December 2020 Challenge Prompt
From Hades Lord of the Dead: Hidden treasure
The Wickham Estate was on the edge of the city, towering over a menagerie of sculpted hedge and marble animals scattered throughout the front yard, basking in warm afternoon sunshine. Holmes and I had been called upon to investigate the bold midday burglary of a precious diamond ring. The second-story window to the master bedroom had been shattered, Mrs. Martha Wickham's jewelry box had been knocked onto the floor, and the diamond ring had vanished. By the time we arrived, Scotland Yard constables were already scouring the backyard for the burglar's footprints, and examining the trellis leading up to the broken window for traces of mud. Inspector Lestrade paced the master bedroom, visibly annoyed by our presence. Apparently, Martha did not have full confidence in Scotland Yard to locate the diamond ring; it was her instruction to summon Holmes for his consultation.
The country house had been relatively unoccupied at the time of the break-in. Mr. Edward Wickham was away, perpetually occupied facilitating operations at the Bank of England. Martha was perpetually tending to their four young boys: (Edward) Junior, Jacob, Peter and Andrew. The boys ranged in age from six to ten years old, and while I did not envy Martha's task of wrangling them, I admit that they seemed charmingly well behaved, if not somewhat messy and unkempt. We found them reading, drawing and playing with the family cat in the library. There were only three servants on site, including a cook, a page and a maid. The cook and page claimed that they had not heard the shattering glass over the noise of the kitchen, and the maid had been out of range owing to the fact that she was cleaning the basement.
"We have this one under control, Holmes," said Lestrade. We joined him in the master bedroom, along with Martha. "My men say they've found part of a boot print out back. It's clear that the burglar climbed up the trellis, smashed the window, snatched the diamond ring, and then left the way he came. I already have a few men canvassing the neighborhood."
Holmes hardly seemed to be listening. He crouched over the toppled jewelry box on the carpet by the oak dresser. Earrings and necklaces crusted with precious gemstones were splayed across the floor, glinting in rays of sunshine. He gave extra attention to a small dent on the side of the box before running his fingers along the surface of the dresser.
"Did the burglar take anything else?" said Holmes. "Anything other than the diamond ring?"
"No," said Martha. "He hardly would have had time to! I was in the bath down the hall, enjoying a hot soak, when I heard the window break. Within five minutes I was out of the water and robed, and worked up the courage to investigate. The burglar was gone without a trace by the time I entered the bedroom."
"That confrontation could have been quite dangerous," said Holmes. "Did you hear the intruder walking around the room?"
Martha shook her head. "No, but the walls are thick. He probably stayed on the carpet."
I started with surprise as something rubbed up against my leg. It was the white-furred cat, Yumi, investigating the strangers in his house, and hoping for a friendly rub behind the ears. I leaned down to pet him, and he purred at first, but then hissed and swiped at me before scurrying under the bed. His natural curiosity combined with volatile nature reminded me of a certain consulting detective. Perhaps Yumi scared off the burglar with his hooked claws and sharp teeth.
Holmes studied the window, stepping around broken glass strewn across the floor. The window had not broken cleanly; there were still several long shards sticking up from the base. Holmes made another circuit around the room, pausing to inspect a small chip in the wallpaper, then he turned to the open closet and began rummaging through pairs of shoes and folded garments.
"Holmes, what exactly are you looking for?" said Lestrade.
I half expected Holmes would reveal that the burglar was concealed within the closet the whole time—stranger things had occurred on our adventures. "Ah ha!" Holmes exclaimed. "Mrs. Wickham, please gather your boys here, I think they will be able to shed some light on this mystery." He held up a leather ball that was hidden behind a pair of Edward Wickham's slippers.
"Cricket?" I said.
Holmes nodded. "No burglar entered through the window, he would have undoubtedly cut himself on the remaining shards of glass. It was shattered by a cricket ball struck from the backyard. We can calculate the trajectory of the ball based on the fresh scuffs on the dresser, jewelry box, wall and floor. I estimate that the ball was well struck, traveling approximately twenty-five meters per second through the window, knocking the jewelry box off the dresser, ricocheting off the wall and floor, and finally rolling to rest in the closet."
Martha brought the boys four boys upstairs, and they looked as guilty as any suspects Holmes had ever questioned. They stood in a lineup facing Holmes as he tossed the cricket ball up and down. Up close I saw that they all had fresh marks from grass and mud on their pants near the ankles and knees.
"So, which one of you had the last swing?" said Holmes.
They cracked immediately. Junior ashamedly raised his hand, declining to look Holmes in the eyes. "It was me, Mr. Holmes, sir," said Junior. "It was an accident, and we didn't take the ring! Mom said her ring was missing, but I swear we didn't touch it!"
"I believe you," said Holmes. "I highly doubt that any one of you could have made it upstairs and stolen the ring undetected within such a short window of time."
Lestrade scratched his ear. "But then, where is it?"
"I have one possible theory," said Holmes. "And I believe the diamond thief is in this room at this very moment." Holmes got on his hands and knees at the edge of the bed, peering underneath. Yumi the cat bolted out from the other side and hopped up on the desk in the corner of the room, and Holmes poked around under the bed, speaking as he did so. "I propose that Yumi the cat heard the cricket ball shatter the window, and wandered in to investigate the noise. He saw the shiny pile of jewelry on the floor, and could not resist the temptation of playing with the diamond ring. Ah, yes—here it is! He batted the ring, or perhaps carried it, to his hiding spot of choice, under the bed." Holmes pulled his arm out from under the bed, diamond ring in his palm.