The Detective’s DeskPEN & PAPER · CASE FILE
Pen & Paper · A charity auction after closing
A treasurer’s genuine signature appears beneath a total the bank never received. A courier blames sealed bags, an auctioneer hides a separate theft and the organiser wants a photograph deleted. Follow the objects and agreements rather than trusting a familiar signature.
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.
Two bags were counted at 17:00. The bank receives a genuine full bag and a grey bag containing printed leaflets. You must identify who diverted the second collection and who knowingly carried the substitute.
Treasurer
I signed the 17:00 count and left under the hall camera. The later bag is not the one I sealed.
I complained about Priya’s undocumented expenses. That complaint is on the committee record.
Each original tie has a handwritten serial underneath the knot, as well as on the tag.
Volunteer photographer
I photographed the count and the car park continuously for the event reel.
I had not been paid for my previous work.
Priya asked me to delete one car-park photograph before I knew money was missing.
Charity organiser
I counted the sealed collection bags with the treasurer at 17:00 and locked them afterward.
A missing fund would ruin my next campaign. I insist the treasurer signed the totals.
The bank slip time is a scan time, not necessarily the time a bag was deposited.
Bank liaison
I remained at the bank intake counter. It photographs each deposited bag before opening.
I had previously warned Priya that signed count sheets cannot replace bag identification.
The image archive can connect a slip to a bag, even when the slip was scanned later.
Auctioneer
I stayed onstage with the closing auction. I did take a donated ring without entering it in the catalogue.
I wanted the ring for myself. I am not proud of it.
I saw Nabil collect a grey bag by the car park after the count.
Volunteer courier
I took two sealed bags to the bank at 17:20. I returned the stamped slips without reading them.
Priya offered me a paid job. I had agreed before the event.
The grey replacement bag came from Priya’s car, not the collection table.
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 · Counting table
The committee’s written rule distinguishes a bag’s tie serial from its movable tag. Esme explained it to both Priya and Nabil before the count.
Physical record · Car park
Priya’s message says, “Use grey as H27. Keep the red one out of the bank. Your job starts when the slips match.” Nabil replies, “I have moved the tag; understood.”
Physical record · Bank intake
The 17:40 stamp is the office scan of earlier intake documents. The bag image and receipt number connect the grey G11 bag to Nabil’s 17:24 deposit, not to Esme’s 17:00 count.
Physical record · Counting table
Esme’s pre-event complaint asks the committee to audit Priya’s private reimbursements. Priya had seen it before the collection. The missing red bag would cover the disputed amount.
Physical record · Counting table
Esme and Priya count the full collection. The second original bag is red and tied with serial H27, visible underneath its knot. Esme’s signature certifies that count, not a later unidentified bag.
Physical record · Bank intake
Esme leaves by the hall camera before the switch. Cleo remains at intake and Oren with his camera. Neither handles the red bag after the count.
Physical record · Bank intake
The second deposited bag is grey. Its external tag says H27, but the tie underside reads G11. Inside are leaflets. The genuine red H27 bag was not deposited.
Physical record · Car park
Priya hands Nabil a grey bag from her car. Beside her seat is the original red H27 bag. The camera sequence has intact preceding and following frames.
Physical record · Auction stage
Ilan stays onstage during the car-park exchange. He conceals the donated ring at 16:45. That separate theft is recorded before the sealed-bag count.
Physical record · Car park
The original memory card shows Priya moving the red bag into the car boot after Nabil departs. Her request to delete that sequence was sent before the bank discrepancy became public.
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.