Quick Navigation:
| | | |
A Question of Trust
- • Horace Danby's Reputation: Horace is a fifty-year-old unmarried locksmith regarded by society as a "good, honest citizen." However, he is not completely honest as he has a secret criminal life.
- • A Unique Motivation: Unlike typical thieves, Horace robs one safe every year specifically to fund his passion for collecting rare and expensive books, which he buys secretly through an agent.
- • The Shotover Grange Plan: Horace spends two weeks meticulously studying "Shotover Grange," learning about its rooms, electric wiring, paths, and even the names of the household pets.
- • The Heist Begins: Taking advantage of the family's absence and the servants' trip to the movies, Horace enters the house. Despite suffering from a bout of hay fever triggered by flowers in the room, he prepares to crack the safe hidden behind a painting.
- • The Unexpected Encounter: While Horace is working, a young, charming woman dressed in red enters the room. She carries herself with such authority and familiarity that Horace immediately believes she is the lady of the house.
- • A Clever Deception: The young woman claims she needs the jewels from the safe for a party that night but has forgotten the combination. She threatens to call the police unless Horace opens the safe for her.
- • The Fatal Mistake: Eager to escape and believing he is doing the "owner" a favor, Horace takes off his gloves to handle a cigarette lighter and then opens the safe without putting them back on, leaving his fingerprints everywhere.
- • The Arrest: Two days later, Horace is arrested for the robbery at Shotover Grange. His fingerprints provide conclusive evidence against him.
- • The Irony Revealed: It is revealed that the young woman was actually another thief who had expertly tricked him. The real lady of the house is a sixty-year-old, gray-haired woman who dismisses Horace's story as nonsense.
- • The Aftermath: Now serving as an assistant librarian in prison, Horace is haunted by the memory of the clever woman who outwitted him. He no longer believes in the saying "honour among thieves."
Quick Navigation:
| | | |
1 / 1
Quick Navigation:
| | | |
