THE TELL
Case Files

Open Case File · DAILY-THREE-BELLS

Three Bells

The alpine rescue base in the Valdiroca valley watches over the slope above the village every winter. One February morning, sixty-two-year-old Aurelio Pancheri—who'd run the base for thirty years and still climbed to measure snow even after retirement—was buried under a collapsed section at the top of that slope. His face emerged after twenty-two minutes, but he wasn't breathing. That morning the courtyard bell rang three times. The first question is who pulled that rope.

Scene

An active alpine rescue base and the controlled slope above the village · February, late winter season

5 suspects

  • Nicola SerafiniNicola SerafiniBase radio and situation officerUses call signs instead of names when addressing people. Writes down what the other person is saying while they speak.
  • Silvia CattaneoSilvia CattaneoVillage lift maintenance crewStates her own fault first and adds the facts afterward. So the important part always comes later.
  • Matteo RinaldiMatteo RinaldiSlope observation and controlled-release officerWhen someone challenges his assessments, his voice doesn't rise—his sentences shorten. Hears a number and recounts it on the spot.
  • Elisa DonatiElisa DonatiBase equipment officerSays more than asked, then belatedly tries to take it back. Stops herself when her answers run long.
  • Renzo BalduzziRenzo BalduzziAlpine rescue team leader, on duty that dayAnswers questions by naming the procedure first. When asked for his own judgment, his speech pauses.

Exhibits

  • Pancheri's observation notebook and the hallway wall curve chart

    A hand-drawn chart is posted on the hallway wall. Horizontal axis is minutes, vertical is percentage, and a thick vertical line is drawn at the fifteen-minute mark. Pancheri's observation notebook hangs on a nail beside it; the front pages are daily snowfall logs.

  • Signal-and-procedure chart beside the equipment-room door and that winter's revision signature line

    A chart with situations in the left column and signals in the right.「All Personnel Assembly」lists two bells;「Deployment」lists three bells. Only the「Slope Burial」row has fresh lettering.

  • Base radio recording

    Base radio records continuously. The segment from 09:41 onward is preserved. First a brief broken transmission, then the 09:42 call from below, then the base response.

  • The test site at the top of the slope and the debris pile

    At the top is a half-dug snow pit with half the wall collapsed. His shovel and avalanche probe—a long rod for locating buried victims—were left at the site. Snow swept downward has piled up below in a swath roughly forty meters wide.

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Field Guide

One question = one turn. Examine the clues, shake statements with confrontations, question everyone, then accuse — there is no undo.

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Three Bells · THE TELL Mystery Game