The Detective’s DeskMEDIUM · CASE FILE
Medium · A library donation evening
A closed display sleeve creates the impression that a rare pamphlet is still inside. Find the actual object and decide whether a witness who saw a binder can really clear its carrier.
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 original is identifiable by three green stitches. The modern donation leaflet has none. Staff detain all outgoing bags before anyone can leave with an unchecked item.
Library organiser
The rare pamphlet was still in its display sleeve after I left. I took only the donation binder.
The sleeve’s cover can conceal an empty interior.
Front-desk clerk
I checked the binder’s outgoing photograph, not every item in it.
Vera’s donation bag was detained before she left the building.
Donor
I donated the binder and a loose modern leaflet. Neither was the rare pamphlet.
The original pamphlet has three hand-sewn green stitches.
Book volunteer
I saw Vera leave with the binder. I later found the display sleeve shut.
I know where the supervised outgoing-donation photographs are stored.
Read each record on its own terms. A claim made by a person is different from a fact established by an independent record.
Physical record · Display alcove
Vera lifts the green-stitched pamphlet from the sleeve and puts it between the donation binder’s pages. She leaves the backing card in the sleeve and closes it.
Physical record · Display alcove
Tomas writes that he saw the binder’s cover and a later closed display sleeve. He never inspected either interior. His observation does not show the pamphlet stayed on display.
Physical record · Donation desk
The green-stitched pamphlet is recovered between the binder’s pages in Vera’s detained bag. The supervised search preserves its position.
Physical record · Donation desk
The outgoing photograph records a green stitch peeking from the binder edge before Vera claims to have taken only the empty binder.
Physical record · Donation desk
Mira’s binder originally contains only blank sleeves and the stitch-free modern leaflet. The green-stitched pamphlet is not a donated item.
Physical record · Display alcove
The closed display sleeve is empty. A stiff backing card made its cover look occupied. A closed sleeve is not proof of its contents.
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.
Compare the records with each account. Work out what the evidence establishes, then separate that finding from anything it does not prove.