"Quickly, we need to save-"

(Finish that sentence and I'll know I can tell you about the next part! )

Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic page: Hint 1

Mr. Hincks has underlined part of the text about shifting. In order to make sense of some of this text, you’ll need to replace some letters with either the previous letter in the alphabet or the next letter in the alphabet. For example, the letter S might become either R or T.

Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic page: Hint 2

In the writing at the bottom of the page, some of the letters are bolded. Those letters will not be shifted, but they give you context about how the other letters might be shifted.

Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic page: Hint 3

The words at the bottom of the page are written in alphabetical order (after any shifts have been made). You can use that as additional context to find the correct word.

Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic page: Hint 4

After you perform the correct shifts, the words in the left column are:
-BADGER
-BLUEBERRY
-BREAD
-BUSINESS
-COCOA
-
-COLUMN
-DEBRIS
-GNAT
-GUITAR

Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic page: Hint 5

After you perform the correct shifts, the words in the right column are:
-HYMN
-ISLAND
-LAMB
-LEOPARD
-PESTLE
-RHUBARB
-SCISSORS
-SUIT
-SWORD

Maxine Morton, Mystery Mechanic page: Hint 6

The note from Mr. Hincks at the top of the page tells you that “These items are all newsworthy.” Now that you’ve decoded the items, that gives you a hint as to what to do with them.

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 1

Mr. Hincks has left a small blank at the end of each line. You’ll need to fill those blanks with one letter each.

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 2

Each line of the text is referring to a specific sound. You don’t need to know the spelling of that sound, but you do need to know how that sound might be made.

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 3

The symbols above the letters in “Listen For Me” are all things that might make the sounds referenced by the text below.

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 4

The sounds heard in the cafe might sound like these objects:
-Horn (honk)
-Snake (hiss)
-Keys (clink)
-Lion (roar)
-Bell (ding)
-Mouse (click)

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 5

The sounds heard at the beach might sound like these objects:
-Keys (clink)
-Lion (roar)
-Mouse (click)
-Mouse (click)
-Lion (roar)
-Bee (buzz)

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 6

The sounds heard in the forest might sound like these objects:
-Fingers (snap)
-Tire (screech)

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 7

The sounds heard at the library might sound like these objects:
-Fingers (snap)
-Bell (ding)
-Snake (hiss)
-Fingers (snap)
-Bell (ding)

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 8

The sounds heard at the theater might sound like these objects:
-Snake (hiss)
-Mouse (click)
-Lion (roar)
-Balloon (pop)
-Horn (honk)

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 9

For each line, you can fill in the blank with the letter that is below the matching object at the top of the page. When you do that with all the correct letters, it reveals the message SILENT LETTER OF ONION ITEMS.

The Absence of Noise page: Hint 10

You’ll need to use the phrase “Silent letter of onion items” with other materials in this envelope to get to the final answer.

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 1

You won’t get an answer from this page, but you can use the information on it to help you with another page.

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 2

Mr. Hincks has described the events that happened to him. Some of those same events are mentioned in the issue of The Fhincksburg Herald as possible superstitions.

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 3

For each superstition listed in The Fhincksburg Herald, you need to figure out if it might’ve applied to Mr. Hincks’s day. For example, the first superstition in the Herald only applies to weekend days. However, Mr. Hincks writes that six days ago was Wednesday January 28th, so today must be a Tuesday, which means the superstition doesn’t apply.

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 4

The first six superstitions in the Herald are:
-False, today is a Tuesday
-True, Stephen has more letters than Hincks
-False, Mr. Hincks took the bus to work
-False, Mr. Hincks is having an interpersonal conflict with Burt
-True, Mr. Hincks mentioned that it was pouring outside
-True, Mr. Hincks was startled by a barking dog

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 5

The next six superstitions in the Herald are:
-False, Mr. Hincks’s shoes were totally dry
-True, today is a Tuesday
-False, Mr. Hincks’s middle name starts with P
-True, Mr. Hincks saw one bird, a roseate spoonbill
-True, today is February 3rd
-False, Mr. Hincks did not open his newspaper

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 6

The next six superstitions in the Herald are:
-True, Mr. Hincks woke up at 5am, four hours before his 9am shift started
-True, Mr. Hincks dropped his chef hat on the ground
-False, Mr. Hincks took the elevator to the seventh floor which is not even
-False, Mr. Hincks cooked a sweet chili composed entirely of candy
-True, Mr. Hincks is having an interpersonal conflict with Burt
-False, Mr. Hincks put his chili in the refrigerator next to Brussels sprouts

Comprehensive Book of Signs page: Hint 7

Now that you know which superstitions in the Herald don’t apply to Mr. Hincks, you’ll be able to ignore the ones that don’t matter, which will help you to solve the puzzle.

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 1

Mr. Hincks has underlined one item in each of these superstitions. You’ll need to use a different page in this envelope to figure out which specific items he has in mind.

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 2

The Maxine Marlowe, Mystery Mechanic page gave you a list of items that Mr. Hincks thinks are newsworthy, according to the text at the top of the page. Those items can replace the underlined items in the newspaper.

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 3

In order, the underlined text in the newspaper refers to these newsworthy items:
-LAMB
-BREAD
-GNAT
-BLUEBERRY
-ISLAND
-COCOA
-GUITAR
-COLUMN
-DEBRIS
-BADGER
-SWORD
-PESTLE
-BUSINESS
-SCISSORS
-LEOPARD
-SUIT
-RHUBARB
-HYMN

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 4

Now that you have specific items for all the superstitions, the Absence of Noise page gives you a clue on what you can do with those items.

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 5

The Absence of Noise page tells you to collect the silent letter in each of these items. Collecting all of those letters gives you BAGESAUNSDWTICOIHN.

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 6

The Comprehensive Book of Signs can help you figure out which of those letters can be safely ignored.

The Fhincksburg Herald page: Hint 7

The Comprehensive book of signs told you that only certain superstitions applied to Mr. Hincks. Those were 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17. When you collect only those silent letters, you end up with the answer A SANDWICH which can be entered into the solution box on the website!