The scene
Park Library · Literary eventWhen the guest author arrives, her reserved chair has disappeared from the room. It is found in the storeroom, hidden behind boxes of posters.
Three collaborators were rearranging the rows before the event. Each was given one complete row and could move only its chairs. The initial photograph preserves the missing chair’s number.
What we know for certain
One of these people took the reserved chair to the storeroom while rearranging their own row. Nobody moved chairs from other rows or exchanged assignments. The numbers were fixed to the chairs and never changed, and the allocation record is reliable.
The three accounts
Leire Mora
Table coordinator«I was assigned the middle row. I had to leave room for a lectern.»
Tomás Gil
Poster supervisor«I worked only with the four chairs in the first row.»
Inés Riu
Reception assistant«I was assigned the third row, furthest from the stage.»
Examine the evidence
0 of 5 openedOpening these five clues does not cost points.
01The reserved chair
In the earlier photograph, the reserved chair bears the number 7 on a fixed plate. The same plate appears on the chair found behind the storeroom boxes.
02The initial numbering
There were three rows of four chairs each. The first contained 1 to 4; the second continued with the next four numbers; the third held the remaining four.
03The row assignments
Tomás worked on the first row, Leire the second and Inés the third. Nobody received a second row or replaced a colleague.
04Plates that stay put
The plates were riveted in place and kept their numbers throughout setup. There was no second chair numbered 7 in either the room or the storeroom.
05One move to the storeroom
Only the reserved chair was taken to the storeroom. The other eleven remained in the room and did not change rows during the rearrangement.