The Detective’s DeskOmar Hart
Host
What happened from your point of view?
I never opened or moved the prize envelope.
What should I check to test that account?
The red star was probably rubbed off when someone stole it.
EASY · CASE FILE
The Envelope under the Plant
Easy · A neighbourhood hall
Prize vouchers disappear before the draw. One person knows a detail that was never announced. Check that detail against the hiding place.
Read the case file below, or open the interactive desk to examine records, keep notes and submit your reasoning. These are the case materials, without the solution.
The scene
The envelope’s inside flap has a red star drawn by the treasurer. Its outside is plain.
People and accounts
Finn Vale
Gardener
What happened from your point of view?
I found a plain envelope under the pot while watering.
What should I check to test that account?
I left it sealed and called Celia.
Celia Moss
Treasurer
What happened from your point of view?
I drew the star inside, then sealed it before anyone arrived.
What should I check to test that account?
I told nobody about the star.
Case records
Read each record on its own terms. A claim made by a person is different from a fact established by an independent record.
Case record · Hall plant
Recovered envelope
The unopened outer envelope lies under the heavy pot; the inside flap’s red star is intact.
Case record · Hall desk
Host’s earlier note
Before recovery, Omar writes that the stolen envelope had a red star on its inner flap. This detail was never in the raffle announcement.
Case record · Hall desk
Treasurer’s preparation photograph
The star is drawn inside before sealing. Nothing outside reveals it.
Case record · Hall plant
Gardener’s call
Finn reports only a plain sealed envelope. He does not mention an inner mark.
Questions to resolve
Whose account needs a follow-up because they mention an undisclosed detail?
Does knowing a secret detail alone prove who hid it?
Use the interactive case desk to select your finding and cite the records that support it. The answer is checked there, and your progress stays in your browser.
Build your finding
Compare the records with each account. Work out what the evidence establishes, then separate that finding from anything it does not prove.