The Detective’s DeskAda Moss
Conservator
What happened from your point of view?
The original stone has a notch on its underside.
What should I check to test that account?
A replica’s top surface looks identical.
HARD · CASE FILE
The Permit beneath the Permit
Hard · An underground heritage tour
An authorised photography visit seems to explain a case leaving the tunnel. Inspect both layers of its permit and distinguish a tour escort from the person who requested removal.
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 current permit authorises photographs only. A genuine but expired removal permit has been placed on top of it.
People and accounts
Milo Bell
Site clerk
What happened from your point of view?
I issued a photography-only permit.
What should I check to test that account?
Our embossed number links it to the register.
Iona Reed
Tour organiser
What happened from your point of view?
The official permit allowed the case out.
What should I check to test that account?
A stamped sheet is still a stamped sheet.
Sefa Cole
Collector
What happened from your point of view?
The case contained a replica I bought.
What should I check to test that account?
The organiser offered the notched original.
Cal Hart
Escort
What happened from your point of view?
I escorted the visitors under the current photography booking.
What should I check to test that account?
I never inspected the top permit layer.
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 · Tunnel chamber
Site handling chain
Iona alone opens the artefact cabinet and closes the departing case during the supervised visit. The escort remains with the visitors outside its barrier.
Case record · Collection room
Stone identity and recovery
The notched original, not a replica, is found in the case delivered to Sefa. Its underside accession matches the site record.
Case record · Collection room
Predated private offer
Iona offers Sefa the notched original and promises the old removal permit will look sufficient. Sefa replies agreeing to that cover.
Case record · Tour desk
Escort’s assignment
Cal’s complete instruction covers people and photography equipment. It neither authorises artefact handling nor mentions the expired sheet.
Case record · Tour desk
Current embossed permit
Permit 61, issued today, authorises photography and expressly excludes artefact removal.
Case record · Tour desk
Permit register comparison
The original registers confirm both sheets are genuine but refer to different dates and permissions. Neither stamp expands today’s photography authority.
Case record · Tunnel gate
Top permit layer
The visible removal sheet is a genuine expired permit 16 from a different visit. Its expiry and embossed number were folded under.
Case record · Tunnel gate
Gate packet examination
Iona staples expired 16 over current 61 in her signed packet preparation. The fold conceals the differing scope and number.
Questions to resolve
Who packed the original for unauthorised removal?
Who knowingly agreed to receive it under the permit cover?
Which authority applies to this visit?
Who among escort, clerk and conservator is established as knowingly assisting?
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.