The Detective’s DeskNora Vale
Visiting researcher
“After leaving the archive, I reached the fountain at exactly 20:10.”
HARD · CASE FILE
The impossible shortcut
Hard · NORTHBRIDGE ARCHIVE
A page went missing during an archive reception. Security recorded three departures, then asked where each visitor went. Every stated journey must fit the minimum travel times and the routes actually open that evening.
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 claimed arrival cannot be true?
- Every record uses the same accurate clock.
- The map lists all routes. Times are absolute minimum journey times, even for the fastest person.
- A person cannot leave a location before the exit recorded in the badge log.
People and accounts
Kit Rowan
Reception volunteer
“After leaving the atrium, I reached the fountain at 20:12.”
Owen Ash
Local historian
“After leaving the archive, I reached the ticket desk at 20:12.”
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.
ACCESS LOG
Three recorded departures
Owen left the archive at 20:02. Nora left the archive at 20:06. Kit left the atrium at 20:07.
Each badge scan is a verified exit, not an entry or an estimated time.
ROUTE MAP
The long way around
Archive → Atrium: 4 min. Atrium → Fountain: 3 min. Atrium → Ticket desk: 2 min. Archive → Service passage: 1 min. Service passage → Fountain: 1 min. All routes work in both directions.
There are no other routes. Without the service passage, Archive → Fountain takes at least 7 minutes.
SECURITY ORDER
No service passage tonight
The service passage was sealed and could not be entered or crossed continuously from 20:00 until 20:15.
The two-minute archive-to-fountain shortcut was unavailable during the relevant journeys.
RECEPTION GUEST LIST
An invitation for each
Nora, Kit and Owen were all invited guests at the reception.
An invitation establishes permission to attend, not a route or arrival time.
Questions to resolve
What is the minimum open-route journey from Archive to Fountain?
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.