Who done it?

"Thievery at the Owens’s house!” reported the newspapers. Last Saturday the famous opera singer Betty Owens was robbed. Well, not exactly. Her jewels were missing, after she put them down on her desk at the end of her show. This mysterious disappearance led to the conclusion, that someone must’ve stolen them. Of course, the media put a big fuss over it and called it “Crime of the century”. Still, those jewels were everything but worthless, especially to Mrs Owens, so she decided to call a professional investigator.

Ding dong! The doorbell rang. “This must be him!” Betty Owens thought to herself. Then she opened the door:

“Good morning, I’m Richard Banister from the Private Detective Association. I am here for the ‘missing jewellery case’. You must be Betty Owens, I presume?”

“Why yes, that would be me. I’m so relieved you finally came. It’s been three days now and I still can’t find them… Oh, where are my manners! Please, come in!”
“My, oh my, that is a big house you have there…” he stated as he looked around.
“Oh? You think so? Well, you get used to it eventually. After all, it’s not the only thing big, if you know what I mean…” she laughed. “…The only bad part about this house is the fact that it takes ages to clean. I can only imagine the horror the maid must go through while cleaning all of it!” she laughed again.
“Speaking of which… Mrs Owens; can you tell me who was in the villa during the time of crime? I’m sorry if this is coming off as blunt or direct – I just want to get this case solved as soon as possible.”
“No worries, dear. Let’s see… There was my husband, Antonio, my little sister, Cindy and my older brother, Marcel. Oh, and Louise, the secretary.”
“All right,” he mumbled as he wrote the names down in his notepad. “Though if I’m not mistaking you mentioned a maid before. Was she (or he) there too?”
“Oh, no. Our maid usually comes by every other day. I saw her a few minutes ago, which means she couldn’t have been here on Saturday. Besides, I don’t remember seeing her that day anyway.”
“O.K., if you say so… Now, before we move on to the suspects, tell me: where did you put your jewels, how did they look like – basically, any detail you can remember.”
Betty took a deep breath while she tried to remember. Lastly, she replied: “As you know, I sung an opera that evening. I remember wearing my lucky pearl necklace, emerald earrings and two bracelets. After my performance, I drove back home and decided to put the jewellery down on the living room table--“
“Mrs Owens, I apologize for interrupting you, but may I ask why these jewels are so important to you? Surely you could just buy more, considering you are… well… rich.”
“Oh, but they’re not just ‘jewels’,” she sighed. “My family is known for its history of musical prodigies. My grand grandmother gave a pearl necklace to my grandmother on the day of her first big show. My grandmother gave the necklace to my mother and added two golden bracelets. To continue the tradition, my mother did the same thing before my big performance, but she added emerald earrings.”
“I just… I don’t understand why somebody would do such a thing…”
“What! The earrings bring out the colour of my eyes!” She crossed her arms.
“W-what? No! I meant; why would anyone steal your jewellery?”
“Oh. All right, please continue.”
“So what did you do after you put the mentioned things on the table?”
“As I was taking it all off, my cell phone rang. I left it at home by mistake. So I went to the kitchen where the call was coming from and answered it.”
“And who was it?”
“My secretary, Louise. Louise Fitzroy, to be exact. She is an old friend of mine. Apparently she called me 2 times before. Well, at least that’s what she said, even though there were no unanswered phone calls on my cell. Anyway, she called to congratulate me on another great performance. Then she told me about some business stuff... We also talked about shoes and sales…”
“Business stuff?” he asked with a sceptical look on his face.
“Yeah, appointments and such. Nothing to be concerned about.”
While Richard Banister tried to gather as much information as possible, Mrs Owens brought them some tea and biscuits. The hours passed, as Richard wanted to know all about her life and what she was doing in the past months. Needless to say, he asked some rather… odd questions.
Then suddenly, a man walked into the room. He was whistling happily, as if nobody was around.
“Good day, sister. Isn’t it a lovely morning? Oh--“ he suddenly stopped. “And who is this?” he turned round to Richard Banister and asked: “Are you the private detective my sister hired?” The investigator nodded.
“Hello, Marcel,” Betty sighed. “Do you need anything?” saying as she was clearly annoyed by his presence.
“Oh, no; I was just about to get a banana from the kitchen. Sorry, if I was interrupting!”

