The Detective’s DeskZara Bell
Tailor
What happened from your point of view?
I lent Ronan an empty pouch.
What should I check to test that account?
I did not know it would hold a ring.
HARD · CASE FILE
A Ring and a Letter at the Wedding
Hard · A country-house wedding
A missing ring and a hidden letter make one guest look responsible for everything. Follow each object separately and test whether the acts share an agreement.
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 ring has an inner maker’s mark. The letter has a split wax seal. Both are recovered before the guests leave.
People and accounts
Nora Moss
Wedding coordinator
What happened from your point of view?
Lea gave me the hidden letter after the ceremony.
What should I check to test that account?
Ronan alone handled the ring between its photo and the empty return.
Lea Cole
Cousin
What happened from your point of view?
I moved only the letter to spare the couple an argument.
What should I check to test that account?
The ring never passed through my hands.
Milo Reed
Photographer
What happened from your point of view?
My preparation photo shows the ring inside its box before Ronan collects it.
What should I check to test that account?
It also shows the sealed letter in a different drawer.
Ronan Hart
Best man
What happened from your point of view?
I returned the ring box empty because it was empty already.
What should I check to test that account?
I borrowed a cufflink pouch from the tailor.
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 · Tailor’s corner
Pouch recovery
The maker-marked ring is recovered inside Ronan’s cufflink pouch. The borrowed pouch was empty at issue.
Case record · Coordinator desk
Letter handover
Lea gives Nora the still split-sealed letter and says she hid it to prevent a public argument. Its contents are unaltered.
Case record · Dressing room
Preparation originals
The maker-marked ring is in its box; the split-seal letter lies separately in the desk. The photo is taken before either handover.
Case record · Ceremony desk
Best man’s private sale draft
Ronan’s unsent draft offers the ring using its hidden maker’s mark. It predates discovery and describes a private sale for himself.
Case record · Dressing room
Combined separate routes
Lea remains with Nora while Ronan carries the box to the tailor’s corner. The complete messages contain no shared object plan.
Case record · Coordinator desk
Cousin’s prior message
Lea tells Nora before the ceremony that she intends to postpone delivery of the letter. No ring, pouch or Ronan is mentioned.
Case record · Tailor’s corner
Tailor’s actual instruction
Ronan asks Zara only for an empty cufflink pouch. Zara supplies no ring, concealment suggestion or buyer contact.
Case record · Ceremony desk
Ring handover ledger
Ronan receives the full ring box and returns it empty. No other person handles the box during his short custody.
Questions to resolve
Who took the ring for private sale?
Who concealed the letter?
Who is established as knowingly helping the ring theft?
What relationship between the acts is established?
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.