The original designer of the Queen's Tower was quite clever. Only someone with all three medallions would be able to look through the peep hole and read the hidden messages there, including the six symbols written in code.

They did not, however, predict modern technology.

Bruce used his phone to take a picture through the peep hole. By adjusting the red, blue and green settings on the camera app, he was easily able to get the three messages. The Internet provided a quick translation of the phrases.

"The diamond of misery in my journal"

"Hope to those who search"

"The solution is found within"

I bet this was made by one of the Riddler's ancestors... Bruce thought to himself.

The basic idea was easy enough to figure out. Marie Antoinette's journal was hidden somewhere in the royal tower. Within the journal were further clues to the diamond of misery, whatever that was.

A quick Internet search revealed that a fabulously expensive diamond necklace was fashioned for Marie Antoinette, and a nation-wide scandal occurred when she refused to pay for it. The jeweler attempted to sue the royal family, and things only got more complicated from there.

Wikipedia said the necklace was worth $15 million in 2021 US Dollars, but Bruce disagreed. Sure, maybe the diamonds cost that much, but the fact that it was a one-of-a-kind necklace designed for an important historical figure made it all the more valuable.

It was clear that the culprit who robbed Hotchkiss was after the queen's journal, or the diamond, or both. Most likely, it was the same person who had tried to saw the bars of the gate, which prevented access to the tower. Perhaps it was the same person who had vandalized the library. Bruce wasn't sure how the library vandalism played into things, nor would he be absolutely certain until he examined the library.

The culprit's identity was uncertain, although one could reasonably assume Hotchkiss was innocent. She could have faked robbing herself, although in Bruce's experience, whenever a criminal tried to attack themselves as a bluff, they didn't keep it a secret like Hotchkiss did.

There was one person who was clearly innocent: Dexter Egan. As the only person with a key to the Queen's Tower, he was the only person who didn't need to resort to underhanded means to get inside.

And so, Bruce left a note for Dexter, at the front desk. It took Bruce a couple of tries, because Dexter kept giving him more chores to do. As if solving the mystery wasn't enough work!

Dexter,

Someone is trying to break into the Queen's Tower. They already sawed off two of the bars on the gate.

-A Friend

Dexter was skeptical when he first read the anonymous note. Who wouldn't be? He double-checked the entrance to the tower, just to be sure. When he saw that two of the bars were indeed sawed off, Dexter made a point to do surveillance on the area.

And so it was, at 10 PM, Dexter caught Jacques Brunais red-handed, sawing the gate. Dexter refused to listen to Jacques' tale of journals and medallions. Jacques was immediately fired, and as far as Dexter was concerned, the case of the castle vandal was closed.

Jacques and Dexter weren't the only late-night explorers. An hour later, Nancy Drew used the elevator shaft to gain access to the library. She found a small hidden compartment on the second floor, with a letter that Ezra Wickford had left for Dexter. Nancy wasn't sure how it related to the mystery, but it was a sweet letter, and she resolved to share it with Dexter.

Nancy also saw the grate, at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Unfortunately for her, Bruce had broken it. It would be a full day, before Nancy found an item to repair the lever. As a result, she missed all the excitement of Jacques' capture.

Bruce also snuck around that night, closer to midnight. Bruce might not have brought his full bag of tricks with him, but there were a few vital tools he never left home without. In this case, it was his grapple gun that he needed. Using it, he was easily able to get into the Queen's Tower, from the outside.

Once inside, it was child's play for Bruce to locate the gold leaf decal puzzle. Putting all of them in place revealing a small hiding spot, containing Marie Antoinette's journal.

Bingo, Bruce thought.

He quickly glanced through the book. Towards the end, he found a decoder on a separate piece of paper.

Now what do we have here?

He quickly recognized the symbols at the ones on the stained glass window. Matching them with the decoder, he got the message "the purple rose hides the key to the Queen's diamond".

That, too, was easy to solve. There wasn't much to the tower, besides an ornate portrait of Maire Antoinette, holding a purple rose. The portrait was done on stone tiles, not on canvas. Bruce tapped the tile with the rose on it. He could hear a hollow thud, indicating a hiding spot on the other side.

Bruce didn't want to ruin the portrait, but he had no choice. He removed the tile and got the key inside. The key obviously matched the hole on the floor of the tower. There were three holes on the floor, as well. Bruce guessed they were for the three medallions.

After messing with the mechanism for a while, Bruce was able to turn the key. It retracted into the ground, and in its place, there appeared a pedestal with a large jewel on it.

Not a diamond necklace, but probably pretty valuable, Bruce thought. He grabbed the diamond, as well. Bruce then reset the puzzles to their original positions and exited the Queen's Tower, leaving behind a small reward for the next person to solve the puzzles.

The next day, the castle was buzzing with the news of Jacques' capture. The sabotage incidents stopped, immediately after he was dismissed from the castle. After two days, Bruce felt it was safe to assume Jacques had been the culprit all along. Bruce then left, to go back home to Gotham.

His exit was a touch premature, as Nancy Drew gained access to the tower, the day after he left. She solved all the puzzles, but she was sadly disappointed when her reward was a small piece of paper.

Congratulations on making it this far. I'm sorry to say there is no diamond necklace. Maybe there was one, once, but it was gone by the time I found this hiding spot.

Nancy read this paper out loud. A few seconds later, the door slammed behind her.

"Huh?" she asked.

Nancy eventually decided the wind must have blown the door shut. After all, it was impossible that someone else could have followed her here, without her noticing. Nancy was too observant for something like that.

And so, Nancy returned home to River Heights, unhappy. Sure, the culprit had been caught, and she had found the secret hiding spot belonging to Marie Antoinette. But that wasn't as exciting as finding a fabulously expensive necklace!

About a month later, Bruce was able to authenticate that the diamond and the journal did indeed belong to Marie Antoinette. The diamond was anonymously returned to France, while the journal was given anonymously to Professor Hotchkiss. Her translation ended up being one of the best-selling books of the year, and Hotchkiss made enough money to retire on.

Bruce considered it a little thank you present to Hotchkiss, for all the information about the crystal skulls. It certainly helped him, with the criminal auction. The big-time criminals all lost interest in purchasing the Listener, when it was proven that it did not give its owner telepathic powers.

The Listener ended up being purchased by Kite Man, for $4.99, plus tax. He currently uses it as an impressive-looking paperweight.

The End