FILE No.183Unsolved
The vault room in the president's office was ransacked. The door was locked, and the key was on the desk.
The electronic lock records the stamped number of the key used when locking. For the other entries and exits that day, the numbers are all recorded correctly. This day's record has also been checked against the lock's raw data, and there is no misreading. The recorded number is "3871." But the key on the desk is stamped "3817," which matches the genuine key in the management office's register.
What can be said for certain from this situation?
If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.
Is the number in the record the same as the number on the desk key?
Were the other entry and exit records read correctly?
Does the desk key match the register?
What can be said for certain from this situation?
Choose the answer closest to the truth.
The door was locked with a different key (a spare) than the one on the desk
The answer is "The door was locked with a different key (a spare) than the one on the desk."
All the other records that day were read correctly. A misreading or a malfunction is unlikely. The key on the desk matches the genuine one in the register, so it is not a fake.
Then the key used to lock (3871) is a different key from the one on the desk (3817). That is, a key not in the register, a spare. "It was locked" and "whose key locked it" are separate questions.
Because with the key on the desk, you assume "it was locked with that key."
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