The Detective’s DeskRose Venn
Depot manager
What happened from your point of view?
The receipts prove the original arrived safely.
What should I check to test that account?
A second unloading was only a duplicate record.
HARD · CASE FILE
The Cargo That Arrived Twice
Hard · A coastal heritage depot
Two genuine receipts appear to prove a panel reached storage. Trace which receipt concerns the original, which concerns a substitute, and who understood the exchange.
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 panel has a repaired knot visible on its reverse. A cast has the same front design but a smooth reverse. Both are still inside the depot grounds.
People and accounts
Nico Hart
Private buyer
What happened from your point of view?
I paid for a reproduction only.
What should I check to test that account?
My agreement with Rose uses the phrase repaired reverse.
Mara Cole
Receiving clerk
What happened from your point of view?
I signed for exactly what each consignment contained.
What should I check to test that account?
The first receipt is R8; the second is R9.
Eli Moss
Conservator
What happened from your point of view?
I identified the original before dispatch.
What should I check to test that account?
The repaired knot cannot appear on the smooth-backed cast.
Idris Shaw
Driver
What happened from your point of view?
I delivered a wrapped panel on my first run and an empty crate on my second.
What should I check to test that account?
The clerk weighed both consignments.
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 · Conservation bay
Original condition record
The original has a repaired reverse knot and weighs 8 kg unwrapped; the smooth-backed cast weighs 5 kg.
Case record · Receiving desk
Second receiving receipt R9
R9 records the empty crate’s return. Its related-order field repeats the panel order but certifies no panel contents.
Case record · Receiving desk
Driver and clerk instructions
Idris is told to carry two separately numbered loads; Mara is told to record their actual weights. Neither instruction asks for or conceals an original/cast exchange.
Case record · Manager’s office
Predated buyer agreement
Nico agrees with Rose to pay extra for the repaired-reverse panel while letting the cast satisfy the public delivery. The agreement predates R8.
Case record · Conservation bay
Packing interval ledger
Rose alone receives the original and cast for packing before the first loading. Idris receives only the already closed first parcel.
Case record · Manager’s office
Private parcel recovery
The repaired-knot original is found wrapped behind Rose’s private collection cabinet. Its accession matches the condition record.
Case record · Receiving desk
First receiving receipt R8
R8 records a 5 kg smooth-backed panel, openly described by Mara as a cast. It is a genuine receipt for a substitute.
Case record · Manager’s office
Manager’s receipt summary
Rose joins R8 and R9 into a summary saying “original received twice verified”, omitting both the cast description and empty-crate wording.
Questions to resolve
Who retained the original during the substitution?
Who knowingly agreed to receive the original privately?
What do R8 and R9 actually record?
Who among the driver, clerk and conservator is established as a knowing helper?
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.