At first sight, the Kepler data of the A-type star KIC 5988140 mimics the
light curve of an eclipsing binary system with a superposed short-period variability of
type δ Scuti. It was attributed by the Kepler Asteroseismology Consortium (KASC)
to the working group “Binary and Multiple Stars”, where we picked it up. We used
the high-quality space photometry supplemented by recent high-resolution spectra to
investigate the cause of the variability of this late A-type object. We considered three
different possible scenarios: (1) binarity, (2) co-existence of γ Doradus and delta Scuti
pulsations (the hybrid case) and (3) rotation of the stellar surface with an asymmetric intensity distribution (i.e. rotational modulation). We confirm the presence of various pressure modes of type delta Scuti. However, none of the previous scenarios is capable of reproducing all of the observed characteristics of the variations. Thus, the cause of the remaining light and radial velocity variations remains presently unexplained by any of the considered physical processes