Easily one of the most creative games in this Jam that I've tried. I'd love a full detective game with this mechanic!
The beginning was a little confusing, and it took me a while to make my first connection because i kept trying to connect the group image with the person who didn't attend, so maybe a little nudge at the start would've been helpful, or maybe if you started out with less items. Everything after went pretty well, though.
The issues I've had are similar to what others have mentioned, the biggest one being the time limit, which I had to cheese by storing the watch in the folder. Doing that made the game way more enjoyable because I could crack the case at my own pace without feeling rushed and speed-reading the text. Speaking of text, I wish it was easier to read and had black outlines, as I found myself not paying attention to it most of the time. Also, some long texts end up being too big and going off screen after 4 lines.
One idea I really liked is organizing the desk with the limited space you have, it added a fun layer to the game and it made me feel like a conspiracy theorist, so I see that as a plus rather than a negative. Although I do wish the desk was at least big enough so you could have enough space to look at everything connected at the end without having some evidence blocking others. Maybe a feature that lets the camera move around a larger area would help? I also found myself not really using the folder, mainly because you can't put things you've already connected inside, and I didn't want to put something that needed to be connected in there, because I didn't know what I would need and what I wouldn't.
Despite these complaints, I enjoyed my time with this a lot, I just wanna see it improved upon because I see a lot of potential. Thanks for the fun!