The Detective’s DeskNoor Bell
Research manager
What happened from your point of view?
I left the estate at 20:04, before the director died.
What should I check to test that account?
My note copies the gate clock.
HARD · CASE FILE
The Glasshouse at Two Times
Hard · A botanical research estate
Two clocks appear to put a visitor away from a fatal encounter. Translate their documented settings before comparing the accounts.
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 examination fixes a direct fatal assault to reference time 20:05–20:10. The glasshouse display clock was set ten minutes fast for a lighting trial; the gate clock uses reference time.
People and accounts
Esme Cole
Gate clerk
What happened from your point of view?
Noor’s gate departure is 20:14 reference time.
What should I check to test that account?
The number on her copy has been overwritten.
Rui Moss
Research rival
What happened from your point of view?
I argued with Adrian earlier.
What should I check to test that account?
I stayed at the camera-covered lecture desk during the fatal interval.
Zara Lane
Lighting technician
What happened from your point of view?
I set the display clock ten minutes fast and labelled it.
What should I check to test that account?
My trial log records both clock readings side by side.
Leo Hart
Assistant
What happened from your point of view?
I saw Noor leave the glasshouse when its clock showed 20:18.
What should I check to test that account?
I assumed every clock matched.
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 · Glasshouse
Assistant’s timed observation
Leo sees Noor leave the director’s enclosed work room at display 20:18. He is watching the only door throughout the reference fatal interval.
Case record · Lighting desk
Lighting clock calibration
The glasshouse clock is exactly ten minutes fast throughout the trial. Display 20:18 means reference 20:08.
Case record · Glasshouse
Director’s audit notice
Adrian schedules disclosure of Noor’s falsified research payments that evening. This gives motive, not a clock conversion.
Case record · Gate
Departure copy examination
Noor’s submitted 20:04 copy has 1 overwritten as 0; it is not the original gate record.
Case record · Lecture desk
Combined staff positions
Rui and Zara remain on continuous lecture video, Esme at the gate desk, and Leo at the work-room door during reference 20:05–20:10. No other entry occurs.
Case record · Lighting desk
Technician’s paired trial notes
Independent entries pair display 20:15 with reference 20:05 and display 20:20 with reference 20:10, confirming the offset stays constant.
Case record · Glasshouse
Reference interval examination
The direct fatal act occurs at reference 20:05–20:10; there is no delayed mechanism.
Case record · Gate
Original gate strip
Noor exits at reference 20:14. The original strip has an unaltered 14 in the minutes field.
Questions to resolve
Whose enclosed-room visit intersects the direct fatal interval?
What is reference time at display 20:18?
Which departure time is independently supported?
Who is established as a knowing murder 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.