The Caper of the Crown Jewels Read Free Page A

said. He introduced himself and noted down both their names and their contact details. “Can you tell mewhether you saw or heard anything significant before the Crown Jewels went missing?’

    â€œI didn’t hear anything, but I certainly smelled something,” said the man.
    This was interesting, thought Jack. He made a note of it in his Notebook.
    â€œWhat did it smell like?” he asked.
    â€œSomething sweet,” said the woman. “Kind of like berries.”
    â€œIs there anything else you can remember?” asked Jack.
    â€œNothing,” said the man. The woman agreed.
    Jack looked at his Notebook and reviewed the information he’d gathered so far on his suspects:
    Father Type and Edward Pigeon
(Southwark Cathedral, London)
    Nancy and Polly Sommerville
(Brighton, East Sussex)
    Ned and Phyllis Royale (Alton,
Hampshire)
    He then made a note of the sequence of events:
    Tourists on walkway
    Lights go out
    Sound of whispering
    Smell of something sweet
    After securing what Jack thought was enough information about the suspects, he and Tommy let them leave the Tower of London.
    â€œWhat did I tell you, Jack?” said Tommy, turning to him. “It’s a head-scratcher, isn’t it?”
    â€œSure is,” said Jack. There were no obvious suspects and no obvious means by which the jewels had been stolen.
    Tommy looked at his watch, and then looked at Jack. “We need to find the crooks soon,” he said. “With three hours left, we’re running out of time.”

Chapter 6:
The Scam
    Jack looked at his Encryption Notebook again and reviewed his notes. Smell of something sweet, probably ladies perfume. Sound of man or woman whispering in the dark. He sniffed the air. He didn’t smell anything sweet. He listened closely. He couldn’t hear anything unusual.
    He walked over to the cases again and looked inside. Jack could tell from the indentation in the pillow that the crown itself was fairly large. The scepter waslong with a pointed end and the orb was big and round. Whoever took them would need to put them in something big.
    Jack found Tommy, who was in the other room, chatting to another Beefeater. Tommy introduced the other man as Charles.
    â€œPleased to meet you, Charles,” said Jack. “I’m trying to narrow down all the different ways someone could have taken the jewels out of their cases,” he explained. “Could someone have taken them from above?” Jack was thinking that perhaps the tops had been dismantled ahead of time and lifted off without anyone knowing it.

    â€œNope,” said Charles. “Not possible. Every morning and night the case is checked from top to bottom to make sure it’s intact. Besides,” he added, “it’s made of impenetrable steel. It would be almost impossible to cut through it anyway.”
    â€œWhat about from below?” asked Jack, who was running out of options. If it wasn’t from the top or the sides, then it had to be from underneath.
    â€œNo chance there either,” said Tommy. “Each jewel sits on a pillow which then sits on a stand. The stand is a moveableplatform that travels down to the Jewel Master’s quarters on the lower ground level. Once there, the Jewel Master takes off the jewel, cleans it and then places it back on the pillow. He then returns it up to the case.

    â€œYou see,” he continued, “no one but the Jewel Master has access to the jewels. The only way to lower and raise that platform is if you have an access code. And only the Jewel Master knows it. And before you think that he’s had anything todo with this, consider that he’s nearly eighty years old and has worked here for over fifty-five years. Besides,” he added, “he’s on holiday with his daughter in Greece and the room is under surveillance. We’ve checked that camera, too.”
    â€œWell, if someone were going to steal the Crown Jewels, how