MONEY DETECTIVE · CASE #001
Five in-person payments. Four purchases the family remembers. One they don't. Work out which payment doesn't belong — and who made it.
YOUR EVIDENCE
All five exhibits matter. Start with the bank statement, then cross-check the alibis.
EXHIBIT A · FAMILY CARD
Transaction amounts
Digital recreation of Exhibit A using the amounts and unexplained payment from the BMG Show case. The four other payment labels are anonymised for this interactive recreation; their amounts are unchanged. All five payments were in person.
EXHIBIT B · WHAT THE FAMILY REMEMBERS
Mum“I bought toiletries for £15, but I had a £3 voucher.”
Dad“I bought a £20 shirt with 25% off. After that I went to meet a friend.”
Maya“My book was £12.50. I used the £5 note Nan gave me and put the rest on the family card.”
Leo“I bought two snacks. They were £5.60 each, but there was a two-for-£9.20 offer.”
EXHIBIT C · JOURNEY RECORDS
EXHIBIT D · DOORBELL CAMERA
EXHIBIT E · TRAVEL TIMES
YOUR VERDICT
Use the calculations and timing clues. You're the detective.
CASE CLOSED · THE ANSWER
The other purchases reconcile: Mum £12, Dad £15, Maya £7.50 and Leo's snacks £9.20. That leaves £6.40 at 15:03.
Mum was home at 14:58 — too little time to travel there. Maya arrived home at 15:11 — too soon to have come from the shop after 15:03. Dad drove out of the car park at 15:05 — he couldn't return from Elm & Co in two minutes.
Leo's bus stopped outside Elm & Co at 14:59. He could have entered and paid at 15:03.
That's a case closed.
ORIGINALLY IN THE BMG SHOW · OCTOBER 2026
This activity first appeared in the October edition of The BMG Show. You can play it freely here and read the original magazine once the issue has been published.
The direct October article link will be added when the edition goes live.
A LITTLE THANK YOU
For adults: tips are completely voluntary. Nobody needs to pay to play.
