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Jeff R. Tyvel Metapuzzle

by Matt Zinno

Grouping

The group of names for this metapuzzle is the following, along with their puzzle answers:

If you take each name in this list and abbreviate the last name to an initial (or, optionally, two, for the hyphenated one), put that initial at the beginning, and add the sound "son" at the end, you get a complete list (sometimes phonetic) of all US Presidents whose names end with the syllable "son". This is further suggested by the towns in the addresses of the contacts, which are the birth places of the corresponding presidents.

Metapuzzle solution

Recognizing the nature of the grouping involved adding "Son" to the names. The puzzle answers need to be transformed as well, again by taking their "son"s. But this time we use the son of the answer:

These sons now match the letter count of the LBB entries' last names. And the LBB last name and the son's name has exactly one letter in common in the same place (capitalized above). Arranging the presidents into chronoogical order, these individual letters spell the phrase VOTE FOR J.R. – which recalls the presidential theme, plus looks like it recalls the son theme with "JR", though since the phrase needs to identify the witness, it's actually a reference to J(eff) R.

Call it in

After contacting Jeff R. Tyvel and telling him this phrase, teams are sent the following email:

To: TEAM NAME
From: Jeff R. Tyvel, the People's Candidate
Re: Vote for J. R.

Thank you for your support of my candidacy in tonight's election! I am proud of my special relationship with my voters, and I'll show my appreciation with a favor in return. I believe you're interested in learning who killed Dr. Awkward? Send one person to HQ to register and vote, and I'll see what I can do for you. Be sure to call first to make an appointment.

Butterfly Ballot

The team member arriving at HQ is asked for their name and team, and is then given a two-sided butterfly ballot. They are instructed to poke a hole along the center line in the spot that corresponds to their candidate. If you reach the 'TO OTHER SIDE' marking, you come out on the same spot on the other side, as if there were a hole there – meaning, in part, that if you enter on the RIGHT, you come out on the LEFT. The colors on the ballot are purely decorative. Each candidate actually does lead to exactly one center hole, and each of those is used only once. (Jeff is the third one from the top.) Wrong answers were met with an invitation for someone else from the team to come and register to vote; correct answers were confirmed, and followed up with the following email.

Email from Witness after Game is won

To: TEAM NAME
From: Jeff R. Tyvel, the People's Candidate
Re: My suspicion

Good for you for navigating those nasty butterfly ballots. Let it never be said that J.R. Tyvel forgets his constituents! You should find a new dossier on your page on mystery.mydossier.net, with some info on the suspect, and enough info to let you figure the motive. Once you think you know the motive, hit the appropriate <Contact Me> button in the little black book and make your accusation (using the exact wording of the motive). Once you've done this, your page should be updated with more complete information, including the suspect's alibi.