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30 September 2026 / CASE FILE 089Medium

The garden with no way back

The prize-winning plant pot disappears, and two doors turn the minutes into a trap.

4 min200 points

Someone replaces the winning plant pot with an almost identical one and hides the original behind a screen. The prize is about to be announced. Only three people could have intervened.

The route runs in one direction: you enter from reception and leave into the garden. Photographs show the suspects on either side, but none captures the swap.

What we know for certain

One of these three people swapped the pots without accomplices. Nobody was hiding inside. Only the two doors described could be used; neither was forced. The clocks are synchronised and the records are reliable.

E

Eva Marín

Visitor coordinator
A
«At six I was in the garden. I could not have been dealing with the pots.»
N

Nicolás Sanz

Exhibition installer
B
«I crossed the greenhouse without stopping. Both pots were still in their places.»
A

Alba Ferrer

Jury secretary
C
«I stayed by the reception desk waiting for the jury.»

Opening these five clues does not cost points.

01Two photographs

An image taken at 18:01 shows the correct pots. Another, taken at 18:03, shows the swap completed.

02The direction of the doors

The first door allows passage from reception into the greenhouse, never the reverse. The second allows people to leave the greenhouse for the garden, never to enter from it.

03The outside path

The only way from the garden back to reception is around the building. It takes at least eight minutes, even at a run.

04Eva in the garden

A photograph places Eva in the garden at 18:00. There is no direct access from there to the interior.

05The other two routes

Nicolás appears at reception at 18:00 and in the garden at 18:04. Alba appears at reception at both times. Crossing the greenhouse takes less than one minute.

BEFORE OPENING THE ENVELOPE

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