I realized I bit off more than I could chew with the rainy-day kid activity I had planned for tomorrow when Jesse told me the plot needed an overarching theme to tie it all together.

Okay, I think we worked it out. Here's a long thread with the plan. Backstory: Since E got into Scooby Doo, she's been obsessed with mysteries. I thought I'd stage some "crimes" around the apartment for her to solve. Jesse was bothered there was no "why" behind it all. So now:

Crime 1. The perp left footprints. Match the footprints to the villain (Vader), investigate his vehicle, and find a clue (folded blue paper) that says "S." (The paper will be hidden, taped to the bottom of the ship.)

Crime 2. Lineup of suspects. Witness testimony eliminates all but Phasma, Guess Who?-style. Inside Phasma's envelope is a clue that says "O."

Crime 3. DNA was found at the scene. Is there a match in the database? Jesse purposefully chose gray to represent monster genes and yellow to represent human genes. STEM!

Where is the Rancor's clue? Did you have to ask? It says "C."

Wait, were these seemingly unrelated crimes coordinated? What do the perps have in common? In the "Star Wars" case, which Jesse has graciously moved so E doesn't have to navigate his crazy movie filing system, is a clue that says "KS."

Put the clues together: SOCKS, a word I'm pretty sure she's able to read thanks to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. But will she? Another mystery!

Trapped in the socks: all the stolen loot from the first three crimes (loot TBD), plus a "Forces of Destiny" Padmé Amidala hair doll who needed to be rescued!

Of course, the true mystery is whether she'll love this, bail after two minutes, or complete it in seconds after we spent all this time figuring out a backstory. Evidence is inconclusive!