Case 0008 · October 23, 2026

Applause After Midnight

The last guests had gone home. The applause had not.

Tonight's case — free to play Difficulty: ●●●●●

The briefing

Seville, a warm October night in Triana. Rafael Cortés had danced for forty years before turning an old palacio with an orange-tree patio into the tablao everyone in the barrio knew.

The rest of the briefing is waiting in the case file.

The victim

Rafael Cortés Vega, age 67Tablao owner and former dancerRafael still wore his black dancer's boots every night, though he had not danced on stage for ten years. He was superstitious about his tablao: nobody but him was allowed to switch off the brass footlight after the last show, and nobody but him ever did.

The suspects

Lucía CortésFlamenco dancer · Daughter
Manuel HerediaFlamenco guitarist · Old friend and company guitarist
Pilar RomeroStage manager · Employee
Antonio VargasFlamenco singer · Company singer
Carmen RuizBookkeeper · Employee

How to play this case

DifficultyFiendish (5/5)
The suspects5
TimeAbout ten minutes

5 suspects and 16 pieces of evidence wait in the file. Sweep your flashlight across the scene, listen to every voiced statement and pin what doesn't add up. You have three accusations to name the killer, the method and the motive; after that, the morning paper tells the whole story.

About this case

Case 0008, “Applause After Midnight”, opened on October 23, 2026. Difficulty: Fiendish (5/5). It puts 5 suspects and 16 pieces of evidence in front of you, all connected to Rafael Cortés Vega. Like every Midnight Casebook file, it is a fair puzzle: there is no trick ending and no outside knowledge needed — everything that points to the answer is somewhere in the scene, the evidence or the statements.

Questions about this case

Is “Applause After Midnight” free to play?

Yes. It is tonight's case, so it is free for everyone until the next case opens at midnight. Play it in your browser or in the iPhone or Android app — no account needed to start.

How hard is this case?

Difficulty: Fiendish (5/5). Difficulty follows the week: Monday's case is the gentlest, Friday's and Saturday's are the toughest, and most players close a daily case in about ten minutes.

What if I get stuck?

Hints open one at a time: the first points to evidence worth a closer look, the second to a contradiction, the third explains one part of the puzzle. Free players get one hint per case, plus an extra one on hard cases during their first seven solves; Casebook Pro unlocks all three. Each hint costs 10 points and each wrong accusation 20, but time never counts against you.

Do I need to download anything?

No. The case plays in any modern browser at midnightcasebook.com/play, and there are also iPhone and Android apps. Sign in with Apple or Google when you want to keep your streak, scores and badges on every device.