18. Summary of the lesson, "A Question of Trust"

"A Question of Trust", written by "Victor Canning", was about Horace Danby, a fifty-year-old former criminal and collector of rare and expensive books. He was a lock maker by profession, but he stole from wealthy individuals to buy the books he needed some years ago, making sure his fingerprints were not left behind in the places where he stole. However, it did not work out in the end because he was caught in one of his theft. It was his last theft, and the theft spot was Shotover Grange.

 

As usual, Horace collected specifics about the Grange house for almost a week, like the houseowner's stay in London, how many servants were there, and their movie plan timing, the burglary alarm system in that house, etc. In particular, a recent article in a magazine about that house revealed all the information, including the location of a safe behind a painting.

 

Unlike the other places he stole from, he met a woman while stealing at that house who claimed to be the owner of that house and threatened to report him to the cops while stealing there. She also demanded him to get her the jewels by breaking the safe, saying that she had forgotten the lock's password. Horace did so and went home, thinking that the owner of the Grange house had spared him. But after two days, Horace was arrested. There comes the twist in the story: the woman whom Horace met in that Grange house was not the real owner but was also a thief, and that the footprints of Horace found in the Grange house were the reason for his arrest.