The Detective’s DeskRina Bell
Grant officer
What happened from your point of view?
The board approved beneficiary A on draft 4.
What should I check to test that account?
The embossed code and register identify the approved pair.
HARD · CASE FILE
Four Drafts and One Final Instruction
Hard · A private family foundation
Four draft instructions use the same signature page. Establish which was actually approved, which was submitted and whether a witness knew the difference.
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
This fictional foundation uses its supplied internal approval rule: each approved page must share a matching embossed code and the signed register. No legal knowledge is required.
People and accounts
Evan Moss
Courier
What happened from your point of view?
I delivered the closed submission packet.
What should I check to test that account?
I never selected its pages.
Leah Reed
Accounts reviewer
What happened from your point of view?
The submitted first page pays Selma’s private studio.
What should I check to test that account?
I stopped it before transfer and kept all drafts.
Selma Hart
Foundation secretary
What happened from your point of view?
The submitted instruction is the approved one.
What should I check to test that account?
The signature page is genuine.
Omar Cole
Page witness
What happened from your point of view?
I witnessed only the signature.
What should I check to test that account?
Selma told me afterward which first page she planned to attach.
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 · Reception
Courier’s closed-packet record
Evan receives the already sealed packet and delivers it intact. His instruction is delivery only.
Case record · Accounts desk
Reviewer’s payment hold
Leah detects the code mismatch and halts transfer. No grant money reaches the studio.
Case record · Secretary desk
Witness’s prior reply
Selma tells Omar she will attach the studio page despite the board’s refusal. Omar replies, “I know; I will describe the whole pair as the approved D4.” This predates submission.
Case record · Board desk
Internal approval rule
An approved pair requires the same embossed page code and a matching two-page register entry. A genuine signature alone is insufficient.
Case record · Secretary desk
All retained drafts
D1 and D3 are abandoned alternatives. D2 pays Selma’s studio; D4 pays beneficiary A. The supplied full set excludes a harmless same-text reprint.
Case record · Accounts desk
Stopped submitted packet
The first page pays Selma’s studio and bears draft code D2; the genuine signed second page bears D4.
Case record · Board desk
Signed approval register
The board approves draft 4, code D4, paying community beneficiary A. Both approved page impressions are recorded.
Case record · Secretary desk
Secretary’s packing note
Selma signs that she replaces D4’s first page with D2 before sealing the submitted packet.
Questions to resolve
Who substitutes the studio-payment first page?
Who knowingly agrees to vouch for the substituted pair?
Which instruction was actually approved?
What is the payment outcome?
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.