'ORION.'
“Orion...”
Page 2
Panel 1: Corbin stands under the flickering neon sign of 'THE ORION' jazz club, a matchbook in hand, smoke curling from his cigarette.
“Hmm.”
Panel 2: A forgotten, ornate cigarette holder, encrusted with a distinctive emerald, lies half-hidden under a booth table inside the club.
Panel 3: Corbin approaches a gruff, burly bartender polishing glasses at the dimly lit bar, holding up the cigarette holder.
“Someone lost this.”
Page 3
Panel 1: The Bartender, a scar running across his eyebrow, glares at Corbin, wiping down the counter with a stained rag.
“Never seen it.”
Panel 2: The Bartender gestures vaguely towards the dark, velvet-roped entrance of the club's VIP lounge.
“Try the back room.”
Panel 3: Corbin sits alone on a deserted park bench under a streetlamp, examining the cigarette holder, a small, unique pearl button now visible inside it.
“A pearl button?”
Page 4
Panel 1: Corbin stands in his office, looking intently at his prim secretary, Eleanor Vance, whose blouse is missing a pearl button from its cuff.
“Eleanor.”
Panel 2: Eleanor Vance, initially composed, now looks startled, her hand instinctively rising to touch her cuff.
“Yes, Miles?”
Panel 3: Corbin holds up the pearl button, a grim, knowing expression on his face, as Eleanor's facade crumbles into a look of defeat.
“Case closed.”
