The Great Diamond Robbery
Mr. John Wylie was bitterly disappointed. He had been in the detective business for over fifteen years, and never before had he experienced such a reverse. It was an affair that had attracted the greatest public interest and attention. A success in it would have established his reputation as a detective forever. But he had failed utterly and ignominiously.
This is how the matter stood when he was called in by Sir Henry Heaviside to investigate it. On November 15 Sir Henry was away from home. On that night his wife, Lady Helena, assisted by her father, the Marquis of Doltshire, had given a little dinner, which was followed by a reception. Her ladyship had, as usual, been rather slow in dressing, and, when the dinner hour arrived, she was greatly pressed for time. In her haste, she had neglected to replace her jewels, which she intended to put on after dinner and previous to the reception, in the safe, and contented herself with locking the door of her boudoir and putting the key into a drawer in her bedroom. After dinner she found the key where she left it and reopened the door. On entering her boudoir she discovered, to her amazement, that the window was wide open. A moment’s investigation showed her that all the jewels she had left upon her dressing table when she hurried down to dinner were stolen. Their value was close upon ₤7000.