The Detective’s DeskHARD · CASE FILE
Hard · An apparently empty portrait frame
An empty-looking frame is treated as proof of theft. A visitor was nearby, and a hanger fitted an unusual cover. Establish whether the portrait actually left and what the hanger was told.
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 entire frame is secured before police dismantle it. Nobody is expected to know frame construction beyond the supplied workshop and supervised examination records.
Conservator
No opaque covering or simulated loss was approved. The portrait was to stay mounted inside the deep frame.
A signed cross-section drawing records where the inner canvas sits.
Preview visitor
I complained that the exhibit looked blank. I never touched the frame or entered behind the barrier.
The public overview camera shows the barrier throughout my visit.
Frame hanger
I fitted an opaque front board at Mara’s request. She said it was part of an approved conservation display.
I sent the conservation desk a completion photograph before the preview.
Portrait owner
The painting was stolen from its frame during today’s preview. I need the insured value paid.
The display frame was unusually deep because of its new backing.
Read each record on its own terms. A claim made by a person is different from a fact established by an independent record.
Physical record · Conservation desk
The signed plan places the canvas inside the deep frame. It approves no opaque front board. An outside view cannot establish the contents of that inner space.
Physical record · Conservation desk
Oren sends a photograph and asks conservation to confirm the temporary cover before the public opening. His question is logged before Mara reports a theft.
Physical record · Frame workshop
Mara tells Oren the board is an approved temporary conservation cover. He agrees to install that cover, not to remove the portrait or stage a theft.
Physical record · Frame workshop
Mara writes before preview: “Keep the canvas mounted behind the board. Report the blank opening as a new theft; the insurer must not learn it remains inside.” The authenticated note predates her complaint.
Physical record · Conservation desk
Mara acknowledges that deliberate simulated losses are excluded. She nevertheless signs that the portrait was newly removed from its frame.
Physical record · Portrait display
The original portrait remains on its numbered inner mount, facing inward behind an opaque front board. Nothing has been cut from the mount and no painting has left the secured frame.
Physical record · Portrait display
Tavi stays outside the intact barrier. No person removes a canvas during the preview. The apparently blank opening is already present before visitors enter.
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.
Compare the records with each account. Work out what the evidence establishes, then separate that finding from anything it does not prove.