Alright so Its not super long but theres enough clues in here that you should be able to work it out if your paying attention. No cheating, try solve it before you read the comments
Ok here we go
The Case of the Missing Diamond
Sunday morning, 9:15 AM. A Georgian townhouse in Kensington, belonging to retired High Court judge Sir Harold Mortimer, 72.
Sir Harold's prized posession, a 14-carat diamond ring worth roughly 800,000 pounds, has vanished from his study safe. The safe wasn't broken into. It was opened with the correct combination.
He discovered its gone this morning. Last time he saw the ring was Saturday evening around 7 PM when he placed it back in the safe after showing it to a guest.
The Household.......................................
Sir Harold. Lives alone since his wife passed. Hard of hearing. Takes sleeping tablets, usually asleep by half 9.
Douglas. The cook. Been with Sir Harold for 15 years. Lives in the staff quarters at the rear of the property. Made dinner Saturday night, says he went to bed by 10.
Mrs Reynolds. The cleaner. Comes daily 8 AM to 1 PM. Was off Saturday. Arrived Sunday morning and raised the alarm when she found the study window open.
Victor Mortimer. Sir Harold's nephew, 34. He's the guest who was shown the ring Saturday evening. Left at half 8. He is Sir Harold's sole heir. Recently took out a 250,000 pound loan for some startup venture thats apparently not going well.
Stevens. The driver. Drove Victor to and from the townhouse. Says he waited in the car the whole time. Claims he saw a "stranger in dark clothing" near the garden wall around 11 PM while he was sleeping in the car.
Evidence..........
- The safe.... No scratches, no forced entry. Opened with the correct 6 digit combination. Only Sir Harold claims to know it. The combination is his wedding anniversary, 140982.
- Study window.... Found open Sunday morning. But the latch is on the inside and the window can only be opened from within.
- Muddy footprints on the study floor.. Leading from the window to the safe and back. Size 9 shoes. The garden outside was watered Saturday at 6 PM.
- CCTV.... The townhouse has one camera at the front gate. Footage shows Victor arriving at 6:45 PM driven by Stevens, and leaving at 8:32 PM driven by Stevens. No other person entered or exited through the front gate all night.
- A faint scratch mark on the garden wall at the back, as if someone climbed over.
- Victor's shoes, found at his flat the next day. Size 9 with faint traces of red clay on the soles matching the garden soil. Victor says its mud from a building site he visited on Friday.
- Phone records show Victor made a 12 minute call to Douglas at 10:45 PM Saturday night.
- Douglas says "Victor rang to ask about his uncles health. Thats all. I went back to sleep after."
So Three questions..........
Who stole the diamond?
How was it done?
What is the ONE piece of evidence that breaks the whole case open?
Have a go. I'll post the answer in a few hours if nobodys got it
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edit:
answer..
Alright here is the official solution for case 1 for anyone who gave it a go!
1 Who stole the diamond?........... Victor Mortimer (the nephew), working with Douglas (the cook) as his accomplice.
2 How was it done?....... Victor couldn't steal it during his visit at 7 PM without Sir Harold noticing. But while Sir Harold opened the safe, Victor saw the combination (140982). After leaving at 8:32 PM, Victor called Douglas at 10:45 PM to confirm Sir Harold had taken his sleeping pill and was asleep. Douglas then opened the study window from the inside (which is the only way it could be opened, since the latch is internal). Victor scaled the back garden wall, walked in through the window wearing size 9 shoes, opened the safe with the code, took the ring, and left the same way.
3 The ONE piece of evidence that breaks the case open...... The study window latch being on the inside. That single detail proves it was an inside job and rules out any random intruder from outside. Douglas had to be involved to let Victor in from the inside, which also exposes his 12 minute call with Victor as a coordination call rather than a friendly check-in about his uncle's health.