The Detective’s DeskAmina Cole
Door volunteer
What happened from your point of view?
This guest half had already been used yesterday.
What should I check to test that account?
The old door half is stored by serial.
MEDIUM · CASE FILE
The Ticket Torn Twice
Medium · A charity cinema
A guest claims the door staff tore a valid ticket twice. Compare tear edges and serials before deciding whether a second admission was paid.
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
Tickets have a guest half and a retained door half. The supplied issue register is complete.
People and accounts
Rowan Moss
Ticket seller
What happened from your point of view?
Tonight’s serials start at 500.
What should I check to test that account?
Nico asked whether yesterday’s guest half would work again; I said no.
June Reed
Usher
What happened from your point of view?
I saw Nico enter the queue.
What should I check to test that account?
I did not witness any new sale.
Nico Hart
Guest
What happened from your point of view?
I bought tonight’s ticket and they tore it twice.
What should I check to test that account?
The film title is right.
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 · Ticket desk
New-sale ledger
There is no new sale to Nico and no ticket 417 issued twice. The complete ledger balances with the till.
Case record · Ticket desk
Tonight’s issue register
Only serials 500–599 are issued tonight; 417 was sold and used for yesterday’s showing.
Case record · Door
Old retained half
The retained 417 half is dated yesterday and joins the first tear, not the extra corner torn today.
Case record · Ticket desk
Seller’s written reply
Rowan’s reply tells Nico 417 cannot be reused. Nico acknowledges reading it before tonight’s queue.
Case record · Door
Presented guest half
Serial 417 bears two tears; its original edge joins the retained serial-417 door half from yesterday.
Case record · Foyer
Screening title poster
The same film plays on both nights. A matching title does not establish the showing date.
Questions to resolve
Who knowingly tried to reuse an already admitted ticket?
Which identifier settles the showing?
What is established about a second 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.