The Great Speculoos Mystery: Part 3

Case File #113c
It has been almost two years since the strange events that first started The Great Speculoos Mystery. It began one morning when I discovered a mysterious jar of Speculoos left on my desk by an unknown person. Despite my best efforts at the time I was unable to discover their identity. Half a year later a second jar of Speculoos appeared on my desk. Once again there was no note, no clue and no one stepped forward to claim responsibility. The trail went cold again and for a long time I heard nothing from my mysterious benefactor. Until last week…

The Great Speculoos Mystery Begins Again

A third jar of Speculoos mysteriously appeared on my desk again just a few days ago (technically it’s a tub).

Upon discovering it I immediately started questioning the people who sit around my desk. Unfortunately none of them could recall seeing anyone place the Speculoos there or say with any certainty when it had first appeared. I cannot rule out the possibility that they might all be in on it but I cannot prove it either (and I doubt any of them would brake under interrogation).

Although the appearance of another jar of Speculoos is exciting, without any extra information, it is another dead-end… or so I thought. There is something different this time, something I had not expected, something exciting; a surprise hidden under the lid.

A hidden message! The mastermind behind this great mystery is trying to communicate.

What’s next?

It is clear from this message that I should expect more Speculoos surprises but what does the ‘-B-‘ mean? Is it a clue to the next gift or the mystery person’s identity? Could it be a letter of their name perhaps or simply a red herring intended to point me in the wrong direction?

I could try to covertly secretly obtain hand writing samples from all my colleagues for comparison but HR warned me against that sort of thing last time when I tried to collect finger prints. I could set up a web cam on my desk with a movement sensor but that would generate hours of footage with no idea when the next drop will happen. It’s has been a year and a half since the previous drop.

So instead I have decided to leave a message here for this mysterious unknown person. I know they are reading this.

To the mysterious supplier of my Speculoos,

I have received your message. I do not yet know if you are friend or foe. You know about my Speculoos addiction but I do not know anything about you or who you are. However, I am intrigued by your desire to communicate. What made you change the rules of the game? Does it come from a desire to be caught, or perhaps a calculated risk to show off your intellect? If that is the case I challenge you to leave another message and I look forward to receiving the next Speculoos surprise.