The Detective’s DeskHugo Bell
Club officer
What happened from your point of view?
The trainee ruined it during practice.
What should I check to test that account?
I checked the net before the session.
MEDIUM · CASE FILE
The Mended Net
Medium · A harbour rescue club
A net fails after a repair. One volunteer blames old cord; another blames a trainee. Inspect the repaired section and the newer cut.
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
Nobody is injured. The examination separates the old repaired tear from a later clean cut.
People and accounts
Ruth Lane
Photographer
What happened from your point of view?
I took a frame as the session opened.
What should I check to test that account?
Hugo is still beside the net with the rigging knife.
Bela Moss
Repair volunteer
What happened from your point of view?
I mended the original tear properly.
What should I check to test that account?
The new cut lies outside my repair.
Iman Cole
Trainee
What happened from your point of view?
It fell before I touched it.
What should I check to test that account?
The opening photograph should show where I stood.
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 · Training pier
Net examination
Bela’s repair is sound. A separate clean cut in the load cord causes failure; it is not the old tear reopening.
Case record · Club room
Knife and cord bag
The severed load-cord end is in Hugo’s setup bag, labelled by him “remove for failed demonstration”.
Case record · Club room
Repair handover
Hugo signs acceptance of the intact repaired net immediately before his sole setup interval.
Case record · Club room
Officer’s proposal
Hugo had proposed cancelling trainee sessions as unsafe. The proposal was rejected; this gives context without identifying a cutting act.
Case record · Training pier
Trainee’s practice sheet
Iman’s first task begins only after the failure is reported. No earlier practice handling is recorded.
Case record · Training pier
Opening frame sequence
The net is already cut while Iman stands behind the start line. Hugo alone handles the cord during the pre-session check.
Questions to resolve
Who deliberately cut the sound load cord?
What failed?
Who is established as knowingly assisting the staged failure?
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.