About this story
By morning it is gone. You play Mr Blake, assembling the account from everyone who was in the house that night — a steward who consults Robinson Crusoe like scripture, a housemaid with a record, and a sergeant far more interested in the roses than in the theft.
Who you’ll meet
Rachel Verinder, with the three shadows on the terrace.
How it opens
Rain pressed against the library windows while an old packet lay between you.
Gabriel BetteredgeMr Bruff says every witness must keep to what he personally knows.
The packet's cracked seal belonged to a branch of the family long dead.
Then we begin with the paper, not a verdict.
Gabriel BetteredgePrecisely, sir; old ink may testify, but it cannot be cross-examined.
Choose
Begin with the date and the officer's name.
Where did the writer rely on another man?