The Detective’s DeskKit Reed
Costume keeper
What happened from your point of view?
The grey coat went straight onto our inside rack.
What should I check to test that account?
Nobody took it out of the room.
EASY · CASE FILE
The Watch in the Costume Pocket
Easy · A theatre dressing room
A watch vanishes during a costume change. Search the clothes and test the claim that a visitor took it.
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
All costumes remain in the locked room. The watch has a crescent engraving.
People and accounts
Mona Vale
Performer
What happened from your point of view?
I left my watch on the dressing table.
What should I check to test that account?
I changed from the grey coat into the blue one.
Ari Moss
Visitor
What happened from your point of view?
I stayed by the door.
What should I check to test that account?
Mona put something small into her grey coat before changing.
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 · Dressing table
Watch identifier
Mona’s repair slip identifies the recovered crescent engraving and serial number as her watch.
Case record · Costume rack
Pocket search
The crescent-engraved watch is in the deep inner pocket of Mona’s grey coat. The pocket lining is intact.
Case record · Dressing table
Costume sequence
The dresser’s continuous cue sheet records grey coat removed, blue coat fitted, grey coat hung on the inside rack.
Case record · Door
Door attendance
Ari remains at the doorway while the dresser works. No garment is passed to Ari.
Questions to resolve
What resolves the disappearance?
Who is established as a watch thief?
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.