The scene
The workshop of a restored lighthouseA historic letter disappears from the lighthouse workshop. It was inside an open box, behind a tape barrier nobody was supposed to cross.
A strip of ink beside the box preserves a single footprint. All three people present wore boots with different marks on their soles.
What we know for certain
One of these three people took the letter and left the footprint. Nobody changed boots, altered soles or added footprints. The records are correct; the marks do not deform when stepped on.
The three accounts
Álex Mora
Carpenter«My boots have a circle too.»
Berta Puig
Restorer«I worked on the photograph’s frame.»
Ciro Salas
Documentalist«I went closer to read the label.»
Examine the evidence
0 of 5 openedOpening these five clues does not cost points.
01The three records
Álex: a circle on the left boot and a square on the right. Berta: a square on the left and a triangle on the right. Ciro: a triangle on the left and a circle on the right.
02The central mark
The footprint contains a clear circle. There are no overlapping marks: it came from a single boot.
03A special notch
Each sole has a notch on its inner side. With a footprint’s toe pointing upwards, the notch is on the right for a left boot and on the left for a right boot.
04The footprint’s orientation
The toe shape makes the footprint’s orientation unambiguous. With the toe pointing upwards, its notch is on the left.
05The checked footwear
All three still wore the boots listed in their records, on the correct feet, with every mark intact.