After he left, the detective asked:

“Who was he again?”

“My older brother, Marcel. He seemed quite cheery. That’s unusual…”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Marcel is currently jobless. He is constantly looking for marketing products and investments. Though it has been months since his last ‘great idea’, which by the way didn’t go so well. He lives with me until he finds a proper job/home.”

“Ah, I see…” Richard wrote down what Betty said.

“... I’m glad he’s happy now. I was worried he was still upset about Saturday when I refused to lend him money for his new prototype.” Mr Banister looked at her strangely. “Hey, it’s not my fault he’s so irresponsible when it comes to money! Sheesh!”

“This is indeed very important information, Mrs Owens. You should’ve told me about it right away.”
Mr Banister paid close attention to everything Betty was saying. He was also writing down what she said and how she said it. At the end, he concluded:
“All right! I think I asked enough questions for now. Please, give me an hour or two to process all the information.”
“Yes, of course. But please hurry. Who knows what else the thief has set his eyes on…” she sighed, still exhausted from all the questions. The investigator promised to do his best.
At 1:30 Richard returned with some papers. Although this time, Betty’s secretary – Louise – was at the door.
“Oh! Pardon me, I-I was just about to leave.”
“That’s fine. More than fine, actually. You see, I am the private detective working on the case of the missing jewels. May I ask for your point of view of things?”
“Well, I don’t have much time--“
“Please, it will only cost you 5 minutes.”
At first she was hesitant, but then she mumbled: “I suppose five minutes spent on this won’t hurt anybody.” She looked to her left and right, and whispered:
“I don’t know much about the case but I’m certain Betty’s husband stole her gems.”
“How come you think so?”
“I saw him with another woman last week. He was holding her hand at the café. I believe Antonio stole Betty’s jewels so that he could give them to her. Ough, that makes me angry just thinking about it! I mean, who knows what else he might’ve ‘borrowed’ from Betty?!”
“My… That is something… Do you know more about this?”
“No, only that Antonio and Betty have been married for six months now. As for the case… Not really. I did phone Betty on Saturday evening, but other than that I had nothing to do with the thievery.”
After he wrote all that down, Richard thanked her. Louise went into a car and drove away. Meanwhile Richard rang the bell again, and this time Betty answered him.
“Have you found out anything new about my dear jewels, ‘Mr Detective’?” she sked him.
“You could say so. But my work is far from done. I still need to do more investigating before I can jump to conclusions. Although I have uncovered some surprising details. Do you want me to share them with you?” he asked.
“Hmm… Usually I would say something like ‘Just tell me when it’s done’, but you’ve made me curious, inspector. Let’s go to the salon and we’ll talk.”
“Haha, as you wish, madam.” That being said, Betty Owens and Richard Banister went to the salon.
“So,” started Banister. “I suggest we go through the suspects and their motives. That’s what I’ve discovered so far:” He handed her some files.
“Remember, this is based primarily on what you said you saw. Firstly, we’ve got your sister Cindy as suspect number 1--“
“What? Cindy? Please, she is only 7 years old! Believe me, she would never steal. I have raised her from when she was an infant and I know that she couldn’t have done it! And besides, why would she ever--” Mrs Owens was getting really mad, but then the detective interrupted her.
“All right, all right, calm down.” ‘She must be very protective of her younger sister. Well, to be fair; she did take her in when her mother died…’ the investigator thought to himself. Then he said:
“I’ll admit, she doesn’t seem to really have a motive, which makes her the unlikeliest person to have done it, but that still doesn’t exclude the possibility…”
“Ough, whatever. Who’s next?”
“…Marcel.”
“You know Mr Banister – I find it hard to believe that anyone of the suspects stole my jewels. They’re part of my family, after all – even Louise. What if... I don’t know… a bird stole them?”
“You think I didn’t consider that possibility? First of all, there is no window from which a bird could have gone through. Second, I recall you saying that it was getting dark already when you got home. Most birds are inactive during that time. Third, no bird or animal – at least not one that is small enough to not make a noise – could have carried four pieces of jewellery. Especially considering there are no nests or borrows near the house. That means that it would have to carry a necklace, earrings, and two bracelets all the way to a nearby forest; and you would think that it would drop it far sooner before the animal reached its destination. Should I continue? Because I implied every possible situation – from a guest stealing it, to you sleepwalking – and the most simple and logical explanation is that it was one of the four suspects.”
