The Detective’s DeskAda Voss
Office runner
What happened from your point of view?
I delivered the manager’s closed copy envelope. I was not told there were two versions.
What should I check independently?
I recorded that the envelope was closed when I collected it.
HARD · CASE FILE
The Letter with Two Beginnings
Hard · An office transfer dispute
A manager relies on a genuine signature, while an archivist says the signed instruction forbids the proposed transfer. Follow the numbered text and the separate roles of its editor, carrier and recipient.
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
No money has moved. Both original numbered pages survive in the signed archive sleeve, and the accounts query preserves exactly the version that was circulated.
People and accounts
Ciro Hart
Project manager
What happened from your point of view?
The director signed an instruction to transfer the reserve to my supplier. I circulated the approved version.
What should I check independently?
The first page bears a genuine signature, but I did not circulate its matching reverse.
Nell Ward
Company archivist
What happened from your point of view?
I preserved the signed two-page instruction in its numbered sleeve. The public copy changes what it means.
What should I check independently?
The original sheet numbers and sentence endings show which page follows which.
Leo Dane
Accounts clerk
What happened from your point of view?
I refused the transfer because the circulated pages did not join. I sent a query before any money moved.
What should I check independently?
The supplier account is privately controlled by Ciro.
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.
Physical record · Archive sleeve
Signed archive instruction
Page 1 ends “No reserve may be transferred unless…” and page 2 continues “…the trustees give a separate written authorisation.” The matching page numbers and sleeve record establish the complete signed condition.
Physical record · Project office
Runner’s full delivery task
Ada is asked only to deliver a closed approved-copy envelope. Its seal remains intact until accounts opens it. No alteration, false certification or payment agreement is disclosed to her.
Physical record · Project office
Project printer history
Ciro’s authenticated session prints the replacement transfer page. The print pickup view shows him attaching it to the signed first-page copy before he closes the runner’s envelope.
Physical record · Accounts desk
The pre-payment query
Leo’s query identifies the broken sentence and asks for the matching original before paying. It predates the internal accusation and prevents the transfer.
Physical record · Archive sleeve
Trustee authorisation register
No separate transfer authorisation exists. A genuine first-page signature does not remove the condition stated on its matching second page.
Physical record · Accounts desk
Circulated payment copy
Ciro’s version replaces the second page with “Transfer immediately to supplier account R9.” It restarts the sentence, carries no matching page number and omits the trustee condition.
Physical record · Accounts desk
Supplier ownership record
Account R9 is controlled by Ciro’s private supplier company. The company’s approved suppliers do not include R9.
Questions to resolve
Who knowingly altered the instruction’s meaning?
Who is established as a knowing assistant to the altered transfer?
What did the original authorise?
What happened to the proposed payment?
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.