The Detective’s DeskCal Reed
Presenter
What happened from your point of view?
I believed the appeal was live and real.
What should I check to test that account?
The sound operator supplied the caller feed.
HARD · CASE FILE
The Call That Crossed the River
Hard · A riverside radio fundraiser
A broadcast caller says he is stranded across the river. Test the recording’s continuity, the ferry records and the account named for donations.
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 emergency exists. The appeal is a recorded segment presented as live; its raw audio and payment records survive.
People and accounts
Rui Lane
Ferry clerk
What happened from your point of view?
The last ferry had returned before the recording.
What should I check to test that account?
Evan’s ticket is a return trip ending at the station bank.
Evan Bell
Caller
What happened from your point of view?
I only recorded a rehearsal at the station.
What should I check to test that account?
Mara told me it would be labelled as fiction.
Zia Hart
Payment coordinator
What happened from your point of view?
I used the account Mara sent me as a rescue fund.
What should I check to test that account?
I did not know its owner.
Mara Cole
Sound producer
What happened from your point of view?
The caller confirmed he was across the river.
What should I check to test that account?
I assembled the segment but left the location unchanged.
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 · Sound desk
Raw rehearsal audio
Evan says “this is a fictional rehearsal recorded here at the station”. Later he reads the scripted stranded-person lines.
Case record · Payment desk
Appeal account ownership
The supplied verified bank response identifies the advertised account as Mara’s private account, not any rescue organisation.
Case record · Ferry office
Full ferry and station intake records
Evan returns to the station bank before recording and signs station intake. No subsequent crossing occurs in the complete ferry log.
Case record · Sound desk
Broadcast segment comparison
The fiction disclaimer is removed; a river sound loop is inserted between two continuous station-room breaths. The caller’s speech is the rehearsal take.
Case record · Sound desk
Signed edit log
Mara signs the edits removing the disclaimer and marks the prerecorded track “LIVE rescue” for Cal’s rundown.
Case record · Broadcast booth
Presenter’s original rundown
Cal’s received version explicitly labels the track LIVE and omits all rehearsal warnings. His complete preparation exchange contains no contrary notice.
Case record · Payment desk
Producer’s collection withdrawal
Mara withdraws the appeal receipts from her private account after broadcast. No rescue expense or transfer is made.
Case record · Payment desk
Account instruction message
Mara tells Zia the account is the official rescue fund and asks her to copy it exactly. Zia asks for confirmation and receives that false assurance.
Questions to resolve
Who knowingly turns a fictional rehearsal into a false live appeal?
Where is Evan when the supplied take is recorded?
Who else is established as knowingly helping the false appeal?
Where do the appeal receipts go?
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.