Mrs Owens was shocked. She didn’t think that her detective would go into such detail when it comes to solving cases. What he said really made a big impression on her. ‘That man seems to know what he’s doing,’ she thought to herself. ‘If he is really as professional as he sounds like, we’ll have the case solved in no time!’
But it turned out to be a little more complicated than that. The remaining three suspects all had good motives for stealing the jewels. Marcel, for example, could’ve sold them and got some money in return, thus paying for a new prototype/invention/idea that could ‘change the world’. Betty’s husband, as Richard claimed, was married to her only for her money and was using it to please another woman. Betty was furious when she heard that. She said they each love each other as much as they did on their day of marriage.
“…And where did you even get the idea that Antonio would be seeing another woman?! That’s ridiculous!” she shouted.
“I talked to your friend Louise Fitzroy. She claimed she saw them at a café holding hands. Of course, you can’t judge something only by one person’s statement. So I did further research and interviewed more people as far as the affair goes. I’m sad to say they also spotted them together. And there’s more; Antonio has been married three times before, which is quite a few broken marriages. I tried to unravel the reasons behind his divorces, but this information is apparently classified.”
“No! I refuse to believe that! I know my Antonio – he wouldn’t steal nor cheat on me! But… Then again, why would Louise lie to you about this…? I-I don’t know anymore!” Betty was overwhelmed and really confused. The inspector wasn’t happy to see her like that, but he stayed calm and collected, because that was his duty as a professional detective.
“I’m sorry you had to hear this from me, madam. But we have to – Wait, where are you going?! “
Betty Owens didn’t listen to him. She was mad and hurt at the same time and she wanted to know the truth, so she stood up and marched up to her husband’s office. She slammed-open the door, while the inspector awkwardly followed her inside.
“Oh, hello darling. I’m a bit busy now, can you come later?” said Antonio holding a phone to his ear.
“No! I’ll stay right here, mister! What were you thinking?! Do you even know how much this hurts me?! I knew I shouldn’t have gotten married to you! A-and why didn’t you just tell me face to face?! Oh, you little--“
“Wait, what? Betty, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about! Louise and others saw you at the café last week with another woman. You stole my jewels so you could give them to her! Tell him, inspector!”
“I, uh, well… At least that’s what the evidence is implying. But Mrs Owens--“
“Ha! There you have it, you jerk! I should have known something was up when you started acting strange two weeks ago! Tell me, what’s her name?”
Antonio didn’t say a word, as he still tried to comprehend the whole situation.
“…Is that what this is all about?” he asked lastly. “Betty, I swear there is nothing going on between me and another woman. I love you and only you.”
“Oh yeah? Then who was she? The one at the café?” she asked sceptically.
He sighed: “My cousin, Mary. Her father died a while ago and I was comforting her about it. The funeral is in five days. I was meaning to tell you about it sooner or later.” Then he showed her a note with the address of a church and date of the funeral.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along, Mrs Owens,” Richard stated. “We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.”
Betty was a little embarrassed to hear this. Despite the facts, that she was still mad, she was also quite relieved. Meanwhile the detective thought to himself: ‘That leaves us with Louise, and Betty’s older brother, Marcel. Hmm… I wonder…’ but before he could finish the thought Antonio Owens asked him:
“Where did you found out again that I was at the café with Mary?”
“Huh? Mrs Fitzroy told me,” he replied.
“That’s odd… I’m pretty sure Louise knew about the funereal.”
“What? And she didn’t tell me!?” commented Betty Owens.
Then suddenly, a thought came to Mr Richard Banister. Somehow, it all lead to Louise.
“Mrs Owens, can we go see your secretary for a moment?”
“Yeah, sure…”
Louise was in the living room sorting some papers when Richard and Betty stepped into the room. She greeted them:
“Oh, hello there! How’s the case going? Have you found out who did it?”
“Mhm,” mumbled the investigator. “She’s standing right in front me.”
“W-what?” she stuttered surprised.



‘It all makes sense… You made the (fake) phone call so you could steal the jewels. When Betty wasn’t looking, you must’ve put her cell phone out of her purse and put it in the kitchen. You waited for just the right moment for Betty to come home and take her jewellery off. On the phone you told her you called 2 times before, so that it would seem more plausible. That would explain why there were no unanswered phone calls. While Betty was in the kitchen, you carefully took the necklace, earrings and bracelets and went upstairs to your office. When I asked you about it later, you hesitated to answer me at first, but then you realised you could just frame Antonio and get away with it.”
“Gasp!” Betty was shocked. “Louise, how could you?! We have been friends for life – in fact, I’ve hired you because I knew you were a loyal and hardworking person! But then again… You were always jealous of my singing talent.”
“…When Betty cut your salary last week this was the final trigger. You stole her jewels because you knew she couldn’t perform without her ‘lucky charms’. Now, I only have one more question for you, Mrs Fitzroy. What do you have to say for yourself?
“That nothing you said is true! I did call Betty three times:” She turned to Betty. “The first time I called Antonio and he told me you were still at the opera house. So I called your dressing room phone. Although you didn’t answer it. There wasn’t a big rush, so I waited about 30 minutes and called your cell phone number. But little did I know, you were already home, so really, there was no need for me to call. But since we were already talking I used the opportunity to tell you about next month’s reservations. Betty, I would never lie to you! O-Or steal things dear to you, just because you cut my salary! Come on, you have been my friend since… forever!
“I don’t know… That doesn’t seem very convincing, compared to all things Mr Banister stated.” Betty said while crossing her arms.
“No! I swear! I-If you don’t believe, check the phone in your dressing room!”
“No need to do that.” The detective pointed at the little girl. It was Cindy, and she was wearing Betty Owens’s pearl necklace, golden bracelets and emerald earrings. She was also wearing lipstick.
“Cindy?!” shouted Betty. Louse sighed with relief. “You were the one, who took my jewels?”
“I wanted to look just like my big sis!” she said with a big smile on her face, almost as if she was pointing at her smudged lipstick.
Everybody laughed.
“Wow, how ironic! Well, that’s what I get for saying that she couldn’t have done it! I am very sorry, Louise. I never should have doubted you.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Besides, who could be mad at this sweet little angel?” the secretary looked to Cindy and petted her head.
“Well, I’m glad you forgive me. I’m also glad we didn’t have to go through the same thing with Marcel, right, Mr Banister? Haha!” she laughed and the investigator did too.
But eventually it was time to say goodbye – after all, it was 6 o’clock already.
“Thank you for everything, Mr Banister. I’m sorry you had to experience so much drama, usually that isn’t ‘the case’ in our house, haha. How can I ever repay you?”
“You don’t have to. Meeting a local star is gift enough.”
“Well, thank you again. You are always welcome to come by for some tea, if you wish.”
“I may actually do that someday, thanks. But for now… Farewell, Betty Owens. If you ever need a detective, you know where to find me.” That being said, he left. Meanwhile he thought to himself:
‘Looking back, I should’ve just taken their fingerprints. Would have cost me a lot less time and stress.’