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The Detective’s Desk

MEDIUM · CASE FILE

A photograph between bells

Medium · WILLOW SQUARE

A recovered photograph must have been taken while both a temporary banner and a lit fountain were visible. Four photographers have verified camera timestamps.

Investigate this case

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.

Your assignment

Whose timestamp fits both conditions?

People and accounts

Kira Stone

Proposed deduction

“My camera recorded 18:33.”

Leon West

Proposed deduction

“My camera recorded 18:41.”

Iris Lane

Proposed deduction

“My camera recorded 18:25.”

Joss Pine

Proposed deduction

“My camera recorded 18:16.”

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.

CONTEXT NOTE

Square inventory

The permanent bronze bench appears in photographs all year.

The permanent bench cannot narrow the photograph to either interval.

PRIMARY RECORD

Banner crew log

The temporary banner was visible from 18:12 through 18:27, including both endpoints. It was absent at every other time.

This restricts the photograph to the banner interval.

LINKED RECORD

Fountain timer

The fountain lights were on from 18:23 through 18:40, including both endpoints. They were off otherwise.

This restricts the photograph to the illuminated interval.

Questions to resolve

Find the earliest and latest civil times when both features can appear.

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.

Open the interactive case More Medium